A quiet private room in a tranquil Italian restaurant in downtown Milan.
On the long table lay an expensive white truffle risotto and a bottle of decanted top-quality Barolo red wine. The waiter quietly left the private room and gently closed the door behind him.
There were no outsiders in the box. Lin Qi sat in the head seat, with head coach Rick Carlisle beside him. Across the long table sat the true "elders" of the Boston Celtics: captain Chris Paul Pierce, spiritual leader Kevin Garnett, and Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace.
They were all teammates who had won the championship together, but the atmosphere tonight was noticeably somber. The cutlery on the table remained untouched, and everyone's gaze was more or less fixed on Lin Qi.
"As everyone knows, last season, I could only watch you guys play on TV."
Lin Qi picked up his wine glass and took a sip of red wine, breaking the silence in the private room.
"As an observer, I see it very clearly. Last season, especially in the playoffs, the team relied too much on your individual abilities. The team played too simply on offense, which is completely different from the smooth teamwork we had during our four-peat."
Upon hearing this, Garnett's brows furrowed involuntarily, and Pierce tightened his grip on the napkin slightly.
They were just a few games away from their fifth consecutive championship, and Lin Qi's words undoubtedly hit a nerve.
"Why did this happen?" Lin Qi put down his glass, looked at the key players across from him, and cut straight to basketball. "Game 7 of the NBA Finals, the last three minutes, is the most typical example."
"The moment Kevin gets the ball in the low post, the opposing team immediately collapses into a double team. Chris Paul you receive the ball on the wing, Jordan is so tight you don't even have a chance to turn and face the basket. The entire half-court offense is completely ineffective." Lin Qi tapped the table lightly with his knuckles. "The reason is simple: Ron Artest, standing just outside the three-point line, has a full two meters of open space in front of him."
" The Lakers players didn't even want to look at him; they all stayed in the paint. Our team's consensus has always been that there can only be one player on the court who doesn't pose a shooting threat. With Big Ben protecting the rim and Ron left wide open on the perimeter, the spacing simply wasn't open. That's the root cause of our offensive stalemate."
Pierce's brow furrowed deeply. As captain, he instinctively wanted to defend his younger teammate. "Lin, Ron guarded Jordan very well that game. He did all the dirty work. We can't blame it all on him just because he was left open on offense..."
"Defense can't help you put the ball in the basket, Chris Paul."
Lin Qi calmly interrupted him, his tone carrying an undeniable firmness.
"You guys should have felt it on the court last season; the league is encouraging offense, and the calls on the perimeter will only get stricter in the future. Times have changed, and the Boston Celtics must change too!"
Lin Qi leaned forward slightly and revealed the coaching team's plan.
"New season, starting lineup changes. Raja Bell will start at shooting guard, Chris Paul will move to small forward. Ron Artest will go to the second unit."
The moment those words were spoken, the air across the long table seemed to drop to freezing point.
"Lin, you know Ron's temper better than anyone." Garnett sat bolt upright, his eyes flashing with anxiety. "He finally made it into the starting lineup. You're taking him off now? With his temper, he'd smash everything in sight to pieces in the locker room!"
"He dared to smash it because he felt that Chris Paul and Kevin were backing him up."
Lin Qi smiled and turned his gaze to Rasheed Wallace, who was still slumped in his chair chewing gum.
" Rasheed, are you being treated unfairly as a substitute in Boston?" Lin Qi asked casually.
Rasheed, who was watching the show, spat out his chewing gum, grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, and waved his hand bluntly at Garnett: " Kevin, as long as it helps the team win, I'll play any position. If that bastard Ron dares to grumble in the locker room, I'll be the first to slap him. Don't you dare stop me."
Rasheed glanced sideways at Pierce: "Winning is the only thing that matters."
Garnett choked for a moment, his Adam's apple bobbing, and he turned to look at Ben Wallace, who had been silent since he sat down.
The man with the afro and muscular physique was slowly and methodically cutting the steak in front of him.
Noticing Garnett's gaze, Big Ben put down his knife and fork.
He wiped his mouth and uttered in a deep, rumbling voice, "If Ron goes berserk in the locker room, I'll pin him against the wall until he calms down."
The entire private room fell completely silent.
Artest was a force to be reckoned with in the league, but the only person who could instill a deep-seated, physiological fear in him was the taciturn Ben Wallace.
Lin Qi leaned back in his chair, taking in the expressions of the four people, and his tone became more sincere.
"I called the four of you here because I trust you. These championships were won by all of us together. We are a team, and you are the leaders of this team. You should support each other, not fight against the coach in the locker room."
Lin Qi glanced at Rick Carlisle beside him and continued.
"You've all witnessed Rick Carlisle's abilities over the past few seasons. He made this decision to help Boston regain the championship. Chris Paul, you're the captain, you have to make a statement in front of the whole team. Kevin, you're Ron's most trusted mentor, you need to soothe his pride and tell him that the second unit offers him more opportunities to shine. Rasheed, you're responsible for silencing him with your seniority. Big Ben, you're in charge of maintaining order in the locker room."
Lin Qi glanced at the four people and gave his final conclusion.
"It's not a good job for Rick to be the villain who suppresses meritorious officials, so I'll take on that role. I hope you'll cooperate with me, understand?"
Pierce and Garnett exchanged a glance at the owner who had single-handedly built a four-peat dynasty.
Now that things have come to this point...
"... Understood, Lin." Pierce took a deep breath, finally nodded, and his expression regained the composure befitting a captain. "We four will handle Ron's situation. The lineup is entirely up to the coaching staff."
Garnett let out a long breath. Although his brow was still furrowed, the resistance in his eyes had completely faded, replaced by a desire for victory. "I'll fight anything to get that damn trophy back."
Half an hour later, dinner ended, and the four core members left the restaurant first.
The moment the door to the private room closed, Rick Carlisle, who had been on edge the whole time, slumped back in his chair and let out a long sigh of relief that had been building up all summer.
" Rick, I've been watching last season's game footage repeatedly these past few days. I'm starting to develop a completely new set of tactics."
"A tactic you've never seen before."