The air in the private room was silent for a few seconds.
Rick Carlisle looked at Lin Qi, his nerves, which had relaxed slightly after resolving the locker room crisis, tensed up again.
"What do you mean by 'tactics never seen before'?" Rick Carlisle put away his previous tired posture, leaned forward unconsciously, and placed his hands on the table like a student preparing to listen to a scout's report.
"Before discussing specific tactics, we need to clarify the biggest advantage of this new starting lineup."
Instead of directly presenting the concept, Lin Qi picked up the salt shaker, pepper shaker, and several empty wine glasses from the table and arranged them in a half-court formation on the clean tablecloth.
Lin Qi tapped the glasses on the table with his fingers. " Raja Bell is in the weak-side corner; he's a ready-made spot-up three-point shooter and never leaves the corner easily. Chris Paul is at the 45-degree angle or the other corner; he not only has a three-pointer but also extremely strong mid-range and low-post scoring ability. As long as these two are on the perimeter, the opposing wing defenders will absolutely not dare to collapse into the paint even half a step."
Rick Carlisle nodded. It was a very basic theory of space, which he naturally understood.
"Then there's the inside game and the initiator." Lin Qi pushed the salt shaker representing Garnett forward. " Kevin's three-point shooting percentage is close to 40% now; he's a tactical pivot who can shoot and pass. At center, although Big Ben has developed a bit of a mid-range shot, opponents still dare to leave him wide open in half-court sets. But the key is that Dwyane ( Wade ) is working hard on his mid-range shot. Once he masters it, he won't only have the option of 'dribbling to the basket' when facing defense."
" Dwyane can start with a screen from Kevin or Big Ben Wallace, and can choose to attack the basket or punish the big men who are retreating to defend with a mid-range shot." Rick Carlisle followed Lin Qi's line of thought.
"Yes, pick-and-roll will become our regular starting point. But the new tactic in my head is one layer deeper than a regular pick-and-roll."
Lin Qi placed the pepper shaker representing Wade at the top of the key, pulled the wine glass representing Big Ben next to the pepper shaker, and then placed the salt shaker representing Garnett slightly behind the free-throw line.
"I call this tactic the ' Boston Pick-and-Roll '."
Lin Qi began demonstrating on the table. "A regular pick and roll only requires dealing with the defensive relationships between the ball handler and the screener. But the Boston Pick-and-Roll involves three players."
" Dwyane has the ball at the top of the key, Big Ben moves up to set a standard main screen for him. But as Dwyane starts his drive..." Lin Qi pressed down on the salt shaker representing Garnett, moving almost in sync with the wine glass representing Big Ben, " Kevin simultaneously cuts in from the weak side high post, setting a solid back screen behind the opposing center guarding Big Ben!"
Lin Qi traced two intersecting lines on the table with his fingers. "After setting the first screen, Big Ben immediately accelerated down the court, while the opposing center, who was originally planning to retreat to protect the rim or move forward to delay Dwyane, crashed directly into Kevin's wall with his back. Big Ben was instantly left completely open and drove straight for the basket!"
Rick Carlisle's pupils contracted sharply, and his brain instantly began to frantically analyze the situation.
"This isn't just a pick-and-roll followed by a screen; it's a simultaneous double screen..." Rick Carlisle muttered to himself, his eyes glued to the table. "And it's not just Big Ben's pick-and-roll, is it? What happens after Kevin sets his back screen?"
"After Kevin sets a back screen, he immediately bounces back to the top of the three-point arc." Lin Qi pulls Salt Jar back to the perimeter.
The box was so quiet that only Rick Carlisle's heavy breathing could be heard. As a top tactical mastermind, he immediately recognized how vicious this almost simultaneous "back cover" was.
"This is practically forcing the defense to make mistakes..." Rick Carlisle's mind raced. "Should we switch? Should we push? Who should we delay? Who should we double-team? The opposing center's eyes are entirely on Dwyane; he can't see Kevin behind him at all. If the opposing defense is even half a beat slow in communicating, Big Ben will be completely open for a dunk. If the opposing power forward is forced to switch and rush into the paint to block Big Ben, not only will a mismatch of size be created inside, but Kevin bounces out to the three-point line, will also be completely open!"
"That's right. The choice is always in our hands." Lin Qi leaned back in his chair. "Ben can get Big Ben, or create a mismatch in the paint. Kevin can take a wide-open three from the top of the key; Dwyane can pull up for a mid-range jumper or drive and dish after the first screen. If the weak-side wing dares to collapse and help defend the paint, Raja and Chris Paul can punish them from the corners at any time."
Lin Qi paused briefly, then added a variation, "Moreover, this tactic isn't just effective with Dwyane; Chris Paul can also initiate the play with the ball. Although Chris Paul's first-step explosiveness and rim-dribbling power aren't as good as Dwyane's, and he doesn't force the opponent's defense to collapse as deeply, making them more likely to switch directly, Chris Paul has a wider court vision and a more consistent dribbling rhythm. Once the opponent switches, he can use his mid-range shot and post-up skills to create mismatches. Or, he can be the one to set a screen and pop out."
After listening to Lin Qi's description, Rick Carlisle's eyes gleamed with fervor, but soon, professional rationality regained its footing.
Rick Carlisle frowned slightly, staring at the wine glass on the table. "Lin, this tactic is indeed ingenious, but it has a very clear ceiling."
"Tell me about it," Lin Qi said, looking at Rick Carlisle with admiration.
"First, it's extremely dependent on the timing of the screen." Rick Carlisle pointed to the salt shaker representing Garnett. "This back screen must be in place at the exact moment Big Ben starts his screen. Screening too early is a moving screen foul; screening too late means the opposing center has already retreated into the paint, and Kevin's rush into the paint to screen will not only be easily called a foul, but will also completely block his driving lane. This requires extremely high basketball IQ and teamwork."
"Secondly, if the opponent anticipates this and switches on every screen, or if the opponent's big man anticipates the route and forces his way through, the back screen will fail, and the tactic will degenerate into a regular pick-and-roll."
Rick Carlisle took a deep breath and looked up at Lin Qi: "The most fatal flaw is spacing. If you have both Big Ben and Ron on the court at the same time, and the two non-shooting players hunker down, the opponent won't need to worry about back screens at all; they can just collapse into the paint. When there's not enough space, the two big men stacked together form a dead wall, actually blocking Dwyane's driving lanes."
"You're absolutely right, Rick." Lin Qi smiled with satisfaction. "No tactic is invincible. The Boston Pick-and-Roll works well with this lineup because Raja and Chris Paul provide excellent perimeter defense, and once Dwyane develops his mid-range shot, he can force the opposing defense to spread out. While Big Ben doesn't have a consistent shot on offense, he has a top-tier threat when cutting to the basket. As long as Kevin screens the defender behind him properly, Big Ben's cut to the basket can also be a threat."
Rick Carlisle stared at the several glasses on the table, his breathing becoming rapid without him realizing it. He pulled a tactical pen directly from his inner pocket and quickly sketched and deduced on a white napkin.
"Wait, Lin... if we use this as our starting move, our entire dynamic offensive system can be completely restructured!"
Rick Carlisle looked up, his eyes gleaming with the brilliance of a tactical the Madman: "During our four-peat era, the core of our fluid, dynamic offensive system was the high pick-and-roll between Gary ( Gary Payton ) and Kevin. Gary had a steady pace and top-notch court vision; after the screen, he could directly read the defense, generating wide-ranging passes between the strong and weak sides, and incidentally activating Chris Paul's off-ball cuts."
"Last season, everyone could feel that ever since Gary went to Seattle, the entire league had figured out our tactics. Our offense became increasingly unable to break through the defense, and we eventually ended up having to rely heavily on the individual abilities of Chris Paul and Kevin..."
At this point, Rick Carlisle's speech quickened, and his pen drew several consecutive dotted lines representing running positions on a napkin.
"But what if we completely replace the primary initiation point of our dynamic offense with this ' Boston Pick-and-Roll '..."
" The Boston Pick-and-Roll is a high-quality half-court starter. Its initial mid-court disruption is just the beginning of the entire system! Dwyane breaks through the screen, Big Ben rolls down, and a high-intensity communication breakdown erupts in the middle. If the opponent manages to break down the first wave of defense, our offense won't stop at all!"
"After Kevin sets a screen and pops out, if there isn't an absolutely open three-point opportunity, he doesn't force a shot. Instead, he receives the ball at the top of the key, becoming the high post playmaker. If Big Ben Wallace cuts to the basket but doesn't get a layup, he immediately sets a screen on the baseline. The ball moves smoothly from Kevin to the weak side, Raja draws attention in the corner, and Chris Paul receives the ball in the elbow area to cut or pull up for a mid-range jumper... The entire dynamic offense is activated!"
"The opponent has just dealt with the complex back cover and cut-down maneuvers in the middle, and their entire defensive line has been torn to shreds. They simply cannot withstand the next second and third waves of dynamic transmission!"
Lin Qi looked at Rick Carlisle, who had already deduced the entire tactical chain on a napkin, his eyes full of approval. "This is the kind of offense Boston should have."
Rick Carlisle let out a long sigh of relief, calmed his turbulent emotions, solemnly put the tactical pen back into its lining, and pushed the bottle on the table back to its original place.
"Lin, once we get this dynamic offensive system, which starts with the Boston Pick-and-Roll, working next season, it will absolutely revolutionize the league's understanding of defense." Rick Carlisle looked at Lin Qi with some excitement. "This will definitely be your masterpiece that goes down in history."
"No, Rick." Lin Qi smiled and shook his head, his gaze sincere and determined. "This is your signature tactic."
Rick Carlisle paused, then said, "But this is clearly the framework you came up with..."
"I just set a few glasses on the table and presented a vague concept." Lin Qi stood up, straightened his coat, and looked at the head coach seriously. "The one who truly needs to refine and practice this complex tactic in training camp, deciding when to use the Boston Pick-and-Roll and when to switch to other tactics, is you. You completed it and perfected it."
Lin Qi extended his hand, his tone full of unwavering support.
"You're the head coach of this team. When you win the championship with this strategy, the whole world will know it's Rick Carlisle's masterpiece."
Rick Carlisle looked at Lin Qi's outstretched hand and felt an indescribable surge of emotion. He understood that the boss was not only pointing him in the right direction tactically, but also helping him, a coach lacking a solid foundation, to establish his own authoritative brand in the league and the locker room.
"Leave it to me." Rick Carlisle gripped Lin Qi's hand tightly, his eyes no longer showing the hesitation he had when entering the VIP box, but instead the determination and fervor befitting a Boston Celtics head coach.
"The entire league will be in for a Boston in the new season."