At 5 p. m. on November 26, at the private tarmac of Boston Logan International Airport.
A cold wind blew across the runway as the Celtics ' Boeing 757 charter plane completed its pre-flight refueling. The team bus came to a smooth stop beside the boarding stairs, and as the doors opened, Gary Payton, sporting a mischievous grin, was the first to step off.
Although Gary Payton was still wearing a brace on his left knee, he walked quite slowly. He held a Sony handheld camera borrowed from the team's documentary crew in his right hand, with the lens pointed directly at the luggage compartment door under the bus.
"Come on, camera on!" Gary Payton shouted into the microphone, "Ladies and gentlemen, it's Thanksgiving Eve 2003. Let's see how the Boston Celtics ' starters carry bags for the bench players!"
Beside the luggage compartment door, Kevin Garnett and Chris Paul Pierce, who had just finished two sets of shuttle runs in the training hall and taken a shower, stood in the cold wind with dark faces.
Garnett carried his own travel bag over his left shoulder and Rasheed Wallace's black gear bag, stuffed with four pairs of oversized sneakers, in his right. Pierce carried Ron Artest and Mehmet Okur's bags in each hand, his scarf askew. Ben Wallace, Dwyane Wade, and Raja Bell followed behind, each carrying a large bag belonging to a reserve player, as they made their way up the gangway.
" Chris Paul, look this way!" Gary Payton backed up the gangway, shoving the viewfinder in front of Pierce. "How's it going carrying Gerald's bags? Should I get some ground staff to bring you a luggage cart?"
"Take your crappy machine away, Gary," Pierce said, shoving Artest's heavy backpack, stuffed with monitoring headphones and a dozen CDs, onto his shoulder. " Ron, is that weight plates in your bag? You guys better wait until we get back from the Detroit game, in the next practice match."
Rasheed Wallace, walking behind with his hands in the pockets of his cashmere coat, leisurely boarded the plane and plopped down in the large leather sofa at the back of the cabin, a sofa usually reserved for Garnett and Gary Payton. He casually patted the green non-slip mat on the table. "Tyronn, Gerald, Mehmet, come sit here! Today, the reserves will sit on the first-class sofas, let the starters experience the regular seats in the front!"
Gerald Wallace, with a medical bandage on his left elbow, scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly before Artest shoved him into a leather seat.
Garnett slammed Rasheed's gear bag down next to the overhead luggage rack, glanced at Rasheed shuffling cards with his legs crossed in the back, snorted, and pulled Pierce around to the front cabin.
In the first row of seats in the front cabin, Lin Qi was leaning against the window, flipping through a movie schedule.
Assistant General Manager Sam Presti sat in the aisle seat next to him, placed a marketing schedule on the small table, and reported in a low voice, "Boss, the joint marketing team from Paramount Pictures and Colombia Pictures sent the final confirmation this morning. The first part of ' Kingmaker ' is officially scheduled for release on Christmas Day, December 25th, in 2,400 theaters across the United States."
"Tomorrow is Thanksgiving weekend, and the two-minute theatrical trailer edited by David Fincher will be shown in theaters across the US tomorrow afternoon, and will also air during prime time on ABC and ESPN. Additionally, on the evening of December 5th, the production company has arranged two advance screenings for mainstream film critics and sports columnists in New York Manhattan, and Copley Square, Boston."
Lin Qi closed the file in his hand and glanced at the cool-toned still image on the cover of Keanu Reeves and Brad Pete standing side by side in the tunnel of the Old Boston Garden.
From conceiving the project in East Hampton last August, to bringing in David Fincher, Aaron Sorkin, and Keanu Reeves in September, and then seeing the rough cut in Venice at the end of August this year, it has been a full year and three months. The first half of this two-part film, which cost more than $100 million, is finally about to be officially released to the market.
"Tell the marketing team not to leak any material about the sequel beforehand," Lin Qi tapped his finger lightly on the table. "After the preview screenings on December 5th, have those columnists who got their hands on materials from the 1990s release the backstory of Brad Pete's character in the script."
"Understood, everything has been arranged." Presti nodded.
On the evening of November 27th, at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Michigan.
Twenty-two thousand Detroit fans filled the arena to capacity. Just three days earlier, the Pistons had lost by seventeen points on the road in Boston. Tonight, back at home, veteran coach Larry Bird Brown stood courtside with a furrowed brow.
Over the past three days, Larry Bird Brown and the Pistons coaching staff have rewound and watched the Celtics' first thirteen games more than a dozen times, finally figuring out the weaknesses hidden in Boston's offensive system that averaged 112 points per game.
At 7:30 p. m., the referee tossed the ball into the air, and the game officially began.
The Celtics' starting five remained unchanged: Wade, Raja Bell, Pierce, Garnett, and Ben Wallace. The Pistons fielded Lindsey Hunter, Richard Hamilton, rookie Carmelo Anthony, Clifford Robinson, and veteran center Elden Campbell.
On the first possession of the game, Pistons' Richard Hamilton missed a mid-range jumper after a screen.
Garnett grabbed the defensive rebound and, as usual, immediately turned to find Wade in the frontcourt, wanting to launch Boston's signature fast break.
However, as soon as Garnett looked up, he realized something was wrong.
The moment Richard Hamilton released his shot, apart from Pistons Elden Campbell making a token effort to contest the basket, Lindsey Hunter, Richard Hamilton, Anthony, and Clifford Robinson didn't even glance at the offensive rebound, and instead sprinted back to their own half to defend.
By the time Wade received the ball and pushed it past the mid-court line, four Pistons players had already set up their defense inside the three-point line, completely blocking the fast break space for the first eight seconds.
"Push down to half-court!" Wade gestured with his left hand, calling for Boston Pick-and-Roll.
Ben Wallace moved up from the low post to the top of the key to set a screen for Wade, while Pierce slid from the right corner to the free-throw line, ready to set a back-to-back screen for Garnett.
In the previous dozen or so games, opponents always struggled to defend against this tactic. But tonight, as soon as Big Ben reached the top of the key, the Pistons ' veteran center Elden Campbell didn't stay in the paint to protect the rim. He immediately stepped out to the three-point line and, together with point guard Lindsey Hunter, double-teamed Wade at the high post, 28 feet from the basket.
Wade, after all, doesn't yet have the ability to pull up for a three-pointer directly. Facing the tall and strong Campbell blocking his view, he can't just throw a high lob to the basket as usual.
Meanwhile, Clifford Robinson of the Pistons guarded Garnett at the free-throw line, while Carmelo Anthony switched to guard Pierce, who was bouncing out to the side.
Of the five Celtics players on the court, the only one completely left open by the Pistons was Ben Wallace, who had just set a screen and was standing right in the middle of the free-throw line.
With no other option but to jump up and pass the ball to Big Ben Wallace at the free-throw line, Wade, double-teamed.
Big Ben received the ball at the free-throw line, fifteen feet from the basket.
According to normal basketball logic, when the center receives the ball at the free-throw line, there should be a wide-open four-on-three situation below.
But just as Big Ben Wallace received the ball, Larry Bird Brown on the sidelines yelled into the court, "Let him shoot!"