Recaps

Lin Qi and Gary Payton used fines and an outrageous pink suit to keep Rasheed Wallace and Artest from arguing with referees. During practice, both players swallowed their complaints when faced with the threat of lost money, shuttle sprints, and the humiliating outfit.

• Lin Qi told Rasheed Wallace to supervise Artest, and Gary Payton revealed the pink feather-trimmed suits as the penalty for whichever player earned more technical fouls.
• Rasheed Wallace threatened Artest with broken CDs and headphones, and both men paid two thousand dollars into Mutombo's bucket.
• Lin Qi asked Rick Carlisle to have the assistant referee make deliberately biased calls during the team's half-court drills.
• When the assistant ignored Garnett's contact, Artest shouted at Rasheed to stay quiet, and Rasheed swallowed his protest.
• After the assistant called a foul on Artest despite his clean defense, Rasheed mimed breaking a CD and Payton displayed the pink suit, so Artest apologized and praised the call.

During practice in Memphis, Mehmet Okur struggled to keep up after gaining weight, prompting Kevin Garnett to berate him and Rick Carlisle to impose a strict diet. That evening, Okur sat alone in his hotel room until an unexpected visitor knocked at his door.

• The Celtics prepared for the Grizzlies’ fast-paced rotation with an intense practice in Memphis.
• Mehmet Okur repeatedly fell behind during drills, and Mike Boyle reported that he had gained six and a half pounds in ten days.
• Kevin Garnett angrily blamed Okur for letting the team down and threatened to send him back to the Maine Celtics.
• Rick Carlisle ended practice and ordered Mike Boyle to create a strict meal plan for Okur.
• Okur reflected on his parents’ food and his humiliation as he sat in his hotel room with dinner uneaten.
• Someone knocked on Okur’s door, and the unexpected visitor made him pause.

Ben Wallace used an RC-car race to help Okur relax and understand why Kevin had criticized his effort. Okur let go of his resentment and agreed to meet Ben for an early workout.

• Ben Wallace invited Okur to race modified RC cars in the hotel hallway, and Okur initially crashed his car before learning to steer.
• Ben asked Okur whether he was still angry at Kevin, and Okur explained that he had been trying despite his parents bringing him sweets from Turkey.
• Ben shared how surviving as a late draft pick and enduring harsh criticism had earned him a guaranteed contract.
• Ben told Okur that his shooting talent was valuable to the team and urged him not to waste it by neglecting his conditioning.
• Okur thanked Ben, accepted his advice, and agreed to meet him at five thirty the next morning.

Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, and Raja Bell helped Okur through an exhausting morning of conditioning and shooting practice in Memphis. After Okur and Bell won a shooting contest, Garnett prepared Okur for the Grizzlies game and promised to pass him the ball when he got open.

• Ben Wallace took Okur to the auxiliary court before dawn, where Boyle monitored their conditioning workout and Raja Bell and Rasheed Wallace joined them.
• After three sets of shuttle runs, Rasheed challenged Okur and Bell to a five-spot shooting contest against himself and Ben Wallace.
• Ben Wallace made only two shots, but Rasheed’s strong shooting kept his team competitive as Okur battled through his fatigue.
• Okur made eight straight threes from the top and six more from the left wing, helping him and Bell win 45–42.
• Rasheed honored the wager by shooting another hundred threes while Boyle led Okur and Bell through Boston Pick-and-Roll drills.
• Garnett gave Okur an electrolyte drink and promised that the ball would reach him when he got open against the Grizzlies that night.

Mehmet Okur's sharp defense and accurate shooting helped the Celtics overwhelm the Grizzlies and win 103-88. After the game, Ben Wallace gave Okur a repaired remote-controlled car.

• The Celtics brought Mehmet Okur off the bench, and he helped stop Earl Watson and Stromile Swift before sprinting ahead to hit a three-pointer.
• Okur blocked out Swift for a rebound, helped Pierce draw a foul, and later hit another three after a screen from Pierce.
• In the second quarter, Okur and Rasheed Wallace stretched the Grizzlies' defense with outside shooting, and Okur scored 11 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in twelve minutes.
• The Celtics built a nineteen-point halftime lead and defeated the Grizzlies 103-88 to claim their third win of the road trip.
• Ben Wallace gave Okur a repaired blue remote-controlled race car and suggested he use it to manage his cravings for sweets.

After a poor game against the Hornets, Dwyane Wade brooded over messages on the Celtics' flight home until his teammates confronted him. Gary Payton guessed that Wade was struggling with family and acquaintances asking him for money, and Wade handed over his phone to show the messages.

• The Celtics defeated the New Orleans Hornets 111-90, but Dwyane Wade struggled and Rick Carlisle replaced him with Tyronn Lue.
• On the flight back to Boston, Wade sat alone and repeatedly checked his phone while Tyronn Lue, Paul Pierce, Rasheed Wallace, Gary Payton, and Garnett played cards.
• Garnett and Payton called Wade over and pressed him to explain why he had been distracted.
• Payton guessed that people from Wade's Chicago past were asking him for money after his shoe advertisement and rising wealth drew attention.
• Wade handed his phone to Payton, who read the messages and passed it to Garnett and Pierce.

Wade told his teammates that Marcus had flown to Boston with several men to extort $150,000 from him and threaten to expose his mother's past. Garnett and the others decided Lin Qi and the Celtics organization would handle Marcus, leaving Wade to go to practice as usual.

• Wade explained that Marcus had once lent his family $300, but now demanded $150,000 and threatened to tell the tabloids about Wade's mother.
• Pierce, Garnett, and Payton urged Wade not to pay Marcus or confront him personally, and Payton warned that public attention could harm Wade's reputation.
• Garnett, Pierce, and Rasheed Wallace described Lin Qi's influence in Boston and how the club had previously used its security and police connections to stop extortionists.
• Payton told Wade to leave the matter to the club and asked Tyronn Lue to wake Sam Presti.
• Garnett showed Presti Marcus's text and asked him to alert Lin Qi and Old Jim before Marcus and his men reached the arena.

Sam Presti, Lin Qi, and the Celtics’ security team arranged to protect Dwyane Wade from Chicago associates who were trying to extort him. The men arrived at the training center expecting a payoff, and someone burst into their conference room.

• Sam Presti took Wade’s phone and told him not to reply to Marcus’s messages while Presti handled the situation.
• Lin Qi reviewed the legal documents as Old Jim identified Marcus Jenkins, Darnell, and Trey and found evidence of Darnell’s illegal interstate travel and weapons and marijuana in their motel room.
• Lin Qi ordered that Wade stay out of sight while the club dealt with the men, and police detectives waited nearby.
• Marcus, Darnell, and Trey arrived at the training center, where Marcus boasted that Wade would pay them $150,000.
• Someone shoved open the conference room door before Marcus could finish speaking.

Lin Qi and the Celtics protected Wade from Marcus’s extortion by placing Wade’s earnings in a trust and having Boston police arrest his associates. Freed from the pressure, Wade returned to form against the Raptors, leading Boston to a commanding third-quarter lead.

• Presti and Arthur Morgan told Marcus that Wade’s income was protected by an athlete trust, while Detective McDonald arrested Darnell for probation violations and presented evidence against Marcus for extortion.
• Payton warned Marcus that Wade’s mother and sister had been moved to a guarded apartment and that he and his companions must stay away from the family.
• Police escorted Marcus and his companions from the arena, and Wade thanked Lin Qi for the club’s support.
• Wade opened Boston’s game against the Raptors with a steal and an and-one layup over Vince Carter.
• Wade scored 26 points with 8 assists and 3 steals in three quarters as Boston built an 89-61 lead over Toronto.

After Dikembe Mutombo's charity dinner to fund medical equipment for a hospital in Kinshasa attracted few guests, Lin Qi decided to use the Celtics' influence to rally support. He left plans underway to bring the team and Boston's business leaders to the Fairmont Hotel on Thanksgiving Eve.

• After the Celtics defeated the Pacers, Mutombo coached Tyson Chandler on defending Al Harrington's post moves and quietly kept his dinner invitations to himself.
• Old Jim delivered Mutombo's invitation to Lin Qi, and Sam Presti explained the hospital's funding shortfall and the poor response to the fundraiser.
• Lin Qi ordered Presti to require the Celtics' coaches, players, and senior basketball staff to attend Mutombo's dinner in formal attire.
• Lin Qi told Presti to invite the team's television partners, major financial firms, and a medical-device company to the dinner and ask them to support the Kinshasa hospital.

Mutombo's Kinshasa Hospital charity dinner began with the banquet hall nearly empty, but Lin Qi brought the Celtics and influential Boston executives, turning it into a packed, high-profile fundraiser. The chapter ended with Dwyane Wade attending the lavish dinner in a new suit while Gary Payton advised him on how to carry himself.

• Mutombo worried that few people had come to his charity dinner, but he refused to remove the empty tables.
• Lin Qi arrived with Rick Carlisle, Sam Presti, and all fifteen Celtics players, including Ron Artest carrying a bucket full of hundred-dollar bills.
• Gary Payton and Paul Pierce greeted Mutombo and explained that the team's flight to Detroit had been delayed so they could attend.
• Lin Qi welcomed Mutombo's arriving guests as Sean McGrail and executives from Fox Sports, State Street Bank, Fidelity Investments, and Boston Scientific came to the dinner.
• Boston executives made generous donations, filling the hall and prompting the hotel to add eight more tables.
• Dwyane Wade tugged at his new suit's tie until Gary Payton told him to sit up straight and dress to earn the respect of the bankers and television executives.

At a charity auction, Gary Payton took over as auctioneer and turned the bidding for a Celtics jersey into a public roast of Dikembe Mutombo’s disputed age. He offered to have Mutombo’s hair carbon-dated if the jersey sold for more than a hundred thousand dollars.

• The auction drew little interest until a signed Celtics No. 55 jersey worn by Dikembe Mutombo went up for bidding.
• Gary Payton took the microphone and urged the guests to bid more for the championship jersey.
• Payton joked that Mutombo’s birth tree had burned down and claimed Coach John Thompson had helped falsify Mutombo’s age to get him onto Georgetown’s team.
• Payton recounted Mutombo’s story about riding a motorcycle to the 1974 Rumble in the Jungle, arguing that it meant Mutombo was older than his official age.
• Mutombo protested that his older brother had taken him to the fight, while Payton bet he would send Mutombo’s hair for carbon-14 dating if the jersey fetched over a hundred thousand dollars.

The Celtics’ charity dinner raised $1.3 million, and Lin Qi, the club, Converse, and medical companies secured the funding and equipment needed for Mutombo’s hospital in Kinshasa. As the guests celebrated, Lin Qi set demanding terms for the Celtics’ next five-year local broadcast contract and left the rival networks scrambling to respond.

• Paul Pierce, Rasheed Wallace, Garnett, and executives bid on donated memorabilia, helping the auction raise $780,000 in forty minutes.
• Artest poured the Celtics’ November fine jar onto the auction table, and Gary Payton announced its $34,000 would support the charity effort.
• The dinner’s donations reached $1.3 million, then Sam Presti delivered news that the Celtics and Converse would match the total, Boston Scientific and General Electric Healthcare would supply hospital equipment at cost, and Lin Qi would cover the remaining $1 million shortfall.
• Mutombo thanked the guests and said that once someone wore Boston’s green jersey, they would never be alone.
• Sean McGrail offered $210 million for five years of local broadcast rights, while the Fox Sports vice president offered $220 million and a program for Coach Rick Carlisle.
• Lin Qi demanded $260 million over five years, fifteen percent of annual net advertising revenue, and retained arena advertising rights, giving the networks until Monday morning to submit signed contracts.

The Celtics practiced against a simulated Pistons defense before their road game in Detroit, and Gerald Wallace struggled to make the open shots and reads the defense gave him. After Carlisle criticized him and called Brian Scalabrine to warm up, Gerald was left facing greater competition for a place in the rotation.

• Rick Carlisle warned the Celtics that Detroit's defense would collapse into the paint and assigned the green team to imitate the Pistons in a scrimmage.
• Gerald Wallace entered the scrimmage and found Paul Pierce sagging off him to help protect the paint.
• Gerald rushed an open corner three, missed, then hesitated on his next open shot and lost the ball while trying to drive.
• Carlisle scolded Gerald for failing to take the open shot or make the expected outlet, then called Brian Scalabrine to warm up in his place.
• Carlisle warned the white team to get back on defense and said anyone who allowed another easy layup would sit out in Detroit.

During a tense scrimmage, Gerald Wallace collided with Paul Pierce, sparking a confrontation between the green and white teams. Lin Qi stopped the fight and set up a ten-minute, high-stakes game to settle their anger, leaving both sides ready to compete.

• Gerald Wallace blocked Paul Pierce's layup but crashed into him, sending Pierce sliding into the basket support.
• Pierce shoved Gerald, Garnett intervened, and Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace, Artest, and others joined the escalating confrontation.
• Carlisle ordered Gerald to leave practice and miss the trip to Detroit, but Lin Qi arrived and checked that Pierce's knee was fine.
• Lin Qi arranged a ten-minute game between the five green-team starters and six white-team players, with Tayshaun and Tyson allowed to rotate in.
• Lin Qi announced punishments for the losing team, including shuttle runs, paying for staff holiday gifts, carrying equipment bags, and giving up the charter's card table and couches.
• Rasheed rallied the white team while Payton teased the green-team starters, and the two groups prepared to play.

Rasheed Wallace changed the white team’s lineup strategy, using his and Okur’s three-point shooting to open the paint for Gerald Wallace. The reserves gained an early lead, but the starters fought back, and the white team later replaced Tyronn Lue with Tayshaun Prince.

• Garnett sent Pierce, Wade, Big Ben, and Raja Bell onto the court while Rasheed Wallace told Gerald Wallace to stay in the game and explained his inside-out strategy.
• Gerald screened Big Ben to free Okur for an open three, and Pierce answered with a turnaround jumper to make the score 3-2.
• Gerald screened for Tyronn Lue and rolled to the basket for an alley-oop dunk, extending the white team’s lead to 5-2.
• Rick Carlisle praised Rasheed’s adjustment, and Lin Qi said it would help against Detroit the next day.
• Garnett, Pierce, Wade, and Big Ben answered with post scoring, a driving bank shot, and a blocked layup as the scrimmage intensified.
• The white team replaced Tyronn Lue with Tayshaun Prince and left Artest to handle the ball.

Gerald Wallace’s late rebound, defense, and save helped the reserves beat the starters 22-21 in a scrimmage. After the starters accepted their punishment, Rick Carlisle added Gerald to the rotation for the next game against the Pistons.

• Pierce gave the starters a 21-20 lead with a midrange jumper, but Gerald grabbed Artest’s missed floater and put it back to put the reserves ahead.
• Gerald defended Pierce’s final shot with Prince, then dove out of bounds to slap the rebound back toward midcourt as the buzzer sounded.
• The reserves celebrated their 22-21 win, and Pierce told Gerald to treat his scrape and bring the same energy against Richard Hamilton.
• Garnett and the other starters began their two sets of seventeen sprints, agreeing to carry the reserves’ bags to the airport.
• Rick Carlisle added Gerald Wallace to the rotation for the next day’s game against the Pistons.

Lin Qi learned that Kingmaker would open nationwide on Christmas Day, while the Celtics traveled to Detroit and faced the Pistons’ plan to stop their fast breaks and leave Ben Wallace open. The chapter ended as Ben caught the ball at the free-throw line and Larry Brown ordered his team to let him shoot.

• Gary Payton filmed Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and other Celtics starters carrying the reserves’ bags onto the chartered plane.
• Sam Presti told Lin Qi that Kingmaker would open in 2,400 theaters on December 25 and outlined its trailer and critics’ screenings.
• Lin Qi instructed Presti to keep part two’s material secret and release the story behind Brad Pitt’s character after the December 5 screenings.
• The Pistons packed the paint and hurried back on defense to shut down Boston’s fast break in their game at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
• The Pistons trapped Dwyane Wade on a screen and left Ben Wallace open at the free-throw line, prompting Larry Brown to shout, “Let him shoot!”

The Celtics struggled against Larry Brown’s defense, which left Ben Wallace unguarded and used his weak offense to clog the paint. Kevin Garnett’s fourth-quarter scoring could not overcome the deficit, and Boston lost to Detroit 100-105 for its second defeat of the season.

• Elden Campbell left Ben Wallace open at the free-throw line, and Wallace missed a jumper before the Pistons scored to take a 2-0 lead.
• Campbell continued to ignore Wallace, blocking his drive and forcing misses as Detroit built an 8-0 lead and Rick Carlisle called timeout.
• Carlisle replaced Wallace and Raja Bell with Mehmet Okur and Gerald Wallace, whose play helped the Celtics cut the halftime score to 52-54.
• Larry Brown restored the five-against-four defense in the fourth quarter, and Kevin Garnett scored 14 points against double-teams while the Celtics fell behind 98-101.
• With four seconds on the shot clock, Wallace missed a late fifteen-foot jumper, and Hamilton’s free throws sealed Detroit’s 105-100 win over Boston.

The Celtics struggled as opponents exploited Ben Wallace’s lack of shooting range, while Kevin Garnett carried the offense and became the MVP favorite. Lin Qi promised to develop a new system for Wallace and urged the staff to manage Garnett’s minutes, as a Hollywood movie craze began distracting the media from Boston’s troubles.

• NBA coaches copied the strategy of leaving Ben Wallace open and doubling the Celtics’ ball handlers, causing Boston’s starting lineup offense to collapse.
• Kevin Garnett posted extraordinary numbers during the Celtics’ eight-game stretch, but the team went 4–4 as Wallace struggled to score.
• Sports Illustrated and ESPN praised Garnett as the MVP front-runner while criticizing Wallace’s effect on Boston’s spacing.
• Lin Qi and Rick Carlisle watched Wallace practice alone, and Carlisle said conventional pick-and-rolls could not solve the problem.
• Lin Qi told Carlisle to keep Garnett’s minutes under control and said he would work with the staff on a new system for Wallace.
• A Hollywood moviegoing craze began shielding Boston from mounting media criticism.

After Kingmaker’s advance screenings and a report revealed that its two leads represented different sides of the real Lin Qi, the film’s advance sales soared. As Nike and Converse battled for Christmas sneaker sales, Lin Qi chose to keep Kobe Bryant’s controversial ad campaign running and increase its exposure during the Lakers’ game against the Pacers.

• Kingmaker’s screenings drew standing ovations, and a Boston Globe article revealed that the real Lin Qi had performed the deeds attributed to Brad Pitt’s character, sending advance ticket sales past five million.
• Nike launched LeBron James’s first signature shoe while Converse promoted shoes endorsed by Kevin Garnett, Dwyane Wade, and Kobe Bryant.
• Nike-aligned media urged parents to boycott Kobe’s shoes over his suspended legal case, and protesters gathered outside the Lakers’ Indianapolis hotel before their game against the Pacers.
• Converse CEO Gregg asked Lin Qi whether to pull Kobe’s ad during the national broadcast and replace it with Kevin’s promotion.
• Lin Qi told Gregg to keep Kobe’s ad, buy all remaining flexible fourth-quarter ad slots, air the full version after the game, and send overnight restocking notices to Foot Locker stores.

Kobe Bryant overcame hostile Indiana fans and a double-digit deficit to win the game for the Lakers with a buzzer-beating three, then silenced the crowd and appeared in a Converse commercial. The play sparked a nationwide buying frenzy for his black-and-white signature shoes.

• Kobe struggled against Al Harrington and Reggie Miller in the first quarter as the Lakers fell behind the Pacers, 18-27.
• Kobe recovered in the second half, scoring 15 points in the third quarter and making three straight pull-up jumpers in the fourth to bring the Lakers within one point.
• With 6.4 seconds left, Kobe escaped a double-team and hit a leaning three-pointer at the buzzer, giving the Lakers a 99-97 win and finishing with 44 points.
• Kobe gestured for the Indiana fans to be quiet, and a Converse commercial featuring him played immediately after the broadcast went black.
• Lin Qi and other players in Boston watched the game, while the winning shot and commercial replayed across sports broadcasts and stirred interest among young fans.
• The next day, shoppers lined up at sneaker stores across the United States, and Converse sold out its 250,000 stocked pairs of Kobe signature shoes by Sunday evening.

Lin Qi created the Wallace Screen to help Boston counter opponents’ deep drop coverage, using Ben Wallace’s positioning in the paint to open driving lanes for Dwyane Wade. After two days of closed-door practice, the players began to develop the timing and coordination needed to run the new play.

• Rick Carlisle explained how opponents were leaving Ben Wallace open and packing the paint to limit Boston’s offense.
• Lin Qi drew up a variation on the Boston Pick-and-Roll in which Ben would use his lower body to establish position and keep Yao Ming behind him near the basket.
• Carlisle and Lin Qi explained how Wade could attack the opened lane or pass to Ben for a finish, and Lin named the play the “Wallace Screen.”
• Ben Wallace and the other big men practiced the play while Wade adjusted his dribbling and timing, with Carlisle stopping scrimmages to correct their execution.
• After repeated adjustments, Ben sealed his defender behind him and Wade finished a drive with a floater, while Rasheed Wallace and Okur joined extra practice sessions.

On Christmas Day, Kingmaker (Part One) drew record crowds as Lin Qi and the Celtics prepared for a showdown with the New Jersey Nets. The Nets exploited Boston’s shooting struggles to take an early 10-2 lead, forcing the Celtics to call timeout.

• Kingmaker (Part One) opened to packed theaters, and Paramount projected a Christmas Day gross above $24.6 million.
• Lin Qi watched the Celtics face the Nets at the New Garden alongside Kingmaker stars and Boston fans, while Matt Damon worried about Boston’s recent shooting struggles.
• Hubie Brown predicted that Byron Scott would have Yao Ming drop into the paint and dare Ben Wallace and Wade to shoot.
• Yao Ming scored on a hook shot after Ben Wallace missed an open midrange jumper on Boston’s first possession.
• Wade and Ben Wallace missed several more shots as Andre Miller, Kirilenko, and Joe Johnson helped the Nets build a 10-2 lead and force a timeout.

The Celtics used Ben Wallace’s strength to seal Yao Ming under the basket and open driving lanes for Dwyane Wade, scoring twice with the tactic. Lin Qi called it the “Wallace Screen,” and the Nets faced a game whose rhythm had shifted.

• Rick Carlisle told Ben Wallace to stop taking midrange jumpers and use the move they had practiced.
• Ben Wallace rolled after screening for Wade, boxed out Yao Ming, and let Wade score a floater.
• The Celtics ran the play again, and Wade drove through the open lane to dunk.
• Yao Ming complained to referee Dick Bavetta, who ruled that Wallace had established legal position.
• Al Michaels and Hubie Brown discussed how Wallace’s box-out doubled as a screen, and Lin Qi explained the tactic to Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.