Recaps

The Celtics eliminated Reggie Miller’s Pacers, prepared for the Lakers, and took a 3-2 lead in the NBA Finals. Lin Qi’s defense and the growing rift between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal shaped the series, but he warned Doc Rivers that it was not over.

• Reggie Miller scored 42 points in Indiana’s Game 3 win, but Boston wore him down in the next two games and eliminated the Pacers four games to one.
• Lin Qi studied the Lakers and Trail Blazers, prepared Boston to contain Shaquille O'Neal, and watched the Lakers win Game 7 to advance to the Finals.
• The Celtics beat the Lakers 102-91 in Game 1, then won Game 2 by 93-74 after Eddie Jones’s shooting and Boston’s late run.
• O'Neal dominated Game 3 as the Lakers won 98-90, while Wang Zhizhi scored six points in his playoff appearance.
• Lin Qi encouraged media stories about Kobe Bryant and O'Neal competing for control, and the Lakers’ stars grew increasingly disconnected during Game 4, which Los Angeles won 94-91.
• Boston built a large lead in Game 5 as Kobe kept shooting instead of passing to O'Neal, then Ron Artest shut him down in the fourth quarter.
• The Celtics won Game 5 by 95-81 to take a 3-2 series lead, and Lin Qi cautioned Doc Rivers against celebrating before the Finals were over.

Lin Qi led Boston to a championship, then reshaped the roster and staff while exploiting trade opportunities and confronting the Lakers’ turmoil. He left Boston’s season preparations underway and moved to Rome to build Virtus Rome.

• Lin Qi provoked Kobe Bryant before Game 6, and Boston’s team defense overwhelmed the Lakers as the Celtics won the Finals 4-2.
• Lin Qi presented the championship trophy to Doc Rivers, and Kevin Garnett received Finals MVP while crediting his teammates and Lin Qi.
• Lin Qi arranged Dikembe Mutombo’s trade to Dallas for Shawn Bradley and three first-round picks, hired Rick Carlisle after Doc Rivers left, and accepted Eddie Jones’s trade request.
• Lin Qi traded Eddie Jones and Rashard Lewis to Sacramento for Corliss Williamson and draft assets, then sent Williamson to Toronto for Doug Christie.
• Lin Qi traded four first-round picks and Bradley to Detroit for Grant Hill, then selected Hedo Türkoğlu and Michael Redd in the draft.
• Lin Qi discovered the danger of Hill’s ankle injury, arranged an experimental rehabilitation plan, and secured two unprotected Detroit picks and a disabled player exception from the NBA.
• After Jerry West left the Lakers, Jerry Buss put Kobe on the trade market, and Kobe was traded to Chicago in a three-team deal while Jason Kidd and Shawn Marion went to Los Angeles.
• Lin Qi finalized Boston’s roster and staff plans, then traveled to Europe with Gherardini to acquire Virtus Rome and begin assembling its team.

Lin Qi built the EBA through major investments and recruited thirteen European clubs, then faced a crisis when Paul Pierce was stabbed and worked to support his recovery. Pierce returned to lead Boston through an undefeated start, while Grant Hill began to doubt whether the Celtics still needed him.

• Lin Qi recruited Claudio Totti, Miško Ražnatović, and Maurizio Gherardini to build Italian and Balkan basketball projects, acquire clubs, and establish the EBA with a costly plan for thirteen founding teams.
• The Celtics toured Europe undefeated, and thirteen clubs signed EBA founding memoranda before Gherardini announced the league in Milan as Lin Qi returned to Boston.
• Pierce, Artest, Türkoğlu, Redd, and Billups repeatedly broke Lin Qi’s nightclub curfew, and Pierce and Artest were stabbed during a fight at Buzz Club.
• Lin Qi rallied the Celtics around Pierce’s recovery, pursued charges against the attackers, and helped Pierce return to practice and accept his championship ring before promising to fight for Boston.
• Pierce overcame his fear when the Pistons double-teamed him and led the Celtics to a 103-83 win, then helped secure a victory over Eddie Jones and the Kings.
• Rick Carlisle refined Boston’s defensive system with Garnett, Ben Wallace, and Payton, while Grant Hill studied the game during his long rehabilitation.
• As the Celtics opened the season undefeated, Hill watched commentators question his place on the team and concluded that Boston did not need him.

Grant Hill regained a sense of purpose as Lin Qi built a performance-training program and pursued a new Celtics complex in Brighton. Boston beat the Lakers in a dramatic Christmas game, then lost its streak to Dallas and adjusted its rotation to protect its players, before sending five players to the All-Star Game.

• Hill feared that he no longer belonged on the Celtics, but Lin Qi showed him how his playmaking could complement Pierce and Garnett and agreed on a fourteen-month rehabilitation and shooting plan.
• Lin Qi recruited Mark Verstegen to assess Hill and develop an injury-prevention system for the Celtics, while Hill began corrective training for the imbalances caused by his injured ankle.
• Lin Qi pursued the abandoned Federal Industrial site in Brighton, offering to repay its debts, hire Patrick Finneran’s company, and provide affordable housing and a community center, and Celtics players also reached out to neighborhood families.
• The Celtics beat the Lakers 109-108 when Pierce hit a buzzer-beating three, and Shaquille O’Neal called him “the motherfucking truth,” giving him the nickname The Truth.
• The exhausted Celtics lost 108-91 to Dallas, ending their 27-game winning streak, and Ben Wallace’s knee buckled late in the game.
• Lin Qi challenged the coaches over Boston’s defensive weaknesses and starter minutes, then showed the team how Shaq had worn down Ben Wallace and ordered a rotation that prioritized health.
• Carlisle limited Garnett’s and Wallace’s minutes and expanded the roles of the reserves, and despite Garnett’s protests, Boston beat Cleveland 108-78 and continued the rotation experiment.
• Garnett, Pierce, Payton, Ben Wallace, and Rasheed Wallace were named All-Stars, while Kobe Bryant and Gregg Popovich prepared their teams to challenge Boston.