Recaps

Lin Qi reshaped the Celtics by disciplining Artest and Jackson, developing young talent, and steering Boston through a hard-fought season and a landmark win over the Lakers. The arc ended with the Celtics preparing a hidden playoff lineup as Patrick secured a path to take control of the Suns.

• After Kirilenko excelled against Toronto, Lin Qi suspended Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson indefinitely and made Kirilenko the starting small forward, while Carlisle assigned the suspended players punishing drills.
• Lin Qi showed Artest and Jackson how their defense and poor shooting hurt the team, assigned them shooting work and therapy with Dr. George Mumford, and watched them begin practicing together.
• Raja Bell helped Boston beat Ray Allen and the Celtics went on to win three of four games, while Artest and Jackson grew concerned as they watched Bell and their teammates endure the defensive burden.
• Lin Qi met Dwyane Wade and his pregnant fiancée, Siohvaughn, warned Wade about his knee, and arranged medical care before persuading him to accept money that made him ineligible under NCAA rules and declare for the 2002 draft.
• Lin Qi asked Beth to marry him, then spent Christmas Eve with her as she neared her due date and imagined their child becoming a basketball player.
• The Celtics ran past the Lakers on Christmas Day, beating them 111-101 as Gerald Wallace scored 21 points and Garnett recorded 18 points and 16 rebounds, but Wallace later struggled against opponents prepared for his fast breaks.
• Wade returned Lin Qi’s money and chose to finish the season with weekly MRIs and limited minutes before entering the draft, while Artest and Jackson returned to Boston in bench roles after their suspensions ended.
• Boston’s players earned All-Star selections, and Kobe Bryant led the East to a 125-118 win over the West by scoring 31 points and winning MVP after dueling Michael Jordan.
• Carlisle showed Lin Qi a versatile practice lineup featuring Payton, Pierce, Hill, Garnett, and Rasheed Wallace, and Lin Qi told him to keep it secret for the playoffs against Los Angeles.
• Beth told Lin Qi that Patrick had bought 49% of the Suns and secured the right to purchase Jerry Colangelo’s remaining shares in 2004, giving him a route to control the team.

Lin Qi helped Wang Jialian pursue the Nets, welcomed his twin sons, and guided Boston through the Eastern Conference playoffs. Boston swept its way to the Finals and crushed the Lakers in Game 1, while Phil Jackson rejected Jason Kidd’s proposal to change their approach for Game 2.

• Lin Qi recruited Charles Wang as a prospective Nets owner, arranged league and real-estate support for his bid, and promised to help him acquire the team.
• Lin Qi and Beth welcomed twin sons, named them Benjamin Finneran Lynch and Jonathan Finneran Lynch, and gave them the Chinese names Lin Mingjie and Lin Senna.
• Lin Qi and Rick Carlisle finalized Boston’s twelve-man playoff roster, keeping Artest active and Kirilenko inactive, then planned to use the deep rotation against the Lakers.
• Boston swept Charlotte and Toronto, then swept Doc Rivers’s Orlando Magic to reach the NBA Finals.
• Lin Qi publicized concerns about the Lakers’ favorable officiating, and David Stern instructed the referees to enforce consistent standards as the Finals began.
• Boston used Gary Payton, Ron Artest, and its fresh reserves to wear down the Lakers, then won Game 1 by 110-85.
• Jason Kidd proposed resting the Lakers’ veterans and using a different lineup for Game 2, but Jordan rejected the plan and Phil Jackson kept the team’s system unchanged.

Boston defeated the Lakers in seven games to win a fourth straight championship, but David Stern’s ultimatum forced Lin Qi to prepare to dismantle the Celtics. Lin Qi began arranging trades for Gary Payton and Grant Hill while seeking future leverage over Seattle and Phoenix.

• Grant Hill’s scoring run helped Boston defeat the Lakers 98-82 in Game 2, and the Celtics took a 2-0 Finals lead.
• Jordan and Kidd changed the Lakers’ approach, helping Los Angeles win Games 3 and 4 and tie the series 2-2.
• Jordan’s injured knee did not stop him from making key free throws as the Lakers won Game 5, but Boston dominated Game 6 to force a deciding game.
• Jordan and the Lakers tied Game 7 in the final seconds, but Barkley’s shot counted for two, and Grant Hill led Boston to an overtime win and the championship.
• David Stern named Hill Finals MVP, then warned Lin Qi that the league could punish him unless he weakened Boston, and Lin Qi told the Celtics that their roster would have to be broken up.
• Gary Payton asked Lin Qi to trade him to Seattle, and Lin Qi proposed sending Payton, Stephen Jackson, and the ninth pick to the SuperSonics for Vin Baker’s contract and future unprotected first-round picks.
• Lin Qi offered Phoenix Grant Hill and agreed to take Anfernee Hardaway’s contract in exchange for the Suns’ future unprotected first-round picks, and Jerry Colangelo accepted.

Lin Qi rebuilt Boston’s roster before his suspension, then expanded his plans through European and Chinese basketball projects and a film about the Celtics. While scouting from outside NBA arenas, he rejected LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony as poor fits for Boston and continued pursuing future talent.

• Wang Jialian bought the Nets and appointed Mark Roberts, while Lin Qi directed a series of trades that brought Elton Brand, Andre Miller, Joe Johnson, and draft assets to New Jersey.
• Lin Qi guided Boston through the 2002 draft, where the Celtics selected Dwyane Wade, Tayshaun Prince, Luis Scola, and Boris Diaw, then arranged their development and coaching plans.
• David Stern fined and suspended Lin Qi, who put Margaret in charge of Boston’s basketball operations and finalized the roster before his ban began.
• Lin Qi arranged to buy Panathinaikos’s sports-club license and directed Maurizio Gherardini to expand European arenas and youth programs, including a basketball network in China.
• Lin Qi watched LeBron James at an AAU event and decided his style would not fit Boston’s system, then developed a film project about the Celtics with Aaron Sorkin and David Fincher.
• Lin Qi secured Keanu Reeves and Brad Pitt for the film and approved a two-movie plan, then returned to scouting as the NBA and NCAA seasons approached.
• Lin Qi followed Jerry Krause’s rebuilding moves around Kobe Bryant and concluded that the Bulls had become a defined team with Kobe at its center.
• Lin Qi scouted Carmelo Anthony at Syracuse, decided Boston did not need him, and left to scout Chris Bosh in Atlanta.