Chapter Summaries

Dana Barros returned to Boston and led the Philadelphia 76ers to a victory over Lin Qi’s Celtics, proving himself as a star while confronting Lin Qi about trading him away. Lin Qi acknowledged his guilt and left reflecting on the limits and consequences of reshaping another person’s fate.

• Dana Barros scored freely against the Celtics, repeatedly stopping their comebacks and leading Philadelphia to a road win.
• Lin Qi urged the Celtics to learn from the loss and remember how Barros had outplayed them.
• In the players’ tunnel, Barros asked Lin Qi why he had traded him despite knowing he could become a star.
• Lin Qi told Barros he believed he deserved a chance to lead a team, and Barros left still promising to beat the Celtics again.
• Lin Qi reflected that he had changed Barros’s path but could not control his talent, destiny, or the hurt his decision had caused.

The Celtics faced the Rockets in Houston, where Garnett challenged Hakeem Olajuwon but struggled against his strength and Dream Shake. After Olajuwon scored on him with a fake, he calmly advised Garnett not to jump first.

• Before the game, Cassell warned Garnett about Olajuwon and urged him to hold his ground.
• Garnett opened aggressively with two blocks and a fast-break dunk, but Olajuwon’s physical play drew two fouls and sent him to the bench.
• Garnett returned in the second quarter as the Celtics trailed by nine and guarded Olajuwon in the low post.
• Olajuwon used a shoulder fake and pivot to make Garnett jump, then banked in a shot.
• Olajuwon told Garnett, “Don’t jump first,” leaving the young defender with a lesson he knew was right.

Kevin Garnett struggled against Hakeem Olajuwon, who calmly dissected his defense and exposed his immaturity. After the Celtics lost, Garnett began turning the humiliation into resolve as the team headed for San Antonio.

• Garnett challenged Olajuwon to another post-up, but Olajuwon methodically tested his lateral movement and scored with a spin move.
• Olajuwon told Garnett, “I’m a man,” leaving the nineteen-year-old speechless and forcing him to recognize how inexperienced he was.
• During the timeout, Lin Qi urged Garnett to become the kind of superstar opponents could not stop even when they knew what he would do.
• The Rockets beat the Celtics, and Garnett scored eleven points, then kept practicing Olajuwon’s spin and repeating “lateral movement” in the locker room.
• Olajuwon praised Garnett to Sam Cassell as tough to handle, and Garnett grinned when Cassell passed along the remark.
• On the bus, Garnett admitted to Lin Qi how deeply Olajuwon’s words had hurt him, while Lin Qi watched him turn the shame into resolve for the next stop in San Antonio.

Lin Qi and the Celtics traveled to San Antonio, where Garnett struggled against David Robinson and Boston lost to the Spurs. Lin Qi watched Robinson with the knowledge that a coming injury would shape the Spurs’ future and his own draft-pick plans, but he privately hoped he had remembered wrong.

• Lin Qi recalled trading for San Antonio’s top-three-protected 1997 first-round pick and anticipated that Robinson’s coming injury could send the Spurs toward a disastrous season and the draft lottery.
• At the Alamodome, Garnett tried to unsettle Robinson with trash talk, but Robinson scored calmly and shut down his attempts in the paint.
• Robinson blocked Garnett during the third quarter, then helped him up and warned him to play more carefully.
• The Celtics lost to the Spurs, and Garnett admitted in the locker room that Robinson was unlike anyone he had faced before.
• Lin Qi saw Robinson kindly greeting arena cleaners and signing autographs, then silently hoped the injury he expected would never happen.

After a bruising road trip left Kevin Garnett shaken, Lin Qi and Rick Adelman devised a perimeter-based tactic to exploit Horace Grant and the Orlando Magic. Lin Qi encouraged Garnett to embrace his unique abilities, and the Celtics arrived in Florida ready to test their new approach.

• Lin Qi watched Garnett struggle through shuttle drills and told Rick Adelman to move him to starting power forward rather than rest him.
• Lin Qi outlined a two-phase plan to draw Grant away from the paint with Garnett’s threes, then let Garnett drive when Grant closed out.
• Adelman expanded the idea into a play using Sam Cassell, Johnson, and Jones to create mismatches and open lanes against the Magic.
• On the flight east, Garnett admitted he felt far behind Malone, Olajuwon, and Robinson, but Lin Qi urged him to build on his own height, speed, and court vision.
• Lin Qi gave Garnett the finished tactical diagram and told him to use his daily three-point practice against Orlando, reigniting Garnett’s ambition.
• The Celtics landed in Florida, while Shaquille O’Neal remained unaware of the new threat awaiting him.

The Celtics used a new tactic to exploit Shaquille O’Neal and Horace Grant’s interior defense, giving Kevin Garnett open three-point shots. Garnett made two in a row and then blocked Grant’s post-up shot, leaving Boston with momentum against Orlando.

• Before the game, Lin Qi urged Garnett to patiently execute their plan and use the three-point shot he had practiced.
• The Celtics opened with Sam Cassell, Eddie Jones, Willie Anderson, Kevin Garnett, and Magic Johnson, and Garnett made an open three after Orlando collapsed on Cassell’s drive.
• After Shaquille O’Neal answered with a one-handed dunk, Garnett made another open three when Grant again sagged to help inside.
• Grant backed Garnett down in the post, but Garnett timed his jump and blocked Grant’s hook shot, securing the ball with one hand.

Kevin Garnett provoked Horace Grant into losing his composure, then attacked the Magic’s defense after the timeout. The chapter ended with Garnett evading Grant and Shaquille O'Neal to score a high floater.

• Garnett blocked Grant’s shot, then passed ahead to Eddie Jones for a fast-break dunk that gave the Celtics an 8-2 lead.
• Garnett taunted Grant until Grant shoved him, but Sam Mitchell held Grant back before the confrontation escalated.
• Lin Qi told Garnett not to take things too far, and Garnett said he wanted to break the Magic’s defense rather than get suspended.
• After the timeout, Grant lunged at Garnett beyond the three-point line, and Garnett slipped past him toward the basket.
• Garnett floated the ball over O'Neal’s outstretched hand, and it dropped through the net.

The Boston Celtics narrowly defeated the Orlando Magic after Kevin Garnett adapted from scoring to playmaking and helped stop Shaquille O'Neal's final shot. The win broke Garnett's rookie-wall slump and restored his confidence, though Lin Qi knew opponents would soon adjust to the team's surprise tactics.

• O'Neal and Penny Hardaway led the Magic's second-quarter comeback with forceful post play and perimeter scoring.
• After halftime, Grant guarded Garnett more tightly, while Garnett responded by passing, driving, and finding other ways to help the Celtics score.
• The teams stayed close in the fourth quarter as Garnett, Sam Cassell, Jones, and Radja helped the Celtics match the Magic.
• In the final seconds, Garnett double-teamed O'Neal and helped Johnson secure the rebound, preserving the Celtics' one-point lead.
• Garnett finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks, and Lin Qi watched him regain his confidence in the locker room.

After Kevin Garnett’s breakout game drew national praise, Lin Qi and Rick Adelman decided that starting him would hurt the Celtics’ winning formula and limit his development. Lin made Garnett the centerpiece of a newly empowered second unit and challenged him to earn a starting spot by beating the starters in a scrimmage, setting the team up for an intense internal rivalry.

• Lin Qi asked Rick Adelman what would happen if Garnett remained in the starting lineup, and Adelman argued that the rookie was not ready to replace the established big men.
• Lin Qi announced that Garnett would leave the starting lineup and told the reserves they would become a second unit with their own plays and a meaningful role.
• Lin Qi made Garnett the second unit’s centerpiece and required the team to run every possession through him.
• Lin Qi told Garnett he would earn a starting spot if his second unit beat the starters in a scrimmage.
• Garnett challenged Cassell and the other starters, while Cassell and Radja dared him to prove himself on the court.

During two intrasquad scrimmages, Kevin Garnett learned to direct the second unit rather than force every play himself, though the veteran starters still beat them both times. Lin Qi watched Garnett’s growth and planned to help him reclaim a championship for the Boston Celtics once his ability matched his ambition.

• The starters crushed Garnett’s second unit 32–14, but Garnett demanded another scrimmage.
• Eddie Jones intercepted Garnett’s predictable pass for a dunk, and Dino Radja stripped the ball from him in the post as the second unit fell behind again.
• When the starters trapped him, Garnett passed to Wesley Person for an open three and realized his role was to command the offense, not take every shot.
• Garnett organized screens and passes that brought the second unit back within two points, but the starters countered with a precise play and Ervin Johnson scored beneath the basket.
• Garnett nearly stopped the starters’ final pick-and-roll, but Radja passed to Jones for the winning three, leaving the second unit with its second loss.
• Adelman praised Garnett’s transformation, while Lin Qi said Garnett still needed to grow before he could help the Boston Celtics reclaim a crown and build a dynasty.

Kevin Garnett faced his childhood idol Charles Barkley as the Phoenix Suns visited Boston, and Barkley overwhelmed the rookie with relentless rebounding, defense, and trash talk. After the loss, Garnett understood Barkley’s fierce effort as recognition and vowed to treat every game like a war.

• Garnett approached Barkley before the game to tell him he had idolized him, but Barkley answered with a dismissive grunt.
• Barkley repeatedly used his strength and positioning to take rebounds from the much taller Garnett and warned him to protect his face.
• Barkley dominated Garnett throughout the game, limiting him to four points while recording eighteen points and eleven rebounds as Boston lost.
• Garnett told Sam Cassell that Barkley had taken him seriously instead of treating him like an insignificant rookie.
• Garnett thanked Barkley in the tunnel for playing him seriously, and Barkley told him not to idolize him or expect him to guide his life.
• Garnett vowed that from then on he would step onto the court ready to wage war and fight as if he were ready to die.

The Celtics studied the 33-3 Chicago Bulls ahead of their upcoming game and realized the scale of the challenge posed by their offense and switching defense. Lin Qi recognized that Dennis Rodman, whom he had traded to Chicago, was the defense’s missing piece, but he hoped the Bulls would become a test that helped Kevin Garnett and the young Celtics grow.

• As Boston prepared for Chicago’s visit, Celtics players traded anxious stories about the Bulls, while Kevin Garnett silently watched footage of their games and was unsettled by Dennis Rodman.
• The next day, Adelman showed the team the Bulls’ Triangle Offense, Michael Jordan’s post-up fadeaway, and their versatile switching defense.
• Garnett recognized the Bulls’ defense as an advanced version of the Celtics’ experimental Death Lineup, and Adelman confirmed that Chicago had perfected the approach.
• Lin Qi watched Rodman on tape and realized that the player he had traded to the Bulls had become the final piece of their historically dominant defense.
• Lin Qi regretted helping Jordan’s Bulls toward a possible seventy-two-win season, but decided that facing them could push Garnett and the Celtics to reach higher.

Lin Qi devised a plan for Boston to challenge the Chicago Bulls by switching on defense, disrupting their passing, and exploiting Radja on offense. After two days of preparation, he studied the Bulls again and ended the night watching a lone player practice, wondering if a miracle could happen.

• Lin Qi rejected the idea that the Bulls were unbeatable because of their strength at every position and proposed countering them with defensive switches.
• Lin Qi assigned Jones, Finley, Anderson, and Outlaw to wear down Jordan, while Garnett and Brown would disrupt passing lanes and Johnson and Brown would box out Dennis Rodman.
• Lin Qi and Adelman identified Radja as a key to Boston's offense and prepared a detailed plan against the Bulls.
• Boston's players spent two days practicing against a simulated Triangle Offense, and the defensive unit repeatedly shut it down.
• Lin Qi watched footage of Jordan, Pippen, and Dennis Rodman overcoming the kinds of tactics Boston planned to use.
• Lin Qi saw a tall, thin figure practicing alone in the gym and wondered whether a miracle could happen.

The Celtics surprised the 33-3 Chicago Bulls with aggressive defense and a barrage of baskets, taking an eight-point lead into halftime. As the teams headed to the locker rooms, Dennis Rodman warned Kevin Garnett that the Bulls would take over in the second half, leaving Garnett rattled and Lin Qi concerned.

• The Celtics opened against the Bulls with Sam Cassell, Eddie Jones, Willie Anderson, Dino Radja, and Magic Johnson, and they led 28-24 after the first quarter.
• Radja drew Longley away from the basket, and Garnett and Jones sparked a fast break that ended with Garnett dunking over the Bulls.
• Lin Qi and Adelman sent Wesley, Person, and Murray onto the court, and their three-pointers helped Boston build a double-digit lead.
• Jordan scored and stole the ball on consecutive possessions, cutting into the Celtics' momentum before Boston reached halftime ahead 54-46.
• Rodman walked beside Garnett toward the tunnel and warned him that the Bulls would take over in the second half, leaving Garnett shaken as Lin Qi watched.

The Bulls dismantled Boston’s lead in the third quarter with relentless pressure and Jordan and Pippen’s isolation scoring, taking a seven-point advantage. Lin Qi rallied the Celtics before the final quarter, where Garnett faced Rodman in a fierce physical showdown.

• Harper’s full-court pressure and Rodman’s rebounding helped the Bulls cut Boston’s lead as Jordan scored against Jones.
• Lin Qi sent out a five-player switching lineup, but Jordan and Pippen beat it with individual attacks.
• The Bulls forced turnovers and controlled the rebounds, outscoring the Celtics 25-10 to lead 71-64 after three quarters.
• Lin Qi urged the Celtics to keep fighting, reminding them that they remained within seven points despite the Bulls’ strongest surge.
• Garnett took the floor for the fourth quarter and collided with Rodman, trading threats as their battle intensified.

The Celtics erased a seven-point deficit and took a late lead against the Bulls, but Michael Jordan’s last-second fadeaway gave Chicago a 91-90 win. In the locker room, Lin Qi urged the young Celtics to remember the loss and use it to pursue a game-winner of their own.

• Thibodeau and Lin Qi rallied the Celtics to pressure the Bulls, and Garnett, Finley, Person, and Jones sparked a fourth-quarter comeback.
• With twenty seconds remaining, Sam Cassell hit a jumper to give the Celtics a 90-89 lead.
• Jordan scored a fadeaway over Eddie Jones and Garnett at the buzzer, handing the Celtics a one-point home defeat.
• Lin Qi told the Celtics that Jordan’s shot, rather than Chicago’s system, had decided the game and urged them to learn from the loss.
• Garnett raised his head as Lin Qi challenged the team to keep playing until one of them could make a game-winner.

After the Celtics’ loss to the Bulls, Lin Qi met struggling actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and learned Castle Rock had shelved their Boston screenplay. He offered to finance buying the screenplay back, leaving them to bring their contracts and legal papers to his office the next morning.

• After the Celtics lost to the Bulls, Lin Qi spotted Matt Damon and Ben Affleck struggling to reach the team through the crowd.
• Lin Qi had security bring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck inside, where Kevin Garnett signed their cap and jacket and promised to beat the Bulls next time.
• Lin Qi asked Matt Damon and Ben Affleck about their work, and they explained they were broke actors who had written a Boston-set screenplay.
• Ben Affleck and Matt Damon said Castle Rock Entertainment had paid them six hundred thousand dollars for the screenplay but shelved it and wanted other actors for the lead roles.
• Lin Qi told Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to bring their Castle Rock contracts, screenplay, and legal correspondence to his office the next morning, offering to fund the screenplay’s return.

Lin Qi borrowed against his data company to secure the Good Will Hunting screenplay and assemble its cast, then used Robin Williams’s commitment and overseas presales to obtain production financing. He repaid the risky loan and freed the company’s shares, leaving the film funded and its writers ready to rewrite the script.

• Lin Qi borrowed $1.8 million from the Bank of Boston using his company shares and contracts as collateral, then paid $1 million toward the screenplay transfer and set aside the rest for the film.
• Lin Qi told Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to rewrite the script until Robin Williams would meet with them, and offered Mark Wahlberg a supporting role and a sportswear endorsement deal.
• Lin Qi persuaded Robin Williams to read the screenplay, and Robin praised it and signed on for a $5 million fee with performance-based shares capped at $20 million.
• Fox Searchlight Pictures showed interest in North American distribution, overseas presales brought $12 million in prospective guarantees, and the bank approved an $8.5 million production loan facility.
• Lin Qi repaid the $1.8 million loan, released his company shares and contracts from their pledges, and told Matt, Ben, and Mark that the script and funding were ready.

After a string of narrow losses earned Boston the nickname “Misters Almost,” Lin Qi saw the toll the schedule and repeated failures were taking on his team, especially Garnett. Alone in his office, he reviewed the losses and suspected that bad luck and a packed schedule did not explain everything.

• Dale Davis anticipated Boston’s late play against the Indiana Pacers, stole Sam Cassell’s pass, and Reggie Miller won the game with two free throws.
• Larry Johnson fouled Garnett unseen as he went up for a game-winning rebound against the Charlotte Hornets, and Garnett lost the ball.
• Person’s potential game-winner against the Atlanta Hawks rolled off the rim, extending Boston’s string of near-victories.
• Boston’s media and fans mocked the team as the “Misters Almost,” while the losing streak deepened the gloom in the locker room.
• Lin Qi found Garnett struggling with a painful lower-back spasm, and the team doctor said he needed rest and stronger core muscles.
• Lin Qi reviewed recordings of the losses alone and questioned whether the schedule and bad luck were the whole explanation.

The Celtics’ late-game collapse against Minnesota exposed how exhaustion and fear of taking responsibility had undermined Rick Adelman’s offense. After Sam Cassell confronted Garnett and the team, Lin Qi recognized the problem and was left to decide how to address it.

• The Celtics squandered a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter and lost after a 24-second violation and Minnesota’s last-second jumper.
• Sam Cassell accused Garnett of passing away the ball in the final possession instead of attacking, while Mitchell defended Garnett and the team’s execution of the coach’s system.
• Cassell condemned the exhausted Celtics for hiding behind Rick Adelman’s passing tactics and warned he would go one-on-one in crunch time if the pattern continued.
• Cassell told Lin Qi he needed to find a solution, and Lin Qi concluded that the team’s pass-first approach had become an escape from taking responsibility.