The Rest, Only Noise

Before the start of the new season, the Celtics played eight games, six of which were preseason games arranged by the league and two exhibition games that the team found themselves.

Prior to the new collective bargaining agreement, team revenue was not distributed equally within the league. Therefore, some teams make money, and some teams don't.

From this point of view, although Magic and Bird did not save the NBA after entering the league as in the legend, they themselves, as signs, brought a lot of sponsorships and advertisements to the team.

So it's no problem to say they saved their respective teams' finances.

If Magic didn't have the ability to attract money, Buss couldn't have given him the super contract that shook the sports world. The 25-year, 25 million contract not only attracted unanimous criticism from the public, but also ignited the contradictions within the Lakers.

Abdul-Jabbar couldn't accept that Magic was making so much money for a while, so he applied to the team for a trade, and ranted about Bass in the media. Fortunately, although Bass doesn't like Kareem, he also knows that if the team wants to remain competitive, it can't do without Kareem's help.

After a private meeting, Bass promised to give Kareem a raise, which kept him.

However, cracks have emerged, just like the Celtics, who have a unique book talent in the league, but since the preseason, the coaching staff has overturned the tactical system that Louis has made clear.

They no longer play L tactics, give up flexible pocket formations, cancel small pockets, no longer let Sampson roam around the paint area, and have to play mainstream restricted areas to grind meat, but they are more sophisticated in defensive positioning.

Louie's pocket formation was well received by four assistant coaches, who believed that this defensive formation would be a devastating blow to players such as Dr. J and Magic who were not good at shooting.

They don't seem to have seen the Eastern Conference finals last season, and they don't know that pockets are not enough.

In addition to the rebuilding of the offensive and defensive system, they had differences on the team's lineup and the allocation of playing time.

Isaiah Thomas wants to start, but Fitch thinks Archibald is more mature, so he ignores the fact that Thomas blasted Archibald in training and insists on letting the veteran start;

Then there is the starting selection between Laimbeer, Maxwell and Sampson.

Laimbeer and Maxwell both helped the team win the championship last season. After some debate, the coaching staff decided to let Sampson continue to play the sixth man.

However, the positioning of Sampson's court aroused the dissatisfaction of the second-year teenager.

In eight games, including exhibition games, the Celtics won all of them.

Bird hinted cryptically: "We're not playing as loosely as we used to be."

Louis looked at the situation inside the Celtics indifferently, and said nothing else.

Maxwell would complain to him, Ranbir would come to him every now and then, and Bird would ask him from time to time why he hadn't spoken in the discussion.

"There are so many old coaches, how can I interrupt as an amateur?"

He responded to Bird with this sentence.

On October 30, 1981, the defending champion Celtics' first game of the new season was at home against the Washington Bullets.

It stands to reason that with a high-traffic team like the Celtics, they have to arrange a good opponent in the opening game.

But that's a unique phenomenon in the Larry O'Brien-era NBA.

Although the NBA championship was renamed the O'Brien Cup in 1977 in honor of O'Brien's exploits (new broadcast contracts, annexation of the ABA, restricted free agency, and the 1977 Finals had the highest ratings of that period) , but he is not a good president.

He always seemed rigid and indifferent, and he was uneasy about the NBA's publicity. He even thought that the All-Star Weekend was an unnecessary activity that wasted money.

He doesn't even care about the All-Star weekend. How can he design the Celtics to touch the strong teams such as the 76ers, the Lakers and the Bucks on the schedule?

So Washington was hit hard.

The Celtics were insane, knocking out the Bullets with 40 points in a single quarter.

Although the team overthrew Louis' offensive and defensive system, the overall strength of the Bullets is too strong, and they can win without a system.

Louie noticed that Bullets starter Rick Mahon, an icon of the Bad Boys, was one of the only two players in the Bullets' starter who was a human.

This is an inevitable carnage, and the Bullets will be blown up.

The crowd was cheering, shouting, and whistling from the garden when Sampson and Isiah Thomas came on stage.

Thomas continued to have a protective and heart-warming smile on his face. Louie didn't care much about his debut. He just wanted to record the card performances of Sampson and Rick Mahone.

In the first duel, Sampson won the card position with talent.

The second time, Sampson didn't win, but he jumped too high and Mahon was careless.

For the third time, Sampson lost a defensive rebound.

The fourth time, he still didn't have enough card position awareness.

The fifth time, Louis finally saw the card position skill, but it was not enough.

Louie, like a tech statistician, recorded Sampson's successes and failures in every slot.

And for those cards that failed, he would remember the reason for the failure.

The Smile Assassin made an impeccable debut. After 25 minutes off the bench, he broke through Washington's defense and scored 24 points and 8 assists. He had many wonderful cooperation with Sampson.

"Boston's lineup is so extravagant that if they can give Ralph and Isiah the peace of mind to grow on the second unit, I can't think of a team that can beat them!"

"They can win 82 wins!"

The Celtics' debut was so impressive that one believed they wouldn't lose a game.

Then they hit a stubble, the Bucks who won 60 games last season. You know, the 76ers who let them take off a layer of skin in the Eastern Conference finals also played seven games with the Bucks before they made it difficult to advance.

"I will treat every game as 'Saturday Night Live'." Bill Fitch played his one-liner before the game, "I hope you can call the Celtics game 'Boston Night Live' in the future. Or Green Bloods Night Live."

Fitch's sense of humor is unforgettable, but the direction of the game has disappointed all fans.

The Bucks overwhelmed the Celtics from the start.

Sidney Moncrief's defense surprised Louie. There was not a single steal or block in the whole game, but he was everywhere, guarding John Long, and helping Bird missed many shots and caused several shots. Offensive foul by Maxwell.

It's a great defender who doesn't show up on the stats.

The 76ers lost, the only bright spot was Sampson's 25 points, 14 rebounds and 4 blocks to suppress Lanier.

"We're not the same as we used to be," Bird complained openly. "We played stiff games."

And this was only their first defeat.

Some wondered how they were different, but Bird didn't say.

The Milwaukee Daily News ran an insulting headline "Last night's game was called 'The Bucks Cannibalize'."

Louie saw the Celtics ascend to the top, the unanimous unity in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, and the awakening after being irritated by Malone's remarks before Game 5 of the finals. It was indeed a perfect team.

A few months later, in order to maintain his status, the players had their own interests. The Celtics, who should have been invincible on paper, played like they were before winning the championship.

Dominant and a favorite for the championship, Sampson and the Smiling Assassin brought a surprise no less than the original Bird.

The problem is, the Celtics have not found the right tactical system to allow them to perform their duties.

On the contrary, the distribution of positions, the distribution of playing time, the strict military training on weekdays, and Fitch's increasingly serious video replay addiction are killing the Celtics' poor chemistry.

In mid-November, the Celtics lost three games.

Every night, Fitch could hear the players complaining.

He had asked Louie for advice on how to position players.

This time, Louis would not give him any advice, he would just say like a layman: "Wouldn't it be nice to meet their demands?"

If their requirements are so well satisfied, Fitch won't be bothered.

No matter how Fitch asked, Louie's answer was disappointing.

Fitch gradually realized that he could no longer get help from Louie.

"Looks like I'll have to find another way." Fitch said with a complicated expression.

"Yeah, because I'm too young." Louie's face was calm and his tone was light, "There are so many assistant coaches in the team, they must be able to come up with a better way."

He can understand Fitch's actions, but that doesn't mean he can forgive Fitch's actions.

Come on call, swipe away, the credit is all yours, and then turn your face and don't recognize anyone? When Lao Tzu is a cousin, it will not break the defense and recover.

Fitch saw a fleeting sneer on Louie's face.

"I still have something to do with Danny, you can do it."

After saying that, Louis turned around and left.