On the plane to Boston, under Delong's envious gaze, Sloan asked Lin Ying to sit next to him.

"Tomorrow's game will need you more than in the past."

Sloan was giving Lin Ying vaccinations in advance.

For an old guy like him, the sixth sense is usually very accurate.

"If you ask me to score 60 points, I won't just score 58 points."

Lin Ying said with a smile.

Since the last chat, he knew that Sloan was actually a person with a sense of humor.

Sure enough, Sloan couldn't help laughing after hearing this.

Delong sitting in the back row: What a difference between people!

“Have you ever heard of Boston’s floor game?”

The conversation started, and Sloan also chatted with Lin Ying about a new topic.

For a coach who has been coaching in the NBA for more than 20 years, there are countless topics about basketball.

Lin Ying shook his head, he had never heard of this.

"That's a very interesting story."

Sloan said with memories.

World War II brought many problems, including a shortage of lumber.

So at that time, the Celtics' home court used oak to support the floor, and the floor was made of small pieces spliced ​​together.

So Auerbach, the team's general manager at the time and also a league legend, came up with a brilliant idea and deliberately made some floors uneven.

Before the game starts, tell your team members which floor is problematic and where the offense should not be directed.

Then the visiting team players didn't know that when they were defending, they forced the Celtics toward that area. When they dribbled to that position, they would naturally lose the ball.

Either make a mistake or steal, and the Celtics can quickly gain the upper hand.

Although there were complaints from players, Auerbach had a huge influence in the league at the time and Stern turned a blind eye.

"Are they still like that?"

Lin Ying asked instinctively.

But after asking, he felt as if the answer was already there.

That existed because of Auerbach. Now that Auerbach's cigars have been extinguished, this tactic will certainly not be allowed to exist.

Sure enough, Sloan's answer confirmed this.

"In 1999, Boston held a retirement ceremony for those floors. More than 200 floors were auctioned off, some of which were seriously damaged. The rest are still in their arena. They will give them as gifts.

They feel they are worthy opponents."

"It's fun, and it's pretty good."

Lin Ying gave an evaluation.

In the NBA, there are many times when you praise your opponents, but it is indeed rare to give something directly like this.

It's like stamping a stamp of official approval.

"There were many stories from that time."

Sloan continued.

He talked about the Bulls again.

Back then, the Bulls had average interior strength, so they always liked to keep the basket very tight.

The direct result of this is that the basketball will always bounce farther and have more long backboards.

With long rebounds, Rodman and Pippen's abilities can be maximized.

Jordan himself admitted this back then.

Lin Ying listened very carefully. These NBA past stories were very exciting, but they also showed that in that era, due to imperfect rules, various loopholes and bugs were endless.

…

After the training on the match day, the players all went back to the locker room to take a shower and rest.

Most of the team members sat down and took off their shoes and clothes.

Butler acted fastest and entered the shower room first.

But soon there was a roaring sound coming from inside.

Under the puzzled looks of the team members, Butler quickly rushed out of the shower room.

It turns out there was no hot water.

It's already mid-November and I can't stand taking a shower without hot water.

A group of people stopped what they were doing one after another, and then Deron asked Claude to ask about the situation.

After a while, Claude came back and said that the hot water supply system in the visiting team's locker room was broken and was being repaired.

This is equivalent to saying that if they want to take a shower, they can only go back to the hotel where they are staying.

Think about it, it's winter and you're covered in sweat. If you wear this and go back to the hotel, you might catch a cold.

"This arena in Boston is too backward."

Butler was so cold that he couldn't help but complain.

"This is often the case in old arenas."

Joe Johnson said.

He has had quite a lot of experience.

Delong looked at Lin Ying at this time.

"Dry it with a towel and go back to the hotel to wash it."

Lin Ying nodded in response, then stood up and said.

Coming out of the locker room, Deron took Lin Ying to chat.

"Did they do this on purpose?"

On the plane ahead, Delong was sitting behind Sloan and Lin Ying, listening with his ears straight the whole time.

So it was natural for him to hear what Sloan said.

"Maybe, but luckily it's winter. If it's summer and they say the air conditioner in the locker room is broken, it would be worse than this."

Lin Ying said with a smile.

Delong was stunned for a moment, and then he also laughed.

Lin Ying's idea is quite optimistic.

However, it seems that this is all you can do. There seems to be nothing you can do about this kind of secret loss except adjusting your mentality.

"Win them by a few points is not a trivial matter."

However, Lin Ying's next move also made Delong react immediately.

Lin Ying is not optimistic, but has found the right way to deal with it.

If you mess with me secretly, I will kill you openly and tell you that those things are of no use.

…

The North Shore Garden Arena was fully booked that night.

Thanks to their long history and glorious past, Celtics fans are truly some of the most loyal fans in the league.

The team's recruitment of Howard this summer has made the enthusiasm of Green Army fans rise again.

As of now, the Celtics have a record of 6 wins and 1 loss, following the Nets and beating the Knicks to rank second in the Eastern Conference.

The second in the Eastern Conference beat the first in the Eastern Conference, and if they won, they would directly overtake the first place. Naturally, more attention will be paid to this game.

After the warm-up, the scene entered the opening ceremony, and the lineups of the two teams were announced one after another.

Nets: Deron, Joe Johnson, Lin Ying, Yi Jianlian, Chandler

Celtics: Rondo, Bradley, Pierce, Garnett, Howard

Before going on stage, he had to rub some magnesium powder on his hands at the technical stage, and Howard had a smile on his face when he did it.

That smile was so warm and innocent that everyone who saw it couldn't help but laugh happily.

Amid the cheers of the fans, Howard moved the ball back to the Celtics half, officially kicking off the game.

Rondo held the ball in the frontcourt. Howard mentioned a high pick-and-roll and moved to the basket halfway through the block. Rondo hit the ball through the seam and Howard caught the ball and jumped up directly against Yi Jianlian, who was assisting in defense.

"Bang!"
To be continued...