It's so hard.

It's really hard.

Duncan, standing on his increasingly heavy knees at the North岸花园球馆 (North Shore Garden Arena), sweat constantly streaming down his cheeks...

During this Game 3, he had countless thoughts of giving up.

59 to 41.

At halftime, the score between the Raptors and the Celtics felt like a crushing weight on the 23-year-old Duncan.

In basketball, an 18-point deficit isn't insurmountable.

But if you were a member of the Celtics tonight, you'd understand just how desperate the players felt.

In the Celtics' locker room, during halftime, even the "hot-headed young man" Marbury didn't have the heart to listen to rap music to relax.

Because all he could replay in his mind were the scenes of Steve Nash hitting those unreasonable three-pointers in his face.

And as for the Celtics' outside firepower guarantee...

Ray Allen, who had seemingly disappeared in these two and a half games, covered his head with a towel.

Dejected and dispirited.

Incompetent and furious.

"Tim, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Just as the Celtics players were all closing themselves off, the 82-year-old Auerbach, with his trademark smile and an unlit cigar in his mouth, sat down next to Duncan.

"Yeah."

Duncan nodded.

"So, it seems that only this old geezer still believes we can turn things around?"

Looking at Duncan's eyes, which were gradually losing their light, Auerbach asked calmly.

Hearing the "Red Auerbach's" words, Duncan was stunned.

"Tim, the NBA is like a marathon. Being in the lead at one point doesn't mean anything.

Only when you reach the finish line will you know if you've defeated this era and the players of your time.

If you lose this season, then win it back next season.

If you can't win it back next season, then strive for it the season after that."

Patting Duncan's shoulder, Auerbach said earnestly.

"Of course, I'm not trying to comfort you in advance.

Because in my opinion, as long as you don't give up in a basketball game, the suspense will always remain." After a pause, Auerbach continued to say to Duncan.

After a long silence, Duncan said seriously to Auerbach:

"But... even if we master gravity and acceleration, we still don't seem to have a solution for monsters like Su and Vince."

Pfft!

Listening to Duncan's classic cold joke, Auerbach knew that this kid's ability to adjust himself was far beyond his imagination.

"So, Tim, we have to solve this battle with basketball."

Looking at Duncan, who was gradually recovering from despair, Auerbach said.

"Then... how will basketball answer this question?" Duncan asked.

"First, Tim, think back to how the Raptors pulled away the score," Auerbach said.

"Uh...

Su made an unreasonable three-pointer in front of Bruce." After thinking for a while, Duncan replied.

"And what about us?" Auerbach asked.

"Us...

We are trying our best to run the tactics you arranged.

But Ray... continued his poor performance in this series," Duncan continued.

At this moment, Ray Allen and Bowen, who happened to be going to get bananas, almost fell in the locker room after hearing Duncan and Auerbach's conversation.

Seriously, if they didn't know that Duncan wasn't the kind of leader who would pass the buck...

Then Ray Allen and Bowen would definitely have stepped forward to reason with Duncan.

"Back to the point, it should be our defense, right?" Auerbach continued to ask.

"Yes... we defended very well this time.

Vince's... Vince's shooting motion was a little deformed, and his three-pointer didn't hit," Duncan replied.

"But..."

"But what?"

"But Su successfully grabbed the offensive rebound."

"And then?"

"Steve hit another three-pointer from the outside."

"That's terrible."

"Yes... because in this way, even if we score on the next offense, we can only watch the score widen..."

A widening score difference?

With Auerbach's constant reminders, Duncan felt that he had found the key to the problem.

"I admit that because of some personal reasons, I made a mistake in judging the situation of this game.

But Tim, even the most accurate three-point shooter can't guarantee a 100% hit rate," Auerbach then reminded Duncan.

After nodding, Duncan knew what he should do next.

In this Eastern Conference Finals, because he wanted to carry the team on his shoulders too much, Duncan put more of his energy into one-on-one plays.

And although in one-on-one plays, Duncan completely crushed Da Ben, but as Kenny Smith predicted before the start of this Eastern Conference Finals...

Being crushed by Da Ben didn't actually mean much loss for the Raptors.

Because, despite being crushed, Da Ben was not ambiguous at all in terms of rebounding.

In simple terms, in Auerbach's view, Duncan had not fully发挥 (fā huī - brought his ability into full play) his strength in this Eastern Conference Finals.

Take Su Feng as an example.

Why has Su Feng been able to convince a bunch of opponents in this year's playoffs?

Because Su Feng's highlights are not just as simple as making one or two miracle shots in the game.

Defense, movement, spacing...

In these details that cannot be described with technical statistics, Su Feng has been silently supporting the entire Raptors.

In fact...

No one knows better than Auerbach that after the first half of tonight's game, the Celtics' chances of being eliminated by the Raptors are as high as 99%.

But, just like Auerbach just said to Duncan.

In the NBA, temporary success or failure cannot determine anything.

Because in the future, when people "draw conclusions," they will not only look at your performance in a certain season.

So, rather than saying that Auerbach still believes that the Celtics can turn the game around, it is better to say that Auerbach wants to guide Duncan to a higher level through this chat with Duncan.

Under Auerbach's inspiration, Duncan can be regarded as finding the right way to open this Eastern Conference Finals.

In Su Feng's previous life, many people only remembered Duncan's baldness of someone.

But they forgot that this guy had left a terrifying record of 26000+ points, 15000+ rebounds, 4000+ assists, 3000+ blocks, and 1000+ steals in the NBA.

In fact, Duncan is much more comprehensive than the world thinks.

He doesn't have the beast-like divine power of O'Neal.

He doesn't have the explosive power of Jordan, who can turn on the switch at any time and take you away.

But, for a team, it is indeed a happy thing to have a cornerstone like Duncan.

Pick-and-roll, defense, rebounds.

In the third quarter, Duncan became the most handsome guy in the North岸花园球馆 (North Shore Garden Arena).

On the court, the Celtics began to chase points.

The Duncan at his peak had a help defense area that could cover up to the three-point line.

Therefore, the Celtics' outside players found that as long as Duncan was standing behind them, even if they lost their position in defense, this defense would not be a disaster.

And Duncan, who was willing to be a supporting role for his teammates, also helped Ray Allen win the right to breathe in the third quarter through his extremely high-quality screen.

After all, no matter how strong Su Feng's ability to绕挡 (rào dǎng - navigate around screens) is, he can't bypass Duncan every time.

And although the Raptors can limit the Celtics' pick-and-roll through switching defenses, for a shooter like Ray Allen, as long as you can win him about 0.4 seconds, he can complete a smooth shot.

As for rebounds...

With the Celtics loosening the rim tonight, I have to say that grabbing rebounds really requires luck.

And maybe the goddess of luck heard Duncan's prayer...

Anyway, in the second half of the game, Duncan's big hands seemed to have an attraction to the rebounds.

So, 68 to 54, 68 to 57, 70 to 59, 74 to 64...

At the end of the third quarter, the deafening cheers that echoed throughout the originally desperate North岸花园球馆 (North Shore Garden Arena) once again.

80 to 73.

The Celtics actually stubbornly chased up!

Before the start of the fourth quarter, during the intermission, watching this tenacious Celtics team, Su Feng always felt as if he saw himself in the past.

Su Feng, who had experience with the Black Eight Bulls, knew very well that as long as the Celtics did not give up, no matter how much the Raptors led in this series, the suspense would always be maintained.

Moreover, just like the Pacers woke up the Raptors before...

Now, the Raptors have also awakened this Celtics team.

In addition, no one knows better than Su Feng where the Raptors' tactical weakness lies tonight.

That is...

When the firepower cannot be continued, three-pointers must not be as stable in scoring as two-pointers.

"The championship is really hard to win."

Listening to the ear-piercing cheers of the North岸花园球馆 (North Shore Garden Arena), Su Feng thought with emotion at this moment.

Even if this Raptors team is already so strong, even if Su Feng is already as stable as he can be, this road to the championship is still full of thorns ahead.

If you are not careful, the Raptors and Su Feng may also fall into the abyss.

In the fourth quarter, with the Celtics gradually regaining the momentum of the game, the pressure has now been given to the Raptors.

The biggest advantage of young teams is that once they get into the rhythm of the game, they will become more and more crazy.

But conversely, young also means lack of experience.

In the face of pressure, young players find it difficult to be as flexible as veterans.

Therefore, in the fourth quarter, when he noticed that the technical movements of these young people around him had begun to deform, "Old Rogue" knew that it was time for him to stand up and guide them.

However...

Tonight's stage does not belong to Jordan.

Because, just as "Boss Jordan" was preparing to press BkB and take away the game in one wave, a奇男子 (qí nán zǐ - extraordinary man) named Su Feng had already taken over the stage one step ahead of him.

At the crucial moment, unlike the slightly flustered Ka Mai Na and others, where is the shadow of a young man in the 21-year-old Su Feng?

Braving the boos of the North岸花园球馆 (North Shore Garden Arena), breaking through to create fouls, dry pull-ups on the wing, turning over and leaning back in the low post...

Su Feng used his comprehensive scoring skills to successfully withstand the Celtics' counterattack for the Raptors.

For Su Feng, who is familiar with the historical process, he will not make the same mistakes as a certain team.

When the team misses three-pointers in a row, when the Celtics' scoring momentum is getting stronger and stronger, still浪投 (làng tóu - recklessly shooting) three-pointers at this time...

That's not called excellently completing the coach's tactical arrangement...

That's called stubborn.

And what is obvious is that Su Feng's head is not stubborn.

Because he knows that being stubborn has never had a good ending.

In the fourth quarter, when he noticed that Su Feng reminded his teammates to play the high-low post tactics, to create space for himself and him, and to let himself and him end the game through singles, in a trance, Jordan always felt in his heart that this guy was the coach of this team.

"Was I as calm as him when I was 21 years old?" At that moment, Jordan asked himself with emotion.

Then, after recalling a bunch of "childhood shadows," Jordan shook his head decisively.

…

Unfortunately.

Although the Celtics played their best half of the series in the second half, in the fourth quarter, with Su Feng and Jordan successively exerting their strength, the Raptors, who had "God-level double insurance," still had the last laugh.

105 to 100.

After the game, looking at the scoreboard, Duncan, who had exhausted all his bullets, sat on the bench and remained silent for a full 5 minutes.

Then, waiting until Su Feng finished his interview on the sidelines, Duncan stood up and took the initiative to walk to Su Feng.

Then, after staring at Su Feng for a while, taking advantage of Su Feng's "lax" moment, Duncan pressed his big hand heavily on Su Feng's head.

Su Feng: "..."

Su Feng, who originally thought Duncan wanted to say something to him, was speechless.

Because he never expected that Duncan would be so "childish"!

Hey, Tim, don't you think that if you薅秃 (hāo tū - pluck bald) me, you will be able to change the outcome of this series?

However, feeling that the strength of Duncan's big hand was getting heavier and heavier, Su Feng knew very well that Duncan must be quite uncomfortable at this moment.

Although a 3-0 lead does not mean that the Celtics have no hope at all, but...

Still that sentence.

In the NBA, being 0-3 behind and being eliminated is not much different.

In this way, after薅 (hāo -plucking) Su Feng for a full 5 minutes, Duncan suddenly felt much better.

"Tim, don't be too uncomfortable. There's nothing to be ashamed of losing to a team with an MVP."

Su Feng, whose hairstyle had been messed up by Duncan, took the initiative to "comfort" Duncan at the moment Duncan let go.

"Um?"

Listening to Su Feng's words, Duncan felt that he had to薅 (hāo -pluck) this guy for another five minutes.

So angry!

I have to say that losing the ball is indeed a very uncomfortable thing.

Even an existence like Duncan with a strong psychological quality will feel uncomfortable.

It's just that, most of the time, Duncan won't show it.

So, it seems that Duncan is venting by薅 (hāo -plucking) Su Feng's head.

But in fact, isn't Duncan also reminding himself that he must remember this heart-wrenching feeling?

In Duncan's view, this kind of pain that makes it impossible to breathe should only be tasted once or twice in his life.

In the days to come, this kind of feeling should still be left to others as much as possible...

……

ps: Classic one update. Open a 200-game lottery on the 26th, if there is no 200, then roLL (randomly select) 200.