Where the noise did not reach

Chapter 126 Cage
The atmosphere in the home team's locker room at TD Garden was not relaxed.

“Memphis only has one true scorer! One! And we’ve let him score 16 points in the first half!” Rivers’s gaze swept over every Celtics player, finally settling on Pierce. “PP, I don’t care what that kid said to you, forget about it! Let the basketball do the talking. Shut him up with our defense!”

Then, Rivers finished his work and gave his right-hand man a look, signaling that he could begin.

Tom Thibodeau stood up, his face expressionless. He walked to the whiteboard, picked up a pen, and heavily circled the name "Xu Ling." Then, in a hoarse, emotionless voice, he said, "We made a lot of mistakes in the first half. Our biggest mistake was giving that number 1 too many one-on-one opportunities. You have to remember, once Memphis' number 1 finds his shooting touch, even a fully powered Kobe can't stop him. He's having a great night."

"Another mistake we made was underestimating their role players. But from now on, that mistake will stop."

Thibodeau quickly drew lines on the whiteboard and said, "In the second half, we need to play real defense. Against number 1, as long as he's on the right side, our defense needs to be aggressive and proactive, and our weak-side help defense needs to be earlier. As long as he receives the ball inside the three-point line, KG, you need to move up there."

Thibodeau's pen tip was near the free-throw line.

"I want you to stand in his way like a wall, forcing him to stop the ball!"

Thibodeau methodically laid out the Celtics' second-half defense. After he finished, Rivers clapped his hands and went over to encourage the players, thus concluding an excellent first-half locker room mental adjustment session.

The Grizzlies returned to the court to warm up earlier than the Celtics.

As the away team, they had no prior grudges against Boston. However, the pre-game media hype portrayed the Celtics as the "defenders of the East," making the already disliked Celtics fans feel obligated to antagonize all Western Conference teams.

Xu Ling's casual remark about "amnesia" before the match precisely struck a nerve with the arrogant city.

When Celtics fans discovered that someone else was even better at showing off than them, they immediately felt their authority was challenged—if they're this good at showing off at such a young age, what will they be like in a few years?
As a result, the entire Grizzlies team received special attention, and Xu Ling was treated like a Lakers player.

Even when he was just doing the most ordinary warm-up shots, the stands would erupt in all sorts of strange shouts and boos.

But Xu Ling remained unmoved, maintaining his original rhythm in every movement.

This detached state of mind amazed the basketball experts on the sidelines, and even his teammates couldn't help but be curious.

“Eli,” Darko Milicic, who was passing the ball to him, couldn’t help but ask, “Can’t you really hear these fans at all?”

Xu Ling gave the Serbian a strange look, feeling that the question was somewhat insulting to his intelligence.

“Dak,” Xu Ling said, “I’m not blind, and I’m not deaf.”

Milicic chuckled: "So you were just deliberately ignoring them?"

"I just want to focus on the game," Xu Ling said, without denying it.

Milicic found it hard to imagine that anyone could truly ignore the commotion on the field, but after being teammates with Xu Ling for most of the season, he discovered that this was exactly what Xu Ling did.

So the Serbians had no choice but to believe that there really were people in the world who could isolate the noise of tens of thousands of people.

Xu Ling, having just hit a three-pointer, casually asked, "Did you pray tonight?"

“No,” Milicic said matter-of-factly. “I’m not in the mood to pray today.”

Whether it was psychological or not, Xu Ling felt that he performed better in every game where Milicic prayed for him.

Perhaps this should be a necessary part of the Grizzlies' pre-game routine, just like the ending of Hacksaw Ridge, where the entire company waits for Doss to finish his prayers before going into battle.

Xu Ling said, "You should pray."

“Next time, Eli,” Milicich said. “You don’t need my prayers tonight.”

Xu Ling insisted, "No, I need to. Let's pray now, Dako, for victory."

“But I’m not in the mood today,” Milisich was interrupted by Xu Ling before he could finish speaking.

“No, you have to pray,” Xu Ling pointed to his head, “go talk to God for a few minutes and tell him that a Chinese man urgently needs fire support tonight!”

Forced to pray in front of everyone, Milicic muttered resentfully, "If God asks why I'm doing this at the last minute, I'll say it's because you forced me to."

The time spent chatting came to an end quickly.

Judging from the situation in the third quarter, Milicic's prayers may have had the opposite effect.

The Grizzlies attacked first.

As Kidd dribbled past half-court, he immediately felt a pressure that was completely different from the first half.

Rondo no longer gave him time to observe at his leisure, sticking close to him like a shadow, his arm constantly interfering.

Kidd tried to call for a screen from Xu Ling, but as soon as Xu Ling started from the baseline, Ray Allen used almost brutal physical contact to prevent him from easily receiving the ball.

Moreover, such a near-foul move would obviously not be judged as a foul at TD Garden.

When the ball finally reached Xu Ling on the right wing.

As soon as he received the ball, Pierce immediately closed in, giving him no room to start. Xu Ling attempted a triple threat, but Pierce maintained his balance very steadily. Xu Ling dribbled towards the middle, trying to use his speed to drive hard, but as soon as he took a step, he found Kevin Garnett already blocking his path like a green mountain.

Xu Ling was forced to stop the ball and was caught in a pincer movement.

He tried to pass the ball to Warrick, who was left wide open, but at the very moment he passed the ball, Ray Allen, who was originally guarding Howard on the weak side, moved a step without anyone noticing, his fingertips just barely touching the basketball, changing its trajectory.

The basketball flew out of bounds.

A barely made pass before the 24-second shot clock expired was almost intercepted.

"The Celtics' defense! Their rotations! Their communication! It was absolutely flawless!"

After that, the Grizzlies failed to score in the remaining offensive time.

Comparison reveals the gap.

Having been outmaneuvered on defense, the Grizzlies naturally wanted to stop the Celtics from scoring a basket.

However, after a 15-minute halftime break, Pierce had clearly adjusted his mindset.

It was the Celtics' turn to attack. Pierce used Garnett's screen to shake off Josh Howard's defense, caught the ball, and made a mid-range jump shot.

The score was tied in an instant.

While both are power forwards, the Grizzlies' Hakim Warrick is a rare athletic forward who can run and jump, but apart from his athleticism, he has no other strengths.

The Grizzlies' offense stalled again.

Kidd and Milicic ran a pick-and-roll, but Perkins stayed firmly under the basket, while Garnett nimbly switched onto Kidd, his long arms covering him, and Kidd's floater missed.

Garnett grabbed the rebound, pushed the ball up the court himself, dribbled like a guard to the frontcourt, drew the defense, and then passed it to Rondo who was following up. Rondo scored a layup.

42 is better than 40
Celtics take the lead!

Although the Celtics are only leading by 2 points, the situation seems to be getting increasingly unfavorable for the Grizzlies.

Moreover, Thibodeau's cage-like defense for Xu Ling in the locker room began to work.

This was the most difficult defense Xu Ling had encountered since his transmigration.

Whenever Xu Ling has the ball in a dangerous area, he immediately encounters tenacious defense and Garnett's ever-present help defense.

Moreover, he has difficulty receiving the ball. Even when he does receive the ball, he is immediately surrounded, his passing lanes are cut off, and his personal attacking space is compressed to the limit.

Xu Ling made another strong breakthrough, but under the double pressure of Garnett and Ray Allen, the ball was stolen as soon as it was passed out. The Celtics launched another counterattack, with Ray Allen hitting a three-pointer.

45 is better than 40
Moreover, the Celtics not only did a good job of targeting Xu Ling, but their defensive discipline and teamwork were also impeccable. Whenever there was a pick-and-roll, someone would shout "switch!" and the center guarding the pick-and-roll would loudly remind the ball handler of the attack and direction.

Their rotation speed is astonishing; they can always fill in the moment the Grizzlies have even the slightest opening.

Before tonight, Kidd could still orchestrate the team with his individual awareness, but against a team like the Celtics that excels at disrupting the opponent's offensive system, even Kidd himself ran into problems.

At the start of the third quarter, the Grizzlies were hit with a 9-0 run by the Celtics!

Xu Ling had almost no good offensive opportunities during this period.

The Celtics taught this rising superstar a lesson with their historic team defense.

This is the predicament Xu Ling may face in the playoffs.

How much has the Grizzlies changed after the four-team trade? A lot, to say the least. Kidd is undoubtedly a veteran who can stabilize the team's morale and a mentor who is beneficial to Xu Ling's growth.

However, if your opponent is a team like the Celtics, Kidd's limited offensive firepower will become a big problem.

The Grizzlies' bigger problem is that, apart from Xu Ling, their most consistent offensive player is the unpredictable Josh Howard. While he's good enough for the regular season, he's too easy to target in the playoffs.

Mark Jafaroni requested a pause.

The Grizzlies need to make adjustments and make substitutions.

"The Grizzlies are suffocating! This is the Boston Celtics' defense!" Mark Jackson exclaimed excitedly from the commentary booth. "They're like a pack of hungry wolves, tearing apart every offensive attempt the opponent makes. Eli Xu is completely overwhelmed; he can't find any breathing room."

Even Jeff Van Gundy, a supporter of Xu Ling, had to admit: "This is indeed the most challenging defense Eli has ever faced. Maybe he can find a way out under Kobe's pressure, but he needs help in the face of great team defense. He needs help more than ever!"

The help Van Gundy was referring to wasn't that the Grizzlies needed another player averaging 20 points per game, but rather that someone could step up and punish the Celtics when they were relentlessly pouring defensive resources onto Xu Ling.

(End of this chapter)