In the second week of February, the Celtics received notice from the league.
Lin Yu entered this year's All-Star Weekend in Houston and will represent the first-year team in the All-Star Rookie Challenge.
Jeff Schwartz also called and told Lin Yu a few things to pay attention to when participating in the rookie game.
"Under Armor will send Lin Crazy's exclusive special signature sneakers. You have to wear those special signature sneakers in the rookie game. It's best to be crazy again in the rookie game."
"This is a good time to advertise. You can get a share from the sales of 'Linsanity' signature sneakers, so bring the goods to the All-Star game. The more you sell, the more you earn."
"Also, KFC will sponsor this year's All-Star Weekend. They have a promotional event. You have to go to Houston in advance to join their promotional event."
"..."
The main thing is to pay attention to several endorsement brands. During the All-Star period, Lin Yu cannot eat Dicos or McDonald's, and cannot drink sports drinks of brands other than Gatorade. From beginning to end, in addition to formal attire, all other occasions must be worn.
Under Armor logo clothing…
This year's All-Star Weekend will begin on February 16, and Pierce's comeback date has also been determined. He will return after the All-Star Weekend.
Finally, the Celtics will usher in their strongest lineup after the All-Star Game.
Before the All-Star weekend, Pierce had already started participating in the team's joint training, and Doc Rivers had to worry about the formation after the All-Star weekend.
Of course, it's a happy headache.
"Lin and Paul will start together, and Tony and Wally will work together on the bench. This is a given. This combination is unchanged from before the trade, but the progress of Lin and Tony has directly increased our wing strength by more than one level."
"The question now is, how do we match up the rotation?"
Lex Kalamian's suggestion is: "Lin and Tony partner up to rotate the lineup to deal with teams with super giants on the wings, and continue to use regular rotations at other times."
Jim Brevo has a different opinion: "Judging from the past three games, the combined offense of Lin and Tony is too bad. My personal suggestion is that if you want to strengthen the wing defense, let Lin serve as a guest point guard and keep Paul or Tony.
Rivers nodded: "In the last three games, Lin has averaged five assists per game. He can play as a point guard, so let's play like this. Lin and Paul will start, rotate the lineup, and let Lin play as a point guard."
Finally, Rivers analyzed the results based on the results: "Before the All-Star weekend, we have to play two games, one with the Pistons and one with the Suns. One is the first place in the Eastern Conference, and the other is the first place in the Western Conference. This
In two games, we have a greater chance of losing, and our record will become 22 wins and 30 losses, ranking tenth in the Eastern Conference."
"After the All-Star break, we still have 30 games. If we want to ensure a playoff spot, we must ensure a winning rate of more than 50%. We must win at least 19 of the 30 games."
"19 wins and 11 losses, the difficulty is not difficult, but it is not small. We will face difficult challenges, but at least now we don't have to mess up anymore."
In the office at Celtics headquarters, Danny Ainge is having a headache.
His bad plan was ruined by "Linsanity". Now, he still has to worry about Lin Yu's contract renewal. He suddenly found that China Lin seemed to have become a problem player in his plan.
To stay or not to stay, that is the question.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door of the office, and Anji shouted to come in.
Then a young fat white man opened the door and walked in.
"Darryl, what's wrong?"
The fat man named Daryl in Angie's mouth shook his head: "It's nothing, Danny, I just want to talk to you suddenly."
"It just so happened that I was having a headache. What do you think of China Lin? He asked for 24 million U.S. dollars over three years, while my offer was 18 million U.S. dollars over three years. The difference in salary for the last year was a full 6 million U.S. dollars."
Daryl sat in front of Anji: "It's very simple, it depends on how you define China Lin's role in the team. If you regard him as an important member, give him a corresponding salary. If you think he is not
If it is important, try to lower the price as much as possible. If he is really greedy, then trade it. Anyway, the initiative is in the hands of the team."
Darryl's words made Anji thoughtful: "It would be best if we could keep China Lin. Of course, I also said that my offer is US$18 million over three years. Considering his age,
, this offer can be increased to US$20 million over three years, which is my bottom line. If it is higher, I may really have to trade him as you said."
"I know your plan, Danny. Let me remind you that the Chinese Lin who signed first and then traded will be a very valuable bargaining chip."
"Thank you, Daryl, I'll think about it." Angie raised her head: "By the way, what do you want to talk to me about?"
"Houston offered me a contract. My position remains unchanged and I am still the deputy general manager. I am hesitating whether to leave Boston and work in Houston."
"Did they make any promises to you?" Angie saw through the essence of the matter.
Daryl hesitated for a moment and told the truth: "Carroll Dawson is retiring soon. Houston said that I will serve as the deputy general manager for two years. Once Carroll retires, I will become the general manager."
"Go ahead, the Celtics can't give you the position of general manager."
Anji sighed secretly. Before Lin Yu's contract renewal was resolved, he would lose a general first.
In the last two games before the All-Star Weekend, the first against the Pistons, Lin Yu, who had no attribute bonuses, perhaps stimulated by the contract renewal incident, broke out.
Facing the defense of old prince Tayshaun Prince, Lin Yu shot a large number of three-pointers from the outside.
He had a hot touch and scored three three-pointers in a row in the opening game. Three three-pointers made the Palace of Auburn Hills go silent.
Until Flip Saunders deployed multiple defenses on the weak side, limiting Lin Yu's reception.
Lin Yu's fiery state was restrained.
But in the whole game, Lin Yu still shot 9 of 16 shots and 7 three-pointers. He scored 27 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal in the game, leading the Celtics to victory.
The next surprising win.
Immediately afterwards, in the game against the Suns, Lin Yu's enthusiasm decreased slightly, but facing the Suns, which had worse defense, Lin Yu still shot 8 of 14 from the field, made 5 three-pointers, and scored 21 points.
Scored 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.
After an offensive battle, the Celtics still lost the game.
Shawn Marion's performance was even better. This forward player who has reached his personal peak this season made 15 of 22 shots in this game. He also hit 5 three-pointers and scored a career-high 44 points, and another 15.
Rebounds accounted for.
After this game is played, all games before the All-Star break are over.
With Lin Yu's surprise outburst, the Celtics' record improved by one win compared to expectations, with a record of 23 wins and 29 losses, waiting for Pierce's return.
The Boston Daily Mail summarized the Celtics' performance before the All-Star Weekend: "After Truth was injured and missed, the Celtics played 14 games and achieved a record of 6 wins and 8 losses. If not
Lin Crazy, the Celtics have to lose at least 5 more games, and now, during the period when Zhen Zhi was injured, the team has maintained a record of nearly 50% winning rate, with an overall record of 23 wins and 29 losses, which has reserved the chance for the team to return to the game.
