"Of course! The young man from the University of South Carolina, you picked him in the first round, 25th overall!"
"Then why haven't I seen this kid in the previous few practices? Doesn't he seem to be a fan of mine?" Jordan asked, pointing at Kevin Martin's back with the number 23.
"This, I'm not sure about! I'm guessing it might have something to do with Coach Rivers' coaching style!"
"Rivers again..." Jordan frowned immediately. "This guy isn't very good... Help me check if there are any available famous coaches in the league right now!"
"If I may be so bold! The current situation with the Celtics, with you and Xi Meng here, it doesn't matter if they are famous coaches or not, the key is whether they can align with your and Xi Meng's team-building philosophy! Rivers, indeed, is a bit lacking..."
"You're making a lot of sense!"
The assistant's words struck a chord with Jordan. Jordan waved his hand grandly and said, "Then let's broaden the scope and see if there are any promising rookie coaches! The kind worth training! Anyway, I have some time recently, and I can even guide them on the court when I have time! Coupled with Xi Meng's in-game command, I think finding a young person to be the head coach might not be worse than those old coaches and famous coaches in the league..."
Rivers, far away in Washington, was unaware that the battle for leadership between Pierce and He Xi Meng had just concluded, and the little butterfly that was Kevin Martin had once again stirred Jordan's dissatisfaction with him...
Because of Kevin Martin's sudden outburst from the bench, the Celtics maintained their dominance throughout the game!
He Xi Meng went on a scoring spree in the third quarter, teaming up with Yao Ming to outscore the Wizards 42:17, turning the fourth quarter into garbage time.
In this game, He Xi Meng finished in three quarters, still scoring 40 points, 8 assists, and 4 rebounds, perfectly fulfilling Jordan's pre-game instructions to crush the Wizards mercilessly...
Yao Ming scored a team-high 20 points and 9 rebounds, while Kevin Martin had the third-highest 17 points and 4 rebounds on the night.
With a four-game winning streak, He Xi Meng led the team back home.
This was a back-to-back game, and the Celtics first had to face the Rockets!
The Rockets had rebuilt their team during the summer, trading Francis to the Magic for McGrady, attempting to build a roster centered around McGrady and Kwame Brown!
However, Kwame Brown had failed to live up to his potential, and McGrady was carrying the team alone this season, resulting in dismal performance and no improvement for the Rockets.
Before this game, He Xi Meng saw McGrady and Rivers talking on the sidelines, and suddenly had an idea: trade Pierce for McGrady!
Pierce was currently at his peak, with a fiery temper, and in a state of not respecting anyone. He Xi Meng figured it would take some time to subdue Pierce. However, the team was desperately short on time if they wanted to make a deep playoff run.
He Xi Meng didn't want to waste too much time and energy on team chemistry.
If Pierce continued to be defiant and wanted to contend for the team's leadership with He Xi Meng, He Xi Meng wouldn't mind trading Pierce for McGrady!
Their current trade values were roughly equivalent.
McGrady's contract was slightly larger than Pierce's, but the difference was limited and perfectly manageable for a trade.
So, after McGrady and Rivers finished their conversation, he approached McGrady.
"Hey! T-MAC, how are you settling in Houston lately?"
McGrady certainly knew He Xi Meng, but they weren't very close.
McGrady was slow to warm up and introverted, not as easy to befriend as Carter.
Hearing He Xi Meng's greeting, McGrady thought for a moment and replied honestly, "Not good, not bad! I expected the Rockets to be stronger..."
"Interested in coming to Boston? You, me, and Yao Ming, the three of us together should be able to contend for a championship!"
McGrady tilted his head and thought, "That's a good suggestion! But I just arrived in Houston, would they let me go? I'll have to ask my agent if there's any room for negotiation!"
"No problem! I'll await your reply!"
In the subsequent game, Yao Ming successfully dominated Kwame Brown, and Ariza successfully disrupted McGrady's shooting percentage, giving the Celtics a lead in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Rockets made a tactical change, with Coach Van Gundy promoting veteran Mutombo to the starting lineup, effectively curbing Yao Ming's dominance in the paint.
McGrady also began to increase his focus and started to exert pressure on offense, trying to seize the opportunity while Yao Ming was struggling to score and reverse the score.
However, He Xi Meng decisively intervened, engaging in a scoring duel with McGrady!
McGrady scores, He Xi Meng answers!
Their back-and-forth scoring left the Boston fans in the arena mesmerized, with cheers erupting incessantly.
McGrady himself was enjoying the offensive battle, but the Rockets' overall deficit didn't change.
Coach Van Gundy called a few timeouts, urging his teammates to increase their defensive intensity and to shut down the Celtics' offense!
But the Rockets' backcourt consisted of the 1.83m David Wesley and the 1.96m Bob Sura, neither of whom could provide absolute defense against He Xi Meng.
As long as He Xi Meng wanted to score, the Rockets had no way to stop him.
Thus, while Yao Ming was being contained by Uncle Mutombo, He Xi Meng, through his duel with McGrady, successfully maintained the Celtics' first-quarter lead, which lasted until the end of the game.
Finally, as McGrady's buzzer-beating three-pointer to tie the game missed, the Celtics defeated the visiting Rockets at home 97:94, maintaining their undefeated record in the new season.
The second game of the back-to-back saw the Celtics facing the Raptors!
They had sent away McGrady and now welcomed Carter.
Carter hadn't left the Raptors yet, but his conflict with the management had become public, and his departure was only a matter of time.
Before the game, He Xi Meng hadn't approached Carter, but Carter had approached He Xi Meng first.
"I heard you and Paul aren't getting along too well?"
He Xi Meng didn't deny it and nodded, "There have been some unpleasantries, and we still need to build chemistry!"
"Interested in inviting me to join?" Carter said with a half-joking tone, "As long as you can lead me to a championship ring! I don't mind being your second-in-command!"
From his words, it seemed Carter quite recognized He Xi Meng's playmaking ability and was optimistic about He Xi Meng's pick-and-roll combination with Yao Ming!
Frankly speaking, the combination of a top point guard and a top center has always been a standard for championship-caliber teams.
Although Yao Ming hasn't quite reached the level of a top center yet, discerning eyes had already seen that this duo for the Celtics had the potential to dominate the league for the next few seasons!
For example: the man standing before He Xi Meng!