"To the champions!" Dior said, not forgetting to offer his sincerest congratulations as he presented He Xi Meng with coffee.
"Thank you, Boris!" He Xi Meng admired Dior's masterpiece, inhaled the aroma of the coffee, and finally took a sip, praising him from the bottom of his heart, "This is the best coffee I've ever had in America! Bar none."
Receiving He Xi Meng's praise, Dior smiled even more happily, more so than when the head coach praised his play on the court. Dior had a hunch that his career with the Celtics would be very enjoyable.
"If you like it, I can prepare a cup for you every day!"
"That would be great! I won't have to go to Uncle McDonald's anymore for that bland coffee from the big machine... What kind of coffee beans do you need? I can bring my own."
"No, no, no! This small matter, I can handle it myself. As long as you like it, it's the greatest affirmation of my brewing!"
"Then it's happily decided! Welcome aboard again, Boris. Someone who can make such wonderful coffee, I believe you won't disappoint me on the court either! I look forward to your performance, let's win games together..."
In this opening game, besides Dior, the other four players were all championship members from the previous season's Celtics. He Xi Meng basically had unlimited trust in them. Only Dior was a new player, and He Xi Meng had high hopes for him. He intentionally used coffee as an entry point to quickly build rapport with Dior and help him integrate into the Celtics' system.
Carter, seeing He Xi Meng win over Dior with just a cup of coffee, genuinely gave him a thumbs-up.
"Speaking of which, for the new season, I want to try harder!" Carter said a bit sheepishly.
"Try harder?" He Xi Meng was initially taken aback, but quickly understood.
The Celtics were not the Spurs.
He Xi Meng and Duncan were both masters of taking it easy. If they could win a championship ring while coasting, they weren't too concerned about winning MVP.
But just because they weren't concerned, didn't mean others weren't!
MVP honors were second only to championships for professional players in the league.
Carter was on a big contract, and now he had the championship ring he had dreamed of. Next, it was time to pursue individual honors.
And among all the individual honors in the league, the most significant were the regular season MVP and the Finals MVP.
Last season, He Xi Meng's sweep of three MVP awards filled Carter with envy.
But envious as he was, Carter had no intention of competing last season. He fully supported He Xi Meng, helping him achieve championship success while also reaching the peak of his personal accolades.
With six championships in hand, He Xi Meng was subtly surpassing his former teammates Duncan, Kobe, and O'Neal, as well as earlier stars like Iverson, to become the strongest active player in the league after Michael Jordan.
Of course, fans of Duncan, Kobe, and Iverson did not agree with this assessment.
But regardless of agreement or disagreement, in terms of team and individual honors, He Xi Meng was beginning to surpass other top players.
Since He Xi Meng was already so strong, he probably wouldn't be greedy for another MVP award, right?
Carter thus wanted to seize the moment while he was still in his prime and contend for this highest individual honor in the league.
Of course, if He Xi Meng didn't object.
This was the common mindset of the second-best player on any championship-winning team.
In an ordinary team, if the team's main star was unwilling to cede ground, internal conflicts would arise, and the team would accelerate towards dissolution and disintegration.
The former OK combination didn't face this problem because Shaq was dominant at the time, and Kobe was young and lacked seniority.
The reason the "Stuck-in-the-Mud" duo of He Xi Meng and Duncan didn't face this problem was that neither of them cared much about it, so it was ultimately Gregg Popovich who "assigned everyone their share."
When Carter brought up this idea, he was a bit apprehensive.
After a season of playing together, Carter believed that He Xi Meng was not the kind of person who wanted to hoard all the honors and achievements for himself.
However, faced with the temptation of the league's highest individual honor, how many people could resist their inner desires?
Carter didn't necessarily have to raise this issue. In actual games, he could silently increase his shot attempts.
But Carter didn't want to do that!
Carter's final choice to openly discuss this matter with He Xi Meng indicated that he still leaned towards trusting He Xi Meng's character.
Was He Xi Meng's character reliable? Would he object?
Of course not!
Carter's idea was like a pillow arriving just as He Xi Meng was dozing off, perfect for someone who was constantly looking for opportunities to take it easy!
He Xi Meng couldn't be happier that Carter was willing to take on more team responsibility!
Last season, He Xi Meng didn't dare to slack off and bore the heavy burden because he was new to Boston and wanted to prove himself.
Now that the championship trophy was in hand, the Celtics fans should have no reason to complain or dislike him.
If he slacked off a little, took a breather, no one would say anything, right?
"Excellent! Vince, this season, we've agreed. You and Yao will be the primary attackers, and I'll step back to provide support, returning to the essence of a point guard..."
When it came to coasting and slacking off, He Xi Meng was a professional-level player!
As the new season's opening game began, He Xi Meng kept his word. After using Yao Ming's jump ball to advance past half-court, he directly called for a screen from Carter.
Carter, creating a mismatch, faked a drive to the basket down the middle. Just as all the Boston fans in the arena thought Carter would open the new season with a signature dunk, Carter made a sharp stop, backpedaled, and turned towards the three-point line!
Catch and shoot. He Xi Meng passed the ball to Carter without looking.
Carter, under Wade's lunge, caught the ball and shot a three-pointer!
Carter's first points of the new season came from an outside three-pointer? Wasn't that He Xi Meng's favorite type of shot? How did it become Carter's?
After making the tough three-pointer, Carter was extremely excited, pounding his chest towards the fans, declaring that the new season's "King of the Garden" would be in a different style.