Where the noise did not reach

Chapter 122 The City of Arrogance
If you ask Americans, "Which city is the easiest to hack?"

Many people would answer Los Angeles because of its extravagance; some would answer New York because of its narcissism; but the answer that truly "has the most fun to criticize" is actually Boston.

This is a fascinating place; it's one of the oldest and most historic cities in America, yet also one of the most eye-rolling. Because Bostonians always make you feel like their city isn't part of Earth, but rather the capital of a parallel universe empire.

As the Grizzlies' team bus pulled into their hotel, a small group of "prepared" Celtics fans gathered at the entrance. They were wearing green jerseys and holding rough-hewn signs.

"Go back to Memphis, Headline Boy!"

The shouts and curses drifted vaguely into the bus through the soundproof glass.

An excited young fan even tried to break through the security line and throw a green hat covered in insulting words at the bus, but was quickly restrained by security guards.

Xu Ling leaned against the window, expressionless as he watched the faces outside, contorted with excitement. He was no stranger to this scene.

“Don’t worry about it, Eli,” Jason Kidd said without turning his head from the front row. “The fans here just love their team so much. Just treat it as a ‘welcome’ ceremony.”

When they entered the hotel, the waiter's accent made Xu Ling's expression even brighter.

The strange accent reminded Xu Ling of a pun about his cousin from before he transmigrated: "Four chickens were killed in a car accident in Guangxi".

It is precisely because of this peculiar accent that they can immediately identify who are from out of town, and then their inherent arrogance will show.

Bostonians have a sense of superiority, believing that this is the cradle of America, the birthplace of ideas, and the birthplace of a sporting dynasty.

This led them to believe they were superior to Americans from other regions, and naturally, Easterners like Xu Ling were at the very bottom of the social hierarchy.

However, considering that the Celtics haven't won a championship in over 20 years, it's hard to say how much glory the Celtics still have. They desperately need a new era championship to continue their history.

The war of words between the East and the West continues.

Shortly after the Grizzlies arrived in Boston, Glen Taylor, owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves—a staunch supporter and friend of Garnett who played alongside him in Minnesota for 12 seasons—made a rare criticism of the former star, implying that Garnett's absence due to injury in the last five games of last season was a "deliberate tanking."

Taylor said, "I don't want to tank no matter what, but when KG doesn't want to play, the team loses its fighting spirit."

Garnett's agent, Andy Miller, immediately condemned Taylor, calling the remarks utterly absurd.

This undoubtedly added fuel to the fire for tonight's game.

In the evening, the Grizzlies went to TD Garden for an acclimatization practice.

The training content is not intense, mainly focusing on tactical positioning, spot shooting, and stretching.

Kidd stood on the sidelines like an old captain surveying his territory.

When Kidd saw Kyle Lowry hesitate slightly before passing the ball after a pick-and-roll, he pointed it out bluntly.

"Kyle!" Kidd yelled, "Rhythm! Watch your rhythm! Too fast, are you rushing to your death? Slow down and look carefully!"

Lowry shrank back and nodded silently.

Kidd walked over, picked up a ball, and demonstrated for himself.

“Look here, the pick and roll happens, you dribble here, pause, observe,” Kidd explained with body language as he dribbled. “Not every opportunity is fleeting. Sometimes, you need to create time, not speed. Whether it’s for the outside shooter or for the teammate cutting in, those extra fractions of a second of judgment time will make a world of difference.”

Although Xu Ling is widely recognized as the team's core player, Kidd has indeed quickly established his own position within the team.

He's an old guy, a sure-fire Hall of Famer, and one of the greatest point guards in NBA history. His experience and basketball IQ are crucial to the team, and even Xu Ling is willing to follow his instructions.

Kidd, too, completely immersed himself in his role.

He started doing what he would do in New Jersey, such as coaching young players.

Jaffaroni was certainly uncomfortable with Kidd's overreaching influence, but he also knew that Kidd, like Xu Ling, was a guarantee for his position as head coach.

Moreover, since entering the NBA, Kidd has had conflicts with almost every coach who has coached him, and Jaffaroni does not want to be the next coach to be fired by Kidd.

So he completely tolerated Kidd's overstepping of boundaries and turned to another important player—Josh Howard.

Beneath Howard's beast-like face lies an anxiety that is difficult to express to others.

Even though his injuries had healed, he always felt physically weak, and he couldn't find his place in Dallas, which caused him a serious identity crisis.

Because he had heard how his ex-boyfriend, Rudy Guy, was ousted by Xu Ling.

He didn't want to be the next one, so he was very positive and took training 100% seriously. But the God of Basketball doesn't bestow stamina on those who persist in squatting like the God of Sex does.

"That's bullshit!"

After missing another shot, Howard cursed in frustration and slammed the rebounding basketball to the ground.

"Relax, Josh." Yafaroni walked over unnoticed. "Your leg hasn't fully regained its feeling yet. It takes time, you can't rush it."

Howard wiped the sweat from his face, his tone somewhat dejected: "Time? Coach, how much time do we have left? Every game is crucial, and I feel like an outsider."

At this point, Howard glanced at Xu Ling, who was steadily hitting three-pointers on the other side.

In Dallas, he was a consistent second or third scorer with a clear tactical role. But here, under Xu Lingyao's dazzling brilliance and Kidd's absolute control, he's like a luxury item with overlapping functions, somewhat unsure of where he belongs.

“Josh, there’s no need to rush. You and Jason are the only two players on our team who have played in the Finals,” Jafaroni said calmly. “For us, experience is the most important thing. You know, Eli has everything, but what he lacks most is experience.”

Howard then glanced at number 1 again.

Howard suspects that their number 1 isn't exactly well-off; at least, public records suggest he lacks patience.

Xu Ling is practicing his catch-and-shoot technique.

The ball flew from his hand, tracing beautiful arcs, most of it swishing into the net.

But his brows furrowed slightly, as if he were sensing something.

"How are you feeling?" assistant coach Dave Joerger asked.

"The momentum is a bit too smooth," Xu Ling said, sounding like he was boasting.

Qiao Geer didn't understand: "Isn't it good to exert force smoothly?" Xu Ling shook his head and didn't explain further.

He was still replaying Dr. Ross's quote, "Think with your ass."

In the past, when he shot, he relied more on the coordination of his arm, wrist and fingers, as well as the muscle memory he had developed through millions of shooting practice sessions.

But now, he deliberately tries to feel the stable, powerful support from his core gluteal muscles at the moment of jumping and releasing the ball.

It felt a bit awkward, as if there was an extra switch in my body that needed to be deliberately activated.

This is what it feels like to be "too smooth"—a strange kind of fluidity that requires readjustment.

Everyone on the training field seemed to have their own problems, but Trevor Ariza found a rare fluidity here.

Ariza found that his shooting was going very well today.

Jarius Jackson, who was responsible for passing the ball to Ariza, exclaimed as he saw Ariza getting more and more accurate with his shots, "My God, you look even more accurate than Eli today!"

Ariza then cautiously glanced at Xu Ling, who was struggling with his own buttocks.

"I only compare myself to myself." Ariza took another shot, and it went in.

Jackson boldly predicted that Trevor Ariza, who was once afraid to shoot after being tormented by Larry Brown and the New York Asylum, might play very well tonight.

Well, facing the Celtics, who have the best defense in the league.

Half an hour later, the training finally ended in a relatively relaxed atmosphere.

After resting for a while, Xu Ling and Ariza felt hungry and wanted to go outside to find something to eat, but their extra calorie replenishment plan was stopped by Dr. Ross. Dr. Ross offered a special jam sandwich, which surprisingly suited Ariza's taste, while Xu Ling felt it was the sweetest thing he had ever eaten in his life.

Then, the Grizzlies took a bus to the game venue.

Xu Ling's "amnesia" remarks made during the day have already spread among fans.

Bostonians put Xu Ling's image on an Alzheimer's advertisement, and some even photoshopped him into the poster for the movie "Memento".

On their way to the site by bus, Xu Ling and his teammates often saw signs on the street that read "George Washington once had a cup of hot coffee here." Bostonians seemed to have an urgent desire to flaunt their city's heritage.

As Xu Ling and his teammates were about to run into the court from the corridor to familiarize themselves with the venue, an old man sitting on the sidelines, wearing a Red Sox hat, yelled at him: "Larry Bird won three championships for this city before you were even born. You're nothing here!"

There was no way to refute it, but if given the chance, Xu Ling would be very willing to discuss with him why the Celtics had never won a championship since he was born.

The Grizzlies began warming up.

Celtics fans, meanwhile, were commenting on the guests.

The Celtics were doing the same thing on the other side of the court.

Kevin Garnett glanced at Xu Ling, who wasn't going to greet him, and couldn't help but say to Pierce beside him, "That kid really doesn't have any manners, does he?"

Pierce scoffed and said, "A little lesson will suffice."

Upon hearing this, Garnett smiled, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, and walked to the sidelines. ESPN had prepared a pre-game interview for him, specifically to have him respond to Glen Taylor's comments about the Timberwolves tanking last season.

This incident greatly angered Garnett, who felt betrayed.

“I’m in Boston right now,” Garnett said courtside. “I don’t care at all what Glen Taylor thinks about Kevin Garnett. Right now, the most important thing for us is tonight’s game. The rest is nonsense. I don’t even know why he brought this up, but you know, it shows a person’s character.”

An ESPN reporter then asked, "Do you think Glen Taylor has character flaws?"

“I didn’t say that,” Garnett continued. “Glen Taylor was very nice to me when I was with the Timberwolves. But I’m with the Boston Celtics now. I’m not going to go back and forth saying tasteless things. That’s not my style. If he wants to say it, let him say it.”

Finally, Garnett concluded: "I have nothing to do with the Minnesota Timberwolves anymore. That's in the past, and I'm starting a new chapter in my life. I thank them for giving me the opportunity to not only pursue my dreams when I was young, but also to achieve what I have today. That's all I have to say about this."

That's all he said, but the issues go far beyond that. This is just the beginning, determining how Garnett will seal off his past, present, and future and refuse to let Glen Taylor's team retire his jersey, which he has the right to do.

These off-court troubles left Garnett in a bad mood, and he desperately needed to vent on the court.

The game is about to begin.

The Celtics started with Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Kendrick Perkins.

The Grizzlies started with Jason Kidd, Xu Ling, Josh Howard, Hakim Warrick, and Darko Milicic.

Xu Ling walked up to Garnett with a smile, ready to greet him late, but Garnett had a strange aura about him.

This was clearly not the Garnett he had met in private, nor the sunny, masculine figure in the news. This Garnett was gloomy and full of hostility, and when faced with the Lord's smile, he only said one thing: "It's too late to say 'hello' to me now."

The scene before him suddenly reminded Xu Ling of the story about Garnett that happened this season.

Joakim Noah, who was in the same grade as Xu Ling, idolized Garnett. So during a game against the Celtics, he took the opportunity to express his love for his idol while others were shooting free throws. The content was roughly like, "KG, I've been your fan since I was a kid. It's an honor to play against you."

Many people will tell this story in the future.

Garnett snapped at him, his face contorted with rage, "Don't bother me, you idiot!"

"Really?" Xu Ling asked. "Then what should I say?"

At this time, an inappropriate voice sounded.

“Rookie,” Pierce yelled, “Shut your stinking mouth, KG will make up for the etiquette lesson you’ve been missing in your life!”

Some people are most afraid of sudden silence, as it usually marks the beginning of an awkward situation.

Xu Ling believed that there were people in this world who had two personalities. Perhaps Garnett was one of those rare individuals, whose two personalities could switch seamlessly on and off the court. So he could understand Garnett's sudden change of attitude to some extent. But Pierce, what did he have to do with it?
“If I don’t shut up,” Xu Ling’s demonic personality would wake up precisely when he needed it, just like Kevin Garnett. “Would you stab me 11 times for KG?”

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比赛时间：2008年3月24日 20:00 EDT
Competition Venue: TD Garden
Matchup: Boston Celtics vs. Memphis Grizzlies (Regular Season)
Attendees: 17,446, full house
Broadcasting media: ABC
Commentary Team: Mike Brin (Commentary), Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson (Commentary)

Referees: Bill Kennedy, Michael Smith, Sean Wright

(End of this chapter)