The rest is just noise

Chapter 1,093 It’s not me, but it could be you

Louis met with Jerry West at noon, and he expected that the negotiation process would not take more than an hour.

When he discovered that Mitch Kupchak was not here, he felt that the negotiations might only last about half an hour.

Because West is not the kind of chatterbox who can chat with people non-stop.

But the negotiation lasted from noon to evening.

Louis and West had drinks, snacks, and then dinner.

Because West didn't eat Chinese food, Louis asked the boss to make him Western food.

After dinner, they continued chatting.

After chatting continuously for such a long time, do Louis and West know each other well?

No, they didn't talk much about themselves.

That kind of thing is too personal, and they don't have that kind of relationship yet.

For most of the day, the content exchanged between Louis and West was all about basketball and the game.

The essence of the sport of basketball.

What is the difference between past games and current games?

West brings an exclusive perspective spanning the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, while Louie's understanding of the game in the 1980s and 1990s is unparalleled.

They really talked about everything on the field.

For example, Baylor's retirement made West extremely painful.

To this day, West is still tortured.

But is he suffering solely because of Baylor's absence?

No, it's not.

Louis was able to chat with West for such a long time because he could think like West.

He later asked West: "If Elgin had not retired, would you have won the 1972 championship?"

West's painful eyes shone with wisdom.

"I have thought about this problem many times." West said frustratedly, "I know Bill (Sharman) is right. Elgin must be substituted, but Elgin is not a good substitute, and he will not accept it.

The substitute, he has his own dignity and standards and if he can no longer do what he does, he will leave."

That's what pains West.

He is such a rational and rational person.

When he reviewed the whole thing again, he discovered that Baylor's absence was the source of his pain, but what made this pain last for so many years was that he found that if Baylor did not leave, the Lakers would not be able to win the championship.

Because Baylor was resistant to substitutes and was at odds with Chamberlain.

If he had stayed on the team, the atmosphere in the locker room of the Lakers team, which originally had a good atmosphere, would be very different. There would not be a 33-game winning streak, and the championship would be out of the question.

It's interesting to hear West replay some of the big games he lost.

If you can't feel his pain.

What impressed Louis most was West's recollection of the 1962 Finals, which was the second year after the Lakers moved to Minneapolis. The young West and Baylor in their prime were invincible in the playoffs that year.

when.

Baylor averaged 38.8 points, 17.8 rebounds and 3 assists per game in the playoffs that year, while West averaged 31 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists per game. Under their leadership, the Lakers also successfully reached the Finals, and were also at their peak.

The Celtics fought seven bloody games.

In this series, Baylor averaged 40 points and 17 rebounds per game, and West averaged 31 points and 7 rebounds per game. However, they still failed to win in the end because in Game 7, the Lakers handed over the key shot that could end the game to modern fans.

In the hands of the unknown Frank Selvy (frank selvy sg/sf).

Such a crucial ball was actually not shot by Baylor or West, but by Selvy?

"Yeah, that destroyed us, and then we went into overtime and were dominated by Russell." West said eloquently, "He scored 30 points, 40 rebounds and countless blocks in that game.

.”

West believes that it was the loss in 1962 that began the Lakers' curse of being dominated by the Celtics.

But he also believed that there was no problem in giving Selvey the ball.

Because before "Hot Rod" Hundley SG1 passed the ball to him, Selvey had already hit two consecutive shots. He was the only one who stood up at the critical moment in that game.

This is West, even after so many years, he still remembers all the details of the game.

Even with such a tragic defeat, he was still able to put aside other reasons and look at the game objectively.

It was already very late, and Louis did not expect that this "negotiation" would last a day.

West talked with him all day about the present and the past, but they never talked about the future.

But this day's exchange gave Louis a good understanding of West.

If Louis expects West to be his tool like Baylor, it will undoubtedly be an insult to the other party and a huge waste.

West is an excellent administrator and can do a lot of things that Baylor can't.

"Louis, have you ever played a perfect game?"

West asked at the end of "Negotiations."

Louis laughed and said: "I may not have played it myself, but my team may have played such a game."

"You want to know my perfect game?"

Louis chose not to answer because West would have said it himself.

"The venue should be in the garden, which is the place I hate the most."

Guess, Louis, it's the Boston Garden?

"Of course, it has to happen during the playoffs, and it's Game 7 of the series. It's a defining moment that I live for. It would be better in the spring, like the first Sunday in May, when there's still air in the air.

There was a chill. People were lining up to get into the garden for this crucial game."

"In addition to ordinary fans, there will also be the best singers and actors in the world coming to the scene."

"You also have to have the best referees. They must be referees who are fair, referees who allow players to communicate with them, referees who will not be influenced by star players."

"This game will be played by the rules I played by."

this means...

"Hand-cheg has no limits."

(can be played from any position on the court)

"Players are not allowed to dribble illegally."

(The ball holder’s hand must rest on top of the ball, not on the side of the ball)

"Only when the receiver directly scores a goal will it be counted as an assist."

Then, there would be no assistants, everyone would have to deal with their own affairs, and they would only have one pair of sneakers, unlike now where everyone puts on new shoes before going on the court.

The team has to go to away games alone and take commercial flights. There are no chartered flights, and they need to change stations when necessary.

There is no entourage, no bodyguards, no PR staff, no media - just players, teammates, coaches, they are as friendly as brothers.

According to West, this game will gather himself, Chamberlain, Russell, Baylor, Barry, Havlicek, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dr. J., Bird, Tragedyman, Wilson, Sampson,

Jordan, Pettit.

Then, many terrible things and accidents will happen during the game, and finally a shocking result will be decided.

These ideal conditions are ultimately impossible to achieve, but Louis feels that West has played such a game.

At the end, West said: "You know, this game happened in real life."

"Did you win?" Louis felt like he had said nonsense.

"If I win, I won't have such delusions." West shook his head and said, "That's a game I will never let go of - Game 7 in 1969, the Lakers had me, Elgin,

Wilt, and Russell and his teammates were already smoking hot. At the time, no one knew that Russell would retire after the game, but I had a vague feeling that he was willing to sacrifice himself for the victory in that game.

life, so he couldn’t forgive Wilt for withdrawing due to injury midway through the game.”

"What's even more unacceptable to me is that we almost won the game, only to lose it to a ridiculous free throw line jumper by Don Nelson. If you give him a hundred more chances, he can't make that shot."

"Yes." West's tone became very light, "But he just made it."

Louis heard Baylor talk about that game.

That was a defeat that even a guy like Baylor couldn't let go of.

From then on, the Boston elf will forever remain in the hearts of that generation of Lakers players.

Probably only a big man like Chamberlain who transcends life can face it directly, because he doesn't know why he lost.

"This is why I don't like you."

West said surprisingly.

"You won such a game, but I didn't." West's emotions contained envy, jealousy, confusion and many things that were difficult to explain. "You know, the Knicks had no reason to win in 1993.

In the finals, the Trail Blazers are a more complete, more united, and stronger team than you. Your team was torn apart by decadent glory, but... you are just like the Celtics,

You won the game when no one believed you could win."

"That's why I want you to come to Los Angeles."

"The past and present have proven that the person who can break the curse for the Lakers in the future is not me, but it may be you."

1. "Hot Rod" Hundley was also a trickster. He grabbed the offensive rebound at the critical moment, but did not choose to take the shot himself because Selvy had scored two goals in a row before, so he passed the ball out. Selvy

He missed the shot, the game entered overtime, and the Lakers lost. After retiring, Hundley would occasionally call Selvey. As soon as the other party answered, he would say "good shot" and immediately hang up the phone.

－－－－－－Digression－－－－－

Generally speaking, when we see the death of an ancient player, we will say "rip" symbolically. We shouldn't feel anything because we haven't watched a complete game of his. But the passing of Bill Russell really made me feel

So frustrated. I can't explain this feeling.

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