The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 398 - 17 The Headbutt

For Jack Ramsey, the significant challenges of being an NBA coach were not only the physical and the mental toll but also the increasingly rapid tactical and rule changes within the League. For a 60-year-old man with not much hair left on his head, this was obviously not an easy feat.

In the relatively simple tactical milieu of the 60s, Jack Ramsey could juggle multiple roles. He was young, physically fit, mentally agile, with an exceptional memory—capable of multitasking efficiently and effectively.

Just like Red Auerbach, he took on the roles of general manager, scout, coach, and team leader, also adding cheerleading to his responsibilities.

By the 70s, he became a full-time head coach, with the team setting up specialized positions for general manager and scouts, and also providing assistant coaches to support Ramsey’s work.

Come the 80s, the game rules become more complex, with the introduction of the three-point line, continuous revisions of illegal defense rules, slight adjustments to timeout and substitution regulations, as well as the incorporation of game video technology, making the command of an NBA team increasingly difficult.

Past head coaches who used to shoulder a variety of tasks now needed even more assistants, like the Los Angeles Lakers, whose head coach Pat Riley had an assistant coach, a strength conditioning coach, and two video editors under him.

The strength conditioning coach and video editors were new additions to Riley’s coaching staff in the past two years to assist in his work.

This season, Detroit Pistons’ coach Chuck Daley also acquired two new assistants, assistant coach Dick Versace and Ron Rothstein, so the "rich father" didn’t have to face the myriad onerous tasks alone anymore.

Not only coaches, but on-court referees were also beginning to feel understaffed. Two referees sometimes couldn’t keep up, unable to cope with the increasingly fast pace of games and the growing complexity and pressure of the significant moments.

The League was considering adding an assistant referee to increase the number of referees to three.

The Trail Blazers’ coaching team now included three people, with Beelman having his own unique insights on defense. He could see that the Supersonics were making good use of marginal defense to create numerical advantages in certain areas and used rapid rotations to offset the Trail Blazers’ ball movements.

If Bill Walton were here, Ramsey wouldn’t hesitate to send his prized pupil onto the court, to use his penetrating passes to create opportunities for the positional game, forming a high-low partnership with Gan Guoyang, replacing a point with a line, which would baffle the Supersonics’ defense.

But Walton wouldn’t be back until next year. If Thompson were to play high and pair up with Gan Guoyang, firstly, Thompson’s passes wouldn’t achieve the effect of Walton’s, and secondly, Thompson was most effective in the low post. When Gan Guoyang handled the ball in the low post, Thompson was most comfortable on the weak-side low post and wing. Asking him to play high post, his main job wasn’t to pass but to receive and shoot mid-range shots.

In the last two years, Thompson’s role became more functional and blue-collar; he was happy to assist Gan Guoyang.

The number-one draft pick from the Bahamas boasted impressive natural talent. In high school back home, he had been unbeatable, easily grabbing 60 rebounds in a game.

Even after coming to America, his talent remained top-notch, but his optimistic and cheerful nature meant he didn’t take things too seriously, limiting his potential for greater achievements.

In this respect, he was very much like his junior Kevin McHale. It’s no wonder the two got along well off the court and understood each other perfectly on the court.

Before Gan Guoyang joined the Trail Blazers, Ramsey and Thompson already didn’t get along too well because Ramsey was obsessed with winning, while Thompson didn’t care as much.

Sometimes after losing a game, Ramsey would be so angry he wouldn’t speak for a whole day, yet Thompson would go on as if nothing had happened, doing whatever he usually did.

Furthermore, when Thompson first joined the League, he was a bit of a clown, often doing strange things such as tying bells to his shoelaces, wearing voodoo necklaces, or bringing women onto the team bus.

All these things gave Ramsey headaches and led him to believe Thompson wasn’t suited to be a team leader. It wasn’t until Gan Guoyang arrived that Thompson didn’t need to worry about being a leader anymore; as an assistant, he was absolutely qualified.

During a timeout, Ramsey, pointing at the tactical board, said to Thompson, "Mitchell, move to the high post. That’s your spot; draw their defense out."

Thompson nodded and asked, "High-low plays with Ah Gan?"

Ramsey nodded, saying, "Yes, you two need to connect and alleviate the defensive pressure on Ah Gan. Everyone else, our offense needs to get moving. We need to be faster than their defense; they’re catching up to us already!"

Though the high-low plays between Thompson and Gan Guoyang were just average, it was still better than letting Gan Guoyang get double-teamed in the low post. Having one person draw the defense out was always good.

Moreover, Gan Guoyang could switch positions with Thompson, alternating high and low post plays. Gan Guoyang’s passing and mid-range shooting were also threats.

On the side, Bobby Berman listened to Ramsey’s arrangements and sighed inwardly, thinking, "Old man, you’re not using my strategy, so why did you even ask me earlier? Still the old routine of high-low plays and others rotating around the frontcourt player. Even if it works, it definitely won’t be as effective as mine."

Ramsey had inquired about Beelman’s defensive strategy earlier, and Beelman had shared his views and answers.

Ramsey merely nodded but still resorted to the old tactics during the timeout and didn’t take Beelman’s recommendation.

It makes sense, after all, Beelman had just taken office and hadn’t yet fully earned Ramsay’s trust; there was no way Ramsay would take Beelman’s advice right off the bat.

Moreover, Beelman’s ideas were fundamentally at odds with the basketball philosophy Ramsay adhered to. Even though Ramsay had been improving and correcting his tactical strategy over the last two seasons, his general direction remained unchanged, with some core elements still present.

Beelman’s ideas were completely different, and Ramsay listened without committing to a stance.

The timeout ended, and both sides returned to the court; the tactical changes of the Trail Blazers were effective.

Thompson moved to the high post, reshaping the team’s formation and making it difficult for the Supersonics to double team effectively.

Thompson caught consecutive passes from Gan Guoyang at the top of the key, hitting mid-range jump shots.

At the same time, the two exchanged defensive assignments, with Guoyang starting to put more pressure on the Supersonics’ forwards.

McDaniel and Dale Ellis both struggled with Guoyang’s tenacious defense, forced into making defensive passes that didn’t lead to effective offense.

Seizing this opportunity, the Trail Blazers countered the Supersonics with an 8:0 run, and slowly, things were back to square one.

After that, both sides engaged in a tug-of-war, with Gan Guoyang-Thompson’s high-low combination having potency, but it wasn’t enough to break apart the Supersonics’ defense.

The Supersonics persisted with double and triple teams on Guoyang, swiftly converging on him like hungry tigers the moment he touched the ball.

Thompson’s mid-range was left open—fine by them. Drexler was off his game tonight, let him drive at will; as long as they shut down Ah Gan, the Supersonics and the Trail Blazers had a match.

McDaniel was still the spearhead of the trap on Guoyang, not only quick in the double teams, but also rough with his hands. Even after the referee called a foul, he continued with impunity.

In his first game of the new season, Guoyang didn’t want to stoop to levels with this bald man. They had only exchanged some verbal conflicts, and by the end of the third quarter, the score was 89:91, with the Trail Blazers up by 2 points.

After the start of the fourth quarter, Guoyang suddenly exerted his force under the basket, relying solely on individual prowess to consecutively snatch offensive rebounds and score, and when facing the triple team, he no longer backed down but spun to take the baseline and launched a forceful attack on the basket, single-handedly unleashing a 10:2 run on the Supersonics and swiftly extending the lead to 10 points.

Beelman, watching from the sidelines, thought to himself that if they had used his strategy, perhaps they would have widened the lead in the third quarter already.

At this point, the Supersonics were becoming desperate, the intensity of their defense increasing, and when Guoyang snagged another offensive rebound under the basket, McDaniel committed a vicious foul from behind, pulling Guoyang down.

Guoyang was infuriated, today being the new season opener, a grand day to celebrate their championship ring-winning—how dare this motherfucker smear his face?

But Guoyang kept his hands to himself; he didn’t want to begin the new season with a wrestling match that would get him ejected. He restrained himself, turned around with a fierce glare, and warned McDaniel, "I fucking warn you, if you keep pulling that shit on me, I’ll fucking smear your bald head with Vaseline and shove it up your ass!"

How could McDaniel back down? He had been waiting for such a moment throughout the game.

He faced Guoyang’s verbal onslaught, stepping closer, tilting his head back, eyes bulging with fury; he wanted to challenge this NBA sovereign.

He knew Guoyang was good at wrestling, so he secretly lowered his center of gravity, ready if Guoyang made a move—should Guoyang attempt it, McDaniel was prepared to strike with his fist.

McDaniel was thrilled, his hormones surging; he’d relish it if Guoyang wrestled with him, and he wanted to prove to the whole League—they all fear Ah Gan, but not him!

Just as McDaniel braced for a takedown, suddenly he felt Guoyang’s face grow bigger and bigger, and then a severe pain ensued, and darkness fell before his eyes.

Guoyang didn’t go for the takedown on McDaniel but instead delivered a sudden headbutt to the trash-talking McDaniel’s face, which knocked him out cold.

"This goddamn baldy, Gan Linliang... Referee, referee! Come blow the whistle, I have a foul. Calvin! Bloody hell, I’m bleeding from my forehead!"

Gan Guoyang’s Sakuragi Hanamichi-like headbutt had split open his own eyebrow.

Of course, in 1986, Sakuragi Hanamichi hadn’t appeared yet.