The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 464 - 81 - s: Confrontation
Morris Lucas had a failed season with the Lakers last year.
He couldn’t get along with Magic Johnson, Jabbar, or Pat Riley at all.
Clearly, the Lakers weren’t suited for him, nor he for the Lakers; it was a mismatched union.
Lucas returned to the perennially rainy Pacific Northwest coast, attempting to go back to Portland.
But the Trail Blazers’ frontcourt was amply stocked, and the management was concerned about Lucas’s temper.
During the Walton era, he had been the team’s troublemaker, always dissatisfied and complaining about many things.
It had been he who led the vote against giving Calvin a playoff bonus, believing Calvin only served Walton.
Now, the Trail Blazers were Gan Guoyang’s team, and the Blazers did not want to bring a locker room bomb back into the fold.
So Lucas went to Seattle, where he actually performed quite well, finding his role.
Lucas got along with McDaniel. As an "Enforcer" who had been in countless NBA fights, Lucas taught McDaniel: "Don’t try to meet every challenge head-on. Sometimes you need to be patient and when you do retaliate, don’t get caught by the referees. You must be wise and skillful."
Lucas wasn’t just a brute—his years of battle had made him experienced.
Fighting and brawling on the court weren’t the ultimate objective; the goal was to win the game.
In the first round against the Mavericks, McDaniel had multiple conflicts with Sam Bowie.
Once, after being charged by Sam Bowie, McDaniel knocked down the 7-foot-1 giant.
The conflict erupted; McDaniel received a technical foul, but after that, Bowie’s defensive intimidation in the paint declined, leading to the collapse of the Mavericks’ defense.
However, McDaniel knew in his heart that Bowie was Bowie, and Ah Gan was Ah Gan.
Although he would have liked to sacrifice himself to get Ah Gan ejected from the game, reason told him it would not be worthwhile.
When he actually stood on the court, face to face with Ah Gan, McDaniel knew he should just focus on playing the game and not resort to dirty tricks.
Gan Guoyang’s uprightness made any player with ulterior motives give up and simply play the game properly.
The Trail Blazers’ starting lineup was consistent as always, and the team’s health was very good, with Parkson, Vandeweghe, and Walton all in relatively healthy condition.
The Supersonics’ starters included center Clemon Johnson, power forward Tom Chambers, small forward X-man, shooting guard Dale Ellis, and point guard Nate McMillan.
This was a quite "modern" lineup, with the center relegated to purely defensive labor, the team centered around three forwards as the core offensive unit, utilizing shooting and penetration to alternate attacks on the opponent.
The Mavericks fell victim to the Supersonics’ three musketeers’ random firing; when they really got going, most teams couldn’t withstand them.
However, the Trail Blazers had the league’s best one-on-one defensive arsenal, making it truly challenging for the Supersonics to take a bite out of them.
Gan Guoyang tipped the ball during the jump ball, and the Trail Blazers initiated their first offense.
Gan Guoyang called for the ball in the low post on the left, with the entire Trail Blazers team spreading out, passing the ball to Gan Guoyang.
This was the Trail Blazers’ most efficient and reliable tactical approach.
Clemon Johnson was as tall as Gan Guoyang, a powerfully built big man with a large head and a thick neck.
But no matter how strong, he couldn’t possibly be stronger than Gan Guoyang, and the Supersonics coach wasn’t foolish enough to let him defend Gan Guoyang one-on-one.
Even though the Blazers stretched their formation wide, McDaniel still abandoned his defensive assignment to double-team Gan Guoyang. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
Gan Guoyang chose to pass the ball out, Drexler received the ball at the top of the arc, and then passed it to Vandeweghe at the right 45-degree angle.
Vandeweghe took the shot immediately upon receiving the ball and hit the three-pointer!
A very decisive three-point shot, this season Vandeweghe shot with such crispness and decisiveness.
This made him the player with the most three-point attempts this year and also the most made.
The Supersonics scored quickly too, with Tom Chambers catching the ball in the corner spot and making a mid-range shot right away.
Both teams’ opening offense was filled with their distinct styles.
The Trail Blazers were absolutely dominated by the inside game, using their core center to attract defense and create opportunities for others.
While the Supersonics relied on their three sharpshooters on the outside, continuously passing the ball and utilizing shooting for firepower coverage.
The Blazers’ characteristic was stability; Gan Guoyang was solid as a rock, and this simple yet effective system allowed the Trail Blazers to ease through the regular season effortlessly.
The Supersonics’ trademark was unpredictability; they had a bumpy regular season, shining one game and faltering the next—with them, when everything clicked, no one could stop them, but when they were off, anyone could.
For the Trail Blazers’ second offense, they still gave the ball to Gan Guoyang in the low post, pulling away again for the one-on-one, McDaniel came over for the double-team, and Gan Guoyang passed it back outside.
This time Drexler didn’t pass the ball, instead, he made a fake pass and broke through straight to the basket! An elegant layup attempt... but it missed.
He was disturbed by McDaniel, however, Gan Guoyang followed up with a successful offensive rebound and scored, drawing a foul on Clemon Johnson in the process, plus a free throw.
On the sidelines, Coach Bickerstaff protested to the referee, arguing, "Gan Guoyang knocked over three of our guys by himself, how come you’re calling a foul on us?"
After Drexler missed the layup, Chambers, Johnson, and McDaniel all went for the rebound, but Gan Guoyang shoved them aside from behind.
Chambers was knocked to the ground, McDaniel and Johnson were pushed aside, and yet the foul was called on Johnson.
Tonight’s head referee was Dick Bavetta, accompanied by two assistant referees, Hugh Evans and Bill Saar.
Owing to the previous incidents where two referees couldn’t control the game, starting from this year’s playoffs, the league introduced a system of three referees officiating a game.
Bavetta’s explanation was simple, Ah Gan was going for the ball, not aiming for the person, and he didn’t initiate physical force or any arm movement, your players fell because they weren’t strong enough to maintain their balance.
The TV replay showed Bavetta’s judgment was correct; Gan Guoyang didn’t push or charge with his shoulder, Chambers fell because he lost his balance and was tripped.
Bickerstaff could only pinch his nose and temporarily accept it, Gan Guoyang made the additional free throw, and the Trail Blazers quickly scored 6 points, leading the Supersonics by 4 points.
However, the head coach’s complaints were not entirely in vain. After Chambers’ shot from outside missed, McDaniel grabbed the offensive rebound and drew a foul on Thompson.
The call seemed to be whistling for the sake of whistle, as McDaniel made both free throws, and the Supersonics closed the gap in the score.
Gan Guoyang was unhappy with Bavetta’s whistle-finding behavior, saying, "Can’t you referees stick to your convictions? Just because the head coach complains, you give a whistle? What about your own judgment and brains?"
Bavetta warned Gan Guoyang, "If you’re against complaining, start with yourself. And I just gave you a favorable call."
"That’s expected; it’s your job. Should I also thank you for that?"
There is always some animosity between players and referees. Some referees like certain players and dislike others, which can’t help but influence their officiating.
Of course, players have referees they don’t like as well, and the two sides may even become long-term enemies, like Drexler and Jack O’Donnell; O’Donnell didn’t get along well with the entire Trail Blazers team.
Dick Bavetta was someone Gan Guoyang didn’t like much, and likewise, Bavetta wasn’t very fond of Gan Guoyang.
Gan Guoyang felt that Bavetta as a referee liked to create balance too much, while Bavetta’s dislike for Gan Guoyang stemmed from the latter’s good relationship with Earl Strom.
Strom greatly admired Gan Guoyang. In the famous "Silver Dome Massacre," Strom hugged Gan Guoyang’s leg, preventing him from beating up Thomas.
Gan Guoyang also admired Earl Strom’s candidness, impartiality, and his rough but fair style on the court, much unlike Bavetta’s hypocrisy and flair for self-performance.
Earl Strom had once beaten up Bavetta after a game ended, so the two had a bad relationship, and naturally, Bavetta wasn’t going to like Gan Guoyang.
But tonight was a home game for the Trail Blazers, and regardless, Bavetta had to show some respect for Gan Guoyang; he didn’t add much to the conversation.
The game continued, and the Supersonics began a determined double team on Gan Guoyang in defense.
They were doubling Gan Guoyang, a relentless double team, absolutely not giving him any chance for one-on-one play in the low post.
For other players on the Trail Blazers, whether it was Drexler, Vandeweghe, or Porter, let them shoot or dunk, we’ll take the beating.
Just not give Gan Guoyang a chance.
Bickerstaff believed that being beaten by Ah Gan was the most morale-damaging way to lose and would hugely boost the morale of the Trail Blazers.
Ah Gan was the soul of the Trail Blazers, and even in defeat, if they could restrain the soul of the Trail Blazers, then they still had a chance when they returned to Seattle.
In the first quarter, facing frequent double teams, Gan Guoyang didn’t force his play but kept passing the ball to create opportunities for his teammates.
However, during one offensive play, he was called for an offensive foul by Bavetta, which really annoyed him.
His move wasn’t severe, but the referee caught him on a minor technicality.
Bavetta spread his hands towards him and said, "It’s my job; you committed a foul."
"Why didn’t Strom punch your mouth shut?" Gan Guoyang added fuel to the fire, getting into it with Bavetta.
Bavetta was extremely irritated, Hugh Evans came over to advise, urging Bavetta to stay calm and not get carried away.
Then, on defense, Gan Guoyang suddenly dove forward, intercepting Dale Ellis’s pass.
A very clean steal, Bavetta wanted to call a foul but had no chance to even blow the whistle.
Gan Guoyang immediately launched a fast break, with no one in front of him, he easily dunked the ball.
Even without the opportunity for one-on-one play, Gan Guoyang managed to score smoothly.
The scoring king wasn’t so easy to contain, and the battle between the two sides had just begun.
