The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 493 - 110: Letting Go

In the first and second games, the Trail Blazers and the Pistons were evenly matched in the first half, with little difference between them.

Even in the second game, where the Trail Blazers ended up trouncing the Pistons, they only led by 5 points at halftime.

By the third quarter, the Trail Blazers used varied defenses and Gan Guoyang’s efficient one-on-one plays to take the Pistons for a ride.

The Pistons were a team lacking creativity on the offensive end, where Isiah Thomas’s speed and agility represented the limit of their talent.

In the 1980s, for a point guard around 185 cm in height to be burdened with the task of continuous scoring and creating chances during the crucial times of the third and fourth quarters, the pressure was considerable.

Unlike inside players who could be closer to the basket, or forwards who had the physical advantages for shooting, penetrating, and drawing fouls.

All he could rely on was his own speed and skills; penetrating the defense in this era was very difficult, and drawing fouls was even more challenging.

Thomas’s average number of free throws always hovered around 6, increasing to 7 in the playoffs, which was somewhat inadequate if he was to carry the scoring load at crucial moments.

The Pistons lacked a big man’s low-post offense, and the high-post orchestrations and low-post axis attacks by the big men were even rarer.

Bill Laimbeer’s mid-range shot could only serve as an offensive supplement, and his scoring average would drop in the playoffs, from 15 points to 12.

Adrian Dantley’s arrival indeed provided a significant boost to the Pistons’ offense, with his low-post ball handling and free throws adding some layers to the otherwise monotonous Detroit offense.

However, Dantley was known in the league for being a selfish player with monotonous offensive methods, so the fact that such a player could enrich the Pistons’ offense indicates how poor their offensive patterns were before Dantley’s arrival.

In an era where the three-pointer was not widespread, an offensive model centered on three small guards relied heavily on fast breaks.

Set plays demanded a lot from positioning, with almost no self-sufficient offensive capabilities on the front line and sporadic inside play.

Once the Trail Blazers began to apply strong-weak-strong variational defenses, the Pistons would be constipated in their offense during the third quarter.

At such times, the Pistons had no choice but to rely on Thomas to push his slender body closer to the basket. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

He could use his speed for a turnaround jumper or cut to the basket for a floater, and if he drew the defense, he would pass the ball to create scoring opportunities for his teammates.

But this method of play was inefficient and couldn’t keep up with the Trail Blazers’ bombardment.

During the two days of rest and preparation, the Pistons coaching staff constantly sought ways to improve this issue.

Certainly, they wouldn’t be able to completely resolve it—after all, the player roster was set; it’s not like Dennis Rodman, John Salley, or Melvin Turpin could suddenly become savvy and turn into super scorers, right?

This was an area for future development, and they definitely wouldn’t make it for the Finals; all they could do was find a quick fix.

Chuck Daly came up with an idea: a three-guard lineup, with Vinnie Johnson, Joe Dumars, and Isiah Thomas all on the floor at the same time.

With three ball handlers, the Pistons’ offensive flexibility would greatly increase, preventing situations where passing the ball to certain players was equivalent to one less player attacking.

The biggest issue with this lineup was defense, as not one of the three guards in the backcourt exceeded 190 cm in height; they might get torn apart by the Trail Blazers’ offense.

But Daly didn’t dismiss Chuck Daly’s advanced idea, and after some thought, he deemed it feasible.

He said, "Defensive issues with three guards are indeed a problem, but the issue is, we don’t expect them to stop Ah Gan anyway, would switching to someone else make it any better? Right?"

Daly’s thought process was clear: since the so-called tall defenders couldn’t stop Ah Gan, why not use shorter players who were good offensively? After all, they couldn’t stop him either, but at least they could score more.

Versace asked, "What if the Trail Blazers start their offense from the outside?"

"If that’s the case, even better; that would be the best defense," Daly replied.

Daly knew that giving the ball to Ah Gan was the most efficient way for the Trail Blazers to score.

The next NBA team to rely so heavily on a single inside scoring point would be the Utah Jazz, many years later.

It’s said that Karl Malone watched every Trail Blazers game without missing any during the 1987 playoffs, then practiced his body and skills in the gym while watching.

He spent 10 years perfecting just the face-up power jump shot that Gan Guoyang used, before achieving some success.

Having devised this somewhat risky offensive strategy, Chuck Daly also encouraged Rodman during the halftime break.

"You’re doing great, kid. If that foul were committed at a crucial moment, it might have decided the outcome of the game."

Daly knew how to handle Rodman, offering more encouragement than scolding, more freedom than restraint.

He understood that Rodman was a wild horse; to make him work with a rope, first, he needed enough space to run wild.

Rodman didn’t get carried away by Daly’s praise, instead, he honestly said, "Ah Gan is hardly affected, he’s already very angry, but it doesn’t affect his offense."

Gan Guoyang scored 13 points in the second quarter, totaling 23 points for the half, yet another game where he’s heading towards 40 points.

As Rodman spoke, he shook his head slightly, and whispered to Daly, "I reckon at some point in the second half, he’s going to try and finish me off. If something happens to me, tell my mom I played basketball well."

Daly waved his hand dismissively and said, "You’re not going to die, I didn’t die, Bill didn’t die, Melvin Turpin didn’t die, Ah Gan isn’t a real killer. What, are you scared?"

Rodman shook his head again and said, "I really admire him. I’ve done a lot of things to annoy him, but he said nothing, just pushed me, and then kept sinking the ball into the basket, as steady as a machine."

If Gan Guoyang started responding to Rodman with trash talk and petty moves, Rodman would only get more excited and act crazier.

But aside from that one emotional push, Gan Guoyang said nothing, responding only with his scoring.

Because Gan Guoyang understood people like Rodman, he had seen too many of them, like Xu Xun, where simply insulting and oppressing them was useless, you had to make them respect you.

Rodman wasn’t afraid of the endless, arrogant trash talk from Larry Bird, having faced off against Bird more than once in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The more Bird chattered at him, the less Rodman would be inclined to back down, insistent on clashing head-on with Bird.

He hated Bird, hated this white man, and never considered Bird to be a great player.

When he was at school, he had stayed with a family in Oklahoma, the Pat Ritchies, who were all basketball fans, white people who liked Bird.

But Rodman just didn’t like it; he felt these white fans liked Bird merely because of his skin color, even though Bird was slow and clumsy in reality.

Of course, it wasn’t until he faced Bird on the battlefield of the Eastern Conference Finals that he understood how strong Bird was, but still, he was reluctant to admit it in his heart.

Ah Gan was different; his yellow skin surprised Rodman. Could Asians play basketball too?

After facing him on the court, he realized how truly terrifying this guy was.

"If you’re scared, you don’t have to bother Ah Gan in the second half," Daly suggested.

"No, I’m not scared, I will keep bothering him, attacking him, until he does me in."

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Rodman might have overestimated Gan Guoyang’s emotional stability.

In the Trail Blazers’ locker room, Gan Guoyang was already discussing with his teammates at how many points ahead they should finalize their plan to take out Rodman.

"10 points, I think if we’re leading by 10 points in the fourth quarter, it’ll be enough, then I’ll throw Rodman onto the scorer’s table."

"10 points is too little, I think at least a 15 point lead is needed, let’s start at 15 points. To hell with the Pistons."

It was Mychal Thompson who spoke, typically composed, but he was nearly obliterated by the Pistons’ front line in the first half.

He was filled with indignation, but for the sake of a Finals victory, he endured most of the time.

"You might not even be up by 15 points by the end of the game, so let’s make it 12 points. If we’re up by 12 points, we can win without Ah Gan," said Vandeweghe.

Vandeweghe and Thompson were both good-natured players, but watching both of them start to lose their cool spoke volumes of how imposing the Pistons were.

It wasn’t just Gan Guoyang who was harassed; back at the Silverdome, the Pistons became even more reckless.

The constant noise and swearing at the Silverdome was so intense it caused throbbing headaches.

Adelman and Beelman saw their players getting worked up and feared the second half might turn into a massive brawl.

They quickly looked to Jack Ramsay, hoping Dr. Jack would stand up and calm the players’ emotions.

Ramsay looked at the players and said, "I can play one-on-one with Daly; he definitely can’t beat me, I can pull his hair out."

Adelman and Beelman despaired, thinking, Coach, why would you say something like that?

After Ramsay finished, everyone laughed, he clapped his hands to quiet them down, and spoke, "The game is decided by you. First, we have to win, and second, we need to show our fighting spirit. I want to say, this year, Detroiters are not our match, the championship will definitely be ours!"

Upon finishing, the team morale soared, everyone eager and fired up.

Adelman and Beelman sighed, thinking it looked like there would be big trouble in the second half.

Dr. Jack had been letting loose this season, and by the Finals, it seemed he had gone a bit too far.