The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 547 - 49: Half a Core

As the playoffs progressed, Gan Guoyang found his rhythm.

Throughout the entire season, he had been preparing for the playoffs; irrespective of the ups and downs within the team, his inner goal never wavered.

Whether it was Sterlings trade rumors or certain leaks about the Trail Blazers being sold—Weinberg and Gan Guoyang suspected it might be related to Sterling, who wanted to cause turmoil to poach from the Trail Blazers, but there was no concrete evidence.

In any case, none of these could shake Gan Guoyang’s resolve to move forward.

In the first game against the Mavericks, when he began hitting some miraculous shots, he knew he was feeling it.

He wouldn’t let such an opportunity slip; he kept attacking the Mavericks’ basket, breaking down their defense with score after score.

The Mavericks were actually playing very well, incredibly well, especially Sam Bowies defense, which was on point.

He and Rambis were both underlings conquered by Gan Guoyang, with Rambis in particular being mentally shattered by him.

Since joining the Mavericks last season, Rambis had gradually recovered from a rough state, forming a reliable frontcourt duo with Sam Bowie.

Bowie hadn’t become a superstar, he wasn’t even an All-Star.

Last season he was plagued by injuries and missed the playoffs.

His absence was a significant reason why the Mavericks lost to the Supersonics in the first round.

This season, Bowie stayed healthy throughout the regular season and became one of the League’s most reliable rim protectors.

He averaged 14.7 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game, being the guardian of the Dallas people’s three-second zone.

In the regular season, facing the Trail Blazers and Gan Guoyang several times, Bowie performed commendably, no longer the rookie who shrank back cluelessly.

The NBA is a place that tests endurance. Those who endure can transform into mature, excellent players.

Even if not a star, they will still be a force that cannot be ignored on the court.

Those who don’t endure will be eliminated, making way for younger players with more ability and potential.

Being scored 53 points by Gan Guoyang in the first game didn’t discourage Bowie. Instead, he joked with reporters during the locker room interview: "We kept Ah Gan’s score under 60 points, which means our defense was fairly successful."

Everyone laughed. His attitude was admirable.

Rambis patted Bowie on the shoulder from behind, thinking if he had had that kind of mentality back with the Lakers, he wouldn’t have ended up crying his eyes out.

Rambis’ breakdown, besides being related to his own attitude, was also connected to Pat Riley’s high-pressure control.

Riley created a tense atmosphere within the Lakers, putting a hefty psychological burden on everyone’s shoulders.

The upside was that it made the exceptionally talented Lakers rein in their casualness, squeezing out stronger energy.

The downside was that the players lacked relaxation, and once they faced failure, they could collapse terribly.

Dick Motta had also been like Riley, but Motta resigned, and the Mavericks’ coach was replaced by former Suns head coach McLeod.

McLeod was more lenient with the players, encouraging them to perform boldly and take responsibility.

From the regular season and first round, it seemed McLeod’s approach had a positive effect.

If McLeod had started coaching the Mavericks earlier, it’s very likely that Dale Ellis wouldn’t have left and would have realized his potential in Dallas.

However, everything has two sides; while high-pressure tactics by the likes of Riley and Motta can cause players to break, they are essential for raising the ceiling of both the players and the team, even requiring a whip to reach the summit.

Many of history’s great achievers, aside from a few genius talents, have been forced into their accomplishments.

Many people only unleash their superhuman potential in high-pressure situations and desperate circumstances.

Therefore, Riley and Dick Motta are championship coaches; they have won championships.

While McLeod is a good coach, he even failed to emulate Doug Moe in the end.

In the NBA, the difference between a coach who has won a championship and one who hasn’t might not be too great in terms of ability, but there is sure to be a subtle gap in management and psychology.

And this difference may be forever irreconcilable. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

On May 12th, the second game between the two teams continued at the Memorial Coliseum.

This time, from top to bottom, the Mavericks adjusted their state and used their offense to seize the initiative from the start of the game.

Mark Aguirre, Blackman, Derek Harper, the trio from beyond the arc kept firing, ending the first quarter with a 32:24 lead over the Trail Blazers, an 8-point advantage.

On the defensive end, the Mavericks didn’t hesitate to triple-team Guoyang, with Aguirre, Rambis, and Sam Bowie all preventing him from taking shots.

Guoyang only scored 6 points on 2 of 7 shooting in the first quarter; without his efficient scoring on the offensive end, the Trail Blazers’ offensive efficiency immediately took a hit.

In the second quarter, the Trail Blazers’ offense still didn’t pick up. In the playoffs, if you can’t open up the inside game, the outside shots are also unlikely to fall.

This is 1988, not 2018. As the team at the forefront of the League’s tactical thinking, the Trail Blazers still couldn’t break free from the shackles of the time.

They still needed the inside game to drive the outside, drawing enough defensive attention inside before creating opportunities for the outside to open fire.

And the model of opening up the outside shots first, then creating plenty of opportunities inside, would not appear for another 20 years.

Guoyang went 5 for 11 in the first half, shooting below 50%, which was too low for both him and the Trail Blazers.

But Drexler’s shooting percentage was even lower, making only 3 out of 10 shots for 8 points, and missing all two attempts from beyond the arc. The Mavericks completely left him unguarded.

Drexler could serve as a core player during the regular season, but in the playoffs, due to insufficient shooting ability, Drexler was less effective.

The Mavericks had one strategy for defending Drexler—allow the shot but no penetration, and then Sam Bowie could split his focus to protect the rim.

Drexler complained that he was not treated as the second core player, but in the highly equitable team atmosphere of the Trail Blazers, if he had the ability to be the absolute second core, everyone would have treated him as such.

Jack Ramsay knew very well that Drexler was only half a core player.

If the Trail Blazers lacked Drexler, they could still make it to the Western Conference Finals under Ah Gan’s leadership.

If there wasn’t a super team like the Lakers in the Western Conference, the Trail Blazers would have a seventy percent chance of making it to the Finals.

But without Ah Gan, letting Drexler lead the team, they would only have enough to go no further than the first round.

In the fierce playoff battles of strong confrontation, as the leading perimeter player, Drexler’s problem-solving ability in the face of intense defensive positional battles was failing.

It wasn’t just that his shooting was too inconsistent, his penetration lacked variety as well.

Some technical details were too rough, relying heavily on speed and power.

Facing a big man like Sam Bowie in the paint, Drexler struggled.

Against the Rockets in the first round, Drexler had a mediocre performance; the Rockets’ interior presence was Olajuwon.

In the previous two championship seasons, Drexler often contributed less when the going got tough and more so when it was time to add the finishing touches.

Often, Guoyang would be in the front, wreaking havoc and leaving the opponent in disarray.

Then Drexler would step in to clean up the mess, and he was quite good at capitalizing on such situations.

For instance, against the Pistons, after Guoyang muscled through, taking down himself and the opponent’s main players, Drexler had his chance to shine.

When it wasn’t a scramble situation, with both sides prepared for battle, Drexler found fewer opportunities to exploit gaps; his value was more in rebounds, assists, steals, and other auxiliary roles.

By the third quarter, the Mavericks seemed to anticipate that Guoyang would recover, learning from the hits they took.

This time, they simply quadruple-teamed him! Bowie, Rambis, Harper, Aguirre, four men hunting one.

Even if that meant leaving the Trail Blazers’ perimeter open to hit a few three-pointers, the Mavericks didn’t change their defensive strategy.

Their thinking was clear: do not let Ah Gan score, if the others have the talent, they can try to beat us.

The third quarter saw a gradual catch-up in the score, but the Mavericks, insisting on their four-man trap, performed equally well on the offensive end.

The Mavericks were second in the league in the number of three-point shots taken, just behind the Trail Blazers.

Moreover, they increased the pace of the game, not allowing the Trail Blazers to play a slow-paced positional battle.

The Trail Blazers were suppressed both offensively and defensively, with the pace dictated by the Mavericks.

In the end, they lost the game 116:108 at home, by an 8-point margin.

In reality, the game was more lopsided than the 8-point difference suggested, as the Trail Blazers never really managed to turn the tables.

The Mavericks evened the series at 1:1. The situation was quite serious for the Trail Blazers.

Guoyang had a great game in the opener, but clearly, his teammates had not.