The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 603 - 11: 13 People_3

With a different coach, they might have floundered in the regular season, not so smoothly sailing.

In the end, they lost due to a series of unexpected events and roster deficiencies.

After all, they suffered the real loss of an All-Star guard without any replacement.

Just like in 1983, the Lakers were missing James Worthy in the playoffs. Although they made it to the finals, they were swept without suspense.

Drexler’s role on the Trail Blazers was much greater than the rookie Worthy in 1983.

Beelman had done his best, the situation wouldn’t have been better with Ramsay, only worse.

Beelman analyzed Divac and Sabonis, saying, "Both of them share many common traits of European centers, versatile in skills, delicate in technique, capable of shooting from the outside, and decent at passing. But Divac’s style is closer to Walton’s in terms of tactical awareness; he has a high sensitivity to strategy. He plays a cerebral game, moving in curves on both offense and defense, although sometimes he might overthink..."

While speaking, Adelman blew his whistle on the sideline. Cliff Robinson, carrying the ball on the offense, bumped into someone, knocking down Divac.

Robinson, with a perplexed look, gazed at Adelman and gestured helplessly at Divac, thinking, brother, I barely touched you, why did you fall down?

Divac had a penchant for flopping on defense, a skill he had mastered.

He frequently used this tactic in scrimmages to handle the towering Sabonis.

Divac might not have had impressive jumping or sprinting abilities, but his technique was fine-tuned, his sense of the game was keen, and he played a cunning game. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

At a young age, he already had a veteran’s savvy, having started playing in adult club competitions at 15.

So, despite being only 21 years old, he had already spent six years navigating European courts, accumulating a wealth of game experience.

In 1987, at 19, he and his team won the Yugoslav League championship. In all of Europe, only one center was more popular than him: Sabonis.

"As for Sabonis... he’s actually more like Ah Gan; he takes the direct approach. Initially, we thought he would be an inside player like Walton, frequently positioned high, an outstanding offensive pivot, but based on careful observation this week and comparing the analyses, I don’t think that’s the case. He’s a larger version of Ah Gan."

Jerry West looked at the somewhat lumbering Sabonis on the court and found it hard to associate him with the 6-foot-10, stocky and compact Gan Guoyang.

West had also thought that Sabonis would be a high-post initiator like Walton, which would allow him to partner with Gan Guoyang and revisit the glory of the 1986 ’Triple Tower’ success.

Walton and Gan Guoyang even made a video for Sabonis to draw him in.

Could they all have been mistaken?

Beelman continued, "Sabonis does have good passing skills, his hands are huge, and he passes effortlessly, often delivering beautiful assists. But... but I don’t think he has the strategic insight or the vision to be a dominant pivot. His greatest threat is still under the basket, on defense. The high post is just an addition, not his primary weapon. He could be a tactical finisher or an assist provider before the finish, but it’s hard for him to be the initial passer. His passes are spirited and penetrating, but they lack a global perspective; he can’t deliver game-changing passes."

"Do you think he lacks strategic imagination?"

"Um... his basketball IQ is high, but the Soviet Union’s training obviously wasn’t focused on making him the initiator. He’s a good finisher and secondary assist provider, but... you can tell by his stats; in European games, his average assists are around two, although it’s tougher to get assists there. I’ve watched a lot of his game footage and interacted with him. If he plays in the NBA, it’s very unlikely his assists per game will exceed three. It’s determined by his playing style and abilities."

Bill Walton, as a representative passing center, had an average of around four assists at his peak, and in his best season, it could reach five.

Moreover, assists are just one indicator of a player’s organizational ability; many passes that don’t result in assists are still crucial to initiating the team’s tactics.

Neither with the Soviet Team nor with Zalgiris in Lithuania did the coaches develop Sabonis as an offensive pivot, because it would have been a waste.

A 7-foot-3 center with a strong body, exceptional hands, ball-handling capabilities, and top-notch hook shots under the basket—if you make him spend a lot of time in the high post handling the ball and organizing plays instead of scoring and inflicting damage in the paint, fans would boo you out of your job.

So in this respect, Beelman’s judgment was not wrong; Sabonis’ role and function were indeed similar to the original Gan Guoyang.

The outside shooting and passing abilities were just icing on the cake, not the guarantee for Sabonis to dominate Europe.

West savored Beelman’s words carefully. He trusted Beelman’s judgment. West himself had observed Sabonis play. In some instances, his passes were indeed exceptional, unique, and garnered acclaim.

But looking at the whole picture, throughout a full game, Sabonis leaned more toward a traditional center.

After the rookie camp ended, there would be a week’s rest, followed by the preseason training camp.

At that time, Beelman would set the tactical tone for the Trail Blazers for the new season.