The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 612 - 14 Positioning

During the 1989-1990 season, the NBA League, after expanding for two consecutive years, saw the number of teams jump from the long-standing 23 to 27.

The Heat, Hornets, Timberwolves, and Magic, the four teams located in these cities, are all geographically skewed toward the East.

Especially the Hornets, Heat, and Magic, situated on the East Coast, while the Timberwolves are somewhat better positioned in the central region.

It was obviously inappropriate to divide all these teams into the Eastern Conference based solely on their geographical locations.

Consequently, the League decided to have the four teams rotate among the Eastern and Western Conference’s four divisions.

During the 88-89 season, the Heat, situated in the southeastern corner of America, were placed in the Midwestern division of the Western Conference

They played four games against the Trail Blazers, didn’t win a single one, and were beaten soundly each time.

Although Drexler received applause and rings upon returning to his home court, being beaten by his former team four times in a season was indeed quite a blow to his morale.

This season, the Heat finally returned to the Eastern Conference, and it was the Hornets’ turn to suffer in the Midwestern division.

The Minnesota Timberwolves were also allocated to the Western Conference, with the Magic staying in the Eastern Conference for now, set to move to the West next season.

David Stern explained that the purpose of this was to allow fans in the cities of the new teams to thoroughly enjoy the presence of the league’s top stars at home over a span of two to three seasons.

For example, if the Heat had started in the Eastern Conference, then Miami fans would only have seen Gan Guoyang at home for one game in the first season.

By placing the Heat in the West, Heat fans saw Gan Guoyang twice last season, the Lakers twice, and this season they can watch Jordan and the Celtics twice each at home, which benefits the development of the local market.

Of course, the downside is that the players have to take long flights to the West Coast for the majority of their games in a season, which is a significant strain on their energy.

The Heat, under the leadership of Riley and Drexler, managed to achieve over 30 wins, which is quite impressive.

Riley’s team-building and coaching skills were affirmed with the Heat—of course, this would not have been possible without the support of the Trail Blazers’ backing.

The other three newly joined teams weren’t so fortunate, lacking Riley’s cunning and foresight in team building, as well as the strong backing from the Trail Blazers’ support.

The Hornets only managed 20 wins and 62 losses in their first season, and this year’s Timberwolves and Magic won’t fare much better, given the poor roster.

On November 5th, the newcomer Timberwolves were set to face their second game in franchise history, traveling to Portland to challenge the Trail Blazers Team.

For the Trail Blazers, this was a game where the outcome wasn’t a concern; Bobby Berman’s main considerations before the game were how to pair rotations, coordinate players’ court time, and establish newcomers’ roles.

Truth be told, Beerman had never fought such an affluent battle before.

In his early years, whether at Beiqiao High School or at Gonzaga University, the teams he led always faced a shortage of players.

Holding only one strong card, plus a bunch of 3s, 4s, 5s, 6s, and 7s, he had to think of every way to strategically play his hand, maximizing the power of his king card to win the game.

Even last season, they were missing their second-in-command, had no veteran substitutes, and none of the new players were usable.

Now, Beerman had many new cards in his hand, but he was still uncertain about their strength.

Out of the Eastern Europe trio, Sabonis was the one with the strongest immediate impact and the most likely to start, contributing greatly to the team roster.

In 1989, although Sabonis repeatedly had Achilles injuries and knee problems, he was still only 25 years old, an age where a player’s strength and vitality peak.

After a summer of rest and proper training, his condition had significantly improved.

The Trail Blazers used the latest electronic equipment to help treat Sabonis’s knees and Achilles tendon, devices that stars like Bernard King and Drexler had also used.

America started using various electronic technologies to help athletes rehabilitate in the 1980s.

By the late ’80s, these devices became more advanced and multifunctional, a convenience Sabonis would have found challenging to access in Europe.

From the first game and daily training, Beelman could feel that Sabonis’s physical condition was very good.

He could help Gan Guoyang in the three-second zone by sharing defensive and offensive tasks.

He was taller and younger than any center Gan Guoyang had played with before.

Players like Walton and Gilmore were too old and couldn’t last more than one or two seasons.

Mitchell Thompson was also aging, but Sabonis could allow Gan Guoyang not to exhaust himself during the regular season.

In both playoff defeats, Gan Guoyang had been overwhelmed by excessive responsibilities.

Divac was younger and more slippery than Sabonis, and according to Beelman’s plan, after Thompson retired or stepped back, Divac could serve as a versatile glue in the interior.

However, how he would actually perform depended on his later development, after all, Divac was only 21 years old, with great potential to shape.

The most elusive for Beelman was Petrović.

In Beelman’s view, Petrović was too European.

His strengths were not strong enough in America, and his physical limitations restricted his ball-handling attack level.

Regular-season scoring might be okay, but in the tough clashes of the playoffs, the decisive moment’s ball-handling kill, he was far from sufficient.

And his defensive weaknesses were more likely to be magnified in America, where European defensive habits and techniques were useless.

Moreover, his lateral movement was terrible.

From his build, it was noticeable that he was on the thinner side among shooting guards.

His height was acceptable, but his wingspan was average, and his hands were not very big; his skills were great, but in the NBA, without a strong body, it just wouldn’t work.

Shooting guards like Drexler, Jordan, Richmond, and the like from the new generation were all stronger than the average small forward.

Without the Glider, the Trail Blazers’ guards were already on the smaller and shorter side.

Hornacek was another White guard, tough enough to confront any top guard in the League, but still defensively vulnerable.

That was determined by physical ability, not by your will.

Hence, among the guards, Beelman valued Mike-Sanders more.

This 29-year-old veteran could bring toughness and intensity to the Trail Blazers’ backcourt.

But what worried Beelman was that Sanders had not been effective in defending Jordan during his time with the Knight.

Of course, so far, there seemed to be no one in the League who could defend Jordan effectively.

Anyway, a veteran like Sanders could be plug-and-play, without any potential left.

Maintain good form, deliver solid defense on the perimeter, and do the supportive work, and that would satisfy the coach.

Similar to Dell Curry, his role was the clearest—an outside sniper with the ’Microwave’ attribute.

At critical moments and in crucial rounds, pairing him with Gan Guoyang could have a surprising effect with consecutive three-pointers.

Other than that, he was quite average in every aspect, but as a bench reinforcement for a championship-level team, the coach had no higher demands.

Due to his personality, Dell Curry did not have a particularly strong competitive spirit, he was content with his current role, and felt very comfortable with his wife and son.

But Petrović was different; Beelman could sense his ambition and desire, he was of the same kind as Gan Guoyang and Jordan, with a strong longing for success and an extreme love for basketball.

Therefore, how Petrović would develop and be nurtured in the future required more time for Beelman to assess.

Such a player, if developed well, could become a jewel; if not, he could also become a ticking time bomb in the locker room.

Before the game against the Timberwolves began, Beelman and Adelman discussed these issues.

Adelman’s thoughts were more conservative; he thought Petrović should transition from a European ball-handling guard to an off-the-ball guard.

"We have enough ball handlers already, Porter, Ah Gan, Hornacek, including Kossie, can all attack with the ball. I’ve watched some of Petrović’s tapes, his ball-handling skills are very good, but not useful in the NBA, not fast enough. He will be at a disadvantage; he needs to develop catch-and-shoot skills, and run tactics around Ah Gan and Sabonis."

Adelman’s idea wasn’t wrong, Petrović would indeed show some results quickly if he underwent such a transformation.

Beelman gave him 15-20 minutes of playing time per game, and scoring around 10 points on average wouldn’t be a problem.

"But isn’t it a waste to train him like this, this guy can score 62 points in a game in Europe."

"Ah Gan also scored 60 points in the playoffs, what about him, is he supposed to go play on the moon or something?"

Beelman rolled his eyes at Adelman, thinking to himself what use are you, unable to offer any ideas yet still arguing with me.

Fortunately, Adelman didn’t always argue with Beelman, on how to nurture Divac, both reached an agreement.

"Let Ah Gan be his sparring partner, train him well!"