The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 617 - 19 Silencer

David Robinson conquered San Antonio and the Spurs fans with just one game, making everyone realize that it was all worth it.

After the game, Magic Johnson said in an interview, "Some rookies aren’t really rookies, and Robinson is one of them."

Magic Johnson was one of them himself.

But Robinson’s performance did not conquer the Spurs’ head coach Larry Brown, who had many grievances about the superstar from the Holy City.

For example, during training, Robinson would finish his tasks on time and stop practicing, while Larry Brown believed that as a superstar, you must train extra.

Robinson, however, thought that he had fulfilled his duties and completed his work; whether to train extra was his own business and should not be dictated by others.

This kind of conflict began on the first day of the preseason training camp, and it was just a small point among many disagreements between the two.

Robinson was diligent and responsible but relatively laid-back. His passion for basketball was average, higher than a regular player’s, yet not on par with basketball maniacs like Gan Guoyang and Jordan.

That was just Larry Brown’s personality. He didn’t get along well with his players back at the University of Kansas and always had tense relationships with them.

This was different from Bill Fitch and Dick Motta. Fitch was verbally harsh and demanding, while Motta was principled and cared about face, but he was sincere with his players. Larry Brown’s biggest problem was that he liked to yell at players and did not respect them. He would play mind games with them, suppress them, in order to utilize them as he pleased and manipulate them at will.

Compared to Fitch and Motta, Brown lacked a kind of stern warmth. His severity was not for your benefit but for his own. He needed wins, success, performance.

So, many years later, when players recalled Larry Brown, there wasn’t much good to say – unlike with Fitch and Motta.

In terms of coaching style, Larry Brown was typical: I have a set of tactics and strategies, and my players all need to fit into my plans and play according to my directions.

He wouldn’t tailor his strategies to suit the strengths of his players.

This was one of the reasons for his strained relationships with players – not everyone could adapt to his system.

He was incredibly stubborn and persistent about his own system, and any player who disobeyed his commands would face his wrath and screaming.

Before David Robinson’s arrival, the Spurs’ core was Alvin Robertson.

In the 88-89 season, Larry Brown’s coaching routine was to berate Robertson and curse the Spurs for having no future, labeling them a sinking ship.

Robertson said he didn’t feel loved, appreciated, or needed, which eventually led to him being traded in the summer.

Faced with poor results, Brown didn’t think it was his fault. He felt his players weren’t performing well, that he never had the players he wanted. He constantly complained to the media, saying the Spurs’ lineup didn’t fit his system requirements.

He even bluntly said, "I think it’s obvious that I don’t have a good relationship with Robertson, and I don’t think a player like him can win games."

In theory, Robertson’s style and gameplay fit Brown’s system requirements.

Top exterior defense, the league’s best stealing ability, and a highly oppressive game state.

Clearly a first-rate defensive barrier, yet for some reason, the two just couldn’t create a chemistry.

Eventually, Robertson grew disheartened. Halfway through the season, he knew he didn’t want to play in San Antonio anymore.

The media reported the chaos within the Spurs team at the time, and Larry Brown would occasionally complain in newspapers and on television.

Gan Guoyang found this very annoying. During the 88-89 season game against the Spurs, he could feel a pervasive resentment throughout the team.

How could such a team play a beautiful game? The players seemed like walking corpses on the court, and Larry Brown was like a shrew, constantly screaming on the sideline.

In a game in San Antonio last season, Gan Guoyang couldn’t stand Brown’s yelling. He walked up to the sideline and said to Brown, "If you keep yelling, I’ll stuff the basketball down your throat; I don’t want to see your tonsils again!"

Although Gan Guoyang got a technical foul for this, Larry Brown did quiet down quite a bit.

This year, the Spurs’ roster finally met Larry Brown’s expectations.

In the first game against the strong Lakers team, the Spurs used solid defense to keep the Lakers’ scoring to 98 points, not letting them past 100.

The Lakers’ field goal percentage was held to 38%, which was quite a low rate.

From this point of view, Brown’s complaints last season weren’t entirely unreasonable.

Now that he had a big center and a defensively outstanding power forward at his disposal, his system could indeed showcase stunning defense and win games against strong teams.

Although Brown had various personality issues, his coaching abilities were still on point.

Tonight’s Spurs starting lineup was David Robinson, Morris Cheeks, Terry Cummings, Willie Anderson, and Elliott.

The Trail Blazers were still Ah Gan, Thompson, Hornacek, Porter and Kossie, a standard starting five.

At center court, Robinson touched the ball first, and the Spurs began their first offense.

Robinson’s physical condition was truly outstanding; with a 7-foot-1-inch frame, his muscles were like those of ancient Greek sculptures, very symmetrical and harmonious.

When facing off in the jump ball, Robinson really was no less than Gan Guoyang.

At the start, the Spurs’ offense did not focus on Robinson, with Cummings trying to get the ball in the low post.

The Trail Blazers tightened their defense, giving Cummings no chance to attack from the low post. Cheeks passed the ball to Elliott at the top of the arc.

Elliott took the ball with a shooting fake followed by a drive. As the Trail Blazers tightened their defense, Elliott passed the ball to Willie Anderson in the corner.

Willie Anderson went for a three-pointer from the corner, but it missed off the mark, and Gan Guoyang muscled Robinson out of the way to secure the rebound.

An offensive pattern like this would have been utterly impossible in the mid-1980s.

Who would have thought of having a guard squat in the corner and shoot a three-pointer right after receiving the ball at the start of a game?

But as tactics evolved into the 90s, the on-court situation began to change.

Players driving through the middle to condense the defense and then passing out to the corner for an open long-distance three-pointer had become a common strategy for many teams, with an average of two to three such attempts per game.

Although not frequent, it was enough to show that coaches were placing importance on utilizing space and three-point shots.

Robinson had aimed for the offensive rebound on that play but didn’t stand a chance, as Gan Guoyang had excellent control over the boards.

Then, on offense, Gan Guoyang posted up and sealed off Robinson. After receiving the ball, Elliott immediately moved in for the double team.

Gan Guoyang passed the ball to Kossie, but Kossie fumbled the catch and, while trying to drive, got stripped by Cheeks who came up with the double team.

The Spurs launched a counterattack; just past midcourt, the ball in Williams’ hands was again stolen by Porter, and the ball went out of bounds.

Just one round into the game, the Trail Blazers players could feel that the Spurs’ defense was distinctly different from that of the Kings, Timberwolves, and Rockets.

The Spurs players were not only guarding their direct opponents but were also actively helping in defense and covering for each other, organizing their defense around the ball movement.

Tonight was undoubtedly going to be a tough battle, and the Trail Blazers needed to be ready to fight for victory in the fourth quarter.

The Spurs’ defense demonstrated its power in the first quarter, applying aggressive double teams and full-court pressure on the Trail Blazers’ backcourt to disrupt their opening pass.

In the low post, as soon as Gan Guoyang got the ball, he was quickly double-teamed. After Gan Guoyang passed off, the Spurs’ defense would immediately reset.

This was a real test for Gan Guoyang’s passing and the Trail Blazers’ backcourt players’ ball-handling abilities.

Gan Guoyang was cool and composed, first making a turning, leaning jumper over Robinson in the low post.

Then he received the ball in the low post, passed to Hornacek, who hit a mid-range jumper, and the Trail Blazers took the lead.

Shortly after, David Robinson used his agility to make a back cut to the basket. Receiving a pass from outside, he completed an alley-oop layup.

Larry Brown had undoubtedly made thorough preparations before the game, and he would not let David Robinson overpower Gan Guoyang in the low post.

In high school, Robinson wasn’t a center but a small forward.

He once broke a bone during practice, and the examination revealed it was due to overgrowth of the growth plates.

This meant his growth hadn’t finished yet, and he would continue to grow taller, shooting up from 6’5" in one go to 6’10", then to a staggering 7’1".

So in his offensive play, Robinson played more like a small forward rather than a center.

He also did not want to go head-to-head with Gan Guoyang—many centers had already proven that such a direct confrontation usually didn’t end well.

Using agile positioning and quick mid-range shots after receiving the ball, Robinson scored consecutively.

Meanwhile, Gan Guoyang remained steady, continually coming out to help relieve pressure for the guards amidst the Spurs’ harassing defense and pressure on the outside.

He even launched a surprise attack by shooting a three-pointer from the outside, catching the Spurs completely off guard.

The Trail Blazers led 11:6, making Larry Brown increasingly irate and causing him to start yelling loudly.

Brown’s scream indeed drove up the intensity of the Spurs’ defense by a notch, and they began a full-court press.

The Trail Blazers had a problem in their backcourt ever since Drexler left—they were relatively short.

Both Porter and Hornacek were just over 190cm, and when faced with the opponent’s forward line clamping down, it affected their visibility for passing.

This was when Gan Guoyang and Kossie needed to come up to receive the ball, with Gan Guoyang doing it the most due to his pivotal role.

Porter jumped in the backcourt to pass the ball, avoiding the double team. Gan Guoyang received the ball at midcourt, but Robinson’s quick reaction allowed him to intercept it!

But Gan Guoyang, strong as he was, prevented Robinson from stealing the ball and quickly transitioning; he blocked Robinson and deflected the ball towards the sideline.

The ball was about to go out of bounds, and Robinson didn’t chase; however, Gan Guoyang raced after the ball towards the sideline like a big rig.

His target was Larry Brown, who was shuffling around on the sideline.

Brown was pale with fear as Gan Guoyang, elbow raised, charged towards him!

Fortunately, at the very last moment, Gan Guoyang came to a stop, with his iron elbow stopping about twenty centimeters from Brown.

The Spurs’ bench had already cleared out, everyone fleeing to avoid getting caught in the fray.

And Brown just glared at Gan Guoyang, a drop of sweat rolling from his forehead down his cheek.

"Good thing I put on the brakes. Try not to honk so much, Larry, that’s impolite."

Gan Guoyang tossed the ball back to the referee; it was the Spurs’ ball, but Brown couldn’t feel happy about it.

For the rest of the game, his screaming and shouting seemed to disappear.