Chapter 650: Chapter 40 Threat
The game between the Clippers and the Trail Blazers was surprisingly intense.
Coming off a string of victories, the Trail Blazers’ desire for a win had somewhat diminished, and a six-game road trip left the players feeling weary.
Moreover, with the Clippers being a weaker team and their November game ending in an easy victory for the Trail Blazers, the team didn’t take their opponents seriously, which resulted in them falling behind in the first quarter.
The Clippers had an average record, but in the NBA there’s no such thing as a sure weak team, and upsets can happen in any game.
In November, the Clippers had won a home game against the Chicago Bulls by a margin of 24 points, which was a shock to many.
Aside from Danny Manning, on November 16, the Clippers acquired Ron Harper in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers, sending Danny Ferry and Reggie Williams in exchange.
The main reason for the trade wasn’t to bolster the roster but because Danny Ferry no longer wanted to play for the Clippers.
After being selected by the Clippers as the fourth overall pick in the 1989 Draft, Ferry refused to report to the team.
Over the summer, he accepted an invitation from an Italian league team and went to play on the Apennine Peninsula.
Since Ferry preferred to play in Europe over joining the Clippers, the team couldn’t just watch their number four draft pick go to waste. They had no choice but to package Ferry’s signing rights and Reggie Williams and send them to Cleveland in exchange for Harper.
Ferry’s reluctance to join the Clippers was partly because of the team’s bad reputation as a graveyard for stars.
The team had signed several well-known players like Walton, Marques Johnson, Maxwell, Jamaal Wilkes, and Norm Nixon.
But these once-dominant players in their former teams all declined once they joined the Clippers, and not one was able to lead the team to any success.
By the 1989-1990 season, the Clippers were starting from scratch.
Logically, this environment should have been suitable for Ferry to display his talents, but he believed the Clippers had too many young forwards.
They had the No.1 Pick Danny Manning, as well as Michael Young, Chris Smith, Ken Norman, and Reggie Williams.
Before the draft, Ferry, a Duke University graduate, never thought he would be picked by the Clippers and didn’t even attend their trials.
After being unexpectedly drafted, he decided after much consideration not to sign with them and instead played in Italy for a year.
Ferry’s case shows just how bad the Clippers’ reputation was in the NBA, with no one wanting to play for them.
However, for the Clippers, trading away Ferry and getting Harper turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
White forwards like Ferry could be quite useful in the NCAA or the Italian League.
But in the NBA, as forwards became increasingly stronger and faster, Ferry was at a disadvantage.
Produced by Duke, his technical skills were decent, his basketball IQ acceptable, and his tactical understanding high, but his physical abilities were limited, and he didn’t have much potential.
After all, there’s only one Larry Bird, and since his time, white forwards have found it difficult to achieve similar success, typically becoming role players or even less than that due to their defensive shortcomings.
So the Clippers unexpectedly struck it big – and their trading partner was none other than the Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers’ decision to trade away Ron Harper was baffling, considering they posted a successful 57-win season last year.
Such a record was contending for championships in many NBA seasons and was the best result in the history of the Cavaliers franchise.
Although they suffered a heartbreaking loss in the first round from Jordan’s "The shot," they were upset and failed to make it to the next round.
But 57 wins were enough to prove their strategy, roster, and style of play were successful, and they could go even further in the new season.
Harper was a crucial figure in the Cavaliers’ backcourt, averaging 18 points, five rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game, with a solid all-around performance on both offense and defense.
Yet the Cavaliers surprisingly traded him, not only sending Harper away for Ferry but also including four draft picks.
In the NBA, only the Cavaliers could manage to give the Clippers such an advantage in a trade.
There might be two reasons why the Cavaliers traded Harper.
One was that, despite Harper’s excellent capabilities and significant impact, he had a tough time against Jordan.
Last year’s playoffs saw the Bulls versus the Cavaliers, with Jordan averaging 39.8 points including a 50-point game and the infamous series-winning shot, leaving the Cavaliers reeling.
This season’s opener against the Cavaliers ended with a 54-point thrashing by Jordan, penetrating the Cavaliers’ backcourt, leading the management to lose faith in Harper.
Another reason could be that Harper’s close friend was caught up in a drug case and arrested by the police, and although there was no evidence of Harper using drugs, the Cavaliers’ management was very concerned about the potential implications for Harper.
If a player got involved with drugs, they would face a lifetime ban, a significant loss of talent for the team.
Considering these factors, the Cavaliers’ supposedly wise management decided to hastily trade Harper away just two weeks into the new season.
After trading Harper, since Ferry had already signed with an Italian team, he had to play in Italy first, joining the Cavaliers the following season.
The Cavaliers expressed their patience and confidence in Ferry, willing to wait for him to fulfill his contract in Italy before joining the team.
In their press release, they stated, "Boston waited a year for Larry Bird, San Antonio waited two years for David Robinson, and we believe Danny Ferry is worth the wait."
They thought Danny Ferry could be the next Larry Bird, a white superstar capable of transforming the Cavaliers.
However, when the 1990-1991 season arrived and the Cavaliers welcomed Danny Ferry, it didn’t take many games for management to start regretting their decision.
Ferry could hardly achieve an average of 20 points per game, let alone score in double-digits in each game for the Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers, now without the critically important all-around guard Harper, saw their previously well-functioning roster disrupted and their performance became unstable, no longer able to maintain the fierce momentum of 57 wins from the previous season.
On the other hand, the Clippers, having acquired Harper, managed to overcome the Chicago Bulls, who had only won two games before.
Then on December 7th, enjoying a 17-point lead at home, they achieved a resounding victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, with Ron Harper putting up 29 points and 9 rebounds, exacting revenge on his former team.
Cavaliers head coach Lenny Wilkens was in agony over the management’s decision. They had already lost Kevin Johnson and now Ron Harper as well.
At least in trading away Kevin, they got back Larry Nance, a decent return.
But what did they get in exchange for Harper? For the 89-90 season, it was Reggie Williams, and later, a white forward would arrive...
The Cavaliers squandered a good hand, while the opportunistic Clippers played quite well tonight.
Not only did they lead in the first quarter, but they also maintained a strong momentum in the second, using tight defense to disrupt the Trail Blazers’ offense.
The Trail Blazers managed only 18 points in the first quarter compared to the Clippers’ 20, and even after bringing on their second unit in the second quarter, the Trail Blazers continued to clank iron.
Bobby Beelman on the bench was masterminding his troops, constantly testing different lineup combinations, using various pairings to find the optimal solution on the roster.
Of course, regardless of the solution, Gan Guoyang was the core of these lineups.
As the team leader, Gan Guoyang truly stood out from the rest; he could adapt to every combination of teammates.
With Sabonis and Divac on the floor, he was an outstanding power forward, excelling at defense on the perimeter and outstanding at intercepting passes.
Occasionally, Beelman would try a tall lineup with Sabonis, Divac, or Thompson on the floor at the same time, shifting Gan Guoyang to the small forward position.
At that time, Gan Guoyang would increase his three-point attempts, trying to maximize spacing for the big men.
Of course, Beelman used this tall lineup sparingly, as it was too cumbersome.
When playing with multiple forwards, Gan Guoyang would handle the ball more and play the facilitator role. Many of his assists came from fast breaks in coordination with Kossie and Robinson.
With a surplus of guards, he would post up as a center, executing effective center-guard combinations with Hornacek, Porter, Sanders, and others.
He adjusted his combination plays depending on the guard; with Hornacek, he executed more cut-and-catch plays, with Porter, he set more solo screens, rolling to the basket, and with Petrović, he coordinated high-post plays, with the focus and details varying accordingly.
Even with blue-collar guards like Sanders, Gan Guoyang was able to perform simple plays together, adapting to Sanders’ personal style.
Sometimes, it seemed that Beelman’s experimentation with the lineup was, in fact, an exploration of Gan Guoyang’s potential, to see how much more he was capable of.
Beelman knew that Gan Guoyang never needed a system to be built around him because he was the system. He could supplement others’ shortcomings instead of others having to compensate for his weaknesses.
Tonight, the Trail Blazers’ offense felt off, with a particularly poor outside shooting performance.
By the end of the half, the Clippers led the Trail Blazers by 4 points, 44:40, with the Trail Blazers only managing 40 points for the half.
Throughout the first half, Gan Guoyang mostly passed the ball, orchestrated plays, and set screens, creating opportunities for his teammates.
Unfortunately, his teammates were not performing well, and everyone seemed to be in poor form.
Sabonis and Petrović were both suffering from gastrointestinal issues these past few days, impacting their condition.
Mychal Thompson’s injuries were recurrent, with new inflammations appearing after returning to Portland.
Hornacek had caught a draft at the Milwaukee airport the day before yesterday, showing some symptoms of a cold, though he still insisted on participating in the game.
This is what the NBA season is like; the players are human, not game statistics, and their performance in the game can be affected by many factors.
As consistent as Gan Guoyang was, even he would face challenges and lows during the season, but tonight his condition was excellent.
By the third quarter, everyone expected Gan Guoyang to take control of the game.
But he didn’t. He continued to pass, orchestrate, and set screens, only taking shots when he had a perfect opportunity.
The game was neck and neck, with the score alternating leads in a fiercely competitive battle.
During a timeout, Jerry West, sitting in the back row, approached Gan Guoyang and asked, "Sonny, why not shoot more and score, you could take them down."
West could see that Gan Guoyang was clearly conserving his energy.
Gan Guoyang took a sip of water and replied, "Next game is against Michael. I want to save some energy to surprise them."
West said, "Regardless of the opponent, you should always give your all and win the game. With your stamina, you don’t need to save energy."
Gan Guoyang felt that West’s words made a lot of sense. If they lost this game, Jordan might even mock him.
So, in the latter half of the third quarter, Gan Guoyang suddenly exerted his power, leading the Trail Blazers on a 10:2 run, establishing a lead.
With Gan Guoyang stepping up, the pressure was lifted off the shoulders of the other Trail Blazers players, and their shooting touch gradually returned.
The already stronger Trail Blazers finally overpowered the Clippers in the fourth quarter, defeating them 98:91 on home court with a 7-point advantage.
When the game ended, Baylor asked his old friend, "What did you say to Sonny? As soon as you spoke to him, he led the team on a one-way surge. I thought we could win."
West replied, "I told him if we lost this game, Beelman would be hanging from his own front door. He took care of Bobby and got the game."
"What? Jerry, is that...is that a threat?"
"Heh, it’s Bobby’s old trick. That’s how he used to threaten Ah Gan."
If Beelman heard this, he’d feel very wronged because it had been a long time since he’d done anything like that.
