Chapter 710: Chapter 76 Smooth Criminal
"I’m not incapable of playing dirty; it’s just that when I use dirty tricks, my punches and kicks are too aggressive and I can’t hold them back." — Gan Guoyang
This NBA Finals series between the Trail Blazers and the Pistons carried both new and old grudges, so the gameplay from the very first quarter of the first game was extremely intense.
Earl-Strom’s whistle sounded frequently, and both teams began committing fouls early on. By the end of the first quarter, 9 out of the 10 players on the court had fouls.
The Pistons’ fouls were crude and fierce; they decided to use unconventional moves to stop you without any hesitation or concealment.
Their attacks were fierce, aiming to completely knock you down, never letting you score an and-one.
The Trail Blazers players were also very tough, with veterans like Porter, Hornacek, and Kossie who knew how to face the Pistons.
Mentally unafraid, they resisted the Pistons’ roughness and even managed to counterattack.
However, the Trail Blazers were ultimately a clean team, and as a rhythm-based offensive team, the intense and savage confrontations were disadvantageous for them.
Compared to 1987, the Pistons had matured, growing more cunning and tricky.
Bill Lambier decisively avoided direct clashes with Ah Gan. Instead, he targeted all his attacks on Sabonis.
Sabonis was completely overwhelmed in the first quarter, unable to contribute on offense or defense, and had to leave the court early with two fouls, replaced by Mychal Thompson.
When Gan Guoyang returned to the center position, Lambier shamelessly hovered around him, trying to provoke offensive fouls from Ah Gan.
His face always carried a cynical expression, a look also seen on Dennis Rodman’s face, signifying to the opponents: "We are the bad guys, we are the scoundrels."
A typical stance of a thug from Tianjin, China - if you can’t kill me, I’ll disgust you to death.
Lambier even hoped Ah Gan would throw a punch his way, which would lead to Ah Gan being ejected from the game, leaving the Trail Blazers vulnerable like fish on a chopping board.
The first quarter ended in a 21:21 tie, although the Trail Blazers had led by 7 points midway through the quarter.
However, after Sabonis was substituted out, Isiah Thomas suddenly exploded, attacking and scoring 8 points, helping the Pistons to tie the game with the Trail Blazers by the end of the first quarter.
In the Eastern finals against the Bulls, the Pistons won, but Thomas’s performance wasn’t on the same level as Jordan.
With an average of only 18 points per game and a shooting percentage under 40%, one could say it was a disastrous performance.
Facing the Trail Blazers in the Finals, where Portland’s guard defense was evidently weaker than the Chicago Bulls, Thomas found his groove.
When Ah Gan had to stay in the Three Second Zone, the Trail Blazers’ perimeter defense lacked pressure.
Thomas found his rhythm in the attack.
During the break, Bobby Beelman was carefully considering his rotation strategy.
Gan Guoyang was substituted out for a rest, and Divac came on. Beelman reminded Divac to be wary of the Pistons’ defensive moves and to be cautious of not committing fouls under the basket.
He substituted Hornacek with Petrović in the guard line.
Beelman was not confident in Petrović’s defense, but in the first game of the series, he wanted to give his players a chance to see their actual performance to decide their subsequent use.
Kossie rested in the forward line, and Sanders came on as a substitute, concentrating the offensive pressure on Petrović and Divac.
This did not seem like a good decision, although, in previous games, this Yugoslavian duo had displayed surprisingly stunning cooperation and performance.
But there’s a premise: they could coordinate well under relaxed conditions of advantage but had not shown the ability to deliver critical assistance in adversities.
The Finals are a massive test for both.
Presently, as both teams were evenly matched, if the substitutes fell behind, the Trail Blazers would have to play from a disadvantageous position, which would greatly pressure the starters.
Beelman was bold in his management, trusting his choices without doubting them.
Bobby Beelman, known for his profanity, was always ahead in his coaching philosophy.
As a skilled Texas Hold’em player, he believed in planning, data, and the power of time. He wasn’t concerned about minor losses but looked at the entire game and series from a comprehensive, long-term perspective.
Beelman believed that over the course of the series, the Trail Blazers’ offensive efficiency would eventually reach a point that the Detroit Pistons could not withstand, leading to their collapse.
He never instructed his players to intentionally commit fouls, nor did he, like the old-school coaches from the 60s and 70s, keep enforcer-type players in the team.
He always insisted on winning basketball games with basketball tactics, being a gambler, not a madman.
Before the game, Beelman made meticulous preparations, aware that the Pistons were a very united team.
Brutality was their method; behind the savagery, the players were happy to contribute and sacrifice.
Like Mark Aguirre, who was originally a star with the Dallas Mavericks, but after joining the Pistons, he embraced a workhorse role.
Last season his scoring dramatically dropped as he committed himself defensively, and this season he even became the sixth man subbing for Dennis Rodman.
Chuck Daley was an even more old-fashioned coach who believed in willpower, teamwork, and creating a climate of psychological terror.
Chuck Daley was always scheming how to eliminate Ah Gan just like he planned against Jordan, never losing his thirst for revenge, wishing that if only the Trail Blazers’ coach were Jack Ramsey, he would find a way to slap Jack in the Finals.
