Chapter 759: Chapter 9 Knowing the Score_2
Gan Guoyang communicated with Porter in the low post, wanting to execute a high-post linking tactic.
Gan Guoyang went to the elbow to set a screen for Porter, who passed the ball to Sabonis, then used the screen to cut towards the basket.
Sabonis had three options: shoot himself, make a direct pass to Porter cutting to the basket, or pass to Ah Gan.
As a result, Porter made the pass, but his cutting speed wasn’t fast enough, and Sabonis hesitated while making the decision.
The Rockets’ defense had caught up, and Porter had no opportunity under the basket, so he moved to the baseline corner, and in the end, Sabonis had no choice but to pass the ball to Gan Guoyang at the elbow, where Gan Guoyang received the ball and faced Olajuwon—one high-post linking play turned into Gan Guoyang holding the ball at the elbow and taking on Olajuwon one-on-one.
Facing Olajuwon, Gan Guoyang attempted a jump shot after a probing step, but Olajuwon defended it perfectly, effectively disrupting the shot, and the ball circled the rim before falling out.
At this moment, another problem with the Princeton System became apparent: Since the players in positions four and five were positioned outside, it was hard for them to rush for offensive rebounds.
The Princeton System doesn’t prioritize offensive rebounds because it uses players of average physical quality and not very tall, managing a prompt defensive retreat was already good enough, let alone vying for offensive rebounds.
But the Trail Blazers were different. With Reggie Lewis joining the starting lineup, the average height of the Trail Blazers was among the best in the league, and they had Ah Gan and Sabonis, two strong interior players with excellent offensive rebounding capabilities.
Not chasing offensive rebounds was indeed a great waste of resources, and this was a problem the Trail Blazers needed to integrate and resolve.
When the shot didn’t go in, Bobby Beelman immediately shouted from the sidelines to Gan Guoyang, "You should have driven past Sonny! Clearing under the basket also presented an opportunity!"
Beelman was right, attacking the basket did present an opportunity, but Gan Guoyang had his own thoughts; Olajuwon had defended that play perfectly.
His positioning was precise, not leaving any gaps on either side, stepping back to allow Gan to shoot—if he drove, he might not get past, and the same time, Lewis and Ah Gan on the wing obviously lacked coordination and were standing too close, not creating enough space.
There was no helping it; Lewis was accurate from mid-range, but three-point shooting wasn’t his forte.
In the training camp, Lewis had already been working hard to develop his three-point shooting.
But this wasn’t something that could be perfected overnight; it would require at least a season of practice.
The Trail Blazers’ first Princeton offense, in a display of uncoordinated movement and teamwork, ended abruptly.
This was an expected situation, whereas the Rockets’ tactics were very simple and clear, focusing on Olajuwon going one-on-one against Sabonis in the low post.
Although Sabonis was physically larger than Olajuwon, Olajuwon still utilized his speed and footwork, turning inside after a spin move, scoring with a right-handed hook shot and earning the game’s first points.
After scoring, Olajuwon, while falling back on defense, said to Gan Guoyang, "Sonny, has the team really become too scared to let you defend me?"
Gan Guoyang laughed and replied, "Sabonis is enough to handle you."
Olajuwon then said, "What kind of crap tactics are you guys playing, you don’t have the guts to shoot from the outside?"
Gan Guoyang did not respond, but this time he chose to receive the ball on the perimeter to facilitate the play, passing directly to Sabonis at the elbow.
After catching the ball, Sabonis looked around, then suddenly made a behind-the-back pass to Kossie, who used Gan Guoyang’s screen to cut to the basket.
Kossie scored with a two-handed dunk!
A beautiful backdoor play, utilizing a "cut away" from the Princeton system to clear the three-second zone, creating an absolute opening for the small forward.
After the basket, Ah Gan, Sabonis, and Kossie high-fived, the excitement from running a completely clear play and successfully scoring was truly distinct.
Off the court, Rick Adelman and Bobby Beelman were also very excited, and although they kept their expressions neutral, from this play, it was evident that the Trail Blazers’ players were indeed very talented at executing this system.
Sabonis, although not a playmaking center, really excels in small, coordinated passes, with large hands, quick releases, stealthy movements, and accurate threading, making him most suitable for playing these backdoor cut routines.
However, such successful backdoor tactics are not easy to execute, as the Trail Blazers’ starting five do not have enough tactical understanding.
Especially Reggie Lewis, who does not feel very engaged in this system since he’s a rookie who just joined the Trail Blazers and was newly exposed to Princeton.
After running back and forth for several rounds and barely touching the ball, when he does get the ball, he hesitates, unsure of what to do next.
Pass, shoot, or drive? Often, he chooses to pass back to Gan Guoyang or Porter, leading to ineffective passes and causing the team’s progress to stagnate.
The Rockets took the opportunity to launch consecutive counterattacks, with Kenny Smith rushing with the ball and being dramatically blocked by Gan Guoyang.
Olajuwon follows up, grabs the offensive rebound, and scores with a fierce one-handed dunk.
In set offense, the Rockets also focused on lobbing the ball under the basket, letting Olajuwon play one-on-one.
If Olajuwon can’t make the basket, Thorpe would rush up to follow, or pass it out to Maxwell or Kenny Smith to penetrate.
In short, the Rockets’ playing style is simple and rough, which is just the match style the Trail Blazers had used before.
But now the Trail Blazers seem to be delicately embroidering like ’Zhang Fei’, embroidering for most of the quarter and managing a few flowers, but upon checking the score, they are trailing the Rockets by 4 points.
John Wetzell’s concerns were justified; the Trail Blazers who adopted the new system have not adapted, they are overthinking during the game.
It’s not that one shouldn’t think during a game, but in the fast-paced NBA confrontations, instinct and understanding prevail the majority of the time.
When you start to think a lot, it means you’re hesitating, and once you hesitate, the opponent’s defense is ready.
In the first quarter, Princeton not only did not bring a smooth offense to the Trail Blazers, but it was like a rusty pipe, intermittent and dripping.
At the end of the first quarter, the score is 27:23, with the Trail Blazers trailing the Rockets by 4 points.
The score of 23 points is not the offensive level that the Trail Blazers should have.
During the break, Bobby Berman reminded everyone, "Our system is not about indecisiveness. I’ve given each of you the power to make choices, you need to use this power well. Of course, we still need time, I believe in you, believe that you will use your brains to solve problems. We have enough time, and I have enough patience!"
Beelman encouraged the players, but honestly, he wasn’t very confident inside.
Privately, he had already discussed with Rick Adelman, giving it a two-week trial.
If things look bad, and the performance is poor, they would consider returning to a simpler strategy.
As the defending champions, the pressure is enormous.
However, Gan Guoyang seemed very relaxed, he asked Shalov how many assists he had in the first quarter.
"Should be three assists."
"Three? Impossible, should be four, doesn’t that pass to Petrović count as an assist?"
"He dribbled from the baseline, cut into the basket with a fake move throwing off the opponent before laying up, shouldn’t count."
"Is that so? I thought it was a fluent action, assumed it counted as an assist. Three... that’s mediocre."
Gan Guoyang clearly has a more stable mentality than the coaches; playing basketball is just like driving.
When speeding, it’s often the driver who isn’t scared, while the passenger next to them is extremely nervous.
Beelman and Adelman are like navigators sitting in the passenger seat, though they plan the route, the steering wheel and accelerator are in Gan Guoyang’s hands and feet, he knows it inside out.
