Chapter 771: Chapter 14 Talent Reduction_2
Sabonis always had three-point shooting ability, but last season his three-pointers were just casual attempts, forced when time was running out, with no special tactics designed for him by the Trail Blazers.
This time, Beelman thought it necessary to develop Sabonis’s three-point shooting to further stretch the floor and create a high-low game with Ah Gan.
In terms of rotation, Gan Guoyang adjusted his previous second quarter 6-minute rest to an average of about 3 minutes rest per quarter, distributing the rest time so that Ah Gan could maintain his hot shooting streak.
By the second quarter, Gan Guoyang began to increase his passing, creating more opportunities for his teammates, and allowing players like Petrović and Reggie Lewis, guards with strong perimeter skills, to handle the ball and launch attacks, thus maintaining offensive diversity.
The third quarter is when Gan Guoyang decides the outcome of the game, which is the quarter he is best at, where he can break down the opposition in his own way.
Whether to pass or attack, he makes that call himself.
Beelman has faith in Gan Guoyang’s ability to control the game.
This guy has been in control of everyone since high school, from opponents to teammates, and even coaches.
After the game against the Bulls, starting on November 18th, the Trail Blazers had a 4-day long break to rest.
During these four days, the Trail Blazers made effective adjustments, and on the 23rd, they hosted the Golden State Warriors at home.
At the Memorial Coliseum, the Trail Blazers launched yet another overwhelming offensive, with Gan Guoyang scoring 19 points in the first quarter, helping the team to take the lead early on.
The Golden State Warriors are a team with a strong offense, with the backcourt trio of Chris Mullin, Mitch Richmond, and Tim Hardaway shaping up under coach Mike Dunleavy’s guidance, becoming an important force in the Western Conference.
Dunleavy has always hoped the Warriors could have a reliable rim-protecting center.
But good defensive centers in the NBA are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive.
Previously, they tried to bring in Ralph Sampson, but after one season, they realized Sampson was truly no longer fit for the job.
After letting go of Sampson, the Warriors obtained Manute Bol last season, who could contribute blocks, but his stamina and rebounding were issues, making him not a qualified starter.
As for Lister, acquired from the Supersonics, after being sidelined for the 1990 season due to injuries, he returned to the court this season as the starting center for the Warriors.
Lister is tall and well-built, but in the NBA, that’s just the threshold for being a center.
Against the behemoths of the current league, Lister could only be said to be barely serviceable, far from excellent.
For this reason, the Warriors supplemented their roster during the offseason with former Bucks center Paul Mokeski to further strengthen their inside game.
So despite the Warriors being skilled at shooting outside, with their formidable threesome firing shots both wild and accurate, they genuinely yearn for an excellent interior player.
Balance between inside and outside is supreme; unconventional tactics are resorted to only out of necessity. A great interior player is a scarce resource in demand by all.
But there’s only one Ah Gan, it’s impossible to have one for each team.
After losing the 13th showdown against Jordan, Gan Guoyang vented all his frustration on the Warriors.
The Warriors knew that full-force defense was useless, so they let loose in a scoring contest, seeing a slim chance of victory.
Hence, both teams launched into an offensive battle at the Memorial Coliseum, with the Trail Blazers scoring 40 points in the first quarter, and the Warriors managing to put up 33 points.
Afterwards, the Trail Blazers entered into an even smoother phase of the game, with various beautiful combinations in set plays, paired with sharp fast breaks, scoring very quickly.
The Warriors also kept the tempo very high, with Mullin, Hardaway, and Richmond all having strong perimeter scoring abilities.
However, with Ah Gan and Sabonis anchoring the inside for the Trail Blazers, their scoring efficiency was even higher, and they once again scored a high total of 145 points for the game.
The high score of the Trail Blazers was astonishing; this was their fifth game in six matches to reach such a high score.
Moreover, the entire Trail Blazers team had 9 players scoring in double digits, with Gan Guoyang efficiently scoring 37 points in three quarters, then clocking out and not playing in the fourth quarter at all.
This victory swept away the gloom of the loss to the Bulls and set the Trail Blazers back on the right track to winning.
In the following games, the Trail Blazers consecutively defeated the visiting Timberwolves, Hornets, Kings, and other weaker teams.
In every game, the score could reach over 120 points; the team’s Princeton System displayed formidable strength in the regular season with lower intensity.
The victories and impressive stats kept the team atmosphere of the Trail Blazers consistently excellent.
The Trail Blazers finished the first month of the season with a remarkable record of 12 wins and 1 loss.
Entering December, the Trail Blazers’ "refractory period" comes, a phase where each year the team’s performance and condition would experience fluctuations and tough tests.
The entire November schedule was quite comfortable, with 10 home games out of 13 games played, and mostly against weaker opponents.
Apart from the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, there wasn’t a real strong team challenging Portland.
As December began, the Trail Blazers started an Eastern road trip, traveling to the Eastern region for four away games.
As winter set in, snow began to affect many cities in the northeastern direction, and travel was about to become difficult.
However, unexpectedly, the Trail Blazers’ travels were still not smooth; they were trapped by heavy snow en route to Milwaukee, spending a day and night at the airport, arriving completely exhausted.
Yet, their games went very well; they won all four away games against the Bucks, Knight, Hornets, and Magic, and the victories were all relatively easy.
