Chapter 792: Chapter 21 Desert Storm
Injuries are always contagious, once one player goes down, the next one follows suit.
In the NBA, it is often the case that you stay healthier the healthier you are; once an injury occurs, they tend to follow one after another.
Because in such a high-intensity league like the NBA, injuries really are contagious.
When a player goes down, especially when he is a key part of the rotation, it means increased playing time for the other key players.
Increased playing time leads to greater physical burdens, and the risk of injury for healthy players also increases.
Once a second player goes down, the remaining players’ burden further increases, and the risk of injury escalates.
If not managed properly, this can start a vicious cycle where players keep getting injured before others have recovered, leaving no one available to play.
To avoid such situations, and learning from the lessons of Bill Walton, along with Gan Guoyang’s strong intervention in the Trail Blazers’ medical system after his arrival, the Trail Blazers have done quite well in injury management over the years.
Since the 1984-1985 season, the Trail Blazers have not suffered from a major injury crisis, providing the most basic guarantee for the team’s victories and consecutive championships.
Of course, luck plays a part. Their core players have not suffered any devastating injuries in recent years; they have all been minor injuries that, with proper treatment and timely rest, recovered quickly and returned to the game.
In the crucial playoffs, no important players have missed any games, ensuring the stability of the Trail Blazers.
The most stable factor for the Trail Blazers has been their anchor, the former Eastern Cyborg, now the nuclear-powered battleship Gan Guoyang.
In the 80s, Gan Guoyang’s extended playing time gave the team a strong margin for error, and Jack Ramsay was that kind of old-school coach who had coached Chamberlain.
Since you can play, I’ll keep you in, giving Gan Guoyang ample playing time, boosting the team’s record, winning many tough games, and giving his teammates a chance to rest.
Entering the 90s, Bobby Berman modernized personnel strategy; he elevated rotations, playing time, and game details to a whole new level.
For example, when going on road trips, Berman always brought a small barometer to measure basketball air pressure to determine the ideal game pace for the night.
Back then, NBA teams still had some old tricks from the 60s and 70s, like the Detroit Pistons would remove the padding from one side of the hoop and backboard, making the rim harder and the ball bounce further off it, strategizing their rebounding game based on which basket they were shooting at each half.
Auerbach frequently did this at Boston Garden in his early years.
Adjusting the air pressure of the ball serves a similar purpose.
When the ball is fully inflated, it bounces more lightly off the floor and can create longer rebounds, advantageous for initiating fast breaks.
That’s why the Lakers always had the ball fully pumped at home games to facilitate Magic’s fast breaks.
Teams that favor a slower pace of play might let some air out of the ball, creating a softer and slower rebound, thereby slowing down the tempo of the game.
A meticulous coach like Berman cared about these details, and even though the Trail Blazers could play both up-tempo and slow, and while such tricks have minimal impact on the game, Berman would still measure carefully before the game and then inform the players how they should play that night.
Such a meticulous coach naturally demands precision and efficiency in player rotation, not the whims of traditional coaches making decisions on the fly.
He paid great attention to the precise control of Gan Guoyang’s playing time, to ensure his health, knowing that even nuclear power requires refueling and careful maintenance.
In December, Sabonis and Petrović were hit by injuries one after another, and by January, when Petrović was still absent due to an elbow injury, Reggie Lewis was advised by the team doctor to rest for a week due to a back injury, likely missing three games.
Reggie Lewis had been troubled by a back injury since the last season, and after every game, he had to ice his back to cool down the muscles.
Due to Petrović’s absence, Lewis’s playing time slightly increased, and his back injury worsened during the game against the Golden State Warriors; Berman decided to give him a three-game rest.
Meanwhile, in the frontcourt, veteran Mychal Thompson experienced knee soreness; at his age, almost no NBA player’s knees are intact, and the coaching staff again gave Thompson two weeks off, as the veteran needed to shine in the playoffs.
With their ranks thinned in both the frontcourt and backcourt, Berman was reluctant to increase Gan Guoyang’s playing time, although doing so could ensure the win record.
He boldly trained newcomers, fully utilizing the deep bench crafted by Jerry West for the Trail Blazers, letting Cliff-Robinson, Mike-Sanders, and Antonio Davis into the main rotation, playing extensive minutes.
Of course, this approach came at a cost, as the Trail Blazers lost two games in the second week of January while going through a tough five-game road trip.
One of the losses was an away game to the Dallas Mavericks, who, after acquiring Eddie Johnson in a trade for Sam Bowie, completely transformed into a perimeter shooting team.
