Chapter 800: Chapter 23 The Power of Opposition_3
Ford’s move was mainly to solve the longstanding problem of the Celtics’ weak bench. In the mid to late 1980s, the Celtics almost became a five-man starting team with very weak bench strength.
With KC-Jones leaving, the new coach Ford and the Celtics management were focused on addressing this issue. Apart from McHale, the Celtics also brought in substitute players like Kevin Gambler and Dee Brown, significantly bolstering the strength of their second unit.
With a starting lineup skilled in passing and a fluid team offense, combined with substitutes who were strong both inside and outside, this balanced and clearly defined lineup naturally led to good records for the Celtics.
The Green Army reignited hopes of returning to the finals and even reclaiming the championship.
Currently, what worried the Celtics the most was their aging core, the 34-year-old Larry Bird, and how much longer his body could hold up.
Before the game began, while other players were warming up, only Bird lay on the side getting back therapy, his back condition having become very severe.
Besides his back injury, since 1987 Bird had burdensome injuries from head to toe, from his toes to his eyes, even his hair had thinned considerably.
In 1988, he got his nose broken by Rasmussen during a game, which also caused swelling in his eyes, forcing him to wear protective goggles for four games.
Due to a decline in free-throw accuracy, Bird quickly gave up this protection.
This had always been his attitude towards basketball; to win, he could give up a lot, including his health.
Before every match against the Celtics, Gan Guoyang inevitably engaged in trash talk with Bird.
During the peak years of the Celtics, from 1985 to 1987, the atmosphere was always tense.
Gan Guoyang sought to psychologically dominate the Celtics to increase the Trail Blazers’ chances of winning.
Under Gan Guoyang’s offense, the arrogance of the Celtics was greatly reduced, and their defeat in 1986 only hastened their decay.
Now, Gan Guoyang no longer did that; he was much more relaxed as the team no longer needed such tactics from him.
During warm-ups, he just jogged over to the Celtics’ side and joked with Bird, "Hey Larry, time to get up, the game’s about to start."
"Your position looks really sexy, you should be careful with your back."
"Sonny, take good care of your ace, I plan to enjoy it tonight!"
"Woh, you mean you’re planning to defend one-on-one against me? I might consider giving you 50 points, just as long as you guys don’t double-team."
With that, Gan Guoyang rendered Bird speechless.
Defending Ah Gan one-on-one, he might might just utterly wreck his old back.
This season, Bird had become a versatile point forward.
His average points per game had declined to below 20, while his assists had risen to 7.3.
This season, the Celtics’ average assists per game reached the second highest in the League.
The arrivals of Divac and Hornacek provided endless possibilities for the Celtics’ positional play.
The top-ranked team was the Portland Trail Blazers.
Just before the game started, Bird finally got up from the floor, throwing a few three-pointers to loosen up.
He asked Gan Guoyang if he would participate in the three-point contest, and Gan Guoyang shook his head, saying, "One three-point championship is enough, why, does the League still want you to play?"
"Yes, they need the ratings, but I really don’t have the interest or energy for it. However, if you join, I might consider it." Facing a skilled opponent, Bird’s competitive spirit was still fierce.
Gan Guoyang shrugged, "If you join the slam dunk contest, I’ll join. I think that would be more exciting to watch than you in a three-point contest."
Bird joining a slam dunk contest would be as explosive as Jordan participating in a three-point contest.
However, Bird was self-aware, with the precedence set by Jordan, he definitely wouldn’t do it.
In contrast to the longstanding rivalry turning into friendship between Gan Guoyang and Bird, the rift between Divac and Petrović was difficult to mend.
During the warm-up, both players faced each other coldly without speaking a word, until just before the game started, they barely touched fists in the middle of the court, that was it.
As the Gulf War erupted, the domestic situation in Yugoslavia became increasingly turbulent, with ethnic tensions sharply rising, turning the country into a pressure cooker ready to explode at any moment.
Serbians and Croatians were already in an irreconcilable conflict, and even such a simple gesture as touching fists had to bear the risk of public opinion.
Gan Guoyang, seeing Petrović’s melancholic expression, knew he was having a hard time.
Before the game, he hugged Petrović and said, "Play well Pete, basketball will help you forget all your troubles."
Petrović nodded, knowing Gan Guoyang was right.
During his recent injury recovery, he hadn’t missed a single day of training.
Despite a hurt elbow, he kept doing leg exercises, and his base was getting progressively stronger.
Petrović was quickly becoming the leading tough guy of the Portland Trail Blazers’ bench.
