Chapter 804: Chapter 25: The Twilight of the Hero
The score was 60:66 at the half, with the Trail Blazers leading the Celtics by 6 points at home.
Overall, the Trail Blazers were dominating the Celtics, and the aging Green Army appeared to be gasping for air in the first half.
Thanks to Larry Bird’s versatile coordination and Kevin McHale’s crafty low-post play, the Celtics managed to keep the score close.
The third quarter would undoubtedly be even more challenging for them, as the intensity of the second half was set to escalate.
Gan Guoyang could clearly feel that this season’s Celtics were a case of "false bulk."
In regular season play, under normal intensity, their fighting ability was quite strong.
Constructed around a core of veterans who had played together for a decade, coupled with two pieces of fresh and strong muscle and some fitting role players’ fur, the Celtics vaguely had the aura of a rebirth from impure land.
But fur, after all, is just fur; the two pieces of muscle were flexible but not strong enough, and most importantly, some of the old bones in the structure were truly aged—genuine old bones that could no longer support a high-intensity season and series of games.
Celtics’ head coach Chris Ford was aware of this, and this season, Bird’s playing time had been reduced to 38 minutes to save his energy for crucial moments.
Last season, at 33, Bird still played an average of 39.3 minutes per game, his physical endurance and willpower were truly top-notch among players.
The third quarter began with the Trail Blazers increasing their efforts on both offense and defense, pushing the level of confrontation on the court up a notch.
Jerome Kossie rampaged like a wild boar on both ends, relentlessly attacking Bird.
There has always been a rivalry between Bird and Kossie, although the two are not on the same level.
Yet every time Kossie faced Bird, he would deliver an exceptional performance, becoming extremely aggressive on both offense and defense.
Bird struggled with a back injury, and defending against Kossie’s assault was difficult, especially in defense, with Parrish and Divac frequently stepping out to help.
This gave the Trail Blazers inside more opportunities, Gan Guoyang and Sabonis at the high post were like guided missiles, continuously passing to Kossie and Lewis who were making cuts, attacking the Celtics’ Three Second Zone.
After half a season of integration, the Trail Blazers’ Princeton Offense was becoming more and more proficient.
At the start of the third quarter, the Trail Blazers heavily employed the "chin series" of tactics.
The hallmark of this series is that all five players are completely outside the three-point line, thoroughly emptying the basket area, creating opportunities for the forwards to make cuts and backdoor runs.
Even if there’s no opening inside, they can still create outside shooting opportunities through ball movement, with large-scale coordination being the essence of the "chin series."
The reason it’s called the "chin series" is because the Princeton University players would constantly touch their chins as a signal while using this tactic.
Bobby Beelman’s use of this tactic in the third quarter had a clear purpose: to take advantage of the numerous older Celtics players with weaker defensive movement.
By using large-scale coordination to deplete the Celtics players’ energy, especially targeting Bird as a weak point in defense, he aimed to suppress Bird’s offense.
Bird is an experienced player. Being targeted as a defensive weakness is an issue he’s faced throughout his career, so it was a piece of cake for him.
Soon enough, Bird drew an offensive foul from Kossie in defense, then posted up against Kossie low, turned around for a jump shot, and scored with ease.
Then he cleverly intercepted the ball, leading to a turnover by Kossie, with the Celtics countering; Bird passed to Hornacek.
Hornacek’s pull-up jump shot scored, his first field goal of the night.
The Celtics regained stability, maintaining the deficit around 8 points, preventing it from expanding to double digits.
To ensure the veterans had enough energy, Chris Ford started rotations midway through the third quarter.
Gamble and Kevin McHale came on to replace Bird and Parrish; the two old men needed to rest and prepare for the fourth quarter.
Seeing Chris Ford make a move, Beelman also made substitutions, bringing in Cliff-Robinson to replace Jerome Kossie, who had already committed three fouls.
Robinson’s playing time has also increased this season; he is equally favored by Beelman for his versatility.
Beelman and Celtics’ coach Chris Ford were high school classmates, both graduated from New Jersey Absecon Holy Spirit High School and were on the school’s basketball team.
At school, Beelman played as a Point Guard while Chris Ford was a Shooting Guard; he was a white player with a strong scoring burst, subsequently earning the nickname "Crazy Bomber."
After high school, Beelman went to the University of Notre Dame, and Ford who was more talented went to Villanova University, then entered the NBA through the draft in 1972.
Early in his career, he played for the Detroit Pistons, arrived at the Celtics in 1978, and continued playing until retiring in 1982, then stayed with the Celtics to become an assistant coach.
After serving as an assistant to KC-Jones and Jim Rogers for several years, in 1990, he officially took over as the head coach of the Celtics.
This fits the Celtics’ consistent recruitment strategy: using insiders who started working with the team during their player days, grooming them step by step, with mistrust for outsiders.
Ford was a conventional player; in 1979, he reached the peak of his career, averaging 15 points per game, and won the championship with the team in 1981.
One achievement of Ford’s is that he was the first player in NBA history to make a three-pointer.
As classmates, Beelman had a good understanding of Ford. Ford was a passionate and energetic coach, and having worked for the Celtics for many years, ex-teammate and senior to players like Bird and McHale, he had strong control over the Celtics and was quite successful in transforming the team.
