Chapter 847: Chapter 39: Depth Charge_2
I still remember the wild celebration we had in the locker room after winning the championship, champagne dripping from my hair, down my shoulders, soaking my clothes, then my shoes, and socks, the room was charged with emotion, surging like a tide.
A mass of reporters squeezed in, handing the microphone to Ah Gan, who then passed it to me, he yelled at me: "Coach, can we do this again next year? One more time!"
Sometimes Ah Gan’s confidence makes you think he’s a fool, but of course he would prove that those who doubt him are the real fools. At the 1986 championship celebration, Ah Gan told the Portland fans that he would lead the team to another championship.
Eventually, he did it, but I’m not Ah Gan, I’ve always been cautious, even at the gambling table, I’m a rational player.
If it weren’t for the heated atmosphere at the time, I would definitely think thrice before saying "We certainly want to win another championship, but we have to consider health, luck, and many other factors. If everything goes well, we have a great chance to win another championship, I hope God gives us such an opportunity..."
No, the situation at the time didn’t allow me to say such nonsense, a proverb popped into my head "Fortune favors the brave".
I took the microphone from Ah Gan, and said with conviction: "We will win the championship again! This is the meaning of my coaching the Trail Blazers, we are born for the championship!"
Reporters, Ah Gan poured more champagne on my head, and it was not until after the grand parade had finished that I sobered up.
Once more? Good heavens, after experiencing two NBA coaching seasons, I learned how difficult it is to go through an entire season until the championship.
Although the playoffs in 1990 were smooth sailing for us, a lot of things still happened in the finals, fatigue was certain. In fact, after winning the championship I considered immediately retiring.
High school, NCAA, NBA, I’ve won all the championships, I had no regrets, what was I still doing here? I was really too tired.
At a certain moment, I totally understood why Jack Ramsey insisted on retiring after winning his first three-peat.
Here I want to say a phrase that might be considered "unacceptable", coaching Ah Gan is much, much more difficult than it seems.
I started coaching Ah Gan in 1981, he is an incomparable gem, but to coach him means you have to keep up with his pace, his way of thinking.
Many say, coaching Ah Gan is easy, just give him the ball.
But that kind of coach won’t be acknowledged by Ah Gan, he will force you to adapt to his rhythm.
His play style is varied, his style can comply with your tactics, but as a coach, you must keep up with him: he has to win.
I bet, after winning the championship in 1990, in the locker room when he passed the microphone to me, it was definitely one of his schemes, a psychological manipulation.
He used it to whip me, pushing me to work frantically in the 1991 season, to adopt a new system, fit the new players, and rack my brains.
Under the pressure of "must win the championship", I nearly wore myself out in the 1991 season, but at the same time, I reduced Ah Gan’s game time, allowing him to have an easier regular season.
He only started to exert effort in the final sprint in March, because we had to ensure home court advantage over all other teams, we achieved our longest 12-game winning streak of the season in March and April, and won the last five games of the season, ending with a record of 64 wins and 18 losses, one more win than the Chicago Bulls, which was very important to us.
After finishing the regular season, I took a long breath, but thinking about the playoffs that were about to begin, I could feel every pore on my body standing on end.
I knew, the depth charges were launched, we had to be on edge until we sink every enemy.]
————Published in 2005, excerpt from Bobby Berman’s autobiography "Moonlight".
With the last game day of the regular season ending on April 21st, the NBA regular season of 1990-1991 drew to a close.
As the first NBA season entering the full 1990s, that year the NBA underwent a lot of changes, presenting many exciting games and memorable moments to the fans.
The NBA ended its long-time collaboration with CBS, this year for the first time tried signing a contract with NBC, lasting for 4 years, worth 600 million US dollars.
The Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings, and New York Knicks all made slight adjustments to their team jerseys and logos.
The Pacers added navy blue to their pure yellow and white, the Kings used a deeper blue, while the Knicks added an extra NY logo on their pants.
The Utah Jazz Team played their last season in the Salt Palace Arena, next season they will move into the brand-new Delta Center.
The Portland Trail Blazers’ use of the Memorial Coliseum was counting down, after the next season’s All-Star Game, they would start using the newly constructed Rose Garden Arena—also known as the Jianguo Sports Center.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have already started using the new Target Center this season, this modern arena can accommodate 18,798 fans to watch games, although this season it was basically never full.
Michael Jordan, with an average of 31.5 points per game, won the scoring title once again.
While Guoyang’s career average score for the first time did not reach 30 points, only scoring an average of 29.4 points, ranking second.
However, he continued to dominate the rebounding leaderboard, with an average of 15.5 rebounds per game, winning the Rebound King title for the seventh consecutive year.
His average rebounds per game are back over 15, 2 more than the second-placed David Robinson.
