The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 281 Instigation

In terms of absolute strength, this year's Trail Blazers are far superior to the Detroit Pistons, especially their frontcourt lineup.

The 80s were the era of frontcourt players. Tall centers and quick forwards filled the paint, and they could launch fast breaks to attack the basket directly. Championship teams all had outstanding frontcourts.

Backcourt players primarily serve as an important supplement to the frontcourt, performing defensive duties, playmaking, and some spot-up shooting. Apart from geniuses like Magic Johnson, most teams centered around small guards find it quite difficult to make a breakthrough.

The Bucks and Pistons are typical examples. The Celtics' backcourt of the 60s and 70s is no longer dominant, and the Celtics themselves are piling up their frontcourt.

The NBA's cycle of order and chaos basically alternates between "guards + centers" versus "a large number of forwards + swingmen".

Now that Daly has Thomas, Dumars, and Vinnie Johnson on the bench, he doesn't have many requirements for the team's backcourt.

He and team manager McClusky's main expectations for the roster are focused on the frontcourt: power forward, small forward, and center, with each position needing sufficient reinforcements.

At the start of the game, the Trail Blazers' frontcourt displayed their destructive power. Gan Guoyang won the rebound, and Vandeweghe's shot from the outside missed. Gan Guoyang then tipped the offensive rebound to Thompson, who caught the ball and dunked it with both hands, scoring the first point of the game.

Dumars missed a three-pointer, Gan Guoyang grabbed the rebound and passed it to Drexler, who sprinted down the court and drew a foul from Puka.

He went to the free-throw line and made both shots, giving the Trail Blazers a 4-0 lead.

Although Drexler played shooting guard, he was a forward in practice.

Standing at 6 feet 7 inches tall, with the explosive power and speed of a leopard, and outstanding finishing ability.

In contrast, Tripka, a forward, is only 6 feet 6 inches tall, physically strong, and passionate on the court, but he takes too many jump shots.

Especially in the last two years, Tripka has been making more and more jump shots, and has even been called "Tripka's three threats: shooting, shooting and shooting".

He sometimes uses jump shots to finish fast breaks and when he catches the ball and drives to the basket, which results in him getting fewer and fewer free throws each game.

In his rookie season, he averaged 8 free throws per game, but in the arena, he only averaged 5 free throws per game. 5 is not a small number, but it is not enough for the Pistons, who already lack low-post scoring ability.

The Pistons have one of the fewest free throw attempts in the league.

Turpin's arrival is good news, but Daly is not prepared to design too many low-post offensive tactics for Turpin. Firstly, he lacks the ability, and secondly, Isaiah Thomas does not like that kind of game pace.

When Tripka missed another shot against Vandeweghe, Daly was in a bit of a headache, and Gan Guoyang grabbed the rebound again.

The Trail Blazers did not launch a fast break; they controlled the pace of the game, with Drexler dribbling the ball across half-court and waiting for Gan Guoyang to get into position.

When facing the Bucks, Gan Guoyang demonstrated his strong low-post offensive ability, and the Pistons had to be wary of Gan Guoyang's positional play.

As a result, the referee blew the whistle and called an illegal defense on the Pistons. Dumars was too close to Gan Guoyang and too far from Drexler.

Vandeweghe made the free throw, and then Gan Guoyang received the ball in the low post, turned and walked along the baseline to get past Laimbeer, and dunked with his right hand!

Laimbeer was not afraid of any other center in the league, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and he had a good grasp of how to deal with them. However, he had a hard time against Gan Guoyang.

For example, against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, although he couldn't stop him, Laimbeer could stand in the high post on offense and cause trouble for the Lakers' defense through screens and shots.

In a crucial game against the Lakers in January, the Pistons had just emerged from a losing streak and Daly had somewhat stabilized his position as head coach. The two teams battled fiercely at Silver Top Arena, eventually tying the score at 115-115. On the Pistons' final possession, Laimbeer received the ball and passed it to Tripka, who dodged Worthy's attempt to steal it and hit a three-pointer to seal the victory for the Pistons.

After that game, the Pistons went on a winning streak, Daly's position as head coach was secured, Joe Dumars established himself as a starter, and Tpin began to integrate into the team.

But this play wouldn't work against the Trail Blazers. Laimbeer runs out to receive the pass, and Gan Guoyang won't camp in the paint like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; instead, he'll stick close to Laimbeer.

The Lakers assigned Lucas to guard Laimbeer. After Worthy's risky steal attempt was thwarted, Tripka was open in front of him. Lucas rushed over to help defend, but it was too late, and Tripka hit a three-pointer right in front of him.

But if it were Forrest Gump, his speed, explosiveness, and wingspan would likely shut down Tripka's three-pointers. Laimbeer would be better off staying under the basket; his presence on the perimeter is just luring out a wolf and creating trouble for his teammates.

The Trail Blazers started with a 7-0 run, and Thomas finally couldn't hold back any longer. He used his individual skills to break through to the basket, and despite Gan Guoyang's interference, he made a high-arcing floater that went in off the backboard to score.

Vandeweghe immediately made a mid-range shot over Tripka. In terms of defensive abysmalness, Tripka and Vandeweghe were about the same, the difference being that Vandeweghe had someone to clean up his mess, while Tripka did not.

The Trail Blazers completely controlled the first quarter, maintaining a lead of 6 to 8 points throughout. The game was relatively peaceful, with few physical altercations.

Although Gan Guoyang and Laimbeer exchanged barbs before the game, they played fairly well in the first quarter, and the physical contact between the two sides had not yet really started.

The Trail Blazers led the Pistons 31-23, an 8-point advantage. Daly looked at the situation on the court, thinking about how to break the deadlock.

Gan Guoyang had 7 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 assists in the first quarter, still displaying MVP-level influence.

As long as he's on the court, the Trail Blazers exhibit overwhelming dominance on both offense and defense.

Daly is wearing a blue suit tonight—his suits are always blue, and he always says, "Nobody looks bad in a blue suit."

His hair is always perfectly styled, and he always pays close attention to his image, knowing that it is important for an NBA head coach.

Because your primary enemy isn't other teams' coaches, but your own players. You need to earn their trust and make them listen to you.

NBA players are not exactly good boys, especially the Pistons players. From Thomas to Laimbeer, they were all tough, ruthless players with very strong personalities.

It's impossible for a coach to subdue players and make them listen to him just because he's the head coach.

Without the respect and support of the players, an NBA coach cannot last a day. Therefore, the first thing Daly has to do every day is to maintain his dignified and meticulous image.

He told Lambiel and Turpin, who were sitting on the bench, "In the second quarter, Bill, you don't need to guard Forrest Gump anymore."

Laimbeer protested, "Why? I can handle him! I'll put more pressure on him in the second quarter!"

Daly shook his head and said, "Go deal with the Trail Blazers' forwards, go grab the rebounds, go deal with Vandeweghe, Thompson and Walton, suppress them. Don't waste your energy on Forrest Gump, it's not worth it. Melvin, Forrest Gump is yours. Your only task tonight is to hold Forrest Gump, understand? It doesn't matter how many points he scores, 40 points, 50 points, just do your best."

Turpin's eyes were somewhat blank. He stared at Daley as if to say, "Are you sending me to deal with Forrest Gump? Isn't that sending me to my death?"
Daly noticed Tump's confusion and said, "There's nothing to be afraid of. He's just a player. Come on, teach him a lesson."

Teping thought to himself, "Coach, you make it sound so easy. You have no idea how terrifying this guy is. If I accidentally knock you flying with Forrest Gump, don't blame me."

When the second quarter began, Laimbeer and Turpin were still sitting on the bench. Laimbeer chuckled to himself and said, "Melvin, Forrest is in your hands now! He's just a player!"

Tepin licked his lips and said, "Actually... Forrest Gump is a pretty good guy..."

Lambiel's face darkened. "No matter how good he is, it has nothing to do with you. Now he's your opponent, your enemy. What you need to do is harass him, distract him, and even give him an elbow!"

Tepin exclaimed in surprise, "Why didn't you elbow him?"

Lambiel replied bluntly, "I dare not."

Lambir was a straightforward and genuine villain; he made no attempt to conceal his evil deeds or his cowardice.

He steps up when he needs to and backs down when he needs to; he doesn't back down easily, nor does he show off.

Turpin couldn't be like Lambiel; he was a very contradictory and conflicted person, always living in a state of wavering hesitation. (Note: The real Turpin committed suicide in 2010.)
He was quite happy after leaving Los Angeles for Detroit. He escaped the terrible owner Sterling and the terrible team environment of the Clippers, and came to the Pistons, a united but not very friendly team.

The team was united because, under the leadership of Daly and Thomas, they had only one goal: to win. Everyone on the court was focused on winning, which made Tpin feel like he was back in Kentucky, a place he missed.

But it wasn't friendly because Lambiel told Tuppin that in Detroit, you had to earn respect yourself, and with all your might, otherwise you'd be treated like trash and nobody would sympathize with you.

Lambiel helped Teppin a lot, such as supervising Teppin's weight loss, making him eat less high-calorie food, urging him to train hard, and mocking him in training and matches, pointing out his mistakes, so that he would work harder in the matches.

The two complemented each other well on the court. Tuppin would stay under the basket, while Laimbeer could go to the top of the key. On defense, Tuppin could help Laimbeer guard the ball. The Pistons had always lacked this kind of physical big man.

Laimbeer consistently served as the unreserved last line of defense, and with his 2-inch leap (according to Daly), he had to be extremely rough to deter some players from attacking the basket.

The Pistons have consistently ranked at the bottom of the league in blocks per game, lacking a good shot blocker. While Tumpin isn't a shot blocker, his 6-foot-11 height can still provide some help with the Pistons' rim protection.

Turpin has a feeling that the Detroit Pistons will be a successful team, even though they seem to have many problems and have a bad reputation.

But a bad reputation can sometimes become a source of cohesion for players, making them more united to fight against the world, because nobody likes you except your teammates and your own fans.

Turpin was still having second thoughts about how to fight Forrest Gump when he got on the field. Should he really give him an elbow?

On the Trail Blazers' bench, Gan Guoyang shrugged at Ramsey and said, "I didn't hit anyone in the first quarter."

Ramsey said, "Should I give you the Nobel Peace Prize?"

Gan Guoyang shook his head and said, "Then forget it. How can you take it if you don't hit people?"

Ramsey got up and went to the sidelines to direct the game, while Gan Guoyang took a towel from Terry Porter to wipe his face.

Porter hasn't had a chance to play tonight, and Ramsey is using the Paxson + Colter combination for the transition.

As a rookie, Porter has not yet earned Ramsey's trust enough, especially since his casual and bold shots from the outside often displease Ramsey.

Although Ramsey is much more tolerant than before, it's already quite good that his tolerance can accommodate liberals like Gan Guoyang and Drexler; adding a rookie like Porter would be really difficult.

Comparatively, Cortés, with his more traditional playing style and greater experience, was more trusted by Ramsey.

However, Colter's defense against Thomas was not good tonight; he lacked offensiveness, after all, this is Detroit.

"Porter, if you're on the court later, focus your attacks on Thomas."

Potter looked at Gan Guoyang with a pained expression and said, "Isn't this a bad idea?"

Gan Guoyang said, "I told you to attack him, not to hit him, I told you to attack, to score a goal!"

"Dr. Jack doesn't like me taking too many shots."

"It's alright. Just listen to me on the field. Dr. Jack's word doesn't count."

"...Is this based on any tactical considerations?"

"No, I just want you to toughen up. Also, it would be even better if you could actually punch him."

If the NBA were to establish a crime of instigation, Gan Guoyang and Laimbeer would both be eligible for life imprisonment or even the death penalty.

In accordance with American tradition, an electric chair could also be added.

(End of this chapter)