The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 327 Give Me the Ball
NBA的主客场2-3-2赛制是从1985年总决赛开始施行的，这种赛制脱胎于MLB的世界大赛，世界大赛从1924年开始就是2-3-2赛制。

The main reason for using this format is that the players are already very tired after playing in multiple series during the finals. The finals are often a matchup between teams from the East and West. The United States has a large geographical span, and traveling back and forth by plane takes a long time and is very tiring. If a 2-2-1-1-1 format is adopted, the players would have to fly to the other side of the United States every other game until the last three games, which would greatly affect their performance.

In 1984, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics had just finished a seven-game NBA Finals series. Both teams were exhausted from flying and were completely worn out by the end. So Reid Auerbach suggested to the league that the Finals format be changed to 2-3-2, so that the two teams would only have to take two flights and the time interval between them would be long enough.

Auerbach was enjoying a high reputation in the league at the time, and David Stern had just taken office, so they naturally followed suit and accepted the red-headed suggestion to adopt the new Finals format starting in 1985.

Little did Auerbach know that his suggestion would backfire, as the Celtics and Lakers met again in the Finals in 1985, with the Celtics having home-court advantage.

The first four games ended in a 2-2 tie. The crucial fifth game, the pivotal match, had to be held in Los Angeles due to the new format.

The Celtics lost this crucial game on the road, putting the team in a very passive position. Although they have two home games next, the Lakers are in high spirits, and home-court advantage often doesn't play a big role in this situation.

Coupled with Bird's finger injury and poor performance, the Celtics lost to the Lakers in the Finals for the first time, ending their undefeated record against the Lakers in the Finals.

In contrast, the first four games of 1984 were also tied 2-2, and the crucial fifth game was played in Boston, where the crazy shouts of the fans and the sweltering arena became hell for the Lakers.

The Celtics won Game 5, and even though they lost Game 6 in Los Angeles, they returned to Boston for Game 7 and still managed to defeat the Lakers and win the championship.

Judging from overall strength and final statistics, the 1984 Celtics were actually slightly inferior to the Lakers. In the series, whether it was average points per game (Celtics 115, Lakers 117), field goal percentage (Celtics 44%, Lakers 51%), or assists (Celtics 22, Lakers 28), the Lakers were the better team.

The Celtics won because of their unparalleled momentum, psychological advantage, and making full use of their home-court advantage.

By 1985, the situation had reversed. In terms of overall strength, the Celtics were actually better, as evidenced by their 148-114 massacre in the first game.

However, the Lakers were more determined, and a series of factors, including Maxwell's injury and the fact that the crucial fifth game would be played in Los Angeles, led to the Celtics being defeated by the Lakers.

The 2-3-2 format played a very important role, and it's unknown whether Reid Auerbach regrets making this suggestion to the league.

The Celtics now face the same situation, with Game 5 taking place in the madcap city of Portland, a must-win game for them.

Otherwise, if last year's situation repeats itself, and they return to Boston trailing 2-3, winning two games in a row will not be so easy.

The Trail Blazers are not afraid to fight at Boston Garden; on the contrary, the Celtics will face even greater pressure.

Therefore, the entire Celtics team is fully engaged in intense preparations and dares not slack off in the slightest.

The Trail Blazers are in the same situation as the Celtics; Game 5 is their last home game, making it even more crucial for them to avoid defeat.

If the Celtics still have a chance to win the series after losing Game 5 and returning to Boston, then for the Trail Blazers, losing Game 5 makes winning consecutive games in Boston a pipe dream.

After the fourth game, the Trail Blazers' morale was somewhat low because the Celtics' five All-Star starters were indeed terrifyingly strong.

It is foreseeable that the Celtics will continue to use this starting lineup in the later games, while the Trail Blazers will not be able to find anyone in the backcourt who can deal with the two Johnsons and Larry Bird.

Terry Porter Jr. and Jerome Kossie are too young, Vandeweghe and Paxson are not known for their defense, and Drexler is also only a third-year player, only 23 years old.

The Trail Blazers are a team primarily composed of young players and veterans. They lack a core force in the middle generation. The only players in the 25-30 age group on the team are Paxson and Vandeweghe, but they are not players who can carry the team and can only play a supporting role.

For the Celtics, Bird, McHale, Ainge, and Marquez Johnson are all between 25 and 30 years old, at the peak of their competitive form and experience. Parish and Dennis Johnson are in their early 30s, also at a good age to play.

As the series progressed, the Celtics' experience advantage became increasingly apparent. They had gained a psychological advantage, and if the Celtics won Game 5, the championship would be a foregone conclusion.

The only good news for the Trail Blazers is that Game 5 will be played in Portland, so they don't have to travel to Boston to face so much pressure and can stay home to prepare carefully.

On game day, Jack Ramsey arrived at Memorial Stadium early. After running and swimming for a while, he went to his office and got to work.

Ramsey wore a pair of flashy plaid bell-bottoms that he often wore when he was young. Since the 1980s, the older Jack has rarely dressed like that, and today he wanted to bring some changes to everyone's wardrobe.

In the tactics room, Jack took off his shirt, put on his glasses, grabbed a bottle of rum, and started looking at the data reports while thinking about the strategy for the evening's game.

These past two days have been agonizing for Ramsey, because the Trail Blazers have no way to deal with the Celtics' five-star starting lineup, both tactically and in terms of rotation.

Marquez Johnson, in particular, has caused the Trail Blazers a lot of trouble on both offense and defense. Even Gan Guoyang can no longer afford to be distracted by Marquez.

Suppressing Parish and McHale in the paint and taking care of Bird one-on-one in crucial moments was Forrest Gump's limit, unless another one of him was cloned, which is obviously impossible.

When facing the Rockets, the Trail Blazers were confident and composed, even when trailing 2-3, they managed to win two consecutive games to come back from behind. By the sixth game, the Rockets had run out of options.

The situation is different now. The Trail Blazers still have cards in their hands, but almost none of them are usable. Are they going to secretly take Forrest Gump back from the table and play it again?
After a grueling season, Bill Walton's knees and ankles are increasingly swollen and red, and he can now only play for 20 minutes per game.

Even if you start with three tall players, what will you do for the twenty-odd minutes when Walton is not there? And even with three tall players, it won't solve the problem of poor defense in the backcourt.

In the end, only one word comes to mind: fight. Besides relying on one's condition and luck, there seems to be no other strategy.

Usually, when the finals reach this stage, most of the cards have been played, and both sides are fighting tooth and nail.

Jack Ramsey was upset. He ate nothing at noon and drank a bottle of rum to calm his anxiety.

When Dr. Ogilvy saw Ramsey in the gymnasium's treatment room, he noticed that Ramsey's face was flushed and he looked haggard. He quickly asked, "Jack, have you been drinking?"

Ramsey nodded, and Dr. Ogilvy continued, "Your anxiety is acting up? I told you not to numb yourself with alcohol; it's very bad for you."

Ramsey slumped back in his chair and said, "I can't control myself. I thought I was all better, but...no, I have a feeling I'm going to lose tonight, and I can't accept it..."

Dr. Ogilvy patted Ramsey's face and said, "What are you talking about? You need to have confidence. Everyone is waiting for the team to win. Do you remember 1977?"

"1977 was 1977, and now it's 1986. Experience tells me the Boston Celtics have the initiative in the series. We have no countermeasures against their five-star starting lineup; I can't think of any. They're not the 1977 Philadelphia 76ers. The Philadelphia 76ers were a mess, Gene Schweinsteiger was an idiot; he couldn't mediate the relationships between the players, and they messed up. The Celtics are different. I know this team..."

"You're showing fear before the battle even begins! Jack, you're not like this. You...you're under too much pressure. You can't do this. Go to the treatment room and get some sleep. I'll come wake you up at 3:30, and then you can get ready for the match."

Ramsey was drunk and felt dizzy. He lay on the bench with his eyes closed. Dr. Ogilvy turned off the lights, closed the door, and let Ramsey get a good night's sleep.

Ramsey has barely slept a full night in the last two days, tormented by the immense pressure of the Finals and the passion of the Portland fans.

His obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety had improved significantly, but they relapsed under these extreme circumstances.

Under the influence of alcohol, Ramsey drifted off to sleep, dreaming of the grand celebration of winning the championship in 1977 and the disappointment of Portland fans after losing Game 5.

He dreamt that he returned to the refrigerated cargo ship YP643, where he was appointed captain. By then, the United States had already dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, World War II was over, and their plan to land on the Japanese mainland was canceled. His final mission was to take the ship, two officers, and 25 soldiers back to the mainland, and then end his military career.

The refrigerated ship was loaded with too much cargo and was a wooden-hulled vessel, unable to reach the convoy's required speed of 10 knots. Once separated from the convoy, they would not be able to reach Pearl Harbor on time and would have to be sent to the desolate and barren Marshall Islands.

He took the advice of his crew member Wright and jettisoned some ballast, reaching a speed of 10 knots, at the cost of the ship being very bumpy. They caught up with the convoy until late on the fourth night when he was awakened by a loud knocking at the door. It was Wright, who told Ramsey that something had happened.

The two went up to the deck. The Pacific Ocean was pitch black at night. The distant flashing lights were the convoy that had changed course. Due to the watchman's negligence, they had separated from the convoy and would not be able to return to Pearl Harbor on time.

They drifted on the vast, dark ocean, without direction, without guidance, without a fleet to follow. The old wooden ship could not find its way home. A huge anxiety and tension filled Ramsey's heart like darkness. He felt as if his chest was about to explode. He wanted to roar, but no sound came out. He wanted to shout for help, but who could save him in the Pacific Ocean?

Just then, light appeared on the horizon—the sun's rays. The sun slowly rose from the east, dispelling the darkness. Suddenly, he saw a fleet of ships in the distance; they could still catch up…

"Jack, Jack, wake up Jack!"

Ramsey woke up with a start, covered in sweat. Standing beside him was Gan Guoyang.

"What's wrong, Jack? You're sweating a lot. Did you have a nightmare?" Gan Guoyang asked.

"Oh... what are you doing here?"

"Dr. Ogilvy sent me to call you, how come you're still sleeping here?"

"I...I had a little to drink, sorry, I was thinking about tactics."

"Think of tactics? At a time like this, what's the point of thinking of tactics? Just give me the ball!"

Jack Ramsey looked at Gan Guoyang with a serious expression.

"Give me the ball, I'll score 50 points, we'll definitely win this game, stop daydreaming, Jack."

"Oh, by the way, your outfit today is really flashy. Are you trying to recapture the feeling of your youth?"

"These aren't even the most fancy ones; they're just ordinary plaid pants. I brought an even more patterned pair with me; I'll go change into that one."

Ramsey got up and went to his office to change his clothes; he had just slept and was covered in sweat, his clothes and waistband were soaked.

Gan Guoyang was wearing a white long shirt. The two of them walked together through the passage to the locker room to prepare for tonight's game.

"You'd better be prepared to play for 48 minutes tonight, Sonny."

"If you take me out, I'll beat you up."

I watched the Mavericks vs. Thunder game in the early morning, but ended up sleeping all day, so I'll only be posting two updates today. Sorry.

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(End of this chapter)