The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 459 Leader
By his fourth season, Gan Guoyang had become the undisputed leader of the Trail Blazers. He was not the traditional team leader, but more like a patriarch.

Although he was only 24 years old, he had a deep understanding of human psychology and knew how to manage a group of problem children.

His first principle is to always lead by example, rather than just making empty promises.

In everything related to the team, whether on or off the field, Gan Guoyang is a man of his word, always keeping his promises.

He's always the first to take responsibility when something happens, and he never shifts the blame to his teammates.

The boasts made will definitely come true, instead of being forgotten after a while and then changed to another version.

When dealing with teammates, I always demand the same of myself first, and then I demand the same of others.

He expects others to achieve 100 points, but he himself will first achieve 120 points, and he mainly encourages others, rarely suppressing or bullying them.

As the team leader, he's like a lion, always the first to stand up for his teammates if anyone on the court is bullied.

Other teams find henchmen for their star players, but he was the henchman for the entire team, protecting the entire Trail Blazers.

Coupled with his unparalleled performance on the field, Gan Guoyang's prestige within the team even surpasses that of Ramsey and owner Weinberg.

If four people were arguing in the locker room, and Gan Guoyang came in and gave all four of them a good scolding, no one would say anything.

But Gan Guoyang didn't do that. He called the four of them into the shower room one by one, and the water was running so loudly that no one could hear what was being said inside.

Drexler came out first, followed by Porter, then Cauchy, and finally Van der Werner.

The argument lasted anywhere from ten minutes to five minutes. Afterward, the four of them stopped arguing and returned to normal. They packed up their things, some going home, others going to practice more.

Gan Guoyang was the last to leave the locker room; he had been washing himself raw in the shower.

He wasn't going home; he dragged Bellman onto the court for an extra half hour to practice three-pointers and free throws.

Bellman was very curious about what Gan Guoyang had said.

As he helped Gan Guoyang retrieve the ball, he asked:
"Sonny, what did you say to them?"

"They didn't say anything; I mostly listened to what they were saying."

"Listen to what they're saying?"

"Sometimes listening is more important than speaking. When you understand their thoughts, you'll know where the problem lies and what to do."

"So what are you planning to do? There are starting to be conflicts within the team. Professional teams are different from college teams. When you win a championship, everyone wants to share the spoils. More money, more ball possession, more attention. But you know, there's only one ball, there's a salary cap, and the focus of attention is limited..."

"There is indeed only one ball, but I will teach them how to play properly. If they don't want to play according to Dr. Jack's ideas, they can find another team to showcase their talents."

As he spoke, Gan Guoyang made a three-pointer.

The memorial stadium was empty except for Gan Guoyang and Berman. The staff left a light on to illuminate the basket in half of the court.

Berman ran to retrieve the ball for Gan Guoyang. He held the ball and stood on the sidelines, watching Gan Guoyang stand outside the three-point line, with beams of light shining on him in the darkness.

He stood with his hands on his hips, looking both imposing and lonely.
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As December arrived, an unexpected incident occurred for the Trail Blazers.

Vandeweghe suffered a sudden, severe back pain and spasms during training. Doctors determined that his back injury was serious and he needed to rest and receive treatment.

With Vandeweghe unavailable, Kossi naturally moved into the starting lineup.

Thus, the battle for starting positions between Vandeweghe and Kossi came to an end.

However, the rivalry between the two left head coach Jack Ramsey feeling exhausted.

In the 60s and 70s, when coaches were at their peak, whoever the coach benched had to obey unconditionally, even if they were the star player.

Players are getting increasingly temperamental because starting positions are related to stats, exposure, and contracts, and there are more and more issues involved, making it increasingly difficult for coaches to be in charge.

The conflict between Drexler and Porter was gradually resolved as ball possession was redistributed.

In Ramsey's traditional system, the point guard organizes the offense, bringing the ball across half-court, while the shooting guard is responsible for positioning, attacking, and taking shots.

When Porter had the ball, his first goal was to find Gan Guoyang and play positional offense, which Drexler naturally complained about.

In the subsequent match, Gan Guoyang handed over some possession and organization in positional play to Drexler, allowing Porter to run off the ball, and Gan Guoyang directly combined with Drexler on the ball.

At the same time, Gan Guoyang took control of the power to launch quick counterattacks.

After securing the defensive rebound, he decides whether to launch a fast break.

If they're going for a counter-attack, he'll make long passes up the court to Drexler or Kossie. If they're not going for a counter-attack, he'll pass the ball to Porter and slowly dribble it across half-court to build positional play.

In this way, Drexler could not blame Porter for not launching a counterattack.

It was Forrest Gump who decided not to fight back. You dare to go and cause trouble with Forrest Gump?
Given that Drexler had more possession of the ball during positional play, he naturally had nothing to say.

Although Porter relinquished playmaking duties, he had many shooting opportunities on the weak side due to Gan Guoyang's defensive presence.

His shot attempts and made numbers have reached career highs, and he has had good scoring numbers in several games, which Porter is very satisfied with.

After seven or eight games of adjustment and reflection, and after each loss, the Trail Blazers have finally started to find their rhythm.

The reason why the Trail Blazers, as a championship team, have to undergo such a painful change is not only due to changes in the players' mentality, but also because the team's overall tactical focus is shifting from the frontcourt to the backcourt.

Although Gan Guoyang is undoubtedly the number one core player, and he is getting stronger and stronger.

However, compared to the previous two seasons, in 86 they had three tall forwards, and in 87, with isolation plays allowed, Gan Guoyang was the mainstay, and Walton and Thompson were still capable of playing, while Vandeweghe was in excellent form.

Porter and Drexler played supplementary and supporting roles in the first two titles.

The situation was different in the 87-88 season.

Walton retired, Thompson aged, Gilmore could only play a defensive role, and Vandeweghe was injured.

The Trail Blazers' core frontcourt is now down to just Gan Guoyang, while Drexler is entering his prime in the backcourt, and Porter, Hornacek, and Curry are all developing rapidly.

They are starting to become a center-guard type of team, so there will definitely be changes in their tactical focus and ball distribution.

Jack Ramsey's "two reductions and one increase" strategy was very correct, but Ramsey really had no experience in how to execute it.

This is the blind spot of this tactical mastermind. He has no experience using modern defenders like Porter and Drexler. In the past, he used them as traditional defenders, revolving around the attacking players, which naturally didn't cause any problems.

Now that they're expected to take on the main responsibility, things have become chaotic.

Gan Guoyang saw this even more clearly.

He knew that Drexler wasn't a traditional shooting guard; his shooting style was simply not traditional.

He's more like a combination of forward, shooting guard, and point guard.

Therefore, limiting him to the role of shooting guard is a waste of his potential.

His offensive organization, fast breaks, and rebounding are all quite good; he's an all-around player, similar to Magic Johnson.

Therefore, he is most comfortable when he is in positional attack and he controls the ball and organizes the offense, and when he launches a counter-attack, he is most comfortable.

Porter is not a traditional point guard either. He has the ability to average 10 assists per game, but his greater threat comes from his shooting and attacking the basket.

Among point guards, he is tall and strong with long arms, excellent pull-up jump shot technique, and accurate outside shooting.

Therefore, even if he plays pure point guard, he cannot unleash his full potential.

Let him take on the role of shooting guard appropriately, play off-ball offense, and shoot open shots from the outside, which will give him more room to perform.

Gan Guoyang's assessment of the two individuals was, in fact, entirely accurate.

This was thanks to his observations and understanding of Porter and Drexler, and also to some help from Adelman—after going to Golden State, Adelman often spoke with Gan Guoyang on the phone.

They probably didn't even realize that this was the best way for them to play.

Seeing Gan Guoyang playing better and better with Porter and Drexler, Ramsey said more than once, "I might as well pass the coaching job to you, Sonny."

Gan Guoyang naturally disagreed, but he couldn't ask for more money.

However, due to Adelman's departure, Gan Guoyang did indeed take on some of the responsibilities of an assistant coach again, just like in 1985.

The only difference is that he was in charge of defense in 85, and now he is in charge of offense.

By mid-December, before the Christmas Day game, the Trail Blazers' record was stable at 17 wins and 7 losses, second only to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference.

Besides Vandeweghe's injury, what worries Trail Blazers fans is their two losses to the Los Angeles Lakers.

In one game, the Lakers scored 148 points.

The Lakers, led by Don Nelson, seem to be even more ferocious than Riley's.

(End of this chapter)