The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 613 Talent Shrinkage
"Iron Five".

The Ironman 5 was one of the signature strategies of Coach Franklin Capone during his time at Princeton University.

Before each game, he would select five players from the team who he believed were in the best condition and best suited for the match to be the starting lineup.

Then, during the match, he will no longer make any substitutions, allowing all five players to play from start to finish, with each player playing the entire match without rest.

This became a tradition at Princeton University for quite some time, and after Peter Carell took office, sometimes all five of them would be involved in the work.

Coach Capone explained, "If you start with five players, they should be your best players. If they are healthy and play the way they are supposed to, there is no need to make substitutions."

Of course, Coach Capone later added, "There's another reason, because I just don't have any usable guys on my bench!"

Princeton University's athletic department has long faced a shortage of talent, given that it is an academically prestigious university with limited investment in sports, especially basketball.

It was already difficult for them to put together a starting five, and finding a reliable sixth man was not easy either. The "Iron Five" was really out of necessity.

The Portland Trail Blazers, on the other hand, have the best roster depth in the league, even with the salary cap system not being strict enough.

Therefore, Bobby Bellman agreed with Adelman's first suggestion: to increase Sabonis's role and involve him more in positional offense so that he could truly become the team's second core player.

As for the second suggestion, Bellman rejected it, knowing that Forrest Gump could play not only 45 minutes, but also a full 48 minutes, as he had extremely amazing physical abilities.

However, in the long run, it's still necessary to control the playing time. Firstly, to ensure Agan's health, and secondly, to give other Trail Blazers players more opportunities to perform, as there's still plenty of time to hone their skills during the regular season.

"Working with Forrest Gump for a long time can easily lead to Forrest Gump addiction, and sometimes you have to control yourself," Bellman and Adelman said.

Adelman muttered, "What's wrong with relying on Forrest Gump? You've relied on Forrest Gump all along to get to where you are today. Have you forgotten Dr. Jack?"

Only Adelman in the coaching staff could speak to Berman like that, without any reservations. Anyone else would probably have been furious.

Bellman wasn't angry. He said, "Of course I know, but don't forget, Dr. Jack wants Forrest Gump to play until he's 50. Me too, I want him to play for a very, very long time."

Ultimately, Adelman agreed with Bellman's idea, and Agan's playing time was kept at 38 minutes.

After the coaching staff meeting, Berman spoke with Gan Guoyang during training the following day and exchanged opinions.

When Gan Guoyang learned that Adelman wanted to increase his playing time, he joked, "He should buy a cotton field to manage after he retires; he would definitely be an excellent farmer."

Seriously speaking, Gan Guoyang said he understands Adelman's thinking, saying, "Rick isn't worried about me having too little playing time and not being able to make a difference, but rather that I won't be able to find my best form with too little playing time. I think Rick's idea makes sense, and maybe I should change my game rhythm."

Berman also realized this, and Gan Guoyang did face the problem of finding his form after his playing time was reduced to 38 minutes.

Every player needs to warm up and find their form before playing a match. A few players with a "microwave" personality are only suitable as substitutes and for transitional periods.

In high-level matches, if a player doesn't get enough playing time, gets picked off too frequently, or is too afraid to play due to foul trouble, it can lead to poor performance.

In the first nine games, Gan Guoyang averaged only 28 points. He created opportunities for his teammates in the first quarter and rested a lot in the second quarter, which resulted in him taking far fewer shots in the first half than in the past.

In this situation, expecting him to step up in the third quarter is asking too much.

In the game against the Bulls, Gan Guoyang played very well in the third quarter.

But they were still unable to turn the tide, and the game remained under the Bulls' control.

Michael Jordan scored 35 points in this game, starting strong in the first quarter and finding his rhythm early on.

"You're right, Sonny. I think we should definitely change the pace of the game and the order of rotation to give you a better chance to perform."

Since high school, Bellman had always listened carefully to Forrest Gump's opinions, as Forrest had an extraordinary keen sense of the game.

Listening to Forrest Gump is always the right thing to do; this is no joke.

Therefore, after losing to the Bulls, Bellman readjusted his tactics and strategies.

They will still play the Princeton offense at the start, but the Princeton offense will no longer rely solely on Gan Guoyang as the passing pivot.

Instead, it gives Gan Guoyang more offensive autonomy, allowing him to increase his own offensive capabilities while attracting defensive support and passing.

He can receive the ball from multiple positions, including the wing, baseline, top of the key, and low post, allowing him to execute the Princeton offense or take on individual plays.

Furthermore, Bellman encouraged Gan Guoyang to focus on one-on-one play and get his offensive rhythm going, so that he wouldn't dig himself into a hole like he did against the Bulls, where he started with 18 points in a single quarter.

The 7-foot-4 Sabonis moved to the power forward position. When Agan was on the court, he became the most important playmaker, responsible for passing the ball to Gan Guoyang, setting screens and facilitating plays with the perimeter players, relieving the pressure on the perimeter defense, and also taking on the function of shooting three-pointers from the outside—this was the job that Gan Guoyang often did when he partnered with Clyde in the 1980s.

Sabonis has always had a three-point shot ability, but last season his three-pointers were mostly casual attempts, forced shots when there was no time to spare, and the Trail Blazers did not design any specific tactics for him.

This time, Bellman believes it is necessary to develop Sabonis' three-point shooting to further widen the space and create high-low post opportunities with Agam.

In terms of rotation, Gan Guoyang changed his rest time from 6 minutes in the second quarter to about 3 minutes per quarter, spreading the rest time evenly so that he could keep his hands in good condition as much as possible.

In the second quarter, Gan Guoyang began to increase passing, creating more opportunities for his teammates, and allowing perimeter ball handlers like Petrovic and Reggie Lewis to handle the ball more often and initiate attacks, maintaining offensive diversity.

The third quarter is the decisive moment for Gan Guoyang, and it is his strongest quarter, where he can defeat his opponent in his own way.

Whether to pass the ball or attack is up to him to decide.

Berman has faith in Gan Guoyang's ability to control the game.

This guy has been controlling everyone since high school, from opponents to teammates to coaches.

After playing the Bulls, the Trail Blazers will have a four-day break starting November 18th.

Over the course of four days, the Trail Blazers made effective adjustments, and on the 23rd, they faced the Golden State Warriors at home.

At the Memorial Stadium, the Trail Blazers launched another devastating offensive, with Gan Guoyang scoring 19 points in the first quarter, helping the Trail Blazers take an early lead.

The Golden State Warriors are a very strong offensive team. The backcourt trio of Chris Mullin, Mitch Richmond, and Tim Hardaway, under the guidance of Mike Dunleavy, is gradually taking shape and becoming an important force in the Western Conference.

Dunleavy has always hoped that the Warriors could have a reliable rim protector.

However, good defensive big men are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive in the NBA today.

They had previously tried to bring in Ralph Sampson, but after one season, they realized that Sampson was really no longer good enough.

After letting Sampson go, the Warriors acquired Manute Bol last season. Bol can contribute blocks, but his stamina and rebounding are issues, and he is not a qualified starter.

As for Lister, who was acquired from the SuperSonics, he missed the entire 1990 season due to injury. He returned to the court this season and became a starter for the Warriors.

Lister was tall and strong, but in the NBA, that was just the minimum requirement to become a center.

Against the current league's behemoths, Lister was barely adequate, far from excellent. Therefore, the Warriors added former Bucks center Paul Moxki during the offseason to further bolster their frontcourt.

So despite the Warriors' offensive approach and their three outside shooters being incredibly accurate, the Warriors actually crave a top-class interior player.

A balance between internal and external strength is the key to success; taking unconventional approaches is often unavoidable. Excellent inside players are a scarce resource these days, and everyone wants them.

But there's only one Forrest Gump; it's impossible to have one on every team.

After losing his 13th matchup against Jordan, Gan Guoyang vented all his frustration on the Warriors.

The Warriors knew that going all out on defense was useless, so they might as well go all out on offense and have a chance to win.

The two teams then engaged in a high-scoring battle at Memorial Arena, with the Trail Blazers scoring 40 points in the first quarter and the Warriors taking 33.

After that, the Trail Blazers entered a phase where they played better and better, with various beautiful plays in half-court sets, coupled with sharp fast breaks, making it very fast to climb the ranks.

The Warriors also set a very fast pace, with Mullin, Hardaway, and Richmond all possessing strong outside scoring abilities.

However, with Forrest Gump and Domantas Sabonis anchoring the paint, the Trail Blazers were more efficient at scoring, racking up another 145 points.

The Trail Blazers' high scoring was astonishing; this was only the fifth time in six games that they had achieved such a high score.

Moreover, nine players on the Trail Blazers scored in double figures. Gan Guoyang scored 37 points efficiently in three quarters, then clocked out in the fourth quarter and didn't play again.

This victory helped the Trail Blazers shake off the gloom of their loss to the Bulls and get back on track to winning.

In the following games, the Trail Blazers went on to defeat visiting weaker teams such as the Timberwolves, Hornets, and Kings.

With scores consistently exceeding 120 points in every game, the team's Princeton offense has indeed demonstrated remarkable effectiveness in the low-intensity regular season.

The victories and impressive statistics have kept the Trail Blazers' team atmosphere as excellent as ever.

The Trail Blazers finished the first month of the season with an impressive 12-1 record.

As December arrives, the Trail Blazers enter their "downtime," a period during which they experience ups and downs in both performance and form every year.

The entire month of November was another comfortable schedule, with 10 out of 13 matches played at home, and most of the opponents were relatively weak.

Apart from the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers, there is no truly strong team to challenge Portland.

At the start of December, the Trail Blazers embarked on an Eastern tour, heading to the East to play four away games.

As winter approaches, snow and wind begin to affect many cities in the northeast, making travel difficult once again.

Unexpectedly, the Trail Blazers' journey was still fraught with difficulties. On their way to Milwaukee, they were stranded in heavy snow and spent a day and a night at the airport, arriving exhausted.

However, their games went very smoothly. They won all four away games against the Bucks, Cavaliers, Hornets, and Magic, and all of them were relatively easy wins.

It was always "I haven't even used much strength, how come you've already fallen down?" By the fourth quarter, the outcome was basically decided, except for the game against the Cavaliers where I broke a sweat.

The Trail Blazers were on edge, but they easily made it through their first December road trip in the Eastern Conference this season.

However, during the post-game debriefing, Shalov gave the team's performance a rating. In the locker room, he shook his head and said, "Actually, we didn't play well. We had more turnovers than in November, a lower field goal percentage than in November, and our assists, rebounds, and other statistics all dropped significantly. Our average points and field goal percentage dropped even more drastically, and the game wasn't very attractive either."

John Weitzer said, "But we all won, and we won easily."

Shalov said, "That's right, we won easily because our opponents were too weak. If our performance was average, their performance could only be described as terrible, too...too bad, how can they play in the NBA?"

Shalov's summary is correct. The Trail Blazers were able to easily win their four-game road trip not because they played well, but because their opponents were really bad.

This season, the number of teams in the league has increased from 23 in the 80s to 27.

In addition to the league suddenly adding four new bottom-tier teams, these new teams have also diluted the fighting power of other teams.

Players like the Detroit Pistons were forced to choose between Vinnie Johnson and Rick Mahorn.

If they had kept Vinnie, the Pistons would have given the Trail Blazers even more trouble in last year's Finals.

Other teams in the league were also affected by the expanded draft, and were forced to transfer some players who had immediate impact or potential.

Although it doesn't seem to have a significant impact on the team's strength at present, after all, each team still has 8 core players.

However, in the long run, after two or three seasons, the rebuilding plans and subsequent reinforcements of these teams will be affected.

Meanwhile, after the four bottom-ranked teams entered the league, they acquired a number of high draft picks in recent years, resulting in some teams being unable to supplement their strength with talented rookies.

The number of players selected in the first and second rounds has increased, but the number of talented players is still limited, and 27 teams are already not enough to go around.

If talented rookies like Glen Rice, Anderson, and Kendall Gill are selected by mid-level teams, it would definitely be a significant boost.

Not to mention, in the future, there will definitely be more talented players who will be picked up by these consistently poor teams, diluting the talent pool of the entire league.

The Miami Heat's move to poach Drexler also dilutes and averages out talent.

In addition, with the increasing frequency and normalization of free agent movement, and the improvement of the salary cap and draft system, the situation of excellent players clustering together will become less and less common.

The Lakers' multiple number one draft picks in the 80s, the championship team's number one draft pick, and the Philadelphia 76ers and Celtics' four Hall of Fame starters will become history.

Both the Trail Blazers and the Bulls have strong rosters, but upon closer analysis, the Trail Blazers only have one true All-Star caliber player, while the Bulls have two.

The main reason is that Gan Guoyang and Jordan are very strong; one is worth two.

Other teams, some of which don't even have a single All-Star, have significantly reduced the league's average strength.

This season, with another batch of older players retiring and no new ones joining, the lack of a generational gap is particularly evident.

This resulted in average teams being completely outmatched by the Trail Blazers.

Changing this situation will take time, and the weaker teams will need to grow and develop gradually.

Of course, if one day the star players suddenly realize they need to team up, it will change the landscape of the league.

However, it seems that they don't have such intentions yet.

The Trail Blazers returned to Portland after their road trip to face the Phoenix Suns.

Charles Barkley was the guy who wanted to beat Jordan and Gan Guoyang fair and square.

(End of this chapter)