The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 760 An Irresistible Condition

Bird spent the entire summer thinking about what kind of game he wanted to bring to the current Trail Blazers.

They had a very successful decade, and in the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s, the Trail Blazers were a leader in the way the game was played.

They pioneered the three-point shot and made the center three-point strategy a relatively common tactical approach.

At the same time, many of the Trail Blazers' offensive strategies are innovative and counterintuitive, such as passing the ball less to reduce turnovers.

For example, slowing down first to engage in positional warfare, or making full use of individual attacks rather than team cooperation.

These seemingly unconventional practices enabled the Trail Blazers to lead the league in offensive efficiency for a considerable period of time.

In the days before data analytics became widespread, the Trail Blazers were an enigma, and coaches were often perplexed when playing against them.

Anyway, they just couldn't beat them no matter what they did, especially in the playoffs, where it was hard to find any hope of winning.

Before we knew it, we were behind; before we knew it, time had slipped away; and in the end, we lost the game.

The most obvious feeling is that they can't score or defend, but neither the players nor the coaches can quite understand why.

By the mid-90s, video analysis, computer processing, and data analysis had become increasingly advanced, and the pioneers were being observed under a magnifying glass.

Some programs, interviews, and books have begun to focus on revealing the secrets to the pioneers' strength, and Gan Guoyang has also appeared on programs to showcase his extraordinary physical abilities.

Now the entire league understands how the Trail Blazers play: the efficiency brought by their three-point shooting, the low turnover rate resulting from less passing and half-court offense, and the fact that they have a top-tier superstar who is two levels above all other players.

Bird played wonderful basketball with the Celtics; they were a fast-paced team with talented players, but their peak years ended in Portland in 1986.

Bird later learned that the Trail Blazers had discovered the Celtics' weakness in 1986. They used a slow and steady approach to drag the Celtics into a quagmire of half-court offense, and then used their sharpest weapon to defeat the team.

This is a regret that Bird will always have. The five-star Celtics of that year were so strong, their desire for the championship was so strong, and they firmly believed that the championship that year would belong to them.

As a result, they were strongly resisted by the Trail Blazers and Gan Guoyang in the finals, and they never had a chance to win the championship again.

The Trail Blazers' style of play and approach has had a huge impact on the NBA, with more and more teams starting to use three-pointers as a regular weapon.

The idea of ​​less passing, less fast breaks, and more half-court offense has spread to every team, causing the NBA's average points per game to decline and defense to become the dominant theme.

联盟在1994-1995赛季缩短了三分线，将三分线的最远距离从23英尺9英寸缩短到了22英尺，以此继续鼓励球员投三分。

This shortening led to the explosion of three-point shooting in the league during the 1994-95 season, and indirectly led to the Miami Heat's championship win in the same season—they were the team that most thoroughly implemented a three-point, defense, and simple half-court offense strategy.

With Hakeem Olajuwon's exceptional ball-handling ability, a simple inside-outside system, and a large number of three-pointers, they defeated the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference.

It's fair to say that Pat Riley, while hating the Trail Blazers and Forrest Gump, actually borrowed almost everything from the Trail Blazers.

Management is, logistics is, commentators are, players are, and tactics and strategies are all.

By the 1995-1996 season, the Bulls had realized their mistake, and Jordan began to increase his three-point attempts.

In the 1996 season, Jordan's three-point shooting percentage reached a career-best 42%—already on par with rookie Forrest Gump.

At the same time, it was also the most productive shot of his career, averaging 4 attempts per game, making him one of the most efficient three-point shooters in the league.

During the Trail Blazers' second dynasty, they creatively introduced the Princeton system.

The Trail Blazers have successfully integrated the Princeton offense with their previous strategies, combining the once-common tactics of the Princeton offense with a superstar-driven approach.

In the regular season, they can easily defeat their opponents using a steady pace, achieving excellent results for many consecutive years.

In the playoffs, with their system and superstars working together, even death couldn't stop them from winning the championship.

Now, some teams are starting to adopt similar Princeton-style coaching methods, and the Trail Blazers can be said to be one step ahead of the league in every aspect.

Coaching such a team naturally put Larry Bird under a lot of pressure, and it's no wonder that no coach dared to take over in the 1994 season except for the rookie PJ Carlesimo, who ultimately left with unsatisfactory results.

In his thinking process, Bird first had to figure out one question: in the past 10 years, what played a decisive role in the Trail Blazers' dominance was their system, their strategies, or Forrest Gump?

The result of talking with Buckwald was that it mainly depends on Forrest Gump; without Forrest Gump, everything is empty.

Although Bird had a deep understanding of Forrest Gump's abilities on the court, he still needed to confirm it as the head coach.

Before training camp began, Buckwalt asked Bird to call Bellman and ask him some questions about the Trail Blazers' system.

Bird had some doubts and said, "Bellman is the Lakers' head coach now. Is it appropriate to ask him these questions?"

Buckwalt said, "Bellman is indeed the Lakers' coach, but he will always be Forrest's coach. He will answer your questions about Forrest, and he will answer them truthfully."

Berman was the head coach of the Dream Team, and Bird and he had a relationship.

With a "let's give it a try" attitude, Bird called Bellman the day before camp started.

He asked Bellman a profound question: "Did the Trail Blazers' success rely on the system or on Forrest Gump?"

On the phone, Berman replied, "Larry, why would you ask such a stupid question? Has your brain been automatically blocked by something since you became a coach? And why are you asking me? Look at my situation and the evaluations I've received these past two years, isn't the answer obvious enough? I think you've gone mad since you came to Portland, how about we switch places?"

Bird immediately understood what Bellman meant when he said that.

Since Bellman went to Los Angeles with Jerry West, the Lakers have been virtually empty-handed in recent years—their biggest gain being a second overall pick.

It wasn't that Bellman was a bad coach, but rather that even the most skilled cook can't make a meal without ingredients. Bellman's efficiency methods simply didn't work when there were few players available.

Moreover, Berman's management of the locker room was always problematic. Without a leader like Forrest Gump to keep him in check, he had to devote a considerable amount of energy to fighting with the players.

These are not his strengths; he is more accustomed to being a technical coach than a management coach.

The 1996-1997 season was even more stressful for Bellman because the team had Shaquille O'Neal, who would be playing alongside Jason Kidd.

On the court, Kidd puts his coach at ease, but off the court, he's no pushover. Over the past two seasons, he's caused quite a bit of trouble in Los Angeles.

O'Neal is also a player with a bad temper who needs to be coaxed. Whether he and Kidd can get along harmoniously will undoubtedly be a great test of the head coach's management skills.

This is precisely the problem that gives Bellman the biggest headache. Coaching Forrest Gump doesn't require worrying about these things at all. You can just relax and be managed by Forrest Gump. There's no need to worry about this or that.

"The only thing you need to worry about right now is Forrest Gump's condition. If he's still in his prime, then you can focus on building the system you want to build, provided that you make Forrest the core. Of course, you're not that stupid. If Forrest isn't in his prime, you need to think more about how to better tap into the potential of other players, and then focus on building the system you want. It's that simple. You don't need to worry about many other things. Forrest's control over the team is definitely stronger than yours."

Bellman offered Bird some sincere advice, but Bird didn't quite believe it.

He believes Gan Guoyang can still be in excellent form; as seen in the rookie training camp, he remains exceptionally strong.

But he didn't believe that Forrest Gump could have such a strong control over the team, even more so than the coach.

But thinking about it carefully, this guy seems to really understand each of his teammates, their personalities, temperaments, playing styles, and even their daily preferences.

He wove an invisible net, controlling everyone on the team, making everyone willingly submit to the pursuit of victory.

“Everyone’s in his web, including you, Larry,” Bellman said as he hung up the phone.

The next day, in mid-October, Bird, with three parts doubt, three parts confidence, and four parts passion and curiosity for the coaching job, officially started the preseason training camp.

Preseason training camps and rookie training camps are definitely different. Rookie training camps focus on selection and also serve as a preview of the coaches' work.

The preseason training camp marks the official start of the season. Coaches need to understand each player, develop team tactics, organize training, and oversee all aspects of the work.

Regardless of whether you've coached before or not, you're being forced into this role today. Bird arrived at Willamette University's training facility early in the morning, around 7:00 AM.

Last night he called all the players and told them they had to be at the stadium by 7:30 p.m. and no one was allowed to be late.

Of course, Bird knew that someone would inevitably be late, which was a common occurrence in every team, because 7:30 was too early.

Most teams normally start their training camp at 9:00 AM, but Bird wanted to start the camp earlier to test the players' obedience.

During his playing career, Larry Bird was almost never late. He was always one of the first players to arrive at the training facility, and only occasionally would he be late due to unforeseen circumstances.

Therefore, Bird hated people who were late, and even those who arrived right on time made him unhappy.

For example, Kevin McHale, McHale always arrives on time, a few seconds later than the required time.

Sometimes McHale would do it on purpose; he would arrive a little early and wait at the door, then rush into the training facility or bus when there were 10 or 15 seconds left.

Bird was very unhappy with McHale's behavior, which was one of the manifestations of their off-court personality clashes.

On the first day of training camp, Bird is going to use his lateness to deflate the Blazers' players' arrogance.

Ideally, a troublemaker should emerge so Bird can teach him a lesson, set rules for the team, and make an example of him.

He has already discussed with assistant coaches Carlisle and Dick Hart that being late once will result in a $1000 fine, being late twice will result in a $3000 fine, and being late a third time will result in a one-game suspension.

Upon arriving at the training facility, Bird began preparing while waiting. Meanwhile, Gan Guoyang, O'Neal, Kobe, and others had already arrived at the facility before 7:00 AM and had been training for quite some time, drenched in sweat.

There's no need to worry about these people; they'll definitely be among the first to arrive for training and the last to leave the stadium.

Although Bird never served as a head coach, he played basketball for over a decade and, as a superstar, had ideas about team management.

Even if you haven't eaten pork, you've still seen pigs run, right? He's not the kind of person who can only be managed but can't manage others.

Bird knew perfectly well that when managing players, NBA coaches often need to focus most on the bench players. This is because players who become starters in the NBA are typically very responsible and hardworking, and coaches don't need to worry about them as much.

The morale and mentality of the players sitting on the bench, especially at the end of the bench, often determine the atmosphere of the whole team.

This is the "barrel effect" in team management. If the players at the bottom of your bench are full of energy, train hard, and are always ready to play, then your team will definitely be fine.

Besides the players at the end of the bench, we should also pay more attention to the troublesome players, as there are many such players in the NBA.

They are often unruly and have eccentric personalities, especially some black players from underprivileged backgrounds. To put it nicely, they are individualistic; to put it bluntly, besides being good at basketball, they are just scum and degenerates.

Such scumbags are everywhere in the NBA. Fans see all the players as glamorous heroes on the court, but only those who are actually in the game know how many of them are utter garbage once they leave basketball.

This is also one of the biggest challenges for NBA coaches. You have to work with some people who are not well-behaved, have bad personalities, or even commit crimes, and appease them, help them, and persuade them to play well.

Only as a last resort can they be kicked out – and in reality, coaches are often kicked out before the players.

Larry Bird specifically consulted Rick Carlisle and Dick Hart to create a table listing who the current Trail Blazers player most needs discipline and who is most likely to sit at the end of the bench.

Hart and Carlisle gave Bird four names: Chris Dudley, Ruben Embard, Van Exel, and Isaiah Riddell.

Chris Dudley and Ruben Embard are among the fringe players at the end of the bench.

Dudley joined the Trail Blazers in the 1993-1994 season. He was a typical white high-achieving player who graduated from Yale with a degree in political science and economics.

He came from a typical white, highly educated family; his parents, grandfather, and uncle were all graduates of Yale University, and his grandfather was the Nixon administration's ambassador to Denmark.

This guy's future goal is to go into politics, and his political destination is Portland.

During his time playing for the Trail Blazers, he was more interested in political activism than basketball.

This seems to be a "glorious tradition" left behind by the Portland Trail Blazers, starting with Bill Walton.

Byrd had always abhorred political activities and kept himself far away from them.

Before training camp, he thought that maybe he should have a good talk with Dudley, or simply find an opportunity to trade him later and get a good small forward in return.

The Trail Blazers have a relatively abundant pool of interior players, with Forrest Gump, PJ Brown, and Jermaine O'Neal, enough to fill a normal rotation.

Ruben Embard was a second-round pick by the Trail Blazers. He's mediocre in many ways and could be cut at any time.

Rather than figuring out how to motivate and manage him, Bird needed to think more about how to tell Embard that he had been cut by the team.

This is the head coach's job, which Bird was unwilling to do. He knew that every player who entered the NBA had gone through countless hardships and was carefully selected.

No one wants to give up easily, and telling them personally that they're going to be laid off is even more cruel, but Bird believes he's prepared to do it.

The remaining players, Van Exel and Isaiah Riedle, are typical troublemakers.

Van Exel graduated from the University of Cincinnati. Because of a falling out with his coach in high school and an alleged fight, many schools rejected him, but Cincinnati took him in.

The situation was similar when it came to the NBA draft. He was talented, but many teams were not impressed with his character. In the end, Jerry West handpicked this big-eyed guard before leaving the Trail Blazers, hoping to leave some talent assets for the team.

Van Exel is indeed very talented and capable. In just two seasons, he took the starting point guard position from Terry Porter.

During his best season, 95-96, he averaged 16 points and 8 assists per game, which, based on statistics alone, made him one of the best point guards in the league.

However, aside from his outstanding performance on the field, Van Exel has a notorious off-field record and a very unruly personality.

Back in 1993, when he decided to enter the NBA draft, Van Exel showed his rebellious personality. It is said that during his tryout with the SuperSonics, he dared to talk back to head coach George Karl.

George Karl had him run six times from the baseline to the free-throw line to test his speed and stamina.

As a result, Van Exel ran slowly and didn't want to exert himself. George Karl told him he could go faster, but Van Exel said he wanted to stay cooler.

The SuperSonics naturally lost interest in Van Exel, and Van Exel thought the same way; the SuperSonics' crowded backline left him with no chance.

Later, Jerry West called Van Exel to tell him that the Portland Trail Blazers had drafted him. Van Exel wasn't even there; he was completely drunk and couldn't believe he'd been chosen.

In his first season with the Trail Blazers, he dared to taunt Gary Payton in a game against the SuperSonics. It takes a lot of courage for a rookie to exchange insults with Payton on the court.

Last season, he was also exposed for assaulting his girlfriend, slamming her head against the floor, but no case was ever filed.

As for other incidents such as arguing with the referee and calling him a "dwarf," kicking an opponent lying on the ground in the head, and arguing and exchanging insults with the coach, these are just some of Van Exel's bad deeds.

Bird asked Carlisle how Van Exel performed in the 1993-1994 season when Forrest was still with the team.

Carlisle said it was so-so, but after Forrest Gump retired, he started to let himself go. He wondered if things would be better when Forrest Gump came back.

Van Exel is indeed a troublesome troublemaker, but compared to Isaiah Riddell, Van Exel seems much more docile.

Because no matter how much Van Exel acts recklessly, it's just a matter of being arrogant on the court. Off the court, hitting his girlfriend and teammates is considered a work-related issue and a family conflict.

Liddell is different. He graduated from the prestigious UNLV, previously played at Antelope Canyon Academy, and later, like Larry Johnson and others, was recruited by Turkney to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

It was a notorious outcast for bad kids, a place that was at odds with the entire NCAA. Tackney was their protector, and college was their sanctuary. Together, they won the NCAA championship and shook college basketball across the country for two seasons.

But once they leave college and enter the NBA, the real adult world, the constraints and seals on them are broken.

Isaiah Riddell was selected fifth overall by the Timberwolves in the 1993 NBA draft, making him a high-drafted talent.

By his second season, Riddell was averaging 20 points and 3.3 assists per game, showing signs of developing into a star player.

However, during his first official training session in his professional career, he was several hours late to the team.

From then on, being late became the defining characteristic of his career. During his three seasons with the Timberwolves, he was late, missed practice, missed the bus, and missed flights countless times.

Being late was only the least serious of his "crimes." In 1994, he got into an argument with a woman at a shopping mall and then kicked her hard. He was arrested by the police and convicted of minor assault, sentenced to four days in jail, suspended.

On a flight from Minnesota to Phoenix, he missed the team's chartered plane and refused to take another flight. He got into an argument with staff, verbally abused them, and spat on them. He was arrested by the airport police.

At a sports bar in Minnesota, he assaulted the bar manager, was convicted of fifth-degree assault, and spent a few days in jail.

A series of arrests, convictions, and insubordination led the Timberwolves management to lose patience with Isaiah Riddell, and in the summer of 1996, they traded him to Portland.

Just days after he was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers, he was arrested by police on a more serious charge of possession of contraband.

After the arrest, police found not only illegally possessed marijuana on him, but also an illegally modified cell phone that could make calls and charge other people's phone numbers.

Riddle confessed to his crimes and was sentenced. He is now under close surveillance by the police and is number one on the list of habitual offenders.

While Larry Bird admired Riddle's long list of misdeeds, the only thing that made him feel good was that Riddle was always late for the Timberwolves, which drew constant complaints from Timberwolves general manager Kevin McHale.

Bird thought to himself, "Kevin, you've finally met your match. Back then, you always made sure you arrived on time, but now that you've joined the Timberwolves and met someone who's always late, you've finally behaved yourself."

As pleased as he was, Kevin McHale has now passed the hot potato of Riddle to Portland and into Bird's hands.

Bird hated players being late, and he was certain that Riddell was likely to be late on the first day, so he would make an example of him and teach the violator a lesson.

Time ticked by, and players, trainers, and support staff arrived at the training facility one after another, making Willamette Arena bustling with activity.

At 7:25, Van Exel appeared on the field with big eye bags. He wasn't late and went to the locker room to change his jersey right on time.

Bird counted the players; 14 out of 15 were there, leaving only Isaiah Riddell. It seemed that the guy was indeed going to be late.

Bird pondered in his mind how to teach Riddle a lesson, what kind of way to deal with this troublemaker—should he be sarcastic like Bill Fitch? Or righteous and righteous like KC Jones? Or sternly reprimand like Chris Ford?
At 7:29, the players prepared to assemble on the court, and Bird picked up the whistle, ready to begin his first formal training session as a coach.

Just then, the glass doors of the arena were pushed open, and Isaiah Riddell jogged in carrying his sports bag. He looked at his teammates who had already arrived and waved to apologize for being late.

"Go change, Isaiah! Coach Larry's whistle is itching to be blew!" Gan Guoyang urged Riedel, who hurriedly went into the locker room to change.

It was exactly 7:30 a.m., Larry Bird's first official training session, and no one was late.

With his hands on his hips and chewing gum, Bird thought to himself, "Damn it, Isaiah Riddell isn't late. Is it because of my charisma, Larry Bird, that I've swayed him?"
I don't know, but let's just think that way for now. Anyway, that's what Bird thinks.

"During my time with the Portland Trail Blazers, I was almost never late for practice. Many people don't believe it, but it's true. I was often late in Minnesota for many reasons: traffic jams, heavy snow, burst pipes, flat tires, my grandma died, my period started... I can't even remember how many times I was late."

"Later I was traded to Portland. I knew I would be playing with Forrest Gump and Larry Bird, but I didn't intend to change. I am who I am, and I've always been the same way. I might be late, but once I'm on the court, I'll give it my all. I don't think I did anything wrong."

"The day before training camp for the new season in 1996, Larry called me and said that training was at 7:30 and I should be there on time. I said yes, but in my heart I was thinking, 'Fuck you, I'm definitely going to sleep in on the first day.' Because if you're not late on the first day, you'll feel embarrassed to be late later. If being late the first time is tolerated, it doesn't matter later."

“But that day, Sonny found me. I don’t know how he knew where I lived, but he found me and said he wanted to talk to me. There are too many legends about Sonny, so I won’t go into them. I’ll just say what he said to me that day. We talked for about fifteen minutes.”

"He told me, 'Isiah, you have two paths in front of you now. First, train hard with the Trail Blazers, play well, and win a championship with me. One day you'll retire, or you might ruin your career with drugs, and the media will still invite you to interviews and do shows, letting you recount your legendary experiences. You can talk a big game about those past grievances, entertaining a bunch of unsophisticated listeners, and you'll still have a job. Second, continue reporting to the police station, and then I'll send you out of the NBA. You heard me right, out of the NBA. I'm the president of the players' union; I have enough power and ability to make you disappear from this league, from the players' union, completely disappear.'"

"After he said all that, I was a little stunned. He continued, 'You don't need to give me an answer now. Don't give me a one or two. I know you have pride, you don't want to give in easily, I understand, everyone has pride. So, I'll give you one night to think it over. After you've thought it over, you don't need to give me an answer. Just see tomorrow's practice. Larry requires you to be there before 7:30. If you're there before 7:30, I'll consider that you've accepted my conditions. If you don't show up before 7:30, then you should never set foot on the Trail Blazers' training facility floor again.'"

"Finally he said to me, 'Good luck, Riddle.' I freaking stood there for a while, and then I decided that I absolutely mustn't be late."

"Because he gave me a condition I couldn't refuse."

—Isiah Riedel recounted the above in the 2012 documentary about himself, "My Testimony."

(End of this chapter)