The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 422 Regional Finals
The Trail Blazers didn't give the SuperSonics, who were already in a semi-dead state, much of a chance. In Game 4, they won 119-110, a decisive 9-point victory, and advanced to the Western Conference Finals.

Because the process went so smoothly, the Portland side was even too embarrassed to make sarcastic remarks. The situation was too one-sided, and there was no point in making any more sarcastic comments.

Compared to last season, the Trail Blazers are more mature and ruthless, showing no hesitation in their progress.

Although the SuperSonics had their best performance of the series in Game 4, with Dale Ellis scoring 33 points, Tom Chambers 31 points, and McDaniel 24 points.

Even with all three monsters working together, the gap in raw power and Gan Guoyang's destructive power at low positions remains an insurmountable problem for them.

After being completely demoralized by Gan Guoyang in one game, McDaniel no longer dared to mismatch guard the league's top center.

The two sides remained deadlocked until the fourth quarter, when the Trail Blazers secured the victory with an 11-2 run in the final three minutes—a common winning strategy for the Trail Blazers this year.

The game is initially close, but at the crucial moment, both offense and defense unleash their power to take you down in one fell swoop. You don't need to win by a large margin, just 5-10 points.

This was thanks to the Trail Blazers' excellent game rhythm, energy management, and rotation arrangements, with Bobby Bellman, a "gambler" who is an expert in numbers, playing a crucial role.

He treats all the team's resources like chips in a Texas Hold'em poker game. What cards you play in each game and each round doesn't matter; what matters is that your money is profitable and you win money in the end.

After the series ended, Jack Ramsey chatted with Bobby Bellman and said, "Your ideas are really ahead of their time. I've learned a lot from you this season."

Bellman was quite alarmed and said, "I'm just offering a long-term perspective; I'm far inferior to you in terms of tactical planning."

"My thinking relies on experience and inspiration, while yours relies on data and statistics. Industrial civilization has triumphed over agricultural civilization."

"My system is not perfect either, it is still being improved, but we have nuclear weapons, so if it doesn't work, we can just throw them out."

The two men looked at each other and laughed. Jack Ramsey finally understood why Bellman had said, "Ask him how he uses mine."

Gan Guoyang provides a huge margin of error; if you don't let him use you, if you don't cooperate with him, how can you unleash his power and win the game?

"However... the Western Conference Finals aren't something you can solve by simply dropping an atomic bomb. The coaching staff needs to do a lot more preparation, a great deal."

“No problem. Rick and I will get to work as soon as we get back. The Lakers game footage has already been edited and is very valuable for reference.”

Like the Trail Blazers, the Los Angeles Lakers also gave the Rockets no chance in the semifinals.

They vented their frustration from last year's loss on the Rockets, winning their first game by a whopping 27 points.

In the following games, the Lakers won by as few as 11 points against the Rockets. Last season, the Rockets' twin towers swept the Lakers 4-1, but this season they have fallen quietly and were easily eliminated by the Lakers.

Houstonians thought they were about to usher in a new era for the West, but injuries and drugs quickly destroyed all hope.

Ralf Sampson's performance on the field has plummeted due to injuries.

Having lost his explosiveness and speed, he was no longer able to perform well against the heavier Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Maxwell could not fill the void left by Wiggins and Lloyd's suspensions. The newly built Houston tower was crumbling, and their brief glory would become a simple yet profound page in history.

The Trail Blazers and Lakers met again in the Western Conference Finals, following their playoff run in 1985.

Both teams are eager to compete and are determined to fight for the Western Conference championship.

The Lakers avenged their loss to the Rockets, and the Trail Blazers are also looking to avenge their loss to the Lakers. Gan Guoyang has been waiting for this day for a long time.

In the 80s, in the Western Conference, you couldn't be called a true champion if you hadn't beaten the Lakers in the playoffs.

The Trail Blazers held a 3-2 advantage over the Lakers in the regular season, but the playoffs will be a completely different battlefield.

In the East, the Detroit Pistons easily swept the Chicago Bulls 4-0, resulting in three sweeps in three of the four semifinal matchups.

Jordan couldn't carry the team alone against the Pistons; the gap in strength between the two sides was too great. After acquiring James Donaldson in a trade, the Pistons had the strength to challenge the Celtics in the East.

Conversely, the Celtics' strength has declined further, and they have become more tired and older compared to last season.

Marquez Johnson is out of the team indefinitely due to injury and the tragic death of his son, and it is expected that he will likely retire, as he will no longer be able to play. Kevin McHale, who was in excellent form during the regular season, fractured his right navicular bone in a game in March, and doctors recommended surgery, which will end his season.

However, with the playoffs approaching, the Celtics would certainly not be able to win the championship this year if he were to miss the rest of the season. Therefore, Kevin McHale ignored the doctor's advice and insisted on playing.

Before his injury, McHale was in top form. In February and March, his shooting percentage reached 70%, and he averaged 30 points per game, making him unstoppable in the paint.

His performance was undoubtedly greatly affected after the injury, and he often limped during the playoff games.

Even so, his field goal percentage in the playoffs was still 58%, but he struggled defensively against Charles Barkley.

The Celtics and Washington Bullets series is tied 2-2 after the first four games, and the pivotal Game 5 is about to take place.

The Bullets have shown considerable strength in this playoff run, with the Moses Malone and Charles Barkley frontcourt combination causing significant disruption to the Celtics' frontcourt.

Barkley delivered an All-Star performance in the playoffs, and in the first round, he and Moses Malone dominated the Milwaukee Bucks' interior defense, leading the team to a 3-2 victory and advancing to the semifinals.

The Bucks' summer trade to acquire Jack Sikma was a complete failure; they not only failed to advance further, but actually regressed in the regular season.

After a fierce battle, they died from the Bullets' endless offensive rebounding in the paint—they always lost the rebounds in crucial moments, allowing Barkley or Moses Malone to score.

In the final game, Don Nelson had a heated argument with referee Sturm over a refereeing decision. He yelled at Sturm and almost came to blows.

Stolm ejected Nelson from the game, causing the Bucks to lose Game 5, and Nelson never returned to the Bucks' bench.

After the series ended, Nelson resigned and left Milwaukee after 11 years, marking the end of the Don Nelson era for the Bucks.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee Bucks' Director of Player Personnel, Stu Inman, also resigned and left the Bucks. He will leave the North for the warmer South Coast to participate in the league's expansion plans.

He contacted Spoelstra, who was working in Portland, again to ask if he was interested in going to Florida together. Spoelstra told him that he would think about it, but right now the whole team was only thinking about beating the Lakers.

The Bullets advanced to the semifinals, and after losing the first two games at Boston Garden, they won the next two games in Washington to tie the series.

The strong teams in the East have sensed the gradual decay of the Green Empire in this series, a pattern that occurs during the decline of every dynasty.

Once those top teams that once dominated half of the bracket weaken, their opponents will definitely attack them even more fiercely in the series.

To gain the glory of crushing the empire and to step over the corpses of the kings to go further—that's how the Celtics treated the Philadelphia 76ers back then.

With the other three series already decided, the pivotal Game 5 between the Bullets and the Celtics took place at Boston Garden on May 13.

The Washington Bullets dominated the Celtics throughout the game, with Charles Barkley and Moses Malone taking turns attacking Boston's aging interior defense, using rebounds and strong low-post moves to assault the wooden floor of the paint.

The game reached its most crucial moment, with the Celtics trailing by one point. During an offensive play, the ball went out of bounds after being touched by Ainge.

The Washington Bullets gained possession of the ball, and the entire team was ecstatic; they felt victory was within their grasp.

The Bullets didn't call a timeout, and Barkley immediately inbounded the ball to Moses Malone.

Then Larry Bird suddenly appeared, rushing out to steal the ball and then passing it back to Dennis Johnson.

Johnson received the ball and made a layup with 2 seconds left, helping the Celtics take the lead and win!
Because of this shot, the Bullets experienced a dramatic shift from heaven to hell, with Barkley missing his final shot.

After losing Game 5, the Celtics gave the Bullets no further chances, crushing them in Game 6 at Capital Arena and eliminating them to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Charles Barkley shed tears on the court and vowed to return next season.

Gan Guoyang was completely unaware of all this, and he had no interest in the other matchups.

His mind was completely focused on preparing for the matchup against the Lakers.

(End of this chapter)