The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 475 Front Teeth
The Trail Blazers easily defeated the Chicago Bulls, securing a winning start to 1988.

They then traveled to Atlanta and Milwaukee, losing to the Hawks and defeating the Bucks, ending their five-game road trip in the East with a 4-1 record before returning to Portland.

They played well on their Eastern road trip, and Jack Ramsey's new strategy was implemented.

Overall, this strategy is easy to implement; it is not a complex tactical system that requires one or two, or even several seasons, to develop chemistry.

Players can achieve the desired effect by following certain principles, slowing down the game, refining the pace, and being more decisive in their outside shots.

According to Bobby Bellman's statistics, the Trail Blazers' offensive efficiency has rebounded significantly since December.

However, there's one thing that statistics can't show:
That is the human heart.

Despite some setbacks, the Trail Blazers have come together to continue their pursuit of victory and the championship.

Gan Guoyang tried his best to use various methods to arouse the team members' interest and make the game more interesting and exciting.

But this fun was short-lived; the money in the bucket was quickly gone, and similar tactics could not be used again in a single season.

Moreover, Gan Guoyang took most of the money, which is something he needs to be careful about when setting up similar games in the future—you can't set up a game and end up winning too much yourself.

Drexler had a new grievance, not about the barrels or the money.

Rather, it was because Hornacek and Dell Curry's playing time and three-point attempts increased that Drexler increasingly felt like a blue-collar worker.

He grabs offensive rebounds, makes defensive steals, and facilitates offense, but he takes few shots, has few fast breaks, and doesn't score.

His average points per game are steadily declining.

This dissatisfaction reached its peak after the game against the Bulls on January 1, because Drexler was completely outclassed by Jordan in both statistics and performance.

Jordan scored 51 points, while Drexler only scored 13.

Even though Drexler got more rebounds and assists, it only further proved that he was a blue-collar worker on the team, a supporting player responsible for playmaking and rebounding.

之后在对阵雄鹿和老鹰的比赛中，他又拿下了16分7个篮板12个助攻，14分11个篮板8次助攻。

Hornacek, Curry, and Porter distributed his shot attempts on the perimeter, and Drexler played more and more like the early Magic Johnson, scoring 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists in a game.

This role is actually very suitable for him, because in the Trail Blazers, how you ultimately perform is determined by your abilities and characteristics. Ramsey will not force players to do jobs that are not suitable for them.

As the season progresses, everyone grows and gels, and each person will find their own place.

But this is not how Drexler sees himself; he has bigger ambitions and has always hoped to reach the level of Michael Jordan.

Deep down, he didn't think he was any worse than Michael.

Gan Guoyang's presence made Drexler afraid to express his dissatisfaction; he didn't want to be dragged to the bath by Gan Guoyang again.

However, he had his own way of expressing his dissatisfaction, and he shared some of his thoughts with Kyle Eggers of The Oregonian, a reporter who was with the team.
He said, "I think the Trail Blazers should be a team with two core players, one inside and one outside, but now my role as the core player has been diluted and is greatly underestimated."

Eggers asked, "Do you think Forrest Gump overshadowed your brilliance and role?"

Drexler quickly denied it: "No, I never meant that. He is the primary core player, and I am the secondary core player. That's an obvious fact. However, my role has been diluted. I'm more like an outside helper."

Eggers understood what Drexler meant.

One of the main roles of journalists is to say things that players can't say themselves, and to reveal information that players, coaches, and management can't say directly.

Eggers is a senior reporter for The Oregonian, who has written news reports and done publicity work for the Trail Blazers for many years.

After Gan Guoyang joined the Trail Blazers, he observed the team more closely and deeply felt the changes over the past three seasons.

The team is rife with internal conflicts this season, and everyone is becoming more selfish.

He was reluctant to make a fuss about the internal conflicts within the Trail Blazers.

But times have changed. It's 1987 now, and The Oregonian needs circulation and attention.

A few days later, The Oregonian published a series of reports about the Portland Trail Blazers, revealing internal problems, conflicts, and player demands.

And some trading rumors, all mixed together, make it impossible for readers to know who leaked the inside information, because there are many sources to begin with.

Of course, all the reports concluded by claiming that the team's future was bright. These reports, as soon as they were released, immediately sparked concern and anxiety among many fans.

Everyone is wondering, can the Trail Blazers defend their title this season? Can they beat the Lakers and other strong teams in the East?
From reporters to editors, from players to coaches, from owners to staff, everyone knows that this season's Trail Blazers will never recapture the vibrant energy of the 1985-1986 season.

When Bill Walton returned, the whole team was united. For the 1986 championship, for Portland and even Oregon, they were in high spirits from training camp until the end of the season, and finally won the championship.

Now that Walton has retired and is traveling the world, the veteran has been replaced by Gilmore, who is also an excellent center, but he can't have the same deep connection with the Trail Blazers as Walton, and can't seamlessly integrate into the team.

He even had a grudge against the Trail Blazers; he came for the championship, to defeat Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

So far, his impact on the field has been much smaller than Walton's. He is a very low-key and even dull person, and he is not an inspiring leader in the locker room.

Fortunately, he is very friendly and mild-mannered, at least he won't be a troublemaker in the locker room, and it's even less likely that he will have a conflict with Gan Guoyang, as they have already reconciled.

In terms of form, after losing weight in the summer and retraining his knee muscles, Gilmore's overall performance was so-so, averaging 6 points, 7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.

Unlike Walton, who was 33 years old despite numerous injuries, Gilmore was already 38, having suffered a similar knee injury in 1980.

There's only one Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the NBA. It's already quite an achievement that Gilmore played until he was 38. We can't expect him to be like Abdul-Jabbar and still have an MVP-level performance at 38.

One of the rumors circulating in The Oregonian is that management may be dissatisfied with Gilmore's performance and want to trade him for a younger, more reliable backup center.

However, this news was quickly denied by Buckwalt, who said, "The Trail Blazers trust Gilmore, and Forrest supports Gilmore's work."

From both a moral and logical standpoint, the Trail Blazers should not have let Gilmore go.

You drag someone from a bull in the summer, beat them halfway through, think their performance is mediocre, and then take them away. What kind of behavior is that?
Gan Guoyang quickly came forward to clarify, giving an interview during training, saying that Gilmore would definitely play the rest of the 1987-1988 season with the Trail Blazers.

Gan Guoyang also answered reporters' questions about other rumors, including whether there were any conflicts within the team.

"There are contradictions within any group, even within a close family, between husband and wife, and between children. In Chinese terms, these contradictions are called contradictions among the people."

"The conflict between teams is an enemy-us conflict. This conflict is more serious than the internal conflict among the people, so it will not affect the team's ability to win, much less affect our pursuit of a three-peat."

Back inside the team, Gan Guoyang didn't look for someone to shower with like he did last time, because you couldn't find anyone anyway.

He knew that Drexler was unhappy about his reduced number of shots.

But who else besides Drexler? Was he the only one?

Besides the players, there are also the newly joined staff, the new trainers, the new venue workers, and so on; everyone may have their own grievances.

Even Jack Ramsey had his complaints; the old man's temper was getting worse and worse.

Decay is inevitable; Gan Guoyang can only try to slow it down, and slow it down even more.

The rumors have finally subsided, but such comments still hurt the atmosphere within the team, especially making the 38-year-old veteran feel somewhat disheartened.

Gilmore knew who might be unhappy with him, because Gilmore's presence on the field would further slow down the pace of the attack.

When Forrest Gump was around, things were slow, there was nothing that could be done about it.

Gilmore is slower, which is definitely not conducive to the ball handler's counterattack and increasing statistics.

Fortunately, Gan Guoyang's strong support inspired Gilmore's fighting spirit.

From the beginning of summer until now, Gan Guoyang has been taking great care of this senior colleague.

Gilmore was dedicated to his work on the field and deeply admired Gan Guoyang.

In their first game back in Portland, the Trail Blazers faced the Detroit Pistons.

The highly anticipated revenge match between the Finals opponents was fiercely contested at the Memorial Stadium.

After Gilmore came off the bench, he first elbowed Isaiah Thomas, who was making a series of dribbling drives and cursing, and received a technical foul.

Then in the second half, amidst fierce competition, Old Train suddenly sprang into action and delivered a powerful punch to Melvin Turpin, knocking out one of Turpin's front teeth.

Gilmore was sent off, while Teppin became completely quiet.

(End of this chapter)