The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 913 The Victory of the Young
The Celtics were fully prepared tonight.

Before Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, Bellman focused all his energy on preparing for the game against the Trail Blazers.

As for the Lakers? Bellman simply didn't believe the Lakers could beat the Trail Blazers and Forrest Gump in Game 7.

In Bellman's view, he was the only person in the entire league who could lead a team to defeat the Trail Blazers, and no one understood Forrest Gump better than him.

Leaving aside the details, Bellman had laid out too many things. Although it was not perfect, Bellman had used all his experience and ability to deal with his most outstanding disciple.

In terms of the team's overall strategy, in addition to requiring the players to implement the Forrest Gump rule, Berman put forward an even more important idea, which is to adopt a "passive offense and defense".

Berman went against the grain, while other teams tried their best to take the initiative, regardless of who the opponent was, and took the initiative to control the rhythm.

But Bellman insisted that his players take a reactive approach, not take the initiative to seize the advantage, but instead play a game of cat and mouse with the Trail Blazers, letting them make the first move before responding.

So throughout the first half, the Celtics were passively waiting for the Trail Blazers to make their moves. They didn't have many ideas on the offensive and defensive ends, and were just reacting to each move as it came.

The Trail Blazers played a half-court game, and the Celtics responded in the same way. If they couldn't break through, they would try to launch a fast break, but they would never actively try to set a fast pace.

The Trail Blazers wanted to ramp up their offense and utilize Gan Guoyang and Kobe's two strengths in one-on-one plays, so they let the two of them take turns to keep their defensive formation intact.

Having coached Gan Guoyang for so many years, Bellman knew very well that Gan was the most terrifying hunter on the basketball court; the more proactive you were, the more likely he was to find your weaknesses.

On the contrary, the best way for Behrman to deal with the Portland cavalry is to remain unchanged and wait for the enemy to move, build strongholds and fight a protracted battle.

Although this approach seems passive, and although the Celtics are still so young, their playing style is so old-fashioned that it is criticized, it is indeed the most reasonable choice to deal with the Trail Blazers and Forrest Gump.

If it were the 1998 Trail Blazers, the Celtics' rigid tactics would be pierced by the Trail Blazers' sharp three-point shooting, and Bellman would have had to adjust the tactics by halftime.

But now, the Trail Blazers no longer have the incredible outside shooting of 1998. The team as a whole is aging, and the players' physical fitness and attention to detail have declined significantly, leading to a much higher frequency of mistakes.

Therefore, what the Celtics need to do is to build their own defense, make sure their defense is solid, rely on Duncan's influence in the paint, avoid making rash attacks, and slowly wear down the Trail Blazers.

Give the initiative to the Trail Blazers and let them attack the fortified camp. The Trail Blazers are already exhausted, so it will be very difficult for them to break through the fortified camp.

During halftime, Rick Carlisle made tactical adjustments, deciding to increase Charles Barkley's role in the second half, using him as a battering ram to break through the Celtics' defenses.

Gan Guoyang didn't quite agree with Carlisle's plan. It wasn't that he didn't acknowledge Barkley's abilities, but rather that he believed the Celtics weren't simply playing a turtle-shell defense.

"While emphasizing offense, we must also do a good job in defense," Gan Guoyang reminded Carlisle.

However, Gan Guoyang did not reject Carlisle's substitutions, because he himself had not figured out how to deal with the Celtic's strategy of building strongholds and fighting a protracted battle.

Admittedly, Bellman's strategy seems effective so far. It's a good way to deal with Gan Guoyang's highly aggressive hunter-type fighting style, by not revealing any weaknesses and slowly wearing him down, while also taking advantage of his relatively weak physical reserves.

The Trail Blazers are indeed past their prime, and Gan Guoyang's performance tonight was rather average.

After the start of the third quarter, the Celtics continued to maintain their steady performance. Duncan was just like Gan Guoyang in his younger days, ensuring the Celtics had excellent rim protection.

Blaylock, Kobe, and Jermaine O'Neal made several attempts to drive to the basket and draw fouls, but Duncan's defense thwarted them all.

Furthermore, Duncan is similar to Gan Guoyang in one aspect: while successfully defending, he often manages to regain possession of the ball, preventing the opponent from getting a second chance to attack.

If the Trail Blazers miss their shot, Steve Nash will definitely launch a fast break, but his fast breaks are never reckless, but rather quite restrained.

Most of the time it will eventually turn into positional play, and Nash's passing is very aggressive. Unlike Kidd, he is very good at passing balls that go straight to the heart of the opponent, rather than playing a first pass.

Moreover, Nash himself was more aggressive; he was more accurate with his shot than Kidd and had an outstanding long-range shooting ability.

In this respect, Nash and his Gonzaga senior, Stockton, were very similar.

In college, Stockton faced much more offensive pressure than after entering the NBA.

Therefore, during his time in Gonzaga, Stockton had to take on a lot of shot attempts on the offensive end.

While Nash couldn't compare to Stockton on the defensive end, his attitude was fine, and the Celtics' defense was typically loose on the outside but tight on the inside. Nash had some defensive lapses, but they weren't a major problem.

So, five minutes into the third quarter, the situation was almost identical to that of the first half.

Although Gan Guoyang repeatedly scored against Duncan in the low post, it proved that the power forward was still capable of making plays.

However, the Trail Blazers were unable to contain the Celtics' offense on the defensive end—the Celtics' young players capitalized on several opportunities.

Duncan rarely challenged Gan Guoyang in the low post; instead, Pierce and Nash used ball handling and isolation plays to attack the Trail Blazers' defense.

Furthermore, players like Rick Fox, Bruce Bowen, and Cliff Robinson all hit crucial three-pointers from the corner to maintain the lead.

This is exactly the same as with the Trail Blazers back then. Bellman's development and emphasis on the corner has always surpassed that of other coaches in the league.

The Celtics may not shoot the most three-pointers in the league, but they are the most accurate. Their use of space and efficiency is also quite excellent.

You could say this is the Portland Trail Blazers of yesteryear, the terrifying team that dominated the league and relentlessly crushed its opponents.

Not only did Gan Guoyang come full circle back to where he started, but the entire Portland Trail Blazers also came full circle, having to confront their past selves.

The Trail Blazers had a tough time, and Gan Guoyang regained his form in the third quarter, scoring on consecutive possessions, but the Celtics responded to each one.

Tim Duncan cleverly seized two offensive opportunities, one when Jermaine O'Neal and the other when Sabonis were defending him. Duncan made a 45-degree bank shot and the other when he turned and drove to the basket for a dunk.

The second play also drew a foul from Gan Guoyang, sending him to the free-throw line, but he missed the free throw.

In short, the Celtics played an extremely smart and balanced offense. They didn't have a single dominant player, but each player was strong and had their own unique characteristics.

On the perimeter, Paul Pierce and Kobe Bryant were locked in a fierce battle, their physical confrontation almost turning into a physical fight.

But it was only a near miss; Kobe didn't dare to play against Pierce because Pierce looked stronger and more capable than Kobe.

Kobe could only play basketball; fighting wasn't his forte. As a result, in several one-on-one confrontations, Kobe actually came out on the losing end.

Kobe's decline is a fatal problem for the Trail Blazers, as Kobe's offensive and defensive contributions to the current Trail Blazers team are extremely important.

Gan Guoyang's burden became heavier, and Rick Carlisle tried to improve the situation by bringing on Charles Barkley, but it didn't work well.

No, it's not bad, it's pretty bad.

Barkley's lack of physical attributes was exposed when facing a formidable combination of Duncan, Ilgauskas, and Cliff Robinson in the paint.

Although Barkley and Gan Guoyang combined for 60 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in the decisive Game 7, playing a crucial role.

But tonight, Barkley faced the Celtics' tall interior defense and struggled under the basket, getting blocked several times by Duncan.

While wasting shots, Barkley was also a major liability on defense, getting chased down by Nash, Pierce, and Robinson on fast breaks. The Celtics capitalized on this, going on a 6-1 run against the Trail Blazers—the Trail Blazers' only point came from Gan Guoyang's free throws.

When Gan Guoyang started missing free throws, it meant that his performance tonight was indeed quite poor.

At the end of the third quarter, the score was 82-73, with the Celtics leading by 9 points.

In the entire third quarter, Gan Guoyang scored 15 points, a very good performance, but the others scored too few points and completely went silent.

While the Celtics made some mistakes, they managed them well and implemented proper damage control.

Furthermore, while stabilizing their own camps, they would occasionally send out light cavalry like Nash to plunder.

By gaining a small advantage each time, and accumulating these small advantages, the Celtics' advantage gradually grew.

This was clearly Berman's strategy; he repeatedly yelled from the sidelines, telling the young players to stop and stabilize the situation when they got carried away and tried to capitalize on their advantage to extend their lead.

Because Bellman knew that if the young players got carried away and tried to exploit the Trail Blazers' weaknesses to extend their lead, the result would likely be that Forrest Gump would win in the chaos.

For example, if Nash goes coast-to-coast, Agan will be waiting under the basket to block the shot, then launch a fast break, and they can close the gap in two runs.

But now, Bellman is preventing Nash from getting carried away. Every time he launches a counterattack, he makes sure to assess the situation carefully, preferring to give up rather than take a risk.

As a result, the Trail Blazers were forced into a rigid, positional battle with the Celtics. With their outside shooting off, the Trail Blazers' inside-outside coordination failed, and the brilliance of Kobe and Gan Guoyang's duo was extinguished.

Before the start of the fourth quarter, Berman dared not relax his vigilance in the slightest, continuing to firmly execute the strategy and rotating players according to the battle plan to ensure the physical condition of the core players.

With meticulous planning, the Celtics withstood the Trail Blazers' furious comeback in the fourth quarter.

Dell Curry and Gan Guoyang hit consecutive three-pointers, leading the team on a 7-2 run that brought them close to the score.

But the Celtics, having regained their composure, continued to solidify their defense, focusing on solid defense and avoiding risky advances.

Then, Paul Pierce and Nash each hit a jump shot, helping the team stabilize the situation.

Throughout the game, Duncan never singled out Gan Guoyang; he relied entirely on tactical mismatches to exploit weaknesses against other players.

Even so, Duncan didn't feel embarrassed at all; on the contrary, he felt it was the best way and the best respect for Forrest Gump.

Ultimately, when Gan Guoyang missed a tough three-pointer, the Trail Blazers lost their last chance to catch up.

The Celtics withstood the Trail Blazers' fouling tactics and the pressure from LeBron James' comeback attempt, winning Game 1 of the Finals 100-96 by 4 points!

A victory for the young.

Gan Guoyang scored 37 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, and dished out 5 assists in this game.

For him, it was a mediocre performance, with a shooting percentage of only 46%, which is quite low.

Gan Guoyang accepted the defeat wholeheartedly; the Celtics played exceptionally well, made very few mistakes, and their strategy was successful.

The Trail Blazers were poorly prepared, their response was inadequate, and their performance on the court was terrible. They deserved their loss.

Moreover, although the Celtics only won by 4 points, they actually completely controlled the game, which was no different from winning by 10 or 20 points.

At the end of the match, Gan Guoyang hugged Bellman and sincerely praised Bellman's setup as truly beautiful.

"Sonny, is there anything I haven't considered?"

"No, you've considered all of that. You've done a great job."

Bellman didn't say anything more; he knew Gan Guoyang was being honest.

Gan Guoyang didn't say anything more; what he said was indeed the truth.

Bellman's arrangements were very thoughtful, and every aspect was perfectly designed.

Even his appearance is quite good; tonight he wore a silver suit and had his hair slicked back, looking extremely handsome.

It's absolutely flawless.

Back in the locker room, Rick Carlisle's anxiety was palpable; his tactical arrangements and strategies tonight were completely outmaneuvered by Bellman.

He couldn't help but ask Larry Bird, "Larry, did I play terribly tonight?"

Bird nodded and said, "Yes, terrible."

"so what should I do?"

"Do your job well."

"what?"

"I said, do your job. That's how games are, there are winners and losers, but you have to do your job. There's no magic bullet for victory, and I think Forrest Gump would agree."

In a post-game interview, Gan Guoyang was asked to comment on the Celtics. He did not hold back his praise, commending the Celtics for their excellent performance tonight.

As for how to prepare for the next match, Gan Guoyang simply shrugged and said that he would know when the time came.

On the way back to the hotel, Bird asked Gan Guoyang about his strategy for the next game.

Gan Guoyang smiled and said, "If you were in this situation, what would you do? Don't answer yet, write it down on paper and see if we're in the same boat."

So the two of them took out slips of paper, each wrote a word, and then unfolded them to look at them. They both laughed, because they had indeed written the same word.

It all comes down to one word: "Fight."

"When basketball reaches this level, we all know that in the Finals, willpower and courage are more important. As long as the skill gap isn't too big, it all comes down to a battle. This Portland Trail Blazers team doesn't really have any tactical adjustments or changes left. Everyone understands that; it's all about desire and fighting spirit," Bird said, revealing his true feelings.

Gan Guoyang nodded, agreeing with Bird's words, but said nothing.

Bird was silent for a moment, then, as if remembering something, suddenly asked, "Sonny, when I said 'Fight,' I meant battle. You…"

"Of course it's your idea too~" Gan Guoyang replied casually.

Besides fighting, "fight" also means to engage in a brawl...

(End of this chapter)