The Golden Age of Basketball

Gan Guoyang's initiative to extend his hand softened Williams' attitude, and the two who had just erupted in a conflict and had a fight quickly held hands together.

"Brother, I know you are in a bad mood, and I also know that you came to the Blazers not to sit on the bench, but to fight with us on the court to win, but there are many ways to win, Aveda Adams performed well, but you are also indispensable, even more important than Avidas." Gan Guoyang said to Williams with his arms around his shoulders.

In terms of age, Williams is a few years older than Gan Guoyang, but Gan Guoyang, a young man in the Blazers, is like a big brother, and what he says can always make people feel trust from the bottom of their hearts.

"I don't like being on the bench. I feel like I've lost Adelman's trust in just two weeks. I'm working hard on the court because I've never felt like a championship is so close to me, but if I'm What's the difference between sitting on the bench and winning the game, Gan?" Williams is still upset that Sabonis stole his starting job, but Sabonis is very popular in the team and has a good personality. He was kind and played very hard. Williams couldn't tell about this, and he didn't let go of his anger. That's why he fought him under Gan Guoyang's provocation.

"Yeah, no one likes to sit on the bench, but there's always someone on the bench waiting in the wings and stepping up to solve problems when the team needs them. Of course I know, Buck, you've never been on the bench, ever, but I think you might give it a try, I know you are better than Avidas, I swear you are the best insider I have ever partnered with. Although I can score more points when Avidas is here, but you are I can win more easily when you're out, and you know when you're out, I have to turn myself into a blue-collar guy, and I can appreciate what you're doing for the team."

Gan Guoyang’s praise for Williams is not lacking in praise, but what he said is also true. When Williams is not in the team, there is one less person to do many details, and the operation of the team is like a computer. In a precise machine, some inconspicuous and inconspicuous parts may be responsible for important operation work. Only when this part is missing, people will realize that the machine will not work without it.

Gan Guoyang's words touched Williams. In fact, for Williams, the main difference between starting and playing as a substitute lies in his psychological feelings. Playing as a starter shows that he is the real main force of the team, while playing as a substitute shows that he is inferior.

Buck Williams is in his prime, and the bench positions are often reserved for young players and veteran players. After Williams entered the league, he spent only a handful of games on the bench. Now Adelman Let him sit on the bench without saying a word, he feels that he has not received the respect he deserves.

Now that Gan Guoyang said these words to him, the meaning is different.

The current situation in the Trail Blazers team is that Gan Guoyang dominates alone. Drexler, as the nominal No. 01 star, has a lower voice than Gan Guoyang at 30:[-]. Anyway, Glider is a relatively weak person. Among perimeter players, he sometimes speaks less than Terry Porter.

When Jack Ramsey was here, the old Jack still maintained the overall control of the team. The old Jack retired and Adelman was in charge, and Adelman's ability to become the head coach of the Trail Blazers was pushed by Gan Guoyang. As a result, the assistant coach of the team was also recommended by Gan Guoyang, and Karp is one of Gan Guoyang's best friends. The coaching staff basically did not restrict Gan Guoyang much outside of tactics.

The only person who can check and balance Gan Guoyang is the general manager Yinman. However, the relationship between Gan Guoyang and Yinman has always been very good. Gan Guoyang has always followed the principle of giving suggestions but not interfering. He will put forward his own opinions on the personnel transactions made by Yinman. Suggestions and ideas, but never exert influence and pressure on the final decision of the management, which also keeps the relationship between the two sides good.

The owner of the team, Weinberg, already had the idea of ​​selling the team in the mid-to-late 80s. If Gan Guoyang hadn’t come to the team, Weinberg would have sold the team in 1988. He was entirely interested in Gan Guoyang. Influence can continue to hold this team, Gan Guoyang's importance to him is self-evident.

Therefore, the recognition of Buck Williams by Gan Guoyang means that he has been recognized by the Trail Blazers, which means that his status in the team will not be affected by injuries or substitutes. You can still think clearly after you calm down.

"Thank you Gan, thank you. Maybe it's really okay to be a substitute, maybe this is a new challenge for me." Williams' tone was obviously a lot looser.

"That's right, to be the sixth man, you are obviously more suitable than Avidas. Your position is more flexible, your ability is stronger, and your experience is also richer. I believe you can do better than any other team. A sixth man is fine."

What Gan Guoyang said is correct. Williams is more flexible in terms of position and style of play. He mainly plays power forward and can also make a difference in the position of small forward. No matter how you look at him, he is better than a pure player. The center Sabonis is more suitable as a sixth man.

"I'm sorry Gan, I was a little impulsive just now..." Williams also apologized to Gan Guoyang when he thought of his aggressive behavior just now.

Gan Guoyang also apologized generously to Williams. He also knew that his mouth was stinky, and his defensive actions were indeed relatively large just now. The two played [-] rebounds each, and they became brothers again.

………………

Williams' psychological barrier has been resolved, but it does not mean that he can immediately adapt to the position of the sixth man. The requirements of the sixth man are really different from those of the starter. The sixth man values ​​the ability to disrupt the game. , The ability to change the situation on the field, which requires Williams to no longer play steadily, and it is not enough to do those details well, first of all, he must start scoring.

On January 1989, 1, the Portland Trail Blazers, who had been resting for a whole week, finally ushered in the new year's game. After the team started training, Adelman was surprised to find that Williams, who had been a little angry before, seemed to be He returned to normal all of a sudden, and began to actively devote himself to training, and his condition looked very good.

After turning his head, Adelman can probably understand that Gan Guoyang should have contributed. Anyway, Adelman can only be regarded as half of the coach of this team now. Gan Guoyang is mostly responsible for appeasing the players, and the old man is also happy. Play his tactics leisurely and at ease.

The opponent that the Blazers ushered in tonight at home is a good training object, that is, the poor Miami Heat.

The Heat have a lot of fate with the Trail Blazers. The Trail Blazers created the best record of 17 consecutive victories in the NBA, while the Miami Heat left the worst record of 17 consecutive losses in the NBA. The two teams also jointly presented the NBA Biggest difference game.

It was the poor Los Angeles Clippers who gave the Heat their first win. They staged an iron fight in the game on the 14th last year. win.

Everything is difficult at the beginning. Once the first victory is won, the second and third games will naturally follow. At the end of December, the Heat even defeated the Utah Jazz and the San Antonio Spurs one after another, achieving the first victory in team history. Winning streak and increased their winning streak to 12 games.

But they came to Portland to challenge the Trail Blazers tonight. They were not so lucky. The Trail Blazers, who are well-equipped with strong troops and strong personnel, will basically not give the Heat any chance. The points difference, the 60-point difference between the two sides in the last game is really terrifying.

As everyone expected, the Trail Blazers really crushed the Heat in terms of strength, and the score gap between the two sides widened little by little at the beginning of the game.

The real star of the Trail Blazers was Buck Williams. He came off the bench in the second half of the first quarter and began to become the main offensive point of the Trail Blazers. Gan Guoyang took the initiative to give up the right to fire to Williams. Seller and Porter also fed the ball to Williams with all their strength.

This season, Williams has only scored 30 points in a single game so far, and he won it against his old club, the Nets. The highest 15 points, which is also his highest score in a single game this season.

The Blazers easily won a game again, Williams' rotation as the sixth man achieved initial success, and Williams himself played very happily, which allowed him to find the feeling of being the core of the team that he had not seen for a long time.

However, the Blazers' half easy schedule is basically over. In these more than 20 games, the Blazers' opponents are relatively weak, or the opponents have not yet entered the state.

And entering January and February, the Trail Blazers' schedule will gradually increase in difficulty, and the Lakers will appear repeatedly in their schedule.