The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 402 - 21 Beelman’s Optimal Solution

"I slacked off a little in the summer, and I put on some weight. But I trained hard, I enhanced my physical strength, and I continued to improve my shooting. Actually, in these last few games, my shooting percentage has been gradually recovering. My performance in the first week was indeed too poor. To be honest, sometimes I’m not quite clear about what I should be doing on the court, I hesitate, and I feel like the content of the game has changed," said Drexler in his defense.

Drexler did, in fact, spend quite some time dating female celebrities over the summer.

But there are far too many people who indulge in sensual pleasures during the offseason. For energetic, wealthy, and famous basketball players, unless they are as self-disciplined as Gan Guoyang and AC Green, getting tangled up in romantic affairs is inevitable.

For these exceptionally talented young men, going to bed with two or three women daily, or fulfilling their desires whenever they feel like it, is as commonplace as eating and drinking – it’s merely about satisfying physiological needs, and its impact on their athletic performance is not that significant.

While Drexler’s dates with female stars didn’t cost him much physically, the real drain was mental.

He spent a lot of money and even got emotionally involved; his attention was caught up with those glamorous stars, and even now, some of them are still in contact with him over the phone.

That’s why Gan Guoyang advised him over the summer to spend more time with his daughter and to nurture his soul with quality family time, but Drexler still hasn’t fully grasped this concept.

Having won the championship, Drexler had become somewhat disengaged, having achieved that stage goal.

And Drexler’s latter comments weren’t just in his defense; they reflected his genuine feelings.

In many games, Drexler was confused on the court, unable to find the rhythm of the game.

After saying all this, he tossed the towel to his good friend Vandeweghe, who, except for Gan Guoyang, was the one with the best performance since the beginning of the season.

Vandeweghe trained hard over the summer, getting stronger and improving his mid-to-long-range shooting. He reduced the number of fast breaks and developed a more robust capability to attack in set plays.

Vandeweghe agreed with Drexler, saying, "My performance has been decent, but I have to say, we indeed seem a bit lost. Just as Clyde said, the content of the game has changed, and we haven’t adjusted to it yet."

Next, Parkson, Thompson, Porter all took the towel to speak, sharing a common sentiment: the format of the games had changed since the new season began.

First and foremost, the opponents’ defenses had become more targeted. Despite the league’s emphasis on banning zone defense and illegal defenses like premature double-teaming, as coaches delved deeper into their research on defensive strategies, various hidden illegal defenses began to appear widely on the court.

Now, nearly all teams, when falling back on defense, would set up a pseudo-zone defense before the offensive players are positioned, to prevent the opponent’s attack under the basket.

This posed a challenge for a counter-attacker like Drexler. He would have to read the defense better, or he would fall into the trap of being surrounded.

Secondly, the Trail Blazers’ own trap defense had been studied by more and more teams. Now everyone knew to avoid Ah Gan; no one would actively dive into the three-second zone trap anymore.

Opponents’ offenses began to feature an increased amount of baseline shooting and a significant rise in long-distance shots—over the first two weeks of the season, there were at least two or more three-point shots made in every game.

This was different from the 1985 and 1986 seasons when it was common for games to go by without a single three-point shot being made, and sometimes, not even attempted.

But the new season was different; teams began to try out three-pointers, even old-timers like Morris Cheeks took two shots from beyond the arc, sinking one.

Of course, on the Trail Blazers side, Vandeweghe and Gan Guoyang also increased their number of three-point attempts, with Vandeweghe’s attempts ranking among the highest in the league over the first two weeks.

When the towel reached Jack Ramsay’s hands, the players had pretty much spoken their minds, including Gan Guoyang who said, "We’re playing chaotically. Bill’s absence has left a gap in our offense, but in 1985 we didn’t play like this. I think, as everyone has mentioned, the format and content of the league are constantly changing. We won the championship last season with that style, but this season, we need to change, because our opponents are also constantly changing."

"Jack, before the season started, I wanted to focus more on defense. I wanted to increase my block numbers and draw more people into the three-second zone. Then I’d leave the offense to Clyde, Porter, and Cheche. Now it seems, the situation has changed, and we need to adjust our plan," he said.

Ramsay pinched the towel; after passing through so many hands, it was soaked with the players’ sweat and had become somewhat sticky.

He felt the pressure from the players and apologized, "I’m sorry to each of you. I didn’t prepare enough during the offseason; my research on the rules wasn’t deep enough. Maybe victory had clouded my judgment, making me think that if we persisted with our previous playing style, we would still be invincible. But the world has changed, it’s always changing, and we must keep up."

During the 1978 defending season, the Trail Blazers dominated with their victorious momentum, only to be destroyed by injuries in the end.

But by 1987, things were different. The NBA was in a transitional phase; every season brought new developments.

"What we need to do first is to pull ourselves together and find our desire for victory. Without it, any adjustment, effort, or change is futile because you lack direction. Let’s look at the Los Angeles Lakers’ performance this season; they are determined to reclaim the NBA championship. They lost last season, but we did not defeat them. Without truly overcoming the Lakers in the Western Conference, we cannot call it a real victory."

When you lack a goal, it’s a good idea to set up an opponent as your target.

Jack Ramsay was well aware of this fact; the Lakers in the Western Conference remained formidable, just like in 1985. After enduring a painful failed season, the Lakers would always bounce back the following season.

After the start of the new season, they had already achieved a terrifying winning streak of nine games, with no team able to stop them.

The Knicks were swept by the Lakers by 23 points, and the Nuggets were bombarded with 138 points by the Lakers. They declared to the world with unmatched momentum that the Purple and Gold Legion had returned as the kings of the new season.

"If we continue to perform as we are now, we will not be a match for the Lakers, and our road to defending the title will end prematurely," he said.

Everyone in the locker room was silent; Ramsay was right, the Lakers were still the biggest roadblock.

Last season, the Rocket Gang helped the Trail Blazers get rid of the Lakers, and they smoothly made it to the Finals.

But what if they had faced the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals? Could they have been a hundred percent certain of claiming the Western Conference championship?

Logically, if the Rockets beat the Lakers and the Trail Blazers beat the Rockets, then the Trail Blazers should be able to beat the Lakers as well.

But the NBA isn’t a simple game of addition and subtraction. Tactical matchups and roster configurations are very important among the teams.

In fact, last year when the Lakers lost to the Rockets in the semifinals, everyone within the Trail Blazers breathed a sigh of relief; they wouldn’t have to face the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.

Gan Guoyang was a sure-fire Twin Towers Nemesis; he didn’t fear the formidable Houston Twin Towers at all.

In the Finals, the Celtics were also very strong, but they were a frontcourt team, just like the Trail Blazers, who could effectively counter them.

The Lakers were different; they had a strong frontcourt, but because of the presence of Magic Johnson, they were essentially a backcourt team.

Given the Trail Blazers’ weak backcourt last season, who knows what would have happened if they had faced the Lakers in the playoffs.

The lessons of the 1985 Western Conference Finals were still fresh in their memories, Magic Johnson had rendered Valentine and Drexler useless.

This year, if the Trail Blazers wanted to defend their title and were hoping to rely on the Rockets to eliminate the Lakers again, it was nearly impossible. The Trail Blazers had to defeat the Lakers head-on.

After all this was said, everyone thought the internal meeting was over and that they would go back to reflect deeply and rebuild their desire for victory.

But Jack Ramsay handed a towel to Bobby Berman and said, "Bobby, tell everyone your views on the team’s tactics during the first game."

Beelman, somewhat surprised, took the towel and asked, "What views?"

Ramsay replied, "The one about taking advantage of the rules."

With the towel in his hands and all eyes on him, Beelman started to speak.

Beelman remembered the team’s offensive troubles in the first game against the Supersonics, and how Ramsay had sought his opinion, to which he had given advice, but Ramsay didn’t accept it.

He hadn’t expected the old man to remember this until today, at this critical moment for the team, allowing Beelman to speak out.

Beelman suddenly realized this was his opportunity to rise within the Trail Blazers, his chance for his tactical thoughts to be recognized by everyone!

He tightly clutched the towel in his hand, as if gripping onto this opportunity. He quickly organized his thoughts, and eventually summed it up in one sentence:

"I think we should give the ball to Ah Gan," he said.

Everyone held their breath, eager to hear Beelman’s unique insight that would convince Ramsay to have him verbalize it personally.

But to their surprise, he suggested something so trivial. Wasn’t that obvious? A chorus of boos filled the locker room as the team members got ready to leave.

Gan Guoyang was speechless and said, "Bobby, what nonsense are you spouting? If you give me the ball so much, do you think it’s the Finals or something? Are you trying to wear me out?"

Beelman was desperate and said, "I relied on this to win the NCAA championship, what’s wrong with giving you the ball? It’s not that simple! This is the optimal solution in the current league environment, trust me!"