The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 404 - 23 Trust

Gan Guoyang was momentarily taken aback when Ramsay asked him this, thinking to himself that Dr. Jack still cared quite a bit about him.

"Of course I’m fine, I’m healthy, full of energy, I eat plenty, sleep well, think less, and there’s absolutely no problem with my condition in the games."

After answering, Gan Guoyang looked into Ramsay’s eyes and suddenly got the point. He said, "Jack, you don’t agree with Bobby’s opinion, suggesting I play one-on-one like Michael, do you? That would require extra pay."

Ramsay said, "I’m just concerned about your physical condition, don’t overthink it. Alright, everyone should rest well after going back, we need to make some changes."

Ramsay didn’t come to a conclusion on the flight; once the team returned to Portland, he gave everyone a day off. He, on the other hand, invited Bobby Berman to dine together at a seafood restaurant, discussing team tactics while eating.

Dining out was different from being at work; Ramsay would wear bifocals, gripping the menu tightly while ordering and leaning his head slightly back, squinting his eyes—it was the complete image of an old man.

He didn’t speak with as much vocal power as he did when commanding a game; instead, he spoke softly and eloquently, selecting precise words and enunciating clearly, making it feel very relaxing to communicate with him.

For the meal, Ramsay ordered salmon and oysters, while Berman had a regular seafood rice with lemon tea. Most people in the restaurant recognized Ramsay, and Berman was "the person dining with Dr. Jack."

After all, Ramsay had been coaching in Portland for ten years and had worked as a coach for thirty years.

While waiting for the food, Ramsay initiated the conversation, saying, "Bobby, what kind of coach do you think I am?"

Berman was caught off guard by such a question. He hesitated for a bit, then used some clichés like "great," "impressive," "pioneer."

Ramsay shook his head and said, "These are the stale platitudes of the media pages. You don’t need to flatter me. I can take some criticism."

"Jack, you’ve just led the team to a championship, and we’ve only lost some games at the start of the season. I don’t think there’s a need to criticize you."

"Then let me rephrase it. Do you think I’m an old-fashioned coach who’s stubborn, conservative, and incapable of adapting?"

"Uh... I... I don’t think so. I don’t believe you’re stubborn or conservative. Anyone can see you’re changing. Of course, if you take my advice, this transformation seems... seems to be a bit too much."

"I remember when I first started my coaching career, the average height for a center on the court was 6 feet 2 inches. If your team had a 6-foot-5 guy, he could dominate the court. Now, we have 6-foot-9 guys playing guard, and 6-foot-10, 6-foot-11 players shooting threes from outside. Basketball is a sport without limits; for victory, nobody knows what the future will bring."

Bobby Berman heard in Ramsay’s remarks a support for himself.

When the food arrived, Ramsay spoke frankly, "I partially agree with your view on utilizing rule-based one-on-one play. I reserve my opinion on the part about the data. Starting next week, let’s try some low-post plays in practice. Also, we can’t let Ah Gan’s one-on-one play affect the offensive enthusiasm of other players—that’s an issue we need to consider. We have to redefine the roles of Cheche, Clyde, and Parkson, as well as Porter, Hornacek, and Curry."

Beelman was thrilled by Ramsay’s words, not expecting that he could implement his own ideas so quickly within an NBA team, nor did he expect Ramsay to be so amenable.

Suddenly, he thought, perhaps this was Ah Gan’s influence on the coach?

Indeed, Ramsay then said, "The fundamental reason I’m willing to accept this strategy is that I know Ah Gan’s one-on-one strength. If it were any other player, even Michael Jordan, I wouldn’t use this tactic. It’s a routine that suits Ah Gan; he has the capability."

Beelman began to speak his mind freely, saying, "I told you before that we should find ways to make use of Ah Gan’s coaching methods." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Ramsay laughed and sighed deeply, saying, "I once saw coaching as an art. A basketball team was the ultimate way to express my artistic philosophy, the medium through which the outside world could understand me. Later, I realized that the art of basketball, like other arts, seems farther from perfection just when you think it’s near perfect. That day on the plane, when you talked about that hodgepodge of data, I suddenly felt... a feeling of pastoral poetry being destroyed by a combine harvester. I resisted it, but an inner voice told me that this might just be the trend and the current."

Beelman, eating his seafood rice, said, "Jack, I didn’t think that much. Data is just a tool to aid in coaching. It’s like... like a telescope, a microscope; it lets us see farther, see clearer. But after seeing things clearly, how to make decisions still relies on the coach’s artistry, experience, and strategy. That’s what I believe."

"You’re not wrong in your thinking; maybe it’s just that I’ve grown old and become sentimental. By the way, do you have any interest in joining a triathlon? I think it’s a good way to inspire a desire for victory. After the championship this summer, I’ve been away from it for a long time, and I plan to pick it up again—we can do it together."

"Oh, of course, the triathlon! I also participated in college; it’s full of challenge, I’m up for it."

Berman was the first member of the Trail Blazers that Jack Ramsay invited to participate in the triathlon.

After all, this wasn’t just inviting someone to a meal; participating in the triathlon without a solid foundation was no different from courting death.

The next day at the team’s group training, Ramsey announced during the preparation meeting that the team would adopt a new offensive strategy, which was essentially "one plays, four watch."

Gan Guoyang would undertake and digest most of the ball-handling through one-on-one plays.

Drexler and Porter were the second and third ball-handlers, and their tactical role was to run pick-and-roll plays with Gan Guoyang and Thompson.

Vandeweghe was the catch-and-attack point; his ball-handling role in the starting lineup was reduced, and he was asked to contribute more on defense.

Mychal Thompson’s important role, aside from assisting on offense and defense, was to feed the ball to Gan Guoyang.

Thompson had a great talent for passing during his youth, which had somewhat been buried with age.

His height and passing skills made him the best choice to feed Gan Guoyang the ball.

It took only an afternoon for the Trail Blazers’ players to accept this new tactical system.

Because it was really simple, without too many complicated parts, nearly half the plays were just "give the ball to Ah Gan" and then watch from beyond the three-point line.

The other half didn’t differ much from the past system, with cuts after pick-and-rolls and guards making their own offensive decisions with the ball.

Beelman also pointed out that they could greatly develop long shots from the corner, especially three-pointers, "clearing out the 45-degree wing for Ah Gan."

In Gan Guoyang’s rookie season, most of his offensive activity was on the centerline, with occasional play on the wings.

In just three short seasons, the coaching staff decided to let him settle at the 45-degree angle on the wing, leaving the centerline for the ball-handling guards and the corner for the shooters.

This simple, even somewhat rough structure, was thus constructed.

After training ended that day, everyone in the locker room was griping, "Sonny, is this how you guys won the championship in high school? The basketball level in California isn’t that great."

"This is the easiest tactics class I’ve ever attended; I think my grandma could understand how to play... give the ball to Ah Gan!"

"Ah Gan, you’re going to have a tough time in the upcoming games if we really play this way."

"I guess Dr. Jack is bewitched; he used to hate solo plays the most."

"Can we win games like this? It’s always said that such a style of play can’t be successful."

The teammates were bantering back and forth when Gan Guoyang interrupted everyone, saying, "Doesn’t anyone care about how I feel? Jack said he wants to increase my usage rate; am I a mule? I get the same salary as before but have to do more work; this is bloody unfair."

Everyone burst into laughter, saying the capable should do more work, this is the good fortune you deserve, the greater your ability, the greater your responsibility, this is Coach Bobby’s care for you, and so on.

Gan Guoyang shook his head, thinking these people had no sympathy, then he changed into another set of clothes and returned to the training hall to continue practicing.

Being a rookie, Dell Curry naturally didn’t have much say in the locker room, just listening to everyone teasing Ah Gan, he was somewhat puzzled.

As he left the training hall, he asked Porter, "Terry, everyone doesn’t seem to trust this new tactic very much; can it work?"

The two had shared a room during the Olympic selection camp and got along very well.

Porter patted Curry, saying, "We don’t need to trust any tactic; trusting Ah Gan is enough. Everyone’s just joking; do you think Ah Gan is afraid of playing one-on-one in the low post? It’s the other inside players in the League who should be worried. Ah Gan is just concerned that if he plays one-on-one in the low post too much, it might affect the performance of the others. Just make sure you perform well if you get the chance to play, especially with outside shots, there will be opportunities."

So far, Curry hadn’t gotten much playing time, but he had been practicing diligently, waiting for a chance to shine.