Otherwise, relying solely on Porter and Curry, the Trail Blazers’ backcourt might not be able to handle it.
At the beginning of the season, Porter was sidelined due to injury.
With only two guards, the Trail Blazers were struggling.
At that time, it was Gan Guoyang who stepped up and took on many of the guard responsibilities.
Thinking of this, Beelman seemed to understand.
Could it be, are we going to train Ah Gan again?
Are we going to have Ah Gan participate more in organizing from the outside?
Although in last year’s finals, Gan Guoyang completed a transformation.
He became a true court-free man.
Sometimes, when he opens up, it’s really as he wishes without breaking any rules.
He plays as he wants to play.
He can dribble and fast break.
He can also take the ball on the outside to initiate offense.
He can even act as a spot-up shooter, playing well from the corners and the 45-degree angle.
However, most of the time, Beelman still needs Gan Guoyang to hold the line inside.
That is his foundation, and it’s also the foundation of the Trail Blazers.
"You mean to have Ah Gan play more on the outside? Although he assists a lot and his dribbling is no problem, if we keep having him handle the ball and do everything, it’s quite a lot of pressure."
West, however, shook his head and said, "With the current style of play, having Ah Gan is fine. No need to let Ah Gan take on a heavier burden. Recruiting Bernard King was actually Ah Gan’s idea, he recommended it. I just want him to be a bit happier and have more friends to talk with on the team."
"I know you’re worried Bernard might become a locker room bomb, and his role on the court is a question. But Bobby, you know, at this time you can’t sign any good players. Getting someone who can make Ah Gan feel at ease is the biggest success, right?"
"Moreover, Bernard really longs for a championship."
It turns out West was not thinking about a tactical issue but a psychological one.
Beelman looked at the training ground where Gan Guoyang was practicing three-pointers with Bernard King.
The two were chatting happily, enjoying their conversation.
Gan Guoyang is mostly serious during training.
Smiles rarely appear on his face.
Seeing this, Beelman nodded in agreement with West’s statement.
Approaching the playoffs, Ah Gan’s mental and physical state is the most important.
Going for four consecutive championships, honestly, everyone’s unsure.
Beelman himself has prepared a way out.
This season, he didn’t keep mentioning the championship, only hoping to do his best.
Throughout the Trail Blazers, apart from core players like Gan Guoyang, Petrović, Lewis, and Sabonis aiming for the championship, everyone else was prepared for failure.
After all, reaching this stage, standing still is already legendary.
Pushing and spurring oneself further is not something a typical person can accomplish.
Beelman is a typical gambler, not a winning fanatic.
When losing desperately, he’ll go all-in, hoping for a comeback.
But when the situation is great, he remains very calm.
After some exchanges, he understood Jerry West’s deeper meaning.
Bernard King can add to the team’s will to win championships.
And he can make Ah Gan happy, play more comfortably.
This is indeed a very good signing.
As expected, an old ginger is hotter, Jerry West has more experience in unity building.
In the past, West suffered losses at the Lakers.
In the 1986 season, he let go of the team-favorite Bob McAdoo and signed Lucas.
From the state and power at that time, Lucas was better and more excellent than McAdoo.
But Lucas didn’t get along with the entire Lakers, especially with Magic Johnson.
Everyone missed McAdoo more and was unwilling to cooperate with Lucas, leading to a team rift.
As a result, the Lakers were knocked out by the Rockets in the semifinals, losing the chance to defend their title.
This time, West sent off the less significant Mark Bryant.
He signed Ah Gan’s friend, mainly to please the star player.
In this respect, West is not like the chubby Klaus, who specifically picked fights with Jordan.
Whoever Jordan liked, he sent them away—of course, it also had to do with Jordan’s poor judgment.
On February 27, the Trail Blazers hosted the Atlanta Hawks.
In the absence of Petrović, Dell Curry replaced him in the starting lineup.
To deal with a scoring deficit with one less offensive point, Gan Guoyang decided: I’ll fill in.
Every time facing the Hawks, Gan Guoyang always delivers amazing stats.
This is a psychological inertia and advantage.
In both the Eastern and Western Conferences, there’s one team that’s a stats machine for Gan Guoyang.
In the East, it’s the Hawks, in the West, it’s the Nuggets.
In this game, Gan Guoyang exploded once more.
He finished with 44 points and grabbed 28 rebounds.
He dominated the offensive and defensive ends.
The reason was that Dominique Wilkins clashed with Gan Guoyang at the start of the game.
At first, Gan Guoyang didn’t pay attention, but Wilkins started hot.
He scored 15 points in the first quarter, helping the Hawks lead by the end of the first quarter.
The Trail Blazers’ perimeter defense has really been lackluster this season.
With his excellent touch, Wilkins got excited and attacked the basket in the second quarter, dunking over Gan Guoyang.
This fired up Gan Guoyang, who gradually started to gain momentum.
He held the ball a lot for one-on-one offense, starting from the outside.
The Hawks’ defense was soon shattered, resorting to numerous fouls.
Gan Guoyang was unstoppable from the free-throw line.
As he took more free throws, his touch heated up.
In the third quarter, Gan Guoyang’s three-pointer burst, hitting 4 out of 4 threes in the quarter.
Simultaneously, on the defensive end, Gan Guoyang kept collecting defensive rebounds, while attacking, he grabbed various offensive rebounds.
He overwhelmed the Hawks on the boards.