The Trail Blazers are not without confrontation; their inside game remains one of the strongest combinations in the league.
But what’s more captivating is their smooth, imaginative, and creative offense.
Because the team is so well-coordinated and strong overall, there are often spectacular team plays during games.
Gan Guoyang and Sabonis, once great partners, have grown more harmonious with the passage of time.
On November 8, the Trail Blazers faced off against a formidable New York Knicks, with Jeff Van Gundy, who was "killed" last season, visiting again.
People wondered if the Knicks’ iron-clad defense could halt the Trail Blazers’ fluid offensive wheels, and the answer was naturally no.
Nearly a year apart, returning to the Rose Garden, Jeff Van Gundy was still apprehensive and didn’t dare to say any provocative words before the game.
Instead, he strongly praised the Trail Blazers’ recent performances, saying, "Their offense is groundbreaking and mesmerizing; I’ve been watching their game tapes all along."
Van Gundy didn’t lie; he really was watching, hoping to find ways to curb the Blazers’ offense.
But when it came to the game, he realized: there was no way.
The Trail Blazers don’t follow a fixed path; while their offense is organized, it doesn’t have a traditional playbook.
Princeton’s offense had a playbook, with players running similarly based on positioning to execute plays.
Now, the Trail Blazers’ fluid offense has abandoned the playbook; it relies on the players’ instincts and experience, adhering to basic offensive principles.
As they play, opportunities arise, and they feed the ball to the player in the best position to score.
Simply put, even the Trail Blazers players don’t know what kind of play they’ll execute next or who will finish it.
This unpredictability puts immense pressure on defenders and brings much joy to the offensive side.
Everyone has a chance; anyone might become the star of a particular offensive play, making it very interesting.
Of course, not everyone can appreciate or understand this joy, like Kobe.
In recent games, Kobe has still been a substitute; when he comes off the bench, as long as Ah Gan isn’t there, he automatically assumes he’s the star.
When Ah Gan is there, he steps back slightly, taking on a secondary role, controlling the ball on the perimeter.
However, such opportunities aren’t abundant, and the veteran Blazers are forgiving, giving him a chance to showcase.
In this game against the Knicks, facing New Yorkers’ tough defense, substitute Kobe scored a season-high 27 points.
This season, Kobe indeed made significant progress compared to his rookie year; he’s physically stronger and appears more mature.
The improvement in physical fitness is crucial; without a strong physique, it’s impossible to make a mark in the NBA.
The Trail Blazers also triumphantly defeated the Knicks by 110:92, an 18-point victory, achieving their sixth consecutive win.
Jeff Van Gundy’s dark circles became more pronounced; he realized the Trail Blazers might overthrow the league again, and he, as a defensive specialist, had no solutions.
After beating the Knicks, the Trail Blazers’ winning streak continued, and their offensive momentum had an unstoppable frenzy.
Like a runaway heavy truck on a downward slope, unstoppable, anyone in their way falls.
All six home games were victories, and after eight consecutive wins, they headed to Phoenix for an away game, easily defeating the Suns for nine straight wins.
Followed by six more consecutive home games, the favorable schedule made the Trail Blazers’ victories effortless, with players’ stamina fully recovered.
Crushed the Magic, defeated the Timberwolves, thrashed the Grizzlies, soundly beat the Pistons, routed the Kings, defeated the Hawks, again six consecutive wins.
Including the season opener in late October and the 14 games in November, the Trail Blazers astonishingly achieved an undefeated record, claiming a spectacular 15-game winning start.
Moreover, these 15 games were nearly all dominating victories; the smallest winning margin was against the Timberwolves, still winning by 11 points, with 20-point victories being abundant.
A 15-game winning streak tied the NBA’s best start record; the last to achieve a 15-game winning streak was the 1994-1995 Miami Heat.
The Heat bided their time that year, exploded, and ultimately won the championship.
But even the Heat couldn’t win every game by such margins like the Trail Blazers.
For a month, the Trail Blazers remained unbeaten, right up until Larry Bird’s return.
Bird felt complicated emotions; he had closely followed the Trail Blazers’ progression.
He knew they added three strong reinforcements, coupled with the growth of younger players, and expected the Blazers would explode in performance this year.
But he didn’t expect an explosion this rapid, so much so that Guoyang was right — with or without him, it was the same!
Now Bird returns to work; if upon return, the team loses and ends their 15-game winning streak, wouldn’t it prove they’re better without him?
Bird’s choice of return timing was also quite poor; the Blazers were just concluding a sweet November, starting their Eastern away trip in December.
The first match was not elsewhere but in Boston; the Trail Blazers would face the Celtics away.
Buckwalter advised Bird to wait until after the away trip, returning to Portland for the game before making his comeback.
But Bird insisted on returning in December to face the Celtics; firstly, he couldn’t stay idle and didn’t want to watch the team win without any participation.
Secondly, during this game, the Celtics would retire Robert Parish’s jersey; Bird must attend his old teammate’s jersey retirement ceremony.
So on December 1, he appeared directly on the special plane flying from Portland to Boston, returning to his post amid surprised and joyous gazes.
Bird remained calm, only smiling and shaking hands with Ah Gan upon seeing him, informing Gan Guoyang of his return.
"Welcome back, Larry! I’ve always said, you didn’t need to worry; we’d keep winning."
"Thank you, Sonny, for leading the team well."
After some pleasantries, Bird suddenly asked, "Sonny, how did I hear you’ve been telling people I’m dead and even set up photos for me?"
Gan Guoyang hurriedly denied, saying, "Who’s spreading nonsense, spreading rumors?! I... I only wanted everyone to adjust to having you with us."
"F**k You, Sonny." Bird flipped Gan Guoyang the middle finger, then asked, "Where did you get my photos from?"
"Cut them out from Sports Illustrated."
"..."