For the Trail Blazers, defeating the Lakers was an extremely important victory at the start of the season.
They not only ended their losing streak, avoiding the embarrassment of a three-game losing streak.
More importantly, the team developed new chemistry and a new mode of play.
In the Bird era, their super strong offensive system, built on running, fluidity, three-pointers, fast attack, smooth cooperation, and rich experience, is collapsing.
Just like any system, there is a cycle of establishment, prosperity, and collapse, and the Trail Blazers are no exception.
During the collapse, previous momentum can bring discomfort and confusion to players.
In the past, playing like this was clearly very effective, but now it’s not working.
In the past, running like this could create opportunities, but now it’s covered by opponents.
In the past, I could easily make long shots, but now the basket seems to have a lid, and no matter how hard I try, it won’t go in.
The more successful in the past, the stronger the discomfort and confusion when problems arise.
Fortunately, the Trail Blazers had a backup plan, and their tradition of "rotting while rebirth" was passed down, and fortunately, Ah Gan still had the peak level of Barkley.
During the post-game tactical meeting of the Trail Blazers, the coaching staff made a detailed summary, and Little Spo recorded Gan Guoyang’s arrangement during halftime and pondered it carefully.
Gan Guoyang participated in training while also lecturing to Carl and Little Spo in the coaching staff meetings, analyzing the current situation of the Trail Blazers and how to reasonably allocate the team’s human resources.
Gan Guoyang gave a copy of "The Art of War by Sun Tzu" to each of them and said: "The Art of War by Sun Tzu in China mentions, ’With normal tactics, you engage; with unexpected tactics, you win.’ The team’s overall hard strength is no longer like the previous two seasons, merely relying on playing their own rhythm is not enough to overpower opponents. Moreover, the league’s overall strength has been getting stronger over the past two years, and new players are growing rapidly. It’s no longer like it was in 96, 97 when there were underdogs everywhere, and the games are going to be tough. The team must ’combine the orthodox with the unorthodox,’ play well with the original foundation, and utilize the new forces."
This book "The Art of War by Sun Tzu" has a significant influence in America, Gan Guoyang heard about this before and thought it was just some people bragging, putting gold on the face of the ancestors.
But having lived in America for many years, he discovered that "The Art of War by Sun Tzu" is everywhere, and in the basketball circle alone, many famous coaches believe in the strategy and philosophy of this book.
The most famous is Bobby Knight, who not only reads it himself but also applies it in team-building, management, and court command, buying deluxe versions for his good friend Stu-Inman.
Unfortunately, Yin Man didn’t read it and left the book to collect dust in the office; luckily, he chose Gan Guoyang, so not reading it is fine.
Now, some league coaches also like to quote phrases from "The Art of War" when giving speeches or instructing players.
For instance, one commonly cited phrase by coaches is "Every battle is won before it is ever fought."
That’s the so-called "Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win." It means victorious teams always prepare thoroughly before seeking battle, while defeated teams often rush into battle without adequate preparation, hoping for luck during the fight.
Lately, this statement has become a golden saying in American sports teams, telling every coach and every team to play prepared games.
Though these seemingly simple truths are understood by everyone when spoken, achieving them is evidently not easy.
Regardless of a team of dozens needing coordination, training, and preparation, how many individuals in everyday life can do sufficient preparation, instead of scrambling at the last minute and finding ways when situations arise?
Gan Guoyang’s "combining the orthodox with the unorthodox" is the same; saying it is easy, just be flexible with one orthodox and one unorthodox.
But what counts as orthodox, what counts as unorthodox, when to use orthodox, when to use unorthodox, for a coach these are problems worth deep exploration.
From the battle against the Lakers, at least Carl knows his previous thoughts about boldly employing young players like Ben Wallace and Little O’Neal were correct.
However, Gan Guoyang’s handling of the roster distribution, including still starting veteran players, letting them perform in more comfortable offense positions, using the familiar lineup alignment to help veterans find their rhythm, and how to utilize a thorn like Charles Barkley, all gave Carl a deeper understanding and insight into "combining the orthodox with the unorthodox."
Carl thought about his predecessors, Ramsay and Bobby Berman relied on meticulous tactical preparation and innovative court thinking, Bird relied on a beast-like keen intuition and exceptional charisma. Ah Gan almost combined these coaches’ advantages; he is not only the strongest player but also the most sophisticated commander.
If it weren’t for the current league prohibition on players as coaches, Carl would want Gan Guoyang to take the position of head coach while he becomes an offensive coach for support.
Being a head coach is too stressful; as an assistant coach, you effectively are a strategist where you can freely propose strategies, and whether the head coach accepts them is up to them.
Regardless of whether the idea is good or bad, once the head coach uses it and something goes wrong, it’s on them, while assistant coaches don’t have to bear responsibility for record, performance, or public criticism.
Being the head coach is different; facing various bewildering situations and strategies, you have to make the final decision and bear all resulting consequences.