Chapter 231: Power Vacuum
Throughout the 1984-1985 season, the Denver Nuggets lost just seven games at home, which is a pretty impressive record, meaning they had an 83 percent home win rate.
So, before going to Denver, Jack Ramsay was mentally prepared for the rigors of this game, but he still didn't expect that the Trail Blazers would still lose in paralysis.
The Portland Trail Blazers, who trailed by 18 points in the first half, fought back in the second half, and their offense became more organized and their shooting percentage steadily improved.
However, the 18-point pit is too big, especially when the Trail Blazers' defense has no way to restrain the Nuggets, and the scores of the two sides are rising simultaneously, and the Nuggets have always maintained the score gap at about 15 points.
The scary thing about attacking teams is that once they get the feeling of attacking, it's very difficult to stop them.
However, the Trail Blazers did not give up from start to finish, until the end of the game was still 3 minutes, the Trail Blazers still trailed by 13 points, and they basically lost hope of winning, but Ramsey still called a timeout.
"We played badly tonight, and you should pay for your underestimation! Luckily, I saw the good side in the second half and I hope you can carry that momentum into the next game. But that doesn't mean we just give up on this game, remember, we can't give up until the last minute. In three minutes, we can use foul tactics, speed up our offensive tempo, shoot more, grab more rebounds in the frontcourt! You can't lose momentum if you lose! 'Ramsey is doing what could be the last tactical set-up of the game.
He replaced Drexler and Sampson with Caucy and Paxson, hoping that Cosey would be able to rush for rebounds and Paxson would be able to hit some face-saving jumpers.
At the end of the timeout, it seems that the Trail Blazers are not going to give up, they have replaced Jim Paxson and Jerome Cosey, and the starting Gan, Van der Vic and Valentin are also on the court. The Trail Blazers serve the ball on the sideline, and Paxson comes out to catch the ball and shoots straight from the 20-foot position! Oh, the ball is in! The margin became 11 points, and the offense took only 2 seconds, so the Nuggets should be careful. ”
The Trail Blazers used a simple serve game to steal two points and narrow the gap a bit.
And immediately after the goal, Jerome Cauchy rushed to Wayne Cooper and hugged him.
Cauchy wasn't trying to fight Cooper, he was going to get Cooper to the free-throw line.
Before the appearance of O'Neill, the big shark in later generations, the "shark cutting tactic" had already appeared, and the first to enjoy this treatment was the "Big Beidou" Wilt Chamberlain.
There was no rule in the final two minutes that you couldn't foul a non-ball-handler, so Cothy made a decisive lunge towards Wayne Cooper, the Nuggets' worst-free-throw center.
"Beep!" The referee blew the whistle, and since the Trail Blazers had already committed more than four collective fouls, Cooper would be heading to the free throw line.
In a basketball shooting team like the Nuggets, only a center like Cooper has a poor free-throw shooting percentage, and everyone else's free-throw shooting rate is more than 75 percent, and sending them to the free-throw line is basically sending points.
Even so, Cooper's free throw percentage was 67 percent, which was not incorrigibly bad, so it was not a good idea for the Trail Blazers to foul play, and of course Ramsey didn't think about turning the tables, he just wanted the team to lose at the very least.
Sure enough, Cooper made the first free throw on the basket a few times, and finally rolled into the basket, and the margin became 12 points again.
"Yay!" The fans at the scene burst into cheers.
"Hey Cooper, do you remember when you were a Trail Blazers player?" Gan Guoyang, who was standing next to him, suddenly said to Cooper.
Cooper didn't speak, but his head tilted slightly, glanced at Gan Guoyang, and then continued to aim for the basket with the ball.
"You can't score this ......" Gan Guoyang's voice appeared in Cooper's ears again.
Cooper's free throws were not top-notch, but now they were interfered with by Gan Guoyang's "stinky mouth", and his hands were obviously softer when he shot.
Cooper's softness was noticed by Gan Guoyang, and he jerked a step inward, occupying the best position to grab the board under the basket at once.
Gan Guoyang grabbed his 15th rebound of the game and then headed the ball towards the frontcourt.
At this point, Drexler was no longer on the court, and it was Cauchy and Paxson who ran forward.
Cauchy can run and jump well, and he overwhelmed the defending Inglish in the air and received a long pass from Gan Guoyang with both hands, but he did not hold the ball for a layup, but passed the ball to Paxson, who moved to the baseline.
Paxson stood outside the three-point line, was ready to shoot, and as soon as he received a pass from Cossey, he immediately shot a three-point shot from the baseline!
"Huh!" The ball is in! Paxson hit a three-pointer!
"A three-pointer! Paxson three points! The gap between the two sides has been narrowed to 9 points! And only a dozen seconds have passed! With more than two minutes to go until the end of the game, are the Trail Blazers going to stage a Jedi counterattack? ”
Dick Stockton saw the sudden awakening of the Trail Blazers' offensive end, and he was also excited, and Nuggets fans couldn't get excited, although they still had a nine-point advantage, but the Trail Blazers scored 5 points in more than ten seconds, if they kept maintaining such offensive efficiency, the Nuggets were really dangerous.
Doug Mo immediately called a timeout, such a crucial game cannot tolerate the slightest sloppiness, if it is overturned, the Nuggets will be doomed.
The Trail Blazers' players also got excited, and they jumped off the bench one after another, especially when Paxson hit a three-pointer, and everyone seemed to see hope of a comeback.
But the next two minutes proved that it was nothing more than a mirage.
The Nuggets only made one adjustment, which was to replace Wayne Cooper and replace Dan Isele, you must know that Dan Isele's free throw shooting rate is 80 percent, and sending him to the free throw line is basically giving away points.
Sure enough, after the timeout, the Trail Blazers found that no matter who they fouled, it was futile, and the Nuggets players were able to hit both free throws safely.
The Trail Blazers couldn't have made that many three-pointers, and Jim Paxson made six three-pointers in one season, and the three points he just made were obviously more lucky.
When the Nuggets hit both free throws and the Trail Blazers couldn't score again, both sides knew the game was over.
In the final 24 seconds, Fat-Leaf dribbled past half-court before coming to a halt near the halfway line and waiting for the end of the game.
When the buzzer sounded, the game ended and the score was fixed at 129-115, and the Nuggets won at home against the Portland Trail Blazers, and they didn't fall behind from start to finish throughout the game, just like the Trail Blazers played the Nuggets in Game 2.
“see-you-next-game,gump! (See you in the next game, Gan.) When the players on both sides shook hands after the game, Dan Iseer took the initiative to find Gan Guoyang and shake hands with him.
"See you next time, watch out for your mask." Gan Guoyang said to Iseer that Esser had been wearing a mask because of a nose injury, and he only took it off after the game.
"Haha, I'll be careful. But be careful, you're too young, boy. Uncle Isel smiled at Gan Guoyang again, and then left.
………………
The dressing room after a loss is always very dull, which is one of the reasons why Gan Guoyang hates losing, he doesn't want to see his teammates sullen in the dressing room - and of course he doesn't want to see them happy after losing.
But after the game, it seemed that something was different, Gan Guoyang was delayed talking to Iseer on the field for a while, so he was the last to go back to the dressing room, and as soon as he entered the door, he found that there was something wrong with the atmosphere inside, and Ramsey also had a gloomy face.
"Hey, what's up, guys. We didn't play very well today, but I think we still have a chance, don't we? We're still 2:1 ahead. Gan Guoyang said.
"Gan, you're also a starter, don't you think we would have performed better with the starting lineup in the regular season?" That's when Jim Paxson spoke.
Gan Guoyang knew what the problem was as soon as he heard Jim Paxson's words, and he knew that after this game, Jim Paxson wanted to return to the starting position!
At the beginning of the season, Paxson has been a starting point guard for the hard, and no matter how Drexler is doing, Ramsey trusts him, and Paxson has always been outstanding.
By the end of the season, Paxson was struggling with injuries and Ramsey had to start Drexler, who seized the opportunity and put in a great performance in March, instantly cementing his starting position.
Drexler was the starting point guard for the Trail Blazers until the playoffs, and in the series against the Mavericks and the first two games against the Nuggets, Drexler's performance was up and down, but overall it was very good.
In contrast, Paxson is very uncomfortable with the bench position, he is not like Drexler who is good at disrupting and playing fast breaks, he needs tactical and system support, so Paxson's performance has deteriorated after returning from injury.
That sign was curbed in this series against the Nuggets, as Paxson's style of play was a perfect fit for the Nuggets, while Drexler looked a little struggling, being sent off in Game 1 and having Inglish blown out in this game.
Paxson scored a team-high 28 points in this game, and five consecutive points in the final minute also made the Nuggets break out in a cold sweat.
Now, Paxson is asking Ramsey to reassign him to the starting point guard position, and although he didn't say it explicitly, he said that "with the starting lineup of the regular season", which is obviously what he meant.
Gan Guoyang quickly glanced at the locker room, Drexler was expressionless, Vanderwich was not listening, and Kenny Carr, who has always been the spokesman in the locker room, also kept silent.
It was Mitchell Sampson, who had a relaxed expression on his face, and Ramsey on the other side with a solemn face.
Seeing Sampson, Gan Guoyang understood something, no wonder Paxson dared to directly give advice to Ramsey, because in the current starting lineup, Sampson was also taken down!
This means that the original two veterans of the Trail Blazers are pressuring Coach Ramsey, hoping that Ramsey can restore the team's most stable starting lineup.
Now, everyone seems to be waiting for Gan Guoyang's statement, and there are still many reporters waiting outside the locker room to come in for an interview, and Gan Guoyang was suddenly pushed to a cusp position.
This is what Gan Guoyang never expected, the power vacuum among the Trail Blazers players pushed him out.
"There is no one who can substitute for the coach and make decisions... I can't either. ”
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