On October 25, 1985, the new season of NBA games kicked off.

In the previous two weeks, the NBA preseason game had already started in full swing. In such warm-up games, young players and new players from each team became the main targets of training.

Gan Guoyang missed the preseason due to a back injury last season, and as a main player this season, he no longer needs to prove anything in the preseason.

I spent a few games easily and comfortably, and the real regular season followed.

According to the schedule, the Trail Blazers' first opponent is the Phoenix Suns, who are in the Pacific Division.

Last season, the Phoenix Suns entered the playoffs as eighth in the West, and was defeated by the final championship in the first round, with the Los Angeles Lakers swept.

During the offseason, the biggest deal the Suns made was completed with the Lakers, which was to give Morris Lucas to the Western Conference overlord, which in many people seemed to be simply "helping evil."

Of course, the Suns also have their own calculations. Morris Lucas was hit by injuries last season and played only 63 games.

However, he averaged 19.7 points per game in three playoff games against the Lakers, which was the highest average score in the playoffs after he won the 1977 Trail Blazers.

It is precisely because of this that the Lakers and the Suns completed this transaction, but Lucas, a veteran who has been in the league for 10 years, still has how much oil there is in the mailbox? The Suns' uniform team is really the clearest in their minds.

In the draft, the Suns' main move was to win Villanova's small forward Ed Pinckney with the No. 10 draw.

Villanova University relied on Pinnik's 16 points and 6 rebounds in this year's NCAA Finals - one with the best performance of the team and one with the best team, defeating the Big East Giants Georgetown University and winning the NCAA Championship Trophy.

Therefore, Pinnick's net worth in the draft also increased, and he came to the middle level and was selected by the Suns.

Apart from that, the Suns have no major moves worthy of attention. They still retained the main lineup with Larry Nance, Alwan Adams and Water Davis as the core last season. They are supplemented by James Edwards on the bench, and they still have good competitiveness.

And before the game started, there was one person in the Trail Blazers' locker room that seemed more nervous than everyone else.

"Relax Mr. Bellman, relax, it's just a regular season game, I don't have to worry about it." Gan Guoyang was putting his hand on Bellman's shoulder at this time, and Bellman was extremely stiff like a stone.

During this month, Bellman has begun to slowly adapt to his work in NBA teams. From the novelty and excitement at the beginning, he gradually felt the tremendous pressure of working in NBA teams.

NBA players are different from university players. In college, coaches are equivalent to players' teachers. Players are obliged to obey the teacher's instructions. After all, college students are all children, so it is relatively simple to discipline children.

It is different in professional teams. The relationship between players and assistant coaches is a colleague. Although players must obey the coach's command and arrangement, if the coach does not show enough prestige and ability, it is easy to be ignored by the players.

Fortunately, in the Trail Blazers, Gan Guoyang, as a former disciple of Bellman, absolutely respects and obeys him. In the Trail Blazers, no player is more thorny than Gan Guoyang. If the biggest thorny head is convinced, Bellman will naturally be much easier.

But relying solely on Gan Guoyang's obedience is far from enough. Bellman must show enough value. However, the Trail Blazers have made good improvements to not only convince the players, but also satisfy head coach Ramsey and the team management.

After in-depth exchanges with Ramsey and repeated discussions by the entire coaching staff, some of Bellman’s ideas on defense were supported, and his defensive philosophy was implemented in training.

During the preseason, the Trail Blazers slightly tried the defense used by Bellman, but because the intensity of the preseason game was too low and the players on the court were mainly new players, it did not show an immediate effect.

The moment when Bellman's defensive philosophy is truly tested, that is, the NBA's regular season, today's first game against the Suns will become Bellman's first round of the test.

"Come on, Gan and block the free throw line." Bellman said to Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang nodded after hearing this, and then Ramsey made a brief arrangement on the whiteboard of the locker room. The time was up and it was time to appear.

Tonight's Portland Memorial Stadium is crowded. Last season's Western Conference Finals, the smoke of the Trail Blazers fighting the Lakers here seems to have not yet dissipated.

In the third game, after the Trail Blazers who were behind 0:2 in the first two games returned to home, they beat the Lakers amid the cheers of thousands of fans and won the only victory in the series.

Although they were eventually eliminated and missed the finals, the team that has been growing up undoubtedly gave fans great hope. The fans naturally also gave the Trail Blazers great enthusiasm. Before the warm-up began, the stadium was already full.

Bellman was deeply shocked when he saw this situation. Although he had also visited NBA games on site, his feelings on the court and in the stands are different. He bears the burden of victory and loss on his shoulders, and is also different from watching the ball simply.

Bellman watched Gan Guoyang pick up the ball and go to the court for warm-up training. He still liked to shoot 17-18 feet of big hooks in the horn position when warming up.

"This kid has really grown up. He is now an NBA superstar..." Bellman thought with emotion as he looked at Gan Guoyang's figure.

However, Bellman soon had no time to hurt the spring and fall. After the warm-up exercise, the first game of the Memorial Stadium will be about to begin.

As the first game, the Memorial Stadium held a grand opening ceremony, which is also a major feature of the NBA this season. It has begun to incorporate more entertainment elements. The opening performances of the stadium are becoming more and more abundant, and the atmosphere is becoming more and more lively.

"…Now, From-Gonzaga-University, six-ten, at-center, Sunny~~~~~ Gump! (Now, the entry is the center from Gonzaga University, Sonny Gamp!)"

As the DJ on the scene introduced the players from both sides one by one, the first regular season game was about to begin.

It is worth noting that since this season, Gan Guoyang's appearance order has been adjusted to the last place, which also means that he has become the top star of the Trail Blazers.

Gan Guoyang shook hands with the Sun's old opponents one by one, then looked around. He saw a familiar face on the bench not far away, league president David Stern.

In each round of the game, Stern will choose one of the games to watch, which is a habit he will always stick to.

In the first game of the new season, he skipped the Celtics against the Bulls and the Rockets against the Jazz, and instead chose the opening game between the Trail Blazers and the Suns to watch it, which is enough to show Stern's importance to Gan Guoyang and the Trail Blazers.

"The game is about to begin. The NBA game that has been on hold for four months has rekindled today. The Trail Blazers, who failed in the Western Conference Finals last season, will set sail again. After a season of growth, I believe they will become stronger. Let's wait and see... Okay, the game has begun, Gan took the lead in hitting the ball, and the Trail Blazers' offensive power!"

Of course, Shawnley's live commentary is indispensable for the Trail Blazers' competition.

Gan Guoyang easily won the ball against Adams because Adams was shorter than him and was still a white insider.

One of the benefits of this game to the Trail Blazers is that their top star, power forward Larry Nance, missed the game due to injury.

Last season, Larry Nance played very well every time he played against the Trail Blazers, which means he could curb him while Gan Guoyang defended him.

Larry Nance can't play. The highest player on the Suns is Adhawan Adams, a 6-foot-9 inside player, who is instantly one level worse than the Trail Blazers in height.

Of course, the Trail Blazers would not put such advantages without taking advantage. Gan Guoyang began to actively take the lead at the low post.

"Gan is at the low position on the left side, and see if he can make the first goal of the Trail Blazers in the new season! Valentine hangs the ball to Gan. The Suns did not double-team, Gan dribbled in, Adams couldn't stop Gan, Gan's hook at the basket! The ball was scored! The Trail Blazers' first goal this season came from Gan's hook!"

Seanley may not have expected that Gan Guoyang would use a small hook to complete this offense, which was rarely seen last season.

Last season, even if Gan Guoyang grabbed the frontcourt rebound at the basket, he rarely used a small hook - he would dunk directly.

If you play singles at a low position, Gan Guoyang will either break through in front of the basket or take a big hook, and the success rate will be very good.

But this time, he took advantage of his physical strength and crushed Adams all the way to a very close position under the basket, and then easily hit the target with a straight arm hook.

As a skilled white insider, Adams was still a veteran, and he could not compete with Gan Guoyang in terms of strength, so he was really pushed in.

It was soon the Suns' turn to attack, and the Suns had no Larry Nance, and the highest starting player was Adams, so they must play fast and play outside.

Rookie Jane Humphries, who played a substitute shooting guard in the Suns last season, began to play a point guard this season and was promoted to the team's starting lineup.

This tall point guard with a height of 6-3 is strong and has solid skills. Although Valentine is experienced, she suffers a lot in height. Humphries did not stay in the organization after dribbling through half the court, but instead directly rushed in from the middle. Valentine was caught off guard and was knocked away by Humphries and lost her defensive position.

But as soon as Humphries got off the free throw line, he found that his breakthrough route was blocked.

After returning to defense, Gan Guoyang did not go down to the three-second zone as before, but instead hit the high position of the free throw line to delay the Suns' player!

This is the first important change that Bellman made to reform the Trail Blazers' defensive system. Gan Guoyang's main defense zone expanded from the three-second zone at the basket to the free throw line position at the top of the arc.

Humphries was hit by this gear and there was no way to go in. He wanted to stop and jump shot quickly, but looking at Gan Guoyang's open arms, he had to choose to pass the ball to the wing and give Mike Sanders to the right.

Sanders had a fake after receiving the ball and was ready to continue to break through with the ball. The main tactic of the Suns in the opening game was to attack the Trail Blazers' inside line, kill the opponent, and strive to offset the Trail Blazers' inside advantage.

It was Van dervich who defended Sanders. As the biggest colander for the Blazers' defense, Bellman also made demands on him to make up for his shortcomings.

When Sanders was preparing to break through, he found that Van dervich was not standing on his front, but instead leaned his body inward, as if he opened a door, leaking the bottom line, but blocking the 45-degree route.

"Sanders broke through from the baseline, Sampson made up for defense, he blocked Sanders' layup! Beautiful block! The Trail Blazers took the ball, a beautiful defense!"
Chapter completed!