Gan Guoyang's initiative to reach out made Williams' attitude soften. The two people who had just started a conflict and had a fight quickly held their hands together.

"Brother, I know you are in a bad mood. I also know that you come to the Trail Blazers not to sit on the bench, but to fight with us on the court to win. However, there are many ways to win. Avidas performed well, but you are also indispensable. Even Avidas is important." Gan Guoyang said to him with his arms around Williams' shoulders.

In terms of age, Williams is a few years older than Gan Guoyang, but Gan Guoyang, a young man, is like a big brother in the pioneers. What he says can always make people feel trust from the bottom of his heart.

"I don't like the feeling of sitting on the bench. I feel that in just two weeks, I have lost Adelman's trust. I am very hard on the court because I have never felt that the championship is so close to me. But if I have won the victory on the bench, what's the difference between sitting in a wheelchair, Gan?" Williams was still worried about Sabonis snatching his starter. However, Sabonis has a good reputation in the team, is kind-hearted, and plays very hard. Williams has no idea about this and is angry, so he fought with him under the provocation of Gan Guoyang.

"Yes, no one likes to sit on the bench, but there is always someone waiting for an opportunity to stand up and solve the problem when the team needs it. Of course, I know, Buck, you have never played as a substitute, never, but I think you can try it out. I know you are better than Avidas, and I swear you are the best inside player I have ever partnered with. Although I can get more points when Avidas is here, I can win more easily when you are there. You have to know that when you are absent, I have to turn myself into a blue-collar worker, and at that time I can feel the contribution you have made to the team."

Gan Guoyang praised Williams for many praises, but what he said was the truth. When Williams was not on the team, many details were missing, and the team was running like a precision machine. Some parts that were not conspicuous and unprominent may undertake important operational work. Only when this part is missing will people realize that the machine will not work without it.

Gan Guoyang's words touched Williams. In fact, for Williams, the main difference between playing the starting and playing the substitute is still psychological feelings. Playing the starting means that he is the team's real main force, while playing the substitute means that he is inferior.

Buck Williams is in his year of playing, and the position on the bench is often reserved for young people and veterans. After Williams entered the league, he has only a handful of games on the bench. Now Adelman lets him sit on the bench without saying a word, and he feels that he has not received the respect he deserves.

Now that Gan Guoyang is saying these words to him, the meaning is different.

The current situation in the Trail Blazers is that Gan Guoyang is the only one. As the nominal No. 2 star, Drexler has a little lower voice than Gan Guoyang. Anyway, the glider is a relatively weak person. In the outside players, his weight in speaking is sometimes not as good as Terry Porter.

When Jack Ramsey was there, Jack still maintained his control over the team as a whole. Jack retired and Adelman took the lead. Adelman was able to become the head coach of the Trail Blazers itself was the result of Gan Guoyang's strong support. In addition, the team's assistant coach was also recommended by Gan Guoyang, and Kalp was one of Gan Guoyang's best friends. The coaching staff basically did not have much constraints on Gan Guoyang outside the tactics.

The only one who can check and balance Gan Guoyang is the general manager Yinman. However, Gan Guoyang has always had a good relationship. Gan Guoyang has always adhered to the principle of making suggestions but not interfering. He will put forward his own suggestions and ideas for the personnel transactions made by Yinman, but will never exert influence or pressure on the management's final decision, which has also made the relationship between the two parties always good.

The team owner Weinberg had the idea of ​​selling the team in the mid-to-late 1980s. If Gan Guoyang had not come to the team, Weinberg would have sold the team in 1988. He was completely concerned about Gan Guoyang's influence and continued to hold the team. The importance of Gan Guoyang to him is self-evident.

Therefore, Buck Williams' recognition from Gan Guoyang means that he has been recognized by the Trail Blazers, and that his position in the team will not be affected by injuries or substitutes. Williams can still think clearly after calming down.

"Thank you, thank you. It may be nothing to be a substitute. This may be a new challenge for me." Williams' tone was obviously loosened a lot.

"That's right, if you want to be the sixth man, you are obviously more suitable than Avidas. You have a more flexible position, stronger ability, and richer experience. I believe you can do better than any other team's sixth man."

Gan Guoyang is right. Williams is more flexible in position and style of play. He plays power forwards and can also make a difference in the position of small forwards. No matter from any perspective, he is more suitable for being the sixth man than Sabonis, who is a pure center.

"I'm sorry Gan, I was a little impulsive just now..." Williams thought of his extreme behavior just now, and also apologized to Gan Guoyang. There was no way, he was the leader of the team, and sometimes he had to bow his head.

Gan Guoyang also apologized to Williams very much. He also knew that his mouth was smelly and his defensive movements were indeed quite big just now. The two of them each played fifty big rebounds, and they would become two brothers again.

……………………

Williams' psychological obstacles were solved, but it does not mean that he can adapt to the position of the sixth player immediately. The requirements of the sixth player are really different from the requirements of the starting lineup. The sixth player values ​​more the ability to disrupt the situation and change the situation on the field. This requires Williams to no longer play steadily. It is not enough to do the detailed work well. First of all, he must start scoring.

On January 3, 1989, the Portland Trail Blazers, who had been resting for a whole week, finally ushered in the new year's game. After the team started training, Adelman was surprised to find that Williams, who had been a little outraged before, seemed to have returned to normal all of a sudden, and began to actively engage in training, and his condition also looked very good.

Adelman's mind turned around and could probably understand that it was Gan Guoyang who had worked hard. Anyway, Adelman can only be considered half a coach now. Gan Guoyang is mostly responsible for comforting the players. The old man is happy to be at ease and work on his tactics.

The opponent that the Trail Blazers welcomed at home tonight is a good training target, that is, the poor Miami Heat.

The Heat have a little bit of fate with the Trail Blazers. The Trail Blazers set the best NBA start record with 17 consecutive victories, while the Miami Heat left the worst NBA start record with 17 consecutive losses. The two teams also teamed up to win the biggest NBA score difference game.

The first victory for the Heat was the poor Los Angeles Clippers. They staged a blacksmith battle in the game 14 last year. In the end, the Clippers' blacksmith skills were better, and they lost to the Heat with one point and gave the opponent the first victory in history.

Everything is difficult at the beginning. Once the first victory is won, the second and third games will naturally follow. At the end of December, the Heat even defeated the Utah Jazz and the San Antonio Spurs one after another, achieving their first winning streak in the team's history and improving their victory to three games.

However, they were not so lucky to come to Portland to challenge the Trail Blazers tonight. The Trail Blazers, with strong and well-trooped teams, basically won't give the Heat any chance at home. The only suspense is how many points the Trail Blazers can win. The 60-point difference between the two sides in the last game was really terrifying.

As expected, the Trail Blazers indeed crushed the Heat in terms of strength. As the game started, the gap between the scores on both sides widened bit by bit.

The real star of the Trail Blazers in this game was Buck Williams. He came on as a substitute in the second half of the first quarter and began to become the main attack point of the Trail Blazers. Gan Guoyang took the initiative to give the firing power to Williams, and Drexler and Porter also tried their best to feed Williams the ball.

Williams scored 30 points in a single game so far so far, and he won against his old club Nets. Tonight he once again contributed a super high shooting percentage of 13 of 15 shots and scored the highest 33 points in the game, which is also his highest score in a single game this season.

The Trail Blazers easily won a game again. Williams achieved initial success in the rotation as the sixth man. Williams played happily himself, which made him find the long-lost feeling of being the core of the team.

However, the Trail Blazers' relaxed schedule has basically ended here. In these twenty games, the Trail Blazers' opponents are relatively weak, or the opponent has not yet entered the state.
Chapter completed!