On the first training day after returning to Portland, the Trail Blazers received bad news. Avidas Sabonis's knee swelled. According to the examination, the team doctor recommended that Sabonis be on standby for two weeks, which means that Sabonis will miss the entire Western Conference semi-finals.

Sabonis had a knee injury before coming to the Trail Blazers. When he came to Portland for a trial in the summer of 1986, the Portland team doctor conducted injury examinations and treatments for Sabonis, but after returning to the Soviet Union, the medical level of the Soviet basketball league was definitely not as high as that of the United States.

Moreover, Sabonis joined the Soviet national team when he was very young and grew up. He conducted high-intensity and high-sports training in the national team and began strength practice early. This was a great harm to Sabonis, who was 2.21 meters tall. In his early games, Sabonis was also a player who was good at flying and detonating, but now his knees are no longer allowed to do such movements.

If Sabonis entered the NBA a few years later, he would have completely become a floor flow. His injuries are not particularly serious now, but he has played all the season after all, and it is expected that some small situations will occur now.

Now, the Trail Blazers' coaching staff is busy again. The opponents in the Western Conference semi-finals have not yet come out. The match between Seattle Supersonics and Phoenix Suns is difficult to solve. The two sides have now reached 2:2, and the life-and-death battle will be played at the Suns' home court.

The Trail Blazers' coaching staff is to make new preparations for Sabonis' absence. Whether the opponent is the Supersonics or the Suns, the tactics without Sabonis' Trail Blazers are different. This is Sabonis' status in the Trail Blazers. Although his data is mediocre, his tactical influence is very strong.

When Sabonis was on the court, Gan Guoyang was very comfortable in the middle and high and low positions. Sabonis's high position support and internal and external transfers were excellent, so the Trail Blazers' offense would be very smooth.

Sabonis is not there, and when Gan Guoyang is at the low position, there is one high-level transit point missing; when Gan Guoyang is at the high position, there is one low-level attack point missing. The Trail Blazers will return to the situation where Gan Guoyang mainly plays the low position in 1988, and then plays the big axis and then force attacks with three or four people hanging on it. This season, Gan Guoyang lost weight, so there will obviously be pressure to hit him like this.

Moreover, Buck Williams has adapted to the role of the Sixth Man. He fully demonstrated his versatility in the position of the Sixth Man. If it weren't for not having enough games as the Sixth Man, Williams would have been likely to win the title of the Best Sixth Man this season.

Now if Williams is allowed to return to the starting power forward position, the Blazers' rotation order will be disrupted, and defender Jim Paxson will be the role of the sixth man.

After returning from injury in the second half of the season, Paxson returned to form and became an important outside projection point, but he is not the All-Star after all, and his influence on both offense and defense is not as good as Buck Williams. If he was asked to play the sixth man and the second team, the Trail Blazers might be very difficult.

So this also stumped Adelman and the coaching staff. During the training process, Adelman began to try different starting lineup combinations to adjust. After Williams and Gan Guoyang rematched and played the starting lineup, both sides were still a little uncomfortable. After all, Williams just transferred to the team this season, and there were not many games to start with Gan Guoyang.

Later, Adelman also drew different forwards and Gan Guoyang's partners from the Trail Blazers' thick forward group, but the effect was average. It was obvious from the offense and defense that the help to Gan Guoyang was not particularly great. Basically, Gan Guoyang could take over the whole person by himself, and their offense and support abilities were average.

"Why don't you let Duckworth try? Maybe he and Gan can cooperate." At this time, Bellman made suggestions to Adelman from the side.

Adelman looked at Dakworth, who played against Gan Guoyang. In fact, Dakworth has made great progress this season. In training, he can feel that he is trying to keep up with Gan Guoyang's pace. Gan Guoyang is also happy to compete with Dakworth. As a second round pick, he will inevitably be evaluated as lack of offensive talent and suitable for becoming a center of the meat shield coolie; but this season Dakworth has shown his talent on the offensive end. In several games, Dakworth, who came on the bench, can show his solid offensive skills at low posts, especially the hook-up learned from Gan Guoyang, which is quite good. Most people can't defend him if they don't pay attention.

However, Sabonis's existence overlaps with Gan Guoyang in terms of function, so Dakworth's playing time is not enough, so the data is also mediocre. If he is given enough playing time, his performance will definitely be a qualified starting center.

"Maybe you can try it. After all, Gan is no longer the Gan of last season. We can try to slow down the pace of the game, but it depends on the opponent is the Supersonics, loves the Suns." Adelman expressed his opinion. The Supersonics are a team with more important defense power. The Trail Blazers lost 13 games this season. The Supersonics gave the Trail Blazers two games, relying on strong defense from the outside. The Bucks were so restrained by this year.

If the Trail Blazers encounter supersonics, the effect of using Buck Williams will be better. Williams is more flexible in position and can serve as an outside line to help the backcourt make transitions. Moreover, Williams' fierce playing style is just enough to curb the supersonic forward line with the same fierce playing style.

The Suns are blocked. The Suns have always been a team in history that has taken an offensive route. This season, the Suns averaged only second in the league in scoring, second only to the Portland Trail Blazers, and are the second strongest offensive team in the league.

Of course, the Trail Blazers in the playoffs can choose to compete with the Suns, but this is obviously risky, because the offense is never stable in defense. The offense requires the player's state and feeling. If the tactics are played out, you can't make it possible if you can't make it; while the defense depends on the tactics and attitude. If you execute in place, the attitude is positive. Whether you enter or not depends on the opponent's level.

Therefore, Adelman was also concerned in his heart. If the Supersonics finally reached the semi-finals, he would return to the start of the season and compete with the Supersonics for offense. If the Suns entered the semi-finals, he would try the combination of Duckworth and Gan Guoyang and use defense to kill the Suns.

"Duck! (Duck!) Come here, stop, pause, we will re-adjust the lineup, Duck, you enter the starting lineup and replace Buck, so that you and Gan are on the court together."

After saying that, Adelman pulled Gan Guoyang aside again and said to him: "Reduce the rhythm, attack more positions, and see the effect."

Gan Guoyang nodded after hearing this. He understood what Adelman meant. Since Sabonis was not there, the Trail Blazers' pattern in positional offense would definitely change, so Adelman wanted to play more positional offenses to see the effect.

However, after a few rounds, Adelman discovered that when Duckworth was on the court, the smoothness of the Trail Blazers' position attack was obviously reduced by one level. Without Sabonis, the passer, the ball's transfer speed slowed down and the range became smaller. The opponent's substitute quickly followed Bellman's guidance and began to double-team Gan Guoyang.

Later, Gan Guoyang tried to reach a high position, and the double-teaming on the opposite side lost its effect. At the same time, Dakworth also began to show his offensive skills, and even replaced Gan Guoyang to hit continuously at the low position.

However, Adelman shook his head on the sidelines, because what Duckworth can do, Gan Guoyang can do, and it can do better, so it doesn't make it very meaningful to let Duckworth go up and score at a low post.

But soon, the meaning of Duckworth was revealed, that is, on the defensive end, since he has been a substitute for Gan Guoyang, Duckworth was considered the defensive core of the second team. His 7-foot height and 260-pound weight are more than enough to fill the inside.

Moreover, he has better defensive experience and confrontational ability than Sabonis. When Sabonis was there, Gan Guoyang often had to wipe Sabonis's butt, Darkworth was there, and Gan Guoyang could be easier on the defensive end.

The day's training passes quickly, and for the pioneers, all they have to do is wait quietly for their next opponent.

……………………

At the same time, many series in the first round also decided the winners and losses. In the West, the Los Angeles Lakers showed strong energy in the playoffs. They played against the Denver Nuggets in the first round. The Nuggets were swept by the Lakers at their peak, and there was no need to talk about entering the decline period. The whirlwind Purple Gold Legion sent the Nuggets to fish in the Colorado Grand Canyon 3:0.

The Utah Jazz faced the powerful lineup composed of the Houston Rockets, Carl Malone, Stockton, Mark Eaton and Bailey, 3:1 to crush Olajuwon. Olajuwon fell into deep confusion and distress after being eliminated. He was called a cancer, and soon, he will find a spiritual sustenance in religion.

In the East, the Detroit Pistons and the New York Knicks both solved their opponents 3:0 early and began to prepare for the semi-finals; while the Dark Horse Cavaliers were dragged to a life-and-death battle by the Bulls, and the Bucks also dragged the Hawks, who had a high ambition before the start of the season to the fifth game.
Chapter completed!