Chapter 641 - 32 Minor Flaws

After the Trail Blazers’ game against the Nuggets, the debate between Divac and Petrović hadn’t ended.

They acknowledged Ah Gan’s abilities, yet still believed that Coach Beelman’s system strategy was focused.

They didn’t directly ask Beelman, as they knew the coach would simply say, "Both are important."

During the flight from Denver to Florida, the two approached Gan Guoyang hoping for an answer.

Gan Guoyang didn’t try to water down the issue, nor did he arrogantly say, "I am the core."

He calmed down and thought seriously about the question, remembering the days at college with John Stockton when they memorized the playbook together.

Back then, they would memorize tactics, train, and discuss, often getting into arguments.

Later, Beelman had them forget all the tactical routines, asking them to just focus on the game, and the arguments stopped.

This didn’t mean that Beelman’s system had no focus.

During their college days, the core of Beelman’s system was defense and rebounding.

Under his intricate defensive setups, even without Ah Gan, the team could make it to the nationals.

In the NBA, because zone defense wasn’t allowed, defense was more restricted.

Additionally, since the NBA is a commercial league, putting too much energy into defense could yield results, but the ceiling wouldn’t be too high.

As Dr. Naismith, the inventor of basketball, said, "The ultimate game is about launching an attack regardless of where the ball is, starting from the place you receive the ball."

Since becoming an assistant coach for the Trail Blazers, Beelman had been dedicated to inheriting, refining, and enhancing Jack Ramsey’s tactical system—continuously adding his own understanding and thoughts, enriching and elevating Ramsey’s coaching results.

For instance, utilizing space, focusing on strong and weak sides, developing three-point shots, and reinterpreting fast-breaks.

Gan Guoyang saw all of this; he knew how much Beelman had contributed to basketball and how he was striving to build his own philosophy of basketball.

After thinking for a while, Gan Guoyang told Petrović and Divac, "Passing and shooting are just means; they aren’t the core of Mr. Beelman’s system. From college, what Mr. Beelman truly pursued on the court was one thing—efficiency. Whether it’s defense or offense, that’s why Mr. Beelman values data so much. He hopes the data can reflect your efficiency, show what you can contribute on the court in a unit of time, understand?"

Petrović and Divac seemed thoughtful, and Divac remarked, "Then Mr. Beelman is truly a capitalist on the basketball court, squeezing us to work efficiently."

Gan Guoyang shrugged, saying, "That’s actually not wrong; every coach does that, but Mr. Beelman has grasped the core. Dr. Jack once said that coaches of the past were the artists of agrarian society; Bobby was an industrial society’s factory owner."

"We should overthrow the capitalists."

"Right, achieve socialism."

"But the market is also very important."

The three players from socialist countries, chatting, started to veer off-topic.

Beelman passed by them and heard them discussing "capital," "society," "exploitation" and wondered what these guys were up to.

Studying basketball properly, or engaging in political activities here?

After a long flight, the Trail Blazers arrived in Orlando, Florida State, in the early hours of December 3.

Coming from the cold climates of Portland and Denver to the South Coast, despite landing at night, the players could still feel a hint of warmth.

In December, snow was heavy in Portland and the outside was freezing; meanwhile, the southern Florida maintained an average temperature around 20 degrees Celsius, making it comfortable to wear light clothing most of the time.

For those who disliked the cold, Florida’s climate was truly pleasant, no wonder people flocked there; the living environment was comfortable.

Thus, Florida was a famous retirement haven in America. After retirement, anyone with a bit of money headed there to enjoy their remaining years, with almost one-fifth of people above 65 living in Florida.

Not just old people, children also loved coming to Florida, especially to Orlando—naturally due to the famous Disneyland in Orlando.

Disneyland in Orlando opened in 1955, and when Khrushchev visited the US in 1959, one of his requests was to visit Disneyland, but it was eventually canceled due to security concerns, leaving Khrushchev quite angry.

Later, many cities around the world built Disneylands, but none could compare to Orlando’s "Disney World"—all other Disneylands combined were just a quarter of Orlando’s Disney World.

When Orlando got an NBA team, it meant that NBA players could experience Disneyland during their away game travels and rediscover the joys of childhood.

On the morning of the 3rd, the Trail Blazers Team took advantage of playing an away game and chartered a bus to Disney World for a half-day of fun.

Disneyland opened the "Fantasy World" theme park in 1982 and developed the MGM-Disney Studios in 1989, making it suitable not only for kids but also for adults.

The arrival of the Trail Blazers quickly drew huge crowds of tourists, many of whom asked Gan Guoyang for autographs.

Disneyland officials provided the Trail Blazers with a VIP pass so they could quickly experience attractions and help advertise the park.

Due to their size, the players were restricted from some attractions, but roller coasters were still a definite go.

A notably famous roller coaster in Orlando Disney is the "SPACE Mountain," which opened in 1975.

The exterior of this ride looks like a spacecraft, while the interior resembles the heavy industrial settings of steel mills or coal mines, filled with Cold War-era aesthetic.

Compared to many well-known thrill rides, especially wooden roller coasters, Disney’s SPACE Mountain is relatively mild and gentle, apt for children.

Still, even with its gentleness, there was someone in the team who was scared—Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang was afraid of roller coasters simply because he had a heart condition in the past and definitely couldn’t handle such thrilling rides.

Although his heart was fine now, some of his old habits lingered, and his heart still raced at the sight of roller coasters.

Initially, Gan Guoyang bravely joined everyone inside, but when it was time to board the ride, he began to resist.

His breathing quickened, his heart raced, and cold sweat beaded his forehead.

At this moment, someone noticed something amiss; Jerome Kossie was right by Gan Guoyang’s side.

He yelled, "Woh! Sonny, are you trembling? You’re scared of riding roller coasters!"

"You’re talking nonsense, I’m just a bit tired."

Gan Guoyang said he was tired? Who would believe that?

The physical exertion today hasn’t even matched one quarter of a game.

As if uncovering a monumental secret, Kossie’s loud proclamation made everyone aware.

Gan Guoyang had always been fearless on the Trail Blazers Team, always a paragon of perfection.

Suddenly, everyone discovered, just like a deity with a small flaw, that this guy was afraid of roller coasters!

Players like Thompson, Porter, and Hornacek were exceptionally thrilled, as if they had uncovered new territory.

"Shut up, all of you! I’m not scared at all!" Gan Guoyang still tried to talk tough.

The problem was he told everyone to shut up, but he himself was already closing his eyes on the ride, and it hadn’t even started yet.

When the machinery actually began moving, Gan Guoyang’s agonizing screams echoed throughout SPACE Mountain.

Later, this incident made the news in the "Orlando Sentinel," and Jordan laughed about it for half a month.

Many experts even joked that if they wanted to beat the Trail Blazers next time, they should construct their arena on top of a roller coaster.

[...The funniest news of the 89-90 season was Ah Gan being scared of riding roller coasters, screaming as if someone had stepped on a cat’s tail.

Disney’s SPACE Mountain is something meant for kids; I could sleep through a ride on it.

Later, I suggested that Ah Gan and I experience a fighter jet together, but he flatly refused and ignored me completely.]

—— Excerpt from John Stockton’s autobiography "Assisted," published in 2012.