Chapter 54 I Don't Quite Understand

Gan Guoyang's staunch defense against Magic Johnson had caused the Lakers' offense to struggle in the latter half of the third quarter and into the fourth, finding themselves in an offensive dilemma.

Don Nelson made an adjustment in the fourth quarter, he began to use the do-or-die lineup of the playoffs—two bigs and three guards.

Both Edwards and Duckworth were on the court at the same time on the inside, while James Worthy was switched out in favor of a three-guard combination of Cooper, Scott, and Johnson on the outside.

Although it was a three-guard lineup, Johnson was actually more of a point forward; his 6-foot-9 stature was perfect for that role.

Johnson moved from the middle to the wing, where he used spot-up shooting and ball-handling to facilitate the team's play, leaving the middle for Scott and the two big men to crash the three-second zone.

In the 1988 playoffs, the Lakers' three-guard lineup had given the Trail Blazers a considerable amount of trouble.