With Walter Davis off the court, Gan Guoyang had to step up to the free throw line to take two shots.
He made both free throws, scoring 14 points, and the Trail Blazers were leading the Suns by 15 points at 30:45 in the second quarter.
However, after Davis left the court, the Suns seemed to recover, gradually finding their offensive rhythm and managed to reduce the deficit to within ten points by the end of the second quarter.
With Davis absent, the team's forward Mike-Sanders took over the offense, stabilizing the Suns' lineup in the backcourt alongside Jay Humphries.
There was no way around it, the Trail Blazers had a distinct advantage in the frontcourt, especially since the Suns had lost Morris Lucas and Larry Nance to injuries over the summer.
Last season, McLeod, who had a tall lineup for battle, could only use a smaller lineup this season, relying solely on the veteran Alvan Adams to hold up the interior.
Wasn't this asking Adams to die?
