After defeating the Dallas Mavericks away on November 12, the Trail Blazers achieved a five-game winning streak, tying with the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference for first place with a 9-1 record.
The Mavericks obtained Schlammfeste in the draft to strengthen their weakness at the power forward position.
This 6-foot-10 German forward had competed against Gan Guoyang in college and was a very talented all-rounder.
However, Schlammfeste was prepared for the future, and in Dallas, he temporarily couldn't get enough playing time.
Sam Bowie had become stronger after a summer of hard training, but he still couldn't defend Guoyang.
Dick Motta originally wanted to use a clever defensive battle to take revenge for being swept in the first round of last year's playoffs and boost the team's morale.
But Guoyang and Vandeweghe combined for 79 points, and their accurate shooting tore the Mavericks' defense to shreds.