The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 140 The World Has Changed

Victory can create a positive atmosphere in the team's locker room.

Professional basketball is a high-pressure job, especially for coaches.

It's harder to see a smile on a basketball coach's face than to see loyalty in Ohio.

Ramsey discovered that when you put some of the pressure and anxiety about the game on Gan Guoyang's shoulders, he can share it very well, and you don't have to give him a penny of his salary.

He is a highly skilled basketball machine, born to win, and full of energy every night, doing everything he can to help the team win games.

His passionate yet stable emotions inspired everyone on the team, including Ramsey. Dr. Ogilvy recently said that Ramsey's mental state is much better—he thought he would only recover after retirement.

Beneath Gan Guoyang's immense emotional aura lay extreme calmness and rationality; everything he did was aimed at winning, disrupting the opponent, and leading his teammates.

The more Ramsey learned about Gan Guoyang, the more he realized that this guy was not Bill Walton at all. Walton was a man surrounded by his emotions, and he would often get lost in them and need others to guide him out, while Forrest Gump did not need that at all.

Giants in terms of physique are often children in spirit. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, and Chuck Hayes were often incredibly naive outside of basketball.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar always needed someone to tell him why he should play basketball, Wilt Chamberlain always needed someone to remind him how he should play basketball, and Chuck Hayes always thought he didn't like playing basketball at all—yet he became the NBA's all-time greatest ironman, missing only 9 games in his career.

Working with these powerful but mentally fragile giants is always fraught with danger, like raising a tiger. He can fight for you, but you never know when he will turn on you.

Ramsey has been trying to learn something from John Wooden, and team general manager Stu Inman even calls himself "Wooden's number one observer." But recently Ramsey is giving up on that idea, realizing that there is an inherently huge gap between college basketball and professional basketball, and the divide between college basketball coaches and professional basketball coaches is widening.

When the second half began and Ramsey didn't see Aguirre in the Mavericks' starting lineup, he became even more convinced of his judgment.

The conflict between Aguirre and Motta is not new. Since Aguirre came to Dallas in 1981, the two have been constantly arguing over Aguirre's weight.

Motta and Ramsey are both championship coaches. Ramsey won the championship in 77, and Motta in 78. Ramsey won the championship in his first year, and Motta in his second. The two are of similar age. One served in the Navy, and the other served in the Air Force.

They faced similar problems in the 80s: Aguirre couldn't control his appetite, and Drexler preferred to stay in bed rather than get up early. Both were exceptionally talented but naturally undisciplined players.

In the 60s and 70s, such a player-coach relationship would be hard to imagine, because NBA coaches were similar to college coaches, with a strong degree of control over the team. Undisciplined players would be kicked out of the team, and even Wilt Chamberlain would be scolded, ridiculed, or even fired.

In the late 70s, the first year after the merger of the ABA and the NBA, there was a period of fierce competition between so-called college traditional basketball and ABA-style commercial basketball. In 1977, Ramsey led the Trail Blazers, who had a deep imprint of traditional basketball, to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers, who were known as the basketball caravan, which made traditional basketball fans across the United States jubilant.

Ramsey still remembers the day after the championship win, his office kept receiving calls from college basketball coaches all over the country, as well as a flood of letters, all telling Ramsey that they were heroes in American basketball and that they had upheld the belief in team basketball.

At the time, George McGinnis of the Philadelphia 76ers earned a salary equivalent to that of an entire Portland Trail Blazers team. Their star-studded, individualistic, and theatrical style of basketball was inexplicably disliked by many.

The Trail Blazers, Walton, and Ramsey are the traditional basketball heroes of 1977.

However, in 1978 and 1979, the Trail Blazers were sidelined by injuries, and the Finals were played between the Bullets and the SuperSonics, two unremarkable teams, for two consecutive years. Attendance and media attention plummeted, and some fans were even unaware that the Finals had started.

Fans say they want to see stars and more exciting matches.

Dick Motta, then head coach of the Bullets, complained to reporters, "Our basketball games are also very exciting," but this did not change the fact that the Bullets and the SuperSonics are the least known championship teams in NBA history.

As 1980 approached, the NBA introduced the three-point line, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird. The Lakers defeated the SuperSonics to reach the Finals and win the championship. The Celtics then won the championship. Magic Johnson ousted championship coach Westhead, and Bird led the players in a rebellion against veteran coach Bill Fitch, prompting the team to make a decisive coaching change.

The coach's authority and control over the team become worthless in an instant. In front of star players, they are nothing but ordinary employees, and the basketball world recognizes this concept.

仿佛日历从1979年12月31日那天翻页，进入1980年1月1日的那一刻起，世界就进入了另外一条轨道，虽然前后只差了一秒钟。

Without Aguirre, the Mavericks played well in the third quarter. They regrouped and, led by Blackman, Harper, and Sam Bowie, tried to catch up.

Knowing he couldn't handle Gan Guoyang, Bao Wei would call for help from his teammates while defending him, and at the same time try to protect the area under the basket. If Gan Guoyang wanted to shoot, just let him shoot; whether he made it or not was up to fate.

The Mavericks have once again narrowed the gap to within 10 points.

At this moment, during a defensive play, Bowie risked a move to try and surround Agan with his teammates, but Gan Guoyang seized the opportunity to dribble past him through the gap. Gan Guoyang cut into the basket, took a step, jumped up, stretched his arms behind his head in mid-air, and then slammed the ball into the rim.

A powerful dunk cracked the joint between the rim and the backboard, and cracks began to appear on the tempered glass.

Upon seeing this, the referee immediately stopped the game, called in staff to inspect the rim, and decided to replace the backboard, thus suspending the game. The fans in the arena were as excited as if they were watching a circus performance with lions and tigers fighting, enthusiastically discussing Gan Guoyang's powerful dunk, with young fans occasionally shouting at him to show their admiration.

Changing the backboard takes some time, and the players on both sides are doing nothing on the court. Some are resting on the bench, while others are chatting on the court.

Ramsey and Dick Motta leaned against the scorer's table chatting, wondering how tonight's game had turned out this way.

"It's a complete farce," Motta said, wiping his glasses. He and Ramsey had known each other for years and had a good relationship off the court. "This is the NBA now, this is basketball now. Everyone watches it like a circus. The players are the lions and elephants in the circus, and we're the trainers and clowns!"

“Relax a bit, Dick. Audiences love these things. They like elephants and lions. Young people like television, pop stars, Terminators, robots, and E.T. the alien. This is the trend.”

"Oh f***, trends? fads? When did you start using those words to excuse them? I know you got Gan, and he's fucking a genius. But you used to hate Dawkins the most, didn't you?"

Daryl Dawkins, a former member of the 76ers' circus, was nicknamed "Chocolate Bomb" and is best remembered for his explosive dunks that shattered the then-unstable NBA backboards.

Because his NBA basketball rims were reinforced, I never expected that Gan Guoyang, that beast, would still break them tonight.

Ramsey glared at Motta and said, "Forrest Gump is not Dawkins. If Philadelphia had Forrest Gump in 1977, we wouldn't have won the Finals."

Motta was surprised that Ramsey would say such a thing, and said, "I feel like you've changed, Jack."

Ramsey shook his head and said, "No, it's the world that has changed."

Dick Motta looked at the broken backboard and thought about the endless back-and-forth between himself and Aguirre over the years, feeling utterly exhausted.

On the court, Gan Guoyang and Bao Wei stood near the three-second zone, chatting as they watched the staff change the baskets.

Bowie said to Gan Guoyang in a cautious tone, "Gan, can you please not play so hard when you're playing with me? You've broken the rim."

Seeing that Gan Guoyang had cracked the high-strength tempered glass, Bao Wei thought of his own fragile legs; if he were to be hit, they might be crippled.

Gan Guoyang said, "Sam, this is my way of showing respect for you."

Bao Wei said, "Don't be so respectful to me."

Why didn't Aguirre play in the second half? Did he argue with the coach at halftime?

"Yes, they kick the door open and leave. They argue frequently, just like a married couple. They make up quickly, only to start arguing again next time."

“I’ve watched Aguirre’s games, and he played well.”

"That's just how Coach Motta is. The better you play, the more he'll criticize you because he craves perfection."

Dick Motta is a Mormon with a strict and disciplined nature. He is very demanding of his players, especially the better they are.

"It's a good thing he's not my coach, otherwise he would be the strictest person in the world... But such a coach is really unreasonable. He should change and encourage the players more, like Dr. Jack."

New coaches in the league are recognizing the positive effects of encouragement. In the American education community, experts are also advocating for encouragement and joyful education, breaking away from the rigid rules and regulations of past religious schools.

The new backboard was installed, and the players returned to the court to continue the intermittent game, which was filled with various minor incidents.

The Mavericks' comeback momentum was interrupted again in the third quarter. Their good offensive rhythm and touch disappeared without a trace. At this time, the team's leader should have stepped up to score and keep the team alive, but Aguirre had already returned to the hotel and would not be coming back.

The Trail Blazers ultimately secured a 108-95 victory at home, winning their second consecutive game and maintaining their second-place ranking in the Western Conference.

At the post-match press conference, when Dick Motta was asked what happened between him and Aguirre, Motta said, "Aguirre wasn't feeling well during the match and left early to receive treatment. There's nothing between us, and we'll focus on the next match."

The Mavericks did not punish Aguirre for withdrawing from the game.

However, when the same thing happened again three months later, the Mavericks fined Aguirre and suspended him for two games.

(End of this chapter)