The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 155 A Special Method of Communication

On December 1st, the Trail Blazers entered the Salt Palace Arena, which evoked some memories for Gan Guoyang.

Nine months ago, Gan Guoyang and Gonzaga University began their legendary NCAA journey here.

In just one month, they went from an unknown WCC team to a nationally renowned champion.

The NBA regular season has been going on for over a month now, but the season has only just begun. This is the huge difference between professional and college sports.

In Gan Guoyang's mind, the game against Jordan felt like the NCAA Finals. Beating Jordan was like winning the world championship, and he could relax in champagne.

But when I opened my eyes, the regular season was still going on, one game after another.

Gan Guoyang ignored all the hype from the media and journalists.

He focused on the schedule, on the team, and on himself.

During the warm-up before the game, Adelman helped Gan Guoyang retrieve the ball for shooting practice.

During their conversation, Adelman asked Gan Guoyang, "Mr. 50, have you noticed any changes in your life?"

After scoring 50 points against the Bulls, Gan Guoyang became the first player in Trail Blazers history to score 50 points in a single game.

Gan Guoyang said, "Yes, Dr. Jack has been talking to me even less. He definitely doesn't like me getting so many points."

Adelman glanced towards the sidelines and saw Ramsey chatting with Valentine and Vandeweghe, presumably discussing perimeter defense for tonight.

Adelman said to Gan Guoyang, "You're wrong, Forrest. After the competition, Dr. Jack highly praised you, saying it was the greatest performance he had ever seen."

Gan Guoyang stopped shooting and said, "Really? I don't believe it. I'll be thankful if he doesn't mock me as a yellow Chamberlain."

When Ramsey felt that Gan Guoyang was playing a bit "selfish" on the field, he would mock him by calling him a "yellow Chamberlain," making it unclear whether he was praising him or insulting him.

Although Wilt Chamberlain is a legendary figure among NBA fans, most NBA coaches and administrators do not like him, especially those who have worked with him.

Coach Alex Hannum, who led Wilt Chamberlain to a championship with the 76ers, grew tired of working with the immature giant after two seasons with him, even though they won the 1967 championship and were named the greatest team in NBA history in 1980.

Gan Guoyang and Chamberlain had a good relationship, but Gan Guoyang knew that Ramsey's assessment was correct. Chamberlain was indeed very immature. He was a good friend, but not a good basketball player. He wasted too much talent.

“I’m telling the truth. In an interview with The Oregonian, he said that some coaches criticized your game against Jordan as an individualistic contest, but Jack said they didn’t watch the game and didn’t understand basketball. He said that the game between Mike and you was one of the most amazing basketball games he had ever seen in his life, a contest of the limits of human athleticism.”

“Really? Jack would say that? I’ll have to go back and check out The Oregonian.”

"Go ahead and look it up. I guarantee Jack said those things. Oh, by the way, Jack discussed it with me at the pre-game coaching meeting, and he thought you could increase your mid-range and long-range shooting from the 45-degree angle on the wing."

Before each game, the coaching staff holds a pre-game meeting to develop tactical strategies based on the team's recent performance and the opponent's situation, or to give players some technical and tactical reminders.

Key matches will be given special attention, while matches against weaker opponents or those involving fatigue after a series of away games may be glossed over.

Gan Guoyang was somewhat surprised by Ramsey's adjustment today and asked, "Really? A mid-to-long-range shot at a 45-degree angle? That's where Kiki and Jim are. My position is at the top of the key and under the basket."

“I know, but that’s how Jack arranged it. You can take some shots; he wants to see how it goes. Then in practice, we’ll add more plays where you have the ball in those two positions.”

Gan Guoyang nodded to indicate that he understood. The 45-degree mid-range shot was not difficult for him, and Ramsey must want to observe the effect of his attack from the 45-degree angle.

"By the way, Rick, why didn't Dr. Jack come directly to me and ask you to pass on the message? He didn't mention it to me at the pre-match meeting either."

"Uh...it's nothing. Dr. Jack had other things to do, so he just mentioned it to me and asked me to inform you."

Adelman's hesitant attitude puzzled Gan Guoyang. What puzzled him even more was that whenever Ramsey had tactical requirements, he would have Adelman act as a messenger to tell Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang didn't know why Ramsey suddenly developed such a strange habit, but out of respect for Dr. Jack, he never asked him about it, and let this awkward way of communicating continue until Ramsey left the Portland Trail Blazers.

As the game approached that evening, players took to the court, but Stockton was not in the Jazz's starting lineup.

The reason he was able to get 38 minutes of playing time in the first two games was because the team's starting point guard, Ricky Green, was absent due to injury, and Stockton was moved to the starting position.

Although Stockton's individual offensive performance was average, shooting 3-for-8 in the game against the Nuggets, he delivered 13 assists in 38 minutes, showcasing his excellent court vision and consistency.

This allowed him to gradually establish himself with the Jazz. After Ricky Green returned, Stockton went back to the bench, but he had already been elevated to the team's number one backup option in the coach's mind.

During the pre-game warm-up, Gan Guoyang asked Stockton if he wanted to crash into Ricky Green and make him go back to bed. Stockton quickly dismissed Gan Guoyang's dangerous idea, saying he didn't need to use that method to gain playing time.

The Trail Blazers' starting lineup remained unchanged, while the Jazz's starters were Mark Eaton, Thel Bailey, Rich Green, Adrian Dantley, and Daryl Griffiths. The Jazz have an inside-heavy lineup, with Eaton towering like a prehistoric monster in the paint, and Thel Bailey, a 6-foot-11 gibbon, showing rapid growth in his second year as a rookie.

Guard Griffiths was the second overall pick and the 1980 NCAA Most Outstanding Player. He led Louisville to victory over UCLA to win the championship. He was not tall, but he was a guard with outstanding physical attributes and a strong dunking ability.

Dantley is not tall; he is a typical small-ball center who plays with the best ability to draw fouls in the entire league. He has broad shoulders and extremely long arms, and is known as the league's one-on-one king.

The first NBA game that Gan Guoyang watched live was the game between the Jazz and the Warriors. At that time, Dantley was already on the Jazz team, and that game left a deep impression on Gan Guoyang.

Despite both being small forwards, Dantley and Bernard King have vastly different playing styles. One is agile and the other is heavy and solid. One uses speed and skill to dodge the opponent's defense, while the other uses strength and weight to lean into the opponent and draw fouls.

Kim averaged 26 points per game last season, with only 5 free throw attempts per game.

Dantley averaged 30 points per game this season and had an average of 12 free throws per game.

Dantley scored six or seven more points than Bernard King on free throws alone.

The Trail Blazers naturally had to worry about such a high-scoring small forward before the game.

Gan Guoyang volunteered again, wanting to defend Dantley one-on-one, just like he defended Aguirre.

Ramsey declined, saying, "This isn't the playoffs. You can't be on mismatch defense every game in the regular season. Besides, the Jazz have a tall interior, unlike the Mavericks. Dantley is very good at drawing fouls, and you can't get into foul trouble too early."

Although Dantley and Aguirre are similar, there are still differences between them. Dantley's explosive first step and ability to draw fouls will put Gan Guoyang in foul trouble early on.

The Jazz are not an easy opponent. All five starting positions are highly capable, each with its own role and unique characteristics. The Jazz have assembled a group of extraordinary talents.

Last year, they finished second in the Western Conference, only behind the Trail Blazers, due to divisional reasons. However, they lost to the Suns, the dark horse team that eliminated the Trail Blazers, in the semifinals and failed to reach the Western Conference Finals to compete against the Lakers.

The Jazz have been plagued by injuries since the start of the season, with Dantley and Green playing intermittently, which has affected their performance. Tonight's game is the one with the most complete roster in recent times.

The first quarter was uneventful, with the Jazz struggling to find their rhythm, missing numerous outside shots and failing to secure offensive rebounds inside.

Gan Guoyang is already the best defensive rebounder in the league. With Vandeweghe and Paxson basically not grabbing defensive rebounds, his average number of rebounds per game is the league's highest at 16.8, which is 3 more than Moses Malone, who ranks second.

However, the Trail Blazers' offense was also mediocre. Even though Ramsey kept shouting "Run, run, run" from the sidelines, the players didn't seem to be running with much enthusiasm.

On the contrary, running too much led to more mistakes, and both sides played quite poorly in the first quarter.

Gan Guoyang attempted two mid-range shots from the 45-degree angle, making one and missing the other, which the Jazz grabbed the rebound and launched a fast break.

Gan Guoyang wasn't used to receiving the ball and shooting from this spot, and his teammates were even less so, failing to make proper runs. They still need to work on this routine.

Although the Jazz have a dominant interior player like Mark Eaton, Eaton's role is mainly defensive, occasionally scoring easy baskets on offense, but he lacks the ability to create his own offense.

The Jazz's offensive engine is guard Rich Green, a 6-foot-tall guard who is incredibly fast and is known as the fastest man on the Utah plateau. He was an All-Star last year.

The Jazz's entire offense followed Ricky Green's fast pace, while Dantley was simply a scoring machine.

The score was 25-21 in the first quarter, with the Trail Blazers leading by 4 points. Both teams played very fast in the first quarter, but made too many mistakes and missed too many shots.

Gan Guoyang finally realized during his matchup against Eaton that the NBA still has competition.

The Jazz paid close attention to defending Gan Guoyang, using Mark Eaton to tough him out in the low post. Eaton is probably the only center in the NBA who can hold his own against Gan Guoyang.

If Gan Guoyang receives the ball at the top of the key, there will be Thale Bailey to defend him. Jazz coach Frank Layden watched the Trail Blazers and Bulls games and was impressed by Gan Guoyang's mid-to-long-range shooting from the top of the key and his strong scoring ability in the paint.

This targeted approach proved effective. Gan Guoyang's offensive performance in the first quarter was mediocre, so he immediately focused his attention on defense and supporting his teammates.

At the same time, Gan Guoyang understood why Ramsey wanted him to try the 45-degree mid-range shot.

After Gan Guoyang's 50-point duel with Jordan in 1984, I decided to stop directly discussing basketball tactics with Gan. I would first tell Rick Adelman, who would then relay the message. I know this is an awkward way of doing things; it's one of the neurotic traits I developed from working in basketball for so long. Gan and Jordan's performance in that game hurt me, it hurt some of my beliefs about basketball and about great players.

At that time, as a coach, I found it difficult to face such a huge change with a calm mindset. Actually, I had already begun to accept various changes on and off the court, but the game where the two players scored 103 points still shocked me. They were both so excellent, but it seemed to be beyond my comprehension. Later, I went to see Dr. Ogilvy, and he told me that I either had to quit or find a different way to communicate tactics with Forrest Gump. So I thought of having Rick relay the message.

It wasn't until many years later, after I left coaching and became a television commentator for ESPN, that I finally broke free of that mental constraint and could talk about basketball with Forrest Gump—it was a truly wonderful feeling.

—Excerpt from "Dr. Jack's Leadership Lessons Learned From A Lifetime In Basketball" by Jack Ramsey, published in 2004.

(End of this chapter)