The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 156 Don't Talk to Forrest Gump

The second quarter saw little improvement in either side's offense, resulting in a rather dull game.

The Trail Blazers struggled from beyond the arc tonight, with Vandeweghe and Paxson shooting less than 40% from the field.

One key reason is that Mark Eaton, the center, stood like a mountain blocking the Trail Blazers' offensive path.

He contributed three blocks in the first quarter, essentially cutting off the Trail Blazers' players' hopes of attacking the paint in half-court offense.

In the second quarter, after he came on, he contributed four more blocks, leaving Valentine, Vandeweghe and Thompson completely bewildered.

Gan Guoyang was blocked. Gan Guoyang's shot was originally a layup after turning around. He had already gotten past Eaton and was going to lay up the basket on the baseline.

This was a great way to avoid the opponent's block, but Eaton stretched out his hand and, without even jumping, blocked Gan Guoyang's layup.

"Holy crap..." Gan Guoyang cursed in his native language. Eaton's height and wingspan were just too terrifying.

Last season, Eaton averaged 4.6 blocks per game, and this season his average blocks per game has increased to 5.6. Chamberlain's advice to him was very correct, and he has found his place.

Besides Eaton, the shot-blocking champion, Ricky Green was last season's steals champion, Dantley is the free-throw champion, and Stockton is the future assist champion. The Jazz are indeed a team that collects geniuses.

The Trail Blazers' offense was poor, and the Jazz's offense wasn't much better, because they also struggled to break through Gan Guoyang's defense.

After Gan Guoyang joined the Trail Blazers, the team's defense became quite solid.

With consistent rebounding and solid rim protection in the three-second zone, Gan Guoyang showed no slackening on the defensive end after realizing his offense had been mediocre tonight.

Since he started playing basketball in high school, Gan Guoyang has loved defense. He prefers the feeling of keeping shots out of the basket to scoring, since happiness is often built on the suffering of others.

Perhaps because he is a Virgo, he likes the team's defense to be methodical, orderly, with reasonable positioning, orderly rotation, and maintaining a consistent and stable intensity.

When necessary, Ramsey would call a timeout or yell a few times on the sidelines, and Gan Guoyang would lead the players to execute a pressing defense—this was the way most coaches at the time improved their defensive level, putting pressure on their players and then transferring that pressure to the opponent.

The Trail Blazers' defense became like a non-Newtonian fluid, viscous and seemingly soft, but if you try to force your way through it, it instantly becomes incredibly hard and impenetrable.

Gan Guoyang's defensive consistency during the regular season is invaluable. Ramsey has realized this after playing for a month. He provides excellent three-second protection for the Trail Blazers, making the team's ability to cover the perimeter much stronger.

Because some aggressive, team-wide defensive tactics are unsustainable in the regular season. While you can rely on this kind of pressure and high-energy play in the NCAA for a month to push your team to the end, the NBA regular season is far too long.

Like the Chicago Bulls before, Raheem Lauhri gambled on defense and won seven straight games, but as the players’ form and morale gradually dissipated, they suffered 11 losses in 12 games and were brought back to square one.

Gan Guoyang's defense didn't rely on morale at all; he just kept doing what he was supposed to do, firmly suppressing the Jazz's offensive rhythm and allowing the Trail Blazers to maintain a slight lead even when their offense wasn't in good form.

Before the first half was over, Gan Guoyang had already made 4 blocks and grabbed 11 defensive rebounds.

Of course, the game became less interesting, and during a timeout, Gan Guoyang himself complained, "No wonder nobody watched the Warriors' opening game against the Jazz; they're a boring team."

The style of the core player often determines the team's playing style. When others couldn't break through, Dantley kept charging in to draw fouls, trying to hurt Gan Guoyang.

But the effect was not good. Gan Guoyang controlled his fouls very well. He only committed two fouls in the first half. His point-and-click blocking was very effective against players like Dantley who like to draw fouls.

Vandeweghe's poor defense ironically prevented him from fouling, which was like letting Dantley in to play against Forrest Gump, regardless of whether he made the shot or not, which frustrated Dantley.

Dantley has a set procedure when shooting free throws: he first dribbles the ball four times, then flicks it twice with his hand, and finally releases the ball.

He won't have many chances to perform this routine tonight.

His pre-free-throw ritual performance later influenced many athletes and was gradually popularized in the era of live television broadcasts.

Some players do it out of superstition, while others do it to get more screen time at the free-throw line, which helps increase their fame.

During a Jazz timeout, John Stockton "dared" to tell the coach, "Drawing fouls on Forrest Gump is useless. He controls his fouls exceptionally well, and he's extremely calm."

Frank Layden looked at Stockton, knowing they were college teammates, and asked him, "So, what's a good way to deal with Forrest Gump?"

Stockton said, "Don't provoke him, let him get bored of the game and gradually lose focus, then take advantage of the final stage before he can react and win the game in one go."

Leiden was silent for a moment, then said, "That's strategy, not tactics. I need a way to attack him, to contain him, and to find his weaknesses."

Stockton was silent for a moment before saying, "Not yet, I don't know anyway." Leiden thought to himself, "You've said nothing at all," and then said, "John, you go! Figure out a way to handle Forrest Gump!"

Stockton came off the bench for a short time in the first quarter, but his performance was mediocre, and the strong Valentine defended him very well.

Stockton returned to the court in the second quarter and watched for a long time from the sidelines, recognizing the team's offensive problems.

Ricky Green is a master of fast-paced play; he kept the game moving at a very fast pace throughout the first half, which is typical of the Jazz.

But Stockton had played with Gan Guoyang before, and he knew that Gan Guoyang, as a center, was not afraid of a fast-paced game.

On the contrary, his speed was astonishing, and Ricky Green's usual approach of trying to find weaknesses in speed was useless against Forrest Gump.

On the contrary, the Jazz made a lot of mistakes in the first half, and the players were impatient and agitated. Fortunately, they were playing at home and had Eaton guarding the paint, so the team did not collapse.

Before going on the court, Stockton rubbed some magnesium powder on his hands and shuffled his shoes along the sidelines, recalling the lessons his college coach, Bellman, had taught him:

"The key to breaking down a defense is not speed, explosiveness, or shooting, but thinking. The fundamental purpose of all offensive tactics is to make the defender think. When you make the defender start to choose between two or three options, the success of the score is already beckoning to you."

Stockton thought to himself, "Forrest Gump, your previous defense was completely mindless, just going through the motions. It's time to put your brain to work."

With five minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Trail Blazers led the Jazz 39-35 by 4 points, which was considered low given the pace of the game at that time.

As Stockton came on, Drexler and Cortés also came on as substitutes, with both coaches trying to change the offensive rhythm by making changes to the defense.

When Gan Guoyang saw Stockton come on, he gently nudged Colter and said, "Don't keep focusing on him on defense, look at other players. On offense, don't look at other players, focus on him."

Gan Guoyang also understood Stockton's weaknesses, but Stockton was clearly prepared. On his first offensive possession, he chose to run a pick-and-roll with Bailey.

He dribbled the ball at a 45-degree angle and drove in at a moderate pace, giving himself options. The Trail Blazers' pick-and-roll defense had some minor communication issues.

Colter chose to go around, while Thompson moved too far inside to prevent Bailey from cutting to the basket. Stockton noticed this small mistake and immediately pulled up for a jump shot.

They secured two points with a simple and efficient pick-and-roll offense.

Gan Guoyang patted Cort again, "Squeeze through screens, don't go around him, this guy's a good shooter."

Kerr nodded, saying that squeezing through a pick-and-roll is a very physically demanding defensive tactic, and many players are lazy on the court and don't bother to do it.

When the Trail Blazers went on offense, Drexler also tried to challenge Eaton in the paint, but his layup was blocked by Eaton and missed.

Eaton secured the defensive rebound and passed it to Stockton for a fast break. Stockton calmly and methodically crossed half-court.

This time, he took advantage of Eaton's cross-court three-point line opportunity, used screens, changed direction repeatedly, and when Colt tried to squeeze past Eaton, he suddenly accelerated and broke through from the middle!

Facing Gan Guoyang's defense directly in the paint, Stockton didn't hesitate at all, accelerating and jumping for a layup!
Gan Guoyang didn't care who was attacking or who was going for a layup; he jumped up and blocked all of Stockton's layup routes.

But Stockton gathered the ball, curled up in mid-air, and passed it to Dantley, who was cutting in from the wing.

Dantley received the ball and easily made a layup, scoring 2 more points and bringing the Jazz's score to 39-38. The team's offense suddenly became clear and effective.

"John, you've really gotten stronger! You can even use such a fancy no-look pass now?" Gan Guoyang exclaimed, "That was indeed a beautiful pass."

From the moment Colter was blocked by Eaton, Stockton had already presented Gan Guoyang with a defensive choice.

Either block me or block someone else. If you block me, I'll pass; if you block someone else, I'll go for a layup.

Stockton's passes were quick and deceptive, and his layups were decisive, leaving Gan Guoyang with very little time to think.

Stockton knew that Gan Guoyang could sometimes defend two opponents at once, and if two of them were defending him at the same time, he had to be quick.

Stockton ignored his former teammate's praise and quickly returned to the backcourt to defend.

He knew there was another rule when playing with Forrest Gump: don't talk to Forrest Gump.

(End of this chapter)