The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 166 The Fiery Twin Towers
The United States is in the Christmas spirit, and Oregon has been cooperating by starting to snow.

On November 29, 1984, CBS began airing the Christmas single, Wham!'s "Last Christmas," on various television and radio stations.

Upon its release, this song immediately topped various charts, and was played in homes, shopping malls, and schools.

In the past two years, Gan Guoyang has adapted to local customs and started celebrating Christmas as well. After all, he graduated from Gonzaga University, and Catholic schools hold grand events every Christmas.

Unfortunately, the Trail Blazers have a game this Christmas, so he can't go back to San Francisco to have a barbecue and chat with Nate Thurmond.

Playing games on Christmas Day is a long-standing tradition in the basketball world. Since the NBA was founded in 1947, this major holiday has been used to promote the league and teams.

MLB and NHL take a break during the Christmas season, and even have an agreement to prohibit games from being played on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. NFL has occasional Christmas Day games, which have to be played on weekends.

Therefore, the NBA Christmas Day game is unique among the four major leagues, and the NBA players are even more amazing, which is equivalent to playing games during the Chinese New Year and having people watch the Spring Festival Gala.

Because this is an opportunity to showcase the league's best teams and games, the Christmas Day game schedule is specially arranged every year, with teams carefully selecting high-profile matchups.

Teams from big cities are naturally favored. The New York Knicks have played Christmas Day games since the first year of the NBA, and have had games almost every Christmas since.

This year is no exception. One of the four games is a crosstown rivalry between the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets (for the third consecutive year). The other three games are a matchup between the established powerhouse Philadelphia 76ers and the rising Detroit Pistons, and a showdown between two rising stars in the West: the Portland Trail Blazers and the Houston Rockets.

The final game is Atlanta Hawks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers. This game is relatively less exciting, but the league schedule also needs to take into account the development of these small and medium-sized teams and fringe markets. It is definitely not feasible to keep focusing on big cities.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, who were previously at the bottom of the league, have unexpectedly rebounded after the "submarine refund" controversy. They have won three of their last four games, and the team is gradually getting back on track under the leadership of George Karl.

The Portland Trail Blazers have participated in the Christmas Day games for eight consecutive years since their championship season in 1977, which is enough to show the league's preference for this emerging team.

The Trail Blazers have always performed well in Christmas Day games. Last season, in the 1983 Christmas Day game, they crushed the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers with a huge 20-point margin of 141-121, setting a record for the largest point difference in Christmas Day game history at that time.

In contrast, big-city teams like the Chicago Bulls haven't won a single Christmas game since being scheduled for one in 1977.

The Trail Blazers' Christmas Day game is being held at home against the rising Western Conference rivals, the Houston Rockets. The entire team has made meticulous preparations.

After Christmas Eve, the Trail Blazers gathered at the training ground early the next morning for tactical drills, followed by watching footage of the Rockets' recent games in the video room.

This is the first time the two teams have faced off this season, and the Trail Blazers' interior defense will face the height of Houston's twin towers for the first time, putting pressure on Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang confidently stated at the preparatory meeting: "No one knows better than me how to deal with the Twin Towers."

Ramsey ignored Gan Guoyang. He knew that although the Rockets' tactics revolved around their twin towers, their height on the perimeter was equally formidable.

The shortest player in the Rockets' starting lineup is point guard John Lucas, who is 6 feet 3 inches (190 cm) tall. The guards and forwards are all tall, over 198 cm.

The team has two 7-foot giants in the paint, and off the bench are 6-foot-8 Robert Reid, 6-foot-10 Jim Peterson, and Lionel Hollins, a former championship member of the Trail Blazers and a former player of Ramsey.

Many teams feel like they're fighting in a jungle when facing the Rockets, where the sky is so dark they can't find a way out.

The Trail Blazers happen to be a relatively short team, so they must take advantage of their speed and play a fast-paced offensive and defensive game to prevent the Rockets' tall players from getting a foothold.

Ramsey emphasized running, passing, and speed—things he'd repeatedly mentioned before. He concluded by saying, "While the Christmas Day game isn't nationally televised, local TV stations will broadcast it, and many families will be watching with their parents and children on Christmas Day. So please play with restraint, don't be too violent, and don't fight. The Rockets are a violent team; we shouldn't follow their example. We should beat them with basketball." Ramsey gave a special reminder: before the game, Stu Inman received a call from the league commissioner's office instructing him not to fight during the game, to try to control himself, and to immediately separate players if any signs of conflict appeared on the court.

Needless to say, Gan Guoyang is a key player being closely watched by the Trail Blazers. If he continues playing, the NBA will soon turn into a professional wrestling tournament.

The Rockets have a pair of aggressive twin towers. Hakeem Olajuwon is the league's number one fighter this year. He's either fighting or on his way to fight. Every game is a fight with the ball.

Another giant, Ralph Sampson, was no less impressive. During his college years playing in the ACC, he slammed the ball on the floor and then kicked the benches on the sidelines in frustration with the game.

In an interview, when asked about a Georgia Tech player named Lee Goza, Sampson bluntly stated, "If I had a gun, I would definitely shoot him dead."

Sometimes during matches, when he was dissatisfied with the audience, he would make a boxing gesture towards the fans and throw a punch in the air, giving the impression that it was only a matter of time before he hit the fans.

Of course, compared to Olajuwon's direct approach and Gan Guoyang's takedown, Sampson's behavior was much milder.

He kicked the bench because his opponent, Mark Fothergill, the center for the University of Maryland, kept elbowing him.

He wanted to kill Lee Goza because the player spat at him during a game.

If Forrest Gump were in this situation, he certainly wouldn't have done it as simply as kicking the chair or engaging in post-game trash talk.

A braised pork knuckle for sleep, plus an invincible whirlwind, is a must.

After reminding the players, Ramsey ended the pre-match meeting and told everyone to go have lunch and get some rest, as the match would start at 3:30 p.m.

After everyone left, Adelman stopped Gan Guoyang and asked, "Gan, tell me about your strategy for dealing with the Rockets' twin towers this afternoon."

Gan Guoyang knew that Ramsey must have asked this question, as the two of them were now communicating about basketball through Adelman.

Gan Guoyang said, "It's very simple. Although they have two towers, I'll just focus on attacking one of them."

Gan Guoyang kept in mind the experience Chamberlain had given him: when facing a twin towers, focus on one and destroy him on both offense and defense.

A twin-tower lineup requires both players in the paint to perform well in order to be effective. The Rockets' previous games have proven that if either of their towers underperforms, they will have a hard time winning the game.

After all, the two big men consumed a lot of ball possession and resources on the court, occupying the space for the perimeter players, but ultimately failed to produce any output, so how could they possibly win the game?

Adelman nodded and said, "So, which of the Twin Towers are you planning to target? Hakeem Olajuwon? You beat him in the NCAA finals."

Gan Guoyang shook his head and said, "No, I will keep an eye on Ralph Sampson."

"Why? Is Sampson easier to deal with? We really don't want to see you and Akim fight."

“No, Sampson has never played against me before. I want him to experience what it’s like to lose to me.”

It's still the fourth watch today.

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(End of this chapter)