The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 180 Dr. G
"Welcome to the 1985 Portland Trail Blazers vs. Philadelphia 76ers game. Hello everyone, this is Bill Shawnley. In the last time our two teams met, our center, Forrest Gump, was ejected for elbowing Moses Malone, and the Trail Blazers ultimately lost the game on the road. Tonight at Memorial Arena, Forrest Gump will continue to match up against Moses. Let's see what kind of sparks they create."

Fans in the Oregon area will turn on their radios and local television sports channels to hear Bill Shawnley providing commentary on the Trail Blazers games.

Tonight's game is the highlight, and it is destined to attract a lot of viewers and fans to listen and watch.

While the Trail Blazers' management may lack some intuition and determination in team building, their off-court operations team is arguably the best in the entire league.

In the late 70s and early 80s, the Trail Blazers were one of the few profitable teams in the league. This was partly due to their dominant position in the Oregon region, and partly because they were the best in the league at building a wireless broadcasting network.

They have an excellent broadcasting team, outstanding live broadcast coverage, good community outreach, and a stable advertising sponsorship system.

Although the Trail Blazers only play in Portland, they have the support of the entire state of Oregon, which is inseparable from the solid fan base they built in the early days of the team, when the whole team traveled around the state by bus to play games in the summer.

Because of their strong wireless network infrastructure and profitability, the Trail Blazers' vice president, Erik Spoelstra, traded himself to the Indiana Pacers in 1983 for guard Don Booth to replace the injured Valentine.

Spoelstra spent two weeks in Indiana on an exchange program, examining the Pacers' operations and producing a 100-page report offering advice on team management.

Among the suggestions were booking movie theaters to show fans exciting game recordings for free and giving rewards to fans at the stadium when the home team scores more than 100 points, marketing tactics that were later widely used by many professional teams.

In just two weeks, Spoelstra's work significantly improved the Pacers' financial situation, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, and saved the team's franchise. Spoelstra then returned to the Trail Blazers, while Don Booth filled in for Valentine in the second half of the season, fulfilling his role as a backup point guard.

This incredible trade reflects the chaos and unprofessionalism of the NBA in terms of trading rules and market operations at the time, as well as the Trail Blazers' strong marketing capabilities and the management's cleverness.

The match between the two sides started promptly at 7 p.m.

The Trail Blazers have a full starting lineup, while the 76ers' starting lineup consists of Moses Malone, Kyrie Irving, Andrew Tony, Maurice Cheeks, and Sam Perkins.

After the jump ball, the 76ers gained possession of the ball first.

Ma Long was very aggressive tonight; his first play was a strong attack on Gan Guoyang from the low post.

"The 76ers got possession first. Malone received the ball in the low post. He positioned himself very deep and made a turnaround layup! The referee blew the whistle. Oh no, Gan fouled."

Gan Guoyang committed a defensive foul right at the start of the game. His defensive action was not significant; he simply stood upright.

But Moses Malone moved closer to him, and Gan Guoyang's arm hit Malone's shooting hand.

Malone started aggressively, clearly eager to avenge the elbow he suffered in the previous game.

With their star center committing a foul early in the game, the Trail Blazers found themselves in a very unfavorable situation.

Gan Guoyang will definitely hold back a bit on defense in the latter part of the first quarter.

Moses Malone stepped up to the free-throw line and made one of two shots. Gan Guoyang grabbed the rebound and passed the ball to Valentine.

The Trail Blazers started the game with a simple offense. Vandeweghe ran from the wing to the top of the arc, used Gan Guoyang's screen to get a long-range shot, and received a pass from Valentine to shoot and make the shot.

Vandeweghe's shooting touch was excellent at the start of the game, and Gan Guoyang's screens were also very solid, creating great shooting space.

The 76ers capitalized on a foul committed by Gan Guoyang, continuing to pass the ball to Moses Malone for a strong attack in the low post.

Valentine decisively came over to double-team, Moses passed the ball back to Cheeks, Cheeks dribbled inside, stopped and made a jump shot.

The Trail Blazers launched a fast break, and Paxson received the ball after a screen and made a pull-up jumper for two points.

The 76ers wanted to exploit Moses Malone to hurt Gan Guoyang, but this time Malone's layup after cutting inside was blocked by Gan Guoyang from behind.

Moses Malone was somewhat frustrated by the block, which went perfectly. The Trail Blazers launched a counterattack, with Paxson and Vandeweghe combining to pass to Gan Guoyang, who was cutting down the middle.

Gan Guoyang received the ball and slammed it home with a powerful two-handed dunk!
"Rip City! Agan's fast break dunk. It seems that the foul at the beginning of the game did not affect his offense and defense. Beautiful block and smooth fast break. The 76ers did not gain any advantage."

Despite committing a foul at the start of the game, Gan Guoyang calmly and collectedly dealt with Moses Malone's strong attack and proactively called for Valentine to come and double-team him.

When Malone received the ball in the low post and attacked again, Valentine came over to double-team him, forcing Malone to pass the ball, and Vandeweghe even rotated to help defend Cheeks.

Cheeks passed the ball to Irving in the middle, who seized the opportunity to break through and attack the basket, but his layup was blocked by Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang never jumps high to block those big volleyball blocks. First, it's easy to be fooled, and second, even if you block it, the ball might still be in the opponent's hands, so it's a wasted block.

Gan Guoyang is good at sticking to his opponents and knocking the ball away before it even leaves his hand.

If it were Kyrie Irving from 5 years ago, this would have been a spectacular dunk after a drive down the middle to the basket.

Kyrie Irving's speed and explosiveness have diminished significantly, and his scoring average has dropped to a career low of 20 points per game, with his field goal percentage falling below 50% for the first time in five seasons.

He was blocked by Gan Guoyang, who was pressing him hard, and didn't have enough space to take off, resulting in a ruthless block.

After blocking Irving's layup, Gan Guoyang regained possession of the ball and made a long pass to the frontcourt. Vandeweghe received the ball and launched a fast break, scoring two points with a left-handed layup.

Malone clearly gained an early advantage by drawing a foul on Gan Guoyang with a strong attack, but the Trail Blazers still managed to go on an 8-3 run.

Irving and Malone each got blocked, and both players' speed and explosiveness are not what they used to be, which is a sign that the 76ers are starting to decline.

Billy Cunningham felt a pang of bitterness watching Gan Guoyang's performance. After the team's glory days in 1983, he hadn't expected it to decline so quickly.

Apart from Kyrie Irving being a bit older, Karl Malone and Cheeks are both under 30, which means they should still be in their prime. They also have the No. 4 pick from the 1984 NBA draft.

During the draft, Cunningham favored Charles Barkley because Barkley had the potential to become a future team leader, possessing immense potential. However, from a team-building perspective, Sam Perkins was indeed a better choice; the North Carolina graduate perfectly fit the 76ers' system.

Perkins is tall, excellent on both offense and defense, has outstanding tactical awareness, and possesses a beautiful mid-range shot, making him the perfect support for Moses Malone at the power forward position.

In comparison, Charles Barkley's role overlapped somewhat with Moses Malone's.

However, Perkins lacked the superstar potential that Barkley possessed. Standing at 6 feet 10 inches, he lacked passion in his game, and he was even reluctant to dunk on the court.

Even when given a fast break opportunity with no one in front of him, Perkins would only make a layup without any exciting dunk to boost the team's morale.

He was destined to be an excellent supporting actor, like Bobby Jones, but the 76ers' current predicament cannot be solved by a new Bobby Jones.

Cunningham was quite envious of Gan Guoyang's talent and energy. At the draft, the 76ers really wanted to get Gan Guoyang. They wanted to trade the 4th pick plus Moses Malone up to get the Trail Blazers' 2nd pick and get Gan to start the 76ers' rebuilding process.

Although Ma Long is only 29 years old and in his prime, he entered the professional arena at the age of 19 and has been playing for 10 years. His playing style places high demands on his physical condition.

He is one of the hardest-working players in the entire league, and it is a miracle that he still maintains such a high level after 10 years.

However, Ma Long's playing style, which relies on fierceness and energy, cannot achieve the best results when his physical condition declines even slightly.

Moreover, his playmaking and assists have been consistently poor. The 76ers lacked tactical flexibility. Malone remains a top player in the league, but this year his field goal percentage under the basket has dropped to the lowest point of his career.

Stu Inman decisively rejected this tempting trade offer. He had watched Gan Guoyang play throughout the training camp and was not going to give up the second pick.

In the following rounds, Moses Malone stubbornly attacked Gan Guoyang, but without much success and failed to draw any fouls.

The Trail Blazers' double-teams were very timely, and their defensive rotations were quite fast.

Even Vandeweghe, who is usually a poor defender, would go to help defend and cover, which always forced the 76ers to choose to shoot from the outside or rush to the three-second zone on Gan Guoyang's side and hand the ball to Gan Guoyang to protect the rim.

Although Gan Guoyang abandoned defense on a few occasions, allowing Irving to dunk and Sam Perkins to score, his overall defensive efficiency was very good.

They prevented Malone from scoring and also denied the 76ers consecutive easy scoring opportunities.

The Trail Blazers' offense blossomed across the board, combining inside and outside play. Vandeweghe and Paxson regained their November form, hitting multiple three-pointers.

At the end of the first quarter, the home team Trail Blazers led the 76ers 27-33 by 6 points.

Despite committing a foul at the start of the game, Gan Guoyang did not commit any more fouls afterward, effectively protecting the team's three-second zone.

他单节4分7个篮板3助攻1抢断3盖帽，打得相当全面，阿德尔曼在节间休息的时候夸赞甘国阳打得好。

"When you committed a foul at the start of the game, my heart was in my throat. I was on tenterhooks for every ball after that. Luckily, you didn't commit another foul."

"I was on tenterhooks too, damn it, they called a foul on me right at the start, but luckily the 76ers' offense wasn't strong enough and I blocked it."

Hearing Gan Guoyang's words, Adelman thought to himself, "You really dare to say that."

The 76ers were once the most aggressive team in the league. Even though they have declined this season, they still rank among the top in offensive rebounds and have the highest number of free throws in a single game in the league, and their ability to draw fouls is the best in the NBA.

In your mouth, it becomes "not impactful enough".

Of course, Adelman knew that it wasn't just Gan Guoyang who could withstand the 76ers' onslaught; Ramsey also provided support in terms of rotation and tactical arrangements.

Ramsey brought forward Drexler and Korsey's entry time, making substitutions a little later in the first quarter, replacing Vandeweghe and Valentine.

Thus, the Trail Blazers' lineup on the court consists of Gan Guoyang, Thompson, Korsey, Drexler, and Paxson.

With Paxson at point guard, Drexler at shooting guard, and Kossie at small forward, the team's rebounding and resilience have been significantly improved.

Van de Wesley launched a full-scale attack from the start, running out of ammunition early and having to rest. After Kexi and others came on, Gan Guoyang and Thompson took the lead in attack.

Of course, this lineup still needs to be fine-tuned. With Cauchy and Drexler struggling with their outside shooting, the 76ers quickly reacted and began to collapse their defense to double-team Gan Guoyang.

Paxson is also not used to his role as a point guard, and he hesitates when he has the ball to organize the offense. He still needs more time to get used to the role.

During the transition period of the second quarter, when Gan Guoyang left the court, the Trail Blazers, lacking their core pillar in the paint, clearly played somewhat chaotically.

Substitute center Audi Norris is far inferior to Gan Guoyang in every aspect, causing the team's offense and defense to drop two levels.

The 76ers capitalized on the momentum and launched a counterattack, closing the gap in the second quarter. It wasn't until Ramsey brought back his starters and Gan Guoyang scored a putback layup that the momentum was stopped.

The Trail Blazers' backup center position has always been a major problem. Neither Norris nor Schaeffler can provide high-quality offense and defense in higher-intensity games.

Facing a team like the Lakers with a strong interior and numerous stars, they will undoubtedly suffer a great loss.

At halftime, the score was 55-60, with the Trail Blazers still leading by 5 points heading into the third quarter.

During halftime, as Gan Guoyang returned to the locker room, he was stopped by a reporter from a local television station for a halftime interview.

When asked about his feelings about facing Moses Malone again, and what his opinion was on the fact that many people pointed out that his playing style was similar to Malone's.

Gan Guoyang denied this claim, saying, "Moses is an amazing center. I've watched a lot of his videos and learned a lot. Playing against him is very challenging, and I won't fight him tonight. But I want to say that my role model isn't Moses. When I first started playing basketball, my real role model was Dr. J, Kyrie Irving. They all called me Dr. G because my dunks were also very impressive."

(End of this chapter)