The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 202 Night of Rebounds
As a friend, Gan Guoyang was quite considerate. He saw through Barkley's little secret but didn't tell anyone or his teammates.

As an opponent, Gan Guoyang couldn't let Barkley off the hook, so he just whispered in Barkley's ear, "Charles, did you just go to take a dump?"

Barkley didn't respond directly; he tried to avoid Gan Guoyang, but in the second half of the second quarter, Gan Guoyang began to focus on guarding Barkley, and he couldn't escape him no matter what.

Barkley, who was in high spirits and had made a triumphant return, immediately went silent when Gan Guoyang returned to the court, failing to score and shooting accurately.

Not only could they not score on offense, they also couldn't get rebounds. Gan Guoyang held his position firmly under the basket and protected the rebounds very well.

Gan Guoyang grabbed the rebounds in two consecutive possessions, and the Trail Blazers launched a counterattack, with Drexler driving to the basket twice and scoring layups.

The Trail Blazers regained the lead.

"Sorry Charles, was it my hamburger that caused this? Did bumping into you just now make you feel like you have diarrhea?"

Gan Guoyang did not let Barkley off the hook, using his precise imagination to reconstruct the truth of the incident.

Barkley couldn't resist giving Gan Guoyang a push, but he couldn't budge him. The ball was passed over, and Gan Guoyang intercepted it.

A long pass to the frontcourt led to another fast break for Drexler, who drove to the basket and scored with a fingertip layup, giving the Trail Blazers a 6-0 run after a timeout.

"Don't worry, Charles, I won't tell anyone. You just pooped on the field, you didn't poop on the floor."

"Stop talking, stop talking, Sonny~" Barkley lowered his voice and nudged Gan Guoyang again. "Can't we just focus on the game? I'm all better now! Let's not talk about this anymore, we're friends!"

"Okay, okay, I promise I won't mention this matter. I will not mention it to a third person until you reveal it yourself. Of course, I can't control if your team members reveal it themselves."

"Nobody knows! Go play ball!"

Barkley tried his best to push Gan Guoyang away and positioned himself in the low post; his huge buttocks were really good at holding the line.

However, Gan Guoyang's low-post back-to-the-basket defense is also top-notch in the league. Barkley wanted to compete with Gan Guoyang, but found that his legs were a bit weak.

When I made my triumphant return, I scored seven points in a row with great momentum. Now that momentum has dissipated, and the feeling of weakness caused by diarrhea is overwhelming me.

He had taken antidiarrheal medication before the game and thought he would be fine, but unexpectedly, he was bumped by Gan Guoyang in the first quarter, and as soon as he landed, a strong urge to defecate immediately surged up.

He couldn't get up from the ground because if he stood up, his buttocks would loosen, and he would really poop on the court.

With an iron will, Barkley clenched his hips and, with the help of the team doctor, slowly moved back to the locker room, then told the doctor that he was fine and just needed to rest.

He then went to the toilet to relieve himself, changed his pants, and returned to the court in the second quarter.

He thought his performance was flawless, but Gan Guoyang still saw through it. Damn it!

However, Gan Guoyang kept his word and did not mention Barkley's on-court defecation incident again during the rest of the game.

But every time the two finished battling under the basket, such as when Gan Guoyang grabbed a rebound, he would glance behind Barkley, making Barkley feel uncomfortable.

After his triumphant return in the second quarter, he failed to score again, and even lost the rebounds, allowing Gan Guoyang to dominate the boards.

Gan Guoyang grabbed 16 rebounds in the first half and was aiming for 30 rebounds by the end of the game.

At halftime, the score was 57-51, with the Trail Blazers leading the Bullets by 6 points.

Barkley's return mainly boosted the team's morale. When Gus Williams saw Barkley's silence, he wondered if the kid was still recovering from his injury.

Instead of passing the ball to Barkley, they increased their own offensive frequency. Valentine didn't play today, and Cort and Paxson were no match for Gus Williams.

Williams has very skillful offensive techniques, excellent mid-range and long-range shooting, and strong fast break ability. During the Seattle SuperSonics' championship season, his counterattacks were known as "one-man fast breaks". He often gets the ball in the backcourt and drives to the basket to score directly, or ends the offense with a sudden pull-up jump shot, instead of passing the ball first like other point guards.

But that doesn’t mean Gus Williams is a lone wolf. His ghostly passes near the three-second zone are unpredictable and his behind-the-back no-look passes are just as spectacular as Magic Johnson’s.

Therefore, he was called a "wizard".

Gan Guoyang and Gus Williams were teammates in the Olympic vs. All-Star game.

At that time, Gus Williams made several beautiful no-look passes to him, allowing Gan Guoyang to score easily.

Guards like this, who excel in both offense and passing, are the most terrifying. They are often a nightmare for interior defenders, leaving you unsure whether to attack or not, as you can't predict what they will do next.

Led by Gus Williams, the Bullets kept the score close in the first half.

However, the frontcourt combination they were so proud of, which they had prepared for the Boston Celtics, was completely disrupted by Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang had 16 rebounds in the first half, including 7 offensive rebounds. The Bullets, playing at home, had played very well on both offense and defense, but they couldn't withstand so many rebounds.

During halftime, Gene Shu asked Barkley about his physical condition, and Barkley said he was fine, just that his knee was a little sore.

Gene Schoo said that if his knee is uncomfortable in the second half, he shouldn't play; his health is more important.

Barkley shook his head, saying he would definitely fight for rebounds better in the second half and wouldn't let Forrest get so many rebounds.

But when Barkley returned to the court in the second half, he was furious when he saw Gan Guoyang staring at him with a smile on his face.

If Gan Guoyang had just mocked him, that would have been one thing, but this feeling of suppressing a laugh was worse than killing Barkley.

He even considered taking off his pants and relieving himself on the court to make a big deal out of it, thus covering up his earlier faking injury. However, the intense competition at the start of the third quarter gradually dispelled this idea for Barkley, who then focused entirely on battling for rebounds with Gan Guoyang.

Barkley was at a height disadvantage against most big men; he relied on his strength, speed, anticipation of the ball's trajectory, and most importantly, his passion for rebounding.

Many players lack enthusiasm for rebounding; they want to get into fast breaks as soon as possible or retreat quickly on defense. After all, rebounding is hard work, physically demanding, and requires a lot of effort to position and battle in the paint.

Barkley has boundless energy and passion for rebounding, making him one of the league's best rebounders even as a rookie.

But tonight he's facing Gan Guoyang, who is the best rebounder in the league, bar none.

Gan Guoyang is not only taller than Barkley, but also stronger, and his speed is not much worse than Barkley's. His judgment of the landing point is also on par with Barkley's.

As for rebounding, Gan Guoyang was very happy to have a rebounding game with his good friends tonight, and he gave most of the opportunities to Drexler, Paxson and Thompson.

Despite having diarrhea, Barkley was at a disadvantage in rebounding, but he gritted his teeth and persevered, still managing to secure offensive rebounds from Gan Guoyang.

The two players continued to accumulate rebounds. By the end of the third quarter, Gan Guoyang had grabbed 26 rebounds, and Barkley had also grabbed 14 rebounds.

This is a battle of rebounding monsters. The Bullets and the other Trail Blazers players don't need to worry about rebounding and can focus all their energy on the offensive and defensive transitions.

The game was very fast-paced and exciting, but the shooting accuracy was just not good.

In the decisive fourth quarter, Barkley and the Bullets' interior defense began to falter.

Gan Guoyang, like a beast, used his strength and impact to destroy the Bullets' three-second zone, constantly rushing to grab offensive rebounds.

Rick Mahorn, Barkley, and Luland were all unable to stop Gan Guoyang. Luland twisted his ankle midway through the fourth quarter, leaving the game injured again after just returning from injury.

It seems he really should listen to Gan Guoyang and switch his Nike shoes to Avia.

Gene Shu and Jack Ramsey were also very worried on the sidelines, as the probability of injuries is increasing as the season draws to a close.

Fortunately, both Gan Guoyang and Barkley have iron bodies. Gan Guoyang pushed his rebounding count to an astonishing 37 in the final quarter!
He ate as many hamburgers as Charles Barkley.

This is Gan Guoyang's second game this season with 30+ rebounds.

He tied Moses Malone's record of 37 rebounds against the New Orleans Jazz in 1979.

Charles Barkley grabbed 20 rebounds throughout the game, and his perseverance was quite remarkable despite having diarrhea.

The abundance of rebounds suggests that both teams were struggling with their shooting tonight.

The Trail Blazers had no choice but to play, as the players were fatigued from consecutive away games.

Without Vandeweghe, Drexler's outside shooting was off, and Gan Guoyang kept grabbing rebounds.

The Bullets played with the same unrestrained style, and the low shooting percentages of both sides made tonight Gan Guoyang's rebounding night.

In the end, Gan Guoyang scored 22 points, grabbed 37 rebounds, and blocked 3 shots, leading the Trail Blazers to a 101-95 victory in Washington.

After the game, Barkley headed straight for the player tunnel without looking back. Gan Guoyang quickly chased after him and said, "Charles! Don't go, are you in a hurry to go to the bathroom?"

Barkley had to stop and lower his voice, saying, "Sonny, I advise you not to bring this up again!"

Reporters had already approached, and Gan Guoyang said, "Are you threatening me?"

Barkley said fiercely, "No! I beg you!"

"I have already promised you, and I never break my word."

"It's a word."

"Want another hamburger?"

Buck stared at Gan Guoyang with a look as if he were looking at a ghost, then ran back to the locker room with his big butt sticking out.

"Okay, I admit it, I'm going to reveal a secret! That is, in the 1985 game between the Bullets and the Trail Blazers, I got injured and left the game in the first quarter, then came back in the second quarter scoring seven points in a row—it was all a hoax! I wasn't injured. I ate 37 hamburgers last night and got diarrhea. I got bumped by Gan on the court, and I almost shit my pants!"

"I had to fake an injury to leave the game and go to the toilet to take a dump, then put on a triumphant comeback! The whole thing was going to be perfect, but that bastard Forrest Gump saw right through it! He immediately came up to me and asked, 'Did you just go to the toilet to take a dump?' You see, those 37 hamburgers were made for me by him!"

The studio erupted in laughter, with Barkley and his co-host Kenny Smith doubled over with laughter.

Smith: "Charles, did Forrest Gump keep threatening you with this afterwards? I remember he got 37 rebounds in that game, exactly the same number of hamburgers you ate?"

"No, no, Forrest Gump isn't that kind of person. Although he occasionally looked at me with a smile in his eyes during the second half, which made me uncomfortable, and he even teased me after the game, he promised me he would never tell anyone about it. After that, he never used it against me on the court. Until I told you today, no one else knew."

'It seems Forrest Gump is still loyal to you.'

'No, it's because this guy has other ways to control me; he's a fucking devil.'

The retired players in the studio all agreed.

—In a 2012 Turner TV program, Barkley "revealed" his embarrassing moment of returning to glory years ago.

(End of this chapter)