The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 211 Wild Duck
On the evening of April 23, the Portland Trail Blazers played Game 4 of their series against the Dallas Mavericks on the road.

The match will be held at Dallas Reunion Arena, marking Gan Guoyang's third appearance here this season.

This arena, which looks like a gas station from a distance, was built in 1980, just when the Dallas Mavericks acquired the franchise to join the NBA.

Although the Mavericks are down 0-2 in the series, anything is possible when they return to their home court.

In the playoffs, playing at home can sometimes have a game-changing effect. Teams returning home can rest and make serious adjustments, and with the cheers and support of their home fans, they can completely turn the tide.

Tonight, tens of thousands of fans will gather at the stadium, which can accommodate more than 17000 spectators. The atmosphere in Dallas is no less than that in Portland.

Before the game started, Gan Guoyang was calmly warming up with his offensive hook shot on the court. Every now and then, some fans on the sidelines shouted at Gan Guoyang and said some unpleasant things.

Such situations rarely occur in the regular season, but the playoffs are different. It's no longer just a performance; it's a war, a life-or-death war.

The Mavericks have no room for error; another loss would end their season.

As the match was about to begin, the players returned to the locker room to make their final preparations.

In the Mavericks' home locker room, Dick Motta gave a pre-game pep talk.

He banged the tactics blackboard loudly, hoping the players would cheer up and give the Trail Blazers a piece of their mind at home.

"If we are swept by the Portlanders at home, it will be a disgrace to our season! In front of 17000 fans, we must bring down the Portlanders no matter what!"

"Especially Sonny Gan, our goal tonight is to prevent him from scoring 20 points! Our goal is to limit him to under 20 points, and we need to use a killer instinct to finish him off!"

Coaches don't yell at their players like that during the regular season; they don't just casually give pre-game pep talks.

At this moment, the Mavericks players were filled with strength, but also had some doubts: Can we really kill Forrest Gump?

Or will he kill me?

After multiple encounters throughout the season, including the first two playoff games, the Mavericks were really starting to question their existence after being outplayed by Gan Guoyang.

Especially for center Bowie, the "praise defense" method might have some effect in the regular season, but it's completely useless in the playoffs.

Everyone is in a state of war, everyone is on high alert, and no one will let their guard down because of a few words.

It has been a year since the NCAA Final Four in 1984, and Bowie has watched Gan Guoyang grow stronger and stronger.

He had thought that in the playoffs, as the intensity increased and everyone's defensive efforts became stronger, Gan Guoyang's performance would be contained.

He was wrong. In the first game in Portland, Bowie was fouled out by Gan Guoyang, who made all 17 of his free throws, almost destroying the Mavericks' interior defense.

After the game, Dick Motta angrily criticized the referees, believing that the game was officiated by the home team and that Gan Guoyang was given 17 free throw attempts to ensure he scored a high number of points.

Dick Motta was fined $1000 by the league.

In the second game, Gan Guoyang didn't have as many free throws, but he still led the Trail Blazers to victory over the Mavericks with his solid defense and efficient offense.

The Mavericks played quite well in the second game. Bowie scored 15 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and blocked 4 shots in the paint, which are very good numbers for a rookie.

Dick Motta knows how to use a defensive center. No matter what, Bowie is still much taller than Unseld.

But under Forrest Gump's shadow, Bowie felt increasingly insignificant and powerless, and the loss in the second game plunged the whole team into despair.

As the players prepared to enter the game, Dick Motta pulled Bowie aside and said, "Sam, remember, you are you, and Forrest Gump is Forrest Gump. Forrest Gump is an eagle soaring in the sky, while you might just be a wild duck flapping in mid-air... Don't be angry when I say this."

Bowie lowered his head to listen, then shook his head and said, "I'm not angry, you're right."

"But when wild ducks are protecting their nests, they can still drive away eagles. Wild ducks have their own way of surviving. Eagles fly in the sky, while wild ducks swim in rivers, dive into the water to catch fish and insects, and hide in the grass to conceal their tracks. You need to find the best way to deal with Forrest Gump, understand?"

Dick Motta knew that if they wanted to beat the Trail Blazers, it would be crucial for Bowie to contain Forrest Gump. Even if it only reduced Forrest's shooting percentage by three percentage points and made two fewer shots, the game would be won.

In the playoffs, the outcome can be decided by the smallest margin.

Bowie understood what Dick Motta was talking about, and he himself had been adjusting his mindset, from the super high school player who defeated Sampson in '79, to the talented center who was sidelined for a long time due to injury in the '80s, and then to the Kentucky Twin Towers that were destroyed by Gan Guoyang in the 1984 NCAA.

After arriving in Dallas, Bowie did not live up to expectations. Dallas fans thought he was a super center who could be compared to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

However, injuries hampered Bowie's growth. He languished in Kentucky for too long. Judging from his rookie season performance, it would be good enough if he could become a star center like Parish in the future.

Parish sounds great, but he pales in comparison to Forrest Gump.

"I understand, Coach. I will execute the tactics strictly, I will play good defense, and I will make good use of our bushes." Bowie's tone was calm and confident, and his eyes no longer showed the confusion and helplessness he had at the beginning of the season.

When Dick Motta asked him to handle Forrest Gump, Bowie could hardly believe his ears. If I could handle Forrest Gump, I should be in Portland now instead of Dallas.

After a season of being ravaged, coupled with hard training and Dick Motta's careful guidance, Bowie knew he couldn't handle Forrest Gump, but he was no longer afraid to go up against him.

Even if Forrest scores forty points, Bowie will try his best to cause him trouble so that the team can win a game.

At 7:30 p.m., after the opening ceremony, the match between the two sides officially began.

The noise level at the Reunion Arena was at least 10 decibels higher than during the regular season, and the players could feel a buzzing in their ears even before the jump ball.

It's said that playing in the NBA for a long time can cause some degree of hearing loss, just like shipyard workers who are affected by the noise.

With unwavering determination, Bowie stepped up to center circle for the jump ball with Forrest Gump, and touched the ball first during the contest, initiating the Mavericks' first attack.

The Mavericks' offense was exceptionally clear from the start: attack the perimeter, avoid driving inside, stay away from Gan Guoyang, and let Blackman and Jay Vincent lead the offense.

This is a truth that has been repeatedly proven by many teams, especially the Lakers: avoiding Forrest Gump is more effective than confronting him head-on, since there is only one Forrest Gump, and he can't create clones.

At the start, the Mavericks, with the home advantage, quickly took a 2-8 lead. Vincent and Blackman scored consecutively, and Blackman also drew a defensive foul from Gan Guoyang in the paint.

Gan Guoyang blocked Blackman's layup, which was clearly a good play, but the referee called a foul on Gan Guoyang for hitting Blackman's hand.

The live broadcast was reviewed twice. It was a good block, but the referees didn't review the replays back then, and they wouldn't easily change the call in the first quarter.

Gan Guoyang suffered a setback right from the start on the road, perhaps the league doesn't want this series to end so quickly.

Jack Ramsey was so angry that he yelled at the referee on the sidelines. Gan Guoyang went over to calm Ramsey down, saying that he was fine and would not commit any more fouls in the first quarter.

Ramsey then calmed down, avoiding a technical foul that would have given the team another point.

In the 70s and 80s, there was no zero-tolerance rule, and referees were more restrained in calling technical fouls. Sometimes, even when players yelled at the referees and were about to hit them, the referees would not necessarily call a technical foul or eject the players. That was the atmosphere on the court back then.

In the first quarter, the Mavericks played with great momentum, launching continuous counterattacks, outside jump shots, and displaying excellent teamwork and decisive shots, firmly suppressing the Trail Blazers.

The Mavericks' lineup on the court was a rare combination at the time, with one big man and four small men: center Bowie, forwards Aguirre and Vincent, and guards Blackman and Davis.

This lineup is flexible and fast on offense, with all four players capable of shooting from the outside. Blackman, Aguirre, and Vincent are all at the level of 20 points per game, making them a very powerful offensive force.

The problem with this lineup is definitely in defense. Bowie can handle most situations, but he is powerless against Agan. Without a strong power forward to assist him, he struggles to defend Gan Guoyang one-on-one.

In the first and second games, the Mavericks were completely dominated by Gan Guoyang, who scored in the paint with a shooting percentage of over 60% to nearly 70%. No one could handle that.

Although Aguirre also managed to break through Vandeweghe, the Trail Blazers assigned Gan Guoyang to guard Aguirre in the fourth quarter, causing Aguirre's offensive efficiency to plummet.

That's how the Mavericks lost in the final moments of Game 2. Their star player couldn't compete, and the other players weren't in a dominant position either. At that point, all the Mavericks could rely on was their tactics and morale.

Six minutes into the first quarter, Gan Guoyang still hadn't scored. He missed both of his shots – not only because of his poor shooting touch, but also because almost every time he got the ball, there were three people surrounding him.

The Mavericks didn't simply double-team Gan Guoyang; instead, they employed a strategy from the Lakers' "Forrest Gump Rule"—illegal, borderline defense—to preemptively trap and surround Gan Guoyang.

The key to the encirclement was Bao Wei. He changed his strategy of sticking to Gan Guoyang during the regular season and the first two games. However, this strategy of relentlessly harassing Gan Guoyang was not effective because Bao Wei's playing style was too flexible.

Conversely, Bowie became the one who was "distracted." When defending, he would fix his position near the three-second zone, and regardless of whether Gan Guoyang was nearby, he would try to stay in the middle channel in order to prevent other Trail Blazers players from receiving the ball and attacking the basket.

Meanwhile, the Mavericks' forwards Aguirre, Vincent, and Kurt Nimfius will be ready to drop their guards to focus all their efforts on defending Agan.

To put it simply, Bao Wei used 50% of his attention to guard Gan Guoyang, his teammates abandoned their own guards to help defend Gan Guoyang, and then Bao Wei used the remaining 50% of his attention to deal with the guards his teammates abandoned.

To execute such a defense, double-teaming in advance is unavoidable. Bowie's attempt to stand in and around the three-second zone is clearly zonal defense, which is a violation of the rules.

However, the referees only called one illegal defense call on the Mavericks in the first quarter. Seeing this, the Mavericks intensified their efforts and became more and more proficient in using this system. They outscored the Trail Blazers 21-29 in the first quarter. At halftime, the Mavericks led the Trail Blazers 50-61 by 11 points!
Sam Bowie performed his task well. Although Gan Guoyang still scored 11 points in the first half, the Mavericks' defense held firm.

Midway through the second quarter, Ramsey finally snapped and yelled at the referee, saying the Mavericks were playing illegal defense.

This time, the referee didn't let Ramsey off the hook, giving Dr. Jack a technical foul and awarding the Mavericks a free throw.

Gan Guoyang pulled Ramsey back to the bench, telling him not to rush. The doctor glared at Gan Guoyang: "Aren't you worried? You're about to run out of clothes to wear!"

(End of this chapter)