The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 242 The First Flight

The Trail Blazers' preseason games were uneventful, mostly serving as exhibition games to give new players experience and warm up the venue.

Terry Porter boldly attempted a three-pointer during the game, which was approved by Jack Ramsey.

Praise is out of the question; this is Ramsey's last bit of pride as a traditional coach, but he still prepared several three-point shooting tactics in his playbook.

In Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, they were just one three-pointer away from forcing overtime. Ramsey experienced for the first time the importance of three-pointers and how they could change the course of the game.

After playing a few preseason games, the team reorganized and cut some players from the roster, with Ken Johnson, the 12th man, remaining.

Compared to Schaeffler's mediocrity (at 30 years old), Ken Johnson's advantage lies in his youth, allowing him to step up and buy rest time for other interior players.

In the 80s, NBA teams generally preferred to stack frontcourt players, and there was usually a big man at the end of the bench. The role of small guards was not yet really valued.

Gan Guoyang played very relaxed in the preseason, and Ramsey tried pairing him with Walton.

On defense, Walton crouched in the three-second zone, while Gan Guoyang swept the ball handler from a more outward position.

During the offensive play, Walton completely relinquished the low post to Gan Guoyang, allowing him to move to the high post, just as he had done to Lucas in the past.

Everything went smoothly and the coordination was seamless. Walton seamlessly integrated into Ramsey's offensive system, and there was no problem with integration at all.

If there's been any change, after a few games, Walton felt that the Trail Blazers' offense was more free than before, with players often making some unconventional moves.

For example, Gan Guoyang suddenly firing from the top of the arc or even beyond the three-point line, Vandeweghe's isolation plays, and Drexler's fancy behind-the-back passes and layups.

Even Mitchell Thompson, who is usually very disciplined on the court, would make two baseline drives and reverse layups, seemingly unconcerned about straining his back.

Walton is in good physical condition; he can run, jump, and even dunk.

He spends a long time warming up before each match to loosen up his bones and ligaments.

The team's trainer, his good friend Culp, would lend a hand, as if starting an old steam engine, which would take a long time to heat the water in the boiler.

In comparison, Gan Guoyang is a completely new player, a truck that can start as soon as it's lit. He feels lighter and more agile than last season, with inexhaustible energy in his body.

The uneventful preseason itself wasn't anything to record, but two interesting things happened before the regular season started at the end of October.

The first incident involved a dolphin at the Portland SeaWorld that swallowed a large gold ring dropped by a visitor. The aquarium lacked the tools to remove the ring without harming the dolphin.

Gold is heavy and difficult to excrete through the intestines. If it remains in the dolphin's body for a long time, it will kill it. The tourists also really want the ring back, because it is gold.

The zookeeper tried to reach the ring with his hands, but his arms weren't long enough. It seemed like he would have to operate on the dolphin's stomach. A Trail Blazers fan said that Forrest Gump had long arms and big hands, so maybe he could do it.

So the aquarium called the Trail Blazers' fan contact office, which then contacted Gan Guoyang to inquire about the matter. Upon hearing this, Gan Guoyang gladly went over, applied lubricant to his arm, and pulled the gold ring out of the dolphin's second stomach.

Ocean Park created a bronze plaque for Gan Guoyang and placed it next to the dolphin pool to recognize his contributions to saving dolphin lives.

This is a good thing; not only were dolphins saved, but a ring was also recovered, and in the NBA, a ring symbolizes a championship.

The second thing was even more absurd than the first. Two days before the start of the regular season, the preseason ended, and the Trail Blazers players were ready for the new season.

Two monks from San Jose suddenly appeared at the Trail Blazers headquarters, saying that their temple's abbot had died and they had come to Portland to find their temple's successor.

And this successor was none other than Gan Guoyang, personally chosen by the temple abbot, who insisted that he come to be the abbot before passing away.

Badwalt was bewildered but greatly shocked by the news. He called Gan Guoyang and asked him if he wanted to become a monk.

This was even more unbelievable than having Gan Guoyang cook for the entire Trail Blazers team. Gan Guoyang was stunned for a while before he found out what was going on.

He racked his brains for a long time and finally remembered that when he went to San Jose to play in the California tournament in high school, an old monk had read his fortune while he was sheltering from the rain at a temple.

But after reading it, he didn't say anything and left, having long forgotten about it.

If it weren't for the two monks' unexpected visit, this incident would have been completely forgotten in two years, and no one would have remembered it at all. It turns out that the old monk, after spending so much time looking at people's faces, actually considered himself his successor. That old monk certainly had a bright future ahead of him.

Gan Guoyang resolutely refused, and the two monks did not linger. They parted ways, only saying that if Gan Guoyang ever felt bored with the mortal world, he could come to San Jose, and the position of abbot would be reserved for him.

Having given up the opportunity to become the abbot, the 1985-1986 NBA regular season was about to begin, with the Trail Blazers' first game on October 25th at home against the Phoenix Suns.

Last season, the Trail Blazers also faced the Phoenix Suns early in the game. At that time, Suns guard Walt Davis was injured and missed the game, while Larry Nance was absent due to injury in this game.

Injuries are the last thing a team wants to encounter, and the Suns are clearly not having an easy time these past two years.

Their star player, Davis, only played 23 games last season due to a mediocre performance caused by injury.

But what truly harmed him was not just his injuries, but also drugs.

More experienced players know that Walter Davis used banned substances; they can tell from his facial expressions and subtle movements whether he has been using them.

In 78 and 79, when drugs were rampant in the league, Davis smoked drugs in the locker room in front of the whole team, and no one was surprised.

That year, Davis also made the All-Star team and reached the Western Conference Finals with the Suns, where they lost 3-4 to the eventual champions, the Seattle SuperSonics.

On the one hand, these players are really physically gifted; on the other hand, it shows that the league's level is indeed not high, because it is full of drug addicts.

As usual, tickets for the Memorial Arena sold out that night, and the price was the highest for a regular season game since the 80s, making it truly difficult to get a ticket.

Oregon Governor Victor Atie and Portland Mayor Bud Clark were both present to watch the game, shaking hands and taking photos with the Trail Blazers players before the match.

Clearly, Portland and the entire city of Oregon have high expectations for the Trail Blazers. Their performance last season, along with the return of the veteran MVP, has fueled much speculation.

Mayor Bud Clark was elected in January of this year. He is a political novice with no prior political experience and worked as a bar owner.

In an effort to attract enough voters, Clark has consistently claimed to be a huge Portland Trail Blazers fan and a die-hard Forrest Gump supporter.

He invited Gan Guoyang to his bar, a very famous tavern in the city center where many celebrities have left their mark.

But Gan Guoyang refused. First, he doesn't drink, and second, he doesn't easily endorse others; he doesn't reveal his political stance like Wharton does at all times.

Clark didn't mind; he knew that in terms of popularity, Gan Guoyang was much more popular in Portland than he, the mayor.

During the handshake, he suddenly told Gan Guoyang, "You will win tonight. Davis got drunk at Goose Valley Bar yesterday, and he won't be in good shape."

Alcohol is the second most harmful substance after drugs, and once a person starts using drugs, they often also drink alcohol, so it's a two-pronged approach.

When the game actually started, Gan Guoyang quickly noticed that Walter Davis was acting strangely. His eyes were glazed over, his footwork was unsteady, his drives were weak, and his shots were inaccurate.

Whether a player has trained well in the summer and has seriously built up their physical fitness can be clearly seen in the first game of the regular season.

Walter Davis not only didn't get a proper rest last night and drank too much, but he also didn't train seriously all summer, mostly indulging in drugs and alcohol.

In fact, it wasn't just Davis; the entire Suns team was out of sorts. On the contrary, the Trail Blazers, aside from a slow start, got better and better as the game progressed, taking a 10-point lead over the Suns in the first quarter.

甘国阳首节投篮6中6砍下12分，和戴维斯的6中1形成鲜明对比，开拓者的精气神就和太阳队完全不同。

In the second quarter, when Bill Walton took off his jacket and entered the game, the entire crowd erupted in cheers and applause. Bill Shawn introduced the former King of Portland in the loudest voice.

He immediately blocked Adams' hook shot on defense, and then Gan Guoyang made a fast break, receiving the ball like a running back in rugby and rushing inside, colliding with Davis who came to defend.

Davis jumped into the air, then was knocked out of bounds and lay on the sidelines for a long time without getting up. Gan Guoyang stood under the basket with the ball, watching the Suns' team doctor come over to check on him, thinking to himself, "Why are you risking your life like this? Did you take drugs and mess with your brain?"
That ball was clearly unstoppable; not only did he get knocked half to death, but he also got a blocking foul.

Walter Davis was quickly carried off the court by the team doctor, becoming the first player to fall victim to Gan Guoyang's collision this season.

His explosiveness is even stronger than last season.

(End of this chapter)