The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 248 Getting into Trouble
On the day of the game against the Jazz, Gan Guoyang heard during breakfast that Michael Jordan had been injured in the game against the Warriors and might miss the rest of the season.

Back in his room, Gan Guoyang immediately called Jordan, but couldn't get through. This time, it wasn't that he had unplugged the phone; it must have been that many friends and relatives were calling him.

Gan Guoyang thought for a moment and sent a message to George Keller's pager. About ten minutes later, Jordan called his room at the Salt Lake City hotel.

Khloe and Jordan are practically inseparable. If you want to find Jordan, you should find Khloe first. Khloe will definitely help you find Michael.

Khloe knew how important Forrest Gump was to Jordan, and he would inform Jordan immediately whenever he received news about Forrest.

"Sonny, I feel terrible. Six weeks, at least six weeks I can't play!" Jordan complained angrily to Gan Guoyang after answering the phone.

He didn't say I was finished, nor did he cry; instead, he was angry that he couldn't play basketball anymore.

"How is the situation? Has the doctor made a diagnosis?"

"I had an X-ray, and the initial diagnosis is that I need to rest for six weeks. However, I need to have a CAT scan tomorrow for further confirmation. The situation isn't very good; I can feel it, it's very painful, and this time it's going to be worse."

At this moment, Jordan's tone revealed a hint of worry. He had performed well in the first two games, averaging 31 points per game and closely chasing Gan Guoyang on the scoring list.

During their previous phone call, Jordan reminded Gan Guoyang to stay healthy, but unexpectedly, he collapsed first.

Gan Guoyang has very limited memories of basketball in the 80s. He doesn't know what kind of injury Jordan suffered in 85, or how serious it was.

He told Jordan, "Michael, if you fall like this, you'll never catch up with me."

"Fuck you, my life isn't about chasing after you. But you really are running a bit too fast, it's really tough if I can't play."

“If you can’t play, this season will be incomplete for me… but I’m sure you’ll get better and be back on the court soon.”

"Thank you for your kind words. I'll let you know when the test results come out tomorrow... Never mind, the news media will report it soon, so I don't need to notify you."

The two chatted casually for a couple more minutes, but this time Gan Guoyang wasn't in the mood to joke with Jordan, and Jordan also needed to rest, so the two ended their conversation.

Gan Guoyang had been looking forward to meeting Jordan in the regular season, but Jordan got injured so quickly. If he really misses the rest of the season, then this season will really lose some of its important fun.

People like Gan Guoyang and Jordan are highly competitive and enjoy the competition. While ordinary people might feel happy to have lost a strong rival, they would only feel regret.

Jordan's injury had put Gan Guoyang in a bad mood, so when Gan Guoyang appeared at the Salt Palace Arena that evening, he had a long face and looked somewhat frightening.

Stockton knew what Gan Guoyang was worried about, and he himself had his own worries: Could the Jazz beat the Trail Blazers tonight? If they couldn't, should he postpone the proposal? And when would he have to wait?

Young people have their own troubles, and Jazz rookie Karl Malone also has his own troubles. He stands at the free throw line to practice free throws during warm-ups, and he has recently been criticized for his poor free throw percentage in games.

In the first three games, his free throw percentages were 0 for 2, 2 for 5, and 1 for 3, a 30% success rate that was even worse than Chamberlain's. This angered Coach Leiden, who told him to practice his free throws more.

So Malone seized every opportunity to practice free throws, but he was unhappy because Salt Lake City was not the place he wanted to come to. After he arrived and started playing here, he was certain that this was not his ideal city to play in.

At the draft more than four months ago, Malone dressed up in a blue long-tailed suit and light blue shirt, which accentuated his already good physique.

Malone had hoped the Dallas Mavericks would select him with the eighth pick. He had already met with the Mavericks several times and was very much looking forward to working with Mark Aguirre and Sam Bowie.

Little did anyone know that the Mavericks would break their promise and choose German player Schrempf. Malone's hopes of being drafted eighth fell all the way to thirteenth, where he was picked by the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.

He was completely bewildered at the time. When he stepped onto the draft stage, his eyes were filled with tears. He felt betrayed, humiliated, and shared the same feeling as most of the players selected by the Jazz: "I'm going to play in Utah! Where is Utah?"

So when he met with Jazz coach and general manager Frank Lyden, he was somewhat incoherent, telling the coach, "I will bring a great team to Utah."

Leiden felt he needed to give Malone a geography lesson, correcting him by saying, "Kid, Utah is a state."

Karl Malone, who couldn't even tell whether Utah was a state or a city, arrived in Salt Lake City, the Mormon territory, from Louisiana in the south, in a daze.

He wasn't used to anything here—the weather, the food, the temperature—everything was so different from his hometown of Louisiana. All he wanted to do was go home. After the training camp started in Salt Lake City in October, he called his mother every day to tell her about his hardships here and how much he missed home.

His mother had to tell Malone, "You're at work now, and that's how work is."

That's right, that's the job. Standing at the free-throw line and making the shot is the number one problem he needs to solve.

The second problem he faces is to earn consistent playing time through solid performance. Leiden trusts him quite a bit, giving him more than 20 minutes of playing time in each of the first three games.

Malone also performed well, scoring around 10 points in each of the three games, grabbing 6 rebounds, making steals, and dishing out assists in each game.

During his time playing for Louisiana Tech, his consistent performance in every game earned him the nickname "The Mailman" from the commentators. This nickname was a very accurate description of him and would stay with him throughout his basketball career.

The third job problem he faces is that he's going to be up against Forrest Gump tonight.

The two faced off during the Olympic training camp, and Ma Long's impression of Forrest Gump was: "Completely unbeatable."

Especially in terms of his strength, which he was always proud of, Ma Long always considered himself one of the top strongmen in college centers, until he met Gan Guoyang at the Olympic selection camp.

Afterwards, Ma Long vowed to surpass Gan Guoyang in strength one day, but that day was definitely not today. Today was too early; he hadn't trained enough yet.

Malone is known for his ferocity in games. He never holds back his big elbows. In college, he once elbowed Dave Lamer so hard that he fractured his jaw and collapsed his sinuses, forcing him to have plastic surgery.

Even during the Olympic selection training camp, he didn't hold back, often wielding his elbows to fight against his opponents.

But when he met Gan Guoyang, he realized what a real iron elbow was. An accidental scrape could make you dizzy. This guy's bones were too hard and his strength was too great.

Moreover, Forrest Gump is the kind of person who won't do anything to you if you don't mess with him, but if you do, he'll definitely make you regret it. That's why Marlon was always quite afraid of Forrest Gump.

Last season, I watched helplessly as Laimbeer, Gilmore, Rambis and a group of others fell to Forrest Gump's wrestling and iron elbows, and in the game the day before yesterday, he almost crushed Sterling to death.

Before the game, Leiden reminded Malone, "Play well and don't mess with that guy. I want you to play in Salt Lake City for a few more years."

Malone always listened to his mother at home. His father had passed away a long time ago. Although he didn't like Salt Lake City, he still listened to Leiden.

He didn't want to provoke Agan, so he came over to greet Gan Guoyang before the competition and try to get on his good side.

"Sonny! How's it going in Salt Lake City? I'm looking forward to tonight's game." Malone tried to keep his tone gentle, but something felt off as he spoke. Was it a bit provocative?
Should I explain?

Gan Guoyang remained expressionless, staring at Ma Long for a while, which made Ma Long feel uneasy.

He asked, "Do you still call your mother every day?"

"Make a phone call? I... oh yes, I..."

Does your mom still send you watermelons?

"Watermelon...sent watermelon, and it's quite sweet."

"I heard your college basketball team isn't as good as the women's team, is that true?"

"Of course it's fake! How could it be worse than the women's basketball team!"

"Really? I'd like to see that tonight. Tell Coach Leiden you want to guard me and ask him to put you on the court as soon as possible."

"..."

Ma Long suddenly felt that he shouldn't have tried to get close to her; it seemed like he had gotten himself into trouble.

(End of this chapter)