The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 250 Offense
The Jazz have always been a formidable opponent for Gan Guoyang, not just because his friend Stockton is on the team.

They aren't very strong, they're a small market team, and they don't have any superstars, but they are a team, resilient, and play intelligently.

Playing against a smart team is a lot of fun; it requires constant thinking and using your brain rather than just relying on physical strength and technique.

Of course, going head-to-head with the Rockets' twin towers is also very exciting; that's a different kind of gaming enjoyment.

When Gan Guoyang saw Stockton and Malone enter the game, he knew that the Jazz would definitely have to make changes to their tactical rhythm.

The Jazz started strong, but their biggest weakness in zone defense is their vulnerability to shooters, and Henson's consecutive baskets gave them the advantage.

Gan Guoyang quickly disrupted Henson's shooting continuity with his disruptive defense, while also keeping an eye on Bailey and Eaton, both of whom are mediocre offensively.

If all else fails, Thompson, Vandeweghe, and others will come over and foul. This is their defensive tacit understanding, not allowing the Jazz's interior players to score easily under the basket.

Of course, if it's Dantley, no matter what opportunity he gets, don't foul him and don't let him get to the free-throw line and find his rhythm.

One side effect of Dantley's consecutive free throws is that they slow down the pace of the game; he takes too long to prepare for a free throw, making him dawdle.

Karl Malone's slow free throws, just like Dantley's, are due not only to personal habits and signature moves, but also, importantly, to coaching instructions.

Coaches who prefer a slow-paced, positional style of play will instruct their players to deliberately slow down during free throws, thus slowing down the pace of the game and causing fast-paced teams to lose their sense of speed.

In previous games, whenever the Trail Blazers started playing fast, Leiden would instruct Dantley to draw fouls and linger at the free-throw line for ten or more seconds.

The Trail Blazers' initial burst of speed and offense was quickly worn down during those ten-odd seconds of waiting, and the game slowly turned into a positional affair.

But Dantley's attempts to draw fouls were ineffective tonight.

Stockton remained silent after entering the game, barely uttering a word to Gan Guoyang, and barely even glancing at him.

This is Stockton's game state: fully committed, with no regard for personal matters, let alone thinking about proposing.

He dribbled the ball across half-court and observed the Trail Blazers' defense from a distance, knowing that the Trail Blazers' defense had a trap.

The first pass is very important; who you pass to and in which direction determines the start of the attack.

Bill Walton had already come off the bench at this point, and Ramsey always brought him on early in the first quarter.

He went to the bench to rest after playing the second half of the first quarter and the transition period between the second and third quarters.

He will replace Gan Guoyang in the second half of the third quarter because Gan Guoyang usually has a breakout performance in the third quarter and needs rest at the end.

In the fourth quarter, depending on the situation on the court, we'll decide whether to pair Gan Guoyang with Walton or with Thompson.

Different combinations will produce different chemical reactions. The season has just begun and Ramsey is still adjusting.

This combination of a center forward and a power forward is what Ramsey excels at; he is a master of attacking play in the frontcourt.

Stockton observed for a while, then suddenly lobbed the ball high to Mark Eaton in the paint.

The pass was sudden, and Eaton received it smoothly. He used his strong physique to push past Walton and then hooked the ball with his left hand.

The shot was blocked due to interference, but the player grabbed the offensive rebound and attacked again, scoring with a one-handed dunk!

These two centers, one who can't jump and the other who can't jump high enough, put on a matchbox-like war in the paint.

But Stockton made a good pass, sensing that the Trail Blazers' defensive pressure was not from inside but from outside.

Gan Guoyang and Drexler are both eager to step up, and if they play pick-and-roll or handoff on the perimeter, they will definitely be attacked.

Stockton opted for an unexpected lob pass inside, immediately finding a weak spot in the Trail Blazers' defense.

Stockton has always been top-notch at forcing opponents to make defensive choices; he can spot the direction of the game.

Defense should follow the trend, while offense should go against the trend and be unexpected.

Gan Guoyang served the ball to Paxson from the baseline and then made a simple gesture.

Paxson understood that Gan Guoyang wanted to go one-on-one.

At a 45-degree angle to the left, Gan Guoyang used a fierce block to shut down Ma Long.

Malone felt like he was suffocating.

"Damn it, why is it so heavy!"

"Didn't John say Forrest Gump was on a diet?"

"Fuck..."

Before Ma Long could even complain, Gan Guoyang had already turned and easily passed him after receiving the ball.

Malone used too much force to push the man, which made him the center of gravity. Gan Guoyang used this to flip over and, facing Eaton who was helping in the paint, Gan Guoyang quickly jumped up and slammed the ball in with his left hand!

He easily tore apart the Jazz's interior defense; Eaton had the height, but not the speed.

"Clyde! Double team!"

Gan Guoyang shouted at Drexler.

The two players double-teamed Stockton, while Paxson went to defend Henson.

The double-team of these two players is the most effective, and once they steal the ball, they can immediately launch a fast break. Stockton immediately protected the ball and passed it to Malone, who came over to receive it. Malone hesitated for a moment.

Gan Guoyang immediately pounced on him and knocked the ball out of his hand. Drexler charged forward, and Gan Guoyang passed the ball.

The glider took off again, and it was the second dunk of the first section!
Leiden yelled from the sidelines, "Karl, what are you daydreaming about! Can't you tell which side is your own basket?"

Actually, Ma Long was only slightly hesitant about what to do next, but he didn't expect Gan Guoyang to get the hang of it so quickly.

“Pay attention to Carl,” Stockton reminded Malone.

Rookies are most prone to losing focus when they first enter the NBA because the intensity of the NBA is a level higher than that of the NCAA.

Especially when the opponent suddenly increases the intensity of their defense, such a double-teaming situation really tests the players' concentration.

With focused attention and seamless passing, you can successfully break through defenses and render your opponent's attacks ineffective.

This is the result of a lack of concentration; the score gap has widened further.

The Trail Blazers pulled away with a strong run, then relaxed.

But the Jazz still needed to find a way to attack, and Malone started moving towards the paint, looking for a position to attack with the ball.

Gan Guoyang is keeping a close eye on him. Now that Walton is in the paint, he can focus more on the area outside the three-second zone.

Ma Long was backing down to receive the ball, but his positioning was completely ineffective; he was simply standing on the flank of the three-second zone, with his back to Gan Guoyang.

Stockton still passed the ball, but Gan Guoyang knocked it away from behind, and Vandeweghe got the ball.

"Did you skip dinner and only eat watermelon? It's so soft and sweet! Are you trying to get a seat?"

Gan Guoyang shouted at Ma Long as he ran towards the frontcourt.

Malone is an inside player who doesn't like to box out for the ball because when he turns his back, it's just to get the ball, and then he immediately turns to face the basket. He rarely backs down.

In this respect, his playing habits are not as good as Dantley's. Dantley has a strong ability to position himself in the low post, and sometimes he can even directly challenge Gan Guoyang one-on-one.

Moreover, Ma Long's playing style on the court is lazy and unfocused. He runs without looking at the players or the ball, staring at the sky as if he has no idea what's up there.

When running, my body is not compact at all; my arms swing around loosely as if they are about to fall off.

Walton then held the ball at the high post and delivered a classic pass from the top of the key to Gan Guoyang, who cut to the basket and easily scored a layup.

On this play, Vandeweghe and Gan Guoyang made a tactical deception. It seemed like Gan Guoyang was setting a screen for Vandeweghe, but it was actually a fake screen followed by a back cut.

Malone's eyes had barely closed when Gan Guoyang had already darted to the basket to receive the ball and score, before he could even see what tactics the Trail Blazers were executing.

"Shit...how could it be so fast?"

Gan Guoyang looked at the bewildered Malone and said, "You really told Coach Leiden that you could handle me, so he had you guard me?"

Malone shook his head and said, "No, I didn't say that."

Gan Guoyang ran to the sidelines and shouted at Leiden, "Frank! Do you even know how to be a coach? Are you looking down on me? You just let Karl guard me one-on-one? Did I offend you in any way?"

Leiden laughed loudly, "Yes, you scored too many points in the first quarter!"

Gan Guoyang scored 12 points in the first quarter, and he did so quite easily.

Malone was so ashamed by their conversation that he almost cried, but what could he do?

Whether it's height, strength, speed, or skill, he's far inferior to Gan Guoyang.

Without double-teaming, Gan Guoyang could easily dominate Ma Long in a one-on-one situation.

Whether Ma Long was behind him or in front of him, Gan Guoyang stood there firmly like a tree, almost motionless.

In the final moments of the first quarter, Gan Guoyang received a pass from Walton, broke through the middle, and dunked the ball over Malone into the basket!

Ma Long staggered out of bounds like a kite with a broken string, rolled on the ground, and disappeared into the stands.

When he got up, the referee told him, "You committed a blocking foul."

Tears welled up in his eyes, and he ran to the sidelines, pretending to wipe away sweat with a towel to hide his uncontrollable tears.

Gan Guoyang made the free throw, scoring 21 points in the first quarter and helping the Trail Blazers take a 35-23 lead over the Jazz, establishing a decisive advantage.

Whenever Leiden reminded Malone that "you're not working hard enough," and Malone replied that "I've already worked hard enough," Leiden would use Forrest Gump to spur him on and use the match statistics between the two to humiliate him.

“If you can’t do it, I can find someone else to do it!” Leiden said to Malone.

Leiden told Malone that great players have great work ethic, and he told Malone that when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was in Milwaukee, he would run every day before dawn.

Stockton told Malone that when Forrest Gump was in high school in San Francisco, he would get up early every day to run and train until dark, without interruption for many years.

So, during the 1986 offseason, Malone made the gym his second home, filled with $100000 worth of gym equipment and a jacket he'd worn since high school—a jacket that had become too small for him by the end of summer.

—Excerpt from "Special Delivery: The Amazing Baksetball Career of Karl Mlone," a biography of Karl Mlone written by Latimer Clay in 1999.

(End of this chapter)