The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 252 Experience
The Jazz failed to make a splash in the second half, although Stockton and Henson, two white players, played well, especially Stockton, who scored 20 points and 8 assists, and made 7 of 8 free throws.

However, the 20-point gap was too difficult to overcome. Dantley still couldn't find his offensive rhythm in the second half and completely lost his way under the repeated defense of the Trail Blazers' three tall frontcourt players.

He only attempted 5 free throws throughout the game, 3 fewer than Stockton, which made it difficult for Dantley to find his offensive rhythm.

Needless to say, Ma Long was knocked away by Gan Guoyang in the first quarter and received two big blocks from Gan Guoyang in the third quarter, making no contribution on either the defensive or offensive ends.

He tried to run pick-and-rolls with Stockton, but Gan Guoyang anticipated and defended them all, resulting in either turnovers or falls—he fell at least five times tonight.

Gan Guoyang scored 46 points, 14 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 3 steals, single-handedly dismantling the Jazz's interior defense. The Jazz won 133-108 on the road, a 25-point advantage, handing the home team a crushing defeat.

After the match, Stockton was in a terrible mood. There was no way he was going to propose, and now he had no intention of getting married at all.

Ma Long was extremely frustrated. The two did not leave the court after the game and practiced shooting in the gym. At the other end of the court, Gan Guoyang was also practicing.

He made 11 of 12 free throws tonight, an astonishingly high shooting percentage, yet he still insisted on extra practice without fail.

Stockton asked, "Sonny, you're already in this bad shape, do you still want to practice more?"

Gan Guoyang said, "Otherwise, there's not much to do in Salt Lake City at night. You're not going to propose, so I can't help you celebrate."

Stockton thought to himself, "Isn't the blame for the failed proposal yours?"

For Gan Guoyang, training is a part of life and has nothing to do with how he performs tonight.

If you perform poorly, can you really salvage the situation by cramming for an hour at the last minute?
Shooting a basketball is like boxing or singing; it requires constant practice to maintain peak performance.

Of course, it's inevitable that they'll be in bad form sometimes. The next morning, the entire Trail Blazers team flew from Salt Lake City to Houston.

The final game of the three-game road trip, a back-to-back road game, against the Rockets' twin towers.

The Trail Blazers were not in the same form as in the previous game. The fatigue from the journey and the consecutive away games caused the whole team to lose their accuracy.

Hakeem Olajuwon, facing Gan Guoyang, was on fire again, relentlessly attacking the basket and earning 19 free throws, making 16 of them.

全场拿下9个前场篮板球的奥拉朱旺，砍下了38分20个篮板和3次封盖，率领火箭主场119:122，3分优势击败了开拓者。

The Trail Blazers' four-game winning streak came to an abrupt end. In terms of standings, the two teams are currently ranked second and third in the Western Conference, respectively. Gan Guoyang can sense that the Houston Rockets may be a formidable opponent in the new season.

On the flight back to Portland, Gan Guoyang sat down next to Ramsey and shared his thoughts: "Perhaps we shouldn't focus all our energy on the Lakers; the Houston Rockets are just as dangerous."

Gan Guoyang worries that if he only focuses on the Lakers, he will end up being overtaken by the Rockets, which would be like the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

Ramsey glanced at Gan Guoyang and said, "You're a coward just because you lost one game?"

"No! The team was too tired tonight, and I missed some crucial shots."

"You've started making excuses too. Who taught you that?"

"..."

Gan Guoyang had nothing to say. This old man was playing both sides; he was just frustrated after losing the game.

Back in Portland, during team practice, Adelman talked to Gan Guoyang and asked, "Are you worried about the Houston Rockets? Isn't no one better at dealing with twin towers than you?"

Gan Guoyang thought to himself, "Adelman, what's wrong with you? Did Jack teach you to say that?"

"Yeah, I lost a game. Why don't you fire me?"

Adelman smiled, thinking that Dr. Jack was right; using that phrase to describe him was indeed effective.

"Jack and I watched the film, and poor shooting was the key factor. We were definitely too tired. It's not a big problem, and we believe you can handle the twin towers, but the Rockets' frontcourt is the real issue. What do you think?"

Although Gan Guoyang suffered a setback against Olajuwon, it wasn't a major one. In the end, they only lost by three points. The Rockets' real strength in suppressing the Trail Blazers came from their frontcourt.

Like the Lakers, the Rockets also have a strong frontcourt, with Robert Reed, McGrady, and Lewes Lloyd, whose starting lineup is the tallest in the entire league.

After a season of growth and development, the twin towers have become more mature. They are no longer provoked by Gan Guoyang's words and rarely argue in the locker room (though it still happens occasionally). Every time they face the Trail Blazers and Gan Guoyang, under Olajuwon's leadership, they go all out and play exciting games.

Gan Guoyang said, "Qiqi does struggle in high-intensity matches. He has no problem scoring, but his contributions in other areas are insufficient."

Adelman nodded and said, "So what do you think?"

Gan Guoyang said, "I think? I'm not the coach. Why are you talking to me about this? This is your job. I will do whatever you say, how to allocate personnel and design tactics. Do you want me to suggest trading Qiqi? Impossible. Without him, my rebounding title this year will be in danger."

"You guys should just trade Clyde away; he's always stealing my rebounds," Gan Guoyang joked.

Adelman said, "I remember you said before that if your teammates aren't doing well, you'll step in."

Gan Guoyang said, "I did say that before. You don't mean you want me to play small forward, do you? That's not impossible."

Gan Guoyang thought to himself, with a height of 6 feet 10 inches, he would definitely have no problem playing small forward in the future.

Adelman said, "It's not that bad, kid. It would be a waste to put you at small forward, and we'd need to rethink our tactics and change our playing style. Jack is just considering letting you play alongside Walton and Thompson for certain periods, where you might be able to utilize your long-range shooting ability."

"So you want me to be a defensive forward who shoots three-pointers? Jack's idea is pretty ahead of its time."

"No, no, no, not three-pointers, not three-pointers! Anyway, we'll try it in practice. Offense isn't a big problem, Walton can move out to facilitate, defense is key. Can you keep up with their small forward?"

Gan Guoyang gave an OK sign and said, "Of course, I'm more agile than last year." Strong teams in the 80s were desperately piling up their frontcourt players, especially those forwards who could play both the 3 and 4 positions.

Coaches have realized that in a league where offense and defense transitions are very fast, it is easy to get lost in a contest of speed and power if you don't have some versatile players.

Starting in the 70s, player positions began to blur, and by the late 70s, there were more and more players like Larry Kenon.

Although the Spurs, SuperSonics, and Bullets were not well-known, their rivalry in the late 70s provided rich examples for the tactical and personnel changes in the 80s.

Tall players in the backcourt, tall players controlling the ball, multi-functional forwards, and an all-tall squad are all tactics that these teams have developed through practice in competitive games.

In 1980, Magic Johnson emerged as a unique player on the court, becoming the epitome of unconventional playing styles.

The 1977 Trail Blazers were the last vestige of traditional positional play, and now even Ramsey is starting to think about more flexible personnel combinations and usage.

Otherwise, relying on their old resources and a half-crippled former MVP, the Trail Blazers will likely have a tough time defeating those formidable opponents.
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The Trail Blazers, back at home, enjoyed a sweet week with only three games to play: the SuperSonics, the Cavaliers, and the Sacramento Kings, who moved from Kansas to Sacramento.

The three opponents were not strong. The era of Lenny Wilkens for the SuperSonics was over. He became the team's general manager and handed the reins to Bernie Bickerstaff.

The 1979 championship seems as distant as World War II.

The only symbol and sign, Jack Hickma, won't be here for much longer.

The Trail Blazers defeated the SuperSonics 82-100 at home in a defensive battle, avoiding a losing streak.

Two days later, George Karl brought a listless Cavaliers team to Portland Memorial Stadium.

Last season, George Karl and the Cavaliers experienced a terrible losing streak, with their record at the beginning of the season being 6 wins and 23 losses.

George Karl, the youngest coach, was almost fired, but the Cavaliers gradually found their form in the second half of the season.

They finished the 1984-1985 season with a record of 36 wins and 46 losses, a respectable performance by George Karl.

But the Cavaliers are not a team that George Karl can save. They started the new season with a three-game losing streak, followed by consecutive losses to the Bullets and the Bucks, resulting in a six-game losing streak.

They surprisingly won their seventh game against the Los Angeles Lakers on the road. After the game, George Karl took the players back to the hotel bar to celebrate, spending more than $500.

But in the end, he refused to pay and instead went to the general manager for reimbursement. George Karl has a neurotic and passionate personality, which is why he was able to lead the Cavaliers to a decent season even in adversity.

However, as time went on, he exposed his arrogance, selfishness, and lack of self-discipline, which was unacceptable for a young team with a poor foundation.

His contract expires at the end of the year, and the Cavaliers have no intention of renewing it. He has also begun to contact other teams privately, and his time with the Cavaliers is coming to an end.

The Trail Blazers dealt a crushing blow to the Cavaliers at home, winning 100-121 in a decisive victory with no suspense whatsoever.

Ramsey used a lineup with Walton, Thompson, and Gan Guoyang on the court simultaneously during the middle of the second quarter and the beginning of the fourth quarter.

After the game, George Karl complained to Ramsey, "Don't you think your team is tall enough? We can barely see the basket!"

Ramsey explained, "Forrest said his back hurt and he couldn't sit down, so he wanted to stand on the outside a little longer."

The third opponent, the Kings, still posed no problem for the Trail Blazers. The Trail Blazers played normally at home, simply pushed past them, and won.

The Trail Blazers had 12 players score, with 8 scoring in double figures. So far, they have a perfect home record. Portland is a great place.

After the Kings moved to their fourth home city, they no longer had to travel to Nebraska to play every season.

California has welcomed their fourth team, and Kansas has become the Ravens' home turf.

Phil Johnson's transformation of the team has been quite successful, and the lineup of Thorpe, Eddie Johnson, and Reggie Thurs is quite competitive.

But Phil Johnson clearly felt that when playing against the Trail Blazers, "we were like second-generation fighters, while the Portlanders were already third-generation."

This feeling intensified, especially when Gan Guoyang hit three three-pointers in the game, leaving Phil Johnson helpless.

With an 8-1 start, the entire league is taking notice of the Portlanders' good form and their unique style of play. Gan Guoyang has once again won the Player of the Week award for the start of the season.

Meanwhile, next to the news of his own Player of the Week award, Gan Guoyang saw the latest news about Jordan's injury: he will be out for at least six weeks due to a fractured scaphoid bone.

Jordan definitely wouldn't make it to the game between the two teams at the end of November in 1985.

Gan Guoyang spoke with Jordan on the phone. Jordan was quite optimistic. He said he had decided to return to North Carolina after his injury improved, finish his courses, and get the credits he needed to graduate.

"I don't want to be constantly told that I'm uncultured."

Gan Guoyang served a year as a substitute player during his freshman year, but still managed to complete his credits and graduate smoothly. Hakeem Olajuwon did the same.

Players like Jordan, who entered the NBA in their junior year of college, theoretically did not graduate with a diploma, and Jordan did not want to be outdone by Gan Guoyang in this regard.

“We’re incredibly strong right now, Michael. I really want you to experience it for yourself.”

"Fuck you, why don't you let me experience the good stuff? The bulls weren't any worse than you guys."

"Fine, Patrick's coming to Portland to play next week, I'll let him experience it."

(End of this chapter)