The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 253 Burning Incense
Before letting Ewing experience the Trail Blazers' strength on the court, Gan Guoyang wanted to treat Ewing to some Chinese food in Portland.

Gan Guoyang originally planned to cook at home, but then he thought that he should not expose his cooking skills too much. It would be embarrassing if he was asked to cook a dish every time people got together to eat.
I'm here to be your older brother, not to cook for you. I'm not Clementine.

Gan Guoyang first drove to the school to pick up Wang Fuxi, saying that he was treating his friends to dinner today and wanted to take her along.

Wang Fuxi turned down a school activity, agreed, and asked, "Which player friend is it this time?"

Gan Guoyang said, "You don't seem to care about the Trail Blazers' schedule at all right now. It's Ewing who said the Knicks are coming."

"Oh, Ewing, I know him, the player who looks like a gorilla."

"Hey, don't talk nonsense. If someone hears you, they'll sue you for racism."

"I'm only telling you this, besides, he really does look alike."

Even if it's true, you can't just say it!

Gan Guoyang drove to the airport to pick up Ewing.

This summer, when Gan Guoyang was in New York, Ewing not only lent him a car, but also frequently treated him to meals and got the Knicks to grant him access to the arena so that Gan Guoyang could train without any hindrance.

So when Ewing came to Portland, Gan Guoyang was sure to treat him well. He took Ewing to the old Chinatown on the banks of the Willamette River in Portland and found a Chinese restaurant they frequented. At the same table was one of Wang Fuxi's female friends, and the four of them ate together.

When Yu saw that Gan Guoyang had brought his girlfriend to dinner tonight, he knew it would be a vegetarian meal and there wouldn't be any entertainment afterward, and he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

However, he knew that Forrest Gump was just like that. He stayed in a hotel in New York for a month and didn't even look for a prostitute. He focused all his time and energy on training.

Therefore, he had a sense of awe for Gan Guoyang. He knew that Gan Guoyang's performance on the field was earned through a lot of hard work, which inspired Ewing.

"Patrick, how's it going since you came to the NBA? Is New York doing alright?" Gan Guoyang asked Ewing at the dinner table.

Ewing paused for a moment, scratched his face with his large hand, and said, "I feel more comfortable at university."

Ewing spent four years in Georgetown under the protection of John Thompson, who protected him very well, even to the point of being overprotective.

Suddenly the Iron Curtain erected by John Thompson disappeared, and Ewing went to a megacity like New York.

The public expectations and pressure he faced were beyond what most people could imagine, with all sorts of chaotic opinions starting the moment the Knicks got the number one draft pick.

Gan Guoyang found an October issue of Sports Illustrated from somewhere, and Ewing knew something was wrong as soon as he saw the cover.

"Oh, please, Forrest Gump, don't read this article, it's pure nonsense!"

Gan Guoyang had already brought it along, so how could he not read it? He flipped to the article written by Jack McCallum, cleared his throat, and read aloud:
"Awaken the echoes of the great Bill Russell! Patrick Ewing leads the rookies into the professional arena!"

Upon hearing the headline, Ewing couldn't take it anymore. He rushed over, grabbed Gan Guoyang's shoulder, snatched the magazine from Gan Guoyang's hand, and stopped him from reading any further.

But Gan Guoyang had already read the article and remembered some of the sentences. He asked, "Patrick, didn't you say 'I will not change for anyone!' The article said that this sentence should be engraved on your epitaph. My God, are you already thinking about how to die?"

Ewing rubbed his forehead and said, "I just said it offhand. If I were to say, 'I will change myself for this city,' people would think I'm a coward. Only cowards can be manipulated and changed. So I can only say that I won't change, and that's what most people will say!"

Compared to when he was first selected as New York's number one draft pick in July, this October article's praise for Ewing has become much more subdued.

Since the preseason had already taken place in October, and the Knicks had a record of 2 wins and 6 losses, which was mediocre, Ewing's performance was not disappointing, but it was certainly not particularly impressive.

On the contrary, he exposed some problems in the professional arena, such as controlling his emotions. In the second game, he was sent off for saying something to the referee. By then, he had already committed six fouls and was sent directly to the locker room.

In the third game, he confronted Buck Williams, then went to settle scores with Michael Ray Richardson, and finally fouled out of the game.

During the game against the Pacers, he elbowed Steve Stepanovic in the throat, and Stepanovic tackled him to the ground, and the two started fighting.

Ewing was outmatched, pinned down by Stipanovic, and both were eventually ejected. In eight preseason games, Ewing was ejected four times for fouls and fighting, a 50% ejection rate, higher than his shooting percentage.

In Georgetown, he had John Thompson and a group of teammates protecting him, especially Thompson. They formed a solid team to resist all outside noise.

But the Knicks are different. They've been in decline for a long time. Bernard King is out for the season with an injury, the team is leaderless, and no one will protect Ewing.

He roared angrily atop the Empire State Building like King Kong, ready to show his toughness to the people of this alliance, but no one paid him any attention.

On the contrary, New Yorkers felt he was too reckless, lacking the composure of Willis Reed. In interviews, he was always indifferent, unable to utter any interesting sentences, and completely lacked the flair of Walter Frazier.

Gan Guoyang saw Ewing and Stepanovic fighting on TV and said to Ewing, "If you're not particularly good at fighting, then don't fight. Because if you provoke someone and then find out you can't win, then your toughness will be seen as fake, understand? Don't learn from that idiot Akim."

Having grown up fighting in an orphanage, Forrest Gump knew that you can't fight for the sake of fighting. If you're going to fight, you have to be absolutely sure of winning, hurt your opponent so badly that they won't dare to fight again.

If you keep fighting, and someone comes to your door to seek revenge the day after you fight today, it means the fight was pointless, it didn't achieve anything, and it only brought endless trouble.

With his huge hands, Ewing held chopsticks and tried to pick up some peanuts from the Kung Pao Chicken dish. He nodded and said, "Coach Thompson told me the same thing. He said that in the NBA, you're a star, so don't get into conflicts. The Knicks should find someone to help you sort things out."

In those days, it was common for star players to have bodyguards, especially during the 60s and 70s when fighting was most prevalent.

John Thompson was Bill Russell's bodyguard.

Every team has capable players. If you send one of those capable players to punch the star player, and they both take turns leaving the game, then the game is over.

Therefore, the team signs some capable players as a deterrent, so everyone has someone to fight back, and if you don't fight me, I won't fight you.

If a fight is to break out, then let the bodyguards fight each other; the star players should not get involved.

Later, because of the Washington and Tomjanovich incident, the fighting decreased.

There were far fewer on-field conflicts in the 80s than in the 60s and 70s, but they still occurred frequently.

After all, this is professional basketball, with intense physical contact; it's impossible to avoid conflict and tension.

Of course, Gan Guoyang took a different path, defeating everyone in the league without any rivals, which made no one dare to provoke him anymore.

The Trail Blazers always play with restraint and composure; everyone tries to solve problems with basketball.

“Patrick, how about I teach you wrestling? Look how badly you got thrown by that Stepanovic guy! He grabbed your choke from behind, and that’s when you should grab his hand firmly. Do this, then this, then this… and you can give him an over-the-shoulder throw!”

Gan Guoyang demonstrated to Ewing how to break the chokehold behind his back, and said that if Ewing wanted to learn, the tuition fee could be reduced.

"I'm not going to study anymore, I just want to play basketball."

Ewing had trained in wrestling with Gan Guoyang during the summer, but Ewing's physique was not suitable; his legs were too long and his center of gravity was too high.

Moreover, during practice, Gan Guoyang threw him several times, almost breaking his bones. You Yin seriously suspected that Gan Guoyang had made him a punching bag, so he didn't go the second time.

"Then don't make any rash moves. Wait for the Knicks to find you a bodyguard player."

“Michael is good at this. Many people are violent towards him, but he never lays a hand on them. As long as you don’t act recklessly, you won’t get into trouble, and you will stay clear-headed and restrained.”

Gan Guoyang shared his experiences with Ewing, talking about his rookie season, including how to compete against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Moses Malone, which Ewing found very helpful.

"So how should I deal with you?" Ewing suddenly asked.

"When I go to the temple to burn incense, I am under the care of the Bodhisattva."

(End of this chapter)