The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 258: Fierce Nature

After the interview, the warm-up was over, and the players returned to the locker room to prepare for the game.

Gan Guoyang kicked open the door to the away team's locker room and shouted to his teammates, "I just said in an interview on CBS that tonight we're going to beat the Lakers to a pulp! You guys figure it out!"

Everyone was stunned and turned to look at Gan Guoyang, wondering what had gotten into him this time.

Everyone was burning with determination after losing in last year's Western Conference Finals, hoping to surpass their opponents this year.

But no one thought as much as Gan Guoyang that they could easily beat the Lakers on the road, especially since he said it publicly on television.

The locker room fell silent. Ramsey said, "Alright, let's just play casually tonight."

The locker room was filled with laughter, creating a joyful atmosphere.

Gan Guoyang hurriedly asked, "Jack, whose side are you on?"

Ramsey said, "I'm on the normal side."

"I just want to win, what's wrong with that?"

"Everyone wants to win, but it's about using your brain, not your words."

"I can rely on my words."

"..."

At this moment, Ramsey didn't want to exchange more than three sentences with Gan Guoyang; if he said a few more, Gan Guoyang's normal mental state would become abnormal again.

Wharton came over and patted Gan Guoyang on the shoulder, saying, "Dr. Jack has made thorough preparations. We all want to win tonight, not just you."

Gan Guoyang said, "I know, I just wanted to encourage everyone. Is your foot alright?"

"No problem, I feel great right now, very, very good."

Walton experienced something with this new Trail Blazers team that he could never have experienced with the Clippers.

Positive, united, harmonious, and optimistic, they seemed to have returned to the best of times.

Walton is already planning to move his wife and children back to Portland from Los Angeles.

He wanted his children to grow up there; although Los Angeles was great, Portland had its own unique charm.

Ten minutes later, the entire Trail Blazers team formed a circle at the locker room entrance, with Gan Guoyang standing in the center, raising his right arm.

Everyone placed their hands on Gan Guoyang's hands, a common opening encouragement ceremony for many teams.

At this point, the team leader usually shouts a slogan, and everyone echoes it to boost morale.

Teams like the Celtics shout "Go Celtics!" and teams playing against the Lakers would typically shout "Beat LA!"

The Trail Blazers asked Gan Guoyang to come up with a Chinese slogan that is both meaningful and catchy, serving as a rallying cry for the team's quest for the championship this year.

Gan Guoyang racked his brains for three days and three nights and finally came up with a Chinese slogan that was meaningful, catchy, rhyming, powerful, and easy to learn.

"Buddha bless!"

Gan Guoyang shouted, and the rest of the Trail Blazers echoed in unison in broken Chinese, "May the Bodhisattva protect us!"

Ramsey asked Gan Guoyang what the slogan meant, and Gan Guoyang said it was the Chinese version of "God bless the pioneers".

Ramsey was a devout Christian, and Americans love to shout "God bless America," a well-known slogan.

Ramsey was very satisfied, so the Trail Blazers used this slogan before the season started and chanted it throughout the entire season.

With the confidence that God is protecting them, the Trail Blazers once again stepped onto the floor of the Great Western Forum arena.

The moment I stepped onto this floor, the relaxed and pleasant atmosphere from before vanished.

Before Gan Guoyang arrived, this place was always a "no-go zone" for the Trail Blazers; they could win games at Boston Garden Square much more easily than here.

In 1979, Magic Johnson joined the Lakers. From the 1980 season to the 1984 season, they played the Lakers 12 times on the road over four seasons and only won three of those games.

Including the playoffs, they only won three out of 15 away games.

After Gan Guoyang joined the Trail Blazers, they won four games at the Great Western Forum in one season.

Riley was so badly beaten that he didn't dare let Gan Guoyang come to the stadium for warm-up training, and Rambis needed a psychologist to treat him before the game to relieve his negative emotions.

The Lakers had an inexplicable four-game road trip to start the new season, and in their first game, they narrowly defeated the Spurs in double overtime in San Antonio.

However, the defending champions, with their superior strength and the momentum from last season, defeated the Spurs, Mavericks, Suns and Warriors in succession, achieving a four-game road winning streak.

In Game 5, they finally returned to their home court for the opening game of the championship ring ceremony, but they lost to the Cavaliers, who had not won a game since the start of the season, causing a major upset.

However, they quickly regained their form and have been winning ever since, tying the Trail Blazers for the top spot. Tonight will be a battle for the Western Conference lead. Riley learned from last season's experience and abandoned his all-out offensive lineup, starting Kirk Rambis and Michael Cooper, while relegating Byron Scott, a frequent starter last season, to the bench.

However, this is not fixed. Riley often changes his shooting guard position, deciding whether to use Cooper or Scott depending on the opponent.

He would prefer to play Cooper against the Trail Blazers. Cooper's defense, especially his help defense, is very important. Only Rambis would have a hard time dealing with Forrest.

Rambis did a lot of mental preparation before the game, and only then did he put on his glasses and start the game. He was really traumatized by Gan Guoyang.

During the most intense part of the playoffs, Gan Guoyang's collisions were like a dump truck, and Rambis couldn't handle his impact, either in terms of height or size.

Especially Gan Guoyang's iron elbow, which knocked Lambis unconscious twice and broke his glasses once (Gan Guoyang later paid for them). The key point is that when reviewing the video, it's unclear whether this guy did it on purpose.

In this situation, they can't win by fighting, they don't dare to fight, and they can't defend. The game experience is very bad, so it's normal that Rambis doesn't want to start.

But Riley still insisted on starting Rambis instead of Maurice Lucas, who was more experienced and had stronger individual abilities.

After the pre-match performances ended, both teams took to the field, and the lights and cameras focused on the brightly lit field.

Rambis took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly, reminding himself, "Don't look at Forrest Gump, don't talk to him, just play basketball, play basketball."

Gan Guoyang stood in the center circle. He hadn't originally planned to talk to Lambis, but after glancing at the guy, he noticed that he deliberately turned his head away and was muttering to himself.

"Hey Lambis, are you still angry with me? Don't be angry, I've already forgiven you."

"Don't bump your face into my elbow next time, it hurts. I'm talking about my elbow."

Lambis clenched his fists, and his previously calm demeanor suddenly became difficult to control.

Jabbar stepped between the two and looked at Gan Guoyang, saying, "Kid, don't say such hurtful things."

Gan Guoyang said, "You've already treated me as an enemy. Can't you even bear to hear a few words from me? If you lose to me, are you going to commit suicide?"

Gan Guoyang was very aggressive tonight because he sensed the hostility from the Lakers and Riley, which he could feel from AC Green's account and the attitude of the entire Lakers team.

You treat me as an enemy, yet you expect an enemy to speak kindly to you? You're incredibly naive.

The only two people on the Lakers organization who remained warm and friendly towards Gan Guoyang were AC Green and C.D. Green, because he wasn't a true Laker yet.

Another one is Byron Scott, who bumped into Gan Guoyang in the player tunnel before the game. They greeted each other, joked around, and chatted for a while.

Everyone else, whether in the tunnel or on the court during warm-ups, treated Gan Guoyang with disdain and indifference.

It seems that only Scott is practicing the first rule of the Forrest Gump Law, while Pat Riley has gotten carried away and forgotten the rule himself.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was speechless after being confronted by Gan Guoyang. The referee had already come over to prepare for the jump ball, and he saw the ferocity of a beast in Gan Guoyang's eyes.

During the jump ball, Gan Guoyang tipped the ball first, giving the Trail Blazers possession. Drexler then led the offense.

Gan Guoyang had already sprinted down to the vicinity of the three-second zone when Drexler lofted a pass to him.

Before receiving the ball, Gan Guoyang had already thought of the two best ways to attack from this position: a turnaround jump shot and a left-handed hook shot.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was in the middle, and Cooper was on the wing trying to double-team him. Gan Guoyang received the ball and immediately made a judgment, choosing to quickly turn around and shoot a jump shot.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar tried to block the shot, but Gan Guoyang's turn and release were too fast; the ball flew past his fingertips and into the basket.

This is Bernard King's trump card; he has provided the optimal solution for any position near the three-second zone.

In the summer, Gan Guoyang practiced these optimal solutions extensively, including turning, shooting, hook shots, breakthroughs, and passing. He also underwent visualization training with Dr. Ogilvy, simulating various situations on the court to improve his adaptability.

Whether it's a double-team, a triple-team, or a fronting defense, or an illegal early double-team, Gan Guoyang would further deduce the solution based on Bernard King's plan, try to find the optimal solution, and then train repeatedly to form muscle memory.

This way, when he has the ball near the three-second zone, he can react quickly and efficiently, avoiding getting bogged down in the opponent's defense, while also driving the team's offense.

However, the Lakers made a basic mistake on offense. Johnson passed the ball in the middle, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Rambis were out of position and neither of them were in position to receive the ball.

The ball flew directly out of bounds, and the Trail Blazers gained possession.

Riley stood on the sidelines with his arms crossed; this wasn't a great start.

Even worse, Gan Guoyang blocked Jabbar in the low post, received the ball, turned outside and went to the baseline, completely overwhelming Jabbar with his strength and speed.

A powerful right-handed slam dunk!

This monster has indeed improved again this summer.

Riley, who had repeatedly studied the Trail Blazers' game plan this season before the game, realized that the guy hadn't really exerted himself in the previous games.

Even though he scored 50 points against Joe Barry Carroll, he did it mostly with turnaround jumpers and hook shots.

He only plays like this against the Lakers, starting with a strong low-post attack.

(End of this chapter)