The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 259 Solo Eating
One of the key factors that enabled the Lakers to dominate in the 80s was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's enduring popularity.

The key reason why Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has remained a perennial favorite is that, in addition to providing extremely consistent offensive output, no mid-generation or new generation center can consistently outmaneuver him one-on-one on the defensive end.

This is very important for the Lakers' offensive and defensive systems.

It could be said that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's ability to avoid making defensive blunders was more important than his consistent hook shot.

In his youth, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was an outstanding defender, with top-tier individual and help defense abilities in the league.

As he aged, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's weaknesses in defense—such as poor rebounding, slightly weaker mobility, and aversion to physical contact—became more apparent.

So he suffered a bit in his match against Moses Malone, and struggled every time he met Malone between 81 and 83.

But Malone relied on repeatedly attacking the basket and grabbing offensive rebounds in a brutal way to wear down and attack Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

In static one-on-one offense and defense, Moses Malone doesn't have many options. He can only rely on his unreliable turnaround jump shot and his inconsistent hook shot to score some points, but he can't create absolute dominance or threat.

When Moses' body declined and he could no longer single-handedly break through an entire defense like he did in his youth, and when the 76ers could no longer overcome the Celtics' formidable barrier, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was no longer afraid of Moses, even though Moses was only 30 years old.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the Lakers viewed Gan Guoyang as a threat similar to Moses Malone, with the same height and the same noisy playing style, but with more defense and more accurate outside shooting, making him even more difficult to defend.

Riley believes the Lakers have ample wing and guard resources to deal with Forrest Gump; they have Rambis, Worthy, Cooper, and McGee.

If Forrest Gump moves his offensive line to a more outside position, the Lakers won't be afraid of him as long as he doesn't explode from three-point range.

Because, like Moses, you couldn't truly and completely suppress or kill Jabbar; you merely wore him down and temporarily overshadowed him.

Whether it's offensive rebounding or mid-range jump shots, these are ultimately "side tricks" in interior confrontations. You can gain a temporary advantage by using tricks, but in the long run, being able to efficiently outmaneuver your opponent in the low post is the biggest problem.

Just like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's skyhook, scoring 25 to 30 points over your head with a 60% to 70% shooting percentage in crucial games means that for 10 possessions in a game, you are completely helpless against the Lakers' defense, causing no trouble for the opponent, unable to launch a counterattack, not to mention losing more than 20 points.

To reduce such possessions, you try everything to double-team, front the opponent, and wear them down, but you find that it has little effect and even allows other points on the Lakers to open up. All the teams in the Western Conference that kept losing to the Lakers in the 80s deeply understand this helplessness.

Until tonight, Gan Guoyang showed something that other centers have struggled to do on offense for the past 16 years at the start of the first quarter: he repeatedly outmaneuvered Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the low post.

Bill Russell witnessed it all as a courtside guest:
"Sonny has the ball in the low post; his positioning and turning skills are excellent, and he has a very good touch. His..."

"That shot went in, very fast and very fluid. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar tried his best to block it, but he couldn't keep up with the speed. After all, he's 38 years old. I would have retired long ago at that age. Oh... the Trail Blazers' counterattack came very quickly. Forrest received the pass in the paint. Tonight, this is..."

"He scored again. He caught the ball, turned around, and made a quick hook shot. His move reminded me of Bernard King. Before you could react, he had already put the ball in the basket."

Russell's commentary was clearly not keeping up with the speed of Gan Guoyang's score. By the time he tried to explain the implications of the attack in detail, something else had already happened on the field.

Russell later said, "TV basketball requires you to think and explain what's happening on the court in eight seconds, and I have a deeper understanding of basketball, players, and their motivations."

This resulted in Russell being an outstanding basketball player, but unable to be a good basketball commentator; he had too much on his mind and the television broadcasts gave him too little time.

Russell was utterly amazed by Gan Guoyang's consecutive points; he had never seen such a fast, simple yet powerful style of play before.

He asked himself if he could defend against such an attack on the field.

Gan Guoyang scored 12 points in the first quarter, including 8 points from a one-on-one contest against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in a static position, 2 points from a hook shot on a fast break, and 2 points from free throws.

He only missed one shot.

Pat Riley, watching from the sidelines, was sweating bullets; no player had ever scored so many points over Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Moreover, he didn't use any tricks, he didn't use mid-range shots or offensive rebounds, he just used his strength and skill to make up for the difference in height and wingspan in the low post.

In previous games, Riley believed that Gan Guoyang had become faster and quicker, but his scoring methods were not much different from last season.

He will score more points, but he won't pose a greater threat.

Tonight, Riley realized right from the start that this wasn't the case at all.

Gan Guoyang received the ball for the sixth time on the left low post, and Jabbar was already dizzy and angry from being hit so hard.

But Gan Guoyang remained as calm as ice. He received the ball, took a Sigma step, turned around, and observed the defensive line.

The unexpected start came from the left baseline, with Jabbar sideways to defend against Gan Guoyang's move to the top line.

He couldn't even turn around. Gan Guoyang had already driven into the three-second zone. Rambis came over to help defend but was shoved aside by Gan Guoyang, who then easily made a layup with his left hand. The referee blew the whistle to award a penalty, but Rambis seemed unable to withstand being repeatedly bumped by Gan Guoyang. Losing his temper, he went up and shoved Gan Guoyang.

Having already turned his back, Gan Guoyang, caught off guard, took a small step back. He turned around and stared at Lambis with an incredulous look, then suddenly launched himself with a rugby-like charge, sending Lambis flying!

Lambis staggered back three or four steps as if struck by the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, falling to the ground and rolling twice. But he immediately scrambled to his feet and charged toward Gan Guoyang.

Lakers players rushed over to stop him, while Trail Blazers players also held onto Gan Guoyang tightly. Mitchell Thompson quickly said, "Don't be impulsive, Sonny! You'll kill Rambis! Don't be impulsive!"

Gan Guoyang's hand movement was not significant, and he did not use his elbow; it was normal physical contact. He didn't understand why Rambis reacted so strongly.

The game descended into chaos for a while, with the referee calling fouls on both sides. No one was ejected, but Rambis seemed to be in a bad mood and went to the locker room early.

After making the free throw, Ramsey substituted Gan Guoyang with Walton, giving Gan Guoyang time to calm down.

This unexpected event allowed the Lakers to catch their breath a little, as they had already allowed the Trail Blazers to score 25 points just halfway through the first quarter.

The Trail Blazers led by 11 points at 25:14, their offense suffocating the Lakers, with Gan Guoyang completely dominating their low post.

It was rare for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to allow such a series of baskets in the first quarter of a game. During the timeout, he told Riley not to double-team him, but to guard him one-on-one.

Riley disagreed, saying that Maurice Lucas should guard Forrest Gump, and Cooper, Worthy, and others should double-team him, instead of letting him score alone.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was very unhappy. After winning the Finals MVP last season, Abdul-Jabbar ushered in a new spring in his basketball career. People's evaluation of him completely changed, making a 180-degree turn.

He beat Forrest Gump, he beat Parish, he became the oldest Finals MVP, and people keep describing him as great. In the past, he was called a boring hook shot, but now every time he makes it is regarded as a miracle, and he continues to raise the NBA scoring record.

Since the start of the new season, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has once again become the core of the team's half-court offense, and his average points per game have reached a new high in nearly five years.

His hair was thinning, but he felt young and vibrant, and how could he tolerate being ravaged like this by a second-year center?

Gan Guoyang sat on the sidelines. He thought for two minutes and wondered if Riley had deliberately let Rambis cause trouble so that he would be forced off the field.

But that's not Riley's style, and it's just a regular season game; there's no need to do this.

In the final two minutes of the first quarter, Gan Guoyang returned to the court, replacing Thompson and partnering Walton in the frontcourt.

The Lakers immediately substituted in Maurice Lucas, the NBA's boxing champion. As soon as he stepped onto the court, the fans chanted, "Give Forrest a punch!" "Knock him down!" "Hit him, hit him!"

Lakers fans' animosity toward Gan Guoyang is growing because anger often stems from fear, and when people cannot deal with their fear, they often fall into useless anger.

Maurice Lucas looked at Gan Guoyang and said, "They told me to hit you, do you want to try?"

Gan Guoyang glared at the veteran and said, "If you want, I don't mind letting you retire early."

Lucas was known in the league for his fiery temper and superb boxing skills, but Gan Guoyang was not afraid at all.

Lucas wasn't angry. He said, "I won't hit you. I should thank you for taking down that Lambis guy. He actually stole my starting position. Shit."

Upon hearing Lucas's words, Gan Guoyang realized that AC Green was right after all; there were conflicts within the Lakers team, and the root of those conflicts was Maurice Lucas.

1985 was my last year as a commentator for CBS. After that season, I left the basketball commentary job because it wasn't a good fit for me at all.

I can't present everything that's happening on stage to the audience in 8 seconds. There's too much information. I need a minute, but that's impossible.

What impressed me most was the Lakers vs. Trail Blazers game, where second-year player Forrest scored 14 or 15 points over Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the first quarter. I can't remember exactly.

All I remember is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar looking miserable after being beaten, and Rambis attacking Forrest Gump after being beaten, only to end up crying in the locker room.

I asked myself honestly, could I have defended against such an attack in the low post?

The answer is no, I'd rather defend Wilt than Forrest Gump.

Later, Reed also told me that he really missed the era when Chamberlain was his opponent.

—Excerpt from "Red and Me: My Coach and My Lifelong Friend," co-authored by Alan Steinberg and Bill Russell, published in 2009.

(End of this chapter)