The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 262 Three Highs
Gan Guoyang's words in the interview were clearly intended to sow discord, but it is also a fact that Riley is becoming more and more high-profile and domineering.

NBA players aren't strategists; most of them are straightforward and simple-minded, reacting to things in the most direct way.

In the interview, Gan Guoyang deliberately praised Riley and mentioned Kareem Abdul-Jabbar but ignored Johnson's words and actions, making Johnson feel that his position with the Lakers was being challenged.

Therefore, during practice the day after the game between the Trail Blazers and the Lakers, Johnson led a rebellion against Riley, and the Lakers' core players cornered Riley in the training facility's video room to hold a meeting.

Johnson asked Riley to revise the team's rotation, excluding Maurice Lucas from the main rotation, and to reduce Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's shot attempts, focusing on fast breaks instead of the current 17 shot attempts per game, two more than last season.

Riley was furious at Johnson's rebellion, but he had no room to resist because he knew that Johnson was Jerry Buss's favorite player. Everyone else on the Lakers team had been replaced and left, leaving only Johnson.

Ultimately, Riley could only agree to some of Johnson's conditions, indicating that he would further elevate Johnson's tactical core status in the team and reduce Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's shot attempts.

However, Riley stated that this was not a decision he could make, as signing Lucas was Jerry West's idea.

"We want McAdoo, not Lucas!" Johnson expressed the Lakers players' sentiments, who missed McAdoo's humor and selfless dedication on the court.

Lucas is not incapable of being selfless; he played very well with the Trail Blazers and the Suns. The problem is that he doesn't fit in with the Lakers. Just like two people who don't get along, it's not that one of them is at fault; it's simply that their personalities don't match.

After Bob McAdoo was traded to the Celtics, he didn't want to play for them. He and Auerbach disliked each other, and Auerbach almost resigned because of the trade.

McAdoo played 20 games before being traded for the 1980 draft pick, which the Celtics won, leading to the formation of their iconic frontcourt trio.

McAdoo thrived after joining the Lakers; he loved the team, and the players and fans loved him too. But when he grew old, West fired him without hesitation.

After Riley repeatedly explained that he couldn't decide the player lineup, Johnson had to temporarily compromise on the issues of Lucas and McAdoo, but he made it clear, "I won't pass the ball to Lucas during the game. You can only bring him on when I'm not on the court. I don't want to play with him. He has too much of a Portland vibe."

Riley retorted sarcastically, "What does Portland taste like? Does it remind you of the taste of failure?"

Johnson angrily retorted, "We only lost one regular season game; we won the Western Conference Finals!"

Riley said, "Yeah, it was just one regular season game lost, and you brought people to corner me in my room and threaten me?"

"It's not just about losing the game, it's that everyone feels you've changed, doesn't that mean it?"

Riley didn't answer. He hadn't expected this to happen so soon after the start of the new season. Defending the title was going to be incredibly difficult, and it was all because of Forrest Gump.

"Are you all afraid of Forrest Gump?" Riley suddenly asked.

Johnson, Cooper, Scott, and others exchanged bewildered glances.

"We're not afraid of anyone. I think the one who's truly afraid of Forrest Gump is you. Because of fear, you're angry, that's why you made so many preparations, and even made us ignore him and be hostile towards him. It's all caused by fear. Actually, if we played according to the Forrest Gump principle from last season, there wouldn't be any problems. They just have Walton in their name!"

Riley fell silent. The two then exchanged many words, and eventually Johnson and Riley reconciled. They shook hands and hugged, saying they would do their best to continue the season and that defending their title was their only goal.

However, when Riley walked out of the video room, he knew that an irreconcilable gap had formed between him and the players, and the image of Forrest Gump looking at him on TV and saying "You're dead" haunted Riley like a nightmare for a long time.

He watched that interview many times. Forrest Gump never said that, nor did he look at him, but the shadow still lingered.

Afterwards, Riley and Lambis received counseling from a psychologist—none other than Riley's wife, Chris Riley.

She said Riley and Lambis were too tense and under too much pressure. They imagined too much of Forrest Gump, and the real Forrest Gump wasn't that scary. They were trapped in their own maze.

Compared to the Lakers' internal conflicts and chaos, the Trail Blazers this season are much simpler and more straightforward. The players are united, healthy, and there are no major conflicts at the moment. After easily defeating the Lakers, the whole team is full of confidence, and they then returned home to defeat the visiting Utah Jazz.

Karl Malone's performance on the field has improved slightly compared to before. He makes fewer mistakes, falls less, and is no longer staggering or hesitant.

But he was still no match for Gan Guoyang. This time, Leiden no longer sent Malone to guard Gan Guoyang, as that would be giving away points.

The Jazz put up a fight for three quarters, and the score went into the fourth quarter tied. However, the Trail Blazers' three big men swept the game in the fourth quarter.

The Trail Blazers' three-man lineup is becoming increasingly adept at coordinating their play. The three players complement each other so well that they have achieved near-perfect teamwork in half-court offense.

Walton and Thompson replicated the Walton and Lucas frontcourt combination from before, and the most crucial figure, Gan Guoyang, created endless possibilities for their partnership.

Then the Trail Blazers went on a home winning streak against the Nets and Clippers, and on November 23 and 24, they defeated two strong teams, the Rockets and the Lakers, in back-to-back games!
In the game against the Rockets on November 23, Jack Ramsey started Bill Walton and moved Gan Guoyang to the power forward position, and the Trail Blazers took the lead from the first quarter.

When needed, Ramsey decisively fielded a three-tall lineup. With the three tall players on the court, Gan Guoyang's playing style became more flexible and varied. At the same time, on the defensive end, he locked down Reed and McGrady, leaving Olajuwon and Sampson helpless on the defensive end.

The Trail Blazers maintained their dominance over the Rockets throughout the game. Gan Guoyang had 21 points, 22 rebounds, and 7 blocks, including 2 of 3 three-pointers. Mitchell Thompson exploded for 30 points, leading the Trail Blazers to a victory over the Rockets.

It's worth mentioning that Terry Porter, who came off the bench, made 5 of 8 shots and scored a career-high 14 points. This young rookie quickly got on track.

On the 24th, in a back-to-back game against the Lakers, the Lakers seemed to have recovered from a crushing defeat. Before the game started, Johnson hugged and greeted Gan Guoyang, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also took the initiative to shake hands and hug Gan Guoyang.

Byron Scott replaced Cooper in the starting lineup. During warm-up, he ran over to Gan Guoyang and said that Rambis didn't do it on purpose last time; he was just having an emotional problem.

Gan Guoyang laughed and said, "Physical contact is normal in a game. We're all professional players, why would we care about these things? But he didn't participate in the game today, is he alright?"

Rambis was not on the team's roster tonight, and Larry Spriggs started in his place. Rambis simply did not travel with the team to Portland.

Scott said Lambis cried a lot in the locker room that day, and he has now recovered, but he always seems a little dazed.

Hearing this, Gan Guoyang felt a little guilty. He had indeed been a bit too harsh on Rambis during the game against the Lakers, and sometimes he had gone too far.

Lambis is also stubborn. If he were more flexible and resourceful like Scott, he wouldn't have fallen into a dead end of self-doubt and suffered a mental breakdown.

Gan Guoyang believes that to achieve success, one must never doubt oneself. No matter what kind of predicament one faces, even if surrounded by zombies and facing imminent death, one should still smoke a cigarette with style.

Both Lambis and Riley were too stubborn about this point. Gan Guoyang could feel the stiffness in Riley's smile when he shook hands with him.

"The season has only just begun. How are you going to survive the next few years, you idiot?" Gan Guoyang thought to himself.

The game was as intense as ever, and like the Rockets, the Lakers couldn't find a good way to deal with the three big men.

When Ramsey brought in three big men in the fourth quarter, the Lakers' offense and defense were completely suppressed, and the Trail Blazers won with a 15-6 run.

116:121，拿下这场胜利后，开拓者取得了惊人的10连胜！以14胜1负的战绩占据了联盟第一的位置。

From this moment on, everyone knows that the Portland Trail Blazers have officially entered the race to contend for the championship, and this could very well be their season.

(End of this chapter)