The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 280 Professional Wrestling Tournament
Chuck Daly didn't take Ramsey's "threat" to heart; he knew it was just Dr. Jack's joke.

Although he wanted to say that the Pistons players were more dangerous because you have Forrest Gump, he gave up on explaining and arguing, considering the Pistons' increasingly infamous reputation in the league.

He simply said to Ramsey, "Doctor, how does it feel to be the lead dog? The scenery is beautiful, isn't it? It changes every day."

Ramsey laughed and said, "It feels really good, and not just in the West, now the teams in the East are watching us too."

The two men burst into laughter on the sidelines.

The phrase "lead dog" that the two men were referring to is a widely circulated saying in the sports coaching world. The original saying is, "In dog sled racing, only by being the lead dog can you see the ever-changing scenery."

If you can't be the lead dog, and you're just following behind, all you'll see is the dog's rear end.

This statement motivates coaches to lead their teams to strive for the top, otherwise they will only be able to admire the backsides of other teams.

Ramsey's team hasn't been number one for a long time, and now that the season is more than halfway through, the Trail Blazers have the best record in the entire league.

Even the Boston Celtics, who were on a winning streak, could only manage to finish second with a record of 46 wins and 11 losses.

They didn't start as well as the Trail Blazers, but the Celtics have the advantage that their later schedule is easier than the Trail Blazers'.

The Trail Blazers have a lot of scattered away games to play in March and April, with a tight schedule and strong opponents.

Given Ramsey's emphasis on player health this year, he will definitely take a break from some matches, reducing the playing time of key players to ensure they don't get injured.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have had to "threaten" Chuck Daly at the start of the game. From the moment he entered the Silver Dome Center, Ramsey felt the deep hostility of the Detroit people.

Gan Guoyang's wrestling performance in Detroit last season, his 50-point outburst over Laimbeer, and his stealing the MVP award from Thomas in the All-Star Game, coupled with the hostility towards Asians in Detroit, all destined to make tonight's game anything but an ordinary regular season game.

After returning to the bench, Ramsey also warned the Trail Blazers players to tone it down a bit tonight, control their emotions, avoid conflicts, and protect themselves.

Ramsey specifically instructed Gan Guoyang, "Gan, don't hit anyone."

Gan Guoyang glanced at Ramsey and shrugged, saying, "I haven't hit anyone in a long time."

Indeed, Gan Guoyang has stopped hitting people this season because no one dares to mess with him.

He doesn't even need to use any psychological tactics; most players avoid him.

Ramsey said, "I'm worried because you haven't hit anyone. Control yourself."

On the other side, on the Pistons' bench, Chuck Daly issued a similar warning to Laimbeer and others.

"Control your emotions. Most of the time, emotions are our winning formula, but not tonight. Forrest Gump is a dangerous guy; he's different from most emotional people. If we want to win tonight, we need to control our emotions and, at the same time, control Forrest Gump."

Daly is also eager for a victory tonight, because he is under a lot of pressure.

Generally speaking, if a coach comes to a new team and cannot make a breakthrough within three years, such as becoming the regular season leader, reaching the finals, or even winning the championship, it will be very difficult for him to achieve better results later on.

This is Daly's third year with the Pistons, a time when he should be making progress, but the Pistons don't seem to be making any breakthroughs.

Before acquiring Tppin in a trade in December, the Pistons went on a losing streak that nearly led to Daly's dismissal.

At the time, Pistons general manager Jack McClusky had already fired Daly, but after Isaiah Thomas learned of this, he went to owner Bill Davidson's home and persuaded Davidson to reinstate Daly.

It's fair to say that Daly's position as Pistons coach was on the verge of collapse, and the Pistons almost lost an excellent coach.

After that, the Pistons traded for Melvin Tppin, which improved their offensive firepower in the low post, and the team went on a winning streak, stabilizing Daly's position as head coach.

Daly's current hope is that the team can rank higher in the Eastern Conference, ideally in the top half, and not fall to seventh or eighth place, so they can face the Bucks or Celtics in the first round.

Both teams' players, under the coach's instructions, stepped onto the court with mixed emotions. The Silver Dome Center was as empty as ever tonight. Although all 20,000+ tickets were sold out, the Silver Dome Center has 80,000 seats, but the basketball game reduced the seating capacity to 20,000.

Therefore, the audience only filled a quarter of the seats, leaving the outer seats empty. The venue's ceiling was frighteningly high, making it feel quite deserted.

The Trail Blazers made some changes to their starting lineup, with Steve Cort replacing John Paxson as the starting point guard tonight.

Because the Pistons' point guard is Thomas, if they use Paxson, they won't be able to contain this agile assassin.

The Pistons' starting lineup consisted of Thomas, Dumars, Tripka, Laimbeer, and Tpin.

After gaining experience in his early rookie season, Dumars quickly established himself with the Pistons.

In order to get Dumars into the rotation, Daly had to reduce John Long's playing time. This guy is a former Detroit star and a graduate of the University of Detroit.

But a new generation replaces the old. The former city darling now has to make way for the more outstanding "country boy." Dumars has better defense, and Thomas likes to partner with him.

As for Melvin Turpin, after leaving the Clippers' terrible environment, he has changed somewhat since coming to Detroit.

Before the jump ball, Gan Guoyang looked Teping up and down and asked, "Melvin, you've lost weight?"

Tepin smiled and said, "Yes, you've lost a little weight."

How much do you weigh?

"Uh... 260 pounds..."

Gan Guoyang thought to himself, "Last time I asked you, you said 255 pounds. Now you've lost weight, how come you've gained weight!"
Before Gan Guoyang could ask any further questions, Lambiel was already standing in front of the two of them and said, "Melvin, don't talk to this guy."

Tepin obediently shut his mouth and turned his face away. He knew that Ranbil and Gan Guoyang had some personal grudges.

Gan Guoyang looked up at Lambiel and said, "Jack told me not to hit anyone tonight."

Lambiel smiled faintly and said, "That's a pity. I was hoping you would give me a punch."

"I'm good at wrestling."

“I know, so I practiced some fall protection techniques. I practiced for a long time over the summer. Just for you, Sonny.”

"What kind of trick is it to eat a hamburger until your butt looks like Barkley's to lower your center of gravity?"

"Oh, stop messing around, Sonny. Anyway, you're not going to be able to touch me easily, I promise."

After being slammed last season, Lambiel became timid whenever he saw Gan Guoyang, knowing he couldn't handle another hit.

During the off-season, in the summer, Lambiel spent money to hire wrestling experts to train him and improve his ability to defend against falls.

Lambiel was a man of wide interests; he enjoyed playing tennis, golf, baseball, and racing, and he was extremely competitive and always had to win.

He spent all his time on wrestling this time, and now he's considered a skilled wrestler. He believes he can withstand Gan Guoyang's wrestling, so he immediately became arrogant.

"Then you can give it a try. I'm not idle during the off-season. You probably don't have a deep understanding of my wrestling skills..."

Before Gan Guoyang could finish speaking, the referee interrupted them, saying, "Please, gentlemen, this is a basketball game, not a professional wrestling tournament. I don't understand the rules of wrestling. The only thing I know is that if either of you wrestles, I'll eject him!"

The two quickly apologized to the referee, saying they were just talking casually and wouldn't actually fall.

The referee tossed the ball into the air, and the game began.

(End of this chapter)