The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 293 Unlucky

In late March, one spring evening, Gan Guoyang received a call from Stockton saying that he had successfully proposed.

Gan Guoyang was very surprised. This guy had started preparing to propose last year and had been doing so for almost half a year, but there had been no progress.

Gan Guoyang thought Stockton had come to his senses and wasn't going to enter the grave of love at such a young age, but little did he know that he still couldn't resist and wrote his own epitaph first.

"Why didn't I see the news? Didn't you propose during a home game?" Gan Guoyang thought to himself, "Proposing at home would have made the news, right?"

"No, I gave up on that plan. Although it was great, the team lost every time I was about to propose, so I didn't dare to propose anymore."

Last time the Trail Blazers went to Salt Lake City for a game, Stockton was preparing to propose, but he lost and wasn't in the mood.

He decided to switch games, but lost again and still wasn't in the mood.

The few games we won were either due to bad timing or Nada not having time to watch the games.

He was preparing to propose for the third time when the Jazz hosted the Cavaliers, but they lost again...

After the game, Coach Leiden was furious, saying that the team played like a pile of shit and asked why they were in such a bad state.

Stockton was drenched in sweat. He dared not even think about proposing at home anymore; he couldn't afford to play like that in just 41 home games a season.

Later, he decided to use the most old-fashioned method: invite Nada to a candlelight dinner and propose to her at the dinner table.

As a result, Stockton was too excited while driving and slightly exceeded the speed limit. He was pulled over by the police, who found that the car was unregistered and uninsured, and it was impounded!

Because of his status as a Jazz player, the police showed leniency and did not impose a more severe punishment, but he certainly wouldn't be able to have a meal, and he couldn't propose marriage either.

Stockton was frustrated, believing that God was preventing him from getting married, so he temporarily put his plans on hold and focused on training and matches.

Until March of this year, Stockton and Nada both caught the flu, and the two, who originally lived separately, stayed together for several days.

They took care of each other, cooked together, reminded each other to take their medicine, poured water for each other, and took each other's temperatures.

Stockton suddenly felt he should propose to Nada, so he took out a ring and knelt down in front of Nada, who was covered in a blanket and had a snotty nose.

"Then she agreed, and she's still admiring the ring there now, she's been for hours, and she says she'll admire it all night."

Gan Guoyang could smell the sourness in Stockton's voice over the phone. He asked, "How much did this ring cost? Don't tell me it was another freebie from a promotion!"

"No, I bought a really nice ring. We're getting married this summer in Rogue Valley, Oregon. You absolutely have to come."

"Don't worry, congratulations John, you'll definitely be happy."

"Of course, by the way, Sonny, what are you going to do..."

"Stop! Don't ask me that question!"

"Okay, okay, Fosse is a very nice girl."

"I know, let's talk about something else."

After a while, Wang Fuxi, who had just finished showering, rubbed his hair and asked, "Who called?"

Stockton.

"What happened?"

"he died."

"Dead? What? How could that be! But... but if he's dead, why would he call you?"

“A part of his past is dead, and he asked me to come and pay my respects.”
-
As April arrived, the regular season entered its final stage, and the strong playoff teams began to adjust, while the teams on the edge of the playoffs engaged in a fierce battle for a playoff spot.

The situation in the West is relatively clear. The Trail Blazers, relying on their strong performance, have gradually left the Lakers and Rockets behind, maintaining a lead of more than two wins.

If they don't play too badly at the end of the season, they will enter the playoffs as the top seed in the West, marking their first return to the top spot since the 1977-1978 season.

The Trail Blazers' first-round playoff opponent will be one of the Spurs, Suns, or Kings, with the Suns having little chance of catching up to the eighth-seeded Spurs.

Walter Davis returned to the court after completing drug rehabilitation and continued to perform well, but the Suns' foundation has been destroyed, and they are getting closer and closer to ruin. The Lakers continue to keep up with the Trail Blazers, putting pressure on them.

Due to the division rules, if they cannot surpass the Trail Blazers, they will be ranked third.

Their first-round opponent is likely to be the tough Jazz. Riley doesn't care who they play in the first round; what he cares about is the top seed in the West.

From 1980 to 1985, the Lakers were the top team in the Western Conference for five out of six seasons, with the only time they lost that title was in the 1981 season.

That season, a conflict arose between head coach Westhead and Magic Johnson, resulting in the Lakers being eliminated in the first round, marking the only time in six seasons they failed to reach the NBA Finals.

Riley is very worried that if they don't get the top seed in the West this year, will the whole team be in a tense atmosphere like in 1981?

On April 6th, the Trail Blazers will host the Lakers, which is a good opportunity for the Lakers to close the gap in their records.

The Lakers maintained a high level of focus from the first quarter, just like last season. At the beginning of the season, the Lakers were not focused enough, but they got into their rhythm towards the end of the season, and the Trail Blazers were no match for them.

However, this year's Trail Blazers are not the same as last year's Trail Blazers. Under the Lakers' high-pressure offensive and defensive pressure, the Trail Blazers withstood the pressure, and the score remained close throughout.

In the decisive fourth quarter, Jack Ramsey brought in the Lakers' intractable trio of big men, unleashing an 11-3 run that forced the Lakers to call a timeout.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar showed signs of fatigue when facing three high-scoring opponents. After a high-scoring season, the former Finals MVP was not as effective in high-intensity competition as he was last year.

Riley had already realized that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar could no longer be the team's primary tactical player, but his incredible performance in 1985 made it impossible to refuse feeding the veteran the ball.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar delivered a consistent performance of 23.4 points per game in the regular season, his highest scoring average since 1982.

However, his average rebounds and blocks per game both dropped to career lows.

This rejuvenated veteran focused too much on offense, reducing his defensive efforts, which is actually a loss for the Lakers.

The Lakers' formidable trio of big men completely dominated the game in the fourth quarter, with the Trail Blazers defeating the Lakers 110-117 at home, a 7-point advantage.

The Lakers' hopes of overtaking the Trail Blazers in the standings have been basically dashed. Unless the Trail Blazers make a mistake, the Lakers will have to accept entering the playoffs as the third seed in the Western Conference.

Compared to the West, the competition in the East is more intense, with the battle for eighth place between the Bulls and the Cavaliers, the difference between the two being extremely small.

Michael Jordan insisted on returning to play in the regular season despite Krause's objections.

To prevent Jordan from ruining his tanking strategy, Krause asked the head coach to limit Jordan's playing time.

In his first five games after his return, Jordan played less than 16 minutes each time, averaging only four minutes per quarter, and the Bulls lost all of them.

Jordan was furious. He didn't want to tank; he just wanted to win. Especially seeing Gan Guoyang and the Trail Blazers making great strides, he couldn't allow himself to sit on the sidelines for the sake of future draft picks when he was clearly capable of playing. He couldn't do it.

At his insistence, Krause had no choice but to lift the restrictions on Jordan's playing time.

In the following games, after Jordan played for more than 20 minutes, his score never dropped below 20 points.

Clearly, the injury hasn't had a major impact on him; his desire for the game and victory remains as strong as ever.

However, the true king of the East is the Boston Celtics. After their ugly loss to the Knicks on Christmas Day, the Celtics went on a terrifying 18-game winning streak, pushing their record to the top of the league.

The Portland Trail Blazers, too, lost to the Celtics at home.

They then went on an 8-game winning streak, followed by a 14-game winning streak at the end of the season. This season, they only lost one game at Boston Garden.

They fought with increasing ferocity and improved performance, becoming virtually invincible.

Of course, the home game they lost served as a warning, because they lost to the Portland Trail Blazers.

By the time the season's final game on April 13th, the Celtics had a record of an astonishing 68 wins and 14 losses.

It was tied for the second-best regular season record in NBA history at the time.

However, this number is not particularly auspicious.

(End of this chapter)