The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 300 The Flying Immortal from Beyond the World
Hakeem Olajuwon is a hybrid of a savage and a ballerina. He is such an agile and powerful center that he can beat you with ease or kill you brutally.

Defending champion? Since Bill Russell retired in 1969, no defending champion has ever survived. It's been a full 17 years, and even the former kings couldn't last two years.

Magic Johnson: "In terms of raw athleticism, Akim is the best I've ever seen."

Maurice Lucas: "A bigger Moses Malone has been reborn in Houston."

Mitch Kupchak: "I can compare him to Alvin Robertson, which says something because Robertson was a guard. I've never seen anyone so strong, so agile, so ruthless, and also seven feet tall."

In reality, Hakeem Olajuwon's height was more like 6 feet 11 inches, but no one would take a ruler to measure him during a game.

Height isn't the key point; the crucial issue is that the Lakers, despite having a height advantage on average, are at a huge disadvantage in rebounding (the rebounding ratio in the first four games was 186:145).

Despite having many excellent big men, head coach Pat Riley might as well send out his all-around defensive octopus—the 6-foot-7 Michael Cooper—to guard Hakeem Olajuwon.

After Houston's 105-95 victory on Sunday, Cooper nearly jumped off the locker room bench when the idea was brought up. He said, "God, I really want to guard him. I'm not saying I could definitely stop him, but I know we're playing the wrong way against him. You can't physically challenge him because he'll sense your positioning and use his footwork to get away from you; he's very agile. You have to start moving only after he gets the ball."

Moses Malone, who was sidelined for the season and resting at home, also put forward the same theory. During the summer, he often trained one-on-one with Hakeem Olajuwon at the University of Houston.

Hakeem Olajuwon himself said he couldn't describe how to defend him, but he knew that if the Lakers assigned a guard to defend him, he would make corresponding changes.

SI: "How did Maurice Lucas deal with you, Akim?"

Hakeem Olajuwon: "He was very physical and tried to push me out of the three-second zone."

SI: "Where's Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?"

Hakeem Olajuwon: "He also wanted to push me out; he's very strong."

SI: "Kupchak?"

Hakeem Olajuwon: "It was full of competition."

Hakeem Olajuwon's answers were all the same, as if all his opponents were doing the same thing.

But perhaps he doesn't need to do any in-depth analysis; his intuition and excellent physique can accomplish everything that needs to be done.

This doesn't mean he's stupid; in fact, quite the opposite.

Did you know that Akim speaks six languages?

Magic Johnson was asked this question before the game last Sunday.

Johnson smiled and said, "He only needs to know one thing: 'Give me the ball.'"

—Excerpt from "Big Rocket, Big Blast," written by Jack McCollum, May 1986, Issue 5 of Sports Illustrated.

On the evening of May 8th, in the video room of the Trail Blazers' training facility, all the Trail Blazers players and coaching staff sat in front of the television waiting for the game between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers to begin.

The day before, the Trail Blazers had just defeated the Nuggets 112-105 in Denver, easily eliminating their opponents with a 4-0 sweep and advancing to the Western Conference Finals for the second consecutive year.

Tonight's game will determine their Western Conference Finals opponent. The Rockets lead 3-1, and the Lakers are on the verge of elimination.

Gan Guoyang somehow got hold of a latest copy of Sports Illustrated, which contained commentary on the Lakers-Rockets series.

The article lavishly praises Hakeem Olajuwon, because the Rockets, for the first time since 1981, pushed the defending champion Lakers to the brink of elimination.

In the 80s, only the Rockets could do this in the Western Conference. Last time, they relied on Moses Malone, and this time they relied on Hakeem Olajuwon, nicknamed "Little Moses".

Gan Guoyang was clearly dissatisfied with the praise in the article, frowning as he read and offering a sharp critique:

"This is such a blatant lie! They've already blown the Lakers out of the water! And they haven't even eliminated the Lakers yet."

“Akim speaks six languages? I speak eight languages, and I think he speaks mostly African dialects.”

"Kupchak is talking nonsense. 'I have never seen anyone so strong, so agile, so ruthless, and seven feet tall'... Okay, I'm not seven feet tall, but it says below that Olajuwon isn't either. He's probably only 6 feet 11 inches tall. Actually, he's only one centimeter taller than me. I'm 209 cm and he's 210 cm!"

"Magic has lost his mind, he's been beaten senseless. He thinks he can just give the ball to Olajuwon? Well, you guys can't defend him at all!"

After venting his frustrations, Gan Guoyang closed the magazine and tossed it aside; none of the other articles could pique his interest.

Drexler, who was sitting to the side, picked up the magazine, opened the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition tucked inside, and began to read it with great interest.

As he watched, Drexler said, "Sonny, are you jealous of Akim? He's about to crush the Lakers, that's amazing."

Gan Guoyang said, "Bullshit, me being jealous of him? I just think the Lakers are utterly useless! I was originally planning to get revenge on the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. This year, the Los Angeles team definitely can't beat us. Who knew that the Rockets would take us down in the semifinals? Those spineless guys." Gan Guoyang was indeed angry. Last year, he was eliminated by the Lakers, and this year he was thinking of getting revenge on the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.

Who knew that the Lakers were about to be upset in the semifinals? Gan Guoyang sighed and said, "If only we had given the first seed in the West to the Lakers, made the third seed, then made it to the semifinals, beat the Rockets, and then beat the Lakers in the finals!"

Drexler, his eyes still glued to the swimsuit section, said, "Sonny, your thinking is dangerous. Playoff teams often pick their opponents, but you're deliberately making the schedule harder. What if we can't beat Houston..."

Gan Guoyang snatched the swimsuit version from Drexler's hand, glaring at him and saying, "There's no such 'what if,' Clyde. What, you're still thinking about Houston?"

Drexler chuckled, "I'm just kidding, Sonny. I don't care that Houston passed on me. Bill Fitch said it was the right decision to pick McGrady, so what am I thinking? I want to go to Houston to prove myself and beat them to the Finals."

Gan Guoyang returned the swimsuit version to Drexler, saying, "The attitude is correct."
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"The Rockets have called another timeout. There's one second left in the game. The score is tied at 112. It's the Rockets' final possession. Overtime or the end of the series? It all hinges on that one second. This is agonizing for all Lakers fans. They never expected the Lakers to be in this situation, down 1-3, Game 5 hanging in the balance. The Lakers gave it their all in this game, but it seems they still can't overcome the Rockets… Okay, the timeout is over. Let's see if a miracle happens in this final second…"

Inside the Trail Blazers' video room, everyone was incredibly tense, just like the fans in Los Angeles, their eyes glued to the television screen.

With the Lakers and Rockets game nearing the end of regulation time, the Rockets were down by three points. Robert Reed missed a three-pointer, but the Rockets grabbed the offensive rebound and launched another attack. Reed received the pass in the same spot and hit a three-pointer to tie the game.

On the Lakers' final possession, Byron Scott missed a two-point jump shot, the Rockets grabbed the rebound and called a timeout. The Rockets had one last chance to attack, but only one second remained on the clock.

Around that one second, the Rockets and Lakers called several timeouts back and forth, with the two coaches outsmarting each other. The Rockets would set up offensive tactics, the Lakers would counter them, and then the Rockets would call another timeout to disrupt the Lakers' plans.

The Lakers are on the brink of elimination, while the Rockets don't want to give the defending champions any breathing room. They want to fight to the death and not let their opponents retaliate.

Both sides gave their all from the start of the game. In the first quarter, the Lakers launched an offensive frenzy. With 14 seconds left in the first quarter, Magic Johnson made a hook shot, then stole the ball and made a layup, but his shot was interfered with by Sampson and he missed. Sampson got the rebound.

But Cooper stole the ball again and hit a three-pointer with one second left, sending the entire arena into a frenzy. Unfortunately, the referee ruled the shot invalid.

Even so, the Lakers' morale was soaring, and the atmosphere of the entire team and the arena was at its peak.

However, the Rockets' three consecutive victories gave them enough confidence to cope with the Lakers' relentless offensive and the intimidating atmosphere of their home court.

Hakeem Olajuwon and Sampson dominated the paint, especially Olajuwon, whose performance in the third quarter was nothing short of phenomenal, scoring repeatedly.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mitch Kupchak, and Maurice Lucas were unable to stop the two giants from wreaking havoc in the paint. Lucas, in particular, missed several shots in the crucial third quarter, scoring only 4 points on 2-of-6 shooting, a very disappointing performance.

Lucas lost his temper and committed a malicious foul on Sampson in the fourth quarter, pulling him down hard.

If Hakeem Olajuwon hadn't pulled Sampson back, the two might very well have ended up fighting.

But just two minutes later, Hakeem Olajuwon, who had been holding Sampson back, punched Kupchak.

The referee gave him a heartfelt hug, which stopped the fight from escalating further.

Hakeem Olajuwon was sent off and could only watch the rest of the game from the bench in the final stages.

Without their key player, the Rockets withstood the Lakers' relentless attack and earned a last-second chance.

In just one second, to make a shot, you basically have to touch the ball in your hand and release it immediately. If you hesitate even slightly, you won't have enough time.

"The Rockets inbound the ball, one second left... Sampson... He made it! He made it! It's over, it's all over!"

The TV commentators couldn't believe their eyes. McGrady threw the ball out, and Ralph Sampson jumped to catch it at the corner.

He didn't even turn around before throwing the ball backward toward the basket. The ball bounced twice on the rim before falling into the net.

This wasn't like a shot, but more like a volleyball setter's move, except no one spiked the ball, and it flew straight to where it should have been, sending the Lakers to their doom.

Michael Cooper collapsed to the ground in pain. He had given his all in the game, scoring 15 points and hitting the team's only three-pointer.

Perhaps he was thinking that if that buzzer-beating three-pointer had counted, the Lakers might have won the game.

But there are no "what ifs" in basketball. To everyone's astonishment, the Rockets eliminated the defending champions and advanced to the conference finals thanks to Sampson's miraculous game-winning shot.

The Trail Blazers' training facility video room was silent for a while; no one had expected the Rockets to defeat the Lakers with such a dramatic buzzer-beater.

Throughout the entire season, the Trail Blazers practiced and planned their lineups specifically to counter the Lakers, but their opponent turned out to be the Houston Rockets.

For a moment, no one knew what to say or how to describe that emotion. They weren't afraid of the Rockets, but they felt that their playoff journey this year would be incomplete without beating the Lakers.

Gan Guoyang got up, turned off the television, and left the video room. As he left, he shouted, "No one, no one knows better than me how to deal with the Twin Towers! No one!"

(End of this chapter)