The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 317 Protagonist
After the Trail Blazers reached the NBA Finals in 1986, Kossie, as a second-year rookie, had many feelings, as this was the first time in his professional career.

"In 1986, we made it to the Finals. It was only my second year in Portland, and the enthusiasm of the local fans was amazing. On the night we won the Western Conference championship, we partied and celebrated with the fans at Memorial Arena. It was a scene I will never forget."

When I got home, I was so excited I couldn't sleep. I turned on the TV and kept looking for programs, specifically those with sports coverage, constantly watching news reports about the Trail Blazers making it to the Finals. At first, I was happy, but my happiness quickly faded. I noticed many sports commentary programs saying, "The Portlanders can't beat Boston; the Celtics will win the championship."

I'm furious and want to argue with these commentators. We're not afraid of the Celtics at all. The Celtics' only home loss in the regular season was given to them by us. We're confident.

On the 31st, we flew to Boston, where thousands of fans came to see us off. We almost missed our flight and were delayed. We knew we had to bring a victory back to Portland. On the plane, Jack Ramsey reminded us that the regular season is the regular season, the playoffs are the playoffs, and the Finals are the Finals; we had to forget all our previous head-to-head records and experiences.

At that time, I lacked game experience and didn't pay much attention to what Jack said. Later, it turned out that he was right. The Celtics in the Finals were completely different teams from those in the regular season.

But so are we.

—Excerpt from "Jerome Kersey—Overcoming The Odds," a biography of Jerome Kersey written by Kerry Eggers and published in 2021.

The first game between the Trail Blazers and the Celtics is scheduled for June 1st, and the entire Trail Blazers team arrived in Boston on May 31st.

They did not arrive early to acclimatize, because past experience told them that the earlier they arrived, the greater the chance of being disturbed.

"I think we should go to Boston on the afternoon of June 1st and play the game right away. That way, we should be in the best condition."

Jack Ramsey complained to General Manager Buckwalt on the plane that everyone knew how bad Boston's road conditions were, especially in the Finals.

"Welcome to the civilized world, pioneers of the West." — This was the sign that read as the pioneers' airport bus arrived in downtown Boston.

This is already the most civilized way to put it; there are even more direct ones, such as "Kill the Trailblazers," "Get out of the East," and "Cover your asses."

“I hate it here. The sight of greenery here is like seeing moss in a sewer; it makes me feel nauseous.”

Vandeweghe hates playing in Boston. Although he can score a lot of points every time he comes here, he inevitably gets tormented by Larry Bird.

The players are staying at the Hyatt Regency Cambridge, which is not only old but also far from Boston Garden, requiring a drive across the Charles River to get there.

There are many nice hotels on the south bank, but Celtic prefer to book visiting teams at hotels on the north bank because the traffic jams when the bus crosses the Longfellow Bridge can be frustrating.

The room was still small, so the Trail Blazers arranged a single room for Gan Guoyang so that their best player could get the best rest. Ramsey also played a trick and switched his room with Gan Guoyang's to prevent anyone from disturbing Gan Guoyang in the middle of the night.

Playing in Boston requires such caution. Ramsey instructed the players not to eat just anything, especially food of dubious origin, and to eat only at designated places.

That evening, Gan Guoyang lay in the room he had just switched rooms with, turned on the TV, and saw that another major event was about to begin that day—the 1986 Mexico World Cup.

Color television broadcasting was widely used in the broadcast of this world competition, allowing fans all over the world, including those in China where television sets were not yet common, to enjoy the world's most influential sporting event through their small televisions.

Tonight's opening match is Italy vs. Bulgaria. Gan Guoyang turned the TV on with the volume turned up to the maximum, and then unknowingly fell asleep.

The next day, he saw in the newspaper that Italy and Bulgaria had drawn 1-1, and he was glad that he hadn't watched the whole game, otherwise watching a draw would have been so boring.

After lunch, the team took a bus to the Greek Academy for warm-up training and pre-game preparations. Ever since Gan Guoyang shattered the backboard in the arena last time, the driver has been afraid to take a detour, and the Celtics have also been afraid to rush onto the court early to interfere with the Trail Blazers' practice.

However, since it's the Finals now, the Celtics have been granted the right to warm up at Boston Garden, so the Trail Blazers can use the arena alone for their warm-up games in the afternoon.

After training, the team went back to the hotel to rest for a while, and then gathered in the lobby at 5:30 to wait for the car to take them to Boston Garden to begin their journey to the finals.

To be honest, everyone was a little nervous. Only Ramsey, Bill Walton, and Caldeville Jones had Finals experience on the team.

After getting in the car, the Trail Blazers encountered Boston's evening rush hour, with commuters and cars heading to Boston Gardens blocking the Longfellow Bridge.

The Trail Blazers' bus and many private cars were crammed onto the narrow road, and every now and then a car would stop, roll down its window, and give the middle finger to the Trail Blazers' bus.

A car carrying several Celtics fans was heading to the Boston Garden for a game, holding up a sign that read: "Fxxk you all, Blazers!"
Gan Guoyang calmly observed everything and said, "The people of Boston are as warm and hospitable as ever. We need to give them a great game tonight; we can't let their ticket money go to waste." Everyone on the bus laughed. Gan Guoyang always had this optimistic ability, which infected and inspired everyone.

What should have been a 20-minute drive took nearly 40 minutes due to traffic, and we didn't arrive at Boston Garden until after 6 p.m.

This is Gan Guoyang's third time playing in the Garden City tournament, and the feeling of the finals is indeed different from the previous two regular season games.

Most people hate the Garden Arena; it's run-down, extremely unfriendly to away players, and the away locker room is like a prison cell.

The floor was filthy, there were no lockers inside, only clothes hangers, and the pipes were exposed, giving the impression that some deadly gas might be released at any moment.

It's okay to come here for a match in December or January, but the weather is already hot in June. It's torture to be in a locker room without air conditioning, especially after the first half. When you come back to the locker room covered in sweat, it feels like you've entered a sauna.

Last year, the Lakers brought a portable cooling machine to the locker room. After turning it on, the excessive power caused a power outage in half of the Boston Garden. Therefore, this year, the Boston Garden banned the Trail Blazers from bringing portable cooling equipment, citing outdated wiring.

Aside from the stifling heat in the locker room, the Garden Arena was on high alert during the Finals. The hostility was palpable from the moment the players stepped into the arena, a hostility that lasted from beginning to end.

The banners on the court, the fans' shouts, the indifference of the security personnel, and the Celtics players' ever-present sense of contempt made every opponent uncomfortable.

Even the trash cans outside the locker room seemed to exude contempt, their mouths agape, emitting a foul stench.

However, Gan Guoyang quite liked this place. First of all, he was not afraid of any hostility. In his opinion, when a cat arches its back and puffs up its fur, it is not because it is strong, but because it is afraid.

He shares the same view as Jerry West, both believing that the Celtics have an underlying weakness that is difficult to detect—mainly after Russell's retirement.

Secondly, he felt that Boston Garden was very pure; there was no rock music, no pop music, no cheerleaders, no mascots, and no halftime magic show.

Here, there is only basketball, only basketball performances. On the parquet floor, which Bostonians consider sacred, the stars are the Boston Celtics, and the supporting roles are the visiting away teams.

Gan Guoyang likes this feeling, he likes pure basketball performance, but he doesn't like being a supporting role, he wants to be the protagonist tonight.

After changing their jerseys, the players went onto the field to warm up. They only warmed up for 15 minutes before returning to the locker room for a final pre-match pep talk.

Ramsey didn't say anything, but handed the opportunity to Gan Guoyang, saying, "You've always wanted to be a coach, so I'm giving you this opportunity."

The locker room erupted in laughter. Gan Guoyang often made his own decisions regarding tactical arrangements, would argue with Ramsey, and called himself the "defense coach," frequently asking the boss for a raise.

Gan Guoyang coughed twice. He didn't want to say anything inspirational or encouraging, as this was only the first session and the atmosphere wasn't quite there yet.

He said something more practical: "We need to keep an eye on Kevin McHale in the paint. I don't want to see him score easily under the basket and then swagger back home with his head held high. Mitchell, this guy is your junior, so he's in your hands. Teach him a lesson. I'll help you out when I have time."

Gan Guoyang's first name mentioned wasn't Bird, but Kevin McHale. Gan Guoyang had a premonition that how to counter Kevin in the Finals would be the key to victory or defeat.

“Dennis Johnson’s defense is very aggressive. Clyde, don’t engage in too much physical contact with him. He’s strong. Don’t get entangled with him. I’ll come out and set screens for you. You need to reduce turnovers. That’s your big problem.”

“Danny Ainge, if he likes to shoot, let him shoot. Every time he takes a shot, Bird takes one less. The real problem with this guy is his cuts. Porter, you have to keep an eye on him. Of course, sometimes you can let him in, and I'll take care of him.”

"Kiki, you need to score more goals, maintain your accuracy, and don't let Larry interfere. In defense, you need to be more physical, and if you really can't handle it, foul him, be more aggressive, and draw him towards me. I'll help you."

Gan Guoyang gave guidance to everyone in the starting lineup, and he was willing to help in every position, whether it was offense or defense. When he finished speaking, everyone felt very reassured.

This is what a true core player is like; he's omnipresent, providing support to every teammate, rather than leeching off his teammates to boost his own stats and performance.

Ramsey asked, "What about Parish? Does he need help?"

Gan Guoyang laughed and said, "Don't joke around, Jack, I'm the MVP."

(End of this chapter)