The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 370 Superstar-Level Understanding

"Yes! Beautiful, beautiful goal! Dad, you see, I told you, Forrest Gump would step up in the fourth quarter. His teammates trust him and will give him the ball to solve problems! Wow!"

Seeing Gan Guoyang score two consecutive three-pointers at the start of the fourth quarter, Kobe was overjoyed on the sofa, dancing around and boasting to Joe Bryant that his prediction was correct.

Joe Bryant calmed Kobe down, saying, "Forrest can't keep playing like that. Kareem and Magic Johnson came on, and he took advantage of the opportunity to play against the inexperienced Duckworth twice. The Lakers were careless in their rotation and didn't match up against Forrest."

Kobe bounced around on the sofa, not wanting to hear his father's explanation. He simply said, "I knew it. That's how you solve problems in crucial moments. Not just Forrest Gump, Magic Johnson would attack on his own too. He's a really great offensive player now."

Kobe was absolutely right. Johnson had a great shooting touch tonight. As soon as he came on, he took a two-point shot from the top of the arc and made it easily.

Drexler was guarding Johnson, while Dell Curry remained on the court—Ramsey wanted to see if young rookies like Curry and Hornacek could perform well in this kind of high-level game tonight.

In addition to winning games, developing rookies, accumulating experience, and fine-tuning the roster are also very important in the regular season.

Some coaches, in order to achieve victory, completely avoid using new players, especially when facing strong opponents, which prevents new players from gaining experience in high-level games.

This type of coach can only lead relatively mature teams. Once there are new players or promising talents who need to grow, it will be very disadvantageous for them.

Some coaches, while ensuring a good record, are able to give rookies enough opportunities to develop, especially in high-level games, and dare to use young players in crucial moments.

Instead of constantly putting young players on the court during garbage time to waste time, which makes their playing time and statistics meaningless.

Ramsey is a coach who is good at using rookies. The 1977 Trail Blazers are the youngest championship team in NBA history, with an average age of only 24 years old. The main rotation players are all rookies, second-year and third-year players.

Of course, Ramsey is not good at coaching superstar guards. He prefers to use traditional guards who are fresh out of college, have undergone rigorous training, have high tactical awareness, and accurate shooting.

From this perspective, both Dell Curry and Hornacek are suitable candidates for his use, with Curry having a superior physical attributes and individual ability.

Curry dribbled the ball across half-court and, facing Michael Cooper's tight defense, made no mistakes, successfully avoiding the entanglement and smoothly passing the ball to Drexler.

Inside, Gan Guoyang was engaged in a fierce battle for position with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Abdul-Jabbar was heavier and more experienced than Duckworth, and he unusually used a half-circle approach to defend Gan Guoyang.

CBS commentator Dick Stockton was surprised, saying, "If I remember correctly, the last time Kareem Abdul-Jabbar used fronting defense was when he was matched up against Wilt Chamberlain."

Drexler didn't pass the ball, but instead passed it to Jerome Cauchy, who cut out from the outside and made a two-pointer from the baseline.

Kossie's shooting is still somewhat accurate, but James Worthy immediately overpowered him in the low post.

Kossi held off Worthy's turn, but Worthy took a step back and made a close-range two-pointer.

Gan Guoyang pointed at Worthy and shouted, "Ref, he traveled! He turned and traveled, didn't you call it?"

Worthy's back turn is very quick, and sometimes he will move his foot first, but in most cases the referee will not call a foul.

Gan Guoyang kept nitpicking at Woxi's footsteps, mocking, "No wonder you're so fast, how could you not be fast if your feet move first?"

Then Gan Guoyang came out to cover Drexler. Jabbar did not come out with him; he retreated inwards, while Gan Guoyang cut outwards.

Drexler passed the ball to Gan Guoyang, who then made a two-point mid-range shot.

The score was very close, and neither side made a shot in the next two possessions, resulting in a stalemate.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's half-fronting was still effective, making it difficult for Gan Guoyang to maintain his position under the basket, forcing him to switch to mid-range shots.

However, his mid-range shot was not very effective, and his three-point shooting was also off tonight. After missing his first attempt, Gan Guoyang did not try again.

The Lakers clearly knew that Gan Guoyang was terrifying when he was on fire with his three-pointers, so they guarded him tightly and didn't give him any chance to shoot from the outside.

When the score reached 101-103, with the Trail Blazers trailing by 2 points, Gan Guoyang was once again half-fronted by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the low post.

At this moment, the two 45-degree angles were completely cleared. Gan Guoyang suddenly made a feint and turned around to the other side in a low position, and then used his back and buttocks to firmly trap Jabar.

A beautiful pass, Thompson's timely pass from the outside, went straight to the basket, Gan Guoyang received the ball, turned and made a left-handed layup, which was interfered with by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and missed, but he jumped up again and tapped the rebound to score!
103:103, the score is tied!

Gan Guoyang quickly scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, and the Trail Blazers tied the score.

Riley called a timeout and yelled from the sidelines, "What the hell is this bullshit tactic? Is this the kind of tactic that should be used in basketball? This completely goes against the very essence of basketball, letting two people have a one-on-one game under the basket with no one around!"

Riley is just talking without understanding the situation. He has a low-level monster and uses it all the time, but when it's someone else's turn to use it, he gets upset.

After seeing Gan Guoyang score consecutive points in the fourth quarter to tie the game, Kobe was already jumping around on the sofa for a while.

Although Gan Guoyang was a center, Kobe was fascinated by Gan Guoyang's beautiful skills in the low post.

In slow motion, Gan Guoyang's turn and repositioning to break through the front line showed remarkable agility in his footwork.

Feints combined with agile footwork are the result of instruction at the Big Man training camp in the summer.

Kobe has loved studying technical details since he was very young. He liked watching videotapes, analyzing them, and imitating them.

After the timeout, Magic Johnson drove hard to the basket and drew a foul from Thompson. Johnson went to the free-throw line, bringing his total to 28 points.

Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers' offense is gradually evolving into Gan Guoyang's low-post offensive show.

He received the ball at a 45-degree angle on the left side, turned with a step, touched the basket, accelerated along the baseline, and dunked. His footwork was clean and the sequence of his steps was perfect. His first step wasn't the fastest, but it was long enough to easily get past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

AC Green tried to interfere, but Gan Guoyang dunked on him, sending him sprawling to the ground. The referee did not call a foul and ruled it a good play.

Worthy missed his shot, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar grabbed the rebound and scored with a hook shot off the backboard.

Gan Guoyang received the ball at a 45-degree angle on the left side, clearing the entire left side. He used the same Hikma step, but this time he didn't make a touch and just went straight for the ball.

AC rushed over and positioned themselves in advance, but Gan Guoyang pulled up and made a layup for two points. AC-Green stood in front of Gan Guoyang like a telephone pole, waiting to be hit but he didn't.

"Hey AC, wake up, it's time to attack!"

Gan Guoyang knew that AC Green was trying to draw an offensive foul, and of course he wouldn't give Green that opportunity.

Green himself laughed. He was trying to draw a foul, but he just stood there like an idiot.

At the same time, he was amazed by Gan Guoyang's control over his body; he was able to stop the car despite such a large inertia.

The Trail Blazers took the lead, but Johnson immediately drew a foul on a drive and went to the free-throw line, making both free throws to tie the game.

The game entered a fierce battle, and when Gan Guoyang once again drew a foul on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on offense, Riley couldn't hold back any longer.

This shameless tactic, and Gan Guoyang's shameless low-post one-on-one play, is truly disgusting!
The Lakers started double-teaming Gan Guoyang relentlessly, regardless of how wide open the perimeter shots were; they just wanted to double-team him.

Michael Cooper, in particular, is one of the best defenders on the backcourt, and his double-teams pose a significant threat to the paint.

Despite Cooper's strong double-team, Gan Guoyang didn't pass the ball. Instead, he used his speed to continue along the baseline and then scored with a reverse layup.

He made a difficult fadeaway jump shot after being surrounded!

After scoring, Gan Guoyang looked at his palm with an incredulous expression, marveling at his excellent touch tonight.

Riley was somewhat frustrated. Why did this guy always have such amazing performances on the Great Western Forum?
Kobe, watching on TV, excitedly shouted, "I told you, he's building up his strength! He'll explode in the fourth quarter!"

However, Magic Johnson was also in hot form tonight. He first drove to the basket, turned and made a layup, drawing a foul from Gan Guoyang for a 2+1 play.

Then, he assisted Worthy on a fast break dunk, bringing the score to 119-119.

Gan Guoyang has quietly scored 46 points, while Magic Johnson has 35 points and 16 assists.

With less than a minute remaining in the game, the Lakers had possession of the ball.

Riley called a timeout to set up tactics, but at this crucial moment, the Lakers still gave the ball to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also got a clear shot opportunity on the strong side, caught the ball, turned, raised his leg, and extended his arm to hook the ball.

A move that has been used countless times, a simple, straight arc—the ball spun on the rim and still fell into the net.

Goal! Lakers lead 119-121. Ramsey calls a timeout to plan the final moments.

He brought back Dell Curry, who had played well tonight, and used a backcourt of Curry, Porter, and Drexler, plus Vandeweghe.

The Trail Blazers need to keep five players with shooting ability on the court to give Gan Guoyang the best offensive space.

Ramsey devised three contingency plans, but the core strategy was still to get the ball to Agam first, which was quite different from his previous clutch play tactics.

In the past, Gan Guoyang was always the one who screened and rushed for offensive rebounds in crucial plays, but now he is the most reliable offensive player in Ramsey's eyes.

The timeout ended, and the game reached its most tense moment. Fans at the Great Western Forum were on the edge of their seats. If this shot missed, the game would most likely be lost.

The Trail Blazers inbounded the ball, and Michael Cooper closely guarded Gan Guoyang. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar remained stationary in the paint, and Clyde Drexler feigned coming out to receive the ball, with Gan Guoyang setting a screen for him.

But the ball was thrown to Gan Guoyang, who jumped to catch it but almost made a mistake. Vandeweghe's pass was very risky.

Fortunately, Gan Guoyang managed to get the ball and charged in from the corner, with Cooper close behind to steal it and Jabbar covering him from the front.

With defenders blocking his path and pursuers closing in from behind, Gan Guoyang suddenly made a cross pass to Dell Curry, who had been lurking in the corner all night.

Curry received the ball, and there was no one within five meters of him because Cooper had gone to defend Agan. Curry adjusted his position and took a shot from outside the three-point line.

The ball flew toward the basket with intense spin, and then "swish" it went in perfectly. Curry made his only basket of the game, but it was a priceless one!
The Trail Blazers have taken a 122-121 lead over the Lakers, and time is running out for the Lakers.

After scoring, Curry raised his arms high, completing the most important goal of his rookie season. The reward was a breathtaking hug from his teammates and a deafening silence from the Great Western Forum.

In front of the television, Joe Bryant seized the opportunity to say to Kobe, "Look, Forrest Gump can pass the ball. He passed it to his teammates, and that's how they had a chance to win."

Kobe shook his head and said, "No, it's because Forrest Gump was so persistent in his one-on-one plays that the Lakers felt comfortable double-teaming him, which created opportunities for his teammates."

Joe Bryant finally gave up trying to persuade him, got off the sofa, and thought to himself that his son had a superstar-level understanding of basketball that most people simply couldn't comprehend.

(End of this chapter)