The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 377 Peerless Twins
In the 1987 season, Nelson had not yet begun to collect viewership ratings for the NBA Christmas Day games.

However, during CBS's Christmas Day broadcast this year, the advertising rates were 200% higher than usual.

Even so, a large number of companies still compete for halftime and timeout slots, hoping to get a share of this basketball extravaganza.

In fact, the gap in strength between the Trail Blazers and the Bulls was quite large. From the first minute of the game, the Trail Blazers were in a high position and were dominating the Bulls, while the Bulls struggled under Jordan's leadership.

In the past, matches with such a large disparity in strength rarely attracted widespread attention from fans and viewers; only seasoned, local die-hard fans would be interested.

But the competition between Gan Guoyang and Jordan made the game more interesting, especially for ordinary, non-expert fans.

In reality, most viewers, especially television viewers, watch the games mainly for the excitement.

Exhilarating dunks, adrenaline-pumping fast breaks, dazzling individual offensive plays, and incredibly accurate long-range shots are all interesting elements that ordinary fans can capture, keeping them glued to their TVs.

However, the tactical confrontations, team discipline, and other aspects that seasoned fans, professionals, and coaches care about have a certain threshold for appreciation, and most fans are not very interested in these.

Even if some teams play a beautiful offensive game, fans will only think, "Wow, this offense is so smooth." It's very difficult and unnecessary for fans to discover the details.

David Stern, the new commissioner, understands this well. He doesn't run the NBA from the perspective of a basketball professional, but rather designs and plans NBA games from the perspective of ordinary fans, or even ordinary people who aren't fans at all.

Stern knew perfectly well what was most attractive, what could gradually draw someone with no interest in basketball into becoming an NBA fan, and what could spark public discussion about the sport.

"Gan vs. Jordan" is one of his most powerful weapons. If "Magic vs. Bird" still has a lot of the remnants of the old era, Gan Guoyang and Jordan, two superstars who entered the NBA with Stern, exude the vigor of the new era from every pore.

The final quarter of the Christmas game became a battleground between Gan Guoyang and Jordan.

They unleashed all their skills that they rarely use, going all out on both offense and defense, and engaging in a head-on confrontation at a crucial moment.

Gan Guoyang started guarding Jordan. When Drexler tried to help defend, Gan Guoyang yelled at him, "Get out of the way!"
Similarly, when Charles Oakley tried to set a screen, Jordan impatiently waved him away, signaling him to stay out of it.

So, at the crucial moment of the match, everyone else on the field stepped aside, the camera focused on the two of them, and the match turned into a one-on-one duel.

Jordan's drives were difficult to defend, not only because of his explosive speed, but also because of his exceptional ability to adjust.

Just now, he broke through on the right side, and you followed his lead. He immediately pulled back and moved to the left side. Can you still follow that? I'll immediately move to the right side again. To put it bluntly, I can do the opposite of what you do. Your strong prediction is useless.

Jordan's body control was also evident in his difficult layups; when he landed after a mid-air collision, he almost never fell.

Whether he's pushed, shoved, or bumped by a tall center, whether he's twisting and turning in the air or he's charging so hard that he completely loses his balance, he always manages to land steadily instead of falling flat on his face or landing on his backside like a wild goose.

This is also one aspect that highlights the huge difference between Drexler and Jordan: Drexler charges headlong into the air and loses control of his body, after all, he is a glider lacking power, while Jordan is an aerial man.

Against average defenders, Jordan didn't even need that kind of control, since he could easily get past them in one step.

Only when facing Gan Guoyang did Jordan demonstrate this body control to its fullest extent: starting, pulling back, dribbling between his legs, moving to the left, changing direction to the outside, and then suddenly stopping and shooting!

Gan Guoyang kept up with Jordan every step of the way, and finally blocked Jordan's shot. Jordan still managed to shoot and make the shot.

"You almost stopped me, Sonny," Jordan said to Gan Guoyang after scoring.

This infuriated Gan Guoyang. He then received the ball in a very far-out position, with his back to Oakley, and Jordan came over to help defend.

Gan Guoyang dribbled away from the encirclement, and Jordan nudged Oakley, signaling him to step back so he could defend Gan Guoyang one-on-one.

The two players were positioned on the left side near the three-point line, where height and strength are less important than under the basket.

If Gan Guoyang easily passes the ball, Jordan will definitely steal it. If he passes it? Where will Gan Guoyang put his face then?
"Pass the ball, Sonny, or you'll make a mistake."

Jordan verbally attacked Gan Guoyang, at a time when the Trail Blazers were still leading the Bulls by five points.

At the same time, he stayed close to Gan Guoyang, his upper body straight, his left hand on Gan Guoyang's waist, and his right hand raised and waved in front of Gan Guoyang's eyes to distract him. He also blocked Gan Guoyang with his lower body. This was a very good defensive posture.

Under normal circumstances, players will definitely give up one-on-one attacks, pass the ball to their teammates to transition, and then move to a better attacking position.

But Gan Guoyang knew this wouldn't work; it was a duel between the two of them. The other Trail Blazers players also wisely refrained from interfering, watching from the weak side with their hands on their hips. Gan Guoyang adjusted his stance with the ball, secured his pivot foot, and then used his shoulder and body to push Jordan back. The immense force caused Jordan to stumble backward. Gan Guoyang immediately passed the ball, dribbling backward to create distance, all while using his left hand.

Jordan immediately tried to steal the ball, but Gan Guoyang was prepared. He dribbled behind Jordan's back to avoid him, and Jordan's risky steal caused him to lose his position. Gan Guoyang dribbled to the right and drove into the basket. His huge right hand grabbed the ball, and he dodged Oakley's defense in the air and easily made a layup.

Gan Guoyang's breakthrough stride is huge. He starts gathering the ball from the free-throw line, grabs it with one hand, and drives into the basket in two steps, unstoppable.

As a tall player, he didn't have Jordan's abnormal control and swaying left and right, but he was wide and open, with clean footwork, and his layup was even more elegant and natural. He truly deserves to be called Dr. J plus version of Dr. G.

After scoring, Gan Guoyang looked at Jordan and said, "How does it feel to be left in my dust? You're still a long way from being able to stop me!"

Jordan was somewhat frustrated. His risky steal had caused him to lose his defensive position, but he had no choice. With the team trailing, stealing and fast breaks were the best way to catch up.

These two shots were a microcosm of the entire duel between Jordan and Gan Guoyang in the fourth quarter, and also a climax.

This kind of play would have been considered unreasonable in the past and would have drawn criticism from coaches. Jordan clearly attracted the big men in the paint, so why did you go for a one-on-one? You should have given the ball to the big men in the paint to exploit the mismatch; that would have been more successful.

Gan Guoyang's play was even more outrageous. The left side near the three-point line is a "dead zone" for a center. The best way to deal with it is to pass the ball to a teammate and reorganize the offense. Instead, you went one-on-one with the opposing guard and even tried to dribble behind your back.

Unreasonable, so unreasonable.

But audiences in the 80s liked to watch illogical things.

Just as a time machine sends people to the future, the Terminator robot from the future returns to the present, E.T. the alien comes to this world, RoboCop begins to maintain order, and aliens from the universe spread terror, the audience's imagination and emotions are greatly aroused.

Those bland, conventional, and reasonable narratives only make people feel bored; people crave stronger stimulation.

In the final moments of the game, Jordan drove hard to the basket, facing three defenders, and switched hands repeatedly in mid-air before finally scoring.

But then, Gan Guoyang received a pass from Drexler on the outside and hit a three-pointer, completely extinguishing the Bulls' hopes of a comeback.

Meanwhile, Jordan's score was capped at 46 points, while Gan Guoyang's total score reached 47 points, one point more than Jordan.

The score was 99-104. Jordan had a chance to score on the final possession and surpass Gan Guoyang's score, but he gave up.

He tossed the ball to Gan Guoyang and said, "See you in Chicago, Merry Christmas."

Gan Guoyang gripped the ball and said, "Merry Christmas, Michael. Is your foot hurting terribly?"

"It's none of your business. Mind your own business."

As the buzzer signaling the end of the game sounded, the two embraced, and Jordan, enduring the pain in his foot, returned to the locker room through the player tunnel.

Back in the locker room, Jordan immediately took off his shoes and socks, and the abscess on his left foot became even bigger.

After the team doctor sterilized the scalpel, he cut open the abscess and squeezed out the pus. Jordan was in so much pain that he grimaced.

The team doctor comforted him, saying, "You played great tonight, Michael. You didn't lose. Nobody knew your foot hurt so much."

Jordan didn't say anything. He knew the team doctor was trying to comfort him, but he never accepted the logic that "I didn't lose the game even if we lost."

After his abscess on his toe was treated, it quickly returned to normal. After resting, it did not affect his subsequent matches, and he still played normally.

However, the day after Christmas, Jordan read a news item in the newspaper:
"Forrest Gump will miss the game against the Suns on December 27 due to a severe cold. It is said that he contracted the cold virus at an event before Christmas and insisted on playing in the Christmas Day game, but he could not keep up and had to take a break."

After reading it, Jordan tore the newspaper to shreds and cursed, "That son of a bitch, she left me no way out. If you have a cold, just have a cold, why are you forcing yourself to play? If you're going to play, then play until the very end, but instead of taking a break, she told reporters! Fuck!"

Furious, Jordan dialed Gan Guoyang's home phone. He had to have a word with this guy, otherwise, he would think he had won even though he had a cold, and he would be smug for the rest of his life.

As a result, the call couldn't get through at all.

(End of this chapter)