The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 380 The Final Peak
Because of a cold, Gan Guoyang became a married man.

Although everything seems unchanged, the team is still the same team, and the league is still the same league.

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west as usual, and the person lying next to me is still the same one.

However, relationships between people are always so delicate. A change in address, a simple promise, or a thin contract can often change a lot.

For Wang Fuxi, she is now the rightful wife of Gan Guoyang, and everyone who meets her calls her Mrs. Gan, not Ms. Wang or Fosse.

She went from being his girlfriend to being his legal partner, on equal footing with him. Everything she did and said represented both of them; they were one.

Of course, not all couples are like this. Many couples are only superficially compatible, each doing their own thing, especially in the sports and entertainment industries, where it is all too common.

Unlike Gan Guoyang, Wang Fuxi and Gan Guoyang were already closely united before marriage, and their bond has only strengthened after marriage. As a virtuous wife, Wang Fuxi will spare no effort to protect her and her husband's reputation and interests.

For Gan Guoyang, he felt an unexpected sense of responsibility. He was no longer alone, but the pillar of a small family and a large clan—although the two of them did not have any plans to have children for the time being.

Within the team, the entire Trail Blazers congratulated Gan Guoyang on becoming a "real man." Bill Walton, Larry Weinberg, Jack Ramsey, Adelman, and others patted Gan Guoyang on the shoulder and said that married men understand better how to shoulder responsibilities.

The only person who slightly shook his head at Gan Guoyang's choice was Bobby Bellman, who said that Gan Guoyang should marry basketball rather than a woman. However, he still congratulated his most outstanding disciple and presented the couple with an expensive gift at the banquet to congratulate them on their marriage.

Jordan, Stockton, Barkley, and others all called to congratulate Gan Guoyang.

Stockton complained about why Gan Guoyang got married so suddenly without discussing it with him beforehand.

Barkley really wanted to come to Portland for the feast, but unfortunately the Bullets' schedule didn't allow it.

Jordan mocked Gan Guoyang, saying that his performance would decline after he got married and that he should wait to be surpassed on the scoring list.

Gan Guoyang said, "Just you wait and see. Married men will only perform better on the field to support their families!"

Gan Guoyang's condition did indeed improve after entering 1987.

1月3号，开拓者主场110:129，19分的优势大胜来访的丹佛掘金。

In his first game after getting married, Gan Guoyang scored 44 points and grabbed 21 rebounds against the Nuggets, whose defense was weak.

During halftime, the DJ announced Gan Guoyang's marriage, and the entire audience erupted in applause to congratulate the newlyweds.

However, it is said that after this news was made public, a large number of Gan Guoyang's female fans fell into depression, and a very small number of them even attempted suicide.

Portland is a place with frequent rain and gloom, which can easily breed negative emotions and cause depression among many people, so this situation is inevitable.

On January 4th, the Trail Blazers faced the Sacramento Kings at home in a back-to-back game, and once again swept their opponents 107-134.

Gan Guoyang scored 44 points in the back-to-back games, further solidifying his position at the top of the scoring list.

He is currently averaging 38.5 points per game, 0.5 points more than Jordan and 8 points more than Dominique Wilkins, who is in third place.

The third and fourth place teams simply cannot catch up with the two scoring beasts ahead of them.

From January 4th to 8th, the Trail Blazers had five days of rest, which was just enough time for Gan Youwei to host a banquet.

After finishing the banquet on the 8th, Gan Guoyang left Portland with the team to begin an away game in the East.

On January 10th, they arrived in New York and New Jersey to play against the New Jersey Nets.

The Nets were a playoff team last season, but with Richardson's lifetime suspension and several key players constantly plagued by injuries, the team gradually became a bottom-tier team.

They signed Ulrich during the offseason and gave the Bulls several draft picks in hopes of making up for the loss of Richardson.

However, Ulrich's performance was only so-so. He averaged 17 points per game, but he was not the one who could completely change the team, and he was also plagued by injuries.

Facing the dominant Portland Trail Blazers, they offered no resistance at home, suffering a crushing 129-111 defeat by 18 points.

Gan Guoyang scored an astonishing 53 points, shooting 17-for-21 from the field and 18-for-20 from the free-throw line, single-handedly destroying the Nets' interior defense.

Buck Williams, who used to dominate offensive rebounds on Moses Malong, only managed 4 points and 6 rebounds in the entire game.

Nets coach Dave Wall was extremely dissatisfied with the starters' performance. The Nets fell behind early in the first half, and their interior defense was easily dominated by Gan Guoyang. This young coach had just taken over in 1985, and his first year was decent, reaching the playoffs before being eliminated by the Bucks.

During his playing days, Dave Wall was known for his impetuous temperament. Tonight, facing the poor defense of the starters, he simply substituted all of them early on.

Then, starting in the third quarter, the bench players came on directly. Sixth man Leon Wood played 40 minutes, and substitute Ulrich played 35 minutes.

None of the starters played more than 20 minutes, which was a protest by the coach against the performance of the key players. However, this protest did nothing to boost team morale or enhance team cohesion, except to hasten the coach's dismissal.

Head coaches in this era face this situation: the players hold the initiative, and when the team keeps losing, the primary responsibility lies with the coach, not the players who are performing poorly.

The reason why the players are performing poorly is largely because they don't want to play for this coach or win games for him.

Although he easily won the game, Adelman shook hands with Wall at the end of the game and said, "You acted too impulsively. Putting them on the bench didn't make much sense and only hurt yourself."

Wall previously played for the Trail Blazers, where he was teammates with Adelman.

Wall shrugged and said, "The players' sense of honor and shame seems to be fading these days. I've tried to revive it, but the result is: it's simply gone."

Adelman said, "Not every player is like that."

Wall laughed and said, "Not every team has Forrest Gump. I have Forrest Gump, and I can win games too."

Gan Guoyang's 53-point performance tonight completely conquered New Jersey and further extended his lead in the scoring charts.

Married men seem somewhat unstoppable.

After playing the Nets, the Trail Blazers team traveled to Boston.

This will be their first time back here since last year's finals, and everyone is filled with a mix of excitement and nervousness.

After arriving in the locker room, Gan Guoyang said to everyone, "Wow, the smell of champagne still lingers here."

Last year's championship win is the best memory of all the Trail Blazers players' careers so far.

Even the dilapidated locker room at Boston Garden becomes touching with the added touch of championship memories.

However, the fans at Boston Garden clearly did not welcome the enemy who defeated them.

On the night of January 12, crazed Celtics fans displayed their impotent rage with a variety of profanities, slogans, and insulting gestures.

Boston fans are indeed very crazy, and they have reason to be, not just because the Trail Blazers dashed their championship dreams last year.

In December 1986, just before Christmas, the Boston Celtics officially listed on the New York Stock Exchange, selling 40% of their outstanding shares to raise funds.

Before the stock was even listed, all 18.5 million shares, priced at $260 each, were pre-sold out. However, after the listing, the stock price quickly fell from the opening price to $12.

By Friday's closing price of $14, those fans who bought in out of passion had lost a lot of money, while the original shareholders who bought at $1 had made a killing.

But fans and shareholders don't care. What they need is a sense of ownership. After buying Celtics stock, they feel like they are shareholders of the team, and every cheer, shout, and curse they give seems more meaningful.

Back then, stocks were still issued in the form of paper stock certificates. After purchasing a stock, the Celts would send a paper stock certificate to the shareholder's home as proof.

This further amplified the Celtics fans' sense of ownership, making their shouts at Boston Garden even more frenzied.

Fans were hopeful that their five-star lineup could rise again in the 1986-1987 season, win the championship in 87, and even win one or two more championships.

After all, their core players Larry Bird is 30, Kevin McHale is 29, and Marquese Johnson is 30, all in their prime.

Jabbar next door is already forty years old and still full of energy. With Auerbach's methods, they can easily maintain their glory for another ten years.

However, fans who bought Celtics stock at the time did not know that 1986 was the Boston Celtics' last peak and glory.

The Celtics will then follow the same trajectory as this stock, plummeting for a very long time before returning to an upward trend.

(End of this chapter)