The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 384 Bird vs. Dr. G
As the final buzzer sounded, Larry Bird and Gan Guoyang shook hands and hugged.

Bird scored 28 points and 11 assists, a very good performance, but he couldn't lead the Celtics to a comeback and turn the game around in the fourth quarter.

Gan Guoyang scored 33 points and grabbed 23 rebounds. Robert Parish was completely unable to stop Gan Guoyang from dominating the paint. He grabbed 10 offensive rebounds tonight.

Gan Guoyang's average number of offensive rebounds per game has been declining this season, but tonight's performance proved that he is not incapable of grabbing rebounds, but rather that the team's tactics have reduced his attempts to attack the boards.

If he wants, he can still be an offensive rebounding monster, and the Celtics' frontcourt trio can't stop him.

In the fourth quarter, he took on the primary responsibility of defending Bird, effectively shutting down Bird's individual offense.

Bird was undoubtedly frustrated, finding it difficult to make significant progress as he got older.

He focused on improving his three-point shooting in the summer and added long-range shots to his game in the new season, which has yielded some results.

But when faced with Forrest Gump, everything seemed futile, because Forrest Gump was still making progress, while he was starting to go downhill.

He has already fallen behind in his matchups against Magic Johnson this season.

In a home game against the Lakers in December, the Celtics led for three quarters, with Bird playing exceptionally well and shooting with a very high percentage.

He felt like a machine gun with a loaded barrel, unleashing a barrage of fire that no one could stop; Michael Cooper was simply his plaything.

The Celtics played exceptionally well, with a very high shooting percentage, and they felt victory was within their grasp.

At that time, the Celtics had just gone public, and the fans at Boston Garden were going crazy; they were going to beat the Lakers again.

In the fourth quarter, the Celtics went completely cold, falling behind the Lakers 29-16. The Celtics' 16 points in the quarter was their lowest single-quarter score of the season.

At that point, Bird seemed to be struggling. The starters had played too much in the first three quarters. Bird played 43 minutes and Parish played 44 minutes in total.

The team had no complaints about KC Jones's rancher-like personnel strategy. At that time, everyone felt it was the right thing to do; since you received the most money, you naturally had to bear the most responsibility.

The Celtics simply don't have any good bench options, so they naturally have to rely on their starters to fill in and play until the very end.

They're okay against average teams, but against strong teams like the Lakers and Trail Blazers at the higher levels, they naturally lack staying power.

Bird was very surprised by Gan Guoyang's amazing physical abilities and unexpected rate of progress.

Like Jordan, Bird was convinced that Gan Guoyang hadn't played at full strength during the regular season, but rather had been holding back.

In other words, this super center, who averaged 38 points, 15 rebounds, 3.1 blocks, and 4.7 assists per game in the regular season, did not go all out in the game.

He's only a third-year student, and he's already hiding his true strength.

During a brief post-game conversation, Bird tried to confirm this with Gan Guoyang. After the two shook hands and hugged, Bird asked, "Sonny, did you give it your all tonight?"

Gan Guoyang shrugged and said, "Of course, didn't you see I'm sweating?"

Bird chuckled dismissively, thinking he really wanted to slap this guy across the face, but he patiently said, "Sonny, I have a question for you."

"What? I can answer anything except for privacy, including the secret to defeating you."

"I'm not interested in knowing how I lost. I want to ask you, among those retired jerseys on the ceiling of Boston Garden, there are a few black vertical lines inside the ring on the outside of the Boston Bruins' #4 retired jersey."

Bird asked an unexpected question. Above Boston Garden, there were countless championship banners and retired jerseys hanging densely.

Some of the jerseys belong to the Celtics, while others belong to the NHL's Boston Bruins, including number 4, which is the retired jersey of Bruins legend Bobby Orr.

Every night before the match, when the national anthem is played during the pre-match opening ceremony, the players look up at the ceiling.

When Bird looked up, he always stared at the retired jerseys and championship banners, and everyone assumed he was looking at the Celtics jerseys.

But in reality, he always stared at Bobby Orr's number 4, and he was extremely familiar with that retired jersey flag.

Faced with Bird's tricky question, Gan Guoyang didn't even look up and said, "There are eight vertical lines."

"What time is it?"

"1966-1976." "What is Bobby Orr's real name?"

"Robert."

Bird was surprised by Gan Guoyang's fluent answers and asked, "How do you know so much?"

Gan Guoyang said, "When the American national anthem is played, I scan all the jerseys and flags on it. I can even recite the order of your jersey numbers. Anyway, I don't sing."

Boston Garden is the Celtics' home court, and Bird plays more than 50 games here every year, so it's normal for him to be familiar with every detail of the place.

Gan Guoyang comes from a Western Conference team and plays here once a season. He played three games in the finals here, yet he knows the retired jersey here like the back of his hand.

Bird truly admired Gan Guoyang, but from this insightful observation, he knew that this young man was absolutely extraordinary.

His focus on basketball, his dedication, and his amazing physical abilities have already surpassed those of the current league.

This guy might just be a fully realized version of Wilt Chamberlain.

"Good luck, Sonny. See you in the Finals. Wash your ass clean," Bird said to Gan Guoyang at the end, still determined not to lose in words.

"I should be wishing you good luck. I also hope to see you again in the Finals. I still have a few cigars left from the ones I bought last season."

Gan Guoyang bought a large box of cigars last season. After winning the championship, each of his teammates received one, and a few were left over and kept in the locker room.

After this game, Gan Guoyang thought that he would see Bird again this year in Portland in March or in the Finals in June.

Unexpectedly, Larry Fleischer called the next day at noon, asking him to attend a brand event in the Boston area, where many sports media from Boston and New York were present.

Every time he went to the Northeast, Fleischer would always arrange something for Gan Guoyang to do, such as participating in interviews, business activities, or promoting Avia.

In Fleischer's words, Boston-New York is the mouthpiece and megaphone of America; the voices spoken here are much louder than in other regions.

Gan Guoyang would always say that Los Angeles is like an ass; it can't speak, but it can still make a loud fart.

Gan Guoyang was initially reluctant to participate in these kinds of events because the team wouldn't wait for him; they would travel by car to the next stop, and Gan Guoyang would have to take a car to Philadelphia by himself after the event.

However, after hearing that Larry Bird was also participating in the brand's commercial event, Gan Guoyang gladly went. It was quite fun being with Larry, and maybe he would have a chance to compete with him in three-point shooting.

Thinking about this, Gan Guoyang was very excited.

When they arrived at the event, they discovered that the brand event was actually a video game!
The game is called "Larry Bird vs. Dr. G Arkham," and it's a sequel to the previous game in the same genre, "Larry Bird vs. Dr. J Owen."

Gan Guoyang thought to himself, "If you want a big battle, then let us have a fight, maybe provide a basketball court or something."

Since there's no basketball court, it's fine for two people to play a few games.

Bird doesn't usually play games, while Gan Guoyang is a time traveler and has played games with Gan Guohui quite a bit. Bird is no match for Gan Guoyang.

In several games in a row, Bird was thoroughly defeated by Gan Guoyang, and he was completely helpless.

Bird got angry because he couldn't beat Gan Guoyang in real life, and he still couldn't beat him in the game.

It is said that he began to practice video games diligently from then on and became a gaming master.

In the latter half of the event, the two of them took a cover photo together for this unfortunate game.

Gan Guoyang asked Bird, "Why did you come to participate in an event like this?"

Bird said, "You said you'd come. Why are you coming?"

Gan Guoyang said, "The same reason, that you would come."

The two smiled, but in their hearts they both cursed the manager as a son of a bitch.

(End of this chapter)