The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 385 High Wall
As Gan Guoyang got to know Bird better and better, he discovered that the arrogant and trash-talking forward on the court was actually quite introverted and even a little shy in real life.

Unlike those celebrities who claim "I'm rather introverted and I don't usually like socializing" (most of whom create a persona for themselves), Bird was genuinely introverted, which was largely due to his upbringing.

Although he was white, he grew up in impoverished rural Indiana, and the harsh living conditions and his father's suicide shaped the duality of his personality.

When Gan Guoyang first came to the Boston Garden for a competition, he sensed that Bird had the air of a problem child; they were the same kind of people.

Their arrogant and conceited sides were all unleashed on the basketball court, a stage where they could freely express themselves, a place where you could be extremely arrogant and show your true nature without being suppressed or looked down upon, but instead would be rewarded with cheers and praise.

This is the magical charm of sports; it creates a new set of rules in this world of rules, erecting a high wall that preserves romance in a cold, realistic, and cruel reality.

Within the high walls, knights in armor charge forward with lances in hand, and giant ships exchange cannon fire. Loyalty is still praised, heroes are still lauded, and madness can be tolerated; only weakness is condemned.

Of course, this high wall was not built casually. The NBA and David Stern put a lot of effort into ensuring that the wall would not be eroded.

The two things that erode this wall most effectively are gambling and drugs.

Gan Guoyang finished the event at noon, took photos, said goodbye to Bird, and wished him good luck.

This time, instead of arguing and trash-talking, the two said a sincere goodbye to each other as friends. Excellent players always yearn to face each other again.

Every time Gan Guoyang plays against Bird, he can feel his own progress clearly. There are so many things about him that are worth learning.

They agreed to compete in the three-point contest during this All-Star game.

Since the Trail Blazers had already left by car in the morning, Gan Guoyang had to travel to Philadelphia by himself. Fleischer arranged a private car for him and hired a driver to take him.

The drive from Boston to Philadelphia takes nearly 5 hours, while a flight takes only one hour. The reason for not flying is that the Northeast experienced rain and snow in January, and the severe weather caused widespread flight delays or cancellations. In order to arrive at the destination on time, the only safer option was to take a car.

The driver who took Gan Guoyang was an elderly black man with gray hair and a thick black accent. He was from Philadelphia and was on business in Boston, so he could give him a ride on his way back.

As for how Fleischer managed to get such a ride, only heaven knows; that guy always has extraordinary connections.

The Black driver is a long-time fan, a loyal supporter of the Philadelphia 76ers, and a veteran of the 76ers' great season in 1967.

Along the way, he complained about Jack Ramsey's stubbornness, saying that he shouldn't have had a falling out with Chamberlain and so easily sent him to Los Angeles.

However, the veteran driver finally said, "Jack is a good coach. No matter what, he won the championship, and the teams he coached were very clean. He established a good team atmosphere."

Gan Guoyang agreed with this talkative veteran fan, and then learned from him that just this afternoon, when Gan Guoyang was attending the game launch event, the NBA also held a press conference to announce the punishment for the Houston Rockets.

At a press conference held at the Sheraton Hotel in New York, David Stern announced that two Houston Rockets players, Lewis Lloyd and Mitchell Wiggins, would be suspended indefinitely after testing positive for cocaine.

They can only apply to the league for the lifting of the ban two years later.

This further exacerbated the Rockets' already troubled situation, which was already hampered by Ralph Sampson's injury.

Lloyd and Wiggins are key members of the Rockets' rotation. Before them, veteran Lucas had been suspended by Bill Fitch for drug use.

They were discovered using drugs by Stern's security agents planted throughout the United States, and then, in accordance with the drug agreement, they submitted relevant information and were tested.

League security chief Hollins Palermo informed Lloyd and Wiggins of the ban in Houston.

Subsequently, the two players met with league officials and two addiction counselors, agreed to the NBA's recommendations for addiction rehabilitation, and were immediately sent to the Adult Substance Abuse Program Rehabilitation Center in California.

"The Rockets are finished. The West is now the domain of the Trail Blazers and the Lakers," the driver said.

With Sampson injured and two rotation players suspended, the Rockets have lost half their strength.

Although the removal of the two players freed up salary cap space for the Rockets, where could they sign players at this point? The only players they could sign were fringe players, none of whom were truly capable. The Rockets, who were ambitious in the summer, quickly collapsed under the blows of injuries and drugs.

Gan Guoyang disagreed with the veteran driver's statement, saying, "Even if the Rockets don't collapse, they won't be our match."

Lloyd and Wiggins are the third and fourth players, after Richardson and John Drew, to be suspended for drug use.

This incident clearly demonstrates the determination of David Stern and the NBA to combat drugs.

However, even with four players suspended and one person dying from drug-related causes, the NBA's war on drugs is far from over, and has not even reached its climax.

The real curtain will not be raised until April 1987, when everyone will see how much darkness and filth has been bred and concealed beneath the romantic and sacred sports wall that the NBA has painstakingly built.

Gan Guoyang finally arrived at the hotel where the Philadelphia team was staying after dark. After meeting up with his teammates, he returned to his room to rest.

That night, Jack Ramsey conducted a surprise room check, much like a high school teacher, to prevent any players from using prohibited substances in their rooms.

In the NBA, it's rare for coaches to do this. Everyone is an adult, just a colleague. They turn a blind eye. Besides, it's a common phenomenon in society. How can one or two people's supervision change it?

But Ramsey is a responsible person, and after learning about the Rockets' situation, he absolutely forbade such a situation from happening within the team, including prohibiting everyone from using painkillers.

Therefore, the Trail Blazers have always been relatively clean. Previously, Coulter quit using painkillers after being discovered by Gan Guoyang. There are also veterans like Kenny Carr and Jones, who may have used cocaine, but their performances have been normal in the past two seasons.

After a series of suspensions and deaths, the league's atmosphere is gradually improving.

The next day, in an away game against the 76ers, the somewhat fatigued Trail Blazers fought their opponents into overtime.

Gan Guoyang dominated the final five minutes, scoring 11 consecutive points to help his team win the game. He finished with 39 points.

After returning to Portland from their road trip, the Trail Blazers continued their winning streak.

However, Kenny Carr suffered a herniated disc in the home game against the Golden State Warriors on January 18.

He left the field supporting his back, and was then helped back to the locker room by Culp, where he received treatment.

At the time, Karl didn't think much of it. After the match, he even joked that he needed to find some massage girls to massage his back.

Mitchell Thompson joked with him, saying this was his just deserts, since the league is now cracking down on drugs and gambling, and he cheated his teammates to gamble.

In the game between the Trail Blazers and the Bulls, Karl said, "I bet Jordan will score more points," but he was actually using reverse psychology; he clearly bet Gan Guoyang would score more points.

In the end, Gan Guoyang scored one more point than Jordan, while Thompson lost to Karl by two hundred dollars, plus two dinners.

Nobody took his injury seriously, but after a thorough examination, the doctor concluded that Kenny Carr's herniated disc was difficult to cure and gave him the best advice—retirement.

Kenny Carr couldn't accept the result and insisted on participating in the next game, even taking painkillers to control the pain, after all, he was only 31 years old.

But Ramsey, Walton, Thompson and others dissuaded him. Ramsey told him, "It's commendable to play with an injury, but times have changed. Think more about your future and live like a normal person."

Ramsey used to be a coach who encouraged Walton to play through injuries, but 10 years later, he no longer thinks that way.

Playing with injuries within the high walls of the NBA is certainly inspiring, and carries a romantic undertone of sacrificing oneself.

But eventually, the players will have to leave this high wall and return to the mundane and real life.

After the season ended, Kenny Carr announced his retirement, ending his professional playing career.

(End of this chapter)