The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 405

The Hawks' defense is indeed among the best in the league.

Head coach Mike Fratello has spent many years in Atlanta building a solid and aggressive defensive system.

Fratello has worked as an assistant to many well-known coaches, such as Hubie Brown, Campanelli, and Tom Carmody. These NBA and college coaches are all experts who emphasize defense.

Fratello built a defensive system for the Hawks centered around their twin towers, featuring tight double-teams and excellent rotations. Their double-team defense, in particular, is probably the best in the entire league.

The most difficult part of double-teaming is that when you are 2 against 1, one of your opponents will inevitably be left open. How can the defending team make up for this gap through good formation and timely rotation?

The Hawks did a good job in this regard, but after the timeout, when Gan Guoyang received the ball in a very far-out position, the Hawks made the wrong defensive choice, and Wilkins ran to the wing to surround Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang made a long pass to Vandeweghe on the right side, and Vandeweghe hit a three-pointer, making it 3-7.

The Trail Blazers broke their scoring drought, and their offense started to get going.

Fratlow did not criticize Wilkins for this mistake.

The Hawks were clearly on edge, swarming around Gan Guoyang as soon as he got the ball.

Against the Bulls, the Hawks started the game with a double-team.

They couldn't defend against it anymore, so they brought in three people to surround them, but they still couldn't stop them.

The Bulls' outside shooting is much worse than the Trail Blazers', allowing the Hawks to collapse the defense with impunity.

The Trail Blazers have the best offensive spacing in the league, which poses a challenge for the Hawks.

However, the Hawks players didn't seem to care; as long as Gan Guoyang scored less, that was fine.

It was impossible to prevent Gan Guoyang from scoring, and Gan Guoyang immediately stole the ball on the defensive end.

Rollins attempted to receive the ball in the low post, but Gan Guoyang suddenly rushed out and intercepted the ball, then dribbled down the court for a fast break.

One-handed dunk! 5-7, the Trail Blazers scored quickly, with Gan Guoyang getting the first point of the game.

Returning to the defensive end, Gan Guoyang chatted with Rollins, saying, "You only score 5 or 6 points a game, what's the point of having you play in the low post?"

Rollins was furious, but he couldn't refute her.

Back then, all the big men had low-post offensive capabilities, and even if they averaged only 4 or 5 points, they could still score several points per game.

But with the Trail Blazers, players like Mitchell Thompson almost completely abandoned low-post offense, focusing only on easy baskets, mid-range shots, and second-chance rebounds.

Thompson only occasionally shines in certain crucial moments; all other low-post opportunities are given to the highly efficient Gan Guoyang.

Rollins still tried to establish a low position, which was their tactic for launching positional attacks.

Rollins on the left, Willis on the right, it's either you or him, that's how the twin towers tactic works.

The Hawks' perimeter players dared not pass the ball to Rollins anymore, and instead switched it to Willis on the other side.

Although Willis has short arms, he is tall and strong. He turned around, pushed past Thompson, and forced his way to the basket for a layup.

The two teams engaged in fierce competition for space in the paint from the very beginning.

The Trail Blazers cleared one side and gave the ball to Gan Guoyang in the low post.

Gan Guoyang received the ball, and then three Hawks players surrounded him.

Gan Guoyang passed the ball to Drexler in the middle, and Drexler received the ball and drove into the basket for a dunk.

Both ball movements were executed beautifully, and the Trail Blazers kept the score close.

The Hawks seemed determined to double-team Gan Guoyang, even allowing other players to score openly, but not giving Gan Guoyang a chance to shoot.

Then, facing Vandeweghe's defense, Wilkins drove hard and hit a pull-up jumper.

Gan Guoyang was double-teamed for the third time in the low post, and passed the ball to Porter on the wing, but Porter's shot missed.

The Hawks got the ball and launched a fast break. Rivers quickly advanced the ball, and Randy Wittman received the ball and made a mid-range jump shot.

The Hawks were clearly well-prepared for this game and their strategy was very effective.

On the defensive end, they insist on double-teaming; if two players aren't enough, they'll use three. They have enough height in the paint.

During counterattacks, they mainly rely on shooting, knowing that Gan Guoyang is good at blocking shots on defense, so they don't easily drive to the basket.

Even if Wilkins also solves the problem with a jump shot, instead of challenging Forrest Gump, he reduces the Trail Blazers' opportunities for fast breaks.

Gan Guoyang began to make adjustments. He no longer went to the low post, but instead went to the corner post to run pick-and-rolls with Porter.

After the pick-and-roll, Porter drove into the middle and passed the ball to Drexler on the wing, who then drove again.

After two drives, the Hawks' defense collapsed, and Drexler passed the ball to Gan Guoyang at the corner post. Gan Guoyang received the ball and decisively took a mid-range shot, making it. Gan Guoyang scored 4 points. He rubbed his hands, feeling that his shooting touch was pretty good tonight.

Playing against a defensively strong team like the Hawks excites him, and the scoring title is something he has already put aside.

Of course, while Gan Guoyang might not be thinking about it, many others were: reporters at the scene, viewers in front of their televisions, and countless others were watching Gan Guoyang's data statistics closely.

On the other side, Jordan was at Boston Garden, and by the end of the first quarter, he had already scored 11 points.

The Hawks continued to pass the ball to Kevin Willis, but this time Gan Guoyang came over to help defend, and Willis's floater missed.

After securing the defensive rebound, the Trail Blazers launched a fast break, and Porter quickly pushed the offense forward.

To help Gan Guoyang gain points, the pace of the game must be accelerated; this is not a game mode of slowing down the pace and deciding the final victory.

Porter was very clear-headed about this, and Gan Guoyang also made a fast break, received a pass from Porter, and was fouled while making a layup, going to the free throw line.

Gan Guoyang's scoring also includes a significant portion of fast breaks. As a center, he is fast, and once he gets to the basket, he poses a great threat with a high shooting percentage.

Although Ramsey no longer constantly reminds the players to run, they still rush down the court when there's a good opportunity, and Gan Guoyang quickly enters the three-second zone.

If the opponent collapses their defense, Vandeweghe and Porter will take long-range shots directly from the outside. If the opponent does not collapse, they will pass the ball directly to Gan Guoyang under the basket to score, or simply spread out and quickly attack one-on-one, taking advantage of the opponent's unsteady defense. This kind of play is a good opportunity to score.

Ramsey has gone from being allergic to three-pointers in the past to gradually realizing the enormous significance that three-pointers bring to spacing and can cause great difficulties for the opponent's defense.

Gan Guoyang made both free throws, scoring 6 points, and the Trail Blazers gradually closed the gap.

At this moment, Doc Rivers suddenly made a blunder, and the Hawks also spread out in all four directions, creating huge space on the strong side with the ball.

Rivers drove straight past Porter and scored a layup.

The Trail Blazers played a fast-paced game, with Porter quickly inbounding the ball and Drexler delivering a super long pass to the frontcourt.

Gan Guoyang was already under the basket, received the ball, jumped, and slammed it down with both hands!

He scored and drew a foul from the Hawks, making the free throw for a total of 9 points.

Tom Heinsohn's tone has changed: "It looks like Forrest is getting better. His teammates are giving him enough support, and he's not just trying to go one-on-one when he's double-teamed."

Gan Guoyang did not rely solely on individual attacks; he shifted his strategy to a team offensive, but he was waiting for an opportunity when the Hawks relaxed their guard.

Rivers attacked the basket again via the same route, and this time Gan Guoyang provided help defense. Rivers passed the ball to Rollins.

Rollins caught the ball and dunked it, drawing a foul from Mitchell Thompson.

Rivers is a strong point guard who plays very cleverly.

Two identical attack routes, but with different choices, both proved effective.

The two teams were evenly matched in the first quarter, with the Hawks holding the advantage.

They temporarily contained Gan Guoyang's endless one-on-one attacks by double-teaming him on the defensive end.

At the same time, they played skillfully against the Trail Blazers' defense on offense, with a variety of offensive options, and the players had a good shooting touch.

Gan Guoyang scored 10 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, and dished out 2 assists in the first quarter, which can be considered a very good performance.

But by his standards, 10 points seems a bit low.

Fratello was somewhat relieved to see that Gan Guo only scored 10 points in the first quarter.

I thought to myself, if I score 10 points in one quarter, I'll get 40 points in four quarters. 40 points, not too many, not too few.

The Trail Blazers trailed the Hawks by 5 points, with a score of 26-31 after the first quarter.

At the start of the second quarter, Gan Guoyang sat on the bench to rest. CBS television cameras kept focusing on Gan Guoyang while simultaneously switching the camera to Boston.

At Boston Garden, the Celtics and Bulls had already finished the first half. Jordan had scored 27 points in the first half, and if he continued playing like this, he would be heading towards 50 points again.

The Celtics are putting all their effort into defending Jordan, just like they did after he scored 63 points in last year's playoffs, but this year they've found they can't stop him.

No matter if you have two or three defenders, Jordan always finds a way to get the ball in the basket.

Moreover, his ability to break through defenses, steal points, and draw fouls is even stronger than last year, making him extremely difficult to contain.

During halftime in the locker room, Jordan asked the team staff how many points Gan Guoyang had scored.

"After the first quarter, Agan had 10 points."

"10 points? That coward, if he can't get 50 points, I'll call him!"

(End of this chapter)