The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 427 Between the Smallest Bits
The Lakers played an excellent offense tonight, but Gan Guoyang played even better.

Riley was certain that, based on the Lakers' offense in the first half, even against the Celtics, they would have been down by at least 15 points.

However, the Trail Blazers were able to take a 5-point lead. Gan Guoyang's offensive power and his advanced playing style were a headache.

Riley was one of the few coaches who recognized that Gan Guoyang's playing style was unique and ahead of others in the league.

As an inside center, Gan Guoyang's inside and outside skills have become increasingly better over the past two seasons.

In 1985, his playing style was somewhat similar to Moses Malone, a relatively pure monster in the paint.

By 1987, he had become an unprecedented kaleidoscope of attacks, with no offensive tactic he was unfamiliar with.

This makes defending Gan Guoyang an extremely difficult task; you can only overcome him by having more overall talent on the team.

In fact, Doug Mo's "Forrest Gump dilution method" in 1985 was the right strategy, which was to launch a fierce offensive and use the overall high score to dilute the outstanding role of Gan Guoyang.

The Lakers are using this method now. Every player on the team is strong and can be the starting point for the offense, quickly launching attacks, speeding up the pace, and pushing the score higher.

At the start of the second half, the Lakers made some adjustments to their lineup, with Michael Cooper starting in the second half and partnering with Johnson in the backcourt.

Riley hopes Cooper will redeem himself by putting continuous pressure on Gan Guoyang on the defensive end and preventing him from scoring easily again.

In the first play of the third quarter, Johnson received the ball in the low post, backed down Drexler, and made the shot after turning around.

Johnson has truly reached the pinnacle of his offensive game this year. His shooting has improved dramatically, and his offense has become incredibly well-rounded. He has already scored 20 points and dished out 8 assists.

Gan Guoyang received the ball on the wing. The Lakers tried to double-team him with three players. Gan Guoyang passed the ball to the inside, where Thompson received it, turned around, and made a shot.

Thompson took advantage of Gan Guoyang's defensive presence to score a lot of points tonight, which is acceptable for the Lakers.

AC Green attempted a shot, but was ruthlessly blocked by Gan Guoyang. The Trail Blazers launched a counterattack, but Cooper successfully stole the ball.

A long pass was sent to the frontcourt, AC Green received the ball and went forward again, but was then tipped away from behind by Gan Guoyang!
The Lakers fans in the arena sighed in disappointment. Why is it so difficult to score under the basket?

The Trail Blazers missed their next shot, Vandeweghe's shot was disrupted, and the Lakers launched another fast break.

Gan Guoyang's defensive speed was extremely fast; as soon as he entered the three-second zone, Johnson had to stop.

Both teams entered a scoring drought, going nearly three minutes without scoring.

The score remained unchanged at 69-64, a five-point difference that was not favorable for the Lakers.

Johnson chose to attack again, and this time Gan Guoyang came out to switch defense. Johnson tried to pass the ball to the inside with a bounce pass, but Gan Guoyang kicked it out of bounds.

The ball was kicked out of bounds, but possession remained with the Lakers. The ball was inbounded, and Gan Guoyang was still defending Johnson.

Johnson's offense will face the test of the league's strongest defense.

If Gan Guoyang can lock down Bird in the Finals, he can certainly lock down Johnson as well.

Johnson attempted a jump shot, but it was blocked by Gan Guoyang!

He's not Drexler, he's the league's best shot blocker.

As a tall man, Gan Guoyang's height of 6 feet 10 inches is just right.

Defending the inside is not a disadvantage, and defending the outside doesn't require too much center of gravity to bend over.

His 50/50 body proportions are also very suitable for defense, allowing him to lower his center of gravity and defend against smaller players.

Long arms and a wide, long, and thick upper body can withstand various impacts.

If he were 7 feet tall, like Ewing with his long legs and high center of gravity, Johnson would have been able to break through.

After making a block, Gan Guoyang passed the ball to Drexler on a fast break, and Drexler made a gliding dunk on the fast break!
The Trail Blazers broke their scoring drought early, taking a 7-point lead, prompting Pat Riley to call a timeout.

The situation became increasingly unfavorable, and the Trail Blazers intensified their defense at the start of the third quarter, significantly increasing their one-on-one defensive intensity.

The Trail Blazers' offense is simple: they focus on Gan Guoyang. His unrestricted one-on-one play gives the Trail Blazers a lot of room for error.

Even when they went cold scoring a few times, the Trail Blazers weren't worried at all. The players weren't concerned about not being able to execute their tactics; they just felt that their shooting touch was off.

That's the role of a superstar center; someone will step up to cover for you.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was once a center like that, but he's already 40 years old.

Riley, considering his physical condition, substituted him for rest and brought on Kevin Duckworth.

It was a risky substitution, but Riley had no choice—throughout the 80s, the Lakers' biggest fear was that a top center could outshine Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

The Lakers have been incredibly strong this year, with all players except Kareem Abdul-Jabbar making significant progress. However, Abdul-Jabbar will still be the deciding factor on the court.

After the timeout, Gan Guoyang saw Riley let Jabbar go down to rest, and said to Riley, "You'll regret letting Karim rest!"

Gan Guoyang's shout put Riley under immense pressure, and sure enough, Duckworth's layup attempt in the paint was blocked by Gan Guoyang!

His shot-blocking instincts are exceptionally good. Most importantly, the attackers are unable to push Gan Guoyang aside with strength, which leads to his shots being blocked.

The Trail Blazers launched a counterattack, but this time Porter didn't rush the fast break. Instead, he spread out the defense, and Gan Guoyang received the ball in the low post on the right side and went one-on-one. Cooper came over from a distance to help defend.

But it was too late. Gan Guoyang used a scissor kick, turned around and tried to force his way to the basket for a layup, but missed. However, he held his position, got up again, grabbed the offensive rebound, and went back up!

The shot went in, and it also drew a foul from Duckworth, so he should get a free throw!

Giving Gan Guoyang free throws was essentially giving him points, and he made the free throw, bringing his total to 32 points.

On the sidelines, Jack Nicholson held his head in his hands, looking like they couldn't win this game again!
They played so well in the first half, but they were still behind in the third quarter, 72-64, down by 8 points.

The two sides entered a positional battle, with Worthy and Johnson continuing to score steadily, narrowing the gap to 3 points.

At these crucial moments, Gan Guoyang would step up. The Trail Blazers would use one-on-one plays to feed the ball to Gan Guoyang, and he would always find a way to put the ball in the basket. His scoring increased from 32 points to 40 points, and those 8 points were particularly crucial, coming at the last minute when the Lakers were about to turn the tide.

Even if Riley brought on Jabbar, it would be too late; Gan Guoyang's offense had found its rhythm and was unstoppable.

Sweat completely soaked Gan Guoyang's jersey. At the end of the third quarter, the Trail Blazers led the Lakers 94-88, still by 6 points.

Gan Guoyang scored 42 points in three quarters, and CBS's cameras kept focusing on him as he sat on the bench drinking water.

His expression was as resolute as steel, and his superb physical abilities and dominant performance on both offense and defense instilled fear in Los Angeles fans.

In addition to scoring, he delivered 8 blocks in three quarters, creating a no-fly zone under the basket.

Of course, despite Gan Guoyang's explosive performance, the Trail Blazers only led by 6 points.

The Lakers also performed well, but Gan Guoyang managed to control the game at crucial moments.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Gan Guoyang assisted Drexler to cut to the basket, and Drexler scored with a mid-air layup.

With the score at 96-88, the Trail Blazers extended their lead to 8 points, and the hearts of the fans in the arena sank.

Just then, Johnson assisted Michael Cooper on the wing to hit a three-pointer.

Then, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar defended Gan Guoyang's attack with all his might, and during the counterattack, Johnson himself threw down a three-pointer.

Same hit!

The score difference instantly narrowed to 2 points, 96:94.

Jack Ramsey immediately called a timeout.

After missing just one shot, the Lakers immediately seized the opportunity and quickly narrowed the gap with two three-pointers.

The Lakers are one of the teams that attempt the most three-pointers in the playoffs, and their shooting percentage is also quite good.

Johnson rarely attempts three-pointers, but at this moment he displayed the qualities of a superstar.

In crucial moments, they can deliver extraordinary performances, break through their own limitations, and surpass themselves.

After the timeout, the ball was passed to Gan Guoyang again. At this point, three Lakers players double-teamed him, and Gan Guoyang passed the ball to Vandeweghe.

Vandeweghe's drive through the middle was blocked by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Lakers countered, with Johnson on a fast break. Worthy led the way, while Michael Cooper brought up the rear, keeping Gan Guoyang from getting back on defense.

Worthy received the ball and dunked with a one-handed, Statue of Liberty-style dunk, making it 96-96, a tie!
The Great Western Forum erupted in cheers, with Worthy and Johnson raising their arms and high-fiving.

The Lakers' defensive setup was very successful this time.

Riley did not allow Jabbar to participate in the pincer attack on Gan Guoyang again.

Instead, they had Cooper, Green, and Worthy, two of them sticking out the net and one blocking the area around them.

Gan Guoyang passed the ball to Vandeweghe, and the pass was fine. Vandeweghe also had no problem attacking the basket.

But Kiki's challenge to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar failed, as the ball was blocked by a hook from the sky.

During the fast break, the Lakers divided their roles, with two players attacking and one player setting a screen to prevent Gan Guoyang from following up on the fast break.

The Lakers went on an 8-0 run against the Trail Blazers, tying the game.

However, in the next possession, Gan Guoyang received a pass from Drexler at the top of the arc and quickly made a mid-range jump shot.

Having regained the lead, the once noisy Great Western Forum quieted down considerably, but the battle between the two sides continued.

Neither team is likely to deliver a decisive blow to the other, and as time goes on, the game enters its most crucial moment.

比分从98:96，变成98：98平，接着交替上升，一路到了110:110平。

Gan Guoyang's score rose all the way to 48 points, but the Trail Blazers did not rely entirely on Gan Guoyang. Vandeweghe provided important firepower support at crucial moments.

His three-pointer and his left-handed dunk after a breakthrough were both crucial.

He cooperated very well with Gan Guoyang and Drexler, and his passing and attacking were both handled very well.

His strong physique also prevents him from being at too much of a disadvantage on defense – this year, Vandeweghe's average rebounds per game reached a career high of 6.

His highest rebounding average was 5.3 per game in his rookie season, but it declined steadily thereafter, down to 2 or 3 rebounds per game.

If you put a 2-meter-high trash can on the NBA court, two or three trash cans could fall into it during a game. That's the level of Vandeweghe.

This season he worked hard to improve his muscle mass and three-point shooting, becoming more functional but also more useful.

His performance made up for the Trail Blazers' inability to play with three big men after Walton's injury, and with him on the court in crucial moments, Gan Guoyang will have an easier time in the paint.

With one minute left in the game, Worthy received the ball at the corner, Drexler came over to double-team him, Worthy passed the ball to the top of the arc and passed it to Johnson, who then passed it to Lowja.

Cooper had a chance to shoot a three-pointer, but his shot was blocked by Porter who swooped in!
Porter's block was crucial; after successfully blocking the shot, he also regained possession of the ball, prompting the Lakers to immediately apply full-court press and counter-press.

Gan Guoyang came over to receive the ball, turned around and passed it to the fast-running Vandeweghe – the Lakers' immediate counter-pressing left their backcourt empty.

Vandeweghe receives the ball and launches a fast break, dunking with his left hand! 112-110, the Trail Blazers have regained the lead, and the Lakers call a timeout.

Porter, Gan Guoyang, and Vandeweghe high-fived each other, celebrating their excellent defense and counter-attack.

Potter held up his finger and said, "I touched it a little bit, just a little bit, but thankfully I did."

The outcome hinges on the slightest difference.

(End of this chapter)