The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 445 Little Insect
The atmosphere at the start of the game was relatively harmonious. Gan Guoyang finished the first quarter smoothly, scoring 10 points, grabbing 5 rebounds, and blocking 2 shots, performing as expected.

For Gan Guoyang, 10 points is just a normal performance, but many players don't even get 10 points in a single game in the finals.

With isolation plays allowed, every opponent facing the Trail Blazers should be prepared to have Gan Guoyang score 40 points efficiently in a game.

That's why Daley opened up the offense in the first quarter, allowing his core players to get into their offensive rhythm and match up with Gan Guoyang's scoring intensity.

Dantley scored 7 points in the first quarter, and Isaiah Thomas scored 8 points, with the team's two most important scorers finding their offensive rhythm in the first quarter.

During the transition period of the second quarter, the three to five minutes that Gan Guoyang rested on the bench were a crucial moment for the Pistons to change the rhythm of the game.

Vinnie Johnson replaced Dumars, Thomas remained on the court, Laimbeer went off the court, and Melvin Tpin came on.

Thomas hit a mid-range jumper right at the start of the second quarter, and his offense was in great shape tonight, giving the Pistons a 3-point lead.

With Walton and Thompson anchoring the Trail Blazers' interior defense, the team's intensity immediately decreased.

The piston began to tighten the valve, increasing the resistance, and Teping kept pushing and squeezing Thompson in the low position.

Thompson's turnaround shot missed completely, but Cahill grabbed the offensive rebound.

His layup attempt was blocked by Donaldson, and a scramble ensued under the basket before Paxson kicked the ball out of bounds.

The Pistons have possession of the ball.

The fans in the stadium erupted in applause.

The Pistons players were all thinking to themselves, "It feels so good to play when Forrest isn't on the court."

I really hope he can stay on the sidelines and never have to play.

Chuck Daly shared the same thought; he felt much more relaxed without Gan Guoyang present.

If Forrest Gump had gotten the offensive rebound, he would either have forced his way past you for a layup or drawn a foul, which would have been very troublesome.

Then, Timmer received a pass from Thomas on the baseline and made a mid-range jump shot, making it 36-31, with the Pistons leading by 5 points.

Walton's low-post attack was then disrupted by Donaldson and missed, allowing the Pistons to grab the rebound and launch another counterattack.

John Salley took the lead, received a pass from Thomas, and made a layup with a staggering effort!

The Pistons lead 38-31, their biggest lead of the series.

Jack Ramsey called a timeout, as the Trail Blazers' offense had been ineffective during that period.

The Pistons opted for low-post attacks twice, but knowing Walton and Thompson lacked energy in the low post, they resolutely defended them one-on-one, denying them opportunities to shoot from the outside.

So both times, they relied on one-on-one defense to contain the Trail Blazers and then scored on fast breaks.

The Trail Blazers' interior defense was much older than it was in 1986, and Walton was on his last legs by this point.

This will be the last series of his career.

32岁米切尔-汤普森从上个赛季的14+7，跌落到了本赛季的10+5。

When Gan Guoyang was on the court, he was able to score some easy balls by relying on Gan Guoyang's defensive presence.

With Gan Guoyang gone, he no longer has the ability to take on young big men like Teping in the low post.

The Pistons' lineup of big men includes Bill Laimbeer (29), Tpin (26), and Donaldson (29), all of whom are in their prime as interior players.

Medical technology was relatively backward in those days, and the players' daily care and diet were not scientific enough, resulting in many players developing injuries during their student years.

Apart from veterans like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, most big men experience a significant decline after the age of 30, with each year's decline becoming more severe.

Not to mention Wharton, who has been suffering from injuries since his student days; it's a miracle he's still alive.

Many star players retire at 32 or 33 years old. If you put that in twenty years, that would be the peak of their careers, and they would have already retired in the 80s.

The three big men from 1986 are no longer a force to be reckoned with, and the Trail Blazers' interior defense is increasingly reliant on Gan Guoyang.

However, Gan Guoyang is reliable. After the timeout, he immediately drew a foul from Teping on the offensive end.

He stepped up to the free-throw line and made both shots, giving the Trail Blazers a much-needed breather.

On the Pistons' side, after some struggle, Daly patted Dennis Rodman on the bench and substituted him for Salley.

Before going on the court, Daly told Rodman, "Don't focus on guarding Forrest Gump, but you have to keep an eye on him, every single moment, like a snake coiled around him. Every move, every word, every round, can you do that?"

Rodman nodded and said, "Of course, Dad."

Rodman stretched his limbs and hopped onto the court.

The fans in the stadium cheered again; Rodman is very popular in Detroit.

At first, no one had any impression of this 25-year-old rookie.

After all, it's questionable how long a second-round pick can survive in this league.

But Rodman quickly won over the fans in Motor City.

He plays very aggressively on the court, giving his all in every possession and on every ball.

Moreover, his style is unique. He's terrible on offense, but he has a keen sense of defense and plays with all his might. His spectacular saves, exaggerated layup moves, and ability to energize the crowd have all left a deep impression on fans.

Within the Pistons, this guy was a fearless and headstrong individual who dared to say anything and even lash out at everyone after a bad game.

So the Pistons are a very strange team. Unlike the Trail Blazers, Lakers, and Bulls, they don't have a true leader.

Everyone is an important part of the team, and to some extent, they are all the brains of the team. They can all speak and express their opinions.

For a team lacking absolute talent, this team-building model and structure is actually the most reasonable.

Chuck Daly has never played professional basketball; he's someone without basketball talent, so he knows how to mold this group of guys.

In the NBA, talent can indeed represent everything, but Daly came up with a solution: if I take your most talented guy off the court, will your talent become useless?
Lambiel would do it, Turpin would do it, and Dennis Rodman would do it too.

Thus began Rodman's relentless harassment of Gan Guoyang.

He knew he was no match for Gan Guoyang and couldn't resort to dirty tricks like Teping and Lambiel.

You absolutely cannot push him. Turpin and Lambiel said that Forrest Gump is like a stone block that you can't move.

As for crashing into someone? Te Ping gave a personal account, saying that crashing into Forrest Gump is no different from crashing into a wall. Not only will you get dizzy and disoriented, but you'll also incur a foul.

Rodman listened to Daly's advice and used his brain and skills to constantly interfere with Gan Guoyang in some details.

For example, if the referee calls a foul, Rodman goes over and touches Gan Guoyang, or steps on Gan Guoyang.

While defending, he kept touching him, tugging at his clothes, and wiping his sweat on Gan Guoyang's clothes.

Gan Guoyang is a bit of a germaphobe. Fighting a group of sweaty, smelly black and white men every night is already his limit.

As a result, his opponent deliberately wiped his sweat on his body, which Gan Guoyang found unbearable.

He had just seen Dennis Rodman picking his nose on the court.

He protested to the referee, but the protest was ineffective; the referee hadn't seen it.

And even if you saw it, it's not listed as a foul.

"Dennis, I advise you to stop doing this."

Gan Guoyang, who never threatened anyone, started threatening Rodman.

Rodman ignored him and continued to do as he pleased, like a small insect harassing Gan Guoyang.

For example, a buzzing mosquito may not threaten your life at the time, but it can be really annoying to be nearby.

You get up and try to hit it, but it flies quite fast. Sometimes you slap it hard and your hand hurts, but you end up hitting nothing.

If you let your guard down, it will fly onto you and bite you, sucking your blood and making you itchy for half a day.

If it carries deadly pathogens like malaria, it could really be fatal.

However, Rodman's little tricks did not affect Gan Guoyang's performance on the court in the second quarter.

Gan Guoyang led the Trail Blazers on an 11-2 run, regaining the lead.

However, Gan Guoyang became increasingly irritable under such interference.

During the attack, he shoved Rodman hard, causing Rodman to stumble and fall into the stands.

The referee immediately blew his whistle and called an offensive foul on Gan Guoyang, his second foul of the game.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Thomas accelerated and drove to the basket, directly attacking Gan Guoyang and scoring a layup.

Having already committed two fouls, Gan Guoyang could no longer make a full-force block, so he could only make a token attempt, and then Thomas made a layup off the backboard.

With this basket, the Pistons narrowed the gap to two points, and the score was tied at 62-62 near the end of the second quarter.

This was the first time Gan Guoyang had encountered Rodman's kind of harassment, and the guy wasn't just trying to be annoying.

Rodman was indeed effective in help defense and rebounding, forcing Gan Guoyang to be more cautious on offense.

Rodman's quick and tight defense made it difficult for Gan Guoyang to get mid-range shots.

He increased his aggressive drives to the basket, and this head-on attack took a toll on his health.

Meanwhile, Rodman's judgment on the landing point of offensive rebounds was excellent. That kid is very slippery, and he can steal rebounds if you're not careful.

With the Trail Blazers' frontcourt aging, Gan Guoyang essentially has to face four young, strong, and stylistically diverse frontcourt players.

After being thoroughly disgusted by Rodman, Gan Guoyang told himself to calm down at the end of the first half.

He knew that Daly was still up to no good and wanted to get him removed from office.

The second quarter was just the beginning; the third and fourth quarters were when the real tactics would be employed.

Gan Guoyang was determined to win tonight's match.

He absolutely had to get the man!
Mosquitoes are so annoying! There was one flying around me the whole time while I was writing. I couldn't swat it or get rid of it. I even swatted it flat, but that didn't help!

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(End of this chapter)