The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 472 Stunned

After Krause's repeated tinkering, the Bulls' roster has finally stabilized a bit this season.

Charles Oakley has secured his position as the team's starting power forward.

Brad Sellers became the team's starting center, while backup David Corzine, who had spent six seasons in Chicago, was already a veteran.

John Paxson secured a stable position on the team due to his outstanding performance last season.

On the bench, rookies Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant have made consistent contributions in their limited playing time.

Head coach Doug Collins' position was also secured, and his coaching staff was filled by a man named Phil Jackson.

Jackson had coached in the Puerto Rican league, and his hippie style and unconventional ideas were difficult for the then conservative and old-fashioned NBA management to accept.

But because of this, Phil Jackson got the most training in the brutal, cruel, and unruly Puerto Rican league.

What he learned there was not tactics, but how to manage people's hearts and minds, and how to get his players to play for him.

Unlike the NBA, the league in Puerto Rico has unstable player salaries and terrible court conditions.

If the NBA is a regular army, then Puerto Rico is a den of bandits.

Even if you're a general in a regular army, as long as you're wearing a general's uniform, the soldiers will still obey your commands.

But in a bandit's den, where you might not know where your next meal is coming from, you need charisma and special methods to get the players to follow you. Otherwise, nobody will listen to you.

In the eyes of the NBA management, someone like Phil Jackson, who was a hippie in his youth, became a coach, didn't teach at the college level, and went to Puerto Rico to "play pickup basketball," could not enter the NBA.

It is said that when he came to the Bulls for an interview, he wore an oversized beach hat with a parrot feather stuck in it, and he was also wearing flip-flops. The management did not agree to hire him.

Despite opposition, Krause still placed Jackson on the coaching staff in 1987 to assist Collins.

Collins is a coach with a completely different style from Jackson. He has a strong obsession with tactics and likes to treat players as pawns, constantly shouting tactics from the sidelines and making everyone run.

Jackson always talked about mysterious things, like Zen and Buddhism, and he liked to interact with and befriend the players.

Collins knew that Jackson was planted by Kraus, who greatly admired Jackson and was trying to groom him as the official head coach.

The two were already incompatible, and this competitive relationship added to the mix, so Collins was wary of Jackson, fearing that Jackson might one day replace him.

Therefore, sometimes in pre-game tactical meetings, Collins would not take Jackson's suggestions and would instead do the opposite.

Jackson was primarily responsible for defense for the Bulls. He knew that defense was not just a tactical task, but also tested a player's emotions and will, which he excelled at.

Before this highly anticipated "Gan vs. Joe" match, Jackson suggested that pressure should be applied to Gan Guoyang from the first quarter onwards, with all-out pressure.

Use rotation tactics, especially outside players, to actively double-team and harass Gan Guoyang.

"Michael should get involved in the defense against Forrest Gump, double-team him more, try to steal the ball more, and make things difficult for him. Forrest Gump will definitely be firing on all cylinders tonight."

Jackson made his decision and had Jordan participate in the campaign against Gan Guoyang.

This season, Jordan's defensive ability has reached a very high level.

He is not only a strong contender for MVP, but also a candidate for best defensive player.

Collins ignored Jackson's suggestion, believing that Jordan already had a lot of shooting duties on offense, and having him help defend Forrest would be too much of a drain on him.

"And Michael also has to guard Drexler. If we focus on Forrest, Drexler will be a big problem if he gets open."

Collins offered a reason that Jackson disagreed with, saying, "Drexler isn't a big problem. If the Trail Blazers want him to score and get into a rhythm, let him. Sonny is the real danger, everyone in the league knows that!"

“I know, but we have Michael, Michael can offset him, and I need Michael to score more.”

Jackson was frustrated; he didn't want to tell Collins, "You're too dependent on Michael."

After all, Collins is the head coach, and Jackson is just an assistant coach who has only been there for a year.

The Bulls are in good form this year, and Collins has won the support and trust of the players.

The assistant coach had no choice but to obey the head coach's order.

Jackson told Jordan to guard Drexler one-on-one and leave Forrest to someone else.

"I can take on Forrest Gump."

"Doug wants you to focus all your energy on offense."

"Forrest Gump won't just focus his energy on offense."

"Forrest Gump is the center, you are the guard, follow the coach's instructions."

Jordan nodded in agreement; he genuinely liked Collins. The reason was simple: Collins doted on Jordan, always asking for the ball before him, and had unlimited shooting rights on the team, able to play however he wanted.

No player would dislike a coach who allows them to play freely instead of being constantly lectured and bossed around.

This is the treatment Jordan deserves.

But Jackson didn't think the game should be played that way.

He wanted to tell Jordan, "Forrest Gump wasn't like that in Portland. Although he scored a lot of points, he was more rational in his shot selection and defense, and he was incredibly consistent."

But Jackson didn't say it aloud; he didn't want to upset Jordan.

In Chicago, making Jordan unhappy was just asking for trouble.

Around 7 p.m., after the opening ceremony, the match between the two sides was finally about to begin.

Jackson sat on the sidelines, watching Gan Guoyang the whole time, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling during the national anthem.

When he took off his sports jacket and stepped onto the court, his muscular physique exuded explosive power. He looked stronger than any other player of that era, like a tiger.

Jackson was a very perceptive person. He had his own unique perspective on basketball, the world, and people.

He was born into a devout Christian family; his father was a missionary. Yet, he was unconventional and did everything that went against tradition.

This kind of life often brought him pain, and the immense sense of imbalance led him to seek solace in illicit drugs and religion.

Ultimately, he discovered that basketball allowed him to find a balance between the two, especially in building a championship team.

Team sports are always like this, constantly filled with contradictions.

Offense and defense, inside and outside, old and young, fast and slow, tall and short—these intense contradictions create the most intense games and forge the greatest champions.

In a team, the blending of tradition and rebellion can create a perfect team and a perfect player.

Jackson knew that Michael Jordan had that potential.

But at the same time, he knew in his heart that Forrest Gump was already that kind of person.

The two sides jump for the ball, and the game begins.

The Trail Blazers quickly gained possession of the ball, and Gan Guoyang suddenly rushed towards the frontcourt.

Drexler made a quick pass to the basket, and Gan Guoyang received the ball and easily dunked it!
The volume at the Chicago stadium was turned down by one notch.

Collins became instantly anxious after losing points so quickly at the start of the game.

In the first round, he stood up from his stool and went to the sidelines to oversee the battle.

Phil Jackson shook his head slightly; this head coach was too impatient.

The Bulls were already weaker than the Trail Blazers in terms of overall strength, and they didn't even get an early advantage.

Now that you see Forrest Gump looking like he's about to eat people at the start, are you getting anxious?
What did you do earlier?

Jackson knew Gan Guoyang well. In such a high-profile competition, the Chicago media had been mocking Gan before the game. How could he not fight to the death?
If you still want to follow the same prescription and play normal offense and defense, you're just waiting to get beaten up by Forrest Gump from the start.

As expected, Gan Guoyang played very aggressively in the first quarter, clearly aiming to score.

After receiving the ball, he always drives hard to the basket, using a smooth Sicoma step followed by simple and practical footwork. After squeezing under the basket, he makes a hook shot, lays up, or draws a foul.

He scored 14 points in a single quarter, giving the Bulls an early 18-6 lead.

Jordan had a mediocre start, and the Trail Blazers' tight double-teaming prevented him from getting good shooting opportunities.

Jordan wanted to lead his teammates to a good game and win.

Who knew Forrest would start so aggressively? After the timeout, Collins immediately double-teamed Forrest, but it didn't work.

When you get into a rhythm, there's no stopping you.

When double-teamed, he'll try to move to the other side, and if that doesn't work, he'll use force to push in.

Gan Guoyang's strength advantage was on full display, showing that he took a swift and decisive approach from the start, avoiding any fancy maneuvers and immediately gaining an early advantage for the team.

At the end of the first quarter, the Trail Blazers led the Bulls 33-21, a 12-point advantage.

Gan Guoyang scored 17 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist, leaving Collins stunned.

(End of this chapter)