The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 476 Forrest Gump Phobia

After delivering that punch, Gilmore was ejected by the referee and left the ring in glory.

Because of that punch, Train's status in the Trail Blazers' locker room was elevated.

The NBA can sometimes be as brutal as the mafia; if you dare to fight and take risks, everyone will respect you.

On the contrary, if you use the rules like an ordinary person, politely and legally, the players will look down on you from the bottom of their hearts.

Competitive sports are filled with a sense of primal instinct; they are a place where civilized society unleashes its savage nature.

The fans at the stadium cheered as they bid farewell to the old train as it retired.

Melvin Tppin, who had been hit, calmly returned to the bench with the tooth in his hand.

Facing the television cameras, Teping grinned, revealing a black hole in his missing tooth, which looked comical yet somewhat frightening.

This season, Turpin has developed into the Pistons' second-best bad boy, second only to Bill Laimbeer.

After being thrashed by Gan Guoyang at the Silver Top Center in last year's Finals, the Pistons not only did not restrain themselves, but attacked their opponents even more fiercely this season.

The warnings, penalties, and recommendations issued by the league office during the finals all became mere scraps of paper.

Because intense competition attracts more viewers; it's all about ratings.

Last year's finals game, in which Gan Guoyang and the Pistons fought fiercely, achieved the highest viewership ratings in recent years.

The fourth game following this one, even though the Pistons faced a sweep, still had high viewership.

Therefore, how could the league completely prohibit intense confrontations?

Besides, in Stern's view, the NBA today is much cleaner and more civilized than it was in the 60s and 70s.

Having tasted the benefits of their brutal playing style, the Pistons became increasingly unrestrained.

Of course, every cloud has a silver lining, and Gilmore wasn't the only one in the NBA who dared to fight back.

Lambiel and Turpin were the ones who hit the most people and were also the ones who got hit the most.

Compared to Lambiel's cunning and treachery, and his penchant for provoking others, Turpin is more savage and direct; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him the number one enforcer.

From this perspective, Teping is quite upright and straightforward; he confronts you openly and honestly, without resorting to underhanded tactics.

He didn't mind having a tooth knocked out by Gilmore; he deserved it.

The team doctor gave him some treatment on the sidelines, and he returned to the field to continue playing despite missing a tooth.

In the third quarter, the game became very intense, with the score remaining close.

After losing the Finals, the Pistons did not make any major moves to strengthen their roster in the summer.

The Pistons' management knew that what they lacked was time and experience. They needed young players like Rodman and Salley to grow up, and they needed players like Thomas, Laimbeer, Dumars, and Terpin to reach their peak.

They maintained roster stability, improved team defense, and increased the frequency and intensity of one-on-one defense against the Trail Blazers to counter their accurate outside shooting.

Coupled with their usual brutal physicality, the Trail Blazers had a very tough time playing against the Pistons at home.

The Pistons players tacitly avoided provoking Gan Guoyang, while the others went about their business as usual, beating him up as they pleased.

At this moment, Gilmore stepped up, and with a ramming tackle and a powerful punch, he effectively suppressed the Pistons' arrogance.

After Gilmore left the court, Gan Guoyang returned and scored with consecutive hook shots, helping the Trail Blazers slightly widen the gap to a 5-point advantage.

After losing a tooth, Tepin's arrogance was greatly diminished.

Gan Guoyang's steady and elegant hook shot left the Pistons somewhat helpless.

Chuck Daly immediately called a timeout and brought in James Donaldson, replacing Timmermans and Bill Laimbeer to form a twin-tower frontcourt, hoping to use their height advantage to deal with Gan Guoyang.

But the King of the Third Quarter didn't want to give the Pistons another chance.

After his weight increased to 265 pounds, Gan Guoyang's power in the lower body became even greater.

James Donaldson, at 7'2", is tall and strong, but he couldn't hold off Gan Guoyang in the low post.

After the timeout, Donaldson conceded a goal, followed by another foul, leaving him very frustrated.

Like many tall players, such as Dougherty and Carroll, Donaldson was a latecomer to basketball. He didn't like basketball in his early years, but because of his height and good physical qualities, he was brought onto the basketball court.

This is very common on basketball courts. After all, basketball is different from football, where height has a decisive impact.

Especially for a giant like Donaldson, who was 6'8" in high school and over 7' in college, it's hard not to attract the attention of basketball coaches.

Unlike Black players born in slums who play for money, Donaldson is British; his father was a soldier who served at Travis Air Force Base in the United States.

Therefore, his playing style is very straightforward. After all, someone like Laimbeer, who was born into a wealthy family but was dirtier than a slum kid, is a freak among freaks. There has only been one like him in the decades-long history of the NBA.

When Gan Guoyang was taking free throws, Laimbeer went over to "instruct" Donaldson: "You should be more aggressive, especially when fouling. If you're sure you're going to foul, just do it!"

Lambiel not only fueled the fire between his opponents, but also between his teammates.

However, Donaldson remained calm and said, "Why don't you take the lead in defense?"

Lambiel refused, saying, "No, I can't, I'll get beaten up."

"That would be a good opportunity to send him off." "I'm afraid I'll miss the rest of the season."

Although Lambiel was not a coward, being beaten repeatedly had left him somewhat traumatized.

He got punched and kicked for no reason, and was bleeding twice without doing anything. Anyway, unless it's the final, he doesn't want to compete with Forrest Gump anymore.

He now has a bit of Forrest Gump phobia; if Gan Guoyang doesn't show any mercy, he'll really be finished.

Gan Guoyang's strong performance in the third quarter helped the Trail Blazers establish an advantage.

The Pistons have once again encountered the same problem they had in the Finals: their interior offense is weak.

The lack of an effective low-post inside player resulted in a monotonous offense for the team.

Donaldson could occasionally score a few goals in the low post with his clumsy left-handed hook shot—but he had no chance against Gan Guoyang's defense.

Laimbeer never used his back to the basket; he relied entirely on outside shooting and easy baskets in the paint.

The only reliable low-profile player is Dantley, but Gan Guoyang, a center with super-fast help defense, is Dantley's nemesis.

With Vandeweghe out of the game, Kossie was primarily responsible for defending Dantley, making it very uncomfortable for the singles king.

The layers of offense are very important; a combination of inside and outside attacks forces the opponent to constantly make choices in their defense, leaving them unable to cover everything.

If a player is weak in any area, they will be targeted in high-level matches.

When the Pistons play against other teams, their offense is more than enough, and their defense throws the opponents off balance.

However, they struggle against the Trail Blazers; their lack of low-post offense makes them vulnerable to being on the defensive when the game is close.

In the fourth quarter, the Trail Blazers tightened their defense, and their offense was firing on all cylinders. Curry and Porter hit consecutive shots from the outside, maintaining their lead until the end.

The Trail Blazers defeated the Pistons 101-109 at home, winning by 8 points.

Gan Guoyang scored 31 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, and dished out 9 assists.

He played a decisive role in the third quarter, and in the fourth quarter, despite being double-teamed and surrounded by the Pistons, he made consecutive passes and controlled turnovers very well, helping the team win this crucial game.

Although there are internal conflicts within the team, as Gan Guoyang said, these are internal conflicts among the people.

Once the game starts, everyone can still unite and keep their guns pointed outwards.

If internal conflicts deepen to the point that when facing external enemies, the team cannot unite against them but continues to fight amongst themselves, or even uses external conflicts to sacrifice allies to save themselves, then that team is truly doomed.

Gan Guoyang's authority and the team's victory suppressed the players' selfishness and conflicts.

In early January of 1988, the Trail Blazers achieved impressive results.

As of January 14, the Trail Blazers had a record of 25 wins and 8 losses, continuing to rank second in the Western Conference, just one win behind the Lakers.

Just as Gan Guoyang had planned, they needed to lay a solid foundation before the All-Star Game.

As the All-Star Game approaches, teams inevitably face some injury problems and player complacency, which can lead to some losses.

With the foundation laid earlier, the team can focus on recovering from injuries, allowing players to relax and rest until after the All-Star break before ramping up their efforts and heading towards the playoffs.

After defeating the Rockets on the road on January 14, the Trail Blazers then faced the Los Angeles Lakers on the road on January 15, losing 99-103, a difference of 4 points.

This is the Trail Blazers' third loss to the Lakers this season, and it seems like Gan Guoyang's VIP membership on the Western Forum has expired.

After Don Nelson joined the Lakers, he continued to develop Showtime, employing the Run and Gun style that Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and others thrived on.

But his well-organized, multi-layered defense was key to containing the Trail Blazers' offense.

In the game against the Lakers, Gan Guoyang unusually focused on passing the ball and encouraged his teammates to shoot a lot of three-pointers.

The Trail Blazers struggled with their three-point shooting against the Lakers' intensity.

But Gan Guoyang didn't seem to care much; he didn't seem interested in going all out to beat the Lakers in the regular season.

So even with three wins against the Trail Blazers this season, General Manager Jerry West still didn't have much of a smile on his face.

On January 16, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns completed a trade.

The Lakers traded draft picks and Mike Smreek to the Suns in exchange for James Edwards.

The Lakers have finally strengthened their backup center position.

Meanwhile, Sun Grocery Store officially opened. The management knew that the current lineup could no longer maintain its competitiveness, so it was better to replace everything and start a reconstruction.

Larry Nance and Mike Sanders were traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Kevin Johnson and Mark West.

Phoenix Suns fans have yet to realize that this Californian diminutive will become a cornerstone figure for the team's future.

Major sports media outlets consider the Lakers and Cavaliers to be the winners of this trade, having snatched much-needed talent from the Suns.

In particular, the Lakers' acquisition of James Edwards filled their last gap.

All of this was to deal with Forrest Gump. From West to other managers in the league, especially the Western Conference managers, they all suffered from Forrest Gump phobia to some extent.

(End of this chapter)