The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 486 Giving in

Like most NBA teams' star players and second-in-commands, Gan Guoyang and Drexler's relationship has always been lukewarm, neither good nor bad.

Compared to many historical pairings, such as Larry Bird and McHale, their relationship is considered quite good.

Gan Guoyang is the godfather of Drexler's daughter. During holidays, Gan Guoyang will go to Houston for a few days. Although they can't be called close friends, they can definitely be considered good friends.

In 1988, Drexler had a new fiancée named Gainell, and they planned to get married that year. Drexler wanted to bring his daughter Erica Drexler from Houston to live with him.

But how could Erica's mother possibly agree to let her daughter leave her and live with her stepmother?

Erica's mother decided to stop her daughter from seeing Drexler, and Drexler could only endure it for the time being, preparing to take legal action and see her in court.

As the saying goes, even an upright official finds it hard to settle family disputes. In a situation like this, Gan Guoyang was caught in the middle, and no matter how capable he was, he couldn't solve the problem.

He was being complained about by both sides, and he could only try to appease both, which might result in him pleasing neither side.

Even Drexler's fiancée, Gaine, might think that Forrest Gump was on the side of the child's mother, since they had known each other longer.

Family gatherings are out of the question, and plans to go to Houston in the summer have been shelved.

After 1988, things didn't seem to go so smoothly.

Just like the first half of the game between the Trail Blazers and the Bullets, the offense was mired in a quagmire, and on the defensive end, the Trail Blazers' one-on-one man-to-man defense was not very effective when facing the Bullets' individual attacks.

However, the Trail Blazers are still a formidable team and will not give up easily just because they are at a disadvantage in strategy and tactics.

In a match, tactics, individual performance, and willpower are all indispensable and will all affect the outcome.

Having a tactical advantage can make players more comfortable and play more smoothly, but tactics are not always the deciding factor.

A player's individual ability often determines the outcome of a basketball game.

At the start of the third quarter, Gan Guoyang faced Moses Malone on the wing and hit a long-range shot from 20 feet inside the three-point line.

When Gan Guoyang's weight reached 265 pounds, his mid-range and long-range shooting became somewhat inconsistent.

During the regular season, Gan Guoyang has been constantly adjusting his shooting touch, hoping to reach his peak performance.

With increased muscle mass, there are indeed subtle differences in how you exert force, which can affect your shooting.

However, with proper correction, it can gradually return to a normal state.

Furthermore, as muscle mass increases, shooting form and center of gravity become more stable.

Just like self-propelled artillery, the more stable the chassis, the more accurate the impact point of the shells.

Gan Guoyang's ability to resist interference in his shooting will become stronger and more consistent.

Seeing Gan Guoyang quickly hit a mid-range shot in the second half, Unseld became a little worried and stood up from the bench to direct the game.

The Trail Blazers' defensive focus improved significantly in the third quarter.

The bullets circled around from a high position, with Barkley and Malone as the axes on the left and right.

This is a very simple and easy-to-use tactic for positional warfare.

The perimeter players constantly switched positions, and the inside players would pass the ball inside whenever they had the chance.

If a player receives the ball inside, he can shoot; otherwise, he passes it out for Kim and Jeff Malone to take one-on-one shots.

Then Malone and Barkley turned around and rushed for the offensive rebound, and so on.

Jeff Malone and Bernard King were in the same spot—the free-throw line—and after circling around to receive the ball, they would immediately pull up and shoot.

Both of these guys like to lean forward when shooting; it's one of their characteristics.

The advantage is that it can bring you closer to the basket, improve your shooting percentage, and also draw fouls.

The downside is that it is easily interfered with, which is in stark contrast to the fadeaway jump shot.

As a result, both shots were timely defensively disrupted by Gan Guoyang – these two guys couldn't pass the ball, their shots were too short, and they missed.

Gan Guoyang grabbed the rebound, and Drexler orchestrated two fast breaks.

Drexler scored on a fast break, followed by Thompson receiving a pass from Drexler and making a layup.

At the start of the second half, the Trail Blazers went on a 6-0 run, successfully taking the lead.

Unseld called a timeout; the Bullets players were clearly not focused.

"Damn it, anyone who didn't know better would think you guys won! When did the NBA start only playing half games?!"

Dick Motta yelled during a timeout.

Motta has always been short-tempered and likes to yell at people. In his view, players won't play well if they don't yell at them.

After the timeout, the Bullets passed the ball to Charles Barkley.

Barkley, with his big butt sticking out, crept in step by step, then turned and made a layup.

Thompson tried his best to push, but Barkley's ability to shove his buttocks was second only to Forrest Gump in the entire league.

Gan Guoyang then hit another mid-range shot, having just broken free from the physical battle.

Moses Malone, who had been relentlessly battling and attacking Gan Guoyang in the first half, was starting to feel the strain.

His energy level has declined significantly compared to previous years.

In the first half, Ma Long grabbed several offensive rebounds, but failed to score a single second-chance point against Gan Guoyang's defense.

It only resulted in one foul by Gan Guoyang, which was somewhat like the referee being lenient with him.

This would be incredible for a young Malone.

At his peak, even if he had to make four or five consecutive rebounds, he would still make sure to get the ball into the basket.

But not now. He's gotten heavier, and he's lost the speed and explosiveness of his youth. His positioning is still excellent thanks to his experience, but he just can't get up after getting the ball. Bernard King missed another shot, Malone grabbed the offensive rebound, and his strong layup was blocked by Gan Guoyang.

He retrieved the ball and went back up, but his one-handed lift and throw was blocked by Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang grabbed the rebound and passed it to Porter, but this time they didn't launch a fast break.

After crossing half-court, he and Porter executed a pick-and-roll and cut to the outside, receiving the ball and launching a mid-range jump shot, which went in again!

On the Bullets' bench, Dick Motta covered his face. Damn it, Forrest Gump is scoring again!

This is the time to test the mettle of our core players.

Barkley stepped up, received the ball in the low post, turned around, and faced Gan Guoyang who came to help defend. He also made a one-handed floater, using his strong waist and abdomen to dodge the block and send the ball into the basket.

The Capital Indoor Stadium erupted in cheers as Barkley and Moses Malone high-fived.

This is a passing of the torch between big men; Barkley learned a lot from Moses Malone.

It's about basketball, and it's about life.

Barkley has matured compared to the past. On the court, he no longer jokes around with Gan Guoyang, but focuses on the game.

He has gradually grown into a leader of the team.

The Bullets team has a very distinct lineup, consisting of players with prominent strengths but also obvious weaknesses.

Barkley was that kind of player—a human tank, undersized but overweight, with incredible speed and strength.

Their head coach, Unseld, is also that kind of player.

Unseld's idea was that everyone should try their best to make the most of their strengths.

We are a team, using each other's strengths to make up for each other's weaknesses.

Barkley's defensive weaknesses are quite obvious, but he is the most well-rounded player on offense.

In the third quarter, he began to take over the Bullets' offense instead of simply following Moses Malone for offensive rebounds.

He weaved back and forth between the low post and the high post, using his mid-range game and low-post back-to-the-basket moves to disrupt the Trail Blazers' defense.

The Trail Blazers stuck to one-on-one defense, but Thompson was struggling.

When Barkley hit a three-pointer under the basket, helping the Bullets tie the game again, Barkley clenched his fist and roared.

After the free throw was made, the score was tied at 55-55, bringing them back to the same starting line.

At that moment, Barkley said to Gan Guoyang, "Sonny, Ramsey should have sent you to defend me."

Gan Guoyang was originally going to serve from the baseline, but after hearing Barkley's words, he smiled and shook his head slightly.

After the inbound pass, Gan Guoyang suddenly cut inside to the basket after a screen and received a pass from Drexler.

After turning around, he pushed Moses Malone aside with his right hand and then gently hooked the ball with his left hand to score two points.

Gan Guoyang has already scored 17 points.

After scoring, he told Thompson, "Let me mark Barkley from now on, you watch out for Moses."

Gan Guoyang handed Moses Malone over to Thompson and then guarded Barkley one-on-one.

Barkley thought, "Forrest Gump, are you serious? I was just bluffing."

We agreed not to meet, so how can we face each other on the field?
Gan Guoyang has always been adept at defending against players shorter than himself, and his skills are extremely lethal.

Especially against mini centers like Aguirre, Barkley, and Dantley, Gan Guoyang could easily shut them down.

Their complete physical dominance leaves smaller players with inside-oriented playing styles with no offensive breakthroughs.

After two attempts—once facing the basket and once with his back to the basket—Barkley gave up and passed the ball to Bernard King.

By the end of the third quarter, Barkley hadn't scored any more points, and he couldn't even get a shot off against Gan Guoyang.

There aren't many bullet-based tactics to begin with, and fast breaks are even rarer. Relying solely on stationary, hard-hitting attacks, Barkley simply couldn't break Gan Guoyang's defenses.

"Charles, do you still want me to guard against you?"

"Oh no, no, please stop, you've made me shit my pants."

Barkley is a very honest guy; he immediately backed down.

The phrase "spitting out shit" is a metaphor, not an actual act of expelling shit.

Although Barkley backed down, no bullets were fired, and the two sides continued to clash.

However, Gan Guoyang gradually regained his offensive touch in the third quarter, making 5 of 6 mid-range shots and scoring 12 points in the quarter, helping the Trail Blazers take a 65-62 lead in the third quarter.

The player who truly helped the team hold on in the latter part of the third quarter was Muggsy Bogues.

This short man, only 160cm tall, is very muscular, possesses excellent shooting and passing skills from the top of the key, and is extremely agile on the court.

When he enters the game, Trail Blazers players have to be careful of their groins and the ball in their hands.

His two mid-range shots, three assists, and two steals prevented the Trail Blazers from widening the score gap.

Even Gan Guoyang, who rarely makes mistakes, had the ball stolen by Bogues in the low post.

This guy is so short, you wouldn't notice him unless you looked closely; he just pops out from below his waist.

The match between these two teams felt like a regular army versus a guerrilla force, or a righteous sect versus a demonic cult.

However, as Gan Guoyang played, he was about to reach 30 points again.

Dick Motta then had another sudden idea, suggesting that in the fourth quarter, Charles Barkley should guard Gan Guoyang one-on-one.

(End of this chapter)