The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 491 The Champion
Gilmore blocked Jabbar's shot as soon as he entered the game.

Train had anticipated the shot perfectly, using his years of experience against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to block what is known as the most difficult shot to block.

Firstly, Jabbar was old and his reactions were slow; secondly, he was ambushed by the old train and tried to follow the proper procedures, but his procedures were exposed.

After blocking Jabbar's shot, Gan Guoyang rushed out from the side and took the ball.

Gan Guoyang didn't pause or pass the ball; instead, he dribbled the ball and launched a fast break.

The Lakers' transition defense is quick, but it must be pointed out that their defensive rotations are not as good or as tough as they were during Riley's era.

This is the price Nelson has to pay for loosening restrictions on the team.

Gan Guoyang dribbled the ball across half-court, dodged AC Green's steal, and drove into the middle unstoppable, dunking with a one-handed Statue of Liberty style!

The score was tied, and after scoring, Gan Guoyang showed off his well-developed biceps to the Lakers players.

When the truck sped up, no one dared to stop it.

Not only can you not stop him, you also give him a free throw. As for malicious collisions, you wouldn't dare to do that. Do you want to restart the game?
Since the start of this season, Gan Guoyang has been using increasingly heavy-handed tactics in some matches.

There was no way around it; the teams were playing increasingly tight and brutal defenses against him.

They were all very respectful verbally, never daring to utter a single trashy word, but their hands never stopped moving, and they even apologized afterwards.

Gan Guoyang no longer uses wrestling, because if you wrestle, you will definitely be disqualified.

He began swinging his iron elbow so that he could pretend it was an "accidental" touch.

But only he himself knows how unintentional this was, let alone the impact after it gained speed.

The tragedy at Rambis still lingers in the minds of the Lakers players.

With that block and dunk, the Trail Blazers not only tied the score but also gained momentum.

In positional warfare, Gan Guoyang expanded his defensive range, entrusting the three-second zone and Jabbar to Gilmore with confidence.

The Lakers were caught off guard, facing intense pressure on the perimeter, and Johnson's forced shot ultimately missed.

Gan Guoyang grabbed the rebound in the backcourt, slowed down the pace, and set up Porter for a positional attack.

Gan Guoyang received the ball at a 45-degree angle, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar came out to defend, and Gan Guoyang made a through pass to the inside. Gilmore used his height advantage to receive the ball, turned around, and slammed it home with both hands!

Nelson realized something was wrong; the Trail Blazers were playing a twin-tower game.

But having just called a timeout, Nelson had no choice but to hold back and let the players solve the problem themselves.

Johnson decided to take the shot himself, using his big butt to push Drexler inside, when Gan Guoyang suddenly came out to help double-team him.

Gan Guoyang double-teamed Johnson very early; Johnson was still two steps from the three-point line when Gan Guoyang started to steal the ball.

Johnson immediately passed the ball to AC Green, who received it at the top of the arc but was not confident of taking a mid-range shot.

He dribbled down the middle, but was blocked by Gilmore.

Kossie grabbed the rebound and passed the ball to Porter. Gan Guoyang shouted, "Slow down! Slow down! Set play!"

Porter, who originally planned a quick attack, slowed down and adopted a positional strategy.

Gan Guoyang has played many games against the Lakers and has watched a lot of Lakers videos.

The Lakers are the league's best team in chaotic situations, often seizing opportunities in disarray.

Their full-court interception defense is very strong, and opponents often think they have stopped the Lakers' offense and try to launch a counterattack.

The pass was intercepted, and the Lakers launched a counterattack.

There are countless shots like this in Lakers games.

Their ability to counter-attack on the spot, switch from offense to defense and then back to offense is extremely strong.

Gan Guoyang knew that at such a pivotal moment, a counterattack could not be launched rashly.

The Lakers lost twice to the Rockets and once to the Trail Blazers because the Rockets and Trail Blazers had superstar centers in the paint, so they didn't easily launch fast breaks and got into chaotic battles, not giving the Lakers a chance to counterattack.

In positional play, Gan Guoyang received the ball at a 45-degree angle, which is quite far out.

This forces the Lakers to use AC Green to defend Gan Guoyang, and Scott will have difficulty double-teaming him early.

Gan Guoyang backed Green and, before Scott could double-team him, unleashed a difficult long-range jump shot!

At that time, almost no player in the NBA shot like Gan Guoyang.

He turned and shot from half a step inside the three-point line.

The ball arced high and swished through the net!
Once that shot went in, Don Nelson had no choice but to make a substitution.

Nelson called another timeout, substituting A.C. Green and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for Edwards and Duckworth. This year, the Lakers' interior depth is practically explosive.

The Lakers have three giants over seven feet tall, all of whom were prepared by Jerry West for Gan Guoyang.

Duckworth and Edwards, one new and one old, are both tall, technically well-rounded, and skilled in both offense and defense, with considerable shooting range in the paint.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar left the game early to rest, avoiding the sharpness of Gan Guoyang and Gilmore.

Edwards has a decent mid-range shot, and he can pull out to play alongside Scott, Cooper, and Johnson.

After the Lakers changed their frontcourt, the pace of the game was further slowed down.

Jack Ramsey's fears that Gilmore wouldn't be able to keep up with the Lakers' pace didn't materialize.

On the contrary, he and Gan Guoyang formed an impenetrable defense in the paint, forcing the Lakers to rely heavily on mid-range jump shots to finish their offense.

The Trail Blazers gradually gained the upper hand on the court, extending their lead to as much as 7 points.

However, Gilmore soon revealed his problem: he was already 38 years old, and after playing most of the third quarter, his stamina began to give out.

On the defensive end, they started to leave their man open and lose rebounds, allowing Duckworth to capitalize on these opportunities.

Meanwhile, the Lakers gradually found their rhythm in their offense, which revolved around the perimeter, and kept the score close.

With Kareem Abdul-Jabbar out, Johnson made consecutive drives, floaters, and shots, and also assisted Edwards in making a shot.

Johnson has continued to improve his offensive capabilities this season.

His target was no longer Bird, but Forrest Gump.

The Lakers gradually closed the gap, and Scott hit a three-pointer from beyond the arc, helping the Lakers close the gap to 1 point.

Ramsey knew that the old train had reached its limit, so he called a timeout to replace Gilmore with Thompson for a rest.

Seeing this, Nelson immediately substituted Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and AC Green back in.

The competition between the two sides has reached a fever pitch, with the coaches of both teams engaging in a battle of wits and courage.

Nelson certainly has a lot of options right now, with plenty of depth in the frontcourt, wing, and backcourt.

He now understands that fighting a war of wealth feels different.

Towards the end of the third quarter, Nelson could even boldly pull Johnson out and put Wes Matthews in, letting Matthews make a final push in the last two possessions.

As expected, Matthews quickly hit a three-pointer!
This helped the Lakers take the lead, 82-83.

However, the Trail Blazers refused to back down, with 5 seconds left in the third quarter.

Gan Guoyang quickly served the ball from the backcourt, and Drexler received the ball and sprinted all the way.

After inbounding the ball, Gan Guoyang immediately charged towards the basket.

The Lakers' defensive focus was all on Drexler.

He drove into the vicinity of the three-second zone and made a high-lob pass to the inside. Gan Guoyang jumped high and dunked over AC Green!

The moment the ball went in, the buzzer sounded to signal the end of the third quarter, and the Trail Blazers regained the lead!

The Trail Blazers entered the fourth quarter with a lead of 84-83.

Gan Guoyang and Drexler high-fived after Gan scored the goal.

Gan Guoyang's performance tonight was noticeably different from before.

In the past, Gan Guoyang was too lazy to dunk against some opponents.

He solves problems with simple low-post isolation plays and mid-range shots.

Playing against the Lakers was different. Gan Guoyang used every trick in the book, dunking in the paint whenever possible without any mercy!
The two strongest teams in the West will face off in the fourth quarter.

And this was just the regular season; Don Nelson actually had a trick up his sleeve.

The moves that made him famous with the Bucks can be used even better with the Lakers; they are his hidden cards at the poker table.

He didn't use it in this game, but saved it for the playoffs to deliver a fatal blow to the Trail Blazers and Gan Guoyang.

As the defending champions, the Trail Blazers had already revealed their hand to all their opponents.

This is also what makes winning consecutive championships difficult; you are always being targeted by your opponents in the open.

In just three years, the Trail Blazers have transformed from challengers to champions.

(End of this chapter)