The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 512 Above the Plateau
In the NBA playoffs, after the home team takes a 2-0 lead, the third game is played in the opponent's first away game, which is arguably the ugliest game in every series.

Trailing 0-2, the team desperately needs a victory to turn the tide when they return to their home ground. If they lose the third game, they will be down 0-3 and have no chance of a comeback.

Therefore, the third game is often very intense, with the home team going to great lengths on defense. Coupled with biased refereeing and the atmosphere created by the home crowd, it poses an extremely severe test for the away team.

If it were the 1987 Trail Blazers, leading 2-0, they could have continued their upset on the road.

But by 1988, they had lost that focus; they needed to take a break and catch their breath.

As for how long they need to catch their breath, that depends on whether they can adjust their state.

There was only one day between the third and fourth games.

On June 17th, at the Capital Indoor Stadium, the two sides faced off in their fourth match.

Winning the third game was very important for the Bullets.

In a pre-match interview, Wes Unseld said that the team had found their rhythm, which was very important.

Indeed, the Bullets players are gradually adapting to the atmosphere of the Finals, and their confidence is growing as they defeat the Trail Blazers in their own way.

Throughout their journey, they were never considered favorites. From the first round onward, they were widely regarded as the team most likely to be eliminated in the upper half of the bracket.

As a result, they defeated the Cavaliers and advanced to the semifinals.

Facing the formidable Detroit Pistons in the semifinals, they are still not favored.

Especially after the fifth match, they were down 2-3 and on the verge of elimination.

As a result, they gritted their teeth and persevered in the sixth and seventh games, eventually wearing down the Pistons.

In the Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics, they were once again considered underdogs. They won Game 5 of the series 3-2, but failed to close out the series in Game 6.

Playing a Game 7 at Boston Garden would be a nightmare for any Eastern Conference team.

In the sweltering, noisy arena, amidst the relentless fervor of Boston fans, the Bullets players got a real taste of what it means to be at odds with the world.

Despite this, the bullets held on, using their tough defense and tireless rebounding to completely destroy the foundation of the Green Empire.

Starting this season, the Boston Celtics will bid farewell to the conference finals, officially marking the end of the Celtics' dominance in the Eastern Conference.

The experiences along the way have given the Washington Bullets a strong will; they have the ability to survive in adversity, and they even enjoy adversity.

In the evening, the Capital Indoor Stadium was packed with nearly 20,000 fans, creating a vibrant atmosphere.

On the huge CRT screen in the center of the arena, highlights from the Bullets' previous games were continuously playing.

Charles Barkley's dunk, Moses Malone's rebound, Bernard King's jump shot, Moncrief's steal, and Steve Colter's assist.

There's also the rock-solid Wes Unseld on the sidelines and the strategist Dick Motta.

Before the game, Bernard King said, "Every series was against us, but we made it to the end. Just like when I came back from injury, nobody expected me to perform well again. Few people know how much pain and hardship I went through to get back on this court, and few people know what we've been through this season. We will keep going and never give up."

Bernard King spoke for the entire Bullets team, who were more united than ever before before Game 4, vowing to tie the score.

At this point, the Portland Trail Blazers had become the biggest enemy of all of Maryland, a thorn in the side of the Capital Indoor Stadium.

Before the match began, Gan Guoyang stood in the center circle, under the huge CRT monitor, waiting for the match to start.

If it weren't for his mouth moving as he slowly chewed gum, people would think he was a stone sculpture.

His expression was calm, his eyes were expressionless, and he ignored all the noise and speculation before the match.

He is ready for a big battle at the Capital Indoor Stadium tonight.

On the sidelines, head coach Jack Ramsey appeared somewhat nervous.

He knew the importance of Game 4; if he lost and the series was tied, the situation would be different.

The Washington-area media seized the opportunity to bombard the Trail Blazers with a barrage of disruptive information.

For example, it reveals the conflicts in the Trail Blazers' locker room this season, discloses the inside story of Vandeweghe's benching, and that Larry Weinberg wanted to sell the team because the Trail Blazers, despite winning the championship, were not making money, etc.

These messages are a mix of truth and falsehood, all designed to disrupt the Trail Blazers.

The Washington Post even deliberately launched a poll asking Drexler and Forrest Gump who was the true core of the Trail Blazers.

Although fans in the Washington area were generally conscientious and mostly voted for Forrest Gump, a small minority would still vote for Drexler.

The Post doesn't expect people to blindly vote for Drexler; rather, the very act of initiating this vote is a challenge and provocation to Gan Guoyang's position.

A Washington TV talk show host made a point of this, questioning whose team the Trail Blazers are and who will stay in Portland in the summer.

Ramsey himself has also been the subject of leaks, with some saying he will retire after winning the championship, and reporters have been asking him questions non-stop.

This troubled Ramsey, who was indeed planning to retire, as he couldn't tell the truth.

What's the difference between saying you want to withdraw now and saying you want to sell the team halfway through?
Ramsey recalls only mentioning his retirement decision to his family. Who leaked the information?
Or is it just speculation by Washington journalists?

Coupled with the previous leak of news about selling the team, Ramsey suspects that someone is targeting the Trail Blazers.

In short, these off-field distractions are hard to prevent; players will always come into contact with them and hear about them through television and newspapers.

But Forrest Gump seemed indifferent to all this turmoil.

He neither encouraged his teammates as he had in the past, nor did he respond positively or mock the reporters in Washington.

He did nothing, said nothing, and when interviewed by reporters, he simply shrugged and then bent down to tie his shoelaces.

Until he went on to compete, Forrest Gump looked as calm as an ice lake, as if he were frozen in place.

Before the race began, Ramsey tried to speak with Gan Guoyang, but Bobby Bellman stopped him. Bellman told Ramsey, "Jack, Forrest Gump can't see or hear anything at high altitudes. Let him focus on the race."

Ramsey seemed to understand something, his heart settled down, and he sat on the bench waiting for the match to begin.

For Gan Guoyang, the season is already in its final stages, and all the noise, locker room conflicts, selling the team, and controversies surrounding the team leader are simply no longer important.

What really matters is the game in front of us, winning this game.

He doesn't need to do anything unrelated to the game, or even care about his teammates anymore.

As long as you're still on the court, still alive, and still playing for the Trail Blazers, that's enough.

Tonight's referee, Jack Madden, tossed the ball into the air, and Gan Guoyang and Moses Malone jumped for it.

Gan Guoyang touched the ball first, Porter got the ball and passed it to Drexler, and the game began.

On the Trail Blazers' first offensive possession, Gan Guoyang set a screen for Drexler at the high post, and the two's play drew the attention of the Bullets' defense.

Moncrief, Moses Malone, and Barkley all gathered around.

Bullet defense is characterized by two features: high intensity and high density.

Unlike the Detroit Pistons' solid shell, the bullets don't employ pseudo-defense systems.

Dick Motta knew that his team's individual defensive abilities were actually average, except for Moncrief.

Therefore, the bullets are good at stacking defenders on the strong side, creating a situation where there are more defenders than defenders, making the defensive density on the ball side particularly high.

If the opponent makes a strong-to-weak pass, then Moncrief uses tireless rotations to cover the gaps – Moncrief is a key player in this.

Such defense inevitably leaves large gaps, at which point the bullets gamble on the opponent's poor shooting touch and use intensity throughout the game to wear them down and lower their shooting percentage.

In seven matches, opponents will inevitably have moments of explosive form, leaving you riddled with bullets.

But if you manage to survive seven games and reach the end, your opponent might not be able to hold on any longer.

Both the Pistons and Celtics were exhausted in Game 7, unable to make open shots, and were eliminated by the bullets.

Drexler passed the ball to Thompson on the other side, but Thompson missed a mid-range shot.

The Bullet grabbed the rebound and launched a counterattack. Through a series of ball movements, Moses Malone cut to the basket.

He received a pass from Cortés, turned around and overpowered Gan Guoyang, attempting to use his strength to create space for a layup.

But he couldn't push through, and when he forced a shot, the ball bounced off the rim and fell out; unfortunately, it didn't go in.

Gan Guoyang grabbed the rebound and passed it to Drexler to launch a counterattack, which Drexler quickly broke through.

However, Drexler was once again met with tight defense from the Bullets under the basket. His pass was intercepted by Barkley.

Instead of launching a quick counterattack, the team slowed down and waited for Moses Malone to get into position before passing the ball to Malone again for a back-to-the-basket attack on Gan Guoyang.

Malone still couldn't get past Gan Guoyang, so he moved the ball to the other side and passed it to Barkley in the low post. Since Malone couldn't get past him, Barkley would take over.

If the Trail Blazers switch Agan to guard Barkley, then let Malone play; they can just avoid him.

Barkley was positioned to guard Thompson, but the Trail Blazers double-teamed him. Barkley then passed the ball to Bernard King.

Kim drove the ball in, took a step inside, and made a jump shot, scoring the first point of the game.

Drexler then missed a mid-range jumper, and Barkley scored a mid-range shot over Thompson.

Porter's quick shot missed, and Moses Malone grabbed the offensive rebound and scored.

The Bullets started the game with a 6-0 run against the Trail Blazers, sending Bullets fans into a frenzy at the Capital Indoor Stadium.

This also made Dick Motta and Wes Unseld think tonight's game was promising.

For Bullets, the longer the series goes on, the better; they love and excel at endurance races.

They want to wear down the Trail Blazers until they're completely exhausted, just like they did with the Pistons and Celtics.

The Trail Blazers didn't call a timeout. Agan received the ball at the top of the arc and suddenly unleashed a shot, making it two points.

They scored the Trail Blazers' first point of the game.

The Trail Blazers suddenly double-teamed Cort at the top of the key, and Cort passed the ball to Bernard King.

Jin Zhonglu burst in and forced a shot in the three-second zone, but it was blocked by Gan Guoyang.

Jin was familiar with the area where he would make his move, and so was Gan Guoyang.

Barkley got the ball and tried to shoot again, but his shot was blocked.

Malone got the ball, his shot wasn't blocked, but it was interfered with and he missed.

The Trail Blazers launched a counterattack, with Porter driving in from the wing and passing the ball to Gan Guoyang who was following up.

Gan Guoyang faked a shot in the middle and drove to the basket, easily dunking the ball.

After that, the Trail Blazers defended against a bullet for 24 seconds.

In offense, the Trail Blazers' usual routine this season is: Gan Guoyang fakes a cut inside, but actually runs to the side baseline to receive the ball to avoid being double-teamed. After receiving the ball, he faces the defender one-on-one and pulls up for a mid-range shot.

This move was extremely efficient, and Gan Guoyang hit the target again!
After scoring 6 consecutive points to tie the score, the Capital Indoor Stadium suddenly became much quieter.

(End of this chapter)