The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 552 Dead

The game started promptly at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

Although the Trail Blazers and Heat were somewhat mismatched in strength, the game was so exciting that it was broadcast live nationwide by CBS, making it a highly anticipated matchup.

In the 1984-1985 season when Gan Guoyang first entered the NBA, there were only 8 nationally televised NBA games, excluding the All-Star Game.

By the 1989-1990 season, this number had nearly doubled, increasing to 15 games.

There were three nationally televised games in 89: one between the Chicago Bulls and the Golden State Warriors, one between the Miami Heat and the Portland Trail Blazers, and one on Christmas Day.

The number of broadcasts of this national competition is still too small compared to the rapid development of the NBA.

Excluding the Christmas Day games, there was actually only one game a month throughout 89.

Because in November and December, CBS will focus its broadcasts on the NFL.

By 1990, the number of NBA broadcasts had increased, but it was still only about three games per month.

CBS can't broadcast two or three games on the weekend; they need to allocate time to NCAA and MLB regular season games.

CBS recently signed a broadcasting agreement with MLB and a program production and broadcasting contract with the Winter Olympics organizers, which has resulted in even fewer resources available for the NBA.

David Stern was well aware of the importance of television broadcasting in expanding the league's influence and increasing its revenue. Since CBS was unwilling to invest in the NBA, the NBA naturally had to terminate its partnership with CBS.

Therefore, the 1989-1990 season was the last season that CBS and the NBA co-broadcast, after a 17-year partnership.

As an alternative, in November 1989, the NBA signed a four-year, $600 million contract with its former partner NBC, more than three times the amount of the previous CBS contract.

Under the new contract, NBC will increase the number of national NBA games it broadcasts from 16 (including the All-Star Game) to 20-26, and these games must be broadcast during prime time. The late-night pre-recorded broadcasts that CBS used to offer are no longer an option.

The number of playoff broadcasts will increase to more than 30 games, and the intense playoffs are the best way to create a passionate fanbase.

Tonight's live play-by-play commentary on CBS is the legendary Dick Stockton, who is sitting not far from Jack Ramsey.

The split between the NBA and CBS is a done deal, and this will be his last season commentating on the NBA.

As the game was about to begin, Stockton spoke with Jack Ramsey. Drexler and Gan Guoyang are both Ramsey's prized students, and he knows them very well. Stockton wanted to know what the veteran coach thought about tonight's game.

Jack Ramsey's statement was simple: he smiled at Dick Stockton and said, "Clyde is dead tonight."

Stockton was surprised, wondering if the Trail Blazers were so vengeful.
They parted amicably back then. When Drexler returned to Portland, the fans even stood up and applauded, presenting him with a championship ring.

At this moment, on the Trail Blazers' bench, everyone took off their jackets and prepared to go on the court.

Mitchell Thompson has recovered from his injury and returned to the starting lineup.

The Trail Blazers still have their classic old lineup: Forrest Gump, Thompson, Korsey, Hornacek, and Porter Jr.

Just before going on the court, Gan Guoyang said to the team, "Clyde said he wants to score 60 points tonight. Porter, Jeff, which of you two will be the main defender against him tonight? Don't let him get 60 points."

Potter and Hornacek exchanged a glance, wondering if Clyde was really that arrogant.

Even though our defense wasn't that great, you think you can score 60 points? Do you think you're Michael Jordan?

Gan Guoyang continued, "Clyde told me this during warm-up, and Jack heard it too. He said he's going to win tonight!"

The veterans on the Trail Blazers are getting really excited.

Hornacek said, "I'll defend him; it's my responsibility to keep an eye on Clyde."

Porter said, "I'll be ready to help defend."

"I'll keep an eye on Clyde and prevent him from launching a quick attack," said Kossi.

Thompson said, "I'll keep an eye on him; I'll handle the help defense."

The Heat's only real threat is Drexler; the others aren't exactly insignificant, but their skill level is certainly not high.

"Great! Win the game tonight and give Clyde a little something to show our appreciation!"
-

The first quarter began quickly, with Gan Guoyang winning the jump ball against Ronnie Sekkali, and the Trail Blazers launched the first attack.

Sekali is a Lebanese player who was selected by the Heat in the 1988 NBA draft. He is a 6-foot-11 center.

Riley knew that with a new team being established, it would be difficult to find a good center, as other teams wouldn't release quality centers to their rosters.

So in 1988, Riley's top target was Forrest Gump. If they could acquire Forrest, the Heat would instantly complete their building of a strong team.

Unfortunately, Agan won the championship but refused to come, so they settled for Drexler instead, and picked up the center from overseas. There really weren't any quality inside players in 88.

Sekali is a pretty good player. Although he is a white player, he is from Southern Europe, not the soft, white people of the North. He has good explosive power.

Under Riley's rigorous training, his offensive and defensive skills improved rapidly. However, he was still no match for Agam. On the very first play, Gan Guoyang overpowered Secarli in the low post.

He used his strength to push inwards, then turned inside and attacked the basket, drawing a foul from Secari.

Besides Sekali, the Heat's other big man is also a rookie, Grant Long.

Ron is a technically sound and very practical blue-collar center, and like Secari, he will become a quality forward in time.

However, the problem is the same: he is not very talented, and having entered the league in 88, he still has very little experience and his help defense speed is too slow.

If Riley were to commit a foul and get hit like this at the start of a game, he would definitely yell at the enemy.

He didn't tonight; he knew he couldn't handle Forrest Gump.

Gan Guoyang made both free throws, opening the scoring.

Drexler receives the ball, dribbles across half-court, and launches an attack.

After joining the Heat, Drexler became the team's undisputed star player.

Other players, in terms of both experience and ability, are far inferior to Drexler.

He holds an absolute dominant position in the Heat's tactical system, and he happens to be a very versatile player.

The advantage of being the dominant player is that you have the ball in your hands and can play it however you want.

The downside is that he has to play with the ball by himself, and there's very little help from others besides himself.

Drexler passed the ball to Billy Thompson in the low post, trying to get Thompson to guard Korsey.

Thompson entered the NBA in 1986 and played for the Lakers, where he was a benchwarmer under Riley.

In the 88 expanded draft, the Lakers put him on the unprotected list, and Riley brought him over.

As the saying goes, "In Shu, there are no great generals, so Liao Hua is made the vanguard," and Billy Thompson is a typical example.

Riley knew that Billy was quite skilled and a typical classic small forward.

He's in the same style as Worthy, Aguirre, and Dantley; he has back-to-the-basket skills but his shooting ability is average.

His weakness lies in his physique being too thin; he is not as strong as Aguirre or Dantley, nor does he possess the explosive power of Worthy's long arms and legs.

Professional basketball ultimately comes down to physical attributes.

Thompson has a high success rate when playing as a typical small forward.

His two-point field goal percentage is the highest on the Heat, at 51.6%.

However, his back-to-the-basket technique is ineffective against a heavy forward like Kossi.

The turnaround shot was blocked by Kexi, and Gan Guoyang pushed past Secarli to regain possession of the ball.

The Trail Blazers launched a counterattack, and Porter received the ball, observed the situation, and did not accelerate.

The ball was passed to Gan Guoyang, who quickly got into position. Gan Guoyang received the ball, turned around, and cut to the basket again.

Sekarli dared not foul, watching as Gan Guoyang easily scored a layup.

There is a significant gap in individual ability between the two teams, making this match look very difficult.

At this point, Drexler, as the leader, had to step up and score.

Secari's pick and roll led to Drexler's breakthrough in the middle, and Gan Guoyang pushed inside.

Drexler pulled up at the top of the key and launched a jump shot, his legs slightly bent as he pushed forward!

He threw an airball...

The ball landed in Gan Guoyang's hands.

Gan Guoyang was stunned for a second, and Drexler was stunned for a second as well.

Finally, Gan Guoyang passed the ball to Porter, and it was another Trail Blazers counterattack.

Halfway through the game, Gan Guoyang couldn't help but ask Drexler, "Clyde, doesn't Riley feed you?"

Drexler was too embarrassed to answer, and simply ran forward silently, throwing himself into defense.

Boasting may feel good in the moment, but you have to make your boasts come true, otherwise you'll really lose face.

(End of this chapter)