The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 561 The Person Who Truly Decides Victory or Defeat
Petrovic truly felt the speed and intensity of the strongest basketball match on the planet.

This was also the first time he had seen Gan Guoyang so focused and serious during a competition.

In previous matches, Gan Guoyang always seemed to play with ease and composure.

Especially on the defensive end, Gan Guoyang sometimes slows down when facing the opponent's offense in order to control fouls and conserve energy.

Bellman's system does not require players to fight tooth and nail on the defensive end, and the Trail Blazers' current roster lacks the defensive resources they used to have to stifle opponents.

His requirement was to maintain resilience, break through without chaos, and ensure that the opponent's offensive efficiency was suppressed throughout the game.

Therefore, the Trail Blazers' statistics in blocks, steals, and forcing turnovers have all declined compared to their three-peat era.

However, they still maintain a relatively high level of control over the opponent's shooting percentage and defensive efficiency, which is due to their stability and resilience.

But Gan Guoyang was clearly different tonight. He made several big blocks in the paint, whether it was one-on-one defense or help defense, he single-handedly surrounded the three-second zone like an iron barrel.

Bill Cartwright failed to score a single point in the first quarter, going 0-for-2 from the field, getting blocked once, and having the steal once; his low post position was essentially useless.

The others, Pippen and Grant, were all outmatched when they rushed into the paint against Forrest Gump. Pippen even got blocked when he tried to draw a foul from Sabonis.

Of the entire Bulls team, only Jordan could break through Gan Guoyang's defense under the basket, using his incredibly sharp speed and hang time to painstakingly score the ball.

Petrovic was frustrated with his performance on the defensive end, unable to cause Jordan even the slightest trouble from the outside.

They're all done in one step, it's too fast, I can't keep up at all.

Even if he caught up, it wouldn't matter; Jordan could simply bump into Petrovic and send him flying.

Jordan is no longer the skinny guy he was when he first entered the league; he is now one of the strongest guards in the league.

Like Forrest Gump, Jordan would drag Pippen to the gym to lift weights after every training session and every game.

Improving strength takes time and consistent effort. Jordan knew that Forrest Gump had been doing strength training since high school, and he needed to catch up.

Petrovich shared the same thought, regretting that he had focused too much on technique and neglected strength training in Europe.

At the end of the first quarter, the score was 26-25, with the Bulls leading the Trail Blazers by one point.

The two sides were evenly matched, while undercurrents were swirling beneath the surface.

Phil Jackson and Bobby Bellman did not call a timeout in the first quarter, instead letting the players decide how to play on the court themselves.

Both players made thorough preparations before the game. So far in the regular season, Bellman has been experimenting with various lineups and tactics.

Call fewer timeouts, let the players gel on their own, and let them figure out how to solve problems on their own.

Phil Jackson shared the same idea as Bellman: to let players face difficulties on their own and learn how to handle the ball.

He doesn't like to call timeouts to give the players two tactical routines, then after a timeout he might have two good possessions, but then he'd start playing haphazardly again.

In this respect, he is completely different from his predecessor, Doug Collins, who was a "scheme maniac" who designed a great many complex schemes based on many basic tactics.

Aside from Jordan, he would demand that everyone else follow the script strictly, and if they didn't, he would yell at them from the sidelines.

When Phil Jackson became head coach, he completely abandoned Collins' approach, eliminating all the complex strategies and keeping only the most basic elements.

Then, based on the basics, what kind of beautiful combinations the players can execute depends on their own understanding and imagination.

Therefore, the game was played exceptionally smoothly, and at the start of the second quarter, both Jordan and Gan Guoyang were resting on the bench.

Bellman replaced Divac with Sabonis to form a twin-tower lineup, aiming to suppress the Bulls' relatively weak interior defense.

Divac immediately beat Grant in the low post and scored a goal.

However, Pippen immediately drove to the basket and made a floater.

This was Pippen's first goal in the penalty area tonight.

Without Forrest Gump under the basket, it's much easier to score.

On defense, Stacy King blocked Cliff Robinson's layup.

But Sabonis grabbed the offensive rebound and dunked it on!

The Bulls also fielded a twin towers lineup: 6-foot-11 Stacy King and 7-foot Will Pudu.

Pudu attempted to establish position in the low post, forming a triangle with his teammates.

As soon as the ball reached his hands, Sabonis poked it away, resulting in a mistake.

The Trail Blazers launched a counterattack. Dell Curry dribbled the ball across half-court and made a long pass to Robinson, who was cutting to the basket. However, the pass was poorly chosen, and Robinson missed it, the ball went out of bounds, and the Trail Blazers committed a turnover.

The Bulls maintained excellent formation and effectively disrupted the defense, causing significant trouble for the passer.

Then, BJ Armstrong drove through the middle and passed the ball to Pudu on the wing, who caught the ball and made a mid-range shot.

Simple, smooth, yet highly effective.

The Trail Blazers settled down and played a half-court offense, with Dell Curry orchestrating the attack and Sabonis establishing position on the left side.

Curry passed the ball to Sabonis, who drew a double team before flicking it to the weak side, where Divac caught the ball and made a long-range shot.

Stacy King was posting up Divac, dribbled, turned, and scored with a left-handed hook shot.

So far, the Trail Blazers and Bulls have played a very high-quality game on both offense and defense.

Whether starting or coming off the bench, everyone did their best, playing in an orderly manner with a good balance of offense and defense.

The Chicago Bulls, in particular, have undergone a complete transformation compared to a few years ago.

During the Gan-Jordan rivalry, the Bulls simply couldn't compete without Jordan.

Moreover, in the early and mid-80s, fast-paced offense was the mainstream, and coaches encouraged players to launch counterattacks at all costs.

The game often involves two groups of people running around on the court, and then the two groups of people are densely packed near the three-second zone.

By the late 80s and 90s, the viewing experience for audiences watching games on television had changed significantly.

The pace of the game has slowed down, there has been more positional play, and the teams' positional attacks have become more organized, combining inside and outside play and shifting the ball between the strong and weak sides, making the game look more orderly and disciplined rather than chaotic.

Of course, the improvement in television broadcast quality is also a significant contributing factor.

With BJ Armstrong hitting a three-pointer, the score reached 38-36, and the Bulls maintained a 2-point lead.

Dell Curry tried to respond to Armstrong with a three-pointer on offense, but the shot missed.

During the scramble for the rebound under the basket, Divac managed to tip the ball away, and it returned to Curry's hands.

But Pippen suddenly intercepted the ball from Curry, then took control of the fast break, drove to the basket, and dunked it with both hands!
At the start of the second quarter, Phil Jackson kept Pippen on the court to let him take control of the game.

Then Pippen drew an offensive foul on Cliff Robinson on defense, and possession returned to the Bulls.

Despite the boos from the fans in the arena, the referee's call remained unchanged, and the Trail Blazers' second unit gradually fell behind in the arm-wrestling match.

This is partly due to Hornacek's absence; if he hadn't been absent, Bellman would have let him lead the second quarter.

At the same time, Sabonis and Divac have not yet developed to the point where they can control the game; they still need more experience.

Bellman called a timeout. The score difference was 4 points. If things continued like this, the Bulls might widen the gap.

The bulls have already built up their momentum.

Gan Guoyang sat calmly on the bench, knowing it wasn't his turn to play yet.

This season, Bellman will give Gan Guoyang an extra two minutes of rest in the second quarter to develop other people's problem-solving abilities.

Bellman substituted Petrovic in and instructed him: "Score with your shots, make good use of your inside advantage, understand?"

Petrovich nodded. He had rested for a long time, and the excitement and turmoil in his heart had subsided.

He no longer cared whether Jordan scored 40 points against him; what mattered was contributing to the team's victory.

After the timeout, Petrovic immediately connected with Divac and hit a three-pointer over Hodges on the left side!
Stacy King attempted a one-on-one against Divac on the left low post, but was unable to turn and could only pass the ball.

Pudu came out to receive the ball and took a mid-range shot from the corner, but was interfered with by Sabonis and missed the target entirely.

After the timeout, the Trail Blazers' defense became more aggressive, with Sabonis moving to a higher position to disrupt the opponent.

Cliff Robinson retrieved the ball under the basket, Petrovic dribbled the ball on a fast break, drove through the middle, and passed the ball to Dell Curry on the wing.

Curry received the ball in the right corner, took a three-pointer, and made it again!

In just over a minute, two consecutive three-pointers changed the score to 40-42, with the Trail Blazers taking a 2-point lead.

This time it was Phil Jackson's turn to call a timeout, and Michael Jordan was about to return to the court.

Gan Guoyang also took off his sports jacket; the real winner would be these two guys.

(End of this chapter)