The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 576 Joker
On April 22, the Trail Blazers played their final regular season game at Memorial Arena.

他们在主场131:85，46分的超大优势狂扫来访的洛杉矶湖人队，以一个惊叹号结束了1989-1990赛季常规赛的征程。

The Lakers, having already fallen behind the Trail Blazers in the standings, opted to forfeit their final game.

Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Byron Scott, three key players, were all rested and absent.

Because it was the Trail Blazers' last home game of the season, and they had a chance to tie the Lakers' regular season record of 69 wins, they did not have any rest players.

Moreover, Gan Guoyang promised that as long as he is not injured or suspended, he will never take a break. Otherwise, what will happen to the fans who try their best to buy tickets to watch him play?
Tickets for the Memorial Stadium's home games are hard to come by; many fans, even those with money, can't manage to snag a single ticket in an entire season.

Therefore, Gan Guoyang will dedicate himself to every fan who comes to the home stadium and give his best in the game.

The Lakers, with their rested players, faced a fully-staffed Trail Blazers team, and the result was naturally disastrous.

All 12 Trail Blazers players took to the court, with 8 scoring in double figures. Cliff Robinson led the team with 21 points.

A near-perfect regular season has come to an end. With a full roster and Gan Guoyang's strong desire for revenge, the Trail Blazers achieved the best record in NBA history.

The Lakers also performed well in the regular season, achieving a record of 61 wins and 21 losses under the leadership of Johnson and Don Nelson.

This achievement would be championship-caliber in any year, but it pales in comparison to the Trail Blazers' 69 wins.

In five meetings between the two teams this season, the Trail Blazers have a record of 4 wins and 1 loss, which is the best record the Trail Blazers have had against the Lakers since 1985.

The balance of power has completely shifted.

Meanwhile, because the Trail Blazers and Lakers are both in the Pacific Division, the Trail Blazers are ranked first, and the Lakers can only be ranked third.

The San Antonio Spurs are second in the Western Conference. The arrival of David Robinson has propelled the Spurs into a strong team in the West, and they have achieved an outstanding record of 56 wins, which is also the best record in Spurs history.

The Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, and Denver Nuggets ranked fourth through eighth, respectively.

The Western Conference remains shrouded in the shadow of the two giants, the Trail Blazers and the Lakers. Other teams can peek out a little, but overall it feels like a dark and hopeless place.

In the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Pistons finished the regular season with a record of 60 wins and 22 losses, once again securing the top seed in the East.

With Vinnie Johnson gone, the Pistons' offense has weakened, and their regular season dominance has slightly declined.

As a supplement, the Detroit Pistons signed Jazz veteran Ricky Green and former Celtics championship contributor Gerald Henderson during the offseason to try to make up for the offensive gap left by the absence of the microwave.

The Chicago Bulls have achieved a franchise-best record of 55 wins and 27 losses, giving them the strength and confidence to contend for the NBA Finals and even the championship.

Michael Jordan won his second consecutive scoring title with an average of 33.6 points per game, while Gan Guoyang continued his dominance on the rebounding list—he averaged 14.2 rebounds per game, surpassing second-place Hakeem Olajuwon by 0.2 to become the NBA rebounding champion for the sixth consecutive year.

Also due to the divisional rules, the Chicago Bulls can only be ranked third in the Eastern Conference.

Second on the list is the Washington Bullets with 50 wins, with Charles Barkley being the Bullets' sole and undisputed core player.

Bernard King, a perimeter player, had his best season since returning from injury in 89-90, averaging 22.4 points per game, which brought him back into the ranks of the league's top scorers.

The Celtics, New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Indiana Pacers ranked fourth through eighth, respectively.

As older generations of stars retire or grow old, the landscape of the Eastern Conference is quietly changing.

The Atlanta Hawks, who thought acquiring Moses Malone would greatly enhance their strength, failed to make the playoffs this year.

The Boston Celtics still retain their frontcourt trio and Dennis Johnson, but injuries and aging are eroding their fighting spirit.

In the first round, they will face the young Patrick Ewing and the New York Knicks.

The Bucks, Cavaliers, and Pacers are likely to be cannon fodder in the first round.

The difference is that the Bucks' original structure has been broken and they are struggling on the verge of rebuilding. Making the playoffs is just a last gasp.

The Cavaliers' trade of Harper was self-destructive; with Kevin Johnson and Harper, the Cavaliers lost a great opportunity to rise again.

However, the Cavaliers still have a solid roster foundation, with young and stable core players, and they still have great potential for the next few years.

The Pacers, on the other hand, are a different story, making the playoffs for the third time in their franchise history.

After the chaos of the 1989 season, the Pacers established a young roster centered around Reggie Miller, which exuded youthful energy.

Although they were destined to lose to the Detroit Pistons in the first round, the playoff experience was undoubtedly significant for the young players and would be an important lesson in their growth.

Not every player is like Magic Johnson, Forrest Gump, or Larry Bird, who can stand on the biggest stage and compete for championships at a very young age.

Most players grow step by step alongside their teams; this was true for Michael Jordan, Reggie Miller, and many other talented players.

Making it to the playoffs, experiencing the true intensity of the NBA, and feeling the fiercest basketball competition is a must for many young players.

An NBA player who has never experienced the test of the playoffs cannot be considered a truly capable player, and his statistics and honors will not receive genuine recognition.

For the Trail Blazers, despite their 69-win record, a group of young players still have to face their first playoff experience.

The Eastern European trio, including Cliff Robinson and Anthony Mason, were all making careful preparations before the playoffs began.

Petrovic spent the last two days in the gym, hoping to improve his physical strength.

I've heard that the level of competition in the playoffs is completely different from that in the regular season, and if you can't adapt to the intensity, your performance will be terrible.

Petrovic trained with Anthony Mason, whose passion for fitness seemed to surpass that for basketball.

Sabonis chose to stay in his apartment and watch the game tapes, repeatedly reviewing the footage of previous regular season and playoff games.

He watched Trail Blazers game tapes, Nuggets game tapes, and game tapes from previous seasons.

Through these videos, he continuously constructed tactical patterns for the team in his mind, searching for problems in himself and his opponents.

For professional players, on-court experience needs to be constantly updated because basketball is constantly changing and there is no fixed formula.

Instead of going to the gym or staying home watching videos, Divac went to visit Gan Guoyang at his home.

Because the Trail Blazers have a deep interior defense, Divac hasn't had many playing opportunities this season.

However, Divac's skills have improved significantly, mainly because he has been training with Gan Guoyang a lot.

Divac is now Gan Guoyang's designated number one sparring partner. The reason he doesn't train Sabonis is that Sabonis is 25 years old and nearing maturity, and his skills in all aspects are already established. What he needs more guidance in basketball thinking and refinement of details is his basketball mindset.

Divac is only 21 years old, and many aspects of his development are still incomplete; he is a rough gem worth polishing.

Therefore, Berman instructed Gan Guoyang to spend a lot of time and energy giving Divac special training to shape his skills and playing style.

As Divac gradually gets used to Forrest Gump's torment, he will find it easy to face any big man in the league.

The two now have a very good relationship, and Divac sometimes brings his wife to visit. Divac is very talkative, unlike Sabonis and Petrovic who are silent and focused on basketball.

When the Trail Blazers travel to away games, Divac's wife, Snezana, would often visit Wang Fuxi at Gan Guoyang's home.

Since having children, Wang Fuxi has had far less time to herself.

Although there are nannies, housekeepers, and bodyguards at home, there is not much to worry about in terms of childcare.

But becoming a mother is a different experience; you're constantly thinking about your child, and you can't completely relax.

For a period of time, Gan Guoyang was away playing away games, and Wang Fuxi suffered from neurasthenia due to insomnia and frequent awakenings.

After learning about this, Snezana frequently visited Wang Fuxi to keep her company, help her take care of the children, and learn some parenting knowledge in advance.

Divac and Snezana are already trying to conceive and plan to have a child next year.

The company of her friends helped Wang Fuxi improve her mental state, but as the playoffs approached, she became anxious again.

She complained to Snezana, "Every time the playoffs come around, it's like he's fasting. He won't sleep with you anymore and will put all his energy into the game. He has to prepare before the game, give it his all during the game, and analyze it afterward. Everything revolves around the game. During the regular season, he would still take time to spend with me and the kids, and we would participate in many activities together. But in the playoffs... it's his holy war. Everyone except his teammates is an enemy."

Snezana quietly asked, "Would you rather he not make the playoffs?"

Wang Fuxi said, "We've known each other since high school. He always won championships and made it to the finals. Do you know why we started dating? Because he was on probation for a year during his freshman year of college and didn't participate in any official matches, so we could correspond, date, and fall in love, which is why we got together. Later, when he started competing... that was in 1983, and up until today, he's played almost every match he could, and won every championship he could. Fortunately, he gets one summer off every year. I'm just worried that one day he'll have to play for the national team, and even that summer will be taken away from him."

"However... I still hope he wins, and keeps winning. We made a promise back then that I would always support him."

Snezana looked at Wang Fuxi and felt that she had a kind of radiance about her.

This radiance did not emanate from her, but was shone upon her by someone else.

During the playoff break, Gan Guoyang took some time to spend with his family, cooking for them.

At home, Forrest Gump is completely different from on the field. He is gentle, meticulous, and patient, and you can see many of the traits of Gan Youwei.

As a wealthy and famous star athlete, he can solve many problems with money and has a large circle of people around him who can be summoned and dismissed at will.

But Gan Guoyang still tries his best to do what an ordinary husband should do, and tries to participate in family life. When playing away games, he calls home every day. After having his son, he spends time hugging the child, making him formula, changing his diapers, and coaxing him to sleep every time he comes back.

Gan Guoyang, a burly man and the strongest in the league, was completely flustered and looked like a clown when he first held Gan Wenshan, fearing that his immense strength would hurt the child.

Now he is so skilled that he can hold a child in one arm and use a dumbbell in the other to work out his biceps.

Divac has been visiting Gan Guoyang's house for the past two days, eating, drinking, chatting, and even playing basketball in the backyard.

With the playoffs approaching, Divac was a little nervous, so he asked Gan Guoyang how to approach the playoffs.

Gan Guoyang gave him two valuable pieces of advice: "First, the most important thing for rookies in the playoffs is not to make mistakes. Even if you can't play a positive role, never play a negative one. You can play more imaginatively in the regular season, that's a performance, it's for improvement and training, but the playoffs are war."

"Secondly, the playoffs will be very tense. If you get the ball and encounter a problem you can't solve, just pass it to me."

Divac took Gan Guoyang's advice to heart, and three days later in the first game against the Denver Nuggets, Divac came off the bench and passed the ball to Gan, who was sitting on the bench, resulting in a jaw-dropping turnover...

This became the most clownish pass of Divac's career.

However, this does not affect the outcome of the game between the Trail Blazers and the Nuggets, as the gap in strength between the two sides is too large.

Before the series began, Nuggets head coach Doug Mo bluntly stated at a press conference: "We have no chance to beat the Trail Blazers in this series, our season is over."

Doug Mo has spent a full 10 seasons in Denver, making him the longest-serving coach in the NBA with the same team.

No one expected that this "madman" would stay with one team for so long, and that he would achieve remarkable results with the Nuggets.

In 10 seasons, Doug Mo led the Nuggets to the playoffs 9 times. The only season they didn't make the playoffs was his first season as head coach, the 1980-1981 season. He took over the Nuggets midway through the season, but the team was already doomed, so it wasn't his fault.

For the remainder of the season, Doug Mo used his unique coaching style to make the Nuggets a regular in the playoffs.

Doug Mo not only led the Nuggets to outstanding results, but he also shaped the team's style and character with his coaching methods.

For decades to come, the Nuggets will remain a crazy, resilient team with offense running through their veins.

In the 1985 season, Doug Mo was once slaughtered by Gan Guoyang because of his "60 points" comment.

Knowing he couldn't win the series this season, Doug Mo "surrendered" early on, indicating there was no chance of winning.

Hopefully, Forrest Gump and the Trail Blazers will go easy on each other and not be too ruthless, showing some consideration for each other.

As both an old rival and an old friend, Gan Guoyang really went easy on them, winning the first game at the Trail Blazers' home court and only beating the Nuggets by 10 points.

In the second game, they won 109-121 against the Nuggets by 12 points. In the third game, they went to the Colorado Plateau, where the two sides played back and forth for three quarters.

In the fourth quarter, Gan Guoyang scored 15 points, leading a surge to defeat the Nuggets and win the game. He also easily defeated the Nuggets 3-0 in the series, advancing to the Western Conference semifinals without any suspense.

After this game, Doug Mo ended his coaching career with the Nuggets, leaving the city and position where he had worked for ten years.

After announcing his dismissal, Doug Mo and his wife, Jane, enjoyed champagne to celebrate the end of an important chapter in their lives.

Years later, the Denver Nuggets awarded Doug Mo a special jersey with the number "432" to represent his wins with the Nuggets and retired it in recognition of his significant contributions to the team.

As Denver's first "Joker," his Joker spirit lives on with the Nuggets.

In 1961, when Doug Moy was playing for North Carolina, the Tar Heels discovered they were on the same flight as Richard Nixon.

Nixon was then the Vice President of the United States, one of the most famous figures in the world, and had not yet been disgraced by the Watergate scandal.

North Carolina coach Frank McGuire introduced himself to Nixon and led him down the aisle, introducing the Tar Heels players as they went.

Doug Moe suffers from a fear of flying, and when Nixon and McGuire approached him, he was reading a book to distract himself.

This was probably the only book Doug Moe opened that semester, but for Nixon it was clearly a topic of conversation.

He told Doug Moe, "You love reading so much, you must be the most bookish guy on the team."

Doug Mo sized up the man standing in front of him for a moment—he had slightly hunched his shoulders and looked somewhat haggard.

I don't think I know them.

Mo buried his face in his book again and said to Nixon in a disdainful tone, "Who do you think you are, some kind of wise man?"

—Excerpt from "The Joker is Wild," written by Bruce Newman, in the first issue of Sports Illustrated in November 1988.

(End of this chapter)