The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 644 Final Exam
In my life, I have discovered that I excel at two things:
Overcome difficulties and encourage outstanding individuals to do their best.

This is perfectly exemplified by the Portland Trail Blazers.

I acquired the Trail Blazers in 1988 when they were at their peak, but they fell into trouble in 1989.

My businesses, including casinos, hotels, and airlines, also suffered greatly.

Suddenly I was heavily in debt, and the banks and financial institutions that used to fawn over me avoided me like the plague. They either withdrew their loans or tried to dispose of my assets.

Some people suggested that I sell the Portland Trail Blazers to pay off debts, but I immediately said that was impossible. I vowed to make the Blazers shine again, and temporary difficulties could not stop me.

In the 1990 season, I brought in Jerry West, and we added strong reinforcements, winning the NBA championship again with an amazing record. I kept my word.

In the face of adversity, I gritted my teeth and persevered. I provided the team with a private jet, the best training equipment, generous salaries for the staff, and lucrative contracts for the players. I also planned to build a new arena. I wanted to make the Trail Blazers the greatest team in NBA history.

The Trail Blazers players are all excellent. With my encouragement and guidance, they have become the best athletes in the league, and I am also the best owner in the league.

What's the biggest difference between Michael Jordan and Forrest Gump? It's that Jordan's boss was Reinsdorf, while Forrest Gump's boss was me.

Of course, Forrest Gump is the most remarkable leader I have ever met, and many of his thoughts and actions have, in turn, influenced me.

We have a lot in common, we get along very well, and I see a lot of myself in him as he continues to win championships.

The achievements I'm talking about aren't just about money; money is only part of it. More importantly, it's about everything you do and every single thing you accomplish on your journey forward.

When you are wealthy, it is not difficult to be generous; anyone can do it.

But what I admire is the kind of person who sacrifices themselves for others, the kind of person who abandons selfishness and integrates themselves into the destiny of humanity.

The most important thing I learned from Forrest Gump is: purity.

He loves basketball, has made a lot of money, won many honors, and achieved many victories, but his original intention has never changed: he loves this kind of life.

When I realized this and incorporated it into my life beliefs, I was invincible.

—Excerpt from T-rump's autobiography, "My Name is Tang Jianguo," published in 2017.

In the 1991 playoffs, all series, from the first round to the second round, were surprisingly easy, with no Game 7s or Game 5s occurring.

The Trail Blazers demonstrated their dominance in the West with 3-0 and 4-0 sweeps, maintaining an undefeated record in five playoff series since last season.

With a record of 18 wins and 0 losses, the Trail Blazers' performance is truly terrifying, demonstrating the significant gap in skill between them and other Western Conference powerhouses in the playoffs.

This is an inevitable result of the dilution of talent after entering the 1990s.

In the 1980s, the Western Conference also had a behemoth like the Lakers who twice defeated the Trail Blazers, and the Rockets' twin towers who were the number one draft picks for two consecutive years pushed the Trail Blazers to the brink of defeat.

There are no more teams with that kind of talent in the West. The Lakers have gradually declined and faded away, and the Rockets have lost their luck in getting two number one draft picks. Everyone is just trying to piece things together.

So after entering the 90s, the Trail Blazers actually had an easier time in the West, easily passing the first two rounds and waiting for the winner between the Phoenix Suns and the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals.

This was a matchup with little suspense. The Suns held an absolute advantage in terms of raw strength, while the Warriors, as dark horses, had already exceeded expectations by getting past the first round. Defeating the Suns, with their balanced roster and strong interior advantage, would indeed be very difficult.

However, before facing the San Antonio Spurs, no one believed that the Warriors, as the seventh seed in the West, could beat the second-seeded Spurs. Basketball is never 100% certain.

Ultimately, the Suns easily defeated the Warriors 4-1, setting up a Western Conference Finals showdown with the Portland Trail Blazers.

The highly anticipated showdown between Gan Guoyang and Charles Barkley is about to begin, and people have been looking forward to this matchup for a long time.

The situation in the East is much the same as in the West, with the Miami Heat, who made it into the playoffs, facing the top seed in the East, the Chicago Bulls.

Before the series, the media hyped up the matchup between Drexler and Michael Jordan, debating who was the best shooting guard in the league.

Actually, there shouldn't be any question about this topic, but Drexler's three gleaming championship rings have given people room for discussion.

Moreover, Drexler has performed exceptionally well this season, becoming the Heat's true core player and Pat Riley's new Magic Johnson.

With an average of 22.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game in the regular season, he secured a place in the MVP rankings—this was the first time Drexler had been included in the MVP discussion.

He always lived in Gan Guoyang's shadow with the Trail Blazers, but in Miami, he is becoming the sun.

However, Riley had no intention of turning the Heat into the second Los Angeles Lakers. On the contrary, at the start of this season, Riley placed great emphasis on defense.

Under his guidance, the Heat's defense became extremely tough. Riley, who acquired McDaniel and Mason, continued to build up his muscular roster on the wing.

This turned the Bulls-Heat series into a defensive battle; the games weren't pretty, but they were very intense, with constant clashes between the two teams.

Unfortunately, despite the intense match, the result was largely predictable—the Heat were no match for the Bulls.

After acquiring McDaniel in the trade for Glen Rice, the Heat's outside shooting became lacking, putting Drexler under increasing scoring pressure.

However, in his matchup against Jordan, Drexler's scoring ability was far inferior to Jordan's, especially in crucial moments when Drexler was unable to break the deadlock with his ball-handling offense.

Most of the time, Riley preferred to pass the ball to John Starks, the undrafted point guard, allowing Drexler to be a middle blocker and passer, while Starks took on the main offensive role.

Jordan would never miss an opportunity to dominate Drexler on offense—in two regular season games, Drexler managed to contain Jordan, and the Florida media hyped up the idea that "The Glide" had flown past the "Air Jordan".

季后赛完全是另一码事，乔丹三场比赛分别拿下33分、36分和29分，率领公牛3:0轻松淘汰了热火。

After that series, even when the Bulls and Heat met again in the playoffs, no one brought up the "battle for the best shooting guard" anymore.

Moreover, Drexler's playing style is more like that of a point forward than a dedicated shooting guard; he is not particularly good at scoring.

After the series ended, Drexler was disappointed in himself, and Riley did not comfort the losing team in the locker room, but instead harshly criticized everyone.

Including himself.

"We have no feelings, no love, no hate, no anger, no soul! We're like a corpse devoid of life. A corpse! How can a corpse win a game? I don't need to win the series, but we should at least win one game! Just one!"

No one spoke in the locker room. In fact, Riley has been quite successful with the Heat in the past two years.

With the support and development of talents such as Riley and Inman, they were the first of the four newly joined teams to enter the playoffs.

This season has been a success for the Heat, and the loss to the Bulls was expected. The players shouldn't have been criticized too harshly.

But Riley clearly had higher expectations. He was a demanding person, and even though Drexler had done very well, in Riley's eyes it wasn't good enough, far from enough. After leaving the locker room, Drexler didn't say a word, took the ball to the court, and silently went to practice his shooting.

Watching Drexler's solitary figure shooting baskets alone on the court, Riley chewed his gum with a satisfied expression.

After easily defeating the Heat, the Bulls faced the Washington Bullets in the semifinals.

After trading away Charles Barkley, the Bullets' strength declined, but they still ranked fourth in the Eastern Conference and defeated the Bucks in the first round.

Moncrief returned to the Bullets a year after retiring, forming a backcourt duo with Bernard King.

In the playoff series against his former team, the Bucks, Moncrief gave his all in the final stretch of his career.

The Bullets defeated the Bucks in overtime in Game 4 in Milwaukee, with Moncrief contributing 4 points and 2 steals in overtime, becoming the key figure in deciding the outcome.

Moncrief knew that after this round, they wouldn't have a chance against the Bulls in the next round, and his career should be over.

He felt incredibly lucky and satisfied to finally win a series in the city and stadium he once loved so much.

Like Bernard King, they have no championships and are unlikely to win any more in the future, but they have all delivered outstanding careers and performances on the field.

They have already reached the Mount Everest of their lives. While championships are certainly valuable, they are not a necessity in a basketball career. Besides, they have won many other basketball championships along their path to success.

The showdown between the Bullets and the Bulls was indeed a foregone conclusion, with the Bullets easily winning 4-0. The point difference in each game exceeded 10 points, demonstrating the significant gap in strength between the two sides.

This also reflects the dilution of talent in the league. Of course, another reason is that the Bulls and Trail Blazers are now far ahead of the rest, with a huge gap between them and other teams.

However, in the games, Bernard King scored 20 points in one game and 30 points in two games, proving himself with his outstanding scoring performance and causing Scottie Pippen to be questioned again.

They will face the long-awaited Detroit Pistons in the next round.

Last year, Pippen suffered from a migraine before the decisive Game 7 against the Pistons.

At first, he even thought he had a tumor in his brain, so he went to a hospital in Chicago for a CT scan.

Sitting on the bench before the game started, Horace Grant noticed Pippen blinking frantically.

He asked Pippen if the lights were too dim, and Pippen told him he was having some difficulty focusing; in fact, he had a terrible headache.

In the most crucial moment of the most important game, Pippen failed to perform as expected, scoring only 2 points on 1-of-10 shooting, leading to a crushing defeat for the Bulls.

The team doctor then conducted a thorough examination and found no pathological factors. It could be a dietary issue, or it could be the temperature, but the most likely cause was stress.

Pippen broke down under pressure, which led to a barrage of criticism, with Chicago newspapers spending the entire summer saying, "We could have met Forrest Gump sooner."

Oregon newspapers, however, defended Pippen, saying, "What difference would it make if they met earlier? Would they have been defeated by the Trail Blazers sooner? Pippen prevented that from happening."

In fact, the rivalry between the two cities began last season.

Therefore, if the Bulls are to face the Trail Blazers, they must continue to defeat the Detroit Pistons.

The Pistons defeated their old rivals, the Boston Celtics, 4-2 in the second round.

This year is the Celtics' most promising year in recent seasons.

Bird and McHale still have fuel in the tank, and the arrival of Divac and Hornacek has strengthened the team's roster.

They easily defeated the Pacers 3-1 in the first round, but once again fell to the Pistons.

Even though the Pistons have shown signs of exhaustion this season, the Celtics are even more exhausted and aging than the Pistons.

The two teams were evenly matched in the first four games, resulting in a 2-2 tie. However, in the crucial fifth game, the Celtics lost at the Boston Garden.

They battled the Pistons throughout the game, with the score remaining close. The Celtics maintained their lead thanks to the home crowd, and a win in this game would give them a match point.

But at crucial moments, the Celtics still had the same problem: Bird couldn't score.

Bird made only 7 of 18 shots in the game, a 38% field goal percentage.

He missed all four of his three-point attempts and scored only 16 points in the game, a far cry from his usual performance in crucial matches.

In fact, Bird staged a triumphant return in the first-round game against the Pacers.

After being injured and forced to leave the game, he insisted on returning to play and made consecutive shots to defeat the Pacers.

But against the Pistons, Bird really couldn't hold on any longer; he was exhausted, his body was on the verge of collapse.

After losing Game 5, Bird knew that his playoff journey this year was likely over.

At this point, he began to consider retirement. He felt it was time to leave, to leave the arena, and to start a new life.

Of course, the Pistons' journey to the Eastern Conference Finals is not necessarily much easier than that of the Celtics before them.

Because they are getting old, and in professional sports, aging can happen in an instant.

Life is a long journey, but the NBA court is like a fast-paced TV series. One episode you are still young and energetic, but two or three episodes later you may be old and gray.

The professional lives of players and teams are so short. Most people can only pursue a moment of glory, and then they will inevitably fall from the pedestal and become the stepping stone to the next glory.

In late 1987, the Detroit Pistons defeated the Celtics to advance to the NBA Finals, and won the championship in 1989. In 1990, they managed to defeat the Bulls to win the Eastern Conference title again, but they were no match for the Trail Blazers.

Their rise, prosperity, and decline have lasted long enough.

After all, not every team can be reborn from decay like the Trail Blazers – they benefited from the overseas draft and got the excellent pick, Forrest Gump.

However, no aging team will willingly withdraw from the stage of history. Victory is earned, not given away.

If the Bulls relax even slightly, they will be strangled by the Pistons and continue to be nailed to the pillar of shame.

Therefore, everyone in the Chicago Bulls knew that their final exams were approaching.

Before the game, when asked what he would do if he lost to the Pistons again this year, Jordan shrugged and said casually, "What? Of course, we'll continue next year until we beat them. Are you suggesting I go to Portland? Hahaha."

(End of this chapter)