The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 664 Hitting a Wall
The Portland Trail Blazers' victory over the Chicago Bulls at the end of November was a turning point in their season.

Entering December, their form improved significantly, and most importantly, the young players gradually found their rhythm in the game.

Antonio Davis and Cliff Robinson began to adapt to their roles and played important roles in games.

Davis improved rapidly while playing alongside Forrest Gump. Jerry West initially drafted this young man hoping he could replace Anthony Mason as the team's enforcer.

However, Bobby Bellman soon discovered that Davis had better physical attributes than Mason and had greater potential on the court that could be tapped.

Therefore, Davis received a lot of playing time and gained a lot of experience during the regular season last year.

With Sabonis sidelined due to injury this season, Davis has earned a starting spot in some games.

He knew this was his chance to shine, so he cherished it and worked extremely hard on the defensive end.

Davis is a much smaller size than Sabonis, but that also gives him more flexibility.

However, on the offensive end, Davis is far inferior to Sabonis and cannot replace Sabonis' role at all.

This resulted in a significant impact on the Trail Blazers' offense in November. Their Princeton offense was missing a crucial element and its operation became noticeably less smooth.

Davis tried to integrate into the Princeton offense by setting screens and passing the ball, but the results were not good. He is better suited to focus on defense and rebounding.

Berman gradually changed his approach. As the head coach, he noticed a shift in the league's direction. He analyzed the offensive data of each team in November and found that scoring was generally declining.

Defense is becoming increasingly important and mainstream. Although the Trail Blazers are an offensive team, their defense absolutely cannot be neglected.

Therefore, starting in late November, Berman increasingly emphasized the importance of defense, and during timeouts he talked more and more about defense than offense.

For offense, just leave it to the experienced veterans on the field. If all else fails, just throw the ball to Forrest Gump, and he'll handle it.

Defense is different; it requires constant emphasis from the coach, who needs to keep pushing the players, especially the younger ones, to perform well.

Berman once again employed the same meticulous approach he used when coaching Gonzaga University's defense, meticulously refining the team's defensive details.

Finally, at the end of November, the Trail Blazers defeated the Chicago Bulls at home thanks to Gan Guoyang's 50+30 performance.

Gan Guoyang's performance was undoubtedly strong, but the Trail Blazers did not rely on Gan alone.

The Bulls played exceptionally well in this game, but even so, the Trail Blazers still managed to suppress the Bulls' eagerness for revenge with their tough defense.

In the final moments of overtime, Jordan passed the ball to Grant in the paint, who had a chance to win the game.

Gan Guoyang, Antonio Davis, and Lewis combined to block all three of Grant's layups.

The morale boost from this defensive victory is immense; everyone on the Trail Blazers team realizes that no matter who is missing, they are still a champion team.

As December arrived, the Trail Blazers embarked on a challenging road trip.

Instead of fighting, they became even more courageous and won four consecutive games during their five-game road trip in the East.

Facing formidable Western Conference opponents like the Suns, Spurs, and Rockets once again, the Trail Blazers secured victories on the road.

Gan Guoyang delivered an MVP-caliber performance during this winning streak, proving to fans just how formidable he can be when he's on fire.

On December 3, against the Miami Heat, Gan Guoyang scored 44 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, single-handedly dismantling the Heat's carefully constructed frontcourt lineup.

On December 7th against the Orlando Magic, he scored 39 points and grabbed 22 rebounds – these were his stats after playing three and a half quarters, and he once again destroyed the Magic's paint.

12月10日对阵休斯顿火箭，41分24个篮板球5次封盖，正面击溃了伤愈复出的哈基姆-奥拉朱旺。

After the game, Hakeem Olajuwon admitted, "I could clearly feel that Forrest Gump was unstoppable this year. Although he was like that in the past, this year... it's difficult, very difficult."

12月11日，客场背靠背对阵菲尼克斯太阳，甘国阳在又凤凰城拿下33分32个篮板球——本赛季第二次单场30个篮板。

His desire and greed for rebounds reached an astonishing level, and his power under the basket surprised all opponents; this guy seemed even more difficult to deal with.

One important reason is that Gan Guoyang gained weight; his 270-pound weight made his strength advantage even more obvious.

Despite having only average height, Gan Guoyang has already shown a tendency to dominate the paint thanks to his weight and wingspan.

His offensive rebounding numbers reached a new high since his rookie season, and his numerous second-chance points shattered the opponent's defensive confidence.

In the NBA, where the pace is getting slower and the scoring is getting lower, offensive rebounds are a huge blow to the opponent.

After putting in so much effort to defend the ball, we lost the rebound and the opponent easily scored. We were incredibly frustrated.

Gan Guoyang did this in order to cooperate with Berman's tactical strategy of strengthening the defense, making the offense easier and allowing his teammates to focus more on defense.

From then until Christmas, Gan Guoyang maintained this unstoppable form, winning the League Player of the Week award for two consecutive weeks and securing the Player of the Month award for December.

The league simply couldn't tolerate its best players refusing to play Christmas Day games. This time, Stern disregarded the opposition from the Trail Blazers and insisted that the schedule must include Christmas Day games.

The Trail Blazers, unable to fight the big team, have once again been scheduled for a Christmas Day game against the unfortunate Denver Nuggets, while the other game is between the Chicago Bulls and the Boston Celtics.

On the eve of Christmas, the entire Trail Blazers team returned to Portland. Gan Guoyang invited the two foreign players, Peter Lowe and Sabonis, and their families to spend Christmas Eve together. Bellman and his lawyer girlfriend were also on the guest list.

Before they got married, the young Trail Blazers players would often get together and go to Drexler's house to eat the meals cooked by Gan Guoyang.

Later, everyone grew up and started their own families. On Christmas Eve, they had to stay home with their families and children, and it was no longer the same as when they were single.

Because of the Christmas Day game, Gan Guoyang couldn't go to San Francisco to have barbecue with Nate Thurmond as he used to.

Last year, Thurmond opened a barbecue restaurant in San Francisco called "Big Nate's Barbecue" using a family recipe given to him by his mother, and the business was booming.

Gan Guoyang got the sauce recipe from him and could make it at home.

It was snowing in Portland tonight, and the cold wind and snow outside made the house feel even warmer. Gan Guoyang cooked a delicious roast chicken himself.

Gan Guoyang wasn't really interested in turkey meat; he preferred regular roast chicken, which was fragrant and tender, much tastier than the dry turkey meat.

Wang Fuxi's belly was getting bigger and bigger. Being pregnant with her second child, she had enough experience to handle the various troubles of pregnancy, and she could even help entertain guests. Gan Guoyang lived in a large house, but usually only his family of three, his mother-in-law, three bodyguards, four housekeepers, and four temporary security guards (who didn't live there) lived there; there weren't actually many people.

Gan Guoyang prefers quiet. After all, playing basketball at the gym every day is already incredibly noisy, so he needs some peace and quiet at home. However, after being at home for a long time, he sometimes feels lonely.

Everyone came this Christmas, making it much more lively. Everyone ate, drank, and had a great time, except for Sabonis, whose face was always etched with worry.

Even when he smiles, he frowns slightly instead of laughing out loud, which is different from his usual self.

Gan Guoyang took his wine glass and went over to chat with him for a few minutes, asking, "Avidas, what have you been worried about? You'll be healthy and back on the field next month, cheer up."

During the two months that Sabonis was away, Gan Guoyang missed him very much. Although Gan Guoyang put up amazing super stats, playing like that was really tiring and exhausting.

He can't keep playing at such a high energy level forever. Otherwise, it'll be fine against other teams in the playoffs, but if he faces the Bulls and Jordan again in the Finals, he'll definitely need to have some reserves.

This season's Bulls and Jordan are both stronger and more difficult to deal with than last season.

Sabonis smiled faintly, then said helplessly, "I can't wait to get back on the court and play, including the next Christmas game. I'm eager to return to the court. But what worries me more is... you know, the Soviet Union is doomed."

Gan Guoyang was taken aback; it turned out that Sabonis was troubled by the Soviet Union.

Indeed, while the United States was enjoying the Christmas season, their former adversary, the massive Soviet Union, was on the verge of collapse.

On December 23, Gorbachev was stripped of all his powers and left the Kremlin. The day he signs his final order announcing the dissolution of the Kremlin is tomorrow, Christmas Day.

Sabonis witnessed the collapse of the Soviet Union. As a Lithuanian, he supported Lithuanian independence, but at the same time, he had a very special affection for the Soviet Union.

When he was born, the Soviet Union was the most powerful force in the world. The national team he represented was the Soviet Union, and all kinds of honors in Europe and the world were won as a Soviet citizen.

Therefore, at this moment he felt very confused. His former spiritual home, that powerful alliance, had just hastily withdrawn from the stage of history and vanished into thin air.

Gan Guoyang understood Sabonis's feelings, patted his broad shoulder, and said, "The Soviet Union is gone, but it will forever remain in the history books of mankind. Nothing lasts forever, everything will eventually perish, but we still have to look forward, don't we?"

The optimistic mood and the festive Christmas atmosphere infected Sabonis, and his mood improved a lot.

On the afternoon of December 25th, at the Memorial Stadium, every game played here is one less to watch, as it will be replaced by the Rose Garden next door in February.

Today will be the last Christmas game held at the Memorial Stadium, and the Christmas atmosphere is very strong, with cheerleaders wearing red skirts with pom-poms.

The Trail Blazers' opponent in this game is the Denver Nuggets. With the arrival of the 90s, the Doug Mo era for the Nuggets has officially ended, and the coach has become Paul Westhead.

From one madman to another.

After winning the championship in 1980, Westhead clashed with Johnson, left the Lakers, and had an unsuccessful season with the Bulls before returning to college basketball to become a coach at Loyola Marymount University.

Although Loyola Marymount is a small school and not a traditional NCAA basketball powerhouse, the arrival of Westhead has injected fresh energy into them.

Westhead's style is very clear: attack, attack at all costs, a style very similar to Doug Mo's in his early years.

In 1988, he led his team back to the NCAA national championships and made it to the second round.

In 1990, Loyola Marimon made it all the way to the national quarterfinals, attracting nationwide attention.

At the time, the team's star player, Hank Garthus, suffered a heart attack during a game on March 4, collapsed, and was taken to the hospital, but died from his injuries.

Hank Garthors' death shocked the entire American basketball community and dealt a heavy blow to Paul Westhead and his team.

Despite missing key players, Westhead led his team to a whirlwind offensive performance in the NCAA National Championship.

At that time, the NCAA had already introduced a shot clock, but it was 45 seconds instead of 24 seconds, so the pace was still very slow.

With the 40-minute game time added to the first and second halves, the average score in an NCAA game is often around 60 or 70 points.

As a result, Loyola Marímont scored 111 points in the first round against New Mexico State and won the game.

In the second round against the University of Michigan, he scored a terrifying 149 points, a score that would be incredibly high even in the NBA, and this was the NCAA national tournament.

Loyola Marymount University rose to fame with Paul Westhead's relentless offensive strategy, bringing him back into the public eye.

They then defeated the University of Alabama to make history by reaching the quarterfinals, but ultimately lost to UNLV, which had Larry Johnson—UNLV won the tournament, albeit a controversial one.

After achieving such success, Westhead set his sights back on the NBA. He left college and joined the Denver Nuggets, a team known for its insane offense over the past decade, which he felt would be a perfect fit.

Last season, led by Westhead, the Nuggets averaged 127 points per game, ranking first in the league, and allowed 130 points per game, also ranking first in the league.

This led to the Nuggets' poor record, so in this year's draft, the management hoped the team would have some defense, rather than just offense.

So they selected Dikembe Mutombo, a Congolese center from Georgetown University, a black giant with excellent defensive skills.

In his first career game against the Warriors, Mutombo put up a dominant performance with 18 points, 16 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

Then, in the second game against the Houston Rockets, he scored 27 points, 17 rebounds, and 5 blocks, which was already a superstar-level performance.

This 7-foot-2 African center, a protégé of Patrick Ewing, has showcased his formidable defensive talent to the league.

Mutombo's performance remained consistent after that, averaging 3 blocks per game and frequently scoring over 20 or even 25 points.

Of course, this is related to Westhead's coaching style, under whose leadership players' scoring statistics tend to inflate.

Mutombo's confidence also swelled. In the game against the Seattle SuperSonics on November 29, Mutombo scored 18 points, 17 rebounds and 7 blocks, leading his team to victory over the SuperSonics.

His performance earned him the Rookie of the Month award, and in the following December, he continued his dominant performance with consistently high scores, rebounds, and blocks.

Rookie of the Year is beckoning him if he can maintain this form.

Now, during the Christmas Day game, Forrest Gump has stepped in his way, deciding to let this rookie hit a wall.

(End of this chapter)