The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 673 Historical Records
Gan Guoyang delivered another amazing performance against the Bulls, winning the fourteenth Gan-Joe showdown. The entire NBA was in awe, exclaiming: Who can stop Gan?

This season, everyone has high hopes for the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan, believing that Jordan is likely to lead the Bulls to avenge the Trail Blazers and overthrow Portland's dominance.

However, in the two regular season games, the Bulls seemed completely unable to find a way to deal with Forrest Gump.

Conversely, the Trail Blazers did a good job limiting Jordan. Reggie Lewis was an excellent one-on-one defender who could keep up with Jordan in terms of height, speed, explosiveness, and skill.

The Bulls couldn't find anyone like that, and Jerry Krause kept trying to trade Bill Cartwright for Sam Bowie or Pistons center Melvin Tpin.

The Kentucky duo have been dominated by Gan Guoyang since the NCAA, but they've developed a resistance to it. At least when defending Gan Guoyang one-on-one, they won't have a "Gan-phobia."

However, Cartwright, who is getting older, can't get a better role in return. If he were to be replaced, he would have to take Horace Grant with him, and Klaus is unwilling to move Grant.

Therefore, the Bulls can only maintain the status quo, since Cartwright is still very useful when facing other teams in the East.

Jerry Krause's other target is Celtics center Robert Parish, and like Pat Riley, he is also eyeing Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon.

However, these targets can only be pursued during the offseason. For now, the Bulls can only tap into their internal resources and try to find a way to deal with Forrest Gump and the Trail Blazers.

After the game between the Bulls and the Trail Blazers, the Bulls' locker room was deathly quiet, and everyone was unhappy.

Jerry Krause came in and spoke to Phil Jackson, reminding him, "We must find a way to deal with Forrest Gump!"

They paid a heavy price in the Finals, and it was thought that they should have shown the same tenacity and fighting spirit in the regular season, both tactically and mentally.

The reality is that their efforts to contain Forrest Gump were less effective than in the NBA Finals; the team simply couldn't find a way to suppress him.

"I'm already thinking of a solution, Jerry. We've allocated the best resources; all we need are five people to surround him, holding hands and encircling him!"

"Then let's try it next time: five people holding hands, making a circle to surround him!"

Phil Jackson knew Krause was just saying things out of anger. He put his hands on his hips and patiently said to Krause, "Jerry, haven't you noticed that Forrest is different from any other player in the past? You can't use the current strategies to deal with him. Look at his stats; he made three three-pointers tonight, a higher three-point percentage than Hodges. He and Sabonis are constantly combining plays at the high post and the top of the key to initiate offense. Our double-teaming strategy will come at a huge cost, we..."

"Stop, stop, stop! Phil, that's your problem, I'm not the coach, that's not my job. Tell me what kind of players you need, and I'll find a way to get them for you. That's all I can do. The rest is your job, understand?"

Phil Jackson knew that Krauss had a point, but he still felt helpless because Krauss simply couldn't understand his predicament.

He vaguely sensed that Gan Guoyang was stronger than in the 1991 finals; Gan was still evolving.

After the 1991 Finals, Phil Jackson spent a lot of time studying Gan Guoyang that summer.

He collected all of Gan Guoyang's important competition videos from his university days, watched them repeatedly, and studied them carefully.

After a summer of intensive study, Phil Jackson can confidently say that he is one of the coaches in the world who knows Forrest Gump best.

Often, your enemies know you better than your friends.

In order to better deal with Gan Guoyang, Jackson devised a very meticulous defensive system.

From Bill Cartwright in the paint, to Buck Williams and Grant at the four positions, Pippen at the three, Jordan at the two, and Paxson at the one, each position had to take on the task of defending and harassing Gan Guoyang.

The real strategy is to have five players defending one person, especially to strictly control Gan Guoyang's offensive initiation in the low post, use a variety of double-teaming patterns, and create various defensive traps to target Gan.

After the NBA entered the 90s, coaches across the United States studied defense more and more deeply and meticulously. Simple double-teaming and fake zone defense were no longer secret weapons.

From university to professional leagues, coaches have begun to weave more rigorous defensive networks, using multi-layered blocking, rapid rotations, and well-organized switching strategies, combined with an overall defensive strategy, making defense increasingly resemble a systematic art.

Phil Jackson and his coaching staff were undoubtedly among the best, racking their brains to deal with Forrest Gump.

When the training camp started in October, Jackson spent two weeks repeatedly practicing various routines, watching Finals videos with the players, analyzing Gan Guoyang's playing patterns, and making everyone thoroughly familiar with how to limit Gan Guoyang.

Before the start of the new season and their first matchup against the Trail Blazers, Jackson and the entire Bulls team were full of confidence.

They were confident in their revenge; they longed to kick Forrest Gump's ass; and they needed an outlet for their pent-up anger.

As a result, they were given a cold shower at the Memorial Stadium, where Gan Guoyang destroyed the Bulls with 51 points and 32 rebounds.

Jackson discovered the first problem: Forrest Gump's weight had increased to 270 pounds, making him more powerful in the low post, and he could even break through enemy defenses before they could double-team him.

Furthermore, the Trail Blazers have a wealth of experience in getting the ball to Forrest Gump in the low post. Players like Porter and Cahill have been partners with Forrest Gump for so many years and have developed a seamless working relationship, making it extremely difficult to limit their play.

However, the season had just begun then, and the players hadn't fully settled into their form yet.

In the following season, the Bulls performed better and better, and their defense instilled fear throughout the league.

Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan said, "When the Bulls start to take their defense to the next level, it becomes very difficult for opponents to score, players' confidence is destroyed, and they end up losing the game."

"They only need to seize about 5 minutes in each game to successfully defeat their opponents."

The only exception is the Portland Trail Blazers.

After losing to the Trail Blazers again at home, Phil Jackson discovered a second problem: Forrest Gump was using a style of play that was out of step with the times to defeat the Bulls.

As a center, it's not unusual to have the ball at the top of the key and even shoot three-pointers.

Players like Laimbeer, Moxki, and Luland can all hit three-pointers from the outside.

One or two three-pointers won't have a fundamental impact on the game's outcome.

The reason why these unconventional centers shoot three-pointers is more because they lack low-post offensive ability and can only find alternative ways to create some threat by shooting a few three-pointers.

But Forrest Gump was different. His attack range extended from the paint to the three-point line, and his efficiency was extremely high, capable of defeating opponents in all these areas.

In the finals, Gan Guoyang hit three consecutive three-pointers in the first half to defeat the Bulls. All three of Gan Guoyang's three-pointers in this game were made in the first half.

The reason there was no three-pointer in the second half was because the Bulls tightened their defense on Forrest Gump's three-pointers and expanded their defensive range.

Although Gan Guoyang didn't hit another three-pointer, the Bulls' defense became sparse, giving the Trail Blazers' other players plenty of opportunities to attack the basket.

In the second half, Gan Guoyang delivered 10 assists, while Reggie Lewis and Petrovic both scored 20 points.

This is something Phil Jackson was even less willing to see, because with Forrest Gump as a pivot point who could play both inside and outside, the entire Bulls' defense collapsed.

The Bulls' tight defensive system was forced into individual play, and under the Trail Blazers' efficient offense, they were suppressed throughout the game and lost. Jackson had to accept the harsh reality that the Chicago Bulls were still no match for the Portland Trail Blazers, and that there was a nemesis-like relationship between the two teams.

The existence of Forrest Gump was a huge problem for the Bulls, who lacked absolute talent in the paint, and it was an unsolvable problem.

Communication with Jerry Krause was ineffective; Krause was unable to immediately acquire Hakeem Olajuwon.

Acquiring Buck Williams was already a brilliant move, securing the Bulls' dominance in the Eastern Conference.

But the Bulls still couldn't find an answer when it came to dealing with Forrest Gump.

Moreover, this is only on the defensive end. The Bulls face an even bigger problem on the offensive end: how to break down the three-second zone guarded by Gan Guoyang.

Without a dominant low-post attack, Gan Guoyang's heavily guarded three-second zone was impenetrable, making the triangle offense inefficient and posing a problem for the Bulls.

The Bulls' ineffectiveness on offensive rebounds is a major headache; without offensive rebounds, the Bulls' driving offense is half as effective.

After a disappointing 14th game between Gan and Joe, the Bulls unleashed their anger on their old rivals, the Detroit Pistons, in the next game.

This season, the Pistons have no chance against the Bulls. Although their defense is still rough and their methods are still underhanded, they can no longer hurt the Bulls.

During the game, Dennis Rodman once again used dirty tricks on Scottie Pippen, pushing him off the court. This time, Jordan couldn't stand it and rushed over to entangle with Rodman.

If the referee hadn't intervened in time, the two sides would have almost come to blows. In the end, the referee gave each of them a technical foul, but did not eject them from the game.

Even during the most intense periods of competition between the two sides, Jordan never made such a move. Now that the Pistons have declined, Jordan is so excited.

This suggests that his excitement wasn't due to Rodman and the Pistons, but rather because he hadn't yet recovered from the disappointment of losing to the Trail Blazers in the previous game.

The Bulls easily defeated their old rivals, the Pistons, 101-87, achieving a five-game sweep of the Pistons this season and remaining undefeated.

But for the Bulls, the Pistons are a thing of the past. Beating the Pistons offers no psychological reward; it's just boring.

Dennis Rodman, in particular, was as annoying as a worm, and everyone on the Bulls hated him.

However, right after the game, in the locker room, Phil Jackson suddenly said to Jordan, "Michael, what do you think about bringing Rodman to the Bulls?"

Jordan was changing his clothes when he heard Jackson say that. He ripped his clothes off and said, "What are you talking about? Are you kidding me, Phil?"

Jackson said, "I'm not joking, but I have this idea: bring Rodman to the Bulls and use him to deal with Forrest Gump."

Jordan laughed and shook his head, saying, "Phil, have you been scared by Forrest Gump? Besides, could Rodman handle Forrest Gump? He almost got killed by Forrest Gump."

"Rodman couldn't stop Forrest Gump, but with Rodman on the team, we can do better."

"I hate that guy, don't mention him again. We can beat Forrest Gump without Rodman, we can!"

Jordan felt it was a disgrace to pin his hopes of defeating Forrest Gump on someone like Rodman.

Furthermore, the Pistons lost to the Trail Blazers twice in the Finals. Although Rodman dared to go up against Forrest Gump, he was completely outmatched by him each time.

But after calming down, Jordan thought that maybe Rodman really could do it, at least Rodman didn't have a phobia of gan.

Furthermore, Rodman was the only player in the league who could rival Forrest Gump on rebounds.

The battle between the two for the rebounding title in the regular season has intensified, comparable to the scoring title rivalry between Jordan and Gan Guoyang back in the day.

In the first half of the season, Rodman's rebounding performance was already quite impressive, but he was still slightly behind Gan Guoyang.

In the second half of the season, Rodman's rebounding numbers began to climb even higher.

On January 23, Dennis Rodman grabbed 27 rebounds in the Pistons' game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

This included 9 offensive rebounds and 18 defensive rebounds.

On January 28, in the Pistons' game against the Charlotte Hornets, Dennis Rodman broke his own single-game rebounding record, grabbing 32 rebounds.

Of the 32 rebounds, 12 were offensive rebounds and 20 were defensive rebounds.

Starting with this game, Rodman recorded over 20 rebounds in six consecutive games.

Against the Cavaliers, 22; against the Heat, 25; against the Hawks, 20; against the Bucks, 21; against the Cavaliers, 26.

Following the All-Star Game, Rodman had another breakout performance.

Against Philadelphia, 26 rebounds; against the Magic, 27 rebounds; against the Nets, 25 rebounds; against the Magic, 23 rebounds.

A series of 20-rebound performances in a single game allowed Rodman's average rebounds to keep increasing, quickly reaching 18 per game.

On March 4, 1992, in a home game against the Indiana Pacers, Rodman grabbed a franchise record of 34 rebounds.

The previous Pistons franchise record for rebounds was held by Bob Lanier, who recorded a massive double-double of 23 points and 33 rebounds in a game against the SuperSonics in 1972. This record was set exactly 20 years ago.

Rodman was thrilled to break his predecessor's record, and he shed tears in the post-match interview.

This season, the Detroit Pistons have lost their former glory, but Rodman has truly ushered in the peak of his career.

He went from an unknown airport security guard to entering the league at the age of 25, and gradually became the league's best defensive player and a legendary rebounder.

The road ahead was full of thorns, just like when he climbed down into the sewer to attend the exhibition. Now he finally poked his head out of the manhole cover.

However, after the interview, Rodman asked the reporter, "Hey, I should be number one in the league in rebounds now, right?"

According to Rodman's calculations, his average rebounds in this game will surpass Gan Guoyang's, climbing to the top of the league.

The reporter shook his head and said, "No, just now, Agan grabbed 43 rebounds in the game against the Magic, breaking the Trail Blazers' record."

"His previous record with the Trail Blazers is also his, 41," the reporter added.

Rodman rolled his eyes at the reporter, saying, "You don't have to add anything!"

(End of this chapter)