The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 736 Let's Dance
On April 25, 1993, the Trail Blazers played their last regular season game in Seattle.

Since the outcome of the game no longer affected the final rankings, the Trail Blazers did not field their full starting lineup and opted to use their reserves instead.

Players like Sabonis and Petrovic, who were injured, were not included in the roster and remained in Portland to rest and prepare for the playoffs.

As a well-known model worker and a top performer in Portland's business, Gan Guoyang would naturally not miss the final battle.

However, in order to allow Gan Guoyang to get sufficient rest, Berman only let Gan Guoyang play for three quarters before taking him off the court.

SuperSonics head coach George Karl did not remove his key players, but instead kept Payton, Kemp, Rice, and others on the field to try to widen the score gap as much as possible.

Regardless of the outcome of this game, the Trail Blazers will secure the second seed in the Western Conference, second only to the Phoenix Suns.

The SuperSonics are currently third in the Western Conference, and they will most likely face the Trail Blazers in the second round, just like last season.

George Karl hopes to gain some psychological advantage in the final game of the regular season to prepare for the semifinals.

Ultimately, the SuperSonics defeated the Trail Blazers 118-102 at home, a 16-point advantage, bringing their record to 56 wins and 26 losses.

At the end of the match, Gan Guoyang and Payton hugged. "See you in the semifinals. Don't get eliminated in the first round."

“Impossible! We’ll never be eliminated in the first round!” Payton said confidently.

As Gan Guoyang passed George Karl, he said, "George, do you think that by racking up points like crazy in this game, you'll have some psychological advantage when you meet us in the playoffs? How can you be so naive, George? Aren't you afraid that Payton or Kemp will get injured?"

Karl's little scheme was exposed by Gan Guoyang, and he was a little embarrassed. He denied it, saying, "I...I just wanted the audience to watch an exciting game! It has nothing to do with the playoffs."

"You're wasting your time, George. It won't do any good. You might as well go to San Francisco and pray to Mazu; that might have some effect."

Carl was once again rebuffed by Gan Guoyang, and he thought that he should really look into what Gan Guoyang was talking about, Mazu.

Find some time to go and pray; you never know, it might actually work.
After losing the final game, the Trail Blazers had a record of 58 wins and 24 losses, which was the second worst regular season record of Gan Guoyang's career.

The defending champions were plagued by various problems throughout the regular season, losing many games they wouldn't have lost in the past.

However, the new trio's ability to provide a safety net still puts the Trail Blazers in a very good position to contend for the championship.

For them, home-court advantage is no longer so important, and more away games are even more beneficial for the Trail Blazers.

Because they are playing away from home, the players are more focused, more united, and more aggressive.

When the entire stadium and even the entire city are enemies, your teammates are the only people you can rely on.

Of course, you could also say this is a form of self-consolation after failing to secure home-field advantage.

The Phoenix Suns finished the season with a 62-20 record, achieving their first 60-win season in franchise history.

Charles Barkley has reached his peak. He played with composure, versatility, and brilliance, and he deserves an MVP award.

However, in the East, Hakeem Olajuwon also had a stellar 1993 season, with the Miami Heat going 61-21 and surpassing the Bulls to take the top spot in the East.

With Drexler missing a third of the regular season, Olajuwon had the best season of his career, averaging a career-high 26.8 points, 13 rebounds, and an astonishing 4.5 blocks per game.

The competition between the two for the regular season MVP is destined to be very fierce.

In fact, if we only consider the statistics, Gan Guoyang and Jordan are more outstanding.

Jordan won the scoring title once again, while Gan Guoyang once again outperformed Rodman in the battle for the rebounding title.

He averaged 18.4 rebounds per game, 0.1 more than Dennis Rodman.

Meanwhile, Rodman only played 60 games this season due to injuries.

His total number of rebounds is nowhere near that of Gan Guoyang.

In some ways, Gan Guoyang should thank Rodman.

If it weren't for Rodman's relentless pressure on the boards, Gan Guoyang's games in March and April would have been very boring.

With Rodman as a competitor, Gan Guoyang can set a basic goal of 20 rebounds per game.

Getting 20 rebounds is relatively easy for him; he just needs to grab five per quarter.

Four defensive rebounds, one offensive rebound, and sometimes I can even grab an offensive rebound under the basket.

He firmly suppressed Rodman's desire to win the rebounding title until the very last game.

This is Jordan's sixth scoring title. In nine seasons, except for his rookie season and the seasons he missed due to injury in 1986 and 1987, Jordan was the league's best scorer.

Gan Guoyang's rebounding record is even more impressive. He has won the rebounding title for nine consecutive seasons in his career, leaving no opponent with any chance to surpass him on the boards.

But precisely because the two players have dominated the statistics for so long and so intensely, fans and judges have become tired of it.

Another scoring champion, another rebounding champion, isn't that something new?
For example, what if Jordan became the three-point king?
Sorry, the Three-Point King title belongs to Forrest Gump.

In short, their outstanding performance failed to generate much media buzz.

The league needs a new leader, or even a new champion.

Before the playoffs began, Sports Illustrated released its championship predictions:

The Miami Heat are ranked first.

The Phoenix Suns are second.

The Chicago Bulls are third.

The six-time champion Trail Blazers have fallen to fourth place.

People not only don't believe in the Trail Blazers' current form, but they also don't want the Trail Blazers to continue winning championships.

The Trail Blazers' first-round opponent is the Los Angeles Lakers, who are seventh in the Western Conference.

This is Gan Guoyang's seventh time facing the Lakers in the playoffs, and the Lakers can be considered the biggest obstacle to winning the championship.

He lost both series to the Los Angeles Lakers.

However, the Lakers this season no longer have the ability to stop the Trail Blazers.

Before the series began, the Los Angeles Times launched a discussion:
"When will the Portland Trail Blazers and Forrest Gump say goodbye to the championship?"

Los Angeles fans sent many letters and messages, reminiscing about their impressions of the Trail Blazers.

From the 1985 Western Conference Finals to Forrest Gump's consecutive three-pointers that wiped out the Lakers, and then to his unstoppable mid-range shot in 1988.

Forrest Gump left behind too many classic games in Los Angeles, but also brought too much pain to Lakers fans.

Los Angeles media know that even if Forrest Gump and the Trail Blazers don't win the championship this year, they won't fall in Los Angeles.

The purpose of starting this topic is to hurt the Trail Blazers both psychologically and in terms of public opinion; that's the only thing they can do.

This season marks another year since the Lakers lost Magic Johnson. They've played reasonably well, but there's no hope for a revival.

After Don Nelson left, the Lakers tried to recruit Adelman, but after his bad experience with the Warriors, Adelman was unwilling to move easily.

The Lakers' head coach has been replaced by the relatively unknown Randy Finder, who was previously an assistant coach alongside Pat Riley and Don Nelson.

He was undoubtedly a transitional figure, becoming a temporary replacement due to his familiarity with the Lakers' roster, and he did a good job.

However, the Lakers cannot return to their former glory by relying solely on James Worthy; Worthy is not suitable to be the team's leader.

The once-glorious Showtime team can only rely on team basketball to barely survive.

The first two games in Portland were not very suspenseful, with the Trail Blazers winning relatively easily.

However, in the second game, the two sides went into overtime, and Gan Guoyang finally won thanks to his continuous scoring and defense.

In the past, the Trail Blazers have always had a very easy time in the first round, almost always sweeping the competition.

They often get into top form before the playoffs begin.

Once the playoffs begin, we'll immediately switch to playoff mode.

They then swept through the competition, giving their opponents no chance to advance to the finals.

Especially during their second three-peat, they only lost four games in the Western Conference series over those three seasons.

They were undefeated in 90, lost one game to the Suns in the Western Conference Finals in 91, lost one game to the SuperSonics in 92, and lost two games to the Jazz.

But this year the situation has changed, and the Trail Blazers were not in their best form before the playoffs began.

The fatigue from the regular season carried over into the playoffs, forcing them to make adjustments once the playoffs began.

In the third game in Los Angeles, the Trail Blazers, playing away, collectively faltered, while the Lakers improved as the game progressed. Even Gan Guoyang, who is usually extremely consistent, failed to deliver a standout performance on his usual turf, the Western Conference.

With 8 of 21 shots made, Gan Guoyang only scored 21 points in this game, which is his lowest playoff score in recent seasons.

The Trail Blazers lost their third game in Los Angeles, 104-110, and the Lakers saw hope of overturning the Trail Blazers.

After the game, the Trail Blazers players were in a bad mood when they returned to the locker room, and Gan Guoyang didn't say a word.

In fact, since arriving in Los Angeles, he has been troubled by one thing: Ron Culp, the trainer who has worked for the Trail Blazers for nearly 20 years, is about to resign.

On the physiotherapy bed in the away locker room, Kalp continued to diligently help Gan Guoyang relax his thigh muscles and remove the bandages from his feet.

Gan Guoyang stood with a cold face, arms crossed, and remained silent. He looked at Karp, seemingly waiting for an explanation.

Gan Guoyang learned of this news on the plane to Los Angeles, and he was quite shocked.

Culp has been playing for the Trail Blazers since 1974, a total of 19 years.

Now that the playoffs have started, why is he resigning?
For the Trail Blazers players, Culp was more than just a trainer and physical therapist.

He is also a good friend, and he takes care of all the matters in training, and can meet the players' various needs anytime, anywhere.

For example, if Gan Guoyang needs to practice three-pointers, relax his muscles, wrap a bandage, or find a training foam stick, he can do it immediately as long as he tells Karp.

Their cooperation has become extremely smooth, and a large part of Gan Guoyang's hard-won training success is due to Karp's efforts.

After Kalp finished relaxing Gan Guoyang's leg muscles, he looked up and met Gan Guoyang's cold gaze.

Culp sighed helplessly and said, "Don't say that, Sonny. I... I wasn't planning to say this. I was going to serve the team until the end of the playoffs, and then resign and leave. But I don't know who leaked the news."

Gan Guoyang said, "I know who it is. You're going to Miami, to Pat Riley's place. It must have been that guy Riley who leaked it! He did the same thing in 1988! He released news during the playoffs that the Trail Blazers were going to be sold to disrupt morale! That bastard! I'll definitely find a chance to smash his shiny dog ​​head next time!"

Like most players who left the Trail Blazers, Culp's destination was still Miami.

Back in 1988, when the Heat were founded and Riley began poaching players from the Trail Blazers, Culp was his target.

However, Culp stayed in Portland at that time, wanting to continue winning championships with Forrest Gump.

With his championship aspirations fulfilled and his age increasing, the Heat offered Culp a deal he couldn't refuse.

Riley invited Culp to join the Heat as an athletic coach and to become part of the management team.

This is a higher position, a higher salary, and greater room for development than he had with the Trail Blazers.

Hearing Gan Guoyang's anger, Calp laughed and said, "Don't be like that, Sonny. If you hurt Riley, no one will pay my salary. In terms of changing jobs, the Trail Blazers will find a better and younger trainer."

Gan Guoyang still tried to persuade him to stay, saying, "There's no one more suitable than you. You should tell me, and then we can go and talk to Old Tang together."

Culp shook his head and said, "No, no, no, I'm very happy with the Trail Blazers. My experience here is something I'll cherish for a lifetime. But, Sonny, you know, all good things must come to an end. My resignation was definitely based on many considerations: family, salary, and work environment, etc... I love Portland, and I thought I'd come back after I retired. But now, I want to achieve something elsewhere. You understand me, don't you?"

Gan Guoyang had nothing to say. Karp was right; everyone has their own ambitions, and you can't force them.

Culp gave a lot to the Trail Blazers, and he had a complicated friendship with Walton.

They had a falling out, but reconciled in the 1986 Grand Finals.

However, many of Culp's views on work and life underwent fundamental changes during the painful period of 1977.

He was willing to stay with the Trail Blazers for another six years, which shows his loyalty to the team. He will soon be starting a new chapter in his career.

Despite his understanding, Gan Guoyang was still filled with anger, especially towards Riley.

How many players has this guy poached from Portland over the years?

Why don't you just poach the entire Trail Blazers team and move them to the South Coast to start the Miami Trail Blazers!
Seeing Gan Guoyang's angry expression, Kalp comforted him, "Sonny, you know that Riley really wants you. It's just that he can't have you, so he keeps poaching the people around you."

"I wouldn't go to Miami even if he gave me a hundred million. Let him go!"

The Trail Blazers' loss to the Lakers in Game 3 marked the first time since the 1989 season that they failed to sweep their opponent in the first round of the playoffs.

The Los Angeles media had a day of noise, starting to speculate wildly about the possibility of the Lakers eliminating the Trail Blazers in the first round.

Gan Guoyang tried his best to ignore these negative voices. That evening, the team held an internal meeting, and everyone expressed their determination to eliminate distractions and get into form as soon as possible.

The next day, while resting at the hotel, Gan Guoyang received a phone call from Michael Jackson. During the call, Jackson told Gan Guoyang:

"Sonny! Are you free? A friend of mine wants to see you! I know you're not in a good mood after the loss, so how about I bring him to see you?"

"Alright, whatever you want. Come if you want, but remember to keep a low profile and don't attract a bunch of reporters again!"

"I know, I know, you'll wait for me for two hours!"

Two hours later, Michael Jackson appeared at the Sheraton Hotel dressed in a cool and shiny military uniform.

A large group of reporters followed behind, and they went even crazier when they saw Forrest Gump, who was wearing slippers, coming down to greet Jackson.

Gan Guoyang grabbed Jackson and pulled him into the elevator, angrily saying, "Didn't I tell you to keep a low profile? Why are there so many people here again?"

“I’ve already been very discreet. If I had informed them in advance, there would have been even more people, and I wouldn’t have been able to get into the hotel at all.”

Gan Guoyang had no choice but to go upstairs with Quentin and another bodyguard escorting him through the elevator doors.

At this moment, Gan Guoyang noticed a black man who was following Jackson and dressed in ordinary clothes. He must be the friend Jackson had mentioned.

Gan Guoyang looked at his face and felt it looked familiar. He sized him up and asked, "Have we met somewhere before?"

Jackson said, "Harvey, he's Steve Harvey, a comedy talk show actor. You should have seen his shows."

“He likes you a lot and has been saying he wants to meet you if he has the chance. He came to visit me, and I said I could take him to your place to play Sunny. I hope you don’t mind.”

"Oh no, of course I don't mind. But I don't watch TV much, I didn't see him on TV, I think it was..."

Steve Harvey took off his hat and said respectfully to Gan Guoyang, "In 1985, I was doing stand-up comedy in a bar in Washington, and there were only three guests, one of whom was you. You watched the whole thing and bought all the tickets. I will always remember that and thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Gan Guoyang then remembered that there seemed to be such a thing.

However, that was a long time ago, back in 1985 when he was still a rookie.

I went to Washington to play a game and hung out with Barkley and Mahone.

I met a mediocre stand-up comedian at a bar.

Out of compassion, I bought all the tickets and listened to the whole thing from beginning to end.

Unexpectedly, years later, he has achieved great success and become a well-known comedian in the United States.

And he met Michael Jackson, who apparently enjoyed listening to stand-up comedy.

However, when they returned to the room to chat, Gan Guoyang appeared somewhat indifferent and only spoke in generalities.

He skillfully avoided discussing more private and in-depth topics.

Harvey seemed to sense something and quickly took his leave, saying he had other things to do.

Leaving Jackson and Gan Guoyang behind, Jackson said, "Sonny, are you unhappy because you lost the game?"

Gan Guoyang said, "No, no. What makes me unhappy is that a long-time employee who has served the team for 20 years is about to resign and go to work for the opposing team."

"No wonder you look a little sad. You're colder than usual. Or do you not like Harvey? He's a very nice guy. He admires you and is very grateful to you."

Gan Guoyang poured Jackson a cup of tea and said, “Michael, you’re just too trusting of the people around you. If someone shows you a little kindness, you assume they’ll always be good to you and loyal, and then you treat them well without expecting anything in return. Do you think that’s possible? Even someone who’s worked for you for 20 years, served you for 10, can suddenly leave you. You never know what the people around you might do. You need to be vigilant and keep your eyes open! Steve hasn’t known you for long; he’s relatively insignificant. How can you know if he won’t betray your information for greater gain? His gratitude towards me is one thing, and whether he’ll betray you is another. Also, where do you think all that negative news about you came from? I bet a large portion of it was leaked by people around you to sell!”

Jackson took a sip of tea, smiled, patted Gan Guoyang on the shoulder, and said, "Sonny, are you under a lot of pressure? It's okay to get angry. Were you often bullied when you were a child, which is why you don't easily trust others? It's okay, it's okay."

Gan Guoyang felt like he was punching cotton, both angry and helpless. This guy Michael still had time to worry about my childhood experiences.

Gan Guoyang didn't want to argue with him any longer, so he changed the subject and said, "I recently investigated the family situations and backgrounds of all the kids around you. That Evan Chandler is a jerk. He's abusive, divorced from the children's mother, and a gambling addict. Stay away from him."

"Evan's a gambling addict? Oh, I doubt it. He's actually a pretty good guy, a dentist, just... a bit short-tempered and greedy. He's good to his son though..."

"Stop, stop! Don't worry about Michael. He's a gambling addict, and he still is, no matter what. He won't ask you for money anymore. Focus on your music. And stop fucking arguing with me!"

Gan Guoyang, this control freak, sometimes really has no choice but to deal with someone like Michael Jackson, who has a soft belly.

"Sunny, you're under so much pressure~ How about we dance?"

"..."

(End of this chapter)