The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 798 The Most Important Match of My Life

As April arrives, the NBA schedule feels like it's accelerating.

Everyone was anxious—the team, the players, the fans—everyone was eagerly anticipating the start of the playoffs.

After a long period of adjustment and competition during the regular season, the situation in the East and West has gradually become clear.

Some teams will face the tough test of the playoffs, while others are destined to continue their decline and wait for next year's cycle.

In late March and early April, the Trail Blazers, driven by the super engine of Agan, finally showed their strength as a team.

Gan Guoyang won the league's best player award for March, and the Trail Blazers achieved an eight-game winning streak, consolidating their second position in the Western Conference.

The league is once again feeling the pressure from Forrest Gump, and the Jazz are fighting hard, not wanting the Trail Blazers to overtake them for the top spot in the West.

Teams ranked behind the Trail Blazers conserved their energy and strength, while the SuperSonics and Rockets, ranked third and fourth respectively, began to yield to each other.

Nobody wants to finish third, and nobody wants to face the Trail Blazers in the semifinals so early. Winning or losing is one thing, but being humiliated by Forrest Gump in a series is not a pleasant thing.

In the East, Chicago was preparing for a possible Finals matchup against Forrest Gump, and the Bulls essentially gave up on winning in the last two weeks of the regular season.

The Miami Heat welcomed back Charles Barkley from injury. No matter how many conflicts exist within the team, they will ultimately use victory and championship to cleanse everything in the playoffs.

On the contrary, the overall atmosphere within the Trail Blazers team is not much different from other times of the season.

Are you nervous? Not really. Everyone is training and competing as usual, eating, drinking, and having fun.

Are they slacking off? Definitely not. Riddle hasn't been late for training anymore, and he's gotten used to getting up at 7:30 to train.

Overall, things are going smoothly. Everyone is getting along better and better both on and off the court. Even Kobe, the young man who wasn't popular with everyone, is getting along better and better with the others.

Gan Guoyang could sense that something was missing, something was missing, and it was not quite the same as in 1986, 1987, 1991, and 1992.

Perhaps the team is not strong enough? Or perhaps the players lack experience?
Gan Guoyang had already pushed his engine to its maximum, but he still felt that this Pioneer was not even a Foxbat, but a MiG-15.

"Even a MiG-21 would be fine," Gan Guoyang sometimes thought.

As the playoffs approach, the Trail Blazers' problems become increasingly apparent and potentially fatal.

The Trail Blazers' persistent problems include perimeter defense and turnovers throughout the season.

The Trail Blazers averaged 17.6 turnovers per game this season, second only to the New York Knicks in the league.

The Knicks make a lot of mistakes because their high-intensity style of play results in a high number of turnovers on both sides, and their ability to force turnovers is also among the best in the league.

The Trail Blazers, however, are different. Despite committing so many turnovers, their ability to force turnovers and their number of steals are among the worst in the league, indicating that their perimeter defense lacks pressure.

Gan Guoyang shouldered a lot of pressure in the paint, and his average blocks per game reached a career high of 4.3, which is a terrifying number.

At the beginning of the season, Gan Guoyang only wanted to win the assist title, but he didn't expect that in the second half of the season he would likely have to win the scoring title, rebounding title, block title and assist title.

There was no other way. After the All-Star break, when teams went into high-intensity play, Bird made his team's defensive strategy clear: let the opponent drive to the basket and challenge Forrest Gump.

Van Exel, Riddell, and AC Green all give perimeter shooters a wide berth, preventing them from shooting and letting them into the paint to feed the fish.

Just like Dikembe Mutombo in the 1995-1996 season, when he was with the Nuggets, the team's perimeter defense was terrible, so they kept allowing perimeter drivers to drive inside.

Mutombo can slap a kid in the face, averaging 4.5 blocks per game this season. Even so, the Nuggets' defense is still in the lower half of the league.

This season, without Mutombo, the Nuggets' defense has gone from mid-to-lower tier to bottom tier, allowing an average of 4 more points per game, and their paint has been completely destroyed.

While Mutombo's average blocks dropped to 3 per game after joining the Hawks, the Hawks have better perimeter defenders and Wilkens' system, so the Hawks' defense is among the best in the league. This season, they have held their opponents to an average of 89 points, less than 90 points per game.

With the Trail Blazers, Gan Guoyang bears immense pressure in protecting the paint, which is why his blocks have reached a new all-time high, especially after the All-Star Game, when he almost reached double digits in several games.

His unpredictable defensive positioning, his ghost-like defense where his eyes are never on the ball or the player, and his blocking technique of only dotting the ball instead of making a volleyball-style block, made every skilled perimeter attacker in the league tremble with fear.

Gan Guoyang's playing time has also steadily increased, from about 38 minutes at the beginning of the season to 40 minutes by the end of the season. 42 or 43 minutes is common, 45 or 46 minutes is a piece of cake, and playing the full 48 minutes is not impossible.

Having rested for two seasons, Gan Guoyang has ample physical reserves, but even more so his competitive spirit and anxious mindset.

On the first day of April, the Trail Blazers visited the Detroit Pistons, with the Pistons' star player facing off against Grant Hill, one of the league's hottest players.

After the Pistons ended their "Bad Boys" era, with players like Laimbeer and Thomas retiring or leaving, the team entered a new phase.

The Pistons have returned to the playoffs this season. The team is built around Hill and Dumars, supported by Lindsey Hunter, and boasts defensive stalwarts in the paint such as Charles Oakley and Ratliff, making them a formidable force.

Before the game, Detroit fans were hoping that Hill could dunk over Gan Guoyang to avenge their past grudge.

It's worth noting that in the history of the league, only Michael Jordan has a clear record of dunking over Gan Guoyang.

Others either get blocked by Gan Guoyang, miss their dunks, or Gan Guoyang fouls to stop them.

Trying to dunk over Gan Guoyang is harder than climbing Mount Mutombo in Africa. This guy isn't tall, but his reactions are too fast, and he's too strong.

This makes it impossible for attackers to overpower Forrest Gump in the air. If they can't overpower him in strength, they can't dunk on him. At most, they can draw a foul or make a layup or floater.

Charles Barkley has consistently claimed that he dunked on Forrest Gump in a game shortly after he entered the league, but he has been unable to produce video evidence.

Now, the only way for the league's offensive players to dunk on Gan Guoyang is through speed, using lightning-fast drives to catch him off guard.

But Gan Guoyang is very smart. If you are really fast enough that he can't defend you in time, he will simply let you go and not defend you.

But once you're marked closely, or in a head-to-head confrontation like a Cavaliers showdown, no one but Jordan can defeat him with a dunk.

Hill, hailed as Jordan's successor, entered the league and used his unparalleled first step to break through and dunk over many top centers.

During the game, Hill quickly realized that Forrest Gump was completely different from other big men. He was not only fast, explosive, and quick-witted, but most importantly, his anticipation was incredibly accurate.

Each time, they could position themselves in advance and precisely block Hill's driving path. If Hill wanted to score under the basket, he had to go around and find a way, choosing to make a reverse layup, a floater, or a pull-up jumper.

If you're determined to rush in and blindly try to block, the result will be a loss.

Hill was certainly aware of the history between Forrest Gump and the Pistons.

Forrest Gump fought his way through the NBA, with roughly six of those fights involving the Detroit Pistons. Thomas was nearly killed, Rodman was thrown onto the scorer's table, and Dumars, Terpin, and Aguirre all got punched, even the coaches were assaulted.

Bill Laimbeer had the worst experience, getting tackled and thrown the first time he faced Forrest Gump.

Every time a conflict broke out with the Trail Blazers afterward, even though Laimbeer hadn't done anything, Forrest Gump would chase him down and beat him up again, thinking, "Since we've already started fighting, might as well include Laimbeer too."

Lambiel came to watch the fight. While greeting Forrest Gump and asking him to take care of his packaging business, he reminded Hill to "think of a way to put one on Forrest Gump's head."

For the Detroiters, winning or losing is no longer important; what matters is being able to dunk on Forrest Gump and humiliate him to get revenge.

With this expectation and pressure, Hill attacked the paint time and time again in this game, using his speed and explosiveness to challenge the greatest rim protector in history.

As expected, Hill's breakthrough routes were too monotonous, and his offensive methods and finishing moves lacked variety. He mainly relied on his physical attributes and three basic moves, which Gan Guoyang figured out completely.

Hill was blocked three times in the first quarter, leaving him dizzy and disoriented, completely losing his offensive rhythm.

Later, Gan Guoyang realized that Hill was trying to dunk on him, so he ignored everyone else and focused on Hill.

Hill received two more blocks in the second quarter and two more in the third quarter. By the fourth quarter, Hill had completely given up. He even hesitated when he had a chance to dunk, and finally finished with a shot.

The rest of the Pistons played very well in this game, and they defeated the Trail Blazers 101-98 at home, ending the Trail Blazers' winning streak.

However, Hill didn't dunk over Forrest Gump as Pistons fans had hoped for, and instead had a big meal of hot pot.

Gan Guoyang had 10 blocks in the game, 7 of which were against Hill. Hill's persistence was evident; he really wanted to dunk on one, but just couldn't.

The only way to deal with Forrest Gump is to go around him and take a roundabout approach. Characters like Stockton and Hornacek are actually more annoying to Gan Guoyang.

In a head-to-head contest, only Jordan has a chance of winning.
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After playing the Pistons, the regular season enters its final two weeks, and the Trail Blazers' last road trip in the Eastern Conference is headed to Boston.

This was supposed to be a one-sided game, because the Celtics are the worst team this season, and they've gone to any lengths to acquire Duncan.

The team has completely entered a tanking phase; winning is a sin for them. The greatest powerhouse in the NBA has had to bow down to the lottery rules set by Stern.

What's worse is that even if you play the worst possible pick, you might not get the number one draft pick, and in the end, you'll likely still have to rely on the league's decision.

Despite this matchup, head coach Larry Bird was incredibly nervous on the plane from Detroit to Boston.

This match was of great significance to him, but he didn't show it on the surface and acted as usual.

The night before the game, he met up with his friends in his hotel room, and they drank together and reminisced about their time playing in Boston.

Bird declined several invitations to parties, and he also refused to meet with anyone from the Celtics' management, including ML Karl and Auerbach. He also turned down interview requests from NBCA, wanting only to focus on preparing for the games.

Before the game started the next day, Bird saw Reid Auerbach on the sidelines. He was wearing sunglasses and sitting in his usual spot. The two exchanged a brief greeting without saying much.

Bird was angry. He had given his all to the Celtics. He once thought he was Auerbach's child, but in the end he found out he wasn't. He was just an adopted son, not a Celtic with Celtic blood flowing through his veins, a Celtic who was raised from scratch.

The fact that tonight's game is being played at Fleet Center, rather than Boston Garden, has only made Bird more indifferent.

Bird had never played at the Fleet Center before and had no feelings about it. He was secretly glad that he would have felt terrible if he had played at the Boston Garden, because he had so many wonderful memories there.

Once the match began, the two sides unexpectedly fought a very close battle.

Despite the Celtics' apparent intention to tank, they surprisingly dominated the Trail Blazers from the start, thanks to their accurate outside shooting.

During the first quarter break, Bird told his teammates, "Let's just lose this game; that would make them feel worse than if we beat them."

That being said, in the second quarter, the Trail Blazers gradually gained the upper hand.

In the second half, at the start of the third quarter, the Trail Blazers finally found their rhythm.

Gan Guoyang continued his destructive campaign in the low post, helping the team extend their lead.

But the Celtics seemed to be on some kind of magic tonight, their outside shooting percentage was incredibly high.

This is precisely the Trail Blazers' biggest problem on the defensive end: they can't control opponents' long-range shots, and once they get going, they're very difficult to defend.

David Wesley, Antoine Walker, and Rick Fox repeatedly hit three-pointers from beyond the arc.

Before the end of the third quarter, the Celtics took the lead thanks to Antoine Walker's free throws.

Bird, unusually furious on the sidelines, berated the players for their shoddy defense, even criticizing the consistently strong-performing Gan Guoyang.

"You're a dog!" he yelled at Gan Guoyang, implying that Gan Guoyang was responsible for the dog poop.

Gan Guoyang wasn't angry; instead, he continued to focus on the game, leading his team to gradually reverse and stabilize the situation through defense.

The game reached its most crucial moment. With ten seconds left, Gan Guoyang received a pass from Riedel, turned around, and scored with a difficult left-handed hook shot.

The Trail Blazers made it 102-101, completing a difficult game-winning shot!

With the Celtics missing their final shot, the Trail Blazers secured a hard-fought victory on the road.

Bird let out a long sigh of relief, feeling a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. He desperately wanted to win, desperately wanted to win in Boston.

To his surprise, when the game ended, the entire fleet center's fans stood up and applauded.

No one left early, including Auerbach, who stood up. The large screen above the stadium began playing short videos about Bird, showcasing highlights from his career.

At that moment, Bird was moved to tears. With red eyes, he waved to the fans in the stadium. Auerbach came down from the stands, and the two embraced tightly.

Back in the locker room, Bird was still deeply troubled. He sat on a bench, staring blankly at the light.

Gan Guoyang, shirtless, came over and asked, "Coach, do you want to thank me? My game-winning shot helped you win the match!"

Bird smiled and said, "I really have to thank you, Forrest. I want to say that this is the most important game of my life. I'm not exaggerating, it's the most important."

Gan Guoyang exclaimed in surprise, "What? Is it that important? I should have known better than to use my left hand for the hook shot; I should have used my more reliable right hand. I was thinking that if I lost, I might as well try my left hand, but luckily the ball went in."

Bird grabbed a towel from the side and threw it on Gan Guoyang's head. Gan Guoyang, with the towel on his head, happily went inside to take a shower.

(End of this chapter)