The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 819 Sincerely
In December 1997, two things in the arts and sports world were of great concern to people:
First, the movie "Titanic" had a poor opening week at the box office, but then it broke with convention and its box office performance improved week by week thanks to word of mouth, gradually creating a movie-going craze across the United States.

This film has a high chance of breaking box office records and creating a box office miracle.

The film will soon be released in China, uncut.

The few nude and passionate scenes in the film will leave a deep impression on many teenagers who go to the cinema with their families.

Second, the Portland Trail Blazers went on a winning streak from the start of the season in November 1997 until Christmas, achieving an astonishing 27-game winning streak, just 6 games away from the Lakers' record of 33 consecutive wins.

If they can defeat the Chicago Bulls in the Christmas Day game on December 25, a 33-game winning streak will be within their grasp.

Because apart from the Chicago Bulls, the league sees no one else who can stop the Trail Blazers and Forrest Gump.

However, on Christmas Day, December 25th, the Chicago Bulls, playing at home, were not in particularly good form.

They are going through a tough season.

After winning two consecutive championships in 1997, the Bulls aimed for a three-peat to establish their dynasty, but internal conflicts began to emerge in the summer.

First, Jerry Krause made it clear that he would only renew Phil Jackson's contract for one year, and the 1997-1998 season would be Jackson's last season with the Bulls.

Krause is eager to prove that the Bulls' success is mainly due to the management's actions, rather than the efforts of the coaches and players.

In an interview, Krause bluntly stated: "The championship is mainly due to the management's actions. Without my draft and signings, the Bulls would not have been able to assemble such a strong roster."

Krause's remarks greatly exacerbated the conflict between the coach, players, and management.

At this point, the boss, Reinsdorf, once again disappeared into the shadows, playing the good guy behind the scenes, but in reality, he was secretly stirring up trouble and escalating the conflict.

The most obvious example is their refusal to offer Scottie Pippen a big contract.

Since signing that cheap long-term contract in 1991, Pippen has truly been treated like a slave by the Bulls for the past few years.

Earning only a third of the salary of other stars of the same caliber, yet doing the most work on the court, handling both offense and defense, and organizing the offense.

From the start of the 1991 season to 1997, over seven seasons, Pippen only missed 17 games, making him an ironman.

Pippen's contract with the Mavericks was finally expiring in the 1997-1998 season. He was only 30 years old and in his prime.

Pippen made so many contributions to the Bulls, winning three championships, but only received so little money. Of course, he wanted a big contract with an annual salary of tens of millions.

However, Krause remained silent on the topic of contract renewal. When Pippen urged him to renew, Krause's response was, "Let's talk about it when the contract expires."

In September, Krause messaged Pippen again, asking him to participate in a commercial game.

The Bulls threatened to fine Pippen if he didn't play, a move that thoroughly enraged him.

Therefore, Pippen opted to have surgery on his left foot to treat an old injury from last season, just before training camp was about to begin in October.

The successful surgery means Pippen will miss the games in November and December after the start of the season, which greatly annoys the Bulls' management.

Jerry Krause believes Pippen did it on purpose. Pippen could have had surgery right after the Finals in July, used the summer to recover, and been ready to play again at the start of the season.

As a result, Pippen insisted on delaying his surgery until October, missing two months of games and causing considerable trouble for the team.

Pippen was still sidelined until the Christmas Day game against the Trail Blazers, which greatly weakened the Bulls' strength.

Moreover, the conflict between Pippen and the Bulls' management has become public, and his relationship with Jerry Krause has reached a point of irreconcilable conflict.

At the Bulls' home opener of the new season on November 1st, a championship ring awarding ceremony was held, and Pippen gave a speech after receiving the ring.

He choked up as he said, "Thank you to the fans of this city for all the passion and support they have shown to me and my teammates over the long 10 seasons. I have had a wonderful career here, and before I have a chance to say this, I must say thank you."

Pippen's words clearly indicate that this will be his last season with the Chicago Bulls, and he will definitely leave after it's over.

Before the Bulls' game against the Clippers, Pippen gave an interview to the Daily Herald, telling the reporter, "I will not play for the Chicago Bulls anymore. I want to go somewhere where I can get paid well."

The reporter initially did not believe these remarks, so he omitted them from the next day's newspaper.

He thought it was Pippen joking, and the reporter didn't want to get involved, because he held a prestigious position on the Chicago Bulls.

If such content is published, and the team and fans hold them accountable, then if Pippen says "I didn't say that," things will get complicated.

This time, Pippen was serious. A few days later, he met the same reporter again in Sacramento and said the same thing once more.

This time, the reporter understood that Pippen wasn't joking; the conflict between him and the Bulls could no longer be hidden, and he was using the media to put pressure on the Bulls' management.

As a result, news that Pippen would leave the Bulls next season spread throughout the entire league.

Rumors have begun circulating that the Bulls will make a trade with the San Antonio Spurs, sending Pippen to the Spurs in exchange for future draft picks and young players.

Rumors damaged the atmosphere and unity within the Bulls, and Pippen's absence further impacted the team's performance.

At the start of November, the Bulls had a record of 5 wins and 6 losses, with a winning percentage of less than 50%, placing them near the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

The season opener was a loss to the Boston Celtics, and Duncan's outstanding performance gave people a sense of a changing of the guard.

A sense of despair and disintegration permeated the entire Bulls organization. The players knew that this might be the last season for this championship team.

In this difficult situation, Michael Jordan, who was almost 35 years old, stepped up.

With a record of 5 wins and 6 losses, and a tough 7-game road trip ahead, Jordan scored 49 points against the Clippers, leading his team to a hard-fought double-overtime victory.

After a tough November, the team's performance gradually improved in December, and the Bulls achieved a five-game winning streak before the Christmas Day game.

Despite his terrible relationship with the Bulls' management, and the fact that Jordan and Jerry Krause were on the verge of becoming enemies, Jordan still worked diligently in every game as a player.

Because he knew all too well that he wasn't playing for the Bulls owner and Jerry Krause, but for the Chicago fans who supported him.

During the game, he played the role of a more extreme scorer, taking a large number of shots to reduce the team's scoring pressure.

His shooting percentage and offensive efficiency have reached the lowest levels of his career, but his fighting spirit on the court is no different from when he first entered the league.

This is why people believe the Chicago Bulls could end the Trail Blazers' winning streak – it's all because of Michael Jordan.

Chicago fans believed that Jordan would not allow the Trail Blazers to easily extend their winning streak against the Bulls.
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The game is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. on December 25 at the United Center in Chicago.

It was snowing outside, and the United Center, which can hold more than 21800 fans, was packed tonight for the game against their arch-rivals, the Trail Blazers. Tickets were in high demand.

The Trail Blazers arrived at the United Center at 1:30 p.m. for a practice session to familiarize themselves with the venue, and then returned to the locker room to prepare for the start of the game.

The Trail Blazers' improvement this season goes far beyond just their roster; their logistics, medical services, and equipment management have all been upgraded.

To ensure the veterans are in better condition, the Trail Blazers have recruited a new batch of support staff, expanding their support team to provide the best possible service to the players. Larry Bird also leveraged his connections to recruit several excellent sports medicine professionals from Boston to provide medical consultations and physical rehabilitation for the Trail Blazers players.

Although the coaching staff still consists of only Rick Carlisle and Dick Hart, Spoelstra's data analytics team has recruited several young data analytics experts to provide comprehensive data support to the team.

Old Tang also upgraded a batch of electronic equipment, allowing the Trail Blazers to use the best and most advanced analytical instruments to provide feedback on all aspects of the team.

Therefore, the Trail Blazers' breakout performance at the start of the new season was not without reason, nor could it be achieved simply by adding a few veteran players.

In fact, the Trail Blazers' playing style is already a version ahead of the entire league, a fact that Larry Bird has been keenly aware of.

Many teams simply don't know how to counter the Trail Blazers' current style of play. Rick Carlisle's "flowing offense" has quietly slipped into this era in an unbelievable way, in a way that even he himself didn't expect, by leveraging the chemistry and understanding of the Trail Blazers' veterans.

Logically speaking, this offensive model should take another ten years or so before it can take root and become prevalent in the league.

It was only the presence of the Trail Blazers and Gan Guoyang that brought it to fruition earlier, and currently, no one but the Trail Blazers can replicate or imitate it.

Putting everything else aside, where else can you find an inside pairing like Sabonis and Gan Guoyang?

The Celtics assembled a low-profile version, but Bobby Bellman didn't want to follow the Trail Blazers' path.

The Celtics won't use a fluid offense or play Princeton offense; they need to build their tactics around Duncan and follow the traditional route.

Because Bellman knew there would never be another Forrest Gump. There would be a second Michael Jordan, but there would never be another Forrest Gump, not even Duncan.

Only Forrest Gump, with his ability to lift his teammates on both offense and defense, can provide them with a great deal of room to perform.

Riddell had the best performance of his career, and Chris Mullin unexpectedly experienced a career resurgence.

Last season, his average points per game had dropped to 14.5, and it was thought that he would decline further after joining the Trail Blazers and become an ordinary role player.

As a result, his average score soared to 19.5 points per game, his highest average score since the 1993-1994 season.

His field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and offensive efficiency have all reached their highest levels in recent years, as if he has been reborn.

The reason for this is that the Trail Blazers' huge spacing, strong defensive presence in the paint, and ability to distribute the ball gave Mullin, who is good at shooting, plenty of opportunities.

If Gan Guoyang insists on making himself the absolute core and continues to play a high-ball-possession tactic, using players like Mullin, Ridley, and Kobe as role players to create space for himself, and Sabonis as a backup to fill in the gaps, then the Trail Blazers will naturally be championship contenders, and the strongest team in terms of odds.

But when Gan Guoyang broke free of his restraints and merged with the veterans into a brand new, powerful machine, a wonderful reaction occurred when the timing, location, and people were all in sync.

The Trail Blazers have become incredibly powerful.

Perhaps, such incredible power is difficult to maintain for a long time.

The balance will be broken as soon as there is a change or decline in any variable.

For example, Mullin continues to age and can no longer make three-pointers.

For example, Sabonis' injury forced Gan Guoyang to do many of his old jobs.

For example, Kobe started throwing more airballs, and so on.

But at least at this point in time, at this stage, the Trail Blazers are close to perfect.

The atmosphere in the Trail Blazers' locker room was unusually relaxed during the hour-long wait before the Christmas Day game began.

No one is anxious about the winning streak. As Gan Guoyang said, everyone hates losing but is not afraid of it and can accept all results calmly.

The veterans relaxed their muscles, and Kobe, Jermaine O'Neal, and others had bandages wrapped around their feet.

Bird sat on a stool with his legs crossed and told some not-so-funny jokes.

Rick Carlisle straightened his tie and buried himself in his tactics manual, making notes and sketches.

Dick Hartley bombarded Spoelstra with questions, asking him to teach her how to organize data on a computer.

What others consider an exceptionally important match is an away game against an exceptionally strong opponent.

The Trail Blazers players, however, were quite relaxed because they were confident enough that no one could beat them this season.

Half an hour before the game started, the Trail Blazers team, led by Gan Guoyang, strode confidently into the United Center arena.

The NBA arena is now a complete spectacle, with over 20,000 fans, all sorts of performances and activities on the sidelines, guys selling beer and popcorn weaving through the stands, and mascots and cheerleaders clowning around and being cute.

Players are very easily distracted and prone to nervousness.

But the Trail Blazers players didn't; everyone looked quite relaxed and natural.

Jordan came over and greeted Gan Guoyang; the two good friends hugged.

As their status rose and they grew older, they had less and less contact in private.

Not only do they fiercely compete for their respective teams on the court, but off the court, the rivalry between Avia and Nike is also intensifying.

When Avia couldn't compete with Nike in marketing, it chose to partner with Adidas overseas, a move that essentially "invited the wolf into the house."

Avia and Adidas have partnered, sharing some resources and markets, and holding shares in each other.

While continuing to expand overseas, Avia is also sharing its US market share with Adidas, joining forces to compete with Nike, resembling a Wu-Shu alliance to crush Cao Wei.

Duncan, McGrady, Kobe, Jermaine O'Neal, and others were all key players for Adidas, and Gan Guoyang's Skyscraper series, representing Avia, was the only athletic shoe brand that could rival Air Jordan.

The competition between Gan Guoyang and Jordan is not only related to the championship, but may also determine the outcome of the battle between the two major sports brand groups.

No matter how good their relationship is, or how much they help each other, they can never go back to being as close as they used to be.

"Michael, you're going to lose again tonight," Gan Guoyang said bluntly.

Jordan had long since given up hope that Forrest Gump's foul mouth would utter any good words.

So he wasn't surprised and said, "Oh, that's a real shame. I was thinking of treating you to a Christmas dinner if I won."

"I should be the one paying! Michael, I'm not being arrogant or trash-talking on purpose, I've always been sincere with you. I'm telling you the truth, no one will be our match this season. You might have been in 1996, but not this season. You should start thinking about where you're going in the offseason, I'm serious."

Jordan couldn't stand Gan Guoyang's "truths" the most.

He shook his head helplessly and said, "Sonny, sometimes I really wish you had never come into this world, or that I could play basketball in a world where you don't exist, so I wouldn't have to listen to all this nonsense from you."

Gan Guoyang wasn't angry. He gave Jordan a bright smile and said, "That way you could have won several more championships. It's such a pity..."

(End of this chapter)