The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 176 The Abnormal Center

With the score difference narrowed to 10 points, Lakers fans felt the game was starting to look good, unaware of the impending danger.

Riley, a perceptive coach, had a bad feeling, but his inherent beliefs still led him to believe that Gan Guoyang's consecutive long-range shots were just a temporary burst of form.

As for Ramsey, he closed his eyes and refused to watch, indicating that he didn't understand, he simply couldn't understand. "Is this the team I'm coaching? Is this our Trail Blazers' core center? Is this how basketball is played?"
Magic Johnson passed the ball to Cooper before the double team could double-team him. Cooper dribbled past half-court and then cut to the basket during a set offense, using a hook shot to avoid Gan Guoyang's block and score two points.

But then Gan Guoyang and Paxson worked together to execute a tactic that Ramsey couldn't understand at all.

He called for the ball in the low post, and Cooper immediately came over to double-team him.

Cooper knew that Paxson wasn't having a good shooting night, and he also knew that Gan Guoyang had a habit of attacking without dribbling after receiving the ball.

Therefore, once Gan Guoyang reaches a low position, Cooper will stay close to Gan Guoyang and give Paxson some space.

They immediately double-teamed the ball as soon as it was passed to them, not giving Gan Guoyang a chance to launch an attack directly.

Gan Guoyang didn't attack either, but passed the ball back to Paxson, and then stepped forward to screen for Paxson.

But this was a fake screen, because if it were a real screen, Paxson would have to go to the baseline, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would have blocked the route, making it impossible for him to walk.

Therefore, the only option is to use a fake screen to distract Cooper, and then immediately go up to the post to dribble and drive to the basket from a 45-degree angle.

So far, this tactic has been quite normal; it's a fairly common low-post guard-center combination that flows very smoothly.

But when Paxson drove to the basket and drew the defensive attention of Cooper and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, he neither attacked the rim directly nor passed the ball to the weak side.

Instead, he turned around and passed the ball to Gan Guoyang—where was Gan Guoyang at this moment? He had actually retreated to the baseline corner after the screen.

Is this a place for a center? This is a "dead zone" on the basketball court, a place where you can only finish the game.

The top of the arc, the low post, and the 45-degree angle are all tactical starting points; they can be used to initiate or end an attack.

When the ball reaches the bottom corner, in most cases, the only option is to shoot to finish the play. If the ball is passed out, the offense has to be reorganized, which means all the previous efforts have been wasted.

If a center receives the ball in this position, it signifies a failed attack. If there's still time, the ball can be passed out and the attack can continue; if there's not enough time, just throw the ball around and prepare to retreat.

Gan Guoyang was clearly acting strangely. He deliberately cut to the corner, and Paxson, on the other hand, made a very tacit pass to him. There was no one in front of him, so he practiced shooting.

Another deadly arc. Deadly arcs at the bottom corners are often more beautiful than those at the top because they are closer and have a higher curvature.

The fans behind the basket, just like Scott and his two companions in the morning, watched the ball go from bottom to top, from top to bottom, and finally fall into the center of the basket.

After scoring, Gan Guoyang excitedly spread his arms, and the Trail Blazers players on the bench all jumped up. Vandeweghe, Paxson, and Thompson were all very excited.

Ramsey, kneeling on one knee on the sidelines, covered his face and rubbed his eyes, indicating that he didn't see it. What kind of crazy tactics were these? He didn't understand them and didn't want to understand them.

Drexler shook his head, "I can't learn it, I just can't learn it. If I shoot a three-pointer from this position, I'll just throw the ball into the stands."

After this three-pointer went in, the score was 61-70, narrowing the gap to single digits, and only 5 minutes into the third quarter.

Gan Guoyang made all three of his three-point attempts, scoring 13 points. Riley paced back and forth on the sidelines with his hands on his hips. I've never seen this before. How do I defend against it?
When the Trail Blazers successfully stopped Worthy's attack again on defense and Gan Guoyang grabbed the defensive rebound, Riley cursed under his breath.

He tugged at his suit tie, finding it a bit tight, and as Gan Guoyang received the ball at the high post, he attracted the defensive attention of a group of Lakers players.

Then he made a through pass to the basket, and when Paxson caught the ball and made the layup, Riley felt like someone was choking him, and he could barely breathe.

"Damn it!"

He tugged at his tie again, then called a timeout from the referee, loudly berating the players for their terrible defense.

Before the third quarter was even halfway through, Riley used two timeouts.

"You guys are scared off by a center shooting threes! What the hell is that? Bird dunked twice, so you're going to drag him into a dunk contest?! Let's stick to our original defense and ignore that three-point shooter. Consistency and repetition lead to excellence!"

Riley instructed his players to stick to normal defense and ignore Gan Guoyang's three-point bursts, as they were unsustainable.

"Persistence and repetition lead to excellence" is a famous quote from Adolf Rupp, the brown-shirted godfather of the University of Kentucky.

Riley's basketball coaching tactics are inherited from the fast-paced offense that Jack McGinnis tailored for Magic Johnson.

However, his coaching philosophy comes entirely from his coach Rupp, whom he coached at Kentucky. This top coach, who was controversial for opposing the recruitment of black players, always had high demands on his players, liked to put them under tremendous pressure in training to push them to their limits, and ruthlessly criticized any mistakes made by the players in daily management.

In a college setting where zone defense was prevalent, Rupp was a staunch advocate of man-to-man defense. He believed that only man-to-man defense could make each player clearly understand their role, know what they had to do on the court, take responsibility for their actions, and force themselves to become the best.

Riley's actions with the Lakers were basically a carbon copy of Rupp's; he once again berated Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the bench, believing that he had failed to contain Forrest Gump.

In the previous game at the Forum, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was harassed by Moses Malone's physical style of play, which ultimately led to Kirk Rambis's death.

Despite the scolding, Riley knew Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's predicament. Tonight, Gan Guoyang was on fire with his shooting touch, so Abdul-Jabbar couldn't possibly run to the perimeter to defend him one-on-one, and Larry Spriggs was also ineffective.

Riley looked at the bench and said to Kirk Rambis, "Kirk, you come on and take care of Forrest Gump."

Lambis pushed up his glasses, slowly stood up from the stool, and thought to himself, "Damn it, it's me again?"
When the timeout ended and Gan Guoyang saw Lambis come out to match up against him, he exclaimed in surprise, "Fuck, Lambis, how are you alive?"

Rambis missed the previous game against the Trail Blazers at Memorial Arena due to a headache, and this game marks the second time the two have faced off.

Rambis gave an awkward laugh and said, "My love for basketball brought me back to life."

Gan Guoyang was too lazy to argue with Lambis; he didn't have the time.

He's incredibly accurate with his shot right now; we must score as many points as possible before this form disappears.

From the moment he arrived in this time and space, Gan Guoyang never gave up his long-range shooting training.

On the street courts of San Francisco, he has to make at least 150 long-range shots every day to finish his practice session.

This habit has been maintained to this day, and except for a few times when I didn't have time due to unforeseen circumstances, I never miss it.

Even on the day they won the NCAA championship, after the wild celebrations, Gan Guoyang still found an opportunity to sink 150 long-range shots before taking a break.

The situation remained the same when he joined the Trail Blazers, except that he didn't have many opportunities to shoot or play part in the game, and he knew he had more important things to do.

Tonight is different. We're so far behind that there's no other way but to give it our all, to rely on our shooting touch and the Lakers' lack of attention to long-range defense.

Rambis alone couldn't stop Gan Guoyang's shot. Rambis simply didn't know how to defend a center shooting three-pointers; as a power forward, he was used to focusing his vision and footwork towards the three-second area. Gan Guoyang, on the other hand, wasn't bound by the tactical mindset of the 80s. A normal center, if on a hot streak, would take it easy even if he made a three-pointer.

Gan Guoyang is clearly acting strangely. He doesn't know when to stop; he's focused on expanding his lead, even though he's still far behind.

After the timeout, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar received the ball smoothly in the low post, turned around, and made a hook shot.

After the ball went in, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar turned to Gan Guoyang and said, "Kid, can't you play normally?"

Gan Guoyang said, "I didn't kick the ball with my feet, so why am I acting strangely?"

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had nothing to say; he wasn't much of a talker during the game anyway.

At 38 years old, he has played in the NBA for so many years that he can be said to have seen a lot.

I've faced all sorts of opponents since the Chamberlain era.

Aside from Bill Russell, whom he missed, he has faced a whole host of players, both older and younger, including Chamberlain, Lanier, Reed, Cowens, Malone, Thurmond, Bellamy, Walton, Gilmore, Issel, Hickma, Unseld, Hayes, Olajuwon, Parish, Barry Carroll, and many more, and he has outscored them all in scoring.

But he had never encountered a center as cunning, unpredictable, and a rookie as Gan Guoyang.

And I really don't want to run into him.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wasn't the kind of belligerent maniac who would get excited when he encountered a strong opponent and want to fight for three hundred rounds.

He often felt annoyed, wondering why he had to fight these kinds of people on the field and get all sweaty.

Sometimes when I get annoyed or angry, I just beat my opponent to a pulp and finish the game early so I can go back to the locker room to shower.

But when faced with a stubborn or difficult person, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is prone to discouragement and questioning his life.

"Why the hell am I playing basketball here? Fighting with a bunch of low-class, muscle-bound bastards is no different from being a bear in a circus."

Whenever this happens, his condition is affected, and Riley will mock him, but also encourage him to keep fighting.

How can you fight someone like Gan Guoyang?

A pick-and-roll cut, still in sync with Paxson.

Move to the outside of the three-point line, slightly to the left of the top of the arc.

Paxson returns the ball, Gan Guoyang catches it, and shoots over Rambis.

Rambis's defense was non-existent in Gan Guoyang's eyes; he only had eyes for the basket.

Another three-pointer, and it's in again! The fourth three-pointer! We've already got 16 points halfway through the third quarter.

64:72, the score difference has reached 8 points, three points is one more than two points.

This advantage becomes apparent when you make a lot of three-pointers.

If Gan Guoyang had scored four two-pointers, the point difference would now be 12 points.

It gives a completely different feeling than an 8.

Rambis didn't say anything. So what if he made a three-pointer? I'm not the one who specializes in guarding that.

I'm just happy to be alive, why should I care about anything else?

This indifferent attitude is both helpless and dangerous.

Everyone could feel it, including Pat Riley, that the Lakers were starting to collapse because of Gan Guoyang's shooting.

The collapse came without warning and without any psychological preparation, but Gan Guoyang's three-point performance was not over.

The Lakers have lost their way on offense; the only one still sane is Magic Johnson.

However, when a team's offense relies on its point guard to score, it indicates that the team has a problem.

Johnson's layup attempt was blocked by Drexler, who came off the bench.

The rest of the Trail Blazers players became more relaxed as the game progressed, and they were more willing to make defensive moves.

During the counterattack, Gan Guoyang received a pass from Drexler and launched another three-pointer from the right 45-degree angle.

Rambis had given up on chasing down the defender; under normal circumstances, no one would expect the center to receive the ball here and immediately throw it away.

Gan Guoyang was definitely acting strangely. While the ball was still in flight, Gan Guoyang held up three fingers to signal to the fans in the stadium.

"Shh!"

A three-pointer was made, the fifth three-pointer, bringing the score to 71-74, with the Trail Blazers trailing by only three points.

Gan Guoyang has already scored 22 points, and when his three-pointers start falling, his face-up attacks become even more aggressive.

Because the opponent had no idea whether he was going to throw or drive, they couldn't make timely predictions, and as a result, Gan Guoyang was able to control the situation.

Not only Gan Guoyang, but also outside players like Vandeweghe and Paxson started making shots. Good shooting touch is contagious, just like a virus.

Now it's the Lakers' turn to have a cold shooting night, with everyone missing their outside shots, and Gan Guoyang grabs the defensive rebound again.

He dribbled the ball across half-court, used his shoulder to push aside Cooper who was trying to interfere, and charged all the way to the top of the arc. Rambis didn't know how to defend him.

Zeke Hearn shouted in a dull, lifeless voice, as if watching a farce he didn't understand at all: "Forrest Gump dribbled the ball across half-court and then threw a three-pointer from beyond the arc... He... damn it, it went in."

The sixth three-pointer, Gan Guoyang's 25th point in the quarter.

The score is tied.

After scoring, Gan Guoyang shrugged at Riley, who was standing on the sidelines with a livid face.

"Why aren't you defending? Where is the defense?" Gan Guoyang shouted.

(End of this chapter)