The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 218 Mist
Since the training camp last summer, Gan Guoyang has never been late.

It's not just that he's never late; he's always the first one there, rain or shine.

When the second person arrives at the training ground and sees Gan Guoyang, he is usually already covered in sweat, and you have no idea how long he has been training silently.

His persistence and perseverance were admired by everyone on the team, and even indirectly cured Drexler's habit of sleeping in late.

Unexpectedly, Gan Guoyang was absent from practice during the crucial Western Conference semifinals, which made all the Trail Blazers players uneasy.

Hotel staff said that Gan Guoyang left home very early, but has not returned since.

Adelman saw his message on the sticky note by Gan Guoyang's bedside: Go out for a walk, ask for leave for me, don't worry.

After understanding the situation, Ramsey didn't ask any further questions and told the players, "Agan went to buy everyone's plane tickets to Los Angeles."

The atmosphere eased slightly. In the other matchup of the Western Conference semifinals, the Lakers were already leading 3-0, and the Jazz had no chance.

During the morning practice, Ramsey changed the game strategy, instructing that in Game 4, the game should not be about competing with the Nuggets for tempo, but rather about playing the same fast-paced offense as the Nuggets.

"We are also a very strong offensive team," Ramsey said.

Ramsey was also an offensive coach, but unlike Doug Moe's unrestrained free-for-all offense, his positional attacks and fast breaks were very structured, although this structure was somewhat outdated in 1985.

As players' individual abilities have a greater impact on the game, the influence of tactics on the game will be reduced. At certain stages, an overly rigid tactical system can actually become a constraint on players.

Ramsey thought to himself that it might be a good thing Forrest Gump didn't come; it was truly a preordained arrangement.

In the afternoon, Gan Guoyang returned to the hotel. He had gone to the mall that morning and bought a lot of things and took many photos.

He visited the famous Denver Art Museum, which has a dedicated Chinese section. Gan Guoyang admired Han Dynasty pottery, Tang Dynasty tri-colored pottery, Qing Dynasty jade, and original works by Qi Baishi, Zhang Daqian, and others, and took photos to commemorate the occasion.

Everyone was wondering why Gan Guoyang wasn't participating in team training, but Gan Guoyang just smiled and didn't answer.

Drexler complained, "I was late, and Jack kept nagging me about it. But when I didn't show up at all, Jack didn't say a word."

Gan Guoyang said, "I asked for leave. I left a note by my bedside."

On the morning of the game, the Trail Blazers held their pre-game shooting practice, but Gan Guoyang still didn't show up.

He didn't go anywhere; instead, he locked himself in his hotel room for an entire morning without coming out.

In the afternoon, he went to the competition venue with his teammates to warm up, from 3:30 to 4:30, to do some light exercise.

However, Gan Guoyang only did some stretching exercises; he did not do ball handling training or shooting warm-up.

At 6:30 p.m., the locker room was in preparation for the match. Ramsey did not give any more tactical instructions or watch any match videos. Instead, he led the team in visual training.

Everyone sat cross-legged on the ground, under Ramsey's direction, imagining how badly they had been dominated by the Nuggets in the first three games, and how they would respond tonight.

"We will launch a fast-paced offense and keep attacking the Nuggets' basket. They are fast, but we are faster. We will not let any opportunity slip by, and we will not slack off on defense. We will run, run, and keep running until our opponents can't run anymore."

Emerging from their meditative state, the players entered the field together.

Gan Guoyang looked perfectly normal, just like usual.

After the opening ceremony ended and both sides prepared to take the field, Vandeweghe asked Gan Guoyang, "Gan, why haven't you participated in training these past two days?"

Vandeweghe thought, "You promised to give me good memories, but don't let your boast fall flat and leave me with even deeper trauma."

Gan Guoyang said, "I just want to rest and relax."

"Really? This isn't like you. You used to not need to rest."

"KiKi, will you play basketball at the gym every day in the summer?" Gan Guoyang suddenly asked.

"Hmm...no, sometimes I need to take a break from basketball for a while," Vandeweghe said honestly. He's the kind of person who relaxes properly during the off-season and doesn't touch basketball at all, because basketball is work, and who takes a break from work?

“I’ve played basketball every single day since I first got into it. Basketball is like an extension of my body. I get up very early every day to run and train, not for work, but because I need to release my physical energy and the urge to play. Otherwise, I will feel very uncomfortable. This has been the case for many years.”

Gan Guoyang took off his jacket and walked onto the court, saying, "I tried not to touch a basketball for 36 hours, and now I just want to dunk on the rim and blow it up. I swear this is the last time I'll do this. To win, I need to feel hungry. But I don't want to try it again, it's just too painful, KiKi."

As Vandeweghe watched Gan Guoyang's broad back walk onto the field, only one thought popped into his mind: This guy is a monster.

No, everyone already knew he was a monster. In fact, he was the monster of monsters, practically a demon.

His physique, his skills, and his basketball IQ are all top-notch, but all within Vandeweghe's comprehension.

His willpower and desire, however, were beyond the comprehension of someone like Vandeweghe who treated basketball as a job. It was an unknowable fog, and only those who were also in the fog could see what it was really like.

Van de Wesley had a premonition that Gan Guoyang would definitely wipe out Denver tonight, he definitely would.

Before the referee tossed the ball into the air, Vandeweghe noticed that he was trembling slightly.

That irrepressible premonition, as if witnessing a spectacle, made Vandeweghe's heart race.

He seemed to be infected by Gan Guoyang's powerful aura and desire to win in basketball. Every pore of his body was opening up, and his mind and eyes were becoming clear and bright as if they had been filled with a pool of clear water.

He suddenly felt very confident. He looked at the familiar basketball hoop in the frontcourt, which seemed as vast as the ocean.

He felt confident that he could throw the ball in from this spot, and this confidence intoxicated him.

"Is this...is this what Forrest Gump's competitive state is like? Is this exactly it?"

The referee tossed the ball into the air, and Gan Guoyang won the contest with Wayne Cooper.

Vandeweghe got the ball, and for a split second he almost couldn't resist throwing it straight at the basket from the center line.

When he calmed down, the confident and smug state he had just been in vanished, and his body felt as if it had fallen from the clouds to the ground, landing on the floor of the noisy McNichols Arena.

He passed the ball to Valentin, who crossed the halfway line and passed it to Gan Guoyang at the edge of the penalty area.

Gan Guoyang received the ball, adjusted, and found himself alone. Even though he was a center who could shoot three-pointers, who would shoot like that at the start of the game?
Wayne Cooper understands Ramsey; he knows that no Trail Blazers player can initiate the offense directly from the start at that position, so he has to pass the ball out.

However, Gan Guoyang suddenly launched a three-pointer from the front, without any warning, and the ball flew straight towards the basket.

Cooper instinctively turned around.

"Shh!"

Before Nuggets fans could even prepare for the start of Game 4, the first goal had already been scored.

It was a three-pointer, taken by Gan Guoyang, and it went in.

The Nuggets players were stunned. This guy just shot like that, and it went in?
That's incredibly bold, incredibly confident, and... a shot selection that even Doug Mo would criticize.

He could only serve from the baseline, and Doug Mo was sitting on the sidelines, his suit still on, his tie still loose, and his hair still perfectly styled.

He asked the assistant coach next to him, "What just happened?"

"Uh... Forrest Gump just made a three-pointer, and it went in."

"What?" Doug Mo looked up at the scoreboard, and sure enough, cursed, "Shit!"

Gan Guoyang ran back to the backcourt to defend, and he let out a long sigh of relief.

He said to Vandeweghe, who was not far away, "It feels great to play basketball."

(End of this chapter)