The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 374 My head is a little dizzy

On the court, Jordan didn't want to listen to any of Gan Guoyang's nonsense.

Jordan got into the game right from the start of the first quarter, scoring repeatedly from the outside.

Jordan has a characteristic when playing basketball: he is rather hesitant. In the 1986-1987 season, he was even more hesitant than before.

When facing Drexler's defense, he would always pause in mid-air before shooting.

A mid-range attack from the left, dodging in mid-air and striking successfully.

After a quick turn to the right, he dodged in mid-air and landed a successful one-handed throw.

Then, he broke through with his left hand and drove to the basket. Facing Gan Guoyang's defense, he dodged in mid-air and made a bank shot.

They scored six consecutive points, giving the Bulls an early advantage.

"Michael, why are you so hesitant when you play? You're just darting around in the air!" Gan Guoyang shouted at Jordan.

Jordan shrugged and said, "Because you almost managed to guard me!"

Unlike Jordan, Gan Guoyang did not start the game by dominating in the low post.

The Bulls made specific defensive arrangements against Gan Guoyang, having Charles Oakley provide strong close and frontal defense to Gan Guoyang, making it more difficult for Gan Guoyang to receive the ball.

With Gan Guoyang's strength, he could easily push past Oakley and score, but when the Bulls double-teamed him at the start of the game, Gan Guoyang decided to screen for his teammates first and let them take the shot.

After two months of operation, the Trail Blazers' "one-on-four" system has become increasingly smooth, and Gan Guoyang is becoming more and more adept at choosing when to attack, when to pass, and when to let others pass.

Because the Trail Blazers have the resources, if he had teammates as bad as Jordan, he would definitely start the game early, otherwise the game would be unplayable later on.

Terry Porter and Clyde Drexler handled most of the offensive possessions in the first quarter, especially Drexler, who always tried to steal the spotlight whenever Gan Guoyang and Jordan faced off.

He seemed to want to tell people, "I'm the one who's going up against Michael Jordan."

At the end of the first quarter, the score was 24-27, with the Trail Blazers leading by 3 points.

Gan Guoyang was substituted off the court for a rest, but Jordan remained on the court to continue the game.

Collins' substitution strategy was to have Jordan play the entire first quarter, rest him for a while midway through the second quarter, and then bring him back to finish the first half.

Jordan averaged 40 minutes per game; he couldn't stay off the court for too long.

Gan Guoyang wasn't much better off; he rested briefly at the start of the second quarter before coming back to play the first half.

The situation reversed for the two players in the second half, which is a matter of the coach's rotation habits.

Gan Guoyang scored 4 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, and dished out 2 assists in the first quarter, a respectable performance.

Jordan has scored 11 points, grabbed 2 rebounds, made 1 steal, and had no assists.

While Gan Guoyang was resting on the sidelines, Kenny Karl asked him, "Sonny, don't you want to beat Michael tonight?"

Gan Guoyang glanced at Kenny Carr and said, "Did you make another bet with Mitchell?"

Kenny Carr is a seasoned gambler who often runs off-court betting odds with Thompson.

These two will definitely be placing bets on the Bulls today.

Kenny Carl chuckled and said, "I was just concerned about you."

Gan Guoyang asked, "Who did you bet on to score the most points?"

Carl said, "I...I bet on Michael...I know you're better than him, but Mitchell insisted on betting on you, so I had no choice but to bet on Michael!"

Gan Guoyang snorted and said, "Then you're definitely going to lose this time. I can't possibly score lower than Michael. He just took more shots at the beginning."

Carl sighed and said, "I know, but the most important thing is still winning the game, isn't it?"

Gan Guoyang was focused on the game and didn't notice Kenny Carr covering his mouth with a towel and chuckling to himself.

On the court, when Gan Guoyang was not present, Jordan's drives to the basket became even more unstoppable.

The Trail Blazers' defense is different from last season; the layers and density have decreased because Walton is no longer there, and the court space has increased.

Therefore, the Trail Blazers' changes are to increase their intensity, make more use of Jerome Kersey on the perimeter, increase Vandeweghe's weight, and never have to worry about Gan Guoyang and Thompson in the paint.

From November to December, the Trail Blazers made fewer and fewer defensive traps, and Ramsey increasingly insisted on one-on-one defense and a small number of double teams.

This reduces the pressure on Gan Guoyang to protect the rim, and in terms of one-on-one defense, it is the defense with the fewest weaknesses and the best consistency.

This gave the Trail Blazers better defensive stability and reduced the risk of foul trouble for Gan Guoyang, allowing him to stay on the court and play more.

Bobby Berman deserves much credit for his coaching on the defensive end, which focused on the individual defensive details of the players and helped them steadily improve their defensive abilities.

Especially in the backcourt, players like Terry Porter, Drexler, and Korsey are improving their defensive habits and teamwork.

But none of that matters in front of Michael Jordan. There's someone who can blow you past in one step, no matter how well you're used to it.

After Gan Guoyang left the court, Jordan seized the opportunity to attack the inside and score. He not only broke through to score himself, but also assisted his teammates to make layups.

He then stole the ball, passed it to a teammate who missed a three-pointer, but then drove to the basket, grabbed the offensive rebound, and put it back in for a layup. Thanks to Jordan's individual performance, the Bulls started the second quarter with a 9-2 run against the Trail Blazers, bringing the score to 33-29.

The Trail Blazers called a timeout.

"How many points did Jordan score?" Gan Guoyang asked Bellman.

"Jordan? He got... he got 18 points." Bellman glanced at the statistics table.

Gan Guoyang nodded and said, "Understood."

He thought to himself that he needed to score some points in the second quarter, otherwise it would be very difficult to catch up later.

Ramsey called a timeout, Gan Guoyang returned to the court, replacing Thompson, and Ramsey also brought on Kenny Carr.

After Gan Guoyang entered the game, Collins immediately substituted Charles Oakley, instructing Oakley to continue harassing Gan Guoyang.

Meanwhile, Jordan needed to rest for a while, so he and Gan Guoyang were scheduled to play separately.

Oakley seemed to defend Gan Guoyang quite well in the first quarter, successfully stopping him once and almost forcing a turnover when Gan Guoyang passed the ball out.

Later, Gan Guoyang mainly made two shots from outside the arc, without putting much effort into scoring inside.

This gave Oakley some confidence on defense, and he stuck even tighter to Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang then said, "Charles, Michael and I are competing for the scoring title, you know that?"

Oakley nodded to indicate that he understood, while his attention remained focused as he continued to stay close to Gan Guoyang.

"Michael already has 18 points, I'm going to add some for myself. I'll score on you right away, so relax, don't be nervous, take deep breaths, feeling dizzy is normal..."

As Gan Guoyang spoke, he suddenly exerted force to push Oakley aside and establish position on the left side in a low position.

Oakley felt himself being pushed away by a tremendous force, with no room for resistance, and the ball was successfully passed to Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang received the ball, turned around, and easily scored with a hook shot, netting two points.

When Gan Guoyang scored, Oakley was a little dizzy from the force of the shot and had to take a deep breath.

When Jordan left the court, the Bulls' offense completely lost its rhythm. John Paxson drove to the basket and pulled up for a jump shot, which was blocked by Gan Guoyang, who came out to help defend.

"How could it be blocked..." Paxson hadn't anticipated that the ball would be blocked.

The Trail Blazers, having gained possession, did not launch a fast break. Hornacek slowly dribbled the ball across half-court and fed it to Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang received the ball, cut into the paint, pulled up and shot, making the shot. This technique is exactly the same as Bernard King's.

The Bulls still couldn't score, and Gan Guoyang grabbed the rebound and passed it to Hornacek for a half-court offense.

Gan Guoyang blocked Oakley in the same position. Oakley tried desperately to push Gan Guoyang out of the three-second zone, but it was all in vain.

He received the ball, turned, squeezed inside, easily made a layup, and drew a foul from Oakley.

Another player in the league who can squeeze in like that in the low post and easily score with his strength is Charles Barkley.

Gan Guoyang is stronger, taller, and has a longer wingspan than Barkley. Oakley realized that trying to defend him one-on-one was a pipe dream.

"I told you to relax, Charles. Of course, I'm still very grateful for the point you've given me."

Oakley, not one to mince words, immediately retorted, "You'd better make the free throw first. Even if I give it to you, you might not be able to get it."

Gan Guoyang smiled, stepped to the free-throw line, relaxed his shoulders, closed his eyes, and released the free throw, which went in.

He then opened his eyes, glanced at Oakley, and said, "Did you get it? Why are you questioning me? Didn't Michael teach you how to be a decent human being?"

At this point, Oakley dared not say anything and obediently took the ball to the baseline to inbound it, giving the Trail Blazers a one-point lead.

Jordan returned to the court during the free throw break, which he requested, because he knew that if he rested any longer, he would be left behind.

Upon seeing Jordan return, Gan Guoyang pointed at Oakley and said, "Michael, he doubted my free throws! You'd better teach your little brother a lesson."

Oakley tossed the ball to Jordan and said, "He just made that free throw with his eyes closed."

Jordan said, "I can do that too, but don't trash talk to him, don't mess with this guy, I'll handle him."

The 1986 Christmas Day game between the Bulls and the Trail Blazers attracted widespread attention, as Gan and Michael were vying for the scoring title and the competition was fierce.

I was guarding Gan during the game. Gan scored 4 points in the first quarter, and I felt that I defended him well. When Gan came on in the second quarter, he said to me, "I'm going to score some points, so you can relax a bit."

He scored 6 points over me in a row, and I couldn't do anything about it. On one of the shots, he wanted to take a free throw, and I retorted, "You can't make it." So Gan stepped to the free throw line, closed his eyes, and made the shot.

At that moment, I thought, "Damn it, just replace me. I don't want to be humiliated like this."

Thankfully, Michael stepped up; he was the only one who could go up against Forrest Gump.

For their own safety, others should stay away from Forrest Gump.

—Excerpt from Charles Oakley's autobiography, *The Last Enforcer*, published in 2022.

(End of this chapter)