The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 403 Forgot
"The Hawks will definitely double-team you, you won't have many one-on-one opportunities."

“We have the best tactical system, and I can get at least 10 one-on-one opportunities.”

"Haha, let's get your touch back. If you don't have a good start, you won't score more than 50 points in this game, at most 45."

"When I'm not shooting well, I try to get free throws. You fucking got 21 free throws. The referee really took care of you."

“Those were opportunities I fought for. If you could, you can punish 30 of them.”

“The Bostonians will definitely do everything they can to stop you. Unless you can score another 63 points, the scoring title is mine. I bet you can only get 35 points.”

"I only need to score 40 points, and you need to score 70 points to win the scoring title. I don't believe you can score 70 points unless your whole team stops attacking and you are the only one playing."

"I don't know how many points I can get, but I'll give it my all. Michael, you must be wondering what my all-out performance will be like, right?"

At the Westin Hotel in Peachtree Square, Atlanta, Gan Guoyang was on the phone with Jordan in his room. Jordan was in Boston at the time.

Tomorrow, the Trail Blazers and the Bulls will play their final regular season game, with the Bulls facing the Celtics. The two teams are exchanging experiences.

Jordan told Gan Guoyang about the Hawks' double-team defense system, while Gan Guoyang told Jordan to attack Bird's weakness in half-court sets.

The Hawks and Celtics are the top two teams in the Eastern Conference this year. In terms of defense, the Hawks allow the fewest points in the entire league, averaging only 102 points per game.

These two top teams are described by Jordan and Gan Guoyang as nothing more than chickens and dogs, easily winning 30 or 40 points.

"Of course I want to see you give it your all. I've always been curious whether you've been holding back during the regular season."

"You'll understand once you watch the last game. Most of the regular season games are just for fun, right, Michael?"

When Gan Guoyang said that, Jordan wouldn't dare to answer yes. He always gave his all in the regular season, otherwise the Bulls would have lost badly long ago.

Although Jordan suspected that Forrest Gump was probably just showing off again, he also thought more than once, considering the situation when they played against him, that Forrest Gump hadn't really gone all out.

This guy's basketball skills are amazing, he always puts on some amazing games, and his stamina seems even better than last season.

During their conversations, Jordan often asked Gan Guoyang, "Have you done any biochemical experiments or modified your body?"

As a result, Gan Guoyang would just chuckle each time and never refute it. Jordan originally thought it was nothing, that everyone was just joking.

But as time went on and the conversation became more frequent, Jordan began to have doubts: had this guy really undergone some kind of special modification?
As a country with a highly developed media and free publication, the United States is rife with conspiracy theories and bizarre tales.

Things like the "Bermuda Triangle Mystery," the "Easter Island Mystery," and the "Alien Pyramids" are all just gimmicks created by American booksellers and unscrupulous publishers in collusion to swindle money from readers.

Other myths, such as the "Loch Ness Monster" and "nasal walkers," are just legends fabricated by Europeans and Americans to gain fame and attention.

Before the advent of high-definition portable cameras and video equipment, the United States was the country with the most reported UFO sightings in the world, as if aliens particularly liked to visit the United States.

All this nonsense flowed into China during the period of reform and opening up. At a time when extracurricular reading materials were scarce for Chinese people, especially teenagers, it became spiritual nourishment for many. Unfortunately, it was all fabricated and had no substance whatsoever.

Among the many legends and rumors circulating in the market, one about Gan Guoyang is widely known: that Gan Guoyang was a human experimentalized by biochemical methods in the Soviet Union/Eastern Europe, but he escaped from the laboratory and came to the United States to become a basketball player.

A third-rate writer named Grace Gert wrote a long article called "Forrest Gump's Secret." He said that he had visited and investigated Forrest Gump's high school life and even went to China to learn about Forrest Gump's childhood environment. He found out that Forrest Gump did not show any basketball talent before the age of 16, and there was no record of him in the official records of the Chinese sports department.

The article claims that China's best basketball players are all within the system, and with Forrest Gump's exceptional talent, he would have been discovered much earlier instead of going to the United States.

Forrest Gump's basketball talent only suddenly exploded after he came to the United States, and then he swept through San Francisco, shocking the whole country, and has remained a phenomenon ever since.

Grace Gert claims that the nickname "Oriental Bio-Cyborg" started circulating in high school, and that there must be some unknown secret or connection between the nicknames and the wrong names.

This article was published after the Trail Blazers won the championship in 1986. Most people treated it as a joke, but over time it became more and more widely circulated.

Grace Gotter published another science fiction novel this year, which simply described how Forrest Gump was taken away to Eastern Europe for biochemical experiments, and how he escaped from the laboratory to come to the United States and start a new life. Surprisingly, it sold quite well.

Jordan had a copy of the book and read it with great interest in his spare time. He even asked Gan Guoyang why he didn't sue this person, but Gan Guoyang just smiled and said nothing. This sometimes made Jordan wonder if everything in the book was true.

The two chatted for a long time, and although they were competing for the top scorer title, they didn't feel any animosity towards each other.

Because they all know that the scoring title is just a gimmick, an honor, and whether they win it or not isn't that important.

Besides, the two are competing fairly, each playing their own game, and they can also motivate each other.

Starting in March, one thing Jordan and Gan Guoyang did every day without fail was to check the game reports of the Trail Blazers and the Bulls to see how many points the other team had scored.

This adds a lot of fun to the long and boring regular season, and everyone is full of motivation before each game, wanting to give their best performance.

"Michael, see you in the Finals."

See you at the Finals, Sonny.

The two always said goodbye with "See you in the finals" to encourage each other.

After hanging up the phone, Gan Guoyang lay down on the bed to rest; he was still staying in a single room.

He turned off the light, sat cross-legged on the long bed, and images of Jordan playing against the Hawks flashed through his mind.

Yesterday he watched the video of Jordan's 61-point game, and the Hawks' double-team defense was indeed very strong.

From the first quarter to the last, Jordan barely got a single one-on-one opportunity.

Doc Rivers was like a sticky bug, always appearing around Jordan. Towards the end, Jordan got a little impatient and almost got into a fight with Rivers.

No wonder Jordan said "Remember to elbow Rivers" when the two were chatting earlier; Jordan was thinking of getting revenge for Forrest Gump.

Gan Guoyang closed his eyes, mentally planning how to deal with the Hawks' tight defense—in the previous game against the Hawks, Gan Guoyang only scored 31 points.

The Hawks' defense was indeed very tight. Even when Gan Guoyang was completely open for a one-on-one attack, the Hawks would still insist on helping. Kevin Willis was very fast, and Doc Rivers was always coming over to harass him, trying to force Gan Guoyang to the baseline.

The Hawks' defensive line is very disciplined, and sometimes a one-on-four defense is not effective, especially in the last game of the regular season. The Hawks know that Gan Guoyang and Jordan are competing for the scoring title, so they will not let Gan Guoyang score easily.

Therefore, if Gan Guoyang wants to score high points, he must come up with some unconventional strategies and avoid falling into the Hawks' defensive trap.

For several seasons, Gan Guoyang has been adhering to Dr. Ogilvy's visualization training, using this special method to improve his decision-making ability on the field.

This is one of the secrets to Gan Guoyang's high efficiency. Many players play by instinct, but Gan Guoyang, in addition to instinct, uses his brain to analyze and solve problems.

Gan Guoyang analyzed the situation in his mind for a while, constantly simulating the Hawks' different defensive strategies, and figuring out how to deal with and solve them.

As I was thinking... my body swayed, and I fell asleep.

He slept very well and had a dream just before waking up, in which he dreamt of a number that left a deep impression on him.

When he woke up, he shook his head and tried to recall the visualization training content from yesterday—but he couldn't remember any of it.

"Damn it, I forgot."

"It's good to forget, it's good to forget. Forgetting is remembering, and remembering is forgetting."

He remembered only the number from his dream.

Happy Dragon Boat Festival! I'll be hosting guests, so updates will be irregular. Please forgive me.

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(End of this chapter)