The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 464 Great Skill Lies in Simplicity
Doherty is one of the few centers in the league with exceptional playmaking talent.

He is tall and has average running and jumping ability, but he has a wide field of vision and excellent passing technique and awareness.

In his rookie season, he averaged 3.8 assists per game, and this season he is averaging 4.2 assists per game, making him a very talented and skilled inside player.

Otherwise, he, who originally loved racing, would not have been favored by North Carolina and then become the top draft pick.

During the Big-man training camp, Gan Guoyang often consulted Doherty for tips on passing and support.

Doherty shared a lot of experience with Gan Guoyang on how to observe the defense, observe teammates, and how to become a pivot on the field.

In return, Gan Guoyang taught Doherty some tricks of the hook hand, as well as how to increase his strength.

However, judging from Doherty's physique, this kid probably spent the summer racing and didn't spend much time working out in the gym.

The Trail Blazers gained possession of the ball early and began their half-court offense.

Five or six years ago, the Trail Blazers would have started the game with a fast-paced offense.

You must strike quickly within 10 seconds, catching your opponent off guard.

Then, they desperately increased the pace and speed of their attacks, turning the game into a battle of mutual attacks.

In just a few years, the style of NBA games has changed.

More and more teams are slowing down at the start, and everyone is starting with low-post half-court offense to get their inside players into a rhythm.

Gan Guoyang easily secured the position, and Doherty let out a "whoop," feeling quite uncomfortable being squeezed by Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang received the ball and squeezed inside. Surprisingly, the Cavaliers didn't double-team him. Gan Guoyang turned around and easily laid the ball in with his left hand, scoring the first point of the game.

Gan Guoyang shrugged and said to Doherty, "Does Lanny want you dead? He didn't even surround me."

This season, as Gan Guoyang has gained further weight, his success rate and efficiency in low-post one-on-one situations have reached a historic peak.

In a one-on-one situation, Gan Guoyang has a 70%-80% chance of scoring; if he's not double-teamed, it's just giving away points.

He not only possesses exceptional strength but also remarkable footwork, and his skill in handling small details is becoming increasingly refined, officially reaching the pinnacle of his personal abilities.

His classic moon hook and other fancy techniques have been used less and less since the beginning of this season, and his offensive methods have become more concise and efficient.

Just like in Jin Yong's martial arts novels, Gan Guoyang, in his high school, college, and first year of university, is fierce, powerful, and invincible, competing with many heroes.

By the time he was in second and third grade, Gan Guoyang's skills had become more and more comprehensive. Like the Purple Soft Sword, he also had skills on the outside, and scored 81 points in Atlanta.

Since the start of this season, Gan Guoyang has gained weight and no longer bothers with fancy techniques in the regular season. His style is simple and unpretentious, and he is already good enough to dominate the league.

Lenny Wilkens didn't double-team at the start to see if Doherty could hold off and maintain the team's defensive formation.

Otherwise, if you start double-teaming from the very first ball, and your defensive formation is disrupted, it's a very difficult situation.

Doherty tried to score against Gan Guoyang, but as soon as he received the ball with his back to the goal, he chickened out and hunched back a couple of times, showing no reaction whatsoever.

Alright, Doherty passed the ball back to Price, then went to the corner to set a screen.

This is a tactic often used by the Cavaliers: Price and Dougherty setting a screen at the horns.

However, it's usually a fake screen, then Dougherty cuts to the basket, receives the ball and shoots, or Price drives straight down the middle to the basket to finish the attack.

The next steps involve flank positioning, power forwards grabbing rebounds on the weak side, and shooters receiving passes at the top of the key.

A very standard and well-executed pick-and-roll tactic.

As expected, it was a fake screen, and Price drove straight down the middle with the ball.

Gan Guoyang made way for Price to enter.

Price calculated the timing perfectly and went straight for a layup with his right hand.

As a result, Gan Guoyang also calculated the steps and went up to block Price's layup.

Gan Guoyang blocked Price's layup and regained possession of the ball.

He glanced at the front of the field and sent a long pass to Drexler.

The glider received the fast break order and didn't hesitate, receiving the ball and quickly moving down the court.

He dodged the defense, jumped, and easily scored with a right-handed layup.

The Trail Blazers quickly took the lead, prompting Wilkens to call a timeout early on.

Clearly, the pre-match strategy was flawed. Gan Guoyang needed to be double-teamed, and the offensive strategy should focus on the weak side, avoiding Agan.

Gan Guoyang hadn't even broken a sweat before he went off the field to drink some water.

Upon returning to the court, Price became more cautious, but he used his individual skills to pull up for a jump shot and score the Cavaliers' first point.

Price has made significant progress this season compared to last season. He had an outstanding performance in the Cavaliers' preseason training camp in 1987.

As a result, the team originally selected Kevin Johnson to compete with Price, but because Price performed well, Johnson was directly relegated to the bench.

In terms of individual ability, Kevin Johnson is not necessarily worse than Price, and may even be better.

Gan Guoyang knew this best; they had fought in high school, and he had a deep impression of that purple lightning.

Subsequently, Gan Guoyang received the ball during an attack and was indeed double-teamed.

Gan Guoyang didn't try to fight the Cavaliers' defense, and immediately passed the ball to Drexler to handle it.

Drexler's ball handling method is relatively simple: one is to receive the ball and set a single screen, then shoot from the mid-range on the wing.

Drexler is more accurate when shooting from the baseline to the 45-degree angle.

His shooting accuracy is actually not very good in the area between 45 degrees and the top of the arc; this guy's shooting has some problems.

He likes to dribble the ball and charge straight in between the 45-degree angle and the top of the key, attacking the basket with layups or dunks. If he misses, he goes for the offensive rebound.

Overall, Drexler's offensive skills were relatively rough.

Although his fancy layup moves are quite good, his basic footwork, dribbling, and timing are only so-so, and in high-level games and crucial possessions, they are practically nonexistent.

However, he does have excellent physical attributes: he is fast, tall, and has explosive power.

Moreover, this season, his offensive rebounding has become increasingly stronger.

To put it bluntly, he doesn't possess any of the advanced skills that a top shooting guard would have.

He knows quite a few other miscellaneous skills for different positions.

This time, Drexler opted for a pull-up jumper after a screen, and the ball went in accurately.

He definitely practiced his shooting diligently during the summer.

Price then tried to launch another attack from the high post.

Unexpectedly, he was targeted by Gan Guoyang.

After a fake screen, Gan Guoyang switched to defend Price, forcing Price to pass the ball.

The ball was then passed to Doherty in the paint, and Gan Guoyang quickly retreated to defend.

Doherty was stunned. He was under the basket, the ball was in his hands, he should shoot.

But Forrest Gump was right behind him, and that guy was just waiting to block my shot!
To shoot or not to shoot? Doherty faked a couple of times before finally passing the ball.

Wilkens on the sidelines was speechless. "You cut right to the basket and you didn't shoot?"

There's a blocker behind you, not a tiger. You're 7 feet tall, what are you afraid of? It's not that easy to get blocked.

The Cavaliers had no time left to reorganize their offense and could only take a hasty shot, which missed.

Gan Guoyang grabbed the defensive rebound, but there was no good counter-attack opportunity.

The ball is passed to Porter in a set play, and Gan Guoyang receives the ball in the low post.

After being double-teamed, Thompson suddenly received a behind-the-back pass.

Thompson cut through the middle, received the ball, and easily made a layup.

Gan Guoyang fully demonstrated his dominance on both offense and defense.

And he organized the team's offense in a very orderly manner.

Then, he blocked Price's shot on the defensive end.

Price had no idea how he had offended Gan Guoyang, or why Gan was targeting him for blocking shots.

When Price went to the bench for a rest in the second half of the first quarter, Kevin Johnson got the chance to come off the bench.

Johnson straightened his trousers, took a deep breath, and stepped onto the stage.

This was the first time he had faced Gan Guoyang in an official game since the 1982 California high school basketball tournament.

That monster that once ran rampant in California is now wreaking havoc across the entire United States.

Kevin Johnson felt inexplicably nervous as he watched Gan Guoyang walk towards him.

"Hi, Kevin, you want to score 40 points on me again? I'll give you a chance."

Johnson felt a tightness in his chest; this vengeful guy actually remembered the rumors from high school.

(End of this chapter)