The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 485 Dissatisfaction
Being able to keep Gan Guoyang's score below 30 points is already a huge success for a team.

Gan Guoyang is a center who excels in both offense and defense. He contributes a lot of rebounds and protects the rim on the defensive end, while also scoring more than 30 points on the offensive end, and even has a breakout game with 40, 50 or 60 points, which is extremely terrifying.

This isn't the 50s or 60s anymore. Back then, the league had a lot of part-time players. They worked during the day, driving taxis, fixing plumbing, installing air conditioners, and then wore their jerseys to play games at night.

These players were naturally helpless against Chamberlain, a monster whose physical abilities were ahead of his time. They could only watch as he scored forty or fifty points and grabbed twenty or thirty rebounds in a game. Chamberlain didn't need to rest and could play a full 48 minutes.

Now everyone here is a professional player, a genius from their respective regions. The league brings together the most talented athletes from across the United States and even the world.

Despite battling and competing against them every night, Gan Guoyang still manages to maintain his stamina and achieve top scores on both offense and defense.

Especially on the offensive end, his scoring ability rivals that of Michael Jordan, Wilkins, and other perimeter players, demonstrating his formidable firepower.

Dick Motta believes that the team can only win by wearing down Forrest Gump on both ends of the court, slowing down the game, using a lot of physical contact to wear down his outside shooting touch, and suppressing his scoring.

Dick Motta's theory on this point is completely opposite to Doug Motta's.

Doug Mo unleashed his offensive prowess, diluting Gan Guoyang's high score with a large margin.

This tactic can work sometimes, but when Forrest Gump can score 60 points for you in the playoffs, it just helps him pad his stats.

As Gan Guoyang's offensive skills become more and more refined, especially his mid-to-long-range shooting which reaches the league's top level, this dilution method becomes less and less effective.

Therefore, all teams in the league began to change their strategies, shifting from dilution to attrition.

Unlike wearing down a perimeter player like Jordan, wearing down Jordan mainly relies on defense, setting up numerous obstacles on the defensive end to make it extremely difficult for Jordan to take every step forward.

The key to wearing down Gan Guoyang is on the offensive end; we need to constantly put pressure on him and even force him to commit fouls.

In the 1987-1988 season, the Trail Blazers' interior resources were arguably the worst in four years, roughly the same as in 1984-1985.

Gilmore was barely adequate, Thompson was aging, and Anderson was too young and had a strong offense but weak defense.

Thompson's aging, in particular, puts unprecedented defensive pressure on Gan Guoyang when facing off against other starters.

His shot blocks reached the peak of his career, while his foul count also reached a career high.

In addition to offensive attrition, the Bullets cannot afford to lag behind on defense; a rotation strategy is essential.

When Gan Guoyang returned to the court in the second quarter, Rick Mahorn remained on the court and began to primarily defend Gan Guoyang.

Mahone has a lot of dirty tricks on defense, and he especially likes to use the bench-pulling technique.

He doesn't jump when defending one-on-one, nor does he expect to block Gan Guoyang; he just defends his lower body.

If Gan Guoyang exerts force, he will retreat. If you are not careful, you will lose your balance. At best, you will violate the rules of walking; at worst, you will fall to the ground and make a fool of yourself.

Gan Guoyang was initially a little unaccustomed to Ma Hong's defensive methods and was called for traveling by the referee.

Gan Guoyang only scored 2 points in the first quarter, which is a rare low score for him.

When Gan Guoyang tried to solve the problem with a pull-up jumper, he found that his touch was not good tonight because the large amount of muscle contact on both offense and defense caused his hand to be a little stiff.

Under these circumstances, Gan Guoyang did not force a fight, as there was still a long time left in the match.

Jack Ramsey instructed Gan Guoyang to shift his focus to defense and playmaking.

Focus on securing rebounds in the backcourt, while also providing screens and support for teammates to keep the score close.

The two sides continued their fierce battle in the second quarter.

Bernard King took over the Bullets' offense in the latter part of the second quarter.

He attacked the Trail Blazers' basket with agile turns and accurate jump shots.

Gan Guoyang's attention was focused on Moses Malone and Barkley; he couldn't care less about Kim anymore.

The team once led by 6 points. During the timeout, Gan Guoyang kept communicating with Ke Xi, teaching him how to defend Jin.

"First, never go to the bottom of the table, never. That will only give him a chance to attack you from behind. What you need to do is protect him and keep your distance."

"Second, don't observe Kim's footwork, that's just to mislead you. Watch his hands, watch his ball. Don't worry about whether he can pass or not, he can't. Try to disrupt his shot."

"Third, let him shoot from a distance away from the basket, let him shoot mid-range shots. I will block him on both sides of the three-second zone. Remember to let him shoot mid-range shots, don't stick close to him, let him shoot freely, and then try to contest his shots. He has a habit of leaning forward when shooting, so contesting his shots will be very effective."

Ke Xi, sweating profusely, listened intently to Gan Guoyang's opinion before asking, "You also lean forward, so why doesn't it interfere with you?"

"I won't lean forward without physical contact. Stop asking me stupid questions. You can't guard me anyway. Get on the court! If you let Kim score any more points, I'll twist your head off."

Gan Guoyang learned many offensive skills from Bernard King. The two belong to the same system, with precise footwork, quick turns, rapid shots, great power under the basket, and never bank shots.

However, Gan Guoyang has surpassed his teacher; his offensive arsenal is now more diverse, and his mid-range and long-range shooting is far superior to King's. Bernard King mentioned in his autobiography (Volume 1, Chapter 38) that the two best defenders against him were his former teammate George Johnson and Forrest Gump.

Both men share the characteristics of height, long arms, agility, and speed. Bernard King is not afraid of those who can topple people with their base, but he is afraid of those long-armed spiders.

Moreover, both of them are very familiar with Kim's offensive tactics and can completely dominate him.

Kexi also had excellent physical condition and good comprehension. After being guided by Gan Guoyang, he became much more organized in his defense against Jin.

The worst thing for a defensive spearhead is to be disorganized and act like a headless fly, trying to defend everything and ending up getting completely outmaneuvered.

After careful study, we adhere to a set strategy and persist in defending in this way. Even if you score, I will defend in the same way next time. The goal is not to prevent you from scoring every time, but to make you score fewer goals and make it uncomfortable for you to score.

The same approach was taken against Gan Guoyang, with a resolute double-team that left open three-point opportunities for his teammates.

If you make the shot, I'm out of luck; if you miss, I'm going to launch a counterattack.

Unfortunately, the Trail Blazers' outside shooting was really inaccurate in this game, and Hornacek, Curry, and Porter wasted a lot of open looks that Gan Guoyang passed to them.

They were clearly affected by the high-intensity, slow-paced nature of the game and struggled to find their shooting rhythm.

For outside shooters, rhythm is very important.

If your body can't play at a comfortable and familiar rhythm, your shots will inevitably miss.

Especially with long-range shots, even a slight deviation can make a completely different difference.

Relying on this consistent strategy of attrition, counter-attacks, isolation plays, and offensive rebounding, the Bullets gained an advantage over the Trail Blazers in the first half.

At halftime, the score was 41-45, with the Bullets leading by 4 points.

Neither team scored more than 50 points in the first half. Gan Guoyang had 9 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists in the first half.

It's unusual that he didn't score in double digits in the first half.

The fact that they grabbed the rebounds so easily shows that both teams missed a lot of shots and had many second-chance opportunities.

This style of play made Gan Guoyang feel like he was back in his rookie season.

Bernard King led both teams with 12 points and 1 assist.

Steve Colter quietly delivered 6 assists.

Drexler had 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists; the Trail Blazers' offense mainly relied on his and Gan Guoyang's individual abilities.

During halftime, Drexler offered his opinion, saying, "We didn't shoot well tonight, and we wasted too many outside shooting opportunities, almost hitting the rim off target."

“We need to change our strategy. We need to play fast, we need speed, we need to be aggressive, we need to score, instead of playing a quagmire of defense against the Bullets. This is not the way we play.”

The first game after the All-Star break determined the team's tactical direction for the second half of the season.

Before the match was even over, Drexler objected, demanding a faster pace, as that was his preferred style of play.

Jack Ramsey provided the answer: "No, we're sticking to our strategy. It's only halfway through the game, and we won't succeed if we waver too easily."

“We were already losing some games before the All-Star break,” Drexler continued.

But Ramsey remained unmoved, demanding that the strategy continue and that they fight the Bullets to the bitter end.

Drexler didn't say anything more, but it was clear he was very unhappy.

He scored the highest points in the first half, and his key points saved the team when Gan Guoyang was being harassed.

Not only in this game, but Drexler also played a supporting role when the team's outside shooting was inconsistent. Naturally, he felt that his role was becoming more and more important and wanted a higher tactical position.

But Drexler didn't expect that he would almost never encounter double teams during the game.

Gan Guoyang is now facing more and more double teams, with two, three, or even four people surrounding him.

Furthermore, the full-scale deployment of players like Hornacek, Curry, and Porter gave him maximum room to maneuver.

Gan Guoyang did not participate in the argument. The game was not over yet, and there was still a second half. He did not want a fight to break out in the locker room.

But before going on the court, he gave Drexler a look, and Drexler suppressed his dissatisfaction, saying, "I'll play well, Sonny. Don't glare at me. I'm just giving you some advice. Nobody's threatening you. Anyway, no matter what tactics you use, you're the core player. You can play any tactic."

Gan Guoyang said, "I hope you can be the same, able to use any tactic. Enough talk, get on the field!"

(End of this chapter)