The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 542 He's Made It!

Ewing tapped the ball first.

By 1989, Ewing was even stronger, weighing 255 pounds and much more physically capable.

His knees were still wrapped in thick knee braces to protect his injury-ravaged pelvis.

The Knicks' first offensive possession created space by running, giving Ewing a one-on-one opportunity in the low post at the 45-degree angle.

After receiving the ball, Ewing dribbled past Sabonis, quickly turned and launched a mid-range jump shot—the ball bounced a few times on the rim and missed.

Gan Guoyang grabbed the rebound and said, "You still can't score even when I'm not guarding you. Your shooting skills need improvement, Pat!"

Ewing shook his head slightly. He always had trouble sleeping before playing the Trail Blazers, and the thought of battling with Forrest Gump under the basket gave him a headache.

The good news for today's game is that the Trail Blazers used Sabonis to match up against Ewing.

The bad news is that Forrest Gump is still on the field, and he hasn't lost his voice.

The Trail Blazers launched a swift counterattack, with Gan Guoyang passing the ball to Porter and quickly making a fast break.

Porter understood perfectly and passed the ball to Gan Guoyang with a bounce pass. Gan Guoyang dribbled straight to the basket and slammed it home with one hand!
They secured the first point of the match.

When Sabonis plays center, Gan Guoyang can play like a running back.

He can charge forward more aggressively without worrying about getting back on defense or stamina issues.

The Knicks then had Oakley back down Gan Guoyang in the low post—which was obviously a feint.

Oakley faked a dribble and walked inside, then passed the ball to Ewing, who was cutting into the middle.

Ewing received the ball and made a jump shot from just inside the free-throw line, scoring two points.

Contrary to what many people might think, Ewing, with his tall stature and imposing appearance, is a handsome mid-range shooter on offense.

Gan Guoyang has gradually increased the proportion of mid-range shots in the past two seasons, giving his teammates more space to attack under the basket.

His mid-range shot-to-paint zone ratio is about 50/50.

As a center, Gan Guoyang will still maintain his aggressiveness under the basket.

At the start of his rookie season, Ewing's mid-range shot attempts accounted for 57% of his total attempts.

In the following seasons, Ewing's mid-range shooting percentage declined as Pitino involved him in a lot of fast breaks, directly attacking the basket.

With Stu Jackson taking over this season, Ewing has once again transformed into a mid-range shooting star in half-court situations.

Since the start of this season, Ewing's mid-range shot attempt rate has rarely fallen below 55%.

Sometimes it can even be as high as 60% or more.

It's worth noting that Michael Jordan's mid-range shot attempts accounted for only 53% of his total shots last season.

Charles Barkley consistently kept his mid-range attempts below 20 and his paint shots at 65% to 70%.

Hakeem Olajuwon's mid-range shot attempts were around 40%, gradually rising to 50% this season, similar to Gan Guoyang's.

The further you are from the basket, the less consistent your offense becomes. To effectively attack opponents from mid-range, you need to have a very high shooting percentage.

Ewing's lack of offensive firepower was already evident in his rookie season; he relied too much on mid-range shots, and his shooting percentage wasn't particularly high.

Of course, in some games, especially the regular season, Ewing's power is still very strong.

Gan Guoyang was surrounded by Oakley and Ewing in positional play, and he passed the ball to Sabonis.

Sabonis dribbled to the basket and dunked with one hand!
Both teams' defenses were somewhat loose at the start, with the Knicks clearly not as strong as the Spurs in terms of defensive intensity.

The Knicks' third offensive possession was once again given to Ewing, who backed down Sabonis in the low post on the left side.

After receiving the ball, he executed a smooth baseline spin, leaned forward to block Sabonis, and made a jump shot.

4: 4.

Ewing's leaning-forward shooting move seems to have been learned from Gan Guoyang.

"Pat, did you steal my technique?" Gan Guoyang shouted at him after serving the ball.

"Who copied you? Many people know this trick. I learned it from Bernard King."

“Bernard also learned from me; I was still in high school back then.”

"..."

Ewing had nothing more to say about such a shameless person.

The Trail Blazers played very relaxed tonight. Porter dribbled to the frontcourt and immediately pulled up for a jump shot, which went in.

4: 6.

Both sides started the game at a very fast pace.

For the Knicks, Ewing reached out for the ball in the paint.

But Mark Jackson received the ball and shot a three-pointer from the top of the arc.

In the early to mid-80s, this was an incredible choice.

By 89 and 90, this situation had become very common in the regular season.

When Rick Pitino was in charge, he allowed guards to take three-point shots so quickly.

Regardless of whether it goes in or not, just shoot. If it goes in, great; if it doesn't, grab the rebound.

Oakley actually grabbed the offensive rebound and reorganized the offense.

The ball was given to Ewing, who turned and went down the middle lane, getting past Sabonis.

Kossie came over to help defend, Ewing passed the ball to the outside, and Johnny Newman received the ball and hit a three-pointer!

7: 6.

The Knicks executed a beautiful inside-out play in the half-court set, with both three-point attempts being very decisive.

Gan Guoyang said to Sabonis, "You should handle Ewing by yourself, otherwise there will be gaps in the defense."

"Yes, I was a step too late."

"Mid lane, remember to block the mid lane, cut through his mid lane!" Gan Guoyang repeatedly reminded Sabonis that when dealing with Ewing, you must pay attention to his mid lane.

In the first quarter, the Trail Blazers were a bit lax on both offense and defense. It's normal to relax a bit after a series of victories.

Porter's pass went astray, and they tried to make a wide pass, but Sabonis' screen caused Porter to miss his pass and pass it too far.

“He’s too big, he’s blocking Hornacek!” Potter shouted.

Sabonis was originally setting a screen for Hornacek, who then received the ball at a 45-degree angle on the left.

The cover was so successful that it completely blocked Hornacek's view, and Porter on the right couldn't see Hornacek's position.

As a result, Porter's pass went too far and ended up in the hands of a spectator on the bench.

With Sabonis starting, the Trail Blazers' guards need to adapt well.

"Sorry," Sabonis apologized to his teammates, acknowledging his excessively large size.

"What are you apologizing for? That idiot Porter made the mistake himself!"

Gan Guoyang reminded Sabonis not to take on responsibilities that are not his.

Then Gan Guoyang reminded Potter not to relax too much, but to be a little more tense.

For the Knicks, the ball was passed to Ewing again, who was posting up Sabonis on the left side.

The Knicks started the game with their offense entirely centered around Ewing.

Ewing has indeed made great progress in the last two seasons.

His shooting has become more accurate, and more importantly, his passing has become more decisive.

Last season, Ewing's assists increased to 2.4 per game, while his turnovers dropped to a career low of 3.3 per game.

Gan Guoyang thought to himself, "Mark Jackson is a cunning guy. When he saw that Sabonis was guarding Ewing one-on-one, he kept feeding the ball to Ewing."

Mark Jackson may be one of the least physically gifted players in NBA history.

He was able to survive in the NBA because of his quick thinking, excellent passing, and precise control of the game.

Within the first three rounds, Jackson realized that Forrest wouldn't double-team Ewing; he would let Sabonis guard him one-on-one.

Since that's the case, I'll grant your wish and keep feeding Ewing the ball.

Ewing's fourth singles game of the season.

This time, Sabonis learned his lesson and decisively targeted the mid lane.

As soon as Ewing turned around, the ball was knocked out of his hand and went out of bounds.

A nice defensive play, but not entirely successful; the Knicks still had possession of the ball.

Sabonis found his rhythm.

Gan Guoyang came over to encourage Sabonis: "You defended very well. Don't treat yourself as a 7'3" when defending Ewing. Instead, treat yourself as a 7" tall, the same height as Ewing, or even shorter than Ewing when defending him."

Sabonis nodded.

Height is a good thing in defense.

However, relying too much on height can cause players to neglect movement, physical contact, and interception.

These things are often more important than height.

The Knicks then missed a mid-range shot.

The Trail Blazers countered, but Hornacek's outside shot missed.

Ewing grabbed the rebound, the Knicks launched a counterattack, and Newman's layup was blocked by Gan Guoyang.

Oakley grabbed the offensive rebound, took another shot, but Sabonis blocked it from behind.

Both sides launched rapid attacks back and forth, pushing the pace of the game to its peak, but the play was chaotic, and neither side managed to score.

The score remained 7-6 for quite some time.

Seeing that his teammates were playing somewhat chaotically, Gan Guoyang decided to step in and organize the team.

He received the ball on the wing, and the Knicks showed no intention of double-teaming him.

Gan Guoyang dribbled the ball directly from the baseline to the basket, and pushed past Ewing in the three-second zone to score a layup.

Ewing was knocked to the ground and helped up by his teammates. He knew in his heart that as long as Forrest wanted to, no one could stop him from scoring.

At the same time, Ewing also knew that apart from Forrest Gump, no one on the Trail Blazers could stop him from scoring, not even Sabonis.

Later in the offensive play, Ewing received the ball again and moved down the middle. Facing a double team, he made a clever pass to Mark Jackson, who was cutting to the basket.

Jackson received the ball and made a layup.

Ewing then stole the ball from Sabonis on defense.

The Knicks launched a counterattack, with Ewing participating in the fast break.

He charged towards the basket from the middle, and despite being surrounded by Ke Xi and Gan Guoyang, he received the ball and charged forward, drawing a foul from Ke Xi.

Ewing fell to the ground again, then was helped up by his teammates and stood at the free throw line.

With both free throws made, the Knicks regained the lead at 11-8.

Ewing looked at Gan Guoyang as if to say, "You'd better defend me, otherwise no one can handle me."

Ewing certainly didn't dare say these words aloud; it would cause trouble if he did. He could convey the meaning with his eyes.

Gan Guoyang could certainly sense that Youyin had completely controlled the situation from the start, performing exceptionally well on both offense and defense.

Sabonis could only occasionally gain a small advantage; the rest of the time he was at a disadvantage.

Gan Guoyang thought to himself, "Patrick has really made something of himself."

However, Gan Guoyang still encouraged Sabonis: "If all else fails, give him a punch and make him go down and rest."

(End of this chapter)