The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 770 You're Already a Dead Man

Losing to the Pacers and being defeated by Miller's game-winning shot was a blow to everyone on the Trail Blazers.

Kobe, in particular, not only lost the game, but was also badly beaten by Miller.

He thought he had found his rhythm in the last game against the Cavaliers, but in just two days, reality brought him back to reality.

Before the game, he was excited and thought he would have a great performance, but in the end, it was the confused Jermaine O'Neal who played better.

Facing the Pacers' tough interior defense of Smits and Davis, Jermaine O'Neal scored 10 points and grabbed 6 rebounds.

This is the first time in his career that he has scored in double digits. It is not easy to score in double digits in a game in which the whole team only scored more than 90 points.

Amidst a group of veteran centers, Jermaine O'Neal displayed remarkable energy, appearing as youthful as a colt.

Compared to Kobe, Jermaine O'Neal didn't face as much pressure, and he didn't receive as much attention.

Or perhaps, Kobe's presence helped Jermaine O'Neal absorb most of the pressure and attention.

This is related to the public's expectations of the two; Kobe was considered to be the next Michael Jordan.

But nobody thought Jermaine O'Neal would be the next Forrest Gump; at best, he was considered the next Mitchell Thompson.

The hopes for the next Forrest Gump rest on the shoulders of a tall college senior who will be participating in the 1997 NBA draft.

With little time to process the disappointment of defeat, the team flew overnight to their next destination: New Jersey.

Seeing Kobe's distressed expression, Gan Guoyang comforted him, "Don't be discouraged. That's how the NBA is. You won't always win, and you won't always lose. Some nights we'll have particularly bad luck. It's like you go to a hotel and call a prostitute. Sometimes she's beautiful, and it's a lucky night. But sometimes you'll encounter a really ugly one. But you're already there, so you bite the bullet and go for it. It's unpleasant, and you're frustrated. But what do you do? You pay, leave, forget about her, and wait for the next beautiful woman to arrive."

This is a quote from veteran Kenny Carr, who comforted Gan Guoyang with the "ugly duckling" theory when Gan Guoyang was still a rookie.

Even today, Gan Guoyang remembers how to comfort himself about how to face failure correctly: forget about it as soon as possible and move on.

Kobe stared at Gan Guoyang for a while and said, "Why not change to another one? If he's too ugly, I'll change to another one."

Gan Guoyang was speechless for a moment, then paused and said, "This is just a metaphor. In fact, I don't hire prostitutes."

"I will definitely find someone else. If there's a pretty one, I will never go for an ugly one," Kobe said firmly.

Kobe had his own unique rebelliousness, and he had his own principles when it came to victory and defeat.

Gan Guoyang didn't dwell on the issue. He respected Kobe's opinion but reminded him, "It's good to switch to someone else, but don't force it."

With the rest of the time to spare, Gan Guoyang started flipping through newspapers. The Trail Blazers' No. 1 always had a variety of the latest newspapers and magazines for the players to enjoy.

The biggest news in November 1996 was, of course, Clinton's successful victory in the election.

After his stunning victory over George H.W. Bush in 1992, Clinton's first term was not easy.

By 1994, when Gan Guoyang retired, the Democratic Party had lost the House of Representatives election, and his domestic approval ratings had been declining.

The president and his wife have been embroiled in various scandals, leading people to question what kind of people the so-called first family really are.

However, as the US economy continued to improve and the country gradually emerged from the economic downturn of 1990, Clinton's approval ratings returned to their peak.

This shows that most Americans are realistic; if you can lead everyone to a stable life, they will vote for you, and what you do behind the scenes is not that important.

Before the 1996 election, Gan Guoyang made a comeback, and his popularity temporarily overshadowed the prosecutor's indictment of the First Lady, defusing the last landmine for Clinton before the election.

In the November election, Clinton easily defeated Bob Dole and won a second term, continuing to be the helmsman of the great ship that is the United States.

These are all ordinary, normal stories. There are also some unfounded conspiracy theories in newspapers and media, suggesting that Forrest Gump played a pivotal role in the presidential election.

Because many of Forrest Gump's major life events over the years have been closely linked to Clinton's poll numbers.

Journalists and editors, adept at making connections and sensationalizing stories, have reason to believe that there is a close connection between Forrest Gump's election and Clinton's election.

A reporter compiled information about Gan Guoyang's acquaintance with Clinton in the 80s up to his comeback in 96, in chronological order.

He wrote that Clinton's election may have been manipulated by a major power across the Pacific, and that Forrest Gump was a top-level spy who had infiltrated the United States.

The tabloid even ran a sensational headline: "The 'Oriental Bio-Cyborgs of the 80s: The Biggest Nail Planted in America."

After riding the wave of the presidential election, tabloid sales soared, and the content was reprinted by many media outlets and used for jokes on talk shows and late-night programs.

Gan Guoyang treated this content like a storybook, never expecting that after so many years, American society would still be a melting pot of rumors.

People all over the world love rumors and conspiracy theories. Of all the rumors in the world, Americans alone have eight-tenths.

All the rumors, scams, and conspiracy theories that have ever appeared in open Chinese society can be traced back to precedents in the United States.

Moreover, a simple search along the map reveals that the transmission routes generally follow the US-Japan-Hong Kong-Taiwan-Mainland China route, making the Americans veritable pioneers.

Although the news content was quite absurd, Clinton and Gan Guoyang did have a decent relationship, and they had known each other for a long time.

Moreover, during elections, Clinton did indeed use Gan Guoyang as a selling point when dealing with minority groups.

Gan Guoyang still wields considerable influence in the West Coast region, with his blue coat completely dominating the area.

Gan Guoyang never imagined that these things would bring him considerable trouble in the future.

Over the next two days, the Trail Blazers faced the New Jersey Nets and the New York Knicks on the road.

They beat the Nets, avoiding a losing streak, but then immediately lost to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

The Knicks have a very strong roster, with Kemp, Mourning, Glen Rice, and Allan Houston forming the basic framework of the team.

The Knicks' head coach was a short man with no professional basketball experience, a bald head, and dark circles under his eyes—Jeff Van Gundy.

Van Gundy served as an assistant coach for the New York Knicks from 1990 until he became head coach in the 1994-1995 season.

This is a thoroughly defensive coach. He has never played professional basketball, but he is a very experienced basketball tactics research expert.

Since 90, he has been immersed in research on how to build a more solid and tougher defense, but the Knicks' style has prevented him from ever being truly used.

Until Ewing left in 1994, the Knicks began to rebuild, and Van Gundy became the leader of the Knicks, and he began to reshape the Knicks' team style.

After acquiring Alonzo Mourning and snatching Allan Houston from the Pistons, along with Rice and Kemp, the Knicks already have a very strong roster.

Van Gundy is very good at creating defensive traps. He believes that in the past, the defending side was always passive, setting up a formation and waiting for the attacking side to attack, often resulting in being passively attacked.

To strengthen defense, one should take the initiative and not simply react to every attack. Instead, one should proactively dig a pit, lure the opponent into it, and force them to make a mistake.

Van Gundy's defensive system places great emphasis on pressuring the ball handler, which is similar to the SuperSonics' SOS defensive system, where they often focus on repeatedly attacking the opponent's point guard.

The difference between Van Gundy's system and SOS is that Van Gundy's system places great emphasis on protecting the rim and will not easily give up the paint in order to pressure the team.

All of the Knicks' big men were asked to come out and slow down the smaller players.

Mourning and Kemp would almost always extend out from the middle to delay the ball handler, and then immediately retreat to the basket to protect the three-second zone.

Based on this set of basic rules, Van Gundy has created many defensive traps that make it easy for the ball handler to get into a "dead end".

For example, being pushed to the baseline, being surrounded by three players and unable to find a passing lane, or passing the ball to a player who lacks independent offensive ability, forcing him to engage in inefficient one-on-one attacks.

Every pass and decision made by the ball handler may seem like an independent action, but in reality, it is consciously guided by the Knicks players. They will consciously follow your offensive habits to create deadly situations based on your characteristics.

For example, if a player is good with his right hand but not so good with his left, then you'll defend his right hand and leave his left hand open for him to drive, because there's a big guy waiting there.

For example, if a certain perimeter player has a relatively weak offensive ability, he is left open to receive the ball and have the opportunity to play one-on-one. In reality, his efficiency is very low and he cannot produce any output.

With their offensive system still in its infancy, the Trail Blazers naturally faced an exceptionally difficult game against the well-established and disciplined New York Knicks.

Rick Carlisle's so-called "flowing offense" is still in the theoretical stage; he himself is confused about it, let alone making the players understand it.

During the game, the Trail Blazers made a series of mistakes, and in the end they could only give the ball to Gan Guoyang and let him handle it.

In this game at Madison Square Garden, Gan Guoyang scored 41 points, which is not a very high score in Gan Guoyang's career.

However, the Trail Blazers only scored 75 points in the entire game, and Gan Guoyang's score alone accounted for more than half of the team's total.

Unfortunately, the Trail Blazers struggled against the Knicks' minefield-filled defense and ultimately had to give way to their leader.

The Trail Blazers ultimately lost to the Knicks 75-80, a 5-point margin, ending their Eastern Conference journey with a 2-2 record.

This game was incredibly frustrating for Gan Guoyang, as the Trail Blazers trailed by a large margin in the first half, at one point being pulled up by as many as 15 points by the Knicks.

The Trail Blazers players struggled to adapt to the Knicks' defense and were completely outmatched.

Against a defensive team like the Knicks, a 15-point deficit basically means the game is over.

Gan Guoyang originally thought that losing this game was nothing to worry about, and that it was just a training exercise at the beginning of the season to teach the players a lesson.

Unexpectedly, during the official timeout midway through the second quarter, Jeff Van Gundy yelled at Gan Guoyang, "This isn't your era anymore! You shouldn't have come back!"

At that time, Gan Guoyang was battling fiercely with Mourning and Kemp under the basket. The referee called a foul on Mourning, which angered Van Gundy, who then made provocative remarks.

Van Gundy later explained that he did this to encourage the players, to encourage them to confront Forrest Gump instead of being afraid.

In reality, the Knicks players were terrified when Van Gundy said that.

Kemp and Mourning were practically running to the sidelines to cover Van Gundy's mouth and tell him to stop talking.

Van Gundy's verbal attacks successfully enraged Gan Guoyang. After scoring only 10 points in the first half, he unleashed his full potential in the second half, scoring a whopping 31 points.

Gan Guoyang doesn't see the Knicks' so-called defensive trap as a big problem, because they have plenty of open space between the paint and the three-point line.

This is inevitable; no defense can be perfect in every aspect, and being perfect in every aspect often means that no aspect is strong enough.

Many teams will relax their defense on the mid-range shot because it is a relatively inefficient way to score.

After Bobby Bellman introduced the concept of "efficiency basketball," many teams began to focus on overall efficiency in the 90s.

However, for individual players, the mid-range shot is the best weapon, offering the greatest and widest range of opportunities to showcase their skills.

Time and time again, he took step-back shots, used the rhythm to find open shots, and hit unreasonable three-pointers on fast breaks.

Gan Guoyang's performance in the third and fourth quarters left the Madison Square Garden fans reeling, narrowing the gap to as little as two points.

However, the Knicks ultimately held onto their advantage, and at a crucial moment, the referee called a traveling violation on Gan Guoyang.

PJ Brown was called for a foul on defense, sending Kemp to the free-throw line, where he made both shots to maintain the lead.

With their final three-point attempt missing, the Trail Blazers had no choice but to foul, losing the game by 5 points.

When the game ended, Gan Guoyang approached Jeff Van Gundy and said, "See you in Portland, Coach Van Gundy."

Van Gundy did not respond; a hint of anxiety was visible on his face, which was covered in panda-like eye bags.

Back in the locker room, Van Gundy breathed a sigh of relief. Mourning asked, "Coach, are you alright?" Van Gundy replied, "I'm fine. I thought Forrest Gump was going to hit me. I was terrified."

Mourning said, "He wouldn't just lay a hand on someone. Forrest Gump is a man of principle. But you were really brave to provoke Forrest Gump. The best part is, we won."

Van Gundy said, "I didn't mean to provoke him... Okay, I did provoke him, but I wanted to give you guys a boost. We can't always be afraid of him, right? If we can be unafraid of Forrest Gump, then correspondingly, we won't be afraid of Michael Jordan either!"

For the Knicks, their biggest rivals in the East are still the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan.

Cheers erupted in the locker room; Van Gundy's bold and provocative act was recognized by the players.

Despite his small stature, which makes him look like a dwarf in the NBA where giants abound, he is certainly full of courage.

However, the Knicks will be visiting Portland soon, and the Trail Blazers and Forrest Gump will surely respond.

Van Gundy asked Mourning with some concern, "If I were to fight with Forrest Gump, would you help me?"

Mourning looked down at Van Gundy, who looked like a little pudding, and said, "I'll hold onto Forrest Gump's leg tightly and make him not rush up and hit you. That's the only thing I can do."

Younger centers like Mourning grew up watching Forrest Gump fight during their school days.

The horror of Forrest Gump's slam and the numerous bloodbaths at the Silver Summit were deeply etched in their minds.

What's more, Forrest Gump looks even stronger now than before.

I wouldn't dare to fight you; I'm already being kind enough by clinging to your leg to save your life.
-

On the other hand, the Trail Blazers finished their Eastern Conference tour with a 2-2 record and flew back to Portland.

The whole team breathed a sigh of relief; they could finally return to their home stadium and regroup.

The schedule is packed during this period, with more away games than home games, and back-to-back away games are really tough.

Not only were the players physically exhausted, but the coaching staff also didn't have time to stop and properly analyze the situation.

Upon returning to Portland, the players were given a day to rest, while the coaching staff organized an important training session to address the problems the team had encountered during this period.

On the plane, Gan Guoyang was sullen because of the loss to the Knicks.

Not only because of the loss, but he was even mocked by Van Gundy for "not being suited for this era?"

Such voices have indeed emerged frequently since his comeback.

Gan Guoyang's individual performance was impeccable, but the Trail Blazers have been losing and winning, and seem to have lost their former glory.

The media and fans don't care how difficult the schedule is, how many bad players there are in the team, or whether the team is newly formed.

A loss is a loss. After all, the Portland Trail Blazers' long winning streak offended fans from almost the entire league.

When you win, no one says anything, but when you lose, someone will definitely jump out and criticize you, saying that Gan Guoyang shouldn't have come back.

"Leaving with seven rings is the best ending; a comeback would just be returning to eat the leftovers."

"This is a new era, and Forrest Gump can no longer command the winds and waves in this era."

"The greatest significance of Forrest Gump's return is that it gives those he once harmed a chance for revenge."

New York is a place with a lot of sarcastic and unsavory media, so of course they won't let this opportunity slip by.

When he returned, everyone cheered thunderously, celebrating that their king had returned.

After only two or three weeks of the season, they started saying, "You shouldn't have come back."

There's no way around it; public opinion always swings back and forth like this, constantly slapping itself in the face is a daily occurrence.

Gan Guoyang could have simply ignored or ignored these things, avoiding seeing them and thus avoiding being bothered.

Time will tell. He has the patience to accompany the newcomers as they grow and enjoy the process of getting better little by little.

To everyone's surprise, Van Gundy, who seemed like an honest nerd, actually stepped forward to speak out.

This infuriated Gan Guoyang. He couldn't hit Van Gundy; that would be bullying the weak.

It would be difficult to respond with trash talk, as Van Gundy is, after all, a minor figure and a coach.

He can only respond with basketball, and unfortunately, the Knicks are indeed very strong overall right now.

The Trail Blazers lost the game, which was a very painful feeling. Forrest Gump was very angry, and things were serious.

Kobe noticed that Gan Guoyang was unhappy and comforted him, "Boss, just think of it as meeting an ugly duckling."

This kid really knows how to apply what he's learned.

Gan Guoyang rolled his eyes at Kobe and said, "I want to change to someone else, is that okay?"

"I'm sorry, we've already paid."

Fortunately, this is not the last game between the Trail Blazers and the Knicks; they will have another chance to meet.

Moreover, the time interval is very short. A week later, on November 29th, the Trail Blazers will host the New York Knicks.

During their time back in Portland, the Trail Blazers made careful adjustments.

Bird first gave the players a break, and then he held a meeting with Hart and Carlisle to discuss and summarize the problems that had arisen during this period.

Although Bird often shirked his responsibilities, his intuition and adaptability were truly exceptional.

He saw many problems the Trail Blazers faced on offense and defense and made changes to them one by one.

In the starting lineup, Bird fixed the starting five combination of Van Exel, Riddell, A.C. Green, PJ Brown and Agan.

Among them, the older AC Green is a pseudo starter, with Aaron McGee and Kobe sharing the bench role.

Their core task is defense; on the offensive end, they need to provide support, make open shots, and finish plays effectively.

In the backcourt, Van Exel, Riddell, and Porter will share playing time, and how this is allocated will be decided by Bird based on the situation on the court.

In the paint, Agan and PJ Brown are the undisputed starters, while Jermaine O'Neal, Winfield, and Dudley will get different playing time depending on the opponent.

A relatively stable rotation system is very meaningful for improving the team's strength.

Imagine if each player had to play with different combinations in every game, how would they develop chemistry?
After a period of adjustment, Bird developed his own understanding of the characteristics of his players and had many ideas on how to use them.

He doesn't like overly fixed timed rotations because different players will have different effects in different games and against different opponents.

As the head coach, you need to make the best judgment based on the characteristics of the players and the opponents, combined with the situation that night, which requires intuition on the field.

In previous games, Bird made several judgments that differed from those of Carlisle and Hart.

Bird decided to respect the two assistant coaches' ideas and call a timeout or make a substitution, but the results were not satisfactory.

After several such instances, Bird began to make decisions according to his own wishes, and the results were surprisingly good.

Carlisle and Hart gradually accepted this and began to follow Bird's lead in personnel deployment and tactical adjustments.

As a result, the Trail Blazers won four straight games.

These included two wins against the Golden State Warriors, a narrow one-point overtime victory over the Houston Rockets, and a 110-65 home rout of the Denver Nuggets.

A series of victories propelled the Trail Blazers to fourth place in the Western Conference standings as November drew to a close.

Gan Guoyang achieved a triple-double in four consecutive games, including a game-winning hook shot and a block in overtime against the Rockets.

Chris Webber's last-second shot was swatted away by him, and the Trail Blazers secured a hard-fought victory in Houston.

On November 29th, Gan Guoyang waited in the Rose Garden, where they had just humiliated the Nuggets by a 45-point margin in their last game.

After losing Mutombo and trading Mark Jackson in free agency, the Nuggets have become a bottom-tier team.

Their hopes for rebuilding rested on rookie forward Anthony McDyess.

The Clippers selected him with the second overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft and then traded him to the Nuggets.

This physically imposing forward has great talent and potential, but he is not a superstar like Forrest Gump who can change the fate of a team.

He appeared quite powerless in his matchup against Forrest Gump, and the Nuggets suffered a crushing defeat in Portland.

This crushing defeat directly led to the dismissal of Nuggets head coach Bickerstaff, who was replaced by veteran coach Dick Motta.

However, even the most skilled cook cannot make a meal without rice, and the Nuggets' general manager, Dan Isell, lacked patience for rebuilding—a common problem for many teams in the 90s.

Many of the transactions and contracts made at that time, in hindsight, were too hasty and frivolous, which was also related to the imperfect transaction rules at the time.

General managers treat players like a game, constantly swapping them around, giving young players huge contracts, all eager to see results within one or two seasons.

Gan Guoyang did set a bad example back then, since he won the championship so quickly.

Jeff Van Gundy entered the Rose Garden Arena with the players, a feeling of unprecedented tension.

Before the game, he thought he would be ridiculed by Portland fans because his provocation of Forrest Gump during the game had spread throughout the league.

There were all sorts of reactions, some praising his courage, some mocking his recklessness, but in the end, they all included the same advice: "Good luck to you."

Van Gundy was mentally prepared, but to his surprise, no one at the Rose Garden Arena booed him or drew cartoons of him balding to mock him.

But many fans, especially the honest young fans, looked at him with a strange expression.

Van Gundy felt very uncomfortable under that gaze, as if he had a thorn in his side.

A young fan was holding up a sign that read, "Good luck, Jeff."

Some older fans took the initiative to greet Van Gundy and asked him about his well-being.

The more this happened, the more Van Gundy broke out in a cold sweat before the match started; the atmosphere seemed very strange.

After the players finished warming up and the entrance ceremony, Gan Guoyang straightened his jersey and walked over to the Knicks' bench.

He said to Van Gundy, "Jeff, 50 points."

After saying that, he left without looking back and went to the center circle for the jump ball.

Van Gundy felt sweat trickling down his neck and into his clothes, and he began to understand what the fans' looks meant.

It was as if they were saying, "You're already dead."

(End of this chapter)