The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 818 Dugu Qiubai
Van Horn is called "the second Bird" for another reason: his clutch plays are exceptional.

While playing in the NCAA at the University of Utah, he often made crucial shots in key moments of the game, helping his team win.

This kind of big-hearted performance, just like Bird's, makes people increasingly believe that Van Horn could become the second white hope.

In the NCAA, a player like him, with the physique of a power forward and the skills of a small forward, is highly sought after.

Because of his excellent shooting skills, he can easily make shots in crucial moments, even against defenders who are half a head shorter and weaker than him.

But tonight, Van Horn will experience NBA-level competition, and in his career debut, he will face a full-on challenge – one-on-one defense from Forrest Gump.

The two are about the same height, both listed as 6 feet 10 inches in their records. In reality, Gan Guoyang is 209 inches, while Van Horn is slightly shorter, around 207 inches.

However, there is a significant visual difference in their physiques. Gan Guoyang weighs 275 pounds, making him the strongest player in the league, bar none.

Van Horn weighs only 220 pounds, a difference of 50 kilograms, which means Van Horn is completely unable to compete with Gan Guoyang.

Van Horn isn't stupid; he wouldn't be so foolish as to think he could outmaneuver Forrest Gump in a head-on confrontation.

So from the start of the game, he decided to spend more time running around on the perimeter, using his shooting skills to move Forrest around.

He wasn't planning to dominate Forrest Gump; as long as he could make some shots and draw Forrest Gump's defensive attention, his mission would be accomplished.

This was the coach's plan before the game started. Van Horn lowered his expectations as much as possible, thinking that making three shots would be a perfect debut.

The Nets won the jump ball at the start of the game and began their offense by attacking from the inside.

After a series of trades and restructuring, the Nets are now entirely built around their inside game.

This season is mainly for Hakeem Olajuwon to regain his form and for the rookies to practice.

Sabonis contested Olajuwon in the low post, but Olajuwon, facing a much taller and heavier Sabonis, missed his low post shot.

After 1995, Olajuwon's effectiveness in the lower ranks gradually declined.

Without his explosiveness and with his speed reduced, he struggles to attack when facing tall, strong interior defenders.

In the end, he always has to rely on fadeaway jumpers to find his rhythm. In the last two seasons, he has used fewer and fewer dream-like footwork in the low post and has been using more and more fadeaway jumpers and hook shots.

When a player's physical abilities decline significantly, he will rely more and more on basic skills, such as shooting and hook shots.

Hakeem Olajuwon is on a downward trajectory, and his decline is even more pronounced this season; his speed when turning around is not what it used to be.

Therefore, people are even more impressed that players like Forrest Gump and Michael Jordan, at this age, have experienced such a small decline in performance and are still in such excellent form.

Even MVPs like Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley, who are slightly less skilled, cannot withstand the ravages of time.

Hakeem Olajuwon missed all three of his opening offensive attempts, and the Trail Blazers didn't use any defensive strategy, relying solely on Domantas Sabonis for one-on-one defense.

At 2.21 meters tall, Sabonis is extremely strong in low-post defense, and Olajuwon struggles to get a shot off once he loses his speed advantage.

The Trail Blazers responded with a series of baskets: Mullin hit a mid-range jumper, Gan Guoyang made a mid-range shot, and Blake hit a three-pointer, giving them a 7-0 lead at the start.

The Nets desperately needed points, and Hakeem Olajuwon facilitated from the high post, passing the ball to Van Horn at the 45-degree angle, giving Van Horn a chance to score.

After a few fakes, Van Horn attempted a pull-up jumper, a common offensive move he used in the NCAA, which was usually difficult for perimeter defenders to disrupt.

If the interior defender comes out to defend, Van Horn will choose to drive to the basket, so the opponent usually doesn't dare to get too close, which gives him a chance to shoot.

Van Horn's attempt to use this NCAA technique against Forrest Gump is clearly overthinking things.

Gan Guoyang looked listless, his eyes not fixed on Van Horn or the ball, but glancing back every now and then, as if he were watching what was happening behind him.

Van Horn saw this as an opportunity and chose a moment to shoot, but Forrest suddenly pounced and tipped the ball down the instant Van Horn shot.

Van Horn made a simple and effective block, completely unexpected. The seemingly absent-minded Forrest Gump would pounce on him so quickly.

Gan Guoyang regained possession of the ball, and the Trail Blazers launched a counterattack. Blaylock made a bounce pass to Liddell, who received the ball and drove to the basket for a two-handed dunk.

Liddell has been dominating fast breaks this season, his bull-like physique gives him a huge advantage in counter-attacks, and his inside-oriented finishing style also gives him room to operate in the fast break.

With backcourt passing experts like Blaylock and Mullin, Riddell no longer needs to worry about passing or playmaking; he can focus solely on attacking the basket and finishing.

Agan also gave up some low-post offensive opportunities to Ridley, which can be said to be the year that Ridley truly found his place in the NBA.

He realized how great it was to follow Forrest Gump: he had access to data and could focus on what he was good at, instead of having his data drained and having to do odd jobs.

No wonder his value increased after playing alongside Forrest Gump for two years. When the Trail Blazers couldn't sign him, he switched teams and got a big contract. PJ Brown from last season is a perfect example.

Unlike some superstars, who, when playing alongside them, accumulate more and more stats and accolades while their own stats and accolades dwindle significantly, and they end up losing their big contracts.

So far this season, Riddell has never been late for training, not even when head coach Bird isn't there. He has to live up to his good job.

The Trail Blazers started the first quarter with a 15-0 run against the Nets, completely stunning the Nets and forcing the head coach to call a timeout to make adjustments.

After the timeout, Hakeem Olajuwon finally broke the Nets' scoring drought with a mid-range jumper from the top of the arc.

Nets fans then noticed that the Trail Blazers weren't playing at full strength on the court, and they were playing quite relaxed on offense.

The Nets want to increase the intensity for the Trail Blazers, but they don't know where to start, because every player on the Trail Blazers can be a primary offensive option.

On the defensive end, Gan Guoyang focused all his energy on dealing with Van Horn, just like he did with Duncan, giving Van Horn a taste of the treatment of a number one draft pick.

Van Horn quickly realized how naive and childish his idea of ​​launching an attack from the outside to get rid of Forrest Gump was.

Once he marks you closely, you won't have any chance, especially a white striker like Van Horn who has no physical advantage.

Back in the day, even Larry Bird at his peak was shut out in a single quarter. You're just a weaker version of Bird in every way, how could you possibly shake off Jaws's relentless attacks?

Gan Guoyang clearly enjoyed the experience of shutting down his opponent in one-on-one defense.

He no longer needs to consider the big picture or stand under the basket alone, keeping an eye on five opponents.

He no longer needs to defend against two opponents at once, nor does he need to remind his teammates to cover for him while defending his own opponent.

Sabonis can take on some of these responsibilities, while Gan Guoyang can focus more on his opponent.

Duncan got a taste of it, and Van Horn was the second. In the first quarter, he took two shots, got blocked once, airballed once, and committed two turnovers.

Van Horn was substituted by Buck Williams with three minutes left in the first quarter, and he left the court with his head down, looking very dejected.

It's different. The NBA feels completely different from the NCAA. It's so tough, the competition is so intense, and the defense is so suffocating.

How come it's so hard to even connect the ball?

Moreover, I'm always on edge when I receive the ball, feeling like it might be stolen at any moment.

Their technical movements have also become distorted; every step they take is predictable, and their footwork when attacking with the ball is completely disrupted.

During the break, Van Horn asked Hakeem Olajuwon, who was standing next to him, "How do you get past Forrest Gump's defense? It's too difficult."

Hakeem Olajuwon's performance gradually improved in the first quarter. After missing three shots, he made consecutive shots and also made free throws.

Faced with the rookie's question, Hakeem Olajuwon sighed and said, "If you increase the speed of all your movements by thirty percent, you'll be able to score over Forrest Gump. You probably won't be able to tonight if he keeps his eyes on you. Practice hard in post-game training."

"Why was he staring at me? At the start of the game, he said I was going to score 44 points over him, but I didn't say anything."

"This guy's gone mad, ignore him. Try to shoot from the outside or take a free throw, otherwise you're not going to score."

Hakeem Olajuwon and Gan Guoyang had been rivals for many years, and Olajuwon knew Gan Guoyang's character.

If he's determined to do nothing but keep a close eye on you tonight, scoring will be extremely difficult.

Hakeem Olajuwon is already one of the best interior defenders in NBA history, but he knows in his heart that he is far behind Forrest Gump on the defensive end.

This guy is an absolute master of one-on-one defense and an offensive killer. If you don't have the right mindset and the courage to go all out when facing Forrest Gump, it's easy to lose your composure and your shooting percentage and offensive skills will drop by 60%.

Gan Guoyang's shift in playing style this season has inspired Hakeem Olajuwon.

Hakeem Olajuwon realized that if he wanted to extend his career and have a greater impact in high-level competition, focusing on defense might be a better path.

No matter what happens on the offensive end, his performance is inevitably declining, and the rate of decline is accelerating and becoming increasingly unstoppable.

On the defensive end, however, the requirements for explosiveness and speed are not as high, and he can continue to maintain a high level by relying on experience, height and physique.

Compared to Olajuwon's visionary approach, planning for the next season and the longer future, Van Horn can only focus on the present.

He wanted to score; he was determined to get at least one point, a basket, against Forrest Gump's defense, no matter what. That was his primary objective for the game.

So, after returning to the court in the second quarter, Van Horn seized the opportunity to receive the ball on the outside and quickly shoot.

The shot was taken too hastily and missed. The Trail Blazers grabbed the rebound and launched a fast break, scoring another point against the Nets.

The coach was very angry and reprimanded Van Horn during the timeout for being so impatient when the team was behind.

Van Horn remained silent, but the more he did so, the more agitated he became, as if he had fallen into Gan Guoyang's trap.

Gan Guoyang is like a shining golden branch on a big tree; young people all want to pluck him and prove themselves in front of him.

The more one tries to prove something, the more likely one is to fall off the tree. Even Duncan couldn't break this vicious cycle, let alone Van Horn.

In the second half, the Trail Blazers extended their lead to 17 points, and the Nets were no match for them.

However, Gan Guoyang did not relax his defense against Van Horn, maintaining a high-intensity one-on-one confrontation from beginning to end, mainly playing the role of a companion.

Halfway through the third quarter, Bird called a timeout. He couldn't stand it anymore and said to Gan Guoyang, "Sonny, aren't you going too far? Young man, you should give him a chance."

Gan Guoyang said, "I gave him a chance. I even let him shoot three-pointers from the outside. What if he couldn't make them? I gave him a chance, but he was useless."

Bird said, "You forced him into a corner, leaving him no choice but to force a three-pointer. What kind of opportunity is that?"

"If he can't even make a strong shot, then it's his problem. Are you thinking of yourself like Larry? Otherwise, why would you sympathize with a rookie?"

Bird did feel some sympathy for Van Horn, recalling the embarrassing moment when Gan Guoyang had defended him so well that he didn't score in a quarter.

After becoming a coach, Bird was no longer as harsh and authoritarian as he was during his playing days; his mindset underwent some changes.

As a player, if you only focus on the field, the game, and your performance, you'll naturally want your teammates to perform well and your opponents to perform poorly.

After becoming a coach, I have a higher perspective and a broader view. I often see the game and the players from a holistic perspective.

"Leave a way out for others, so you can meet again in the future. Sonny, offending too many people and leaving too many shadows is not necessarily a good thing. Everyone gets old," Bird reminded Gan Guoyang.

"Larry, you've stopped studying tactics and started studying interpersonal relationships?"

"I'm just giving you a heads-up. I heard you want to keep fighting until you're fifty."

"I will definitely leave this arena before I am humiliated. Right now, I just want to give young people some life lessons and tell them how difficult the road to success is."

After speaking, Gan Guoyang returned to the field and resumed his match.

Bird couldn't help but mutter to himself, "You're just doing this to satisfy your own perverted desires and pleasures, you damn bastard. I knew I shouldn't have let Sabonis come back."

In Bird's view, Sabonis' return greatly liberated Gan Guoyang on both offense and defense, allowing Gan Guoyang to go further and further down the path of unleashing his true potential.

After that, the outcome of the game was no longer in doubt, and Van Horn, after missing several shots, also lost the courage to score on Forrest Gump.

Van Horn did not attempt another shot in the latter half of the third quarter and the fourth quarter, and was eventually substituted by the coach, with his scoring record remaining at zero.

0 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 turnovers – these are the stats for the second overall pick in his NBA debut.

But no one thought Van Horn was a flop, because everyone knew he was facing Forrest Gump in the game.

Van Horn scored 16 points in his second career game, followed by 21, 23, 30 and 26 points, fully demonstrating his offensive talent.

He only scored 0 points when facing Forrest Gump, and this 0 points left an indelible shadow on his entire career.

Many years later, when Van Horn retired, he said, "This is the match that impressed me the most. It still reminds me that I still have a lot of shortcomings."

甘国阳本场数据同样一般，18分15个篮板球3次抢断3次封盖4次助攻，还有多次一对一单防得手。

This guy doesn't care about his own stats anymore, just to make things difficult for his opponents. Since the team wins by a large margin every game, he just relentlessly tortures his opponents.

The current Trail Blazers are like the 1996 Bulls, the difference being that the Bulls had perfected their defense, and Jordan orchestrated the team's offense, making them unstoppable.

The Trail Blazers were the opposite. They perfected their offense, and Gan Guoyang played a good defensive role while participating normally in the offense. As a result, the team was invincible and hard to beat.

After defeating the Nets, the Trail Blazers went on to beat the Philadelphia 76ers and the Washington Wizards, winning each game easily and decisively, extending their Eastern Conference road trip to four wins.

At this point, the Trail Blazers' winning streak had reached 19 games, and people began to notice that the Trail Blazers were on the path to setting a record.

On December 11, 1997, the Trail Blazers hosted the Denver Nuggets and won 141-109, a 32-point victory for the home team, extending their winning streak to 20 games.

Fans at the stadium displayed a banner announcing a 20-game winning streak. The Trail Blazers have set a new NBA record for the best start to a season, and every win extends that record a little further.

On December 13th, they will face the Los Angeles Lakers at home, a clash between the two teams with the strongest offenses this season.

After changing coaches to Del Harris, the Lakers played beautiful offensive basketball, and O'Neal also had the best start to his career.

But against the powerful Trail Blazers, the Lakers only put up a fight for three quarters before collapsing in the fourth and being swept away by the Trail Blazers.

115-104, a resounding victory by 11 points, a team win, the Trail Blazers are on a roll.

Then on December 15th and 16th, the Trail Blazers defeated the Kings and Hawks on the road respectively, extending their winning streak to 23 games.

At this point, not only the NBA, but the entire American sports world began to focus on the Portland Trail Blazers, wondering how long their victories would last.
Game after game, the opponents simply couldn't find a way to defeat this team. Their attack was like a sharp sickle, leaving nothing but devastation in its wake.

The Trail Blazers' winning streak even mitigated the negative impact of the 1997 Asian financial crisis to some extent.

Starting in July 1997, the financial collapse caused by exchange rate fluctuations spread rapidly from Thailand to Southeast Asia and even to other Asian countries.

The financial markets of the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and other regions were all affected, with currencies depreciating sharply and wealth being plundered, severely impacting the economies of the entire Asian region.

It wasn't until December 1997 that the situation in various places eased slightly, but an even greater crisis was brewing.

People's assets have shrunk, a large number of workers have lost their jobs, and the social economy and public security situation has deteriorated.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ocean, Gan Guoyang led the Pioneers to victory after victory, becoming a source of spiritual sustenance for many ordinary people as they weathered the crisis.

By 1997, Gan Guoyang was not only a basketball idol in China, but also a world-class basketball king with the greatest influence in Asia.

After an unsuccessful season in 1996-1997, Gan Guoyang and the team unleashed amazing energy at the start of the 1997-1998 season.

In Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and other places, television stations have had to prematurely terminate their broadcasting partnerships with many world-class sporting events due to the economic crisis.

For example, the English Premier League, the Bundesliga, Formula 1, and some local competitions, such as motorcycle rally grand prix, have also been cancelled.

Only NBA broadcasts continue as usual because the broadcast fees for the NBA are very cheap in these places, and it is still in the promotion stage.

Watching the NBA has become the first choice for many people in their spare time, and the winning streak of the Trail Blazers and Gan Guoyang has become a topic of concern for everyone.

The more difficult the times, the more people need victory to motivate them, or rather, to numb themselves, in order to get through the current hardships.

From December until Christmas, the Trail Blazers won game after game without stopping.

More and more people across the United States, or even the world, are paying attention to their performance.

With a 23-game winning streak, a 24-game winning streak, a 25-game winning streak, and now they're steadily moving towards a 30-game winning streak!

Before the Christmas Day game, the Trail Blazers defeated the Dallas Mavericks 115-108 at home, achieving an amazing 26-game winning streak!

On Christmas Day, December 25th, the Trail Blazers will travel to Chicago to face their arch-rivals, the Chicago Bulls.

This battle has attracted worldwide attention. The Trail Blazers are undefeated. Can the Bulls end the Trail Blazers' winning streak and hand them a defeat?
People are full of expectations for the result, and it is conceivable that the viewership of this game will break records.

The Trail Blazers arrived in Chicago late amidst a snowstorm in Illinois.

At the airport, Gan Guoyang was surrounded by countless reporters. One of them asked, "Can the Trail Blazers continue their winning streak? Are you afraid of losing?"

Gan Guoyang shook his head and said, "I hate losing, but I'm not afraid. We will fight hard to win, but we will also accept the result calmly. You know, the most important thing basketball has taught me is to accept failure."

Many people (scammers) teach others how to succeed, how to achieve victory in life, and how to reap happiness and fulfillment.

Only competitive sports are truly realistic. From the very first second you get involved, you have to learn to accept failure; that is its greatest significance.

Even the world's best basketball players can only make half of their shots, so what reason do you have to be afraid of failure? Give it your all, my friend.

—Forrest Gump, May 6, 2025.

(End of this chapter)