The Golden Age of Basketball

() In the opening game between the Blazers and the Kings, at the beginning of the second half, Gan Guoyang used two outstanding performances on the defensive end, a wonderful dunk, and a hook to sweep away the decline of the first half, allowing all the audience to see this The second pick, the strength of mop in the ncaa semi-finals.

The three consecutive goals also allowed the Blazers to widen the score gap from 2 points at the end of the first half to 7 points in just 13 minutes of the second half.

Kansas Kings coach Jack McNinn had to call a timeout, and it wasn't that easy for the Kings to turn the score around.

"Great job! I think you should play football!" When returning to the bench, Drexler came up and patted Gan Guoyang on the shoulder and said.

"I used to complete a 50-yard long pass in a school football game." Gan Guoyang said with a smile.

Drexler also smiled. He thought Gan Guoyang was joking, but he didn't know that Gan Guoyang was indeed a guest quarterback in a game and completed a 50-yard long pass lore.

"Gan, you didn't complete your task according to my arrangement. Although you played very well, I still like that you can support in the high position. Of course, you can increase the inside cut appropriately. Valentine pays attention to the pass to the inside. Also, we need to continue to speed up the pace!" Ramsey was quite critical of Gan Guoyang's non-tactical arrangement.

According to the layout of the midfield, Gan Guoyang still has to be the pivot at the top of the arc, opening up space for the three guns on the outside to break through and shoot.At the same time, Sampson ambushed on both sides of the three-second zone, ready to respond and pick up leaks.

In the defense, the strategy of man-to-man, pick-and-roll and no switch is still adhered to. This is the simplest and most relaxed defensive method. The Blazers just want to use offense to kill the King.

While Gan Guoyang was on defense, the Kings pick-and-roll him to split out to defend the opponent's smaller player. In Ramsey's view, this is very dangerous, because once Woodson passes the ball to the center, it is likely to be a misplacement.

In the offense, Gan Guoyang fell to the low position again and took Sampson's position. Although he scored easily, he did not play according to the coach's routine.

"I can also play fast break, captain." Gan Guoyang said standing aside, not sweating much on his head.

"I hope so. Anyway, I think the Kings must want to slow down the tempo. We can't let them stop the car and speed up. Valentine and Vandeweghe, pay attention to the rhythm of the offense. Drexler you Go guard Eddie Johnson and stop letting him get too deep."

Ramsey also noticed that it is not a good idea to let Vandeweghe deal with Johnson, and Vandeweghe also needs to focus more on offense.

"Gan, if you don't follow the tactics casually, I will put you on the bench! I still hope you can perform well." After the timeout ended, Ramsey specially took Gan Guoyang aside before the players went on the field and warned.

"Good captain, I can only make some sacrifices in order to win." As long as he can stand on the court and play, Gan Guoyang doesn't have much opinion, so he said jokingly.

The game continued, and as expected by Ramsey, the King wanted to slow down the rhythm and began to attack more patiently.

But the Kings don't have a strong point inside, they still rely on a few shots from the outside.

The Kings began to rely on Johnson and Woodson to repeatedly break-point-break-point the ball to pull the Blazers' defensive formation and find space and opportunities to score.

Gan Guoyang was arranged to stay in the three-second zone to protect the inside and rebounds, but the king didn't go in at all.

"Woodson passed the ball to Johnson, Johnson relied on a screen to break through the middle, Vandeweghe followed Johnson, but Johnson scored the ball! Woodson received the pass at 45 degrees, a good shot, shot, ball Go in. Kings come back with two."

The tactic of splitting the ball after breaking through can be said to be as simple as a pick-and-roll on the basketball court, but it is the most commonly used and most effective way to open up space.

If a player does not have a driving hand, then the shooter will not have enough space to release the shot.

Gan Guoyang had just scored the goal, and as soon as the ball fell from the net, the Blazers immediately made free throws.

Vandeweghe sent the ball to Valentine, Valentine passed to Sampson, and Drexler rushed to the front at this time.

"This guy runs so fucking fast." Looking at Drexler's figure, Gan Guoyang sighed in his heart, and at the same time, he himself rushed forward desperately.

At this time, the ball has been passed to Drexler's hands. He got the ball on the right side of the court, but the King returned to the defense quickly, and two players had already stepped forward to pinch.

Just when Drexler was unable to dribble and continue to break through, Gan Guoyang had already inserted from the middle and raised his hand high.

Drexler quickly released the ball, while Gan Guoyang put his back against the opponent's player and jumped up to catch the basketball in the air.

After receiving the ball, Gan Guoyang made a layup, but it was just a fake move, deceiving the opponent's center forward.

Then Gan Guoyang dribbled the ball to the bottom of the basket, and he came to the back of the basket.

But it didn't bother him. He pushed back, squeezed the opponent's inside line who was pressing up, and at the same time unexpectedly used his left hand, a side hook, and the ball flew to the basket with a spin.

"Bang!" With a wipe, the ball bounced on the basket again and easily entered the net.

This ball showed Gan Guoyang's calm ball handling ability, delicate technique and flexible footwork. No wonder the commentator said the word "slik" after seeing this ball, which means that he is as smooth as silk.

In this way, the King's points continued to rise, but they were unable to restrain the Blazers from scoring.

Gan Guoyang's outstanding performance at the beginning of the third quarter set the tone for the second half. After that, the Kings still had no way to close the score.

In the end, the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Kansas Kings 140:117, 23 points at home and got off to a good start.

In this game, Vandeweghe played the best for the Blazers. In his first game with the new team, he scored 47 points. Especially in the first half, he used his wonderful shooting and The low post offense set the tone for the entire game.

On the king's side, Eddie Johnson scored 30 points. In the first half, he and Vandeweghe had an inextricable confrontation, but in the second half, Johnson's performance was compromised by Xing's defense.

On the contrary, without the defensive pressure, Vandeweghe is fully fired.

When the game buzzer sounded, Gan Guoyang, who was sitting on the bench, stood up with other players to greet the audience before returning to the locker room.

Gan Guoyang was substituted again in the second half of the third quarter, and he remained on the bench throughout the fourth quarter.

Although the fourth quarter has entered garbage time, Gan Guoyang still hates the days on the bench very much.

"The time I spent on the bench in the past is not as long as today. If I stay a little longer, I can hatch chickens under my ass!" In the locker room, Gan Guoyang said to De Lei while changing his clothes. Kesler complained.

At this time, coach Ramsey was being interviewed by the media, and Gan Guoyang complained so brazenly.

"It was the same in my first game in the NBA. I was playing against the Clippers. I only scored 2 points. God, I wondered if I could play in the NBA at the time." Drexler said with a smile .

In the limited time in the second half, Gan Guoyang scored 5 points on 5 of 2 shots and 12 free throws, and he contributed 3 blocks, all of which were done in more than 6 minutes of the third quarter.

It is conceivable that if he is allowed to play for 40 minutes, what kind of terrible data he can get.

"I'd rather not score a point on the court than watch a group of guys running around in shorts off the court." Gan Guoyang has always been worried about wearing shorts and a vest in basketball games at that time. Take the lead in wearing longer sweatpants.

"Okay, get ready, it's time to be interviewed by players, you will definitely be asked a lot of questions. Remember, you have to keep your mouth shut." Drexler reminded.

At that time, the NBA stipulated that before and after training, before and after the game, players and coaches must accept media interviews to increase the exposure of the team.

"Okay, I really hope I can pretend that I don't understand English. After all, I'm a foreigner." Gan Guoyang has always hated media interviews. In his opinion, some of the reporters' questions are really boring and idiotic to the extreme.

…………

"How do you feel about playing in the nba game for the first time, we know you missed the preseason due to some minor injuries."

"I think it's great. If the stadium can be bigger and the number of people on each team can be more, say 11 people on each team, I think it will be even better."

"Do you care about your NCAA Finals opponent, Olajuwon's performance? Do you want to know how the Houston game is going?"

"No, I think Clyde should care more than me. He loves Olajuwon more than me."

"Are you going to fight for more playing time in the next game? We can see that you are very efficient on the court, especially in the second half, but you don't seem to have much time."

"I think Coach Ramsey definitely wants to use me in more important games. Of course, I don't look down on the Kings, but obviously they are not strong enough."

"Can you adapt to the rhythm of the NBA game? The NBA and the NCAA seem to be very different."

"Yes, many times I feel that the NBA is more like a track and field competition. The events I participate in are mainly switchback running and high touch. To be honest, I still prefer the event of throwing the ball with both hands."

………………

"My God, I can't believe it. Your answer to the reporter's question is like an old fritter." After the interview, Drexler and Gan Guoyang walked out of the stadium together, saying as they walked.

"I just hope they don't add embellishments to what I said. I can already imagine what kind of effect some guys will get if they modify my words." Gan Guoyang sighed. feeling.

In an interview after the ncaa finals, a reporter asked Gan Guoyang how he viewed his skin tone.

At that time, Gan Guoyang said that he was proud of being yellow, and believed that yellow-skinned people could achieve outstanding achievements in various fields just like white-skinned and black-skinned people.

As a result, this very reasonable statement became "the rise of yellow skin in the sports world and threatens other races" in some newspapers, and it was linked with the "yellow peril".

The key lies in the weakness of the Chinese in the United States, which makes those media dare to make a fuss about skin color. If it is replaced by black skin or Hispanics, such remarks will undoubtedly be labeled as "racial discrimination", which will cause another wave of controversy. turmoil.

Gan Guoyang has become accustomed to this, and now whenever a reporter wants to set a trap for public opinion on his skin color, Gan Guoyang ignores it.

"Hey Clyde, Gan, do you want to go out and have fun? We can go dancing, I know there is a new dance hall in the city center." At this moment, Vandeweghe came over and invited the two to dance.

Disco was quite popular in the United States at that time, and these nba players also liked to go to the dance hall to entertain and relax after the game.

In Portland, there are really few entertainment activities. Gan Guoyang remembers very clearly that after 10 o'clock, most stores are closed.

"Gan, or we go together?" Drexler rarely refuses the invitation of his teammates.

"Oh no, I made an appointment with a friend, and we agreed to meet after the game." Gan Guoyang politely declined his teammate's invitation.

10 minutes later, at an Italian restaurant in Portland, two tall men stood out.

"Try the noodles here, to be honest, the noodles here are better than some noodles in some Chinese restaurants, but of course it can't compare with the ones in San Francisco."

"Thank you, I actually thought about contacting you before I came to Portland, but I couldn't find your number."

"Oh, I got a new phone and I wrote you the number; I didn't pay attention to the opponent's roster before the game, and I forgot about you. I didn't remember until you came on the field, Otis. Kings."

These two people are the opponents of the two sides today, Gan Guoyang of the Blazers and No. 33 power forward of the Kings, Otis Thorpe.

The two met in the draft in the summer. When they were sitting off the court waiting for Stern to announce the name of the draft pick, the one sitting next to Gan Guoyang was Otis Thorpe.

Thorpe was selected by the Kansas Kings at No. 9 in the first round. He studied at Providence University in college, and he was also the number one star on the team.

Because Providence University is located in the powerful Big East (big-east), it is always difficult to have a chance to enter the national competition.

At that time, Providence University's strongest opponent was Georgetown University, where Patrick Ewing was.

Gan Guoyang and Thorpe also talked about Ewing, and they chatted happily as Ewing's opponent, and soon became good friends.

In tonight's game, Thorpe performed quite well. As a rookie for the first time, he scored a good 21 points. Facing the old champion Sampson, he made repeated shots.

It wasn't until Gan Guoyang came on the court that Thorpe's vitality in the interior was restrained.

However, the confrontation on the court did not affect the friendship between the two off the court. During the game, Gan Guoyang agreed to invite Thorpe to have a meal and chat after the game.

Gan Guoyang knew Thorpe because later generations watched the 1994 Finals and knew that he was the most reliable inside helper around Olajuwon. In 1995, he was traded to the Trail Blazers and replaced by Drexler.

It can be said that he and the Blazers will have a close relationship, but after Gan Guoyang's arrival, everything is likely to change.

"We're going back to Kansas tomorrow, do you know who we're going to play against?" Thorpe asked suddenly.

"Huh? I don't know." Gan Guoyang didn't like to read the game schedule since high school.

"Chicago Bulls."