The Golden Age of Basketball

() "Good evening everyone, this is Columbia Television, and tonight we bring you the Chicago Bulls vs. Portland Trail Blazers game at home. I'm Manning Hamilton and I'm next to John Crouch , we will bring you a live broadcast of this game at the scene in Chicago." Manning Hamilton, the play-by-play host of NBC TV, said to the camera in front of the commentary stand.

He spoke as fast as a machine gun.

"The biggest highlight of tonight's game is the matchup between this year's No. [-] pick and No. [-] pick. Everyone is waiting in front of the TV for the first matchup between the two on the field, even though they are not in the same position. From before Judging from their performance, the two will be the most powerful contenders for the best rookie of the year. This game will also become a strong evidence for the selection of the best rookie."

"That's right, it's a pity that the two didn't meet again in ncaa. This game is undoubtedly a focus match, and both of them are players under Nike. This year, Nike paid the two rookies $75 per year The amount of the contract, judging from the current situation of more than ten games, the performance of the two should be said to be in line with this price." The guest commentator Crouch added.

"Yeah, they all put in fantastic performances, and Gan's performance exceeded everyone's expectations. His style of play reminded me of Larry Nance, but he was obviously more like an orthodox center than he was." , His technique is as solid as if it has been beaten thousands of times."

"His dunks and layups are really beautiful. Few non-black players can make these moves. More importantly, his arrival has further improved the strength of the Blazers. They are now firmly ranked first in the West, and even beat the Lakers. Gan's performance can be said to be indispensible. His position in tactics is obviously becoming more and more important. His single defense, his high-post support, and low-post strong play when necessary are all greatly enriched. Added to the Blazers' arsenal; although to some extent, he and Mitchell Sampson overlap."

"Then what is the key to the outcome of tonight's game?"

"For the Blazers, the most important thing is whether they can play a fast and smooth offense. Their offense is invincible in the West, but I don't think it will make them feel too good when they come to the East; and for the Bulls, they are not strong enough. They have the advantage, they must bring the game into their own rhythm, use defense to destroy the Blazers' quick counterattack, and they cannot be led away by the Blazers, otherwise they will have a very difficult chance of defeating their opponents."

"In addition, we are most concerned about the performance of the two rookies. They have been star-studded in the previous games. Gan even scored 39 points against the Lakers, which is the highest score of this rookie so far. .”

"Gan's ability to score points is surprising, but Coach Ramsey seems to be focusing on turning him into a comprehensive center. He wants to reproduce the glory of Bill Walton."

"I don't know if Gan, the most unique player in NBA history, can lead the Blazers back to glory; but it seems too early to talk about this issue now, let's focus on this regular season, the game is coming soon here we go!"

At this time, in the Chicago Arena, players from both sides have already started the entrance ceremony and player introductions. As the visiting team, the Trail Blazers will naturally have to play first, listening to a-at-guard in a flat, 6-6,... ( Guard from North Carolina, 6’6…)”

Gan Guoyang listened to the live DJ in the arena introducing the players of the Bulls. He didn't know any of the first four players. It was only when he reached the last one that he raised his head and looked at the other end of the field. Sit up, young looking black player.

Gan Guoyang didn't know how he was feeling at this moment. He had been waiting for this day for a long time, but he missed it for a long time.

On the first day he came to the United States, he thought that he must watch him play in the NBA, but he didn't expect that he was standing on the opposite side of him now.

There is a question. When Gan Guoyang was about to enter the NBA, he was thinking about what kind of mentality he should use to face him.

Gan Guoyang once faced Ewing and Olajuwon, defeated them in the NCAA field, and became the top college center as a Chinese.

Coming to the NBA, his goal is naturally the same as that of all players, which is the championship and the strongest player.

There are many geniuses in the NBA, some of them are idols that Gan Guoyang is familiar with and even admires very much, but only him, Gan Guoyang cannot be described as a simple "idol".

He is a monument, a statue, and an insurmountable peak in Gan Guoyang's heart.

But now, Gan Guoyang wants to fight against him, fighting his entire career as a student of the same class.

"...michael...jordan!!" (Michael Jordan!)

The sound of the dj filled Gan Guoyang's eardrums, the atmosphere in the Chicago arena reached its peak, and their new hero had already appeared.

Michael Jordan, the future basketball god, finally met Gan Guoyang.

In 1981, Gan Guoyang saw Jordan's performance in the McDonald's High School National All-Star Game on the TV in the McDonald's restaurant. Since then, Gan Guoyang has thought that one day he will compete with Jordan on the basketball court.

In 1982, Gan Guoyang was killed by Miller in the California High School League Finals and lost the championship; while Jordan staged a lore in the NCAA Finals that year and won the championship.

In 1984, Gan Guoyang led the Bulldogs to overcome obstacles and seek defeat in Dugu; while Jordan's North Carolina lost to Indiana in the 16-to-8 game and missed the top 8.

In the summer of 84, Jordan decided to give up his last year of study and participate in the NBA draft. He joined the US Olympic basketball team and led the team to win the championship. Gan Guoyang also decided to participate in the draft. He hoped that he could occupy a place in the golden generation.

The two have the same agent, David Falk, and under his help, both were picked up by Nike and signed two big contracts.

They had a chance to meet at Nike headquarters, but finally passed by.

This match will be the first meeting between the two, as enemies.

"You look a little nervous, Gan. Didn't you have a good rest?" After the opening ceremony, players from both sides gathered on the sidelines to listen to the coach making the final arrangement before the opening.

Ramsey looked at Gan Guoyang, whose eyes were a bit erratic, and said that in the past, Gan Guoyang was always very focused at the beginning.

"No, I'm fine, maybe I'm too excited." Gan Guoyang took a deep breath.

"Remember, block Jordan and force him to shoot jumpers; we still need to play speed and make more use of the advantages of the inside; we must disrupt their rhythm and not let their rhythm follow suit." Ramsey repeatedly emphasized the "rhythm" problem .

For a team like the Trail Blazers who are good at playing quick counterattacks, they are all too familiar with something like "rhythm" that sounds a bit illusory.

As long as the players cooperate skillfully, feel good, play with speed, and let the game enter its own rhythm, then the Blazers' lineup can penetrate any team's defense.

If the rhythm is not smooth, or if the opponent controls it, the Blazers who lack absolute strength in the offensive position will get into trouble.

Of course, the Blazers are much higher than the Bulls in terms of overall strength. Except for Jordan, the Bulls have mediocre talents.

Players from both sides came near the middle circle, ready to start the game.

Gan Guoyang stood in the circle, his eyes slanted to Jordan who was standing opposite.

Jordan in 1984 was just in his early 20s, with a layer of hair on his head instead of the bald look he became famous for.

He has strong muscles, broad shoulders, and a large frame, but he looks relatively thin overall, which is very similar to Gan Guoyang.

He's still chomping on the gum, just as he did later in the game.

There is also a big gold chain around his neck, which looks very eye-catching. It is said that many old players dislike Jordan because of this.

"It still looks very small, about the same size as me." Gan Guoyang thought to himself, but he didn't notice that the referee had already thrown the ball into the air.

Gan Guoyang took off one step late, but the ball was touched by Bulls center Dave Kerzin first. Jordan got the basketball and the Bulls took the lead in attacking.

"What is this guy thinking? He still can't concentrate." Standing on the sidelines, Ramsey slandered. Gan Guoyang's success rate in scrimmage is still quite high, but today he was obviously not concentrating, and was taken a step ahead by his opponent.

The game officially started.

At that time, the Bulls, apart from Michael Jordan, the most powerful player was their small forward Orlando Walridge.

This guy wears the No. 0 jersey, is 6 feet 9 inches tall, and is muscular and strong. He was a power forward at the time, but he still became a powerful small forward with his outstanding speed.

Before the game, Ramsey repeatedly told him that although he wanted to pinch Jordan, he also wanted to place Wallridge. The Blazers were basically popular at the small forward position.

The weak defense at the small forward position is a very troublesome problem, because the small forward position can be inside or outside, and has a wide range of damage. Once it is penetrated, it is often very passive tactically.

Therefore, before the game, Ramsey gave thousands of instructions, asking Gan Guoyang to pay attention to defending Wallridge, and to block his easy-ball at any time.

However, Gan Guoyang focused his attention on Jordan at the beginning.

The Bulls first attack, Jordan started from outside the three-point line with the ball, his speed was so fast, he didn't even ask the center to cover, but cut directly from the top of the arc to the inside.

Jim Paxson, who had an injured foot, couldn't keep up with Jordan's footsteps, and was directly passed by Jordan.

"E-on, Jordan." Gan Guoyang thought in his heart.

He ran straight out of the three-second zone and pounced on Jordan. This was the first direct conversation between him and Jordan on the court!

In 1984, Jordan was as agile and ghostly as a civet cat. His breakthrough footsteps were different from most guards at the time.

Great strides, quick changes of direction, a lot of body swing, a low center of gravity, and the ball seems to stick to his hands.

Gan Guoyang had already seen Jordan sticking out his tongue, that was his signature movement when he broke through!

Gan Guoyang is also not a traditional insider. His range of movement is surprisingly large, and his feet are also flexible and fast. This is due to his exercise on the street and continuous footwork training in college.

He stepped forward and stuck to Jordan tightly, and tried to stay sideways to prevent blocking fouls.

Jordan takes off with the ball!

"Too fast!" This was Gan Guoyang's thought that flashed through his mind.

Indeed, Jordan's take-off speed is too fast. In many cases, the insiders don't even have time to react. When he reacts, Jordan has already dunked successfully.

But Gan Guoyang also reacted very quickly. His jumping is not as good as Jordan, but his height and wingspan are his advantages.

His big hand has covered Jordan's layup route, and at the same time, he is constantly squeezing Jordan's upside, preventing him from making more adjustments.

Just when Gan Guoyang was concentrating on defending against Jordan's ball, Jordan's body shrank in the air, and his hands that were holding the ball for layup were retracted. He bypassed Gan Guoyang with one hand and passed the ball behind Gan Guoyang's back!

At this time, Wallridge has already plugged in from the left back, caught the ball and dunked with both hands!

Wallridge's body is like an ancient Greek sculpture, full of strength and beauty.

One by one, he scored two points for the Bulls with a powerful dunk.

"It's mine." Gan Guoyang watched Jordan make a good pass, and took the responsibility on himself, because Ramsey reminded him to guard the basket.

In fact, this ball cannot be blamed on Gan Guoyang. The key is that the Blazers lost their position in the first step of defense, and Paxson was passed by Jordan in one step.

At this time, Gan Guoyang must go to make up defense. If he doesn't make up defense against Jordan, he can easily reach the basket and score.

It's just that there was a problem with the rotation of the rest of the Blazers, and no one else on the inside was in place to defend in time, allowing Wallridge to seize the opportunity.

"It's mine, find it in the offense!" said Vandeweghe, who was out of position defensively. With a back injury, he couldn't compete with the strong Wallridge for position.

But Vandeweghe has his own way in the attack.

Now the Blazers put Gan Guoyang to the high position more in the positional offense, let Sampson go to the low position, point guards and shooting guards run interspersed, and small forwards have the ability to attack with the ball.

This was the Blazers' main lineup in 1977, and now Ramsey is reshaping the offense.

Valentine handed the ball to Sampson in the low post. Sampson passed the ball after a test, and the ball was handed to Gan Guoyang.

At this time, Gan Guoyang had already observed that Vandeweghe was relying on the cover of Paxson and Sampson to go around the bottom line. Without hesitation, he made a through ball and passed the ball to the basket.

The Bulls' defensive players were caught off guard and missed a clean pass under the basket. Vandeweghe made an easy layup and returned one to the opponent.

With Ramsey's continuous training, Gan Guoyang's high pass has begun to look good.

However, looking at Jordan who had the ball in the half court, Gan Guoyang still longed to compete with Jordan in scoring.

The game has just begun.