The Golden Age of Basketball

() "What do you think of you and Jordan's performance in this field? Do you think you will become opponents on the field in the future?"

"Jordan's performance amazed me. When he rushed to the basket, I could hardly stop him. He was too fast. Of course, my performance was not bad. The bull's inside made me feel very uncomfortable, maybe because this is the East .Luckily my teammates were better and let us win this game. I am very much looking forward to the next game with Jordan, and I will welcome him in Portland."

This is the conversation between the reporter and Gan Guoyang at the press conference after the game.

Since entering the nba, the routine task at the end of each game is to accept media interviews.

Not only are there interviews after the game, but after training and before the game, the media has the right to go to the team locker room to interview players and coaches.

Gan Guoyang is not a bad-spoken person, but he still doesn't like being asked by a stranger before and after the game. Until now, Gan Guoyang has no friends in the media circle.

It's just that the consecutive victories made Gan Guoyang feel good, plus he is still a rookie and speaks beautifully, so media reporters are willing to interview him.

"The Trail Blazers' road trip has been two games, and you have both won. What do you think of the next few games?"

"Uh... it's just my first year, I don't know a lot of teams, especially in the East. But I still have confidence, I think our team is very good, we have only lost two games so far The game." Gan Guoyang's answer is becoming more and more smooth now, and it is easy not to catch the reporter.

So far, the Blazers have achieved a record of 13 wins and 2 losses, ranking first in the Western Conference and second in the league, second only to the defending champion Celtics.

Last season, the Trail Blazers were the third place in the Western Conference, but they did not perform well in the playoffs. They were eliminated by the Phoenix Suns in the first round, and they suffered a setback.

So in the summer they had a major operation, in exchange for Vandeweghe, picked Gan Guoyang in the draft, and reorganized the team lineup.

From the current point of view, the players lost in order to trade to Vandeweghe have caused a certain loss in the depth of the Blazers, especially the thickness of the backcourt and the loss of defensive ability.

But Vandeweghe also brought strong offensive firepower. The backcourt formed by him and Paxson made it difficult for any team to avoid one thing and lose another in defense.

And Gan Guoyang, the second place in the list, has been well integrated into the team and has become a member of the team. His scoring explosiveness in offense is amazing. In defense, he has gradually become Ramsey's defensive gate.

At present, his biggest problem in the team may be the problem of possession of the ball with Sampson, although so far this problem has been covered up because of his record.

After staying in Chicago for a day, the Blazers embarked on a journey again and began to head to the next central city, Cleveland, Ohio.

However, after arriving in Cleveland, it happened to be in time for the important holiday in the United States——Thanksgiving, so the game got a day off for the Cleveland Trail Blazers.

In the hotel where they stayed, the Trail Blazers borrowed a hall of the hotel to organize a team dinner to celebrate this important festival in the United States.

"Come on, have a taste, the turkey is great."

"No, I don't like to eat this fat and big guy that looks like an ostrich." For some reason, Gan Guoyang hated eating turkey because he rejected Drexler's suggestion.

"Then try some of Cleveland's famous corned beef, which is amazing." Ramsay next to him recommended Cleveland's specialty to Gan Guoyang.

This is a good dinner. For nba players, diet must be controlled. In order to maintain good body shape and athletic ability, a reasonable diet is a must.

Reasonable and unpalatable are often linked together.

Fortunately, drug testing is not strict in the NBA, so it doesn't matter if you eat and drink too much sometimes.

In order to improve his golf skills, Gan Guoyang has been living a life like an ascetic monk, but when necessary, he will also indulge his desires and make a good first effort.

After the big meal, the players separated for their activities, and most of them chose to go back to their rooms to rest. At this time, it was snowing heavily in Cleveland, and there was really nothing interesting in this heavy industrial city.

Gan Guoyang did not go back to the room, but went to the only gym in the hotel to do some digestive exercises after meals.

There was no one else in the gym. Gan Guoyang took the key from the front desk, turned on the heater in the building room, and started warming up.

The physical fitness of 80snba players has begun to get better and better. In the early 80s, many players looked relatively slender, but in the middle and late stages, their muscles began to gradually increase.

At this time, Gan Guoyang was at an inflection point in time.

When setting the value of nba2004 back then, Gan Guoyang set the strength value of 83, which has far surpassed the level of the times in the 80s.

Gan Guoyang himself could feel that his strength training was particularly effective, and the growth rate of his muscle mass was not significant, but his bench press data rose in a straight line.

Gan Guoyang also knew in his heart that the natural value of strength should be easier to discover, as long as he is willing to practice, his level will rise rapidly.

It stands to reason that Gan Guoyang's strength has almost no rivals in the current NBA, and his skin tone and body shape will often deceive opponents and make them underestimate his strength.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Sikma, and Wharton have all suffered from him. They didn't expect that this kid would be as unstoppable as a bulldozer.

However, Gan Guoyang has always strived for excellence. He feels that he must develop all his strength and talent. From the game against the Bulls, he felt that the confrontation in the nba is really very fierce. Without strength as the foundation, no matter how good the skills are, In vain.

Gan Guoyang looked at his increasingly thick arm, and there were bloodstains on it from being cut when he was playing against the bull.

Since he was the only one, Gan Guoyang did not do some heavy equipment exercises, but started with yoga to relax his body.

Since taking a yoga class at UCLA, Gan Guoyang's yoga practice has not fallen behind. When he arrived at Gonzaga University, he still signed up for a yoga class to increase his body's flexibility.

Gan Guoyang's limbs are long and slender, but they are not rigid, but soft and coordinated. The practice of yoga is indispensable.

Gan Guoyang is able to practice the skyhook all because he has excellent coordination and flexibility, and can stretch and smooth his movements in high confrontation, coupled with his good hand feel, he can achieve such an effect.

He found a mat from nowhere, and after the room warmed up, he began to do yoga on the mat.

Yoga can not only exercise his body, but also his mind, so that he can have a peaceful and calm state of mind, which is very important for players to perform at critical moments.

Just as Gan Guoyang closed his eyes and sat on the mat to breathe and relax, there was a sound from the door of the gym, which was the sound of the door opening.

Gan Guoyang's heart moved, and he thought that there should be some players coming in to do strength training like him. I don't know if it is Clyde or Cauchy. These two are the Blazers who spend the most time in the gym besides Gan Guoyang.

"Hello, Gan." Gan Guoyang didn't open his eyes, but he heard the voice of that person greeting him, not Drexler, nor Cauchy, nor Vandeweghe.

"Hello, Sampson." Gan Guoyang opened his eyes and saw Mitchell Sampson in sportswear coming in through the door.

One of the differences between a pro team and a college team is that you're never going to have a good relationship with everyone on the team.

Gan Guoyang has a good relationship with several rookies in the same class. He is a close friend with Drexler, who is a year ahead of him, and has a good relationship with Vandeweghe.

And Mitchell Sampson is one of the two people who have the most trouble with Gan Guoyang-the other is Jim Paxson.

From the first day of team training, there was some unhappiness between Gan Guoyang and Sampson.

In an NBA team, no matter whether you are the No. [-] pick or the last pick, you are just a rookie. In a team based on seniority, a rookie means serving old players.

Carrying bags after training is the most common, but Gan Guoyang is unwilling to carry bags for anyone on the team, including Mitchell Sampson.

At the beginning of the season, half of the Blazers' players were new players to the team, so Mitchell Sampson, the old champion who was left behind, naturally became the nominal team leader.

But Gan Guoyang, a newcomer, completely ignored Sampson's request and left with his own things after the training, which made Sampson very embarrassed.

When Drexler first arrived in Portland last year, he also worked as a bag boy for a while.

Since then, there have been problems in the relationship between the two, and they have disliked each other.

As the season progressed, the two had deeper conflicts due to the issue of ball possession.

Sampson, like Gan Guoyang, can play the center position. As the No. 1978 pick in [-], he has comprehensive basket skills, excellent defensive ability, and rich game experience.

Since Bill Walton was traded due to injury, he has been the core of the Blazers' inside offense and defense.

According to his original idea, the Blazers chose Gan Guoyang to prepare for the future, and they can only be his assistant for the time being.

But he did not expect that after a few games, Gan Guoyang gradually became an indispensable inside pillar of the team, showing great energy on both ends of the offense and defense.

The Blazers, as a team that mainly attacks from the outside and has a fast offensive rhythm, only have so many shots from the inside. Gan Guoyang and Sampson obviously don't have enough points.

Ramsey has long been aware of this problem, so he deliberately suppressed Gan Guoyang's shots in some games. On the one hand, he trained Gan Guoyang's coping ability, and on the other hand, he took care of Sampson's feelings and gave Sampson more offensive shots. right.

But gold always shines. Gan Guoyang's strong offensive desire cannot be suppressed, and his explosive power in offense makes Sampson have to admit that this young man really has potential.

It's just that as a veteran of the pioneers, he naturally can't understand young people like Gan Guoyang who "don't know how to respect the elders".

Gan Guoyang never seemed to bow to him, and rarely communicated with Sampson in training and games.

In the Trail Blazers, every time Gan Guoyang practiced yoga there alone, his teammates would laugh at him as a gymnast and nicknamed him "Prince of Gymnasium."

Gan Guoyang didn't care about it, anyway, he thought it was effective and kept going.

When Sampson said this, Gan Guoyang couldn't tell whether it was a mockery or something else, so he ignored him and continued to close his eyes and do yoga on the cushion.

And his attitude turned into contempt for him in Sampson's eyes, and his face suddenly looked ugly, but it's a pity that Gan Guoyang couldn't see it.

Gan Guoyang didn't mean to confront Sampson on purpose. In fact, he also admired Sampson's skills, especially when he played against the Nets.

At that time, Gan Guoyang faced the old fritter Gominsky, and was fooled by Gominsky, but Sampson immediately ruled Gominsky into obedience after he came on the court.

Sitting on the sidelines in that game and watching Sampson and Gominski fight, Gan Guoyang learned a lot, such as how to get fouled when facing the old oily defense.

When facing Kerzin in the last game, Gan Guoyang adapted a lot, and took advantage of the opportunity to beat Kerzin.

However, since high school, Gan Guoyang has been the boss of the team. When he arrived at UCLA, he also had a bad relationship with the old players and eventually left.

When it came to Gonzaga, he became the leader of the team with the support of Behrman and Stockton.

But the Blazers are not Gonzaga. Every player here is a college elite, and Sampson is the No. [-] pick. It is almost impossible for Gan Guoyang to be the boss as soon as he arrives.

Gan Guoyang, who is used to being the boss, is of course not used to being the younger brother. He himself doesn't like the way of bullying rookies. In college, he never let rookies do this or that for him.

In the NBA, he still upholds this habit, insists on his own approach, and treats everyone equally.

As a result, the contradiction between these two Trailblazers who could have cooperated with each other and inherited each other is getting deeper and deeper.

After Gan Guoyang finished yoga, he did an hour of auxiliary strength exercises alone. During this period, Sampson had no communication with him, and the whole gym seemed extremely depressed.

An opportunity that might improve the relationship between the two was missed, and the misunderstanding between the two arrogant players will only deepen.

The one-day Thanksgiving Day passed quickly, and Gan Guoyang called Gan Youwei, who was far away in Jinzhou, and Wang Fuxi, who was still in school. There was nothing else to do. As a Chinese, he only paid attention to traditional Chinese festivals. have feelings.

On November 11th, they will challenge the Cleveland Cavaliers, a "thousand-year bad team", in an away game.