The Golden Age of Basketball

() Gan Guoyang heard the news about his suspension when he arrived in Philadelphia and was on the airport bus heading to the hotel. At that time, the radio on the car was broadcasting yesterday's sports news.

This news surprised the Blazers players, workers, and coaches in the car, because the three-game suspension is really heavy.

After arriving at the hotel, the Blazers called the league president's office to inquire again, and got a decision to suspend them for three games. In addition, a fine of 2 US dollars will be added.

This means that in the next games against the Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns, Gan Guoyang will not be able to play.

In the hotel room where the team stayed, Gan Guoyang was discussing the next arrangement with Ramsey.

"I think you should go back to Portland first. You will not be able to participate in the next game until December 12th. For a whole week, you can't train well here. You need to adjust yourself, both physically and mentally. You have to I know, by this time, many rookies will have problems.” Ramsey sat on the sofa chair in the room, drinking coffee and talking to Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang was sitting on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. He thought that as long as he was fined, it would be over, but he didn't expect to be suspended for three games.

Although the suspension is not a big deal, Gan Guoyang feels that he has been treated unfairly in this matter.

Lambiel, who was also suspected of a malicious foul and also made a move, was not suspended. He was only fined and added a technical foul.

"I still hope to be with my teammates and play the last two away games with them..." Gan Guoyang looked at Ramsey and said.

"You should be with them when you can play, not now, you need to calm down now, or go back to Portland." Ramsey continued.

"But I don't think I should be suspended. Why wasn't Lambiel suspended? Is it because he didn't strike first? Or is it because this guy is Caucasian!" Gan Guoyang suddenly became excited, but he didn't notice the pull Muzzy is also Caucasian.

Ramsey put down the coffee cup in his hand, stood up and walked to Gan Guoyang, looked at the excited Gan Guoyang and said: "The NBA is a professional league, and you know that this is Stern's first official season, and you are with He's a rookie who came into the league with him, so he needs to use tough penalties to establish his authority, and that's where you hit the gun."

"You have to know that few players dare to hit someone in their rookie season. I couldn't believe my eyes when you jumped up and punched. And this is a league of stars. The players are the most stars. Dr. J and Bird fought on the field before, but neither of them was suspended. Why? Because they are superstars, they have championships, mvp, and countless fans who support them, so the league cannot suspend them. It's the rules of the NBA."

Ramsey spoke earnestly to Gan Guoyang about some unspoken rules under the glamorous surface of this league. Of course, there is one thing Ramsey did not mention, that is, Gan Guoyang's yellow skin is also one of the reasons for his isolation. influence is too small.

"I understand that I am nothing yet. Although my statistics are not bad and I look good, I am still nothing." Gan Guoyang felt a little relieved when he heard Ramqi's words. Which time and space, which country, some things will not change after all.

The weak will always be bullied, and the strong will always take advantage.

It's just that the nba is already very fair in comparison, because the strength here is won by sweat and hard work, and if you want to take advantage of it, you have to put in enough effort.

"It's good that you understand, so you can go back to Portland first, adjust yourself, and we will go back on the 2nd." Ramsey patted Gan Guoyang on the shoulder and said.

Gan Guoyang finally accepted Ramsey's arrangement. After arriving in Philadelphia, he immediately bought another plane ticket and flew back to Portland accompanied by trainer Karp.

Gan Guoyang didn't know that another reason why Ramsey asked him to go back early was that Ramsey didn't want Gan Guoyang to have more conflicts with Sampson in the team.

Although Ramsey tried his best to balance the two, he has already noticed that the rift between the two may be difficult to make up. The players in the NBA team are all arrogant geniuses, and it is too difficult for one of them to bow his head. .

In the game against the Pistons, Gan Guoyang and Lambir had a conflict. Drexler, Vandeweghe, Colter and other good friends of Gan Guoyang rushed to make a rescue. Only Sampson stood aside and watched the show, and had no idea of ​​helping .

Ramsey is racking his brains now, thinking about how to make good use of these two insiders, one champion and the other second. It would be a pity if they broke up because of internal conflicts.

Fortunately, it seems that although the private relationship between the two is stiff, it has not affected their cooperation on the court. The two still have basic professionalism and do not bring personal grievances to the court.

It's just that if it continues like this, trading is almost inevitable. Even though the current Trail Blazers have a good record and are still leading the West, Ramsey can feel that there is a big crisis hidden in this team.

One is the height and thickness of the interior. The tallest player on the team is the 6-foot-11 Tom Scheffler, but he is just a water fountain manager. great effect.

The rest of the main center Gan Guoyang and the main power forward Sampson are both 6 feet 10 and weighing less than 240 pounds. They are between the center and the power forward. Both of them have good defensive skills and rebounding ability.

But Gan Guoyang is too young, inexperienced, and easily impulsive. Sampson's hardware conditions are average, one-on-one is fine, but he can't support the inside of the entire team.

In addition, the Blazers are only left with Karl and Norris inside. Both of them are only 6 feet 9 in height. They are standard power forwards, but sometimes they have to push up to the center position.

Kenny Carr is a good blue-collar insider who can score, rebound, block shots, and support, but it's just good.This guy also likes to drink, and he often takes young players to drink. Ramsey is thankful that he doesn't lead the young people badly.

Norris is even more hopeless. Although there are occasional outbreaks, Ramsey can see that this is also a player without much talent, and his road to the NBA should not be long.

In the NBA at that time, without a strong inside line, he would definitely miss the championship. Gan Guoyang is obviously a seed of hope, but there is still some time to wait for him to develop into a towering tree.

Ramsey doesn't know if he can wait until that day, maybe he will be fired, so he adapts to local conditions and let the Blazers play outside and play fast this season.

The second is the issue of perimeter defense.

The team traded for Vandeweghe, with Sampson and Drexler, and Valentine, plus Colter on the bench, there is no problem at all offensively.

The reason why the Blazers were able to achieve such good results at the beginning mainly relied on the strong firepower from the outside. Vandeweghe's strong personal ability has repeatedly turned the tide of the game and led the team to victory.

But the ensuing problem, which is also the most troublesome problem for Ramsey, is the defense of the perimeter.

In the game against a team with a strong small forward, almost all of the opponent's small forward positions exploded in scoring, often scoring [-] or [-] points, which made Ramsey extremely helpless.

Then there's the issue of Drexler, who broke Ramsey's heart almost as much as Gan Guoyang, who has been dissatisfied with his playing time and even clamored for a trade.

Drexler is indeed very talented, second only to Gan Guoyang in the team, and he is more mature in the second grade. Except for shooting problems, he is quite good in other aspects, especially he is also the most important pawn on the bench.

For other defenses, his physical fitness and vitality are extremely important when the Blazers' perimeter defense is generally poor.

It's just that he is not satisfied with being a substitute. He has wanted to be a starter since he was a rookie, and Ramsey feels that he is more suitable to be a substitute. Therefore, the relationship between the two has not been very good.

There is also Jerome Cosey on the bench, who seems to be an outsider with little talent at the moment, but Ramsey is very satisfied with his hard work, and may be a rotation player in the future.

Ramsey is leading such a team full of contradictions, ushered in the penultimate opponent of consecutive road trips, the 1983 NBA championship, the mighty Philadelphia 76ers.

The reason why Gan Guoyang didn't want to go back to Portland first is also an important reason, that is, he can watch Moses Malone's game off the court anyway.

Gan Guoyang still remembers the shocking feeling when he saw Moses Malone's performance on TV and newspapers in 1981 when he was recuperating in Santa Barbara Hospital.

Especially when he was 6 feet 10 tall, resisted Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and was like a lone hero on the court, Gan Guoyang fell in love with this round-headed black center, and dreamed of one day playing with him in the NBA. Higher.

In 1983, Malone led the 76ers. Under the slogan of "fo-fo-fo", Gan Guoyang cheered like a 76ers fan in front of the TV after they swept the Lakers to win the championship.

In addition to Ma Long, the 76ers also have Dr. J Irving, who is also Gan Guoyang's favorite player. The first time he watched the finals was the game between the 76ers and the Lakers. Although the 76ers lost, Dr. J was like a fairy that day The performance is still deeply engraved in Gan Guoyang's heart.

Later, whenever someone said that Gan Guoyang dunked like Dr. J, Gan Guoyang would always shake his head, wondering how he could compare to him.

And the biggest and biggest regret is that the meeting with Charles Barkley will be postponed again.

After returning to Portland, Gan Guoyang went back to his home in the West District alone, and immediately called Gan Youwei in San Francisco and Wang Fuxi in Spokane, explaining his situation and asking them not to worry.

The next step is to wait boringly, waiting for the Blazers to return to Portland, and Gan Guoyang will meet up with his teammates.

When Gan Guoyang was alone in an empty house, he suddenly realized that without the basketball, he seemed to have nothing.

He didn't like drinking, he didn't like women, and there wasn't much nightly entertainment in Portland.

Here he has no friends, relatives, or classmates. Gan Guoyang doesn't know where else to go besides the training ground.

At this time, it was 1984 again, there was no internet, no ps game console, Gan Guoyang didn't even want to look at the latest game console just released, that is to say, Gan Guoyang had no way to stay at home.

Gan Guoyang could only do repeated shooting training on the small basketball court at home, until the restaurant made himself some food, and then turned on the TV to see what NBA games there were.

On November 11th, there were only three games in the United States. Among them, the game between the Phoenix Suns and the Chicago Bulls was broadcast live in the Pacific region, and the Bulls challenged the Suns away.

After the last game with Jordan, Gan Guoyang still misses Jordan.

But from the perspective of personal performance, Jordan was going to surpass Gan Guoyang in that game, because Jordan not only scored by himself, but also drove the whole team.

Gan Guoyang felt hot all by himself in the third quarter, no matter how he shot, at best, he gave his teammates a few assists, but failed to become a tactical axis.

After the game, Ramsey also pointed out this point, which made Gan Guoyang feel aggrieved.

However, after watching the game between the Suns and the Bulls, Gan Guoyang also had to admit that in terms of the team's tactical status, Gan Guoyang is indeed not as good as Jordan.

In his rookie season, Jordan was already the top leader of the Bulls. He had a strong sense of tactical presence in the offense. He was not only an excellent finisher, but also an excellent initiator. With him, the Bulls' offense has obviously improved to a higher level.

It's just that the abilities of other Bulls players are average, especially inside. Although Corzin is oily, his talent is really not enough. He was beaten by the Suns' Larry Nance and James Edwards in turn.

The gap in the inside line was too large, causing the Bulls to lose consecutive backcourt rebounds in the crucial fourth quarter, and was scored by the Suns again and again, resulting in Jordan's high shooting rate of 17 of 9. They lost the game in Phoenix 95:100.

Gan Guoyang didn't respond to the Bulls winning or losing, it was just a regular season.

After Gan Guoyang watched the game, he began to think about whether there is a gap between himself and Jordan. What is his difference from Jordan?

Although the Blazers are different from the Bulls, the Blazers are a strong team with many stars in the team, and the team's goal is also a championship.

The Bulls are a team with a lot of waste to do. Everything is centered on cultivating new players and creating the future. Therefore, it is only natural that Jordan became the core of the team in the first year.

But Gan Guoyang doesn't think so. He has been the core of the team from high school to college, and he has gradually adapted to the rhythm of professional games in the NBA. It seems that the NBA is not as difficult as imagined.

An idea began to slowly emerge in his mind.