The Golden Age of Basketball

() The game between the Spurs and the Trail Blazers in the first quarter did not develop as Ramsey envisioned.

Ramsey wanted to play a fast-paced offense in the first quarter to attack the older and slower Spurs, but the Blazers players' offensive touch does not seem to be particularly good.

Several times of their quick counterattacks, they missed the final layup, which also forced Ramsey to call a timeout and arrange for the Blazers to slow down and play well.

The Spurs have been unhurried and have steadily controlled the rhythm of the game. The combination of internal and external play is very organized, showing the once strong and good tactical quality of this team.

Gan Guoyang performed quite well in the first quarter. He never took the ball in the low post in the offense, but more as a screen for his teammates and a support in the high post.

In the defense, Gan Guoyang's timely supplementary defense and strong interference in the three-second zone made the Spurs' offense also greatly hindered.

In the direct conversation with Gilmore, Gan Guoyang was not in a hurry, and he didn't show too many flaws in the face of the experienced "locomotive".

Three minutes before the end of the first quarter, Gan Guoyang was replaced, and the Blazers entered the normal personnel rotation time.

"Good job Gan, keep it up." Gan Guoyang heard Ramsey's praise for the first time when he left the field.

In the previous month's game, no matter how Gan Guoyang performed on the court, he got the most roars and criticisms from Ramsey.

In Ramsey's view, although Gan Guoyang is very talented, he often scores like a bag, and picks up boards with ease, but he always does not follow the routine, does not know how to take care of the operation of the entire team, and often makes some low-level mistakes .

In Ramsey's view, these are worse than not making shots and being robbed of rebounds, because he asked Gan Guoyang according to the mvp standard.

An mvp player must not only score and grab boards, but more importantly, he must become the core of the team's tactical operations and spiritual leader.

To achieve the first point, we must do the basic work that is not obvious, such as a solid screen, a pass that changes the tactical situation, a clean shot interference, and a perfect anticipation and defense.

If a player can do this well in regular time, and then stand up when he needs to stand up, score, block and rebound to crush the opponent, then he is the real mvp.

In Ramsay's eyes, Gan Guoyang now has the ability of the second level, but does not have the cultivation level of the first level.

The good news is that his progress is constantly showing up in weeks.

"Ramsey praised you, it's unbelievable." After sitting on the bench, Drexler whispered to Gan Guoyang.

"Yes, I think so too. As long as I don't score or grab rebounds on the court, he will praise me." Gan Guoyang said jokingly.

"I think as long as I can play, I don't mind even if he scolds me to death." Drexler sighed helplessly.

Looking at Drexler's lonely expression, Gan Guoyang couldn't help worrying whether his arrival would have a bad impact on Drexler's future.

After Drexler got a lot of playing time in the previous few games and got a very good performance, Drexler's playing time has become unstable again in these few games.

Gan Guoyang is very suspicious, because of his efforts, the Blazers have less urgent needs for rebounding and defense, so Drexler naturally doesn't get too many opportunities, and Ramsey still doesn't like his way of playing. .

Generally speaking, Ramsey always uses Drexler as an x ​​factor, and when he can't open the situation, or needs a dead horse as a living horse doctor, he throws Drexler on it.

This is obviously inferior. Although Drexler does not meet the standard of a qualified defender in Ramsey's mind, in fact, he is a new type of all-around defender who can be trained as the core of the team.

Drexler in history eventually became the core of the Blazers, but the arrival of Gan Guoyang, a center favored by Ramsey, will change Drexler's fate?

Gan Guoyang sat off the court thinking about these, not noticing the changes in the situation on the court.

Although the Blazers did not play the ideal fast attack, they were not at a disadvantage on the scene. Gan Guoyang was still ahead by one point when he left the field.

But with Gan Guoyang, the Spurs scored 6 points in a row, while the Blazers didn't score a point. The Spurs overtook the score by 2 points in 5 minutes.

Ramsey shook his head from the sidelines, but he didn't yell at the players on the field, because sometimes the opponent's goal is unstoppable, especially when the goal is scored by the super scorer of the Spurs, "Iceman "George Gervin.

Gan Guoyang has watched a lot of NBA games and live games since he came to the United States, but he didn't even know George Gervin's name.

It can only be said that in an era without online media, it is not surprising that some people do not know who the president of their country is.

In fact, in the past few years in the United States, Gan Guoyang has watched the most games of the Los Angeles Lakers, and the games of other teams have been limited.

Moreover, after entering university, he put a lot of energy into training and competitions, and paid less attention to nba games.

What's more, at that time, the NBA's influence among the major sports leagues in the United States was almost at its lowest point, unlike the overwhelming propaganda bombardment of later generations. A star like George Gervin who didn't have much star quality was unknown to some fans. It makes sense.

His amazing "finger-roll" made the defensive players helpless, and Paxson couldn't defend Gervin's singles on the outside at all.

"Wow, how the hell did the ball score? I remember you can do Clyde's move, but it's not as good as his." Gan Guoyang saw Gervin holding the ball at 45 degrees on the right side, and passed it with one step Paxson, then under the interference of Ken Carr, stretched his long arms, raised his right hand and flicked lightly, the ball spun and went into the basket.

The whole movement is so light and easy, as if a swift flies to the eaves to take a mouthful of mud, and then gently floats away.

"I can't believe you don't even know Gervin, you know when I was in Houston, watching the Rockets and Spurs game, seeing Gervin's finger-roll, I was going crazy, and I could score like that , and then I started to practice constantly, practice constantly. Everyone was doing this at the time because they watched Gervin's game." Drexler looked at Gervin's performance with a look of longing on his face .

At this moment, with 1 minute left in the first quarter, Ramsey replaced Drexler on the court. It seemed that he wanted to use Drexler to make a final attack.

The Spurs replaced George Gervin, and Drexler and his idol just passed by.

After playing, Delexler really played a role immediately. After taking off the rebound, he dribbled the ball from the backcourt to the frontcourt and rushed straight to the Spurs basket.

Unlike Vandeweghe and Paxson, Drexler was unstoppable by many people when he rushed up. He didn't dunk when he flew to the basket, but used a light pick to score the ball.

Obviously, he is paying tribute to and challenging his idol.

Gan Guoyang stood up and waved the towel vigorously for Drexler's goal, making him seem to have scored a lore.

"Why are you so happy like a monkey today?" Ramsay looked at Gan Guoyang and asked, Gan Guoyang seemed very excited today.

"Because Monk Tang never recites the magic spell to me anymore!!" Gan Guoyang said with a sideways glance at Ramsay.

But Ramsay had no idea what he was talking about, because Gan Guoyang said the words "Tang Monk" and "Tightening Curse" in Chinese pinyin, and Ramsay couldn't understand them either.

At the end of the first quarter, Drexler, who played in the last minute, scored four points, but the Blazers still trailed the Spurs by 1 points 24:27.

Although the score was behind, Ramsey felt that the team played very well, with smooth operation, clear division of labor, and a relatively good implementation of the coach's tactics, but at the last shot, the state and feel of the players were average, so I also led to a lagging score.

"We still need to play fast in the second quarter, and we need to attack the opponent's defense. Of course, we should be more cautious in the final shot selection. I hope your touch has recovered. We can do well defensively, but we can't let it go. Gervin opens, otherwise I think we will be in big trouble." Ramsey is still very afraid of the opponent's powerful forwards.

"Clyde, you need to do more. We're going to overwhelm each other in the second quarter."

The lead in the first half is extremely important for the Blazers, because all their lost games were behind their opponents in the first half.

The game quickly resumed, and Gan Guoyang immediately re-dressed and supported the team's inside and outside line together with Drexler.

Gan Guoyang actually likes to be on the court with Drexler very much. Drexler's comprehensive and fast attack ability matches well with Gan Guoyang's strong attack ability and first pass.

Although Ramsey doesn't like these two boys sometimes playing mindlessly on the court, he also admits that these two people can always come up with magic strokes when they are together.

The second quarter has just begun, and the Spurs are leaving the main lineup. When the second team is transitioning on the court, Gervin and Mitchell are not on the court, and their offensive efficiency immediately dropped.

The Blazers seized the Spurs' weakness at once and started a continuous quick counterattack.

The Spurs just missed a mid-range jumper, and Gan Guoyang grabbed the rebound steadily and made a long pass.

But the Spurs retreated very quickly today, and they have repeatedly destroyed the Blazers' simple and rough fast breaks.

Therefore, Gan Guoyang passed the ball to Colter who was running near the center line and delayed for a while, but Colter did not stop playing positions, but continued to rush forward.

Drexler has already rushed to the paint, Coulter made a high-profile pass, Drexler jumped high, and got the ball between two Spurs players.

However, Drexler did not force a layup. After landing, he had already seen Gan Guoyang who was following up, and returned the ball to Gan Guoyang with a ground pass.

Gan Guoyang rushed up and no one could stop him. He grabbed the ball with one hand and jumped from a distance of 15 feet!

"Bang!" A beautiful one-handed dunk!

Gan Guoyang dunked to the basket because the take-off distance was too far, and his body stretched completely, so his body did not maintain a good balance. He fell on the ground and turned himself on his back, knocking Drexler and two Spurs players to the ground.

However, when Gan Guoyang and Drexler were young and strong, they fell to the ground and immediately got up, patted their buttocks and ran back, nothing happened.

The audience at the scene couldn't sit still for a long time and jumped up from their seats. Gan Guoyang's beautiful dunk has already allowed the Blazers to overtake the Spurs by two points 36:34.

The Spurs coach immediately called a timeout. It seemed that they were going to switch to the main lineup, otherwise it would be difficult to let the Blazers gain momentum.

"Very good, beautiful pass, great handling." Ramsey praised Gan Guoyang again.

According to Gan Guoyang's previous behavior, this ball must be a 60-foot long pass. If it is passed, it is a good ball and an assist. If it is not passed, it must be a mistake, and the possibility of making a mistake is higher than the possibility of passing it.

With Colter's transition, the Blazers are more flexible in their choices, fast or slow, and more stable.

He no longer greedy for credit alone, but learned to share the ball, then his teammates will share the ball with him.

Ramsey saw the second trait that Gan Guoyang will have, which is the trait of becoming the spiritual leader of the team.

To do that, you have to be able to make the players around you better.

"Thank you, I've never received so many compliments in my life, Mr. Ramsay." Gan Guoyang would shine brightly with some sunshine.

"But our defense is still not good enough. Their low offensive efficiency is because they didn't play the main force. I hope that after their main force plays, our defense will still be effective."

Ramsey's concerns were not unreasonable. After the timeout ended, both George Gervin and Gilmore returned to the court.

As soon as Gilmore came on the field, he took a position in the low post on the right. This was the first time that Gan Guoyang had a direct dialogue with Gilmore in the low post in this game.

Gilmore is a left-hander, which made Gan Guoyang a little uncomfortable in defense, but he still entangled Gilmore like an octopus, just like dealing with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Gilmore pushed Gan Guoyang back and found that his back was as solid as a rock, so he didn't turn over, nor did he continue to push inward, but moved horizontally to the front of the basket in large strides.

His speed is not faster than Gan Guoyang, but he is tall and has big strides. Gan Guoyang kept up with the jump and blocked the shot, but he still couldn't stop Gilmore's left-handed hook shot.

The ball knocked twice on the rim, and it still went into the net. Two points, the Spurs tied the score.

"Good defense! Don't be discouraged, he doesn't have that much physical strength!" Ramsey still encouraged from the side.

After all, Gilmore is old, and he can't play a few low-post singles in a game.

Going back to the offense, Gan Guoyang was also in the low position. Colter saw that Gan Guoyang had been beaten, and he must pay back this time.

Ever since Gan Guoyang yelled "pass the ball to me" with the Lakers last time, Colter has a kind of fear of Gan Guoyang. Sometimes when he sees Gan Guoyang asking for the ball in the low post, he unconsciously passes the ball to Gan Guoyang .

This time, Gan Guoyang's key position is not deep, but at about 15 feet, which is a mid-range point.

Although the position that is too deep is closer to the basket and easier to score, it also consumes more energy and is more likely to be double-teamed.

Just when others thought that Gan Guoyang was going to play singles, Gan Guoyang turned sideways, and suddenly a master passed the ball, directly stuffing the ball into the middle.

In the middle, it was Drexler who relied on the top of the arc to cover Kenny Carr, went straight to the basket, received a pass from Gan Guoyang, and scored an easy layup.

"Beautiful!" Even Ramsay cheered loudly from the sidelines.

This classic pass-and-cut tactic is exactly the offensive tactic commonly used by the Blazers in 1977. This tactic was under the knife of Bill Wharton that year, and it didn't need coaching at all, and it could be played at any time.

Seeing such a pass from Gan Guoyang, Ramsey couldn't help being a little dazed and puzzled.

"This guy, why did you get the hang of it?"