The Golden Age of Basketball

For Alex English, scoring is the most important belief in his basketball career.

It has to be said that the Denver Nuggets in the 80s were a treasure trove of geomantic omen to stimulate the potential of players. In 1976, English was selected to the cold Milwaukee with the sixth overall pick in the second round.

The Bucks team has always been on the defensive line. English, a lanky player who focuses on shooting offense, will not be valued in the Bucks. Traded to the Indiana Pacers.

In 1978, in the Pacers, a team that had just entered the nb league, English began to show his outstanding scoring ability. This guy who was obsessed with jump shots improved his scoring average from 9 points in the previous season. At 16 points, it almost doubled.

In the 1979-1980 season, English's scoring continued to stabilize at around 16 points, but the Pacers were still not very optimistic about this thin forward who was not outstanding in other aspects except scoring, and finally traded him in the middle of the season. To the Denver Nuggets.

At that time, it was none other than the former Indiana veteran and the number one star of the Pacers in the b period, the "mistake king" George McGuinness.

In the 1976 season, when b was merged into nb, McGuinness chose to join the Philadelphia 76ers together with Nets superstar Dr. J Irving. The two b superstars were eager to join hands to rule nb.

But their dreams were shattered in the 1977 Finals, when it was Bill Walton's Portland Trail Blazers that ended them.

With the busy work of the 78ers in 76, they finally sent McGuinness, the turnover king, to the Denver Nuggets. In the Nuggets, McGuinness's state began to decline. In the 1979-1980 season, McGuinness's data It has shrunk by 40%. [

At this time, his old club in b extended an olive branch to him, and the Pacers pinned their hopes on the former b-mvp grand slam (he once won b regular season mvp, all-star game mvp and playoffs in one season mvp), to be able to rejuvenate after returning to the hometown.

It's a pity that the Pacers missed it this time. Some things are lost and can never come back. McGuinness's state continued to decline in the Pacers in the next few years, and eventually he failed to lead his old club to re-emerge in nb .

On the contrary, the Nuggets picked up a big deal. They have a discerning eye and see great potential in English. More importantly, English's offensive style of play is just right for the team's new owner. Coach Donnie Walsh's tactics - Before Walsh, the team's head coach was the famous academic Larry Brown.

After coming to the Nuggets, English was like a fish in water. In the second half of the 79-80 season, his scoring average broke through the 20-point mark, and he became a new scorer who became the focus of the league.

In the 1980-1981 season, English's first full season in the Nuggets, Donny Walsh chose to step down from the position of head coach, and Doug Moe succeeded him.

Doug Mo is in the same line as Donny Walsh in terms of style, both focus on offensive style, and the system is more smooth and open, and English's scoring has also improved to a higher level.

In the 1981-1982 season, English finally ushered in the explosion of his career, averaging 25 points per game, and more importantly, he averaged 68 rebounds and 53 assists per game. Statistics, but English's ability to achieve such results also shows his great progress in his skills. This year, he was selected as an All-Star.

Since then, English has become one of the strongest scorers in the league. Together with two other scorers in the team who averaged 20 points per game, he formed the Nuggets' "Three Musketeers" and began to shoot all over the league.

One of the three was the Nuggets power forward at the time, Kiki Vandeweghe.

Vandeweghe and English, one is on the inside and the other on the outside, and their shooting skills are all excellent. When they are on the field, they are one left and one right, one inside and one outside. For the opponent's defender, facing them is simply impossible. It is a kind of torture.

But the nb game is not just about offense. Although the Nuggets lineup has double firepower, their defensive ability can always "improve" the opponent's offensive ability by two levels.

Such flaws will be fatal in the playoffs. Everyone knows how important defense is in the playoffs.

In the 1983-1984 season, Vandeweghe and English reached their peak in personal scoring, but the Nuggets had a poor record in the regular season and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

During the offseason, the Nuggets decided to make changes. They hit it off with the Blazers, because the Blazers were also eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, and they were defeated by the Phoenix Suns.

In this way, good teammates who used to practice shooting together off the court and score crazy points together on the court were traded in the NBA business. [

Of course, it turns out that this deal may be the best deal of the offseason. The Nuggets' lineup has been supplemented in thickness and depth without losing offensive ability.

The Trail Blazers got the needed outside stable singles scoring points, and the performance of both teams rose sharply, occupying two of the top three spots in the Western Conference.

Now, the Western Conference semifinals meet on a narrow road, so Vandeweghe and English must fight to win.

But unlike English's consecutive scoring in the game, Vandeweghe didn't take many shots today, and his scoring was scattered. He made 12 of 6 shots and 5 of 4 free throws. At the end of the fourth quarter, with 8 minutes left, Already got 17 points, not bad.

It's just that compared with English's 36 points and his crazy pursuit of points in the fourth quarter, Vandeweghe's performance is indeed a bit flat.

"I think you should respond." Ramsey said to Vandeweghe who was sitting on the bench. For Ramsey, the current situation on the field is beyond his control.

For a coach, you have no way to stop the explosion of the opponent's superstar. At this time, what the coach can do is to hope that the superstar in his hand can also explode-if he has one.

For Ramsey, Vandeweghe is the most stable and reliable scoring point in his hands.

Although Gan Guoyang and Drexler have poor potential, and Gan Guoyang even scored 49 points in the last round, they are still not stable enough. They still need Vandeweghe to stabilize the situation.

"No problem, please leave it to me." Vandeweghe took off his long-sleeved sportswear, did a few warm-up exercises, and prepared to play again after the timeout.

"Re-you-ok? (Is it okay?)" Gan Guoyang and Drexler played together with Vandeweghe. Gan Guoyang and Vandeweghe have always had a good relationship, so there is no taboo in speaking.

"of-ourse-'m-ok! (of course!)" Vandeweghe said with a smile.

Gan Guoyang felt very relieved when he saw Vandeweghe's smile. This tall and stern German, his willpower is definitely strong enough at critical moments.

"The timeout is over, the game continues, the Blazers replaced the main lineup, Vandeweghe, Gan and Drexler all played again, the score gap has been narrowed to less than 10 points, and there are still 8 minutes before the end of the game, the Blazers It is not as easy as expected for the players to win the game."

Indeed, 8 minutes is really long enough that no one knows what will happen.

Now the Blazers urgently need to score a goal to widen the difference between the two sides to 10 points. You must know that 10 points is also a hurdle. If you maintain a double-digit lead, you will have confidence.

"The Blazers served from the backcourt, Valentine passed the ball to Vandeweghe, Vandeweghe held the ball at the top of the arc, tested, broke through! Successful layup! Beautiful breakthrough!"

The effect of Vandeweghe's coming on the court was immediate. Valentine held the ball and handed it to Vandeweghe immediately after halftime. Vandeweghe faced English's defense, and after a tentative step, he rushed in directly from the left side.

The Nuggets failed to defend inside, and Vandeweghe succeeded in a layup with his left hand, 110:100, and the gap reached double digits again!

"kk~vvneweghe!" The j at the scene announced Vandeweghe's name in a long tune, accompanied by the cheers of the audience. This kind of average per game should be the most common in the Memorial Stadium this season.

When it came to defense, Vandeweghe no longer faced English, but Drexler was defending the hot "Blade". (English nicknamed 'ble')

English's offensive methods have always been unpretentious. His shooting is like a blade gently slicing the opponent's throat. There are no too fancy moves, but it is deadly.

"English has the ball on the right, he's facing Drexler... Drexler strangles English, English dribbles, leans on Drexler But he's so overwhelmed that he has no room to move, and English shoots..."

"Beep beep!" At this time, the referee O'Donnell's whistle blew, and he pointed to Drexler, indicating that Drexler had fouled.

"Did I foul? I didn't move at all? I didn't move at all!" Drexler explained to O'Donnell thinking about the ball just now. Drexler tried his best to stick to English. Constantly squeezed English out with his body.

It should be said that this ball was on the verge of being judged or not, but O'Donnell has always been known for his strictness, so he still sentenced Drexler to a foul on this ball.

English got two free throw opportunities. At this time, Drexler had already fouled three times. Ramsey asked him to keep defending English all the time. The pressure must be great.

The score gap came to 8 points again, and Vandeweghe and English each relied on a single to score two points for the team.

The game began to enter the duel period of these two super scorers.