The Golden Age of Basketball

In the entire 1984-1985 season, the Denver Nuggets lost only 7 games at home, which is a very amazing record, which means that their home winning percentage reached 80.00%.

Therefore, before going to Denver, Jack Ramsey was psychologically prepared for the hardship of this game, but he still did not expect that the Blazers still lost in paralysis.

The Portland Trail Blazers, who trailed by 18 points in the first half, rallied to catch up in the second half. Their offense became more and more organized, and their shooting percentage also rose steadily.

However, the 18-point gap is really too big, especially when the Blazers' defense can't restrain the Nuggets, the scores of both sides are rising simultaneously, and the Nuggets have always maintained the score gap at about 15 points.

The terrible thing about offensive teams is that once they find the offensive feeling, it becomes very difficult to stop them.

However, the Blazers did not give up from the beginning to the end. It was still 3 minutes before the end of the game, and the Blazers were still 13 points behind. Basically they had lost hope of winning, but Ramsey still called a timeout.

"We played badly tonight, and you should pay for your underestimation! Fortunately, I saw your good side in the second half, so I hope you can continue this momentum to the next game. But it doesn't It doesn't mean we just give up this game. Remember, we must not give up until the last moment. In 3 minutes, we can adopt foul tactics, speed up our offensive rhythm, shoot more shots, and grab more offensive rebounds! Losing You can't lose momentum!" Ramsey was making what might be the last tactical arrangement of the game.

He traded both Drexler and Sampson for Cosey and Paxson, hoping that Cosey would be able to rebound and Paxson would hit some face-saving jumpers.

"The timeout is over. It seems that the Blazers are not going to give up. They have replaced Jim Paxson and Jerome Cosey, and the starters Gan, Vandeweghe, and Valentine are still on the court. The Blazers sent sideline The ball, Paxson came out to catch the ball, and shot directly from the 20-foot position! Oh, the ball went in! The point difference became 11 points, and this attack only took 2 seconds, the Nuggets must be careful.”[

The Blazers grabbed two points with a simple serving tactic, narrowing the point difference between the two sides slightly.

After scoring the goal, Jerome Cosey rushed to Wayne Cooper and hugged him.

Instead of fighting Cooper, Cosey wanted to send Cooper to the free throw line.

Before the appearance of Shaquille O'Neal in later generations, the "shark-cutting tactic" had already appeared, and it was Wilt Chamberlain, the "Big Dipper", who was the first to enjoy this treatment.

At that time, there was no rule against fouling non-ball players in the last 2 minutes, so Cauchy decisively rushed towards Wayne Cooper, the Nuggets' worst free throw center.

"Beep!" The referee blew his whistle, because the number of collective fouls by the Blazers has exceeded four times, so Cooper will go to the free throw line.

In a shooting team like the Nuggets, only a center like Cooper has a relatively poor free throw percentage. The free throw percentages of the others are all above 70.00%. Sending them to the free throw line is basically sending points.

Even so, Cooper's free throw percentage is 60.00%, which is not too bad to be hopeless, so it is not a good idea for the Blazers to foul tactics. Of course, Ramsey didn't think about making a comeback. At the very least, the team should not lose when they lose.

Sure enough, Cooper bumped a few times on the basket for the first free throw, and finally rolled into the basket, and the point difference became 12 points again.

"Yeah!" The fans at the scene cheered.

"Hey Cooper, do you remember that you used to be a Trail Blazers player?" Gan Guoyang who was standing next to him suddenly said to Cooper.

Cooper didn't speak, but he tilted his head slightly, glanced at Gan Guoyang, and then continued to aim at the basket with the ball.

"You can't make a free throw..." Gan Guoyang's voice appeared in Cooper's ear again.

Cooper's free throw was not top-notch in the first place, but now he was disturbed by Gan Guoyang's "stinky mouth", and his hands were obviously softer when he shot.

Cooper's soft hands were noticed by Gan Guoyang. He took a sudden step inward, and immediately occupied the best position under the basket to grab the rebound. [

Gan Guoyang grabbed his 15th rebound of the game and threw the ball forward.

At this time Drexler was no longer on the field, and it was Cauchy and Paxson who ran up the field.

Cauchy was good at running and jumping, and overwhelmed English who was defending in the air and received Gan Guoyang's long pass with both hands, but instead of holding the ball for a layup, he passed the ball to Paxson who moved to the bottom line.

Paxson stood outside the three-point line and was already in the shooting position. As soon as he received the pass from Cauchy, he immediately shot a three-pointer from the bottom line!

"Shua!" The ball went in!Paxson made a three-pointer!

"A three-pointer! Paxson's three-pointer! The score gap between the two sides has been reduced to 9 points! And only a dozen seconds have passed! There are still more than two minutes before the end of the game. Is the Blazers going to stage a Jedi counterattack? "

Seeing the sudden awakening of the Blazers' offensive end, Dick Stockton became excited all of a sudden, but the Nuggets fans couldn't get excited anymore. Although they still had a nine-point advantage, the Blazers used They scored 5 points in a dozen seconds. If they maintain such an offensive efficiency, the Nuggets are really dangerous.

Doug Mo immediately called a timeout. There is no room for sloppiness in such a crucial game. If they are overturned, the Nuggets will be doomed.

The players of the Blazers also became excited all of a sudden, they all jumped up from the bench, especially when Paxson made a three-pointer, everyone seemed to see the hope of a comeback.

But the next 2 minutes proved that this was nothing but a mirage, just a flash of light.

The Nuggets only made one adjustment, which was to replace Wayne Cooper and replace them with Dan Issel. You must know that Dan Issel's free throw percentage reached 80.00%. Sending him to the free throw line is basically Just send points.

Sure enough, after the timeout ended, the Blazers found that it was futile to foul anyone, and the Nuggets players could steadily make two free throws.

It is impossible for the Trail Blazers to make so many three-pointers. Jim Paxson made a total of six three-pointers in one season, and the three-pointers he just made obviously had more luck.

When the Nuggets made two free throws and the Blazers could no longer score, both sides knew that the game was really over.

In the last 24 seconds, Fat Leaf dribbled the ball across the half, and then stopped near the center line, waiting for the end of the game.

When the buzzer sounded, the game was over, and the score was fixed at 129:115. The Nuggets defeated the Portland Trail Blazers at home. The game is the same as playing the Nuggets.

"See-you-next-gme, gump! (See you next game, Gan.)" When the players on both sides shook hands after the game, Dan Issel took the initiative to find Gan Guoyang to shake hands with him.

"See you in the next game. Be careful with your mask." Gan Guoyang said to Isser. Isser had been wearing a mask because of his nose injury, and took it off after the game.

"Haha, I will be careful. But you should also be careful, you are too young, young man." Uncle Iser smiled at Gan Guoyang again, and then left.

………………

The locker room after losing a game will always look very dull. This is one of the reasons why Gan Guoyang hates losing. He doesn’t want to see his teammates in the locker room. Will be happy.

But after the game, it seemed a little different. Gan Guoyang was delayed talking to Isser on the field for a while, so he was the last one to go back to the locker room. As soon as he entered the door, he found that there was something wrong with the atmosphere inside. Ramsey also had a gloomy expression on his face. .

"Hey, what's the matter, guys. We didn't play very well today, but I think we still have a chance, don't we? We still lead 2:1." Gan Guoyang said.

"Gan, you are also a starter. Don't you think we will perform better with the regular season starting lineup?" At this time, Jim Paxson spoke.

As soon as Gan Guoyang heard what Jim Paxson said, he knew where the problem was. He knew that after this game, Jim Paxson wanted to return to the starting position!

At the beginning of the season, Paxson has always been the starting shooting guard. Regardless of Drexler's performance, Ramsey trusts Paxson, and Paxson's appearance has always been excellent.

Towards the end of the season, Paxson was plagued by injuries, and Ramsey had to start Drexler. Drexler jumped at the opportunity and had a great performance in March. Instantly consolidated his starting position.

Until the playoffs, Drexler was the starting shooting guard for the Blazers. In the series against the Mavericks and the first two games against the Nuggets, although Drexler's performance had ups and downs, But overall it is very good.

In comparison, Paxson is very unsuited to the position of the substitute. He is not good at disrupting and playing fast breaks like Drexler. He needs the support of tactics and systems, so after returning from injury, Paxson's Performance goes from bad to worse.

This sign was contained in this series with the Nuggets, because Paxson's style of play is very suitable for the Nuggets, while Drexler seemed to be struggling. He was sent off in the first game. Anti-English was exploded.

Paxson scored a team-high 28 points in this game, and the Nuggets were shocked into a cold sweat by scoring five points in a row at the last moment.

Now, Paxson is asking Ramsey to reassign him back to the starting shooting guard position. Although he didn't say it explicitly, he said "use the regular season starting lineup", which is obviously what he meant.

Gan Guoyang quickly scanned the locker room. Drexler had an expression on his face, Vandeweghe didn't seem to be listening, and Kenny Carr, who has always been the spokesperson of the locker room, also kept silent.

On the contrary, Mitchell Sampson had a relaxed expression on his face, while Ramsey on the opposite side had a dignified expression.

Seeing Sampson, Gan Guoyang understood something again. No wonder Paxson dared to directly discuss with Ramsey, because Sampson was also dropped from the current starting lineup!

This means that the original two veterans of the Blazers are "pressing" coach Ramsey, hoping that Ramsey can restore the team's most stable starting lineup. Gold works better.

Now, everyone seemed to be waiting for Gan Guoyang's statement, and there were still many reporters outside the locker room waiting to come in for interviews, and Gan Guoyang was suddenly put on the cusp of the storm.

This was something Gan Guoyang never expected. The power vacuum among the Blazers pushed him out.

"No one can replace the coach and make decisions...I can't either."

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