The Golden Age of Basketball

On April 1986, 4, Unit 26 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Kiev region of the Soviet Union exploded due to a staff error. Eight tons of strong radioactive substances leaked, and the radiation dose was equivalent to the explosion of 400 Hiroshima atomic bombs. .

而就在美国时间4月25日，也就是苏联时间4月26日，甘国阳刚刚率领波特兰开拓者在圣安东尼奥击败了马刺队，以3：1的总比分淘汰对手晋级下一轮。

Therefore, as soon as Gan Guoyang and the Blazers teammates returned to Portland, they heard the news that shocked the world on the broadcast of the airport bus.

"My God, the nuclear power plant exploded, and I don't know how many innocent people will suffer...Fortunately, most of the nuclear power plants in the United States are in the east. I remember that Oregon seems to have a nuclear power plant." Kenny Carr is always the team's favorite to express opinions people, especially when he's drunk.

"I heard that when the Soviets tested the nuclear bomb, they directly asked ordinary soldiers to charge for training in the place where the nuclear bomb was released. Poor guys, they still have to bear this unexpected surprise." Ken Johnson, the team's drinking fountain power forward He can't play on the court, but he reads a lot of messy books off the court. Drexler is a little attracted by this guy, and he likes to read books there when he is free.

Gan Guoyang is sure that if he has a smartphone and online novels now, Drexler will definitely read novels there with a mobile phone in addition to competition training.

"Given the complicated international relations of our team, I advise everyone not to talk about this kind of issue. Also, this is a disaster after all." Mitchell Sampson spoke. As the former boss, he still spoke very well. Serious.

In the NBA at that time, there were very few international players, and it was completely impossible for an international column like the Spurs to exist. However, the Trail Blazers rarely had two international players, of which Vandeweghe was German and Gan Guoyang was Chinese.

"We not only have international players, but also good fighters from the socialist camp! Gan, when will you take us to play in China? I also want to go to the Great Wall." Kenny Karl turned the topic to Gan Guoyang .

"'Black chemical fertilizers can be volatile and gray can be volatile; gray chemical fertilizers can be volatile and black can be played'! When you learn this tongue twister, I will take you to China to play." Gan Guoyang told Kenny Carr in fluent and standard Chinese He made a difficult Chinese tongue twister, and then told Kenny Carr that this is a necessary condition for studying and communicating in China.

Anyway, after Gan Guoyang said these words, Kenny Karl basically gave up the idea of ​​going to China.

"I heard that the team's scouts are investigating a player from the Soviet Union recently, and intends to select him in next year's draft. It is said that he is still a center. Do you think our team still needs a center?" Vandeweghe said suddenly. Those words immediately aroused the curiosity of the team members.

"Soviet players? Is Portland really going to be a bridgehead for East-West exchanges? We'd better pick another Cuban player next year, and then find a Vietnamese player. By then we will be well-deserved 'blazers'!"

"I know that player. I can't remember the name. It's a very tall center, like 7 feet 3 inches. If he comes, Gan Ke will play power forward."

"He must be substituting Gan. Isn't it a waste to let Gan play power forward? Don't you think so, Gan?"

Gan Guoyang rarely joined everyone's discussion. Usually, he would find an opportunity to ridicule all the team members, but now Gan Guoyang knows who they are talking about. It is a great center who also wears No. 11 - Sabonis .

The reason why Gan Guoyang chose the No. 11 jersey was because Yao Ming wore No. 11, and the reason why Yao Ming wore No. 11 was because Sabonis wore No. 11. But if Sabonis came to the Trail Blazers, he would not be able to wear No. 11. No, because No. 11 is here in Gan Guoyang!

But Gan Guoyang is not thinking about the jersey now. He knows that according to the normal history, Sabonis is impossible to come to the Trail Blazers after being selected. Instead, he will have to wait more than ten years before he can come to the world basketball after the end of the confrontation between East and West. The highest hall to show off your skills.

"If he can come earlier, the Blazers will definitely be stronger." Gan Guoyang didn't think about the issue of substitutes and starters. For him, the stronger the team's strength, the better, and it's not a big deal to let him play power forward Possibly, his 6-foot-10 height is ideal for playing power forward.

However, as a player of the team, it is still too early to talk about these things, and to let Sabonis enter the NBA early, Gan Guoyang wanted to break his head and didn't know how to change this history. Could it be possible that he could make the Soviet Union disintegrate early?If Gan Guoyang could really have such a big impact, he was afraid that he would die without a whole body.

Of course, Gan Guoyang didn’t know that the videotapes sent by Stern to Beijing would not only be broadcast throughout China through TV signals, but also in Eastern Europe surrounded by the Iron Curtain, basketball-loving Eastern European people would also see the videotape from Stern. The magical boy of the East, performing magically in the highest basketball hall in the world.

Gan Guoyang's changes to history are permeating little by little. As long as he doesn't kill himself, he probably won't die.

………………

After returning to Portland, the Trail Blazers had a day off. The players relaxed and began to prepare for the next round of semifinals. Their opponents, the Nuggets, had been waiting for a long time.

The Nuggets this season retained the main lineup of last season. English is at his peak. He averaged 29.8 points per game in the regular season, second only to Dominique Wilkins and Adrian Dantley. Tied for second on the scoring list.

Fat Leaf has shined this season. In the past, the relatively unknown point guard in the Trail Blazers has grown into the Nuggets' third scoring point and assist leader this season, and has become a triple-double machine. In one season, he scored an astonishing 15 triple-doubles, including 35 double-doubles in rebounds, a single-game high of 18 rebounds, and averaged 2.6 offensive rebounds per game.

For a point guard, this is simply terrifying.

As a power forward, Calvin Knight, who likes to engage in funeral activities, continues to be stable, but he is not as amazing as he came to the Nuggets in his first season. He averaged 17.1 points per game, the team's second score points.

Wayne Cooper is still the guardian of the Nuggets inside, although his average rebounds are only 7.8, which is less than half of Gan Guoyang.

The Nuggets' five starters, three former Trail Blazers players, and the seven games last season all showed the deep bond between the two teams.

But in this semi-final duel, the strength of the two sides ebbed and flowed, which seemed to make the series less suspenseful.

The Nuggets insider Dan Issel retired after the end of last season, and the progress of the young players in the Trail Blazers is obvious to all.

In the 1985 draft, the Nuggets selected a white center from the University of Oregon, Blair Rasmussen, a 7-foot, handsome defensive insider.

The reason why the Nuggets chose him is quite sufficient, because they need fresh blood to make up for the loss of inside veteran Dan Issel; at the same time, the Nuggets are almost the shortest team in the league, a 7-foot-tall Center forwards are undeniably attractive.

There is another reason, the center from the University of Oregon, in the 1983 game against Gonzaga University, had better "contain" Gan Guoyang.

Of course, the Oregon Ducks lost that game, and Gonzaga won that season. No one knows whether Rasmussen can stop Gan Guoyang. The technical statistics at the time showed that Gan Guoyang's performance was really mediocre. , but there is no video data to prove that this is the credit of Rasmussen.

In any case, such rumors are not reliable, but it must be admitted that this played a role in fueling the Nuggets' selection of this seemingly untalented white player. They wanted to use this "secret rookie" to deal with Gan Guoyang.

Rasmussen's performance in the regular season was mediocre, mainly because he had very little playing time, averaging less than 7 minutes, and averaged a poor 3 points and 2 rebounds per game.

In the playoffs, Rasmussen's statistics skyrocketed. In the four games against the Mavericks in the first round, his scoring averaged 16 points and 8 rebounds per game, which was completely at the level of a starting center.

In the third game, he even scored 26 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks in a single game, which is completely All-Star level data, and it is in the playoffs, which also made the Nuggets have a lot of confidence in him.

The Denver local media also have high hopes for Rasmussen, believing that he will be a key player for the Nuggets against the Trail Blazers in the Western Conference semifinals. Last season, the Nuggets lost to the Trail Blazers because they lost on the inside.

........................

At the same time, in the team preparation meeting, the Blazers also paid attention to Rasmussen, a young rookie who had suddenly emerged in the playoffs, and estimated what kind of trouble he would bring to the Blazers.

"Hey Gan, do you remember this guy? Rasmussen." Behrman sat with Gan Guoyang and watched the video at the preparatory meeting, and asked Gan Guoyang when he saw that the topic was focused on Rasmussen.

"Rasmussen? That No. 41? I seem to have a little impression... This guy is a duck?" Gan Guoyang looked at Rasmussen's number and felt a little impressed, because there were very few players with No. 41 before Nuo Tianwang .

"...He's not a duck, he used to play with the Oregon Ducks, he played against us, he's the center you play against." Bellman was very impressed with the games he played, because every game he played Serious summary.

Gan Guoyang often forgets after the game, his goal is always the next game.

But when Bellman reminded him like this, he also remembered: "Ah! I remembered! I had a bad stomach and diarrhea before the game. I only went up to play for more than ten minutes, but I remember that I beat him every minute. I didn't discuss it, I just thought at the time, quickly score more goals to open the score, and then I will end up having diarrhea."