The Golden Age of Basketball

"Olajuwon's sideline serve...steal! Stealed by Gan! Gan dribbled the ball and launched a fast break! He dunked hard! 10 points, 10 points difference! This is the biggest score difference in the game. Gan's steal, let The Blazers' advantage has been further expanded."

In the fourth quarter, as Gan Guoyang broke a foul ball from the Rockets and succeeded in a fast-break dunk, the Blazers finally opened the gap between the two sides to 10 points, which was 6 minutes and 43 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

The physical advantage accumulated by the Blazers' normal rotation finally played a role in the fourth quarter. The Rockets players who fought too hard in the first three quarters were a little powerless in the fourth quarter. The Blazers took the opportunity to play an offensive wave under the leadership of Gan Guoyang.

The Twin Towers put up a tenacious resistance, especially Olajuwon, who gritted his teeth and hit consecutive singles jumpers, and began to grab more offensive rebounds, posing a huge threat to the Blazers inside.

But their physical strength prevents them from placing high-intensity close defense, and the problem is that their close high-intensity defense in the first three quarters did not bring particularly good results.

Bill Fitch was walking up and down the sidelines and could only call a timeout.

In terms of strategy, Fitch continued the tactical characteristics of the last round against the Lakers, high-intensity oppression, fast offense, locking the opponent's substitute players, and consuming the physical strength of the main players.

Every fourth quarter, although the Rockets players are tired, they can win because they are young, and the Lakers players are more tired than them.

Fitch’s strategy failed tonight. One is that the Blazers players feel really good today. Vandeweghe’s 13 points in the first quarter supported the Blazers’ offense. Drexler and Gan Guoyang’s pick-and-roll in the second quarter The Blazers were given some outside opportunities, and most of these opportunities were seized by the Blazers. In the third quarter, Gan Guoyang entered the state and cooperated with Drexler and Colter. The effect was quite good. Finally, in the fourth quarter, accumulated The Blazers, who had gained a three-quarter advantage, completely overwhelmed the Rockets.

There is also a very important point. So far in this game, the Blazers scored 22 points off the bench, while the Rockets only scored 10 points off the bench and played very little time. This is a very big pit for the Rockets.

The combination of multiple factors caused the Rockets to collapse in the last quarter. The inside team lacking a strong outside attacker had difficulty chasing points, and the more physically fit Blazers began to bloom in full swing.

"Gan, he hesitated for a while, a mid-range jumper, and the ball went in! An 18-foot mid-range shot! Gan's shot at the top of the arc, the score gap became 15 points, and the Blazers' advantage is getting bigger and bigger."

After Gan Guoyang got the ball at the top of the arc, he hesitated for a while who to pass it to. As a result, Paxson and Colter were both defended, but Olajuwon did not mention the defense at the top of the arc, so Gan Guoyang tried a mid-range shot. The result was a hit, and this ball became the last straw that crushed the Rockets.

"Time-out! Time-out!" Fitch called another timeout after 2 minutes, but this time he didn't want to adjust his tactics to resist, but to replace the main lineup and give up the game.

Olajuwon was replaced, and he sat on the bench with his head down, looking very depressed. Before the start of the game, seeing Gan Guoyang receiving the best defensive player trophy, Olajuwon thought that he must be in the game The performance is better than Gan Guoyang.

In fact, in the first three quarters, Olajuwon did surpass Gan Guoyang in terms of personal performance, with higher rebounds and more blocked shots. The key is that he handles the ball quite calmly and reasonably on the court, including handling every shot very well. Very hard.

In comparison, Gan Guoyang also played very well, but he lacked the aura of leading the team in this game. He was restrained by Olajuwon in defense, and he was more of a terminator than an initiator in offense. Or, tonight his singles efficiency is average.

However, the Blazers still went to victory in the fourth quarter. The Rockets lost to the bench, lost to the coach's arrangement, and of course, Ralph Sampson's performance. of non-existence.

When the buzzer sounded at the end of the game, the audience cheered. Gan Guoyang was also sitting on the bench, but at this time he greeted the audience's warm applause like a hero, and Gan Guoyang scored 27 points in the game. With 19 rebounds and 3 blocked shots, all three statistics are the highest in the team, and he is the number one contributor to the team's victory.

The dejected Olajuwon actually scored 33 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. His performance was even more eye-catching. However, the team lost the game, and the protagonist under the spotlight would not be him.

At this time, Gan Guoyang walked to the sidelines and shook hands with Olajuwon, Olajuwon also stepped forward to hug Gan Guoyang, and then said in his ear: "I will make you look good in the end, you know what I mean. "

Gan Guoyang surprisingly didn't speak irony this time, but hugged Olajuwon vigorously, and then said nothing, which actually meant "I'm waiting for you".

Because of this game, Olajuwon's performance really made Gan Guoyang feel the pressure. This kind of pressure was not there in the ncaa finals or when he faced Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the Western Conference Finals last year.

The ncaa finals is a decisive game, and Gan Guoyang has no time to feel the pressure. The 40-minute confrontation does not allow him to be distracted, and there is still a distance between Olajuwon and him at that time.

Not to mention facing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, there is no pressure. As a rookie, he challenged the No. [-] center. He wins and wins, and loses without embarrassment. At most, he is nervous, but there is no pressure.

But Olajuwon's performance tonight made Gan Guoyang think, am I inferior to him?Has he surpassed me?What's wrong with me compared to him?

When a player starts thinking about these things, it means the pressure is on his side.

The future Olajuwon is Gan Guoyang's idol, but in this time and space, Olajuwon is catching up with Gan Guoyang's footsteps. Now, after the training of the semi-finals and the improvement of self-confidence, he is getting closer and closer.

At the exchange meeting after the game, Bellman also told Gan Guoyang that Olajuwon’s performance in this game was better. If it weren’t for Ralph Sampson’s poor performance, it would be difficult for the Blazers to beat their opponents in the fourth quarter. wave away.

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

"I think you must feel some pressure. Akeem's performance is not the same as in 1984. His calmness and stability are scary, and these are actually qualities you have, but you didn't play tonight. Come out. Come on, don't let him catch up with you."

After the game ended, Gan Guoyang was still recalling what Behrman said to him after being driven home by Drexler. Indeed, the sensory impression that Olajuwon gave to Gan Guoyang was the same as that of the future 1994 , Olajuwon in 1995 was very different.

Olajuwon's current playing style is violent, and his style is also very fierce on the court. Although Gan Guoyang has a violent temper sometimes, but playing basketball, there will always be conflicts in fierce confrontations. The only time Gan Guoyang fights with others is only in his rookie season. Lambiel that time.

Olajuwon is terrible, not to mention fighting with others in the regular season. In the playoffs alone, he was sent off for fighting in the first year of playing the Jazz. In the second year, he was just in the last game of the last round. As for LaSampson, he got into a fight with Kubrick on the back foot and was sent off again.

Playing with such a masterless Olajuwon, sometimes Gan Guoyang really doesn't care about him. Historically, Olajuwon didn't really start to change until he converted to Islam in the 90s.

Now, because of the existence of Gan Guoyang as a benchmark, Olajuwon has accelerated his pace of evolution. Gan Guoyang even believes that if he really dies, Olajuwon may really break out and win the 1986 championship.

When the chasing benchmark disappears in this world, the running people either stop in confusion, or usher in a more violent explosion.

"Damn it, it's unlucky, I'm not dead yet!" Gan Guoyang immediately dispelled his idea. At least they won this game. The 1:0 lead gave them a good start.

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

The next day, after the first game in the Western Conference Finals, the Eastern Conference Finals also started.

When the Milwaukee Bucks eliminated the bitter master Philadelphia 76ers after untold hardships, turned over and sang, and happily entered the division finals, a bigger slave owner stood in front of them.

As the third oldest Bucks in the millennium, in addition to being bullied by the 76ers, they can still have an equal share with the Celtics.

The earliest grievances between the two sides can be traced back to 1976. At that time, Skyhook was still in the Bucks. At that time, his name was Lou Alcindor. The two sides fought seven games in the finals. However, the tenacious Celtics and Cowens still won the championship in Game [-].

Then Alcindo left for Los Angeles, and the Bucks entered reconstruction. In 1981, they were re-divided from the West to the East, and came to the same division as the Celtics.

In the early 80s, the 76ers dominated the 1983ers. In the heyday of the 76ers in [-], in the playoffs, the Bucks took the lead in killing the Celtics in the civil strife in the semifinals, and then went to the Eastern Conference Finals to suffer.

In 1984, the 76ers were hacked 7 by the Nets, and the Bucks were able to enter the Eastern Conference finals. As a result, the reorganized Celtics responded to the Bucks with a 4:1, stepping on the dead body of the deer to enter the finals.

In the 80s, the two teams played against each other twice, with half and half winning and losing. Now the 76ers have completely declined, and the Bucks seem to have seen a glimmer of hope. Unfortunately, the Celtics have entered their heyday.

In the first game, the Celtics showed everyone in the United States what "full blossoming" is. The Blazers can only be called the main substitutes to work together. All 12 Celtics scored, and the minimum was three points. , It truly embodies the essence of "beating to death with a stick".

The Bucks, who were beaten to death with sticks, could not take care of themselves. No one in the team scored more than 20 points. The highest score was a substitute, Kenny Fields, who scored all the points in garbage time.

The starters scored a total of 41 points, which was less than the Celtics' substitutes. Obviously, when a team scores fewer starters than the opponent's substitutes, it is impossible to win.

128:96, the Celtics used a crushing posture to win the first game.