The Golden Age of Basketball

The referee threw the ball into the air, and under the attention of thousands of spectators, the 1986 NBA Finals finally officially kicked off.

Gan Guoyang overwhelmed Parish in the jump ball, touched the ball first, and dialed the ball into Colter's hands. The Blazers got their first chance to attack.

Colter was obviously a little nervous after getting the ball. He held the ball for a second, and then began to dribble across the half court. The Blazers attacked for the first time.

"Gump asks for the ball at the rim, Blazers first possession, Colter passes the ball to Gan, Gan turns around and hooks... Miss, Gan's first shot doesn't work."

Gan Guoyang completed his first shot in the finals in the low position on the right side that he is most familiar with, but the ball fell out after brushing around the rim, and Kevin McHale got the backcourt rebound.

"Gan's hook in the Western Conference Finals was astounding, but now he has some injuries to his right hand, which will definitely affect his performance. At present, his left hand has not yet reached the level of perfection, which is a big problem for the Celtics and Parry. Everything, it’s all good news.” Guest commentator Tom Heinsohn, as a veteran player of the Celtics, is self-evident.

Gan Guoyang missed the first shot, and the Celtics began to counterattack amidst the cheers of the fans. This kind of cheering noise will last the entire game.

Larry Bird tried to get a position on the left, but Vandeweghe made a resolute move around him. Vandeweghe's defense has always been a big problem, but in the finals, he will try his best.

Fortunately, the opponent Bird is a typical player with a stream of skills and consciousness. Vandeweghe's defensive awareness is actually not bad. The difference lies in his body. The real opponent Bird is not particularly bad.

Dennis Johnson tried several times to feed Bird without success, so he suddenly accelerated with the ball and broke from the middle to the inside.

"DJ's breakthrough, the throw ... missed! But McHale made a tip-up from behind! The Celtics scored the first point of the game, and McHale scored."

Kevin McHale scored a goal and grabbed a rebound in the first possession, which was eye-catching.

For McHale, this finals is also his breakthrough journey. He will face his senior brother Sampson again, and his mental state will directly affect his performance.

In this year's playoffs, McHale's performance reached his peak. He is invincible in the low post. As long as he gets the ball in the waist position, there is basically a 60.00% chance that McHale will score.

And no matter who the defender is, McHale can use his flexible footwork to taste the pain of the opponent-except for Mitchell Sampson.

"Gan's low post again, this time he's on the left, and Coulter's pass... is blocked! Dennis Johnson blocks Coulter's pass, Celtics break! McHale through the middle Ball, over Sampson to shoot...off the board...the ball went in, stumbling into the hoop!"

The Blazers made an offensive mistake. Gan Guoyang's passing line in the low post was seen through. Colter passed the ball too low and was knocked down by Johnson. As a result, the Celtics counterattacked.

McHale scored another two points. He caught the ball in the middle. Mitchell Sampson's return defense was already in place. It was very uncomfortable to shoot against McHale to prevent him from breaking through, but the ball bounced on the basket. After a few hits, it still fell into the basket.

0:4, the Celtics' morale is booming at the beginning.

It can also be seen from this defense that the Celtics' defense against Gan Guoyang was targeted. They learned a lesson from the Rockets' failure.

If Gan Guoyang throws away, the result will be that you will be hooked to death. At the same time, as long as he can catch the ball, it will be useless for the next few people to double-team.

Therefore, the Celtics are trying their best to block the pass line from the Blazers to Gan Guoyang, killing everything in the cradle.

"Pull it out! Pull it out!" Ramsey looked a little anxious from the sidelines. Although the game had just started, the performance of the Blazers players on the court was obviously a bit reluctant, like Colter and Drexler on the outside They were all at a loss.

In comparison, the old fritters Dennis Johnson and the cunning Angie are much more experienced. The two are constantly observing and wandering outside, and may appear on the Blazers' passing line at any time to break the ball.

After the Blazers players pulled away, Gan Guoyang no longer asked for the ball in the low post, but mentioned the high post, and handed over the left low post to Mitchell Sampson.

In the first three rounds of the game, Sampson has gradually lost his position as an inside assistant attacker in the team. The low-post offense was basically covered by Gan Guoyang. Sampson mentioned more about high-post mid-range shots and pick-ups.

But in the finals, change is the main theme of the game. As a head coach with experience in the finals, Ramsey, who once directed a 0:2 reversal, knows how the game will change. He predicted before the game that Kay The Walters will definitely make targeted defensive arrangements for Gan Guoyang.

Judging from the fact that the Blazers are too inexperienced outside, it is not a particularly good choice to start from the outside. It is unreliable to pin your hopes on Vandeweghe's long-range shooting.

"Sampson got the ball, McHale defended well, Sampson didn't get a shot, he passed the ball, Coulter passed it in, Sampson turned and passed McHale ... McHale Foul on Sampson's shot."

Although Sampson's turning speed was not fast enough, he was very resolute. He used his body to squeeze away McHale from the baseline, and actively sought physical contact when shooting, causing McHale to foul.

"Sampson is experienced, he draws a foul on McHale, goes to the free throw line ... the first free throw made ... the second free throw, still made, the first score of the Blazers, relying on Mitchell Samp Sen's free throw."

Sampson's free throw stabilized the Blazers' morale and slightly suppressed the Celtics' arrogance.

In the next 5 minutes, Mitchell Sampson became the main attack point of the Blazers. He made 3 of 2 shots and 7 of [-] free throws, scoring [-] points.

But the Trail Blazers only scored 9 points. Except for Mitchell Sampson, only Colter made a two-pointer, and none of the others could score.

Under the tight defense of the Celtics, Gan Guoyang only got two shots and missed both hooks.

The strategy of the Celtics' double guards pinching the passing line had a very good effect. The inexperienced Blazers' guard line became a little timid, no matter how boldly they fed Gan Guoyang.

In comparison, the Celtics played more freely. Angie and Dennis Johnson on the outside played extremely aggressively. Repeated breakthroughs put a lot of pressure on the Blazers, because the Celtics' outside shots It's really accurate, which makes the Blazers never dare to shrink the line of defense easily.

Gan Guoyang got a defensive foul in the first quarter, which made him afraid to defend with all his strength. These two old slickers are very good at fouling.

"Angie, shot from outside the three-point line! Missed, Bird grabbed the offensive rebound, Bird's back pass! Parish made a layup! Bird's pass, so beautiful! 18:9, the score gap At 9 points, the Blazers are going to call a timeout."

Ainge missed a [-]-pointer, the ball bounced too far, the Blazers missed the rebound, and Bird slashed to get the ball.

When he got the ball, his back was facing the basket, and suddenly he passed the ball behind his head with both hands, and the ball flew into the hands of Robert Parish in the paint.

Gan Guoyang and other players focused on Bird's strong side with the ball and missed Parish on the weak side. As a result, the Chief scored an easy layup.

This ball has nothing to do with tactics, it simply highlights Larry Bird's super passing sense and the tacit cooperation between the Celtics players.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Ramsey immediately called a timeout, and he wanted to give some pointers to the players.

"Catch the ball more outside, don't ask for the ball too deep, play more with Drexler, Colter. Colter, Clyde, you two pass the ball better Be firm, don't hesitate too much, don't worry about mistakes, be firm. Also, our defense in the middle is too weak, allowing Johnson and Angie to come in too easily. It's still the old way, blocking the middle and letting go of the wings, Samp Sen, you go off the court and take a rest, Jones, you go on the court, let Gan go to the power forward position."

Ramsey responded to the situation on the court by taking medicine according to the prescription. The medicine he took was not a new medicine, but an old medicine commonly used by the Blazers.

In the opening game, the Blazers used the most conservative and simple man-to-man defense. The effect did not seem to be good, so Ramsey asked Gan Guoyang to play power forward on the defensive end, and Jones played center to block the center of the Celtics' double guards. Break the line and drive them sideways.

At the same time, in the offense, the Celtics' frontcourt is too tall and their arms are too long. It is difficult for Gan Guoyang to catch the ball in a deep position. Colter is also too short, so passing the ball to Gan Guoyang is easy to be interfered.

In the last round, the Rockets were overconfident in the ability of the twin towers to defend alone and make up defense, which led to Gan Guoyang's breakthrough in the crucial fifth and sixth games. The Celtics did not want to make the same mistake again. The first link began to be damaged, and the bottom line was drawn.

Therefore, Ramsey asked Gan Guoyang to take the ball from the outside. After getting the ball, he started to cooperate with his teammates to play a tactical attack, otherwise it would be too hurt if he couldn't catch the ball.

"The timeout is over, and the two sides returned to the court. Compared with the Celtics, the Trail Blazers performed much more immaturely on the court. They were not as comfortable as the Celtics. They felt a bit unable to open...Okay, the Blazers The player sent the sideline ball, and Gan ran to the three-point line to catch the ball. After getting the ball, he started to push in from the three-point line. Drexler got in, and Drexler dunked!"

A beautiful dunk from Drexler finally got a third player to score.

Gan Guoyang gave full play to his superiority in strength. Parish was like a big bamboo pole and couldn't carry Gan Guoyang at all. Left behind.

Both Bird and McHale stepped forward to defend, Gan Guoyang made a pass in the air, and Drexler caught the ball and dunked it directly, as fast as the wind and thunder, 18:11.

"Dennis Johnson... was intercepted by Gan, Drexler made a fast break and dunked again! In 20 seconds, the Blazers chased for 4 points."

The last dunk was still unfinished. When Dennis Johnson was breaking through, Gan Guoyang, who was plugging in, suddenly reached out and broke Johnson's ball. Drexler dunked again.

One offense and one defense, the Blazers finally began to adapt to the rhythm of the finals.