The Golden Age of Basketball

The 60-point massacre of the Portland Trail Blazers against the Miami Heat quickly became the headlines of the American sports world that day, and caused quite a controversy.

The controversy did not come from the 60-point difference, but from Sabonis' last three-pointer, because it was only a few seconds before the end of the game. The Blazers led the Heat by 57 points, only 1 away from the largest point difference in history. point.

At this time, as usual, the Blazers should give up their offense. There is no need to create the largest point difference in history of 60 points, but Sabonis threw a three-pointer "unwittingly" and scored, directly nailing the Heat. On the pillar of shame.

In the interview after the game, Sabonis was also besieged by reporters. Everyone didn't care why he, a center, had the ability to shoot three-pointers, but focused on attacking why he had to shoot three-pointers when he was so far ahead. That three-pointer.

"I... I don't know, there was a big open in front of me at the time, I just wanted to try a three-pointer, I didn't think about the score on the court at all, and I don't know what the biggest point difference in NBA history is , I just took a [-]-pointer and it went in, that’s it.” Sabonis has always answered this question tepidly when asked repeatedly.

He didn't mention the phrase "vote one" that Gan Guoyang yelled at him before the midfield. Sabonis is a rookie, but he is not an idiot. He knows that if he says this, it means that all the spearheads will be pointed at the team's boss Gan Guoyang.

But Gan Guoyang is not a boss who makes his younger brother take the blame. Besides, he yelled at Sabonis instead of whispering to him on the sidelines. Many people heard it. Therefore, Gan Guoyang did not hide it. He generously took responsibility, saying that he asked Sabonis to vote.

"That's right, I let Sabonis shoot the three-pointer. You ask me why, it's very simple. I'm used to it. Every time I see Sabonis taking the ball outside the three-point line during training, I can't help but shoot at him. Shouting 'shoot one', we'd be shooting threes against each other a lot in practice, and he was amazing with a shot that a lot of people didn't realize."

Gan Guoyang told the famous NBA reporter Dick Stockton that Dick would not only comment on the CBS TV station, but also interview players at the game site. It is reassuring to entrust Dick with such a difficult task as interviewing Gan Guoyang of.

What Gan Guoyang said was also true. He yelled that sentence purely out of subconscious habit, just like someone on the field who likes to shout "throw one". Gan Guoyang also likes to make fun of Sabonis when training is relatively relaxed. It's just that this time he didn't seem to be shouting at the right time.

After Gan Guoyang’s remarks came out, he began to attract criticism. The New York Chronicle, a well-known vicious newspaper in New York, often wrote about Ewing’s bruises, saying, “Two centers from socialist countries use their last The way he was not good at created the biggest massacre in NBA history, which is undoubtedly a provocation to American basketball."

In the case of Gorbachev's upcoming visit to the United States, there is no doubt that there is something interesting about similar criticisms.

However, the power of basketball is obviously not so great, and the nba is only an entertainment league. All speeches and actions ultimately boil down to entertainment rather than politics.

But the entire league also started a trend of "inverting the Blazers". Just like "beat-la", the voice of "beat-pt" began to appear in the league, and everyone began to care about who will be the number one player this season A team that beat the Trail Blazers.

The next stop for the Blazers is Atlanta, so the Atlanta fans are extremely excited. They feel that they are ready to beat the Blazers and take Portland's first blood.

Therefore, when the Trail Blazers arrived in Atlanta on a regional airliner, they found that many banners had been set up at the Atlanta airport, all of which said how the Eagles would beat the Trail Blazers and how bad Gan Guoyang was.

"Hey, look, Gan, 'You are more suitable for moving bricks, Gan!'" Drexler picked up one of the banners and read to Gan Guoyang.

"I know English, so don't read it out loud! I'll make these brats look good."

For a regular season game, this kind of treatment is really a bit super-scale. Greetings like this from the airport will basically only appear in the nba finals.

Gan Guoyang was also a little angry, because most of the slogans were aimed at him, including someone who wrote "Vote for one!" on the slogan to satirize Gan Guoyang, and Drexler even chant one after another to stimulate Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang was irritated. Gan Guoyang had never lost in Atlanta. Every time he faced Kevin Willis, Gan Guoyang would let Willis understand that long arms are beneficial.

But it makes sense for the Atlanta people to think they can end the Blazers' winning streak. In August, Atlanta completed a major free agent signing. They won the two-time MVP winner in free agency. Super center Moses Malone .

This signing is believed to push the Eagles directly into the ranks of championship contenders. Although Moses Malone was 33 years old at this time, he was still at the end of his peak. In 1988, he was still averaging 20 points per game. The top inside data of 11 rebounds.

Then, through another trade, the Hawks got All-Star guard Reggie Troyce from the Sacramento Kings, and the team's lineup was further expanded.

Immediately afterwards, the Eagles took Dudley Bradley, Ray Talbot and Duane Ferrell one after another in the free market to enrich their bench. Unfortunately, they were eliminated in the 1988 playoffs. The eagle suddenly became ambitious.

However, after the start of the new season, the Eagles still struggled a bit, winning and losing. In the Texas Triangle that every team has to go through at the end of November, they suffered a three-game losing streak.

Since then, the Eagles have won three consecutive victories at home. They beat the Celtics, Spurs and Washington Bullets in a row, especially against the Celtics. Dominique Wilkins scored 38 points on Bird. , Leading the team to a big victory over the Celtics, the momentum is considered to be the same in the East.

Therefore, the Atlanta people are also full of confidence in the Eagles, thinking that the Trail Blazers' winning streak will end at the Atlanta All-Athletic Stadium.

………………

After Gan Guoyang and his teammates came to Atlanta, they didn't take those remarks to heart. A team needs to learn to withstand pressure from all sides, and they quickly devoted themselves to pre-match training.

The Blazers players with relatively rich experience know that after a big victory, the team is most likely to underestimate the enemy, and it is likely to be followed by a bitter battle.

The best way to guard against this emotion is to train with all your strength in the training hall.

The team also attaches great importance to this game. After all, judging from the book lineup, Atlanta is indeed quite strong at this time. The old overlords Moses Malone and Cliff Levinston are guarding the inside, and their top card Dominique is on the outside. -Wilkins, Reggie Toyce, Doug Rivers is in control of the first position, and the strength is not weak.

Moreover, the Eagles are a team known for their tough defense. It really takes a flower shop's strength for a sharp spear like the Blazers to score points in Atlanta.

Gan Guoyang also tried his best in the training and devoted himself to the confrontation, because he knew that tomorrow's game would require a lot of physical endurance. He had to face Moses Malone, and he couldn't do it outside as easily as he did against the Heat. Pull out the shot.

"Stuck position Avidas, get stuck! Don't stare at the basketball, don't stare at the rim! Stare at your man! Remember, stare at the man, don't try to catch the rebound, the more you want to Grab the rebound, the easier it is for the opponent to get the rebound."

Gan Guoyang yelled loudly while confronting Sabonis at the basket.

In tomorrow's game, Sabonis is likely to have a one-on-one conversation with Moses Malone if he comes off the bench. Even at the age of 33, Moses Malone can still grab an astonishing 5 offensive rebounds per game, and his offensive rebounding ability is still unmatched. .

Although Sabonis is tall and strong, he still somewhat underestimated the fierce competition for rebounds in the NBA. In the Fiba game, Sabonis, who can see all the mountains and small mountains, can get rebounds as soon as he stretches out his hand, but in the NBA, those rebounding monsters can It's not just about height.

Gan Guoyang always emphasized to Sabonis that we must pay attention to the man-marking position, and don't stare at the rebound to stare at the ball. This will only allow Moses to get inside to grab a favorable position, which is almost like giving Malone a rebound.

Such fierce training and confrontation made Sabonis a little overwhelmed. For the first time, he felt that Gan Guoyang never seemed to exert his full strength from the usual training to the competition. Whenever he felt that Gan Guoyang was really good at going all out, he would Soon he will find that Gan Guoyang still has spare energy.

"I'm so tired. I don't know if I will have the strength to compete tomorrow." Sabonis said to Gan Guoyang sweating profusely after training.

"Tomorrow's game will be more difficult, so be mentally prepared. The Eagles are always difficult to deal with, and our inside opponent is Moses Malone. No matter which time I confront him, I will do my best because he is really difficult to deal with. But he is also a good teacher, you can learn a lot from confronting him, tomorrow you will have the opportunity to have a one-on-one with him, although he is old, but his sword is not old, just like that old man Kareem Abdul-Jabbar."