The Golden Age of Basketball

The fierce battle came soon. The San Antonio Spurs visited Portland on the 13th. Before the game, it was generally believed that the Spurs should not pose too much threat to the Trail Blazers. After losing George Gervin and Gilmore one after another, the Spurs are no longer that. Spurs.

In the 1987 draft, the Spurs, holding the No. [-] pick, chose David Robinson, who was already well-known in the United States at the time. However, because Robinson would serve in the Navy, he had to postpone his entry into the NBA for two years. Even so, the Spurs chose Robinson did not hesitate. In this era, an excellent center is really important.

Since 1983, for five consecutive years, the No. [-] pick in the NBA draft has been a center, which is enough to illustrate the status of inside players in this era.

Because Robinson was unable to participate, the sequel to Sabonis and Robinson's Olympic grievances that people are looking forward to must also be postponed. Although Robinson performed better than Sabonis in the Olympics, the team led by Sabonis had the last laugh.

But Sabonis' recent situation is not very good, he hit the "rookie wall".

After the start of the season, although Sabonis didn't have much playing time, his performance was amazing. His delicate hands and smart playing style brought a breath of fresh air to the NBA audience who are used to hand-to-hand inside players. His No. 12 The jerseys are also quickly sold out in the Portland area.

But with Williams injured, Sabonis was pushed to the starting position, and his performance began to decline. Obviously, Sabonis, who lacks NBA experience, is not very suitable for the starting position, not only Sabonis, but also other starters. .

The main problem lies in the defense. When Gan Guoyang was the starting center, no one needed assistance in the three-second zone in the defense. But Sabonis became the starter, and Gan Guoyang came to the position of power forward. The defensive range expanded, so the three-second zone It often requires outside players to help occasionally, and Drexler and Cauchy are not very used to this.

Once the defense is unfavorable, those outside players in the NBA often score points on their heads, and they have to pay for fouls. Sabonis's self-confidence on the offensive end is also affected.

Moreover, various nba teams also began to study Sabonis' style of play. At that time, the inside players in the nba were getting stronger and stronger, and their defensive movements were getting rougher and rougher. He is not used to it. Unlike Gan Guoyang, he has been in the NBA for a long time and regards wrestling on the field as part of the game. Sabonis's delicate skills need space guarantee. At present, he still lacks such ability and experience to deal with those blue-collar muscular men.

Therefore, in the game against the Pacers and the Bullets, although Sabonis continued to start, his performance was mediocre. The defensive end has improved slightly since being taught a lesson by Malone, but the defense and positioning still need to be improved. On the offensive end, he The number of flashy passes is also getting less and less, no doubt he has certain psychological problems, this is the process that most rookies in the NBA will go through, but Sabonis seems to have come a little earlier.

Against the Spurs, Sabonis continued to start, and the Spurs' starting center was Frank Brickowski, who was only 6 feet 9 inches. He entered the NBA in 1981 and played as a substitute for the Sonics.

In the last season, he reached the peak of his career in the Spurs, averaging 16 points and 7 rebounds per game. The Spurs also used him as a transitional player before the arrival of David Robinson. When Robinson returns from military service, he can directly play. Power Forward.

One is 6 feet 9 and the other is 7 feet 3. No matter how you look at it, Sabonis has an absolute advantage. However, in the matchup between the two, Sabonis was played around by this cunning old fox. After the offensive foul, Sabonis began to restrain himself, and he couldn't keep up with Brikowski at the basket, and was stolen three times in a row by his opponent in the three-second zone.

Adelman couldn't sit still on the court, but Gan Guoyang still encouraged Sabonis on the court. At the same time, he rewarded Brikowski with a cap and a flagrant foul during the matchup, which taught the guy a lesson.

But Sabonis can't always rely on Gan Guoyang to stand out. As a starter, he undoubtedly messed up the opening tone of the Blazers. The game rhythm of the entire team was disrupted, and the players played very hard on the court.

Drexler, who was sent off for elbowing Payson in the last game, has become the first offensive point of the Blazers. Gan Guoyang has a great defensive burden because of Sabonis' poor performance and the absence of Williams. Increased, had to reduce shots.

In this game, Gan Guoyang sent 9 big caps and 5 steals on the defensive end, but the two sides still fought until the last moment of the game. The reason is very simple. The shooting percentage of the Spurs starting tonight is too high, and there are four shots. Shooting over 55 percent from the field, some tough shots wiped out a lot of Portland's defense.

At the critical moment, Drexler, who contributed 41 points in the game, received a pass from Gan Guoyang, cut into the basket from the left and made a layup. The latter narrowly beat the Spurs at home by 2 points.

Different voices began to appear in the locker room after the game. Some players, such as Kevin Duckworth, Richard Anderson, etc. began to privately hope that Adelman would remove Sabonis from the starting lineup and continue to use him as a substitute. Then pick the starting insider from among the other players.

Adelman suppressed these objections. He didn't want conflicts in the team because of the starting problem, but Sabonis' poor effect after starting the game was a real dilemma that needed to be faced.

I thought that Sabonis' starting could liberate Gan Guoyang to a greater extent, but I didn't expect to put a heavier burden on Gan Guoyang's shoulders. The contribution of the team can often backfire.

In the international arena, Sabonis has always been known for his calm handling of the ball and strong ability to interpret the court. Now his state is not what he should be at all. He has lost his calmness, lost his ability to interpret, and is not used to the nba whistle and frequent flying Flying life, all kinds of problems began to be exposed.

After the game against the Spurs, Sabonis was earlier than Gan Guoyang in the second day of training. He arrived at the Jewish Community Training Center at four o'clock to start a day of training, which surprised Gan Guoyang.

"You're even earlier than me? Not getting enough sleep is not a good thing." Gan Guoyang said in surprise when he saw that Sabonis had started training alone in the training hall after arriving early.

"I don't have time. I know that the team has opinions on my starting game. I don't like this feeling. I want to prove to everyone that I can start." Sabonis said while using barriers to defend on the field Footwork.

"It's not like you, Avidas, you're not such an impatient person. You should calm down. I think Mr. Adelman is a little too hasty and put you in the starting lineup. In fact, you still have more things to learn. For example, learn how to bear the humiliation of others, bear those violent pushes, bear the boos of the audience, bear the dunk on your head. You have to find your own advantage, your advantage is your height and passing , Believe me, do what you should do, and your teammates will help you make up for those missing, because we are a team." Gan Guoyang picked up the ball and walked to Sabonis and said to him.

Sabonis' defense is indeed a big problem, so Sabonis wants to improve his defensive level too much, and in the end he discards all his advantages, but how can the defensive level be improved by saying that it can be improved? The performance became Handan learning to walk, forgetting his own footwork.

"However, Mr. Behrman told me that if you want to survive in the NBA, you must first defend..."

"Oh~ don't listen to that old-fashioned guy, this guy has been coaching me since high school, and he likes to fiddle with his defensive formation. Listen to me, tomorrow's game, put your energy on offense, passing, and the rest Just leave it to me." Gan Guoyang said to Sabonis swearing.

…………

Just as Sabonis and Gan Guoyang were sweating profusely on the training ground and preparing for the next game, at noon on December 1988, 12, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrived in Washington on a special plane. Xiaofu's visit to the United States, after Brezhnev's visit to the United States in 12, was another top Soviet leader who visited the United States.

However, compared with the two visits to the United States 30 years ago and 15 years ago, the situation of the United States and the Soviet Union in 1988 has undergone a huge change. 1959 was the rising period of the Soviet Union. Confrontation, the Cuban revolution succeeded in 1959, the United States changed its flag in the back garden, and the red socialist flag was planted on the American continent. At that time, Khrushchev went to the United States with the attitude of a winner.

In 1973, the Soviet Union was powerful, but the United States was caught in the quagmire of the Vietnam War. The powerful polar bear presented an overall offensive advantage to the United States. At that time, the United States held a low profile. Nixon visited the Soviet Union first, and then Brezhnev returned.

Today, the situation in the Soviet Union is precarious.

The socialist camp countries such as the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe experienced serious economic recession. Gorbachev’s several reforms ended in failure. Socialist countries generally began to show signs of turmoil, and a dangerous atmosphere permeated the eastern part of Europe. .

Gorbachev, who failed in economic reforms, began to turn his attention to the political field, began to gradually give up the leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and at the same time began to seek peace with the United States in international affairs. return visit.

President Reagan's term will expire this year, and his post will be handed over in January next year to a new president, George Bush - the father of the future President Bush Jr. Bush Sr.

According to the original plan, after Gorbachev arrived in Washington, his second stop would be New York, the largest city in the United States. This is also the second city that most visiting leaders will go to after arriving in the United States.

However, because of a game and two players, Gorbachev wanted to change his itinerary and change the destination of the special plane to the west coast, a city that has little to do with politics, Portland.