The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 278 - 19: You’re so fast

Although the major newspapers didn’t make much of Gan Guoyang’s 50 points, the number of spectators at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena on the evening of October 29th proved that Gan Guoyang was far from being washed up.

Last year, the Clippers’ regular attendance numbers could reach seven or eight thousand, since the team had quite a few stars, but as the season progressed and the team’s record didn’t improve, attendance rates became lower and lower, often only managing to sell four or five thousand tickets.

Donald Sterling was very happy to welcome the Trail Blazers’ visit, because with Gan Guoyang’s presence, he could push attendance numbers past ten thousand, which was even more exciting than when the Lakers played the Los Angeles derby.

Fans’ affection for the Trail Blazers often differed from the media’s evaluations of the team. Although the Trail Blazers welcomed Walton’s return in the summer, most of the media didn’t believe that the Trail Blazers could challenge the Lakers and Celtics’ reign in the league.

After all, the showdown in the finals further elevated the status of the two teams in the minds of practitioners, and throughout the summer, who knows how many related articles, reports, and books were published, raising the stature of the two teams in the league, as well as people’s strength expectations.

The Trail Blazers were strong, but there was a gap compared to those two monsters.

Not every champion received the same treatment as the Lakers and the Celtics. The Bullets and Supersonics, who met in the finals in ’78 and ’79, were considered lucky champions, the beneficiaries of the league’s overall decline in strength.

Moreover, on paper, the Trail Blazers’ improvement was indeed limited.

A former MVP who had been debilitated for six years was unlikely to bring about a qualitative change to the team.

Moreover, the Trail Blazers’ backcourt was as thin as paper, with two rookies taking charge.

In the game against the Suns, Humphries and Sanders showed their talents.

But Kolter, along with Terry Porter making his debut, seemed too naive.

If it weren’t for Walter Davis’s severe undercover role, and the Trail Blazers’ powerful frontcourt, the Suns’ backcourt could have caused a lot of trouble for the Trail Blazers.

But that was just the declining Suns; how were the Trail Blazers to deal with the Los Angeles Lakers’ Magic Johnson, Michael Cooper, and Byron Scott?

But these were not issues for the Trail Blazers players to consider. Their focus was on the lengthy 82-game regular season, to prove just how good they really were.

Before the game started, Donald Sterling tried to greet Walton and Gan Guoyang at the Trail Blazers’ bench, but naturally, neither of them paid any attention to this Grandet.

Sterling didn’t seem to give up easily. He tore his face with Walton, he didn’t care at all, but Gan Guoyang was different; he was the dream player for Sterling, a true ticket-selling machine.

So he always tried to build a good relationship with Gan Guoyang, hoping to have a chance to get this Chinese superstar in the future, especially after learning that Gan had only signed a four-year contract, his aspirations became even more fervent.

For the sake of profit, capitalists never hesitate to act, just like the Hollywood boss in "Barton Fink" who would kneel down and lick the screenwriter’s boots.

But once you lose your value, without the space to extract profits, they’ll discard you like a rag, without a second glance.

Sterling was a typical example of a capitalist owner, as could be seen from his ceaseless lawsuits to extract money from players and partners.

Other owners, like Jerry Buss, seemed unruly but actually loved basketball and truly cared about players.

He would not trade players lightly unless absolutely necessary, and when he did, he would be very upset and even cry over it. He also disliked laying off staff and found it hard to do so.

There was also Larry Miller, the new owner of the Jazz, who, like a country tycoon upholding traditional moral values, tried hard to care for and manage every employee.

Of course, they all had their cold and cunning sides. No one who has a grasp on wealth is truly a good person through and through.

But Sterling was more like the Lakers’ former owner Cook, who enjoyed firing employees and was obsessed with witnessing their surprise, loss, or anger upon getting fired. He found it very amusing. They possessed a pure kind of malice, lacked empathy, and rarely bore a moral burden, which was terrifying.

Gan Guoyang was indifferent to Sterling’s flattery, offering only a polite smile and not even willing to exchange pleasantries with Sterling about how nice the weather was or how round the moon appeared.

Sterling just shrugged slightly and returned to his seat on the sidelines, waiting for the game to begin.

His mentality, however, was quite relaxed; he didn’t care much about being ignored by the players. In his view, the NBA was nothing but a large plantation.

The black players were like cotton-pickers in the plantation, with the occasional white player acting as an overseer.

He was particularly keen on finding a Chinese overseer who was neither black nor white to help him sell cotton. It was that simple.

The game was expected to start at seven in the evening. The Clippers’ initial state in the season was actually not bad, having won their first two games.

On the 26th, they had defeated the visiting Houston Rockets in their home opener, causing the Houston Twin Towers to fail at the Memorial Coliseum.

In the absence of Norm Nixon due to injury, Clippers’ head coach Don Chaney relied heavily on guards Derek Smith and Franklin Edwards, who both performed brilliantly in the first two games and were key to the team’s victory.

However, Cedric-Maxwell, the former Finals MVP, clearly hadn’t shaken off the shadow of the trade, performing mediocrely in both games, but as an old Celtic, Don Chaney still started him.

On the inside, Chaney played Twin Towers, with a 7-foot Donaldson and 6-foot-11-inch Melvin Turpin—the former Kentucky Twin Towers, the one who got blasted by Gan Guoyang.

The Clippers, despite having Turpin, still picked Benoit Benjamin at the 1985 draft. The two bulky and even obese big men with spherical heads shared a common hobby: excessive and uncontrolled eating.

If they teamed up with Barkley in Washington Bullets, they could probably form the NBA’s heaviest frontcourt trio.

During warm-ups, Gan Guoyang ran around the Clippers’ half-court circling Turpin and said, "Melvin, have you gained weight again?"

Like Sam Bowie, Turpin had been cast into the shadows by Gan Guoyang in that 1984 NCAA semifinal game.

But Bowie had emerged from the shadows to become a mainstay in the Mavericks’ frontcourt, whereas Turpin seemed to have indulged in the delicacies of Los Angeles.

"No way, Ah Gan, my butt has always been big," Turpin quickly explained.

"How much do you weigh?" Gan Guoyang inquired about Turpin’s weight.

"I... roughly... probably over 200 pounds."

"Nonsense, you’re not even close to 300 pounds, how much over 200?"

"Around... around the same as you, 255 pounds..."

Gan Guoyang knew immediately that Melvin Turpin was lying. The kid’s butt and shoulders were a size bigger than in college, and he was already 250 pounds back then. Now just 255 pounds?

With his ability to eyeball Charles Barkley’s weight, Gan estimated that Melvin’s weight should be around 273 pounds, which was a very significant figure at the time.

At a height of 218 cm, Jabbar’s weight was maintained between 240-250 pounds year-round. Melvin was clearly overweight. Although this might bring some advantages in the paint in the short term, in the long run, it would greatly affect his condition if not controlled.

Moreover, Melvin’s weight gain wasn’t planned but resulted from indiscriminate eating and drinking coupled with a lack of training.

"Are you still eating McDonald’s in the middle of the night?"

"McDonald’s? Oh no, I don’t need to eat in the middle of the night anymore, I can eat during the day..."

Melvin thought, who on earth told Ah Gan about him eating Big Macs at McDonald’s in the middle of the night during college?

Due to his excessive eating habits, Melvin earned the nickname "Dinner Melvin." His coach at Kentucky, Joe Hall, strictly controlled his diet to maintain his good shape and condition on the court.

But sometimes Melvin just couldn’t help himself, and he’d have his girlfriend buy Big Macs at night and deliver them to the dorm, where he’d lower a basket with a rope to pull up the hamburgers for his enjoyment.

In college, the coaches kept a tight rein on him, but in the NBA, the relationship was more professional. The head coach would give reminders but wouldn’t hover over players.

Players like Charles Barkley and Mark Aguirre also faced problems with being overweight, which led to frequent arguments with the coach.

Don Chaney was at his wits’ end; one Melvin was enough, but then came Benoit Benjamin. How could he rely on two youngsters who couldn’t even control their own mouths to hold up the team’s frontcourt?

Gan Guoyang didn’t ask any more questions but just sized up Melvin, making him feel uneasy.

Melvin was a talented player, but his willpower was far too weak. He was gluttonous, timid, and a bit sentimental, just wanting to be an ordinary person.

If he were truly ordinary, there would be no problem, but on the competitive NBA courts, being ordinary could get you eaten alive—this place was full of wolves.

Once the game officially began, Gan Guoyang won the jump ball, and Jim Paxson took the ball to organize the team’s first offense.

For this game, Ramsay had Kolter and Porter on the bench, with Paxson starting as the point guard.

Last season’s Sixth Man, Drexler, officially became the starting shooting guard, lifting the Trail Blazers’ backcourt height by a lot.

Although Paxson wasn’t a pure point guard, nor was Drexler a pure shooting guard, the Glider was more than just a dunker. He had a strong ability to pass and organize plays, which perfectly complemented Paxson.

As the game began, Gan Guoyang set a screen for Paxson, followed by another for Drexler. Paxson passed to Thompson at a 45-degree angle, who then pivoted and passed to Drexler, cutting to the basket.

Drexler received the ball for an easy layup.

The Trail Blazers’ offense at the beginning was smooth as silk, with screens, passes, and movement executed flawlessly without any hiccups.

This was the result of a season’s worth of practice combined with intense training camp workouts. The impact of the training camp was significant—no injuries, no absences, everyone fully committed.

After the score, Walton—the first one off the bench—stood up to clap for his teammates, and Ramsay reminded him, "Take it easy on your knees, have a seat."

Walton grinned and said, "No, I want to cheer them on for every splendid score!"

That’s just Walton’s personality. When he wasn’t injured or in despair, his enthusiasm could infect every member of the team.

Derek Smith’s outside shot didn’t fall, and Gan Guoyang grabbed the defensive rebound. Vandeweghe was already running up court.

A long pass across half court, Vandeweghe caught the ball on a fast break, and dunked with his left hand!

Quick counter-attacks are always the best way to open up a gap, and the Trail Blazers quickly established their lead.

Maxwell attempted to make a play, but his shot under the basket was blocked by Gan Guoyang.

Gan had become more agile than last season, and during the counter-attack, Drexler slowed down his pace to observe.

Gan rushed to a familiar spot in the three-second zone, received the ball with his back to the basket, and after a quick spin to get past Melvin, made a right-handed hook shot for two points.

"You’re so quick," Melvin marveled.

Gan Guoyang gave Melvin a look and thought to himself, flattery won’t help you, I’ll still play hard against you!

Also, that comment didn’t exactly sound like a compliment.

Melvin’s weight of over 270 pounds wasn’t entirely useless, at least it was effective for securing positioning in the post.

The Clippers couldn’t find their range from outside, but Melvin grabbed an offensive rebound. Turning around to make a move, his shot was slapped away by Gan’s hand.

"You really are quick," Melvin shook his head.

Gan Guoyang was getting a bit angry—tonight, if he wasn’t guarding Donaldson, he’d be guarding him.

Catching the ball at a 45-degree angle, facing the basket with a quick dribble that shook off his defender, Gan made a stylish hook shot with his right hand, another 2 points!

The Trail Blazers started with a 10:0 run against the Clippers, and Chaney had to call a timeout. The beginning of the last two games for the Clippers had not been this bad.

On the sidelines, Sterling clapped as he watched Gan Guoyang’s excellent performance at the start of the game, yelling "good" a couple of times.

Sitting with his legs crossed next to his wife Shelley, at the edge of the court, he didn’t realize that danger was slowly approaching.