The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 316 - 54: Professional Wrestling Competition

Chapter 316: Chapter 54: Professional Wrestling Competition

Ramsay wasn’t phased by Chuck Daly’s "threat," knowing it was Dr. Jack’s idea of a joke.

Although he wanted to say that the Pistons’ players were more dangerous because they had Ah Gan, thinking of the Pistons’ increasingly notorious reputation in the League, he gave up on explaining and arguing.

He simply said to Ramsay, "Doc, how does it feel to be the lead dog, the scenery must be nice, right? It’s always changing."

Ramsay laughed and said, "It does feel good, and it’s not just in the Western Conference, now the teams in the Eastern Conference have to look at our behinds too."

The two men burst into laughter on the sidelines.

What the two men referred to as "top dog" is a widely circulated saying in the sports coaching world, the original saying is "In a dog sled race, only the lead dog constantly sees a changing scenery."

If you can’t be the lead dog, following behind the lead dog, the only scenery in front of you is the backside of the dog ahead.

This saying motivates coaches to lead their teams to strive for the top, or else they’ll have to settle for admiring other teams’ behinds.

Ramsay’s team hadn’t taken first place in a long time, but now, more than halfway through the season, the Trail Blazers were ranked first in the entire League.

Even the Boston Celtics, who had been on a winning streak, could only follow with a record of 46 wins and 11 losses.

Their opening performance wasn’t as good as the Trail Blazers’, but the advantage for the Celtics was that their schedule in the latter part of the season would be easier than that of the Trail Blazers’.

The Trail Blazers would have to play a large number of scattered away games in March and April, with a packed schedule and against formidable opponents.

Given Ramsay’s emphasis on player health this year, he would definitely let up in some matches, reducing the playing time of key players to ensure they didn’t get injured.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have started with a "threat" to Chuck Daly; from the moment he entered the Silverdome, Ramsay could feel the deep hostility of the Detroiters.

The wrestling performance by Gan Guoyang in Detroit last season, his scoring 50 points over Lan Bi’er’s head, and stealing the MVP from Thomas during the All-Star Game, combined with Motor City’s animosity towards Asians, all guaranteed that tonight would not be an ordinary regular-season game.

After returning to the bench, Ramsay also warned the Trail Blazers players to be somewhat restrained tonight, to control their emotions, to avoid conflicts, and to protect themselves.

Ramsay gave a special reminder to Gan Guoyang, "Ah Gan, don’t hit anybody."

Gan Guoyang looked at Ramsay and spread his hands, "I haven’t hit anyone for a long time."

Indeed, this season Gan Guoyang hadn’t been hitting anyone because nobody dared provoke him.

He didn’t even need to engage in psychological tactics, as most players would steer clear of him.

Ramsay said, "It’s because you haven’t hit anyone for a while that I’m worried. Keep control of yourself."

On the other side, on the Pistons’ bench, Chuck Daly issued a similar warning to Lan Bi’er and the others.

"Control your emotions. Most of the time, emotion is our key to victory, but tonight might be different. Ah Gan is a dangerous man, unlike most emotive players. If we want to win tonight, we need to control our emotions and control Ah Gan."

Daley likewise longed for tonight’s victory, as he indeed was under great pressure.

Generally, if a coach can’t achieve a breakthrough with a new team within three years, like becoming the regular-season leader, making it to the finals, or even winning the championship, it’s very difficult to expect better results later on.

This year marked Daly’s third with the Pistons, the time to show results, but the Pistons didn’t seem close to a breakthrough.

Before acquiring Melvin Turpin in December, the Pistons went through a losing streak that nearly cost Daly his job.

At the time, Pistons General Manager Jack McCloskey had already fired Daly, but after Isiah Thomas heard the news, he went to owner Bill Davidson’s home to persuade Davidson to reinstate Daly.

One could say Daly’s position as the Pistons coach had been at death’s door, and the Pistons nearly lost a capable coach.

After acquiring Melvin Turpin, the Pistons gained offensive power in the low post and the team embarked on a winning streak, stabilizing Daly’s position.

Now Daly hoped the team could rank higher in the Eastern Conference, preferably entering the top half and not dropping to the seventh or eighth seed to face the Bucks or the Celtics in the first round.

Coached on by their mentors and carrying complex emotions, players from both sides took the court, and tonight’s Silverdome was as expansive as ever.

Although over twenty thousand tickets were sold out tonight, the Silverdome has a seating capacity of eighty thousand, and the basketball game scaled down to twenty thousand seats.

Therefore, the audience only filled one quarter of the seats, with the outer seats left empty, making the high ceiling venue seem vast and deserted.

The Trail Blazers made some changes to their starting lineup, with Steve Colter replacing John Paxson as the starting point guard for the night.

Because the Pistons’ point guard was Isiah Thomas, Paxson wouldn’t be able to handle this nimble assassin.

The Pistons’ starters were Isiah Thomas, Dumars, Tripucka, Bill Laimbeer, and Melvin Turpin.

After his initial experience as a rookie, Dumars quickly secured his position with the Pistons.

To give Dumars rotation minutes, Daley had to cut back on John Long’s playing time, even though Long was a former Detroit star and graduate of the University of Detroit.

But as a new generation takes over, the once city darling had to step aside for a "country boy" with a more prominent performance, Dumars, who had better defense, which Thomas liked to partner with.

As for Melvin Turpin, after leaving the disastrous environment at the Clippers, he underwent some changes in Detroit.

Gan Guoyang sized up Turpin before the jump ball and asked, "Melvin, have you lost weight?"

Turpin smiled and said, "Yes, I’ve lost a little."

"How much do you weigh now?"

"Uh... 260 pounds..."

Gan Guoyang thought to himself, last time you said 255 pounds, now you’ve lost weight, and you’re heavier!

Before Gan Guoyang could inquire further, Bill Laimbeer had already stepped up between the two, saying, "Melvin, don’t talk to this guy."

Turpin obediently shut his mouth and turned away; he knew Laimbeer and Gan Guoyang had some personal grudges.

Gan Guoyang looked up at Laimbeer and said, "Dr. Jack told me not to hit anyone tonight."

A slight smile appeared on Laimbeer’s face as he said, "That’s too bad, I was hoping you’d give me a punch."

"I excel at wrestling."

"I know, that’s why I’ve learned some anti-wrestling techniques, spent a good part of the summer on it. Just for you, Sonny."

"What technique? Eating hamburgers to make your ass as big as Barkley’s to lower your center of gravity?"

"Oh, cut it out, Sonny. Anyway, you’re not going to be able to move me easily, I guarantee it."

Last season, after getting slammed, Laimbeer became quite cautious around Gan Guoyang, knowing he wouldn’t survive another fall.

During the off-season, Laimbeer spent money to hire a wrestling expert specifically to train him, improving his resistance to falling.

Laimbeer, naturally an enthusiast of many hobbies like tennis, golf, baseball, racing, and exceptionally competitive, always had to win.

This time he devoted his time to wrestling, now considering himself quite skilled, he believed he could resist Gan Guoyang’s takedowns, which made him more arrogant.

"Then you can give it a try, I wasn’t idle during the off-season either, you probably don’t understand the level of my wrestling skills..."

Gan Guoyang hadn’t finished speaking when the referee came over and interrupted them, saying, "Please, gentlemen, this is a basketball game, not a professional wrestling competition. I don’t know the rules of wrestling, but all I know for sure is if any of you wrestle, I’m throwing them out!"

The two hurriedly apologized to the referee, saying they were just talking and didn’t really plan to wrestle.

The referee tossed the ball into the air, and the game started.