The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 326 - 62 Killing the Lion

On the evening of the 7th, the Portland Trail Blazers hosted the Washington Bullets at home.

The season was already more than half over, with just a month left until the playoffs.

Both teams had the motivation to win, with the Trail Blazers currently first in the Western Conference and the Lakers closely trailing.

Although the Trail Blazers had the advantage over the Lakers on the road, they still wanted to take first place to secure all the home court advantages.

The Washington Bullets were currently ranked seventh in the Eastern Conference with one fewer win than the sixth-ranked New Jersey Nets, with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Chicago Bulls closely on their heels.

In order to secure their playoff spot, the Bullets would also give their all, particularly since they had already beaten the Trail Blazers at home earlier in the year, giving the team a lot of confidence.

Before the game started, in the Trail Blazers’ locker room, Gan Guoyang somehow found another bucket and placed it in the center of the room.

"Who wants to join the game? Tonight, whoever dunks over Manute Bol’s head gets all the money in the bucket."

With that said, Gan Guoyang tossed $100 into it. The last time they played this game was against the Jazz last season. To boost the team’s morale, Gan had brought a bucket for money, promising that whoever dunked over Mark-Eaton’s head would take the cash.

The gambling enthusiasts Kenny-Carl and Mychal Thompson threw in $20 and $50, respectively.

Vandeweghe, Parkson, and Kossie also threw in money, with Kossie declaring, "I’m taking all the cash in this bucket tonight!"

Drexler hesitated and asked, "Ah Gan, where’d you get this bucket? Did you steal it?"

Last time, Drexler had dunked over Eaton to become the final winner.

But because the bucket had been stolen by Gan from the janitors, it was reclaimed by the cleaning lady, and the money was lost.

Drexler would remember this for a lifetime and planned to mention it in his autobiography.

Seeing another bucket today made him worried it might be stolen again and taken away.

Gan Guoyang said, "Don’t worry, this is our home court, the bucket is ours, no one will take it away."

Drexler retorted, "You mean you still stole it, stole from Memorial Coliseum."

At this point, Bill Walton stepped in, "I’m not participating in your game. I’ll help keep the money safe instead."

Gan Guoyang replied, "Bill, you’re quite sharp. If none of us win, does the money go to you?"

Walton said, "No, no. How about this, if nobody succeeds in dunking over the opponent tonight, we’ll leave the money for the next game, creating a prize pool. When someone finally dunks over a seven-foot giant, they’ll take all the money in the prize pool. How’s that?"

"Seven feet is not enough, it’s too short, it has to be over 7’2", taller than Jabbar."

"There aren’t many giants over 7’2" in the League."

"That’s what makes it challenging."

After much discussion, everyone agreed to Walton’s suggestion.

It became a prize pool, and whoever managed to dunk would take all the money at once.

Ramsay watched the spirited team and chipped in $10, saying, "I’ll sponsor it since I’ll never get the money."

Walton joked, "If you beat up the opposing coach, all the money is yours."

The Trail Blazers players unanimously agreed, Ramsay rolled his eyes at Walton, and reminded everyone to get ready.

Ramsay admired the relaxed and cheerful atmosphere within the Trail Blazers team but also had some concerns.

He worried the players might relax too much and wouldn’t be able to tighten up for the playoffs.

Like his previous concerns about injuries, the old man, having been through a lot, was always more careful and cautious.

However, he tried not to dampen the young players’ spirits, instead merging with them.

He still outlined tonight’s strategy with the utmost seriousness, and when mentioning Bol, Ramsay emphasized, "Be careful with Bol’s pick and roll; we suffered last time. We must pay attention this time."

Gene Shue designed quite a few pick and roll plays for Bol, which was unusual at the time.

Pick and roll wasn’t a main strategy in the ’80s, teams used it, but sparingly.

The main reason was that under man-to-man defense, the pick and roll could lead to a double-team on the ball-handler.

So sometimes it was better not to use the pick and roll and to initiate the offense directly.

The Trail Blazers were one of the teams making more use of the pick and roll but only used it about seven or eight times a game.

Gan Guoyang, as an excellent screener and finisher, would set three or four picks per game despite being heavily involved in offense.

According to statistics, Bol would execute five to six pick and rolls in about 20 minutes of play time, which is quite a lot.

Also, Gene Shue really liked to pair Charles Barkley with Bol in pick and rolls to amplify the power of Barkley’s ball-carrying charges, which proved to be very effective.

Defending the pick-and-roll is all about communication; the two defenders must be in sync, whether it’s about switching, how to set screens, squeezing through, or going around, they must be unanimous.

Otherwise, if they give their opponents a gap, the defense will have holes, and Ramsay demanded that everyone stay alert since Gene Shue often played unpredictably.

As the game approached, the Trail Blazers gathered together and shouted in unison, "May the Bodhisattva bless us!"

Then the whole team took to the court to prepare for the game.

Bill Walton was curious about this slogan and asked Gan Guoyang, "Ah Gan, I’ve been studying Buddhism recently, and I learned that Buddhism has many gods, and the Bodhisattvas are just one of the lower-ranking deities, right?"

Gan Guoyang replied, "Yeah, but just one small one is enough to bless our team."

"Then I want to ask, which Bodhisattva are we asking for blessings from? What can they bless us with?"

After thinking for a bit, Gan Guoyang said, "Hands-Free Avalokitesvara, the ancient Indian god responsible for fouls."

Walton frowned; why did it feel like he had never heard of this Bodhisattva?

"Alright, alright, stop asking and get ready to go on the court for the game!"

Tonight, the Trail Blazers were starting with a tall lineup: Gan Guoyang, Thompson, Drexler, Parkson, and Vandeweghe.

On the Washington Bullets side, Jeff Luland was absent due to injury again, having played only 36 games last season and even fewer this season, just 28 games.

Gan Guoyang thought to himself, you didn’t believe me when I said you should switch to Avia, insisting on wearing Nike and now you’ve injured yourself because of it, right?

With Luland out, Manute Bol stood at half-court to jump ball against Gan Guoyang.

The fans in Portland were full of curiosity about this super-tall string bean—who was just too tall and had limbs too long.

Standing opposite him, Gan Guoyang looked like an ordinary player, transformed from a center into a guard.

Gan Guoyang looked up at Bol and said, "Last night’s meal wasn’t bad, was it?"

Bol nodded, "Not bad."

"Really? Then why didn’t you thank me? Is it so hard?"

"..."

Bol didn’t speak; he sensed Gan Guoyang’s hostility, which made him tense.

Before this game, many people had told him about how fearsome Ah Gan was, especially after the shocking "Silver Dome Massacre" that had stunned all of America.

Bol, however, didn’t take it seriously. The last time they’d played against each other, he had blocked Ah Gan twice.

He indeed felt an inexplicable confidence because he was a Sudanese prince, arriving on this land adorned with many accolades.

His father was 6-foot-8, his mother 6-foot-10, and his great-grandfather was said to be 7-foot-10.

They were all giants, looking down upon the earth and their subjects; besides trees, mountains, and stars, he had never looked up to anything else.

He believed he could become the League’s best athlete, and he was proud.

He had once killed a lion with a spear.

Since coming to America, many people had asked him to tell the story of the lion, which he recounted often, including last night.

But it seemed Ah Gan wasn’t interested in the story of the lion; he showed no curiosity, no surprise, and he might not even have understood.

When Bol stood in front of Gan Guoyang, he suddenly felt an unusual sensation; it was as if he were back on the savannah, walking 7 kilometers at dusk in order to see his girlfriend, traversing the dangerous plains.

His girlfriend was not yet married; after they met, he could not stay the night and had to walk another 7 kilometers back home. By then, night had fallen deeply, and green, gleaming lights would appear on the savannah.

Those were the eyes of lions, hidden in the grass, ready to take your life at any moment!

The ball was thrown up, and the game began.

Despite the disadvantage of reach and height, Gan Guoyang surprisingly managed to touch the ball first with his fighting spirit and explosive power.

The ball went to Drexler, and Gan Guoyang immediately sprinted towards the basket to get in position.

In the last matchup, Luland had been present, so Bol had not guarded Gan Guoyang.

Today, facing Ah Gan for the first real time, he found he was utterly unable to hold his ground.

After receiving the ball, Gan Guoyang bumped inwards once, and Bol was knocked straight to the ground. Then Gan Guoyang leaped high and dunked the ball with both hands!

Bol lay on the ground as Gan Guoyang hung from the rim; Bol looked up at someone for the first time.

Gan Guoyang also looked down at him, and as Bol stared into his eyes, he was certain this man was a lion.

Could he kill him?