The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 401 - 20 The First Pot

The game between the Trail Blazers and the 76ers on November 14 had a special significance.

This would be Dr. J, Julius Erving’s last time to set foot on the floor of the Portland Memorial Coliseum to play a game.

At the season opener’s post-game press conference, Erving announced that the 1986-1987 season would be the last of his long basketball career.

Having begun in the ABA in 1971, Erving had battled on the court for 16 years. "Looking back at everything, the last thing I think about is boredom."

Erving said this at the post-game press conference, his voice betraying fatigue. After last year’s playoffs loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, Erving knew the era of the 76ers in the Eastern had ended.

Last season, his average points per game dropped below 20 for the first time, and his shooting percentage also hit an all-time low. At 35, his influence on the game was at its lowest.

Although Erving was reluctant to retire, as he had always wanted to retire after Jabbar, that old guy was already 40.

It was assumed that Jabbar would retire in 1985, but in 1985 Jabbar grabbed the championship and the FMVP, rejuvenating himself for who knows how many times.

As it stands, Jabbar may stay in the league for another two or three years, and the soon-to-be 36-year-old Erving really can’t last that long.

For a winner like him, if he can’t win, he doesn’t want to continue playing, even if there’s still gas in his tank.

During the off-season, the Philadelphia 76ers made a big trade, sending off Moses Malone, who had brought them a championship, and acquiring Ruland from the Washington Bullets.

For this, the 76ers also threw in a first-round draft pick. This trade was criticized by many as Malone was only 30 this year and remained an All-Star center last season with an average of 24 points and 13 rebounds per game.

Ruland, on the other hand, had been plagued by injuries for two consecutive seasons, appearing in only a total of 67 games. The 76ers, looking to rebuild and rid themselves of Malone’s big contract, were essentially selling at a loss.

Erving did not comment on this. From that moment, he knew his professional career was coming to an end.

Following the announcement of his decision to retire, whenever Erving went to an away game, the home team spontaneously paid tribute to this great forward, offering gifts and blessings.

The Portland Memorial Coliseum held deep memories for Dr. J, Erving. It was here he first made it to the NBA Finals, only to face the first 0:2 reversal in history.

It was from here that Erving began his relentless pursuit of the NBA championship, enduring two painful Finals losses before finally achieving his goal in 1983, six years later.

Before the game on the 14th, during the opening ceremony, the Trail Blazers hosted a small ceremony for Dr. J, presenting him with a glass crystal sculpture, depicting his iconic glide and dunk over Gross from the 1977 Finals.

This gift was personally selected by Gan Guoyang because the Trail Blazers had originally planned to give Dr. J a set of crystal chess, and Gan Guoyang thought, what kind of brain comes up with that kind of gift?

Before the game, Gan Guoyang personally delivered the statue to Erving’s hands, and the entire crowd burst into warm applause and cheers, paying tribute to this NBA superstar.

As many NBA historians later said, Julius Erving’s presence expanded the market for professional basketball. He wasn’t just a slam dunk star; he helped many people make a living from basketball and laid the commercial foundation for the sport in America.

Erving really liked the crystal statue, holding it in his hands as if he never wanted to let go. Speaking of the Portland Trail Blazers, Erving humorously said, "I have to thank the people of Portland. The loss in 1977 gave me the motivation to keep competing on the basketball court; otherwise, I might have retired three years earlier."

Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere at the scene was filled with joyful camaraderie.

However, once the actual game began, neither the players nor the fans of the Trail Blazers could laugh anymore.

The Trail Blazers performed quite poorly tonight, with a collective lack of accuracy from the outside.

Cheche Vandeweghe, who had performed excellently in the previous games, kept missing from the outside.

The bad touch spread like a virus, with other players from the outside also missing their shots one after another.

Gan Guoyang fought hard for rebounds under the basket, struggling to support his team, but no matter how many he fought for, he couldn’t get all of them.

On the other hand, the 76ers were in great form tonight. Erving, having decided to retire and seemingly not caring about winning or losing, relaxed completely and his shooting percentage tonight was surprisingly high.

Mid-range shots were readily available, with a 100% field goal percentage of 7 for 7 in the first half, and the 76ers maintained the lead going into the second half.

In the second half, the 76ers’ shooting remained hot, frequently scoring off fast breaks and at one point extending their lead to 15 points.

Gan Guoyang could defend two players under the basket, but the problem was the 76ers didn’t even choose to challenge Ah Gan at all, constantly launching attacks from the corners, wings, and the arc.

76ers’ center Tim McCormick had one move which was a baseline zero-degree angle shot, scoring 17 points in the game.

Obviously, the whole league was adjusting their offensive strategies to counter Gan Guoyang’s defense, and no coach was foolish enough to let their post players go down low to challenge Ah Gan.

Regardless of their height, they would move out to take shots, and instead of pulling up at the top of the arc, getting to the baseline was proven to be the most effective, keeping Gan Guoyang out of the three-second zone.

The Trail Blazers did not do well tonight in response, playing offensively and defensively without a focused approach, and eventually fell to the 76ers at home with a deficit of 12 points, 125:113.

All five of the 76ers’ starters scored over 15 points, with three perimeter players scoring over 20 points, and Irving shot 11 for 14 to finish with 29 points, making it his best performance since the start of the season.

After the game, Irving said to Gan Guoyang, "After this game, I kind of regret it. I think I should have played another year instead of retiring."

Irving’s comment was obviously a joke, but it still turned Gan Guoyang’s face sour in the locker room after the game. The loss was too miserable.

Having become a professional player, Gan Guoyang had long been accustomed to losing games. Even the greatest players and teams are inevitably going to lose games.

Especially in the regular season, they are like news in the paper, having immediate relevance but quickly forgotten once passed, and the players themselves would forget as well.

However, some defeats are memorable, such as the painful losses in key games, and those that give the impression that something is off with the team.

Gan Guoyang could feel that the team’s condition was not good in this game; it wasn’t just about poor shooting, but the players’ level of focus on offense and the degree of coordination were both off from last season.

For some reason, everyone seemed hesitant in some of their offensive decisions.

The team’s rotation was also in disarray. Apart from Gan Guoyang being stable, the playing time and on-court roles of other members were somewhat unclear.

Jack Ramsay seemed to be always observing and searching. This experienced coach seemed a bit perplexed in the 1986-1987 season.

Because the team had to embark on a new road trip right away, there was no time to reflect, and they flew directly to challenge the Houston Rockets in Houston.

The opponents from the Western Finals met again, and the Trail Blazers fought through two overtimes at the Summit Arena. Gan Guoyang single-handedly scored 48 points and grabbed 22 rebounds, pulling the team back from the brink twice, and finally assisted Terry Porter with a mid-range jumper to eliminate the Rockets!

129:128, the Trail Blazers refused to lose back to back games.

But in the next game, flying over to the Denver Plateau, their old adversaries, the Nuggets team, gave the Trail Blazers a wake-up call.

The fiery Nuggets team racked up 45 points in the first quarter and maintained the lead thereafter, eventually sweeping the reigning champions with a 142:124 victory at home.

After losing this game, Gan Guoyang could no longer hold back. After the press conference, he said to Jack Ramsay, "Jack, I think it’s time for us to sit down and talk. The situation this season is really bad; it’s not normal."

Ramsay agreed, saying, "I also think it’s time for an open-hearted talk. Everyone should lay out the problems they are facing frankly."

So, once back in the locker room, Gan Guoyang locked the door from inside, and all unrelated individuals were asked to leave, leaving only the coaching staff and 12 players to hold an urgent meeting.

Gan Guoyang held a clean towel in his hand and said, "Whoever catches the towel gets to speak. Spill your thoughts, about the team, about yourselves. Everything is on the table."

With that, Gan Guoyang tossed the towel to Drexler, saying, "You go first, Clyde. You’re not the ’Glider’ this season, you’re more like a tractor. Tell us what’s going on."

Drexler took the towel with a somewhat embarrassed expression. His performance had indeed been terrible this new season.

After two weeks of games, he was only averaging 17 points, and his shooting percentage was below 45%.

If someone had to be blamed for the Trail Blazers’ shaky start to the season, Drexler definitely shouldered a significant part of it.