The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 411 - 30 Welcome to the NBA

Gan Guoyang scored the first point of the game.

Afterward, the Trail Blazers maintained a relatively dense defensive formation.

They assigned Drexler to guard Magic, while Porter took on Byron Scott.

The one matching up against Jabbar wasn’t Gan Guoyang but Mychal Thompson; if Guoyang were to defend Jabbar, it would consume too much of his energy.

Vandeweghe at the small forward position needed Guoyang’s assistance, whereas the Lakers’ starting power forward, AC Green, could be given some leeway.

After Rambis was traded away, AC Green quickly earned Pat Riley’s trust, becoming a great aid to Jabbar as well as an integral part of the Showtime fast breaks.

In the Lakers’ team practices, AC Green could catch passes from Magic and even prevailed in a gamble concerning a virgin, winning money from Magic.

From that moment, he earned Magic’s respect, which demonstrated that you can be different, but you must stick to your principles. If you just pretend and easily break your standards, you will only be looked down upon.

The referee’s whistle was somewhat strict at the start of the game. The Lakers, as usual, initiated their offense through low-post plays from Jabbar. Sky Hook drew a foul from Thompson during a turn-around move, making both free throws.

Then, after Porter’s shot from outside missed, Gan Guoyang secured the offensive rebound and passed to the cutting Drexler, who was fouled during a layup, making one of two free throws.

Shortly after, James Worthy drew a foul from Vandeweghe while attacking in the low post, proceeding to take his free throws.

The referees’ incessant whistling was headache-inducing, the constant beep-beeps fragmenting the start of the game.

During a free-throw break, Gan Guoyang asked the night’s lead official, Jess Kersey, "Did you eat something that gave you gas tonight? Can’t control your whistle and it just keeps blowing?"

Jess Kersey replied, "I want to give you guys a heads up, keep it down a notch, no need for heated tempers, play a calm game."

A Lakers versus Trail Blazers showdown of this magnitude was bound to be full of sparks.

Therefore, during the pre-game referees’ meeting they set the tone that starting off by calling it tight would get both teams to reduce the intensity of their physical play.

Like the previous encounter where the Trail Blazers went to Detroit to play the Pistons, that referee was on high alert, whistling incessantly as if his life depended on it at the beginning.

Under the referees’ regulation, both teams played rather restrained in the first quarter, with average physical confrontations, not ramping up too much intensity.

Gan Guoyang didn’t relentlessly attack the low post. He sensed that Jabbar, the beast, had gained more weight. Starting with a head-on confrontation was not a good strategy.

He hoped to use plays to wear down Jabbar’s stamina, exploit him with speed, and then deliver the final blow when it mattered.

He repeatedly set screens for Porter and Drexler, but both Porter’s and Clyde’s shots failed to find their mark.

The Lakers didn’t hurry to counterattack either. Compared to his old reckless fast breaks, Magic was more measured and deliberate in organizing the offense.

Even more than fast breaks, Magic was just as confident in his team’s half-court offense.

He passed the ball to Worthy in the low post, and Worthy received it and started to back down Vandeweghe. Drexler came over to help defend.

Worthy squeezed inside a step, the ball went out to Johnson on the perimeter, but Johnson’s shot missed.

However, AC Green grabbed the offensive rebound and passed it back out to Johnson, who took another shot and hit it accurately.

A few years earlier, Johnson might not have taken that shot as he lacked confidence in his jump shooting.

But this year, Johnson was decisive with his mid-range and long-range shots, and his accuracy was quite good.

This was evident from his two-point field goal shooting percentage, which had dropped to the lowest in his career.

It wasn’t that his shooting had worsened, but rather that with improved shooting he took more shots. Naturally, his shooting percentage for mid to long-range shots was a bit lower than when he rarely attempted them in the past.

This significantly increased the difficulty of defending against him. In the past, players like Dennis Johnson would give Magic a couple of steps, letting him shoot, conceding the shot if it went in.

Now, that approach definitely wouldn’t work. He could really make them consistently.

Vandeweghe warned Drexler, "Stop double-teaming; I can handle Worthy on my own."

Vandeweghe didn’t want to be a constant burden on defense, having made himself stronger this summer as well.

Afterward, Gan Guoyang’s aggressive low post move against Jabbar didn’t hit the mark, but he grabbed the offensive rebound, and the Lakers immediately converged on him.

Gan passed the ball out to the perimeter, Drexler received it and passed it on to Vandeweghe, who hit a three-pointer!

Besides bulking up, Vandeweghe had been diligently practicing three-pointers, clearly heeding Guoyang’s advice.

This season, both his three-point attempts and makes had increased; he was taking at least three per game and making one.

Although the volume and shooting percentage weren’t high enough, it at least indicated that Vandeweghe was transitioning into a long-range shooter.

The Lakers’ defense at the start was as congested as ever. The painted area in the ’80s was crowded with bodies, and even if the Trail Blazers cleared out the ball-side, the Lakers would swiftly collapse to the basket for protection. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

The physical condition of the Lakers’ players was superior to other teams’, and under Riley’s push, they ran, jumped, and exerted more than most teams.

Gan had been mentally prepared for this, so he tried to quickly pass the ball upon receiving it, distributing to open teammates for penetration and attacks at the basket.

However, both such attempts were unsuccessful. Porter drove to the basket with no space, the pass was a turnover; Drexler’s layup attempt was disrupted, missing the basket entirely.