The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 416 - 34: Superstar Understanding

"Yes! Beautiful, beautiful shot! Dad, look, I told you, Ah Gan would step up in the fourth quarter. His teammates trust him and will let him handle the ball to resolve issues! Woh!"

Seeing Gan Guoyang score consecutive three-pointers at the start of the fourth quarter, Kobe danced around joyously on the sofa, boasting to Joe Bryant about the accuracy of his prediction.

Joe Bryant told Kobe to calm down, saying, "Ah Gan can’t keep playing like this. Jabbar and Magic are on the court now. He just took advantage of the inexperienced Duckworth twice. The Lakers were careless in their rotation and didn’t match up with Ah Gan."

Jumping up and down on the sofa, Kobe didn’t want to listen to his father’s explanation. He simply said, "I just knew it, that’s how you solve problems at crucial moments. Not just Ah Gan, Magic will attack on his own too. He is a really great offensive player right now."

Kobe was indeed right; Johnson’s shooting felt great tonight. Once he was on the court, he immediately tried a two-pointer from the arc and scored with ease.

Defending Johnson was Drexler, while Dell Curry was still on the court—tonight Ramsay wanted to see if these young rookies like Curry and Hornacek could perform well in high-level games.

Beyond winning games in the regular season, developing young talent, gaining experience, and fine-tuning the lineup is also very important.

Some coaches, for the sake of a winning record, completely avoid using rookies, especially against stronger opponents, preventing the rookies from gaining experience in high-level games.

Such coaches can only lead mature teams. If there are newcomers in the team, players who need to grow, it’s very disadvantageous for them.

Some coaches, while ensuring a good record, will give rookies plenty of training opportunities, especially in high-level games and critical moments, daring to use young players.

Not just throw the young players in during garbage time for a few rounds to run down the clock. That kind of playing time and statistics are meaningless.

Ramsay is a coach who’s quite good at using newcomers. In 1977, the Trail Blazers were the youngest NBA champion team in history with an average age of just 24, and the main rotation consisted of rookies and second and third-year players.

Of course, Ramsay wasn’t great at coaching superstar guards. He liked using those who were fresh out of college, had undergone strict training, had a high tactical understanding, and could shoot accurately—traditional guards.

From this perspective, Dell Curry and Hornacek both fit his requirements, with Curry having the upper hand in physical fitness and individual ability.

Curry got the ball past halfcourt, facing Michael Cooper’s tight defense. Without making a mistake, Curry evaded the tangle and successfully passed the ball to Drexler.

Inside, Gan Guoyang was fiercely fighting for position against Jabbar. Jabbar, heavier and more experienced than Duckworth, unusually opted to half-front in defending Gan Guoyang.

Dick Stockton from CBS was surprised, saying, "If I remember right, the last time Jabbar used a fronting defense was against Chamberlain."

Drexler didn’t pass, giving the ball instead to Jerome Kossie, who cut out to the side. Kossie shot a two-pointer from the baseline and scored.

Kossie had some accuracy in his shooting, but immediately James Worthy powered over Kossie in the low post.

Kossie withstood Worthy’s turn, but Worthy stepped back one step, shot a close-range two-pointer, and scored.

Gan Guoyang pointed at Worthy, shouting, "Ref! He traveled! Aren’t you going to call his pivot travel?"

Worthy’s post moves were quick, sometimes leading with a foot, and most of the time, referees wouldn’t call it.

Gan Guoyang was incessantly nitpicking on Worthy’s footwork, taunting, "No wonder you’re so fast. If your feet move first, how can you not be quick?"

After that, Gan Guoyang set a screen for Drexler. Jabbar didn’t follow him out; he sank back, and Gan Guoyang cut out.

Drexler passed to Gan Guoyang, who received the ball and shot a mid-range two-pointer, scoring.

The score was close for both teams. In the following two possessions, neither team scored, and the game entered a stalemate.

Jabbar’s half-front defense was effective; Gan Guoyang’s low-post positioning became difficult, and he had to switch to shooting jumpers.

But jump shots have limited impact, and tonight his three-point touch wasn’t good. After trying one and missing, Gan Guoyang didn’t attempt anymore.

The Lakers certainly knew Gan Guoyang was terrifying when firing up threes, so they tightly guarded him, not giving him any chances to shoot from outside.

When the score reached 101:103, and the Trail Blazers were still trailing by 2 points, Gan Guoyang once again faced Jabbar’s half-front in the low post.

At that moment, both 45-degree angles were completely clear. Gan Guoyang suddenly faked and spun, moving to the other side of the low post, then used his back and butt to firmly pin down Jabbar.

A beautiful shift, Thompson’s pass from outside was timely, a straight pass to the basket. Gan Guoyang caught the ball, turned around with his left hand for a layup but missed due to Jabbar’s interference; however, he jumped again, tipped in the offensive rebound and scored!

103:103, the game was tied!

Gan Guoyang quickly scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, and the Trail Blazers caught up to draw even.

Riley called a timeout while furiously rioting on the sidelines, "What the hell is this crappy strategy? Is this the kind of tactic that should be used in a basketball game? It’s outright against the spirit of basketball, having two people battle it out under the basket with no one else around!"

Riley was being hypocritical; if he had a post-up monster, he would use it all the same. It’s just that when someone else used it, he wasn’t happy.

Watching Gan Guoyang score consecutively in the fourth quarter and even the score, Kobe had been excitedly bouncing around on the sofa for a while.

Although Gan Guoyang was a center, Kobe was fascinated by his marvelous skills in the low post.

In the slow-motion replay, Gan Guoyang’s pivot to change position and break the fronting was technically smooth.

The fake motion combined with flexible footwork were results from the summer Big Man training camp.

From a very young age, Kobe liked to study various technical details. He enjoyed watching videotapes, analyzing, and imitating.

After the timeout, Magic Johnson aggressively drove to the basket, drawing a foul from Thompson. Johnson went to the free-throw line, having already scored 28 points.

On the offensive end for the Trail Blazers, the game was gradually turning into the Gan Guoyang low-post offensive show.

Receiving the ball at the left 45-degree mark, just outside, Sikma did a pivot step, went baseline, accelerated, and slammed in a dunk.

The initial step was not the fastest, but the stride was large enough to get by Jabbar without a problem.

AC Green tried to interfere, but Gan Guoyang knocked him to the floor. The referee deemed it a clean play and did not call a foul.

Worthy’s shot missed, and Jabbar grabbed the rebound, nailing the hook shot off the backboard.

Gan Guoyang still caught the ball at a 45-degree angle on the left side, where all was clear. He again used the Sikma step but this time he burst forward without hesitation.

This time AC stepped up early to block, but Gan Guoyang made a quick stop and popped a jumper for two points, with AC Green standing in front of him like a utility pole, waiting for the clash that never came.

"Hey AC, wake up, it’s our turn to attack!"

Gan Guoyang knew that AC Green wanted to draw an offensive foul, but of course, he wouldn’t give Green that chance.

Green himself laughed, attempting to draw a foul but ending up standing like a fool, motionless.

At the same time, he was amazed by Gan Guoyang’s control over his body, managing to stop so abruptly despite the momentum.

The Trail Blazers regained the lead, but Johnson quickly drew a foul and went to the free-throw line, making both shots to even the score.

The game escalated into an intense tug-of-war, and when Gan Guoyang once again drew a foul on Jabbar on the offensive end, Riley could no longer hold back his irritation.

This annoying tactic, along with Gan Guoyang’s pesky post-up moves, were downright nauseating!

The Lakers started double-teaming indiscriminately, not minding the open perimeter, intent on stopping Gan Guoyang.

Particularly Michael Cooper, one of the best defensive guards, posed a significant threat with his help defense.

Even under Cooper’s intense pressure, Gan Guoyang chose not to pass, using his speed to go baseline and then scoring on a reverse layup.

On another possession amidst tight defense, he turned and sank a highly difficult fadeaway jumper!

After the basket, Gan Guoyang looked at his palms in disbelief, marveling at how good his touch was that night.

Riley was somewhat dismayed, wondering why this guy always had such miraculous performances at the Great Western Forum?

In front of the TV, Kobe exclaimed excitedly, "I told you, he’s been conserving energy! He’s going to explode in the fourth quarter!"

However, Magic Johnson was also on fire tonight. He scored on a spinning layup and drew a foul on Gan Guoyang for a 3-point play.

Then, he assisted Worthy on a fast-break dunk, tying the score at 119:119.

Gan Guoyang had quietly scored 46 points, while Magic Johnson had 35 points and 16 assists.

It was crunch time, with less than a minute left and the Lakers in possession. Riley called a timeout to set up the play. In these critical moments, the ball was still given to Jabbar.

Jabbar also got his chance for an isolation play on the strong side. He received the ball, turned, lifted his leg, extended his arm, and hooked the shot.

An action he had used countless times, a simple, straightforward arc, and the ball hit the rim before falling into the net.

The shot fell! The Lakers led 121:119, prompting Ramsay to call a timeout and set up the last-minute strategy.

He re-entered Dale Curry, who had performed well that night, along with Porter and Drexler in a three-guard lineup, plus Vandeweghe.

The Trail Blazers planned to have five players capable of shooting on the floor, to open up the best offensive space for Gan Guoyang.

Ramsay devised three contingencies, but the core plan was still to get the ball to Ah Gan first, a significant change from previous clutch plays.

In the past, Gan Guoyang was always the one setting screens and hunting offensive rebounds, but now he was Ramsay’s most reliable scorer.

The timeout ended, and tension peaked at the Great Western Forum. The fate of the game hung in the balance; if the Trail Blazers missed this shot, the Lakers had a high chance of taking the victory.

The Trail Blazers inbounded, with Michael Cooper tightly guarding Gan Guoyang while Jabbar crouched motionless in the paint. Drexler feigned a move to receive the ball as Gan Guoyang screened for him.

But the pass went to Gan Guoyang instead. He leaped to catch the ball, nearly turning it over as Vandeweghe’s pass was extremely risky.

Luckily, Gan Guoyang managed to secure the ball, then charged from the corner to the inside. Cooper chased from behind, reaching for the ball, as Jabbar loomed ahead.

Blocked in the front and chased from the rear, Gan Guoyang suddenly made a lateral pass to Dale Curry, who had been lying in wait all evening in the corner.

Curry caught the ball with no one within a five-meter radius, as Cooper had left to guard Ah Gan. Curry adjusted his shot, and, standing beyond the three-point line, he let it fly.

The ball spun forcefully toward the basket, and with a "swish," it accurately hit the mark. Curry made his only shot of the game, but it was priceless!

The Trail Blazers led 122:121, taking the lead over the Lakers once again, leaving them with very little time.

After scoring, Curry raised his arms. He had just completed the most crucial shot of his rookie season, rewarded with his teammates’ breath-taking hugs and the deafening silence of the Great Western Forum.

In front of the TV, Joe Bryant seized the opportunity to tell Kobe, "See, Ah Gan does pass the ball. He gave it to his teammate, and that’s why they had the chance to win."

But Kobe shook his head and said, "No, it was because Ah Gan was persistently playing one-on-one earlier that the Lakers confidently doubled him, creating opportunities for his teammates."

Joe Bryant finally gave up trying to convince him and left the couch, thinking to himself that his son understood basketball on a star level, beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.