The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 422 - 40 Win Only, Not Lose

Halftime break, in the visitors’ locker room of the Memorial Coliseum, Jordan took off his left sock.

There was a swollen abscess on his left big toe, and the team doctor shook his head at the sight of it, saying, "Oh Michael, that must hurt a lot, it seems to have gotten bigger since before the game."

Jordan said, "That’s stating the obvious, think of a way to make it better, I still have to play the second half."

The team doctor said, "I think... I think the best thing to do would be to cut it open, let the pus drain, and then apply some anti-inflammatory and bandage it."

"Then can I still play in the second half?"

"Of course not, you need to rest."

"That’s not an option, let’s talk about it after I finish this game."

With that, Jordan put his sock back on, and the team doctor could only shrug.

This abscess on Jordan’s foot had been there for several games, resulting from abrasions caused by his toes rubbing against the shoes during numerous breakthroughs, followed by a bacterial infection.

The pain tormented Jordan’s foot, but he still persevered, until before this game when the infection got worse, and the team doctor suggested he drain the abscess.

But that would mean Jordan missing today’s game, which he was unwilling to do. He wanted to finish the game before dealing with the abscess.

After playing the first half, he felt a severe pain in his foot, and the abscess had gotten bigger, affecting his ability to exert force during breakthroughs.

He thought back to the last offense of the first half, his drive to the basket against Gan Guoyang, which ended with a ruthless block by Gan Guoyang.

"Damn!"

Jordan couldn’t help but curse, getting blocked head-on like that by Gan Guoyang was something he would be ridiculed for the entire year.

And he couldn’t even say his foot hurt, that would be making excuses, which would be even more embarrassing.

In the first half, Jordan scored 25 points and Gan Guoyang scored 20, with the Bulls trailing the Trail Blazers by 7 points.

There was a not insignificant gap in strength between the two sides, evident from the rosters; the Trail Blazers were championship-caliber, the Bulls were CBA.

But Jordan didn’t feel the disparity amongst his teammates mattered much; he believed that one day he would have stronger teammates because he would spur the players around him to improve together.

Charles Oakley, for example, had great potential. They had a good relationship on and off the court, and Oakley was a very spirited player.

What truly disheartened Jordan was the sense that the gap between him and Gan Guoyang was widening. The comparison of their strength wasn’t as close as the scoring competition made it seem.

From the beginning of the game to the end of the first half, that kid never gave it his all, a stark contrast to the 1984 rookie season when Jordan felt they were evenly matched, except that Gan Guoyang’s team was stronger.

Two seasons had passed, and Gan Guoyang’s raw power had become somewhat elusive to Jordan.

That guy was playing cat and mouse out there, firmly in control of the game, scoring and defending whenever he wanted.

"Damn, what kind of boost is this guy on?"

In the Trail Blazers’ locker room on the other side, Gan Guoyang wiped off some sweat and drank some fluids to hydrate.

Gan Guoyang had successfully blocked Jordan’s last shot of the first half.

He had followed Jordan’s footwork well and anticipated Jordan’s play.

However, he could sense that Jordan didn’t put all his effort into the last move; he wondered whether it was a misstep or an injury?

Jordan’s details in his drives were always excellent; not just fast and explosive, but his starting step choices, feints, and body control were all first-class.

In that era of basketball, no one could handle the ball like him, even though the referees were more lenient on travel calls, other guards couldn’t pull off a lot of change of direction, feints, and body sways.

Gan Guoyang surmised that Jordan might have been injured, affecting his finish.

"Or is it that my defense has become so strong that I can easily block Jordan?"

Gan Guoyang knew his own limits; playing defense against taller players like Larry Bird was doable, but guarding someone like Jordan was truly difficult.

As the second half game resumed and both teams returned to the court, Gan Guoyang said to Jordan, "Michael, is your foot injured?"

Jordan glanced at Gan Guoyang and said, "No, my foot is fine."

"Really? Then how did I block your last shot? Did you have diarrhea, weak legs?"

"It was just a block, I just slipped up a bit."

While speaking, Jordan moved his left big toe a bit; it still hurt.

He didn’t want to let Gan Guoyang know about the abscess on his left foot.

At the same time, he was also surprised that Ah Gan could guess there was something wrong with his foot from his drive.

The two of them knew each other very well indeed, and their judgement of the nuances of basketball technique was extremely precise.

The second half of the game began, and the Bulls took the lead in offense, with Parkson carrying the ball past half-court.

Jordan continued to use his off-ball movement to look for offensive opportunities, and in doing so, disrupted the Trail Blazers’ defense to create space for his teammates.

However, the Trail Blazers continued with man-to-man defense in the second half; Jordan’s space-making was of little consequence, and the ball still ended up with him for isolation plays.

Jordan’s isolation play was crisp and efficient; after moving without the ball, he received it without any dallying and immediately initiated his attack.

He drove along the baseline to the rim, then performed an airborne hand change, and scored with an up-and-under layup from the other side of the basket!

The fans at the venue were stunned; such a difficult shot was truly astonishing—this guy was simply dancing in the air.

Just when the Bulls thought Gan Guoyang was going to make another post-up play, Gan Guoyang faked a move on the right low block.

He then spun and ran to the 45-degree angle on the other side, received Porter’s pass, dribbled quickly, turned around, and with a big stride, surged to the basket and threw down a powerful one-handed dunk!

Memorial Coliseum erupted in an instant; Gan Guoyang’s move was simply a supersized version of the Doctor Irving, one-handed ball-catching, super-long arms, a dunk that disregarded defense high in the air.

How long had it been since this guy put on such an exciting dunk performance?

Since the start of the season, Gan Guoyang had tailored his playstyle for efficient low post scoring, increasingly adapting to a more economical approach.

As long as the opposing defense was average, he would choose the simplest and most energy-saving method, squeezing to the basket for easy points.

If he could lay it up, he wouldn’t dunk; if a hook shot sufficed, he wouldn’t bother with fancy footwork.

His number of fast breaks also decreased compared to the last season, and the Doctor J’s signature Rock-a-bye move was no longer to be seen.

The fans almost forgot that this guy was known as the amplified Plus version of Doctor J, Doctor G.

Tonight’s confrontation with Jordan undoubtedly stirred Gan Guoyang’s desire to perform; how could he allow Jordan to show off alone?

Seeing Gan Guoyang’s powerful dunk, Jordan laughed and said, "You mother*cker, I’m playing with difficulty, and you just have to slam one too?"

"I’m afraid you’re lonely."

Jordan shook his head; with Gan Guoyang around, he indeed didn’t feel lonely.

Despite the inner anxiety, he enjoyed this feeling; having a goal to chase after, he was full of drive every day.

He even thought that if he could beat Ah Gan in the finals one day, he might find it okay to retire on the spot.

The contest between the two heated up in the third quarter; Jordan completely forgot and ignored the abscess swelling on his left foot, beginning to bombard the Trail Blazers’ defense with a variety of difficult offensive maneuvers.

Jordan had an excellent ball sense; facing double-teams, he always escaped calmly, either to re-initiate the attack or pass the ball to a teammate, never panicking or throwing it away.

As a guard with a very high ball usage rate and facing tough defense, Jordan’s average turnovers were only 3.3 times per game—a remarkably low figure.

During the same period, fellow ball-handlers Magic Johnson averaged 3.8 turnovers, and Larry Bird 3.2; considering the usage rate and the defense they faced, neither matched Jordan. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Few players could maintain such good control over their turnovers under high usage rate and defensive pressure like Jordan.

Gan Guoyang was an exception.

Gan Guoyang’s shocking average was a mere 1.9 turnovers per game, less than two turnovers per game.

Even Jabbar, who was no longer the Lakers’ core, averaged 2.4 turnovers per game.

Gan Guoyang had been strict with his turnover control since high school because his teammates were too weak back then, and every turnover could be disastrous.

Also, it was due to Gan Guoyang’s personality; he abhorred careless mistakes on the court, never allowing himself to make ridiculous errors.

So, when Jordan, using his keen instincts on defense, stole a pass from Gan Guoyang, causing a turnover,

Gan Guoyang sprinted back in defense, stomping the floor to chase smoke, Jordan passed the ball to teammate Gene Banks for an alley-oop, but Gan Guoyang chased from behind and desperately blocked the ball out of the air!

After landing, because of too much momentum, Gan Guoyang charged into the audience seats, he rarely lost his balance like that, it was truly an all-out defensive effort.

The fans at the venue exploded with applause, and when Gan Guoyang returned to the court, he asked Jordan, "Why didn’t you dunk it yourself, afraid I’d block you?"

Jordan just smiled without speaking, continuing to engage in the game; by this time, his left foot was in considerable pain, with the abscess rubbing against the inside of his shoe; he feared that exerting too much force might cause it to burst.

Jordan and Gan Guoyang played through the third quarter, with the score at 69:77, Trail Blazers leading by 8 points.

Jordan scored 33 points, while Gan Guoyang had 30; the two still had the final quarter to determine the winner.

Everyone’s attention was focused on the two of them; it was clear to all that these two towered a cut above everyone else in terms of skill.

And typically, in regular games, they both held back, only showcasing certain moves when they clashed against each other.

Of course, when the game ended, there would be one winner and one loser, but the one who never loses and always wins is the NBA itself.