The Golden Age of Basketball.

Chapter 251 First Do This, Then Do That
Gan Guoyang led the Trail Blazers to a crushing victory over the Jazz in the first quarter.

Frank Lyden's decision to have the inexperienced Malone directly guard Gan Guoyang one-on-one was indeed quite disrespectful to him.

By the middle to late stages of last season, double-teaming had become commonplace for Gan Guoyang.

In the playoffs, the Mavericks, Nuggets, and Lakers would often double-team Gan Guoyang with three or four players.

Even so, the opponents still couldn't defend against Gan Guoyang; he simply had too many offensive weapons.

Especially as an inside player, he has a beautiful mid-range and long-range shot, making him extremely difficult to defend.

The Lakers, who are best at defending Gan Guoyang, rely not only on tight defense and early double-teaming, but also on completely setting the pace of the game and applying intense pressure on offense, forcing Gan Guoyang to not devote too much energy to offense, thus effectively containing him.

Karl Malone hasn't even figured out the ins and outs of the NBA yet, and he's already being matched up against Gan Guoyang on both offense and defense. This coaching whip is really too painful for him.

In the second quarter, Gan Guoyang rested on the bench, while the Trail Blazers' interior was dominated by two former number one draft picks, Bill Walton and Mitchell Thompson.

Walton seemed to have returned to his glorious 70s, where he could receive the ball anywhere inside the three-point line and then orchestrate the offense.

He's slower and heavier than he was in his prime; he's not as fast or agile as he used to be, but his understanding of the game hasn't diminished at all.

He is the best passing center in NBA half-court offense, he is the second point guard on the court, and he can provide screens for his teammates in multiple places.

Walton also has a catch-and-shoot jumper at the 45-degree angle. With him on the court, the Trail Blazers' second unit offense is very well organized, even more so than the starters.

Watching the second unit's beautiful offense, Ramsey exclaimed, "This is real basketball!"

He spoke loudly, as if he was deliberately speaking to Gan Guoyang, who was resting next to him.

Gan Guoyang was displeased upon hearing this and said, "Jack, are you implying that I'm playing fake basketball?"

Ramsey didn't answer, but with a hint of disdain in his expression, he said, "You should rest a bit more, and stop saying you're tired."

Gan Guoyang smiled. This old man still remembered that he had said he was tired. He had only said he was tired once throughout the entire season.

In Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, he was indeed reaching his limit; it was the culmination of fatigue from the entire season.

Walton's arrival will give Gan Guoyang more rest time, and the defensive pressure on Gan Guoyang on the court will be much less.

With his increased weight, Walton became more resistant to impact in the paint. During his time with the Clippers, he averaged more than three blocks per game, making him one of the best shot blockers in the league.

When he and Gan Guoyang are both on the court, the Trail Blazers' interior is practically a no-fly zone. If the opponent doesn't think of a good way to get in, they'll just get blocked.

Even with Walton and Thompson on the court, without Gan Guoyang, the Trail Blazers' interior defense remains impenetrable. Both former number one draft picks are players who have honed their skills in college and are excellent defenders.

The Jazz's lead widened further, and they were down by as much as 20 points at one point in the second quarter.

Karl Malone was substituted off the court, and he sat on the bench, looking lost and helpless.

He didn't play like that at Louisiana Tech; there, he was like a warrior riding a wild boar, rampaging across the court, unstoppable by anyone.

But when he got to the NBA, he was just a little guy compared to the giant Eaton on the team, and Thabo Bailey was taller and had longer arms than him.

Even small forward Dantley is stronger than him; he can hold his position firmly in the low post and take down opposing centers and power forwards one-on-one.

As for his opponents, the Trail Blazers' three big men are all taller and stronger than him, and apart from Walton, they are not inferior in speed.

Malone has fallen frequently in recent games because he underestimated the intensity of the game and thought he could still charge around like he did in college.

Leiden was right; he needed to keep working hard. He sat on the bench watching John Stockton still on the field.

With the team trailing by 20 points, Stockton showed no signs of impatience, calmly dribbling the ball and looking for an opportunity.

He suddenly started moving, using Eaton's screen to drive to the basket, drawing a defensive foul from Walton.

Stockton stepped to the free-throw line, and even though he usually shoots very quickly, he slowed down and hesitated for a while.

Made two free throws.

The Jazz then defended the Trail Blazers' offense, and Stockton led a fast break.

He first accelerated across the halfway line, then slowed down, seemingly giving up on counter-attacking and holding the position.

However, just as Walton returned to defense and settled into the three-second zone, Stockton suddenly accelerated and used a screen to drive to the basket again!

His shot was aimed at Walton, and his layup, relying on Walton's left hand, drew another defensive foul from Walton!

"Shet!"

Walton cursed loudly, angered by Stockton drawing fouls on two consecutive possessions.

Gan Guoyang knew it was his turn to step up. He took off his jacket and stood on the sidelines. Stockton made his first free throw, and Gan Guoyang came on to replace Walton.

Walton and Gan Guoyang gave each other a light high five. Walton said to Gan Guoyang, "That kid number 12 is cunning. He's your classmate, right?"

Gan Guoyang laughed and said, "He is indeed very cunning, but he looks very honest. I will deal with him."

Stockton's appearance and demeanor are very deceptive; he looks almost 40 years old when he's only in his early 20s.

Even when he's in his forties, he'll probably still look like this, like an honest, simple white man from a conservative area in the West.

But beneath the honest exterior often lies cunning, and Stockton used his cunning in two things: saving money and playing basketball.

Stockton made his second free throw, bringing the Trail Blazers back to four points and slowing down their offense.

Stockton was clear-headed; what he needed to do now was stabilize the situation and try to narrow the gap to around 10 points before the end of the first half.

This way, the Jazz will still have a chance in the second half; otherwise, Gan Guoyang would have to finish in three quarters, and the game would be completely over.

Gan Guoyang received the ball at a 45-degree angle, and Stockton came over to double-team him. Stockton used a lot of tricks, seemingly trying to grab Gan Guoyang with his hands, but actually using his legs to block him from moving. Gan Guoyang first passed the ball to Terry Porter, then suddenly squeezed into a deeper position, firmly blocking him at the baseline, and he held off Eaton.

Porter passed the ball to Gan Guoyang, who jumped up to catch it and scored with an alley-oop layup in mid-air!

Eaton thought Gan Guoyang would bounce back after landing, and that he could easily block the ball with a simple reach.

As a result, Gan Guoyang gave Eaton no chance to block the shot, and his positioning, passing, receiving and alley-oop were all done in one go.

"This kid has gotten stronger again."

Seeing Gan Guoyang's move, Eaton knew that this guy had become even more difficult to defend against.

Last season, Gan Guoyang relied mainly on his mid-to-long-range shooting when facing a behemoth like Eaton in the paint.

Eaton, on the other hand, would choose to stay in the pit and refuse to come out, letting his teammates defend.

If Gan Guoyang has a good outside shooting touch, let him shoot; if he makes it, that's fine.

If he's not feeling good, Gan Guoyang will give up trying to shoot; he's not stubborn.

Eaton discovered tonight that Gan Guoyang no longer needs to go to the perimeter to shoot; he can now attack him in the low post.

Stockton tried to attack the paint again, but before he could even get going, Gan Guoyang had already blocked him.

He's not Walton, because his slow legs mean he can only wait in the three-second zone, giving Stockton room to accelerate.

Gan Guoyang immediately stopped Stockton's run, and Stockton passed the ball to Bailey at the top of the arc.

Bailey made a through pass to Dantley under the basket, who backed down Thompson, but Dantley's turnaround floater still missed!

Dantley threw his hands up at the referee and yelled, "That was a foul!"

But the referee ignored it, believing Thompson had made a good defensive play.

Leiden shook his head on the sidelines. Dantley's performance tonight was really bad, and this kind of play couldn't go on.

Dantley is the team's most reliable scorer, with an astonishingly high field goal percentage under the basket, consistently above 55%, and reaching a peak of 58%.

He remains the best free throw weapon, with a high field goal percentage under the basket and a large number of free throws. In terms of scoring efficiency, few in the league can compare to him.

If he doesn't perform, the Jazz are essentially useless. If he can't score, Dantley will struggle to make any other contributions on either end of the court.

Dantley is not Bird. Bird could help his team win by contributing assists, rebounds, steals, and his intelligence even if he couldn't score.

Leiden glanced at Malone, who was sitting on the sidelines in a daze, and said, "Kid, can you make up for Dantley's scoring deficit on offense?"

Malone was startled and quickly shook his head, saying, "No, I can't, it's too difficult, Dantley's scoring is too impressive..."

During team practice, Malone was completely unable to defend Dantley. In the words of his teammates, Dantley was a scoring maniac.

As a small forward, he had to play center in high school because his teammates were too short, which honed his skills and footwork under the basket.

Malone couldn't fathom how he could score as efficiently as Dantley, especially since his free throw shooting was subpar...

At this moment, the Trail Blazers had already launched a counterattack to the frontcourt, and Gan Guoyang once again backed down to position himself in the low post, holding off Eaton, who was as big as a mammoth.

Terry Porter lobbed the ball to Gan Guoyang, who received it, turned, and took a Sigma step towards the basket, feigning a shot.

Eaton immediately pounced, but Gan Guoyang didn't shoot; it was a fake move. He gathered the ball and used his shoulder to bump Eaton as he lunged forward.

Gan Guoyang did not break through, but after pushing past Eaton, he jumped again and took a close-range shot!

The ball flew towards the basket and went in precisely. The referee blew his whistle and called a defensive foul on Mark Eaton—he had violated Gan Guoyang's cylinder.

"Fuck...this kid..."

Eaton cursed under his breath, thinking to himself, "That's Dantley's signature move!"

The shot fake and jump shot.
Dantley used this move to lure his opponent into rushing over, then gathered the ball, used his shoulder to push the opponent away, and then took a second shot.

At this moment, the opponent, unable to dodge in time, violates the shooting cylinder and commits a foul.

If Dantley makes the shot, he will get a 2+1 opportunity.

If he misses the shot, the two free throw opportunities are basically just giving him points.

Later on, opponents often became wary of his feints and would dodge to the side when he lunged, at which point Dantley would choose to break through directly past the defender.

Few can withstand this combo, allowing him to score easily in every game.

When Gan Guoyang made the free throw, the score difference between the two sides returned to over 20 points.

Stockton finally couldn't hold back and came over to ask Gan Guoyang, "How did you learn this trick of drawing fouls? It's Dantley's."

This was the first time they spoke during the match.

Gan Guoyang said, "Watch the video. It's just like this, then do this again, then do that again, and it'll be fine."

"..." Stockton knew he shouldn't have asked.

After the first half, Stockton's efforts were in vain.

68:48, still a 20-point difference. Without Dantley's performance, the Jazz can't catch up.

Stockton knew that this proposal night was most likely a bust.

(End of this chapter)