The Golden Age of Basketball.

Chapter 305 is not a level

During halftime, in the Trail Blazers' locker room, Ramsey was banging the whiteboard loudly.

Although the team was leading at halftime, Ramsey was still not satisfied with the players' performance.

“Look at your mistakes, look at your passes, I’m starting to wonder if I’m coaching a high school team!”

"This might be the ugliest half we've seen this season. Where is your focus?!"

"Do you expect the Rockets to maintain this shooting percentage every game?"

"And your defense! Are you expecting Forrest Gump to be the only one grabbing rebounds? Where are the others?!"

The Trail Blazers made a lot of mistakes tonight, and the Rockets' towering lineup made it difficult for the players to pass the ball.

Fortunately, everyone's defensive attitude was top-notch tonight. After a mistake, they always immediately counter-attacked, played tough defense, or committed a foul.

We will not give Rockets players an easy chance to attack the basket.

At the same time, Gan Guoyang and Thompson will immediately return to the three-second zone to defend.

Gan Guoyang has basically given up fighting for offensive rebounds, which is very different from the regular season.

During the regular season, Gan Guoyang often engaged in rebounding battles with Hakeem Olajuwon and Sampson.

Almost recklessly, they charged into the paint to grab rebounds and fight for possession of the ball.

But Gan Guoyang changed his strategy in this game, and he would not rush to steal the ball unless it fell right in front of him and he could pick it up.

He immediately returned to defense, rushed to the basket to protect the three-second zone, and launched a fast break after securing a defensive rebound.

Adelman sat down next to Gan Guoyang and asked, "Sonny, you handled the ball a lot tonight, mostly driving to the basket yourself."

Gan Guoyang said, "The Rockets' immediate counter-attacks are very effective. Sampson and Olajuwon didn't get back on defense in time, so I attacked their bodies to teach them a lesson."

Adelman nodded; Forrest Gump certainly had his own ideas.

In the last round against the Lakers, the Rockets won back possession on the frontcourt on several occasions.

Either go for the offensive rebound, or if you can't get the offensive rebound, double-team the ball handler and steal the ball to attack the basket.

This tactic works well against the Lakers because Magic Johnson makes a lot of mistakes and is eager to push for fast breaks and counterattacks.

Although Hakeem Olajuwon was a center, he was excellent at stealing the ball. When he cooperated with his tall teammates, he could not only score after stealing the ball, but also stop the Lakers' fast break.

With two or three such plays per game, the Lakers' offensive rhythm is disrupted, which is very damaging to the team's morale.

The Trail Blazers' backcourt is a weakness; they don't have a true point guard in the starting lineup, and there are two rookies on the bench.

At this point, Gan Guoyang would take the initiative to step up and take on some of the responsibility for controlling the ball and dribbling it across half-court, and even seize the opportunity to strike directly at the enemy's goal.

By having your two big centers not track back on defense and instead camp out in the frontcourt waiting for their prey, the Rockets paid the price for their strategy.

After halftime, the second half of the game continued. Before coming on, Adelman whispered to Ramsey, telling him the reason why Gan Guoyang had "unauthorizedly" dribbled the ball across half-court and made a solo run.

Ramsey nodded and said, "Just as I thought."

Adelman thought to himself, "Old man, how come your skin has gotten so thick?"
If you had known earlier, would you have sent me to ask?
The answer came back: it was exactly what I had thought.

Adelman felt he had learned another trick from Dr. Jack.

He subtly incorporated Gan Guoyang's creative performance in the first half into his own plan.

Wow, that's really impressive. Adelman thought to himself that Dr. Jack had made great progress in the past two years, just like Forrest Gump.

At the start of the third quarter, the Rockets did not make any major adjustments despite their poor performance in the first half.

Bill Fitch is a seasoned coach who won a championship in 1981. He knows that once a game strategy is set, it needs to be implemented for at least the entire game.

If adjustments are made simply because the team is behind at halftime, the players will feel lost and instead play with determination. Once they find their rhythm or the opponent makes a mistake, their opportunity will arise.

After all, this strategy has been effective for the Rockets and they achieved great success against the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals.

At the start of the third quarter, Ralph Sampson received the ball on the left side and attempted a hook shot. Under Gan Guoyang's defense, Sampson could only shoot or attempt hook shots from outside the three-second zone.

His hook shot was far less consistent than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's, and lacking a good rhythm, the ball missed, but Hakeem Olajuwon grabbed the offensive rebound.

The Trail Blazers surrounded the basket with Gan Guoyang, Thompson, and Vandeweghe, forcing Olajuwon to attempt a difficult mid-air reverse layup, which naturally missed.

The ball was knocked away, McGrady got the ball and continued to drive, but was blocked by Gan Guoyang.

When Reed got the ball and was about to drive inside, Drexler intercepted it, and the Trail Blazers launched a counterattack.

The Rockets' first offensive possession in the third quarter was repeatedly thwarted, and the Trail Blazers raised their defensive intensity to another level.

Faced with the Trail Blazers' counterattack, the Rockets chose to foul Drexler to slow down the Trail Blazers' pace.

In a throw-in attack, during a positional play, Vandeweghe's breakthrough on the left was blocked by Olajuwon.

The Rockets launched a counterattack, with McGrady charging ahead, but Jim Paxson grabbed him and drew a foul, denying the Rockets a chance to launch a counterattack.

That scoop was really hard, cutting right into McGrady's ribs, causing him to bend over and kneel in pain for quite a while.

The Rockets players helped McGrady up, but no one reacted; in Portland, they had to tolerate it for the time being. Although they had boxing champion Hakeem Olajuwon, they faced wrestling champion Forrest Gump, and for the moment, no one dared to act rashly.

Despite how fiercely Hakeem Olajuwon beats people, he also harbors hatred for Gan Guoyang, but he wouldn't dare to actually hit Gan Guoyang.

Firstly, they can't beat them, and secondly, it would be very embarrassing to be tackled and taken down. So even the best fighter has to hold back here.

Without the added speed and impact, the Rockets' positional offense was lackluster.

Hakeem Olajuwon and Sampson played a high-low post game, but Thompson and Gan Guoyang defended them very tightly.

Sampson didn't have the opportunity to pass directly to the inside, so the outside was left to Wiggins to handle. Without a pick-and-roll, Olajuwon continued to stay in the low post.

Finally, Wiggins took a tough shot against Paxson but missed. The experienced Thompson boxed out and grabbed the rebound.

This play reveals the Rockets' offensive strategy: when Mitchell Wiggins brought the ball to the left side, Hakeem Olajuwon, who was crouching in the low post on the left, made no move.

Neither setting a screen nor moving, Olajuwon didn't give Wiggins any space to drive to the basket, forcing him to take tough shots, which allowed Olajuwon to turn around and grab the rebound.

But Thompson is not Rambis; he won't easily give you the rebound. At the same time, Gan Guoyang firmly blocks the middle, so Sampson can't rush in to get the ball.

After securing the rebound, the Rockets continued to try to steal it back, but Thompson immediately passed the ball to Gan Guoyang, who dribbled past Sampson with a spin move.

Mitchell Wiggins rushed over to steal the ball, but Gan Guoyang didn't dodge. He switched hands, dribbled, accelerated, and crashed straight into Wiggins, sending him flying.

Wiggins was hit pretty hard. Gan Guoyang always hit people like a truck. Wiggins spun around on the ground, looking a bit dazed.

What's even more baffling is that the referee called a blocking foul on him because Gan Guoyang was dribbling forward in his own lane.

Wiggins hadn't expected this guy to be so cunning; not only did he switch hands to avoid the steal, but he also accelerated and crashed into him.

The team doctor came over and helped Wiggins off the field to clear his head. He then substituted Lewis Lloyd back in. Fitch started Wiggins, a small guard, in the second half because he wanted to steal the ball from Gan Guoyang. The other players were too tall and not agile enough, but they ended up getting knocked down by Gan Guoyang.

Wiggins should tell his son in the future: don't play basketball so recklessly, your life is more important.

The Trail Blazers have far more ways to attack in half-court situations than the Rockets, and Gan Guoyang learned a lot of half-court tactics from Walton.

Walton is very good at completing small plays with his teammates in the low post, such as cuts, roll cuts, and alley-oops on the weak side.

His bounce pass was unpredictable. Gan Guoyang imitated him, drawing double teams in the low post and then passing the ball to Paxson, who caught it and scored a layup!
Olajuwon then missed a hook shot, and Gan Guoyang grabbed the rebound. The Trail Blazers launched a counterattack, and Drexler drove to the basket, delivering a beautiful behind-the-back pass to Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang received the ball and slammed it home with a powerful two-handed dunk!
The memorial stadium was in an uproar.

The Paramount Theatre was also buzzing with excitement.

The performance there had ended, but the audience did not leave.

Norman moved the radio onto the stage and connected it to the speakers, and Bill Seanley's voice immediately filled the entire concert hall.

Instead of music, the concert hall was playing live basketball games, which is quite common in Portland.

"Sonny Gan's dunk! A stunning fast-break dunk!"

"Ralph Sampson's hook shot was blocked by Gan! Sampson played terribly tonight."

"The Trail Blazers launched another fast break, and Gan once again received the ball and drove straight to the three-second zone. He passed the ball to the side, and Vandeweghe caught the ball and shot, making it!"

"Rip city!"

The cheers at the Paramount Theatre were deafening; it was far more exciting than listening to a symphony.

The Trail Blazers' third-quarter surge forced the Rockets to call a timeout, extending their lead to 20 points.

Gan Guoyang, who had been silent all along, finally relaxed and said to Olajuwon, "Akim, if I don't go all out, you might still think you're on the same level as me, right?"

Upon hearing this, Hakeem Olajuwon glared at Gan Guoyang, clenching his fists, but he dared not make a move and could only watch Gan Guoyang return to the bench.

A sense of frustration enveloped Hakeem Olajuwon; was he really no match for Forrest Gump?

Where exactly is the gap? Hakeem Olajuwon sat on the bench, unable to listen to what the coach was saying.

He was reflecting on the gap between himself and Gan Guoyang. Were they really not on the same level?

Thinking about it carefully, his strength is not as good as his speed, his explosiveness is not as good as his shooting, his shot blocking is not as good as his rebounding, and his handling of details in the game is not as good as his rebounding. Fitch said that Forrest Gump is at the level of a head coach in the league in terms of handling details. He can even make his own decisions without listening to the coach's instructions.

Defeating the Lakers and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar gave Hakeem Olajuwon the feeling that he had finally gotten his chance for revenge.

But when they actually clashed, before even a single round was over, they realized how terrifyingly different the gap was.

"Shit, shit..."

"Akim, Akim!"

Fitch's voice brought Olajuwon back to his senses, and he stared at Fitch with a bewildered expression.

Fitch seemed to know what Olajuwon was thinking. He patted Olajuwon on the shoulder and said, "I reminded you, you need to win the game, not Forrest Gump."

Before the match, Fitch had been saying this, and Olajuwon could understand it, but now he began to question it.

"How can you win the game if you can't beat Forrest Gump?"

(End of this chapter)