The Golden Age of Basketball.

Chapter 997 A Long Way Off
Chandler obviously couldn't handle Gan Guoyang, and Cartwright's statement was truly out of options.

He thought he might as well go all out and let the newcomer go up and have a good fight with Forrest Gump, maybe that would inspire him to work hard and improve himself.

Have guys like Duncan, O'Neal, and Kevin Garnett all emerged and become superstars?
Cartwright fully utilized his imagination, suggesting that Forrest Gump's ordeal might be a necessary part of a player's journey to success.

He doesn't even consider his own past. He was beaten so badly that he developed a fear of sweetness, and he was so badly beaten in the finals that he could only sit in the locker room sighing. He still hasn't transformed.

How can you expect a high school student like Chandler to evolve by fighting against someone like Forrest Gump, the greatest of all time?

This is either from reading too many shonen manga, or he's just out of ideas and starting to overthink.

With the coach saying that, Chandler had no choice but to bite the bullet and go on to match up against Gan Guoyang, playing the last two minutes of the first quarter.

Gan Guoyang had been holding back for a long time in the first quarter, so how could he possibly let go of the opportunity to show off his skills in the last two minutes?

As soon as he came up, he was in the low post against Chandler, turned and leaned forward to shoot a two-pointer, drawing a foul from Chandler.

This kind of somewhat unsportsmanlike forward-leaning shot is no longer used in the NBA, let alone the NCAA or high school basketball leagues.

It requires exceptionally high levels of strength and body control, and the shooting form is quite different from that of a typical shot; it has essentially been lost to time.

Chandler had never seen such a move before and was trying to block it, but the referee called a foul on him for hitting the hand.

Gan Guoyang has been practicing this turnaround shot since high school, and he's become extremely skilled at it.

The key is actually in the left hand. There is a pushing, blocking, and protecting motion, and the hand must be quick, and the turning and jumping must be done in one smooth motion.

How could a newbie like Chandler possibly defend against an old trick like Gan Guoyang's? He'd only seen it on TV; he'd never actually encountered it in real life.

And there are many more tricks we haven't encountered yet.

He made the free throw, but Marshall then missed a three-pointer on offense.

With Gan Guoyang under the basket, the Bulls were hesitant to drive in.

He grabbed the rebound and passed it to Jon Barry, who then played in the low post.

Gan Guoyang received the ball, and the Bulls' perimeter defense came in to double-team him.

But Gan Guoyang started quickly, dribbling, turning, taking a step, turning sideways, and then unleashing a big hook shot.

Double-teaming was completely ineffective against this kind of hook shot. Chandler tried to block the hook shot by relying on his height, wingspan, and jumping ability, without engaging in physical contact.

Please, you're not Wilt Chamberlain, and those two shots where Chamberlain blocked Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's hook shot were clearly goaltending.

The ball arced beautifully high and swished through the net—a perfect score!
Chandler glanced back at the basket, then could only hang his head and run back.

As a result, his teammates called him back and asked him to serve from the baseline, so he had to run back to the baseline to serve.

Fortunately, Gan Guoyang's subsequent three-pointer missed, otherwise Chandler would have been shattered.

It's impossible to defend against, there's absolutely nothing we can do, we're completely on the defensive, and we don't know how to fight back.

In high school, Chandler averaged 20 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 blocks per game thanks to his superior physical attributes.

To be honest, this statistic isn't very impressive among top high school players, especially among interior players; it's quite unremarkable.

When Gan Guoyang was in high school, getting 20 rebounds was a piece of cake, and he frequently got more than 25, or even 30.

His 41 points and 41 rebounds against Lincoln High School remain a San Francisco league record to this day.

Then there are monsters like Moses Malone, who averaged 36 points, 26 rebounds, and 12 blocks per game in high school; he was basically playing against kids.

This is a true genius player who dominates the world. If you can't put up amazing numbers against ordinary people in high school, it means you're simply not talented enough.

Tyson Chandler is a prime example. He's a promising young basketball player, but he's far from being a core player for a team, and he's nowhere near the ceiling of being a second overall pick.

During the break, Tyson Chandler looked frustrated, and Cartwright realized that reverse motivation might not be working.

But he had no other choice; the young man's future path was still up to him to walk.

Gan Guoyang didn't take Chandler too seriously, nor did he target him. He would build his own basketball career.

Gan Guoyang is now more concerned about whether Jordan can score 50 points tonight. That guy is cunning; he took advantage of Jordan's good stamina and lax defense in the first quarter to score points like crazy.

In the second quarter, Jordan and Gan Guoyang came on together. Jordan immediately drew a foul and went to the free-throw line, making both free throws.

However, Jordan's stamina declined somewhat afterward, and he missed two shots. He stopped forcing it and instead passed the ball to his teammates more often, while also integrating into the team's Princeton offense and using the tactics to score points.

Unfortunately, Gan Guoyang refused to come over and set a screen for Jordan.

Didn't you just tell me to stay somewhere cool? Well, I'm staying in a cool place now, and I'm not going to cover for you anymore.

Jordan was so anxious that he kept waving his hand, but Ewing couldn't stand it anymore and came out to screen for Jordan.

Jordan didn't get greedy. After setting a screen and drawing the defense, he still passed the ball to Gan Guoyang on the baseline, who made a mid-range jump shot.

"You're being too petty, Sonny. I need your screen."

"You're asking for my screen again now~ I thought you could play one-on-one all game."

"I'm really too tired to fight anymore, buddy. I need some backup."

Jordan didn't deny it. He had asked Gan Guoyang for help more than once or twice, so he had no psychological burden at all.

Therefore, Gan Guoyang reverted to the high post playmaking tactic, actively setting screens and initiating plays from the top of the key, allowing the Princeton offense to revolve around the two players' screens.

Jordan gradually regained his strength and found his shooting touch. After two consecutive screens, he jumped and made the shots.

The jump shot after the pick-and-roll is indeed much easier and more natural. Having gotten used to this kind of cooperation with Forrest Gump, his long-range shots are quite accurate.

Moreover, Jordan's shooting touch was different from that of ordinary outside shooters; once he got into a rhythm, he could make one shot after another.

With the same pick-and-roll and sudden stop-and-shoot, someone like Bibby can usually only make three in a row before hitting his limit. If the opponent double-teams him on the fourth shot, or if his touch is off, it's hard for him to make another one.

Jordan was different. His consistency meant he could score one shot after another, which is why the Pistons used rough fouls against him back then.

In terms of consistency in scoring, only one person in NBA history can surpass him – Forrest Gump, who set screens for him.

Jordan quickly added 30 points to his total, and the Bulls fans in the arena cheered. They didn't care about their team's win or loss; they just wanted to see more of Jordan's performance.

Sitting on the sidelines, Jerry Krause continued to suffer; every brilliant basket Jordan made felt like a knife stabbing into his heart.

Only now does Jerry Krause truly acknowledge that Jordan was the most important factor in his ability to assemble a championship team and establish the Bulls' dynasty of three titles in four years, and that luck played a significant role in his success.

Many management teams that build their success on a single legendary superstar often develop the misconception that they were chosen because of this superstar, that they created this team, and that their success can be replicated. Only when the superstar ages and retires do the management realize that it was actually the superstar who made them who they are.

There is mutual support and achievement, but basketball superstars are undoubtedly more important, as can be seen from their salaries.

There are very few management teams that can truly transcend time, surpass star players, and continuously build championship teams.

Moreover, as the number of teams increases and the rules become more complex and comprehensive, it becomes increasingly difficult for evergreen management teams to maintain their success for long.

In the first half, Jordan scored 32 points, and the Glorious led the Bulls by a whopping 22 points, 63-41.

This was already a result of the Glory team throwing the game; otherwise, the point difference would have been even greater, because the Bulls simply couldn't play against the two superstars.

Jordan's scoring efficiency was extremely high, and Gan Guoyang, playing as an assistant, was equally astonishingly efficient, perhaps even more so.

Tyson Chandler couldn't contain Gan Guoyang at all, and switching to Fizer for defense only made things worse.

It wasn't that Fezer was less capable than Chandler, but rather that Fezer was a devout Christian and very superstitious.

His mother was very young when she was pregnant with him. Her family took her to have an abortion, but they accidentally entered a church. The pastor there told her, "Whatever you are going to do next, do not do it, because you are carrying a pastor." His mother did not have any signs of pregnancy at the time. She was shocked and abandoned the abortion plan, giving birth to Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald's mother had told him this story many times, so he was very devout, and as a result, he greatly admired and even idolized Forrest Gump.

When defending, he doesn't go all out. Instead, he treats Gan Guoyang like a god, taking pride in touching him, and never exerts any force to resist him. At most, he reaches out to interfere.

Last season, when Glorious played against the Bulls, Gan Guoyang knew that this guy seemed to have some problems, as he often muttered to himself when defending him.

This year it got even worse. When he was playing with Jordan and making a dunk, Fizer watched Gan Guoyang go without even trying to defend him. Instead, he made a cross on his chest...

Cartwright later realized the problem, called a timeout to substitute Fizer, and questioned him: "What were you doing when you were guarding Forrest Gump?"

"pray."

"Why are you praying? Why aren't you defending!"

"Praying is more effective than defense."

Cartwright had nothing to say; it seemed to make sense.

But as the head coach, he can't exactly pray with the players, can he?

Winning is probably going to be very difficult, and Cartwright's change of the game's goal to give young players experience... doesn't seem like that will work either.

These two old guys take pleasure in tormenting young people. Sending young players up there is not for training, but for torture, to undermine their confidence.

Unfortunately, after the start of the third quarter, Chandler and Eddie Curry only played for a few minutes before going to the bench to rest early.

In the end, Eddie Curry, who started the game, only played 9 minutes, while Chandler fared slightly better, playing 15 minutes.

Their contribution on the field was negligible; they merely served as a backdrop, disappointing Chicago fans.

What truly opened the eyes of Chicago fans was the brilliant rookie Yao Ming.

After scoring his first NBA one-on-one point in the first quarter, Yao Ming's confidence only grew stronger.

In the second quarter, he hit another mid-range shot, scoring his second basket.

In the third quarter, after scoring 6 consecutive points to bring his total to 38, Jordan took a breather and started setting up Yao Ming.

A seasoned veteran like Jordan knew that scoring 50 points shouldn't be rushed; rushing around recklessly would deplete his stamina.

To proceed step by step and maintain a good rhythm, Yao Ming made two shots in a row, one of which went in and the other missed. However, he grabbed the offensive rebound and passed the ball to Andre Miller, who made a floater.

Yao Ming's offensive talent is unmatched by Chandler, and even Curry is inferior.

He may not have the terrifying dominance of Forrest Gump, but his future is clearly promising.

Such a tall stature, such a good shooting touch, and a decent midrange shot.

In comparison, Jay Williams, the second overall pick, appears to be much more mediocre.

Whether it's height, wingspan, jumping ability, or playing style, Jay Williams is still too much like a college player, rather than an NBA-level superstar.

His performance was steady and unremarkable, which resulted in him being rendered helpless by the equally steady Andre Miller, and he had almost no standout moments.

There's nothing we can do; the Glory team has more tricks up their sleeve. They upset the Lakers last season, even though they were the eighth seed, and still managed to get the number one draft pick.

A single draft pick can make a world of difference; for example, in 1997, the number one pick could get Duncan, while the number two pick could only get Van Horn.

In the final stages of the game, the only suspense was how many points Jordan would score.

Jordan's scoring methods were almost entirely limited to mid-range jump shots, and he rarely attempted to drive to the basket.

Even if they break through and enter the paint, they should finish with a floater or a close-range pull-up jumper instead of attacking the basket.

Until the fourth quarter, Gan Guoyang blocked Jay Williams' layup under the basket and then made a long pass to Jordan in the frontcourt.

With no one guarding him, Jordan dribbled towards the basket. The entire arena rose to their feet as Jordan leaped and glided for a dunk!

The entire United Center in Chicago erupted in cheers, and the DJ in the arena shouted in a drawn-out voice, "Michael Jordan!!"

Jordan's gliding dunk, one of the most beautiful spectacle for Chicago fans over the past decade, is something we rarely see again.

Firstly, Jordan is getting old, and secondly, he no longer plays in Chicago and can only come twice this season.

Although his jump height and glide distance are not as good as when he was younger, his dunks are still elegant and beautiful.

Not only that, with this dunk, Jordan also scored his 50th point of the game, successfully completing his mission.

For a 39-year-old veteran, scoring 50 points is no easy feat; it tests not only his skills and tactics but also his physical stamina.

After Jordan scored 50 points, a hint of fatigue appeared on his face. Tomjanovich immediately called a timeout to let Jordan enjoy the cheers of the fans while he went off the court to rest.

The applause was deafening; Jordan's performance upon returning to Chicago was a perfect farewell.

At that moment, Jerry Krause, who was sitting in the audience, quietly got up and left the stands and the United Center in Chicago, unnoticed by anyone.

Not long after, Jerry Krause resigned as general manager of the Bulls, marking the end of the long and glorious Krause era for the Bulls.

Head coach Bill Cartwright was also fired, and he was replaced by John Paxson, the younger brother of Jordan's former teammate Jim Paxson.

It seems the influence of the Jordan-era Bulls will persist for some time, and the Bulls' true comeback is still a long way off.

(End of this chapter)