The Golden Age of Basketball

On December 12th, Christmas Day, the Trail Blazers' Christmas game started at the Memorial Stadium. The opponent was the Los Angeles Clippers, a game that didn't have much to watch.

Against the Celtics in the East against the Knicks, Ewing's script against the Green Empire, Gan Guoyang, the biggest highlight of the Blazers, missed the game due to an elbow injury and became a guest on the bench. This is the first game he has missed this season.

Before this game, the Blazers were already unstoppable, beating the Celtics, the leader of the Eastern Conference, and then overtaking the Nets in New Jersey. The Eastern Conference road trip had a perfect four-game winning streak. Eight consecutive victories.

They returned home on Dec. 12 to extend their winning streak to nine games with a two-point win over the Golden State Warriors. Gan Guoyang contributed a key hook shot, a block and a rebound.

Then came five consecutive Western Conference road trips, where they challenged the Jazz, Warriors, Spurs, Nuggets and Supersonics away.

On December 12th, the Trail Blazers' winning streak came to an end. They were blocked by the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals last season in the Colorado Plateau. They lost 19:119 by four points, ending the previous 123 consecutive victories.

Of course, after returning to Portland three days later, the Blazers beat visiting Denver 125:107, 18 points at home. Gan Guoyang scored 35 points, 31 rebounds, and contributed 7 blocks. Denver was limited to an embarrassing 14 points in a single game.

At the same time, this is also the first time in Gan Guoyang's career to get the data of the double thirty. Rebounds super double-double data.

In addition to the team's record all the way to the red, Gan Guoyang also won the player of the month in November this season, which is the best compliment for him scoring 11 points in four consecutive games.

At the same time, his 12 points in a single quarter at the beginning of December, together with his excellent performance in other games, also allowed him to win the title of the best player in the Western Conference. In the MVP ranking, he has already ranked second only to Larry Bird Bit, walk in front of Magic Johnson.

The consecutive victories not only calmed down the turbulent Blazers, but also made Gan Guoyang feel a little tired. It has been more than a year since he came to the NBA, and Gan Guoyang finally began to feel the pain brought about by the long NBA schedule. Game after game, whether it's consecutive losses or consecutive victories, it will feel like a long journey with no end in sight.

The former makes people numb, the latter makes people anesthetized.

It is really a good adjustment to get a break at Christmas. Gan Guoyang became a spectator, sitting on the sidelines to appreciate the performance of his teammates, and together with the spectators, they watched Drexler's dunk and Vandeweghe's long shot , Colter's breakthrough and cheers.

A wonderful carnival, without Gan Guoyang, the Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Clippers at home. At the beginning of the season, they also won consecutively against the top-ranked Clippers. After more than 30 games, they still showed their prototype strength and pieced together The old lineup couldn't stand the high-intensity game. Veterans such as Maxwell and Wilkes had long since lost their will to fight.

After the game, Gan Guoyang and Coach Behrman returned home together. This Christmas Eve, Wang Fuxi rushed to Portland from Gonzaga, and Mrs. Behrman also came together. The two big men finally did not have to be lonely.

For Christmas, Gan Guoyang still doesn’t have much feeling. As a Chinese, he is still looking forward to the arrival of the Spring Festival. The number of Chinese in Portland is also very large. The Chinese New Year in China Town is a famous festival in Portland. Landscape, Gan Guoyang had a good meal of dumplings in a fan club in Chinatown during the Spring Festival last year.

However, since Mr. Behrman's family is here, this Christmas also has a taste of family reunion.

As Mr. Bellman's position in the team's work became more and more stable, the family finally decided to move to Portland. The house has also been booked and can be moved in after Christmas.

So after spending this Christmas Eve at Gan Guoyang's house, Mr. Bellman will use Gan Guoyang's house to move out, and Wang Fuxi will go back to Spokane to go to school, and Gan Guoyang will resume living alone again.

This doesn't seem to be a bad thing. When Wang Fuxi was around, Gan Guoyang was always a little out of his mind. As he grew older, Wang Fuxi, who was of Caucasian blood, became more and more mature and charming, and his performance on the couch often made him feel ashamed. The strong and strong Gan Guoyang felt overwhelmed. Of course his physical strength was fine, but physical strength alone is not enough for a man.

Gan Guoyang thought it was good to let Wang Fuxi stay in Spokane and occasionally go back to Portland. The relationship between the two did not become alienated because of the separation. On the contrary, mutual thoughts and encouragement made this young couple even stronger. steadfast and harmonious.

After Christmas, Gan Guoyang quickly resumed training and entered the Blazers' squad for the next game. Before the injury, Gan Guoyang felt a little tired from consecutive games, but he was a little impatient after he didn't play a game. I want to come back.

For a star who is used to being cheered by thousands of fans every night in the spotlight, not having a game to play is really more painful than exhausting himself for the game.

But for the sake of insurance, Ramsey still did not send Gan Guoyang to the game. He just went to Texas with the team to experience the famous Texas Triangle.

Against the Mavericks, the Blazers without Gan Guoyang played extremely hard. After two overtime games, the Blazers narrowly beat the Mavericks by 143 point in the away game 142:1. After losing to the Nuggets, they won four more. winning streak.

But then went to Houston to play against the Rockets, and the Blazers were not so lucky.

Before the game, Gan Guoyang was actively seeking to fight. He felt that his elbow was fine and he could play. Gan Guoyang didn't want to give up any chance to face Olajuwon.

Gan Guoyang's performance this season is naturally skyrocketing, and he instantly became a strong contender for the regular season mvp. Olajuwon, who is at the same level as Gan Guoyang, has also made great progress. In the selection of the best player in the league in November, Olajuwon As a candidate, Rajuwon's score is second only to Gan Guoyang.

The Rockets Twin Towers formed by him and Ralph Sampson have become the most terrifying duo in the league. They are invincible in the West, and together with the Trail Blazers, they have become a new powerful force in the West.

The Blazers ended their losing streak and started their winning streak starting from facing the Rockets. In that game, Gan Guoyang killed the Rockets Twin Towers alone, stopping the Blazers' decline.

Both Olajuwon and Gan Guoyang are thinking about the next direct contest with each other.

However, the coaching staff of the Blazers still asked Gan Guoyang to continue to recuperate from his injuries, and not to ruin the Blazers' entire season plan for a moment of impulsiveness.

In the end, Gan Guoyang compromised, and he could only sit on the sidelines and watch his teammates play against the Rockets on the court.

In the first quarter, the Blazers were completely at a disadvantage. Without the inside barrier of Gan Guoyang, the Blazers could only use the combination of Sampson and Kenny Carr inside. The two veterans have rich experience but insufficient ability, and there is no way to withstand the twin towers. The impact, lost backcourt rebounds many times and was hit by the Rockets for a second offense.

At the end of the first quarter, the Blazers trailed the Rockets by 24 points at 34:10, and the game was one-sided again.

In the second quarter, Bellman's defensive strategy played a role. The Blazers began to actively supplement and double-team the Rockets' twin towers from the outside. , The ball couldn't be fed to Olajuwon and Sampson at all.

In addition, the two sides entered the stage of lineup rotation. In the middle of the season, the young players of the Blazers showed great combat effectiveness. Both Porter and Colter are mature, experienced, energetic and energetic. The two started a healthy competition in the team. No matter who is on the court, it can always make an impact very quickly, almost like a microwave oven.

In this game, Valentine and Gan Guoyang had the same free card, so Colter, who played well recently, started the game, and Porter came off the bench. The two actively double-teamed and assaulted in the backcourt, revitalizing the Blazers' offense.

The Blazers, whose offense and defense have both improved, turned the score over in the second quarter and beat the Rockets 33:24, so at halftime, they were only 1 point behind the Rockets.

During the intermission, Drexler also joked to Gan Guoyang, "Without a center forward, we can still kill the Twin Towers! Half of your salary should be given to the players who double-team outside."

But what Drexler said was just a joke after all. In the third quarter when the situation was established, the Rockets' outside line began to explode.

The reason why the Blazers were able to double-team the Twin Towers unscrupulously in the first half was because the Rockets did not open the perimeter and their shooting percentage was low.

Every time the Blazers played against the Rockets before, Gan Guoyang was usually able to win against the Twin Towers, or even slightly better. The outside line is completely configured in accordance with the standard against the Lakers, and the Blazers have more than enough offense but not enough defense.

Soon, in the third quarter, the Rockets hit the Trail Blazers with an 18:5 attack wave, which immediately established a leading advantage. Although the Trail Blazers struggled to catch up and narrowed the point difference to 3 points at one point, they really couldn't defend against the Rockets. In the end, they lost the game by 108:118 in the away game, ending their four-game winning streak.

After the game, Drexler had to admit to Gan Guoyang in the locker room, "Without you, I really can't do it."

At the same time, Cook, the chief physician of the medical team, also diagnosed that Gan Guoyang's injury is no longer serious, and he can make a complete comeback in the next game.

Gan Guoyang, who has only rested for three games, will embark on a long journey again.