The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 190 - 83: The Seven-Foot Man Syndrome

Gan Guoyang’s style of play was filled with rhythm, incorporating both inside and outside tactics, starting from the inside then moving outside. This was the experience he had concluded from watching the NBA for over a decade, combined with his own gameplay after arriving in America.

Had Gan Guoyang attended North Carolina and played under Dean Smith, he would surely have become the most proud disciple under the tutelage of the Chapel Hill ’Pope’ because he had already grasped the significance of the rhythm in basketball games and put it into practice on the court, which was quite remarkable.

A good rhythm not only allows for the game to be under one’s control but also forces the opponent to become worn out, like a poor trumpeter unable to keep up with the conductor of the orchestra, spending the entire concert searching for the right pitch.

Olajuwon and Sampson both felt something was off at the start, but they couldn’t pinpoint what it was. This was when the experienced Bill Fitch needed to step in and make corrections.

He saw how Gan Guoyang controlled the game on both offense and defense and internally praised the youngster for living up to his reputation. Previously, he had only heard about Gan and watched his videos, but now facing him on the court, he could truly feel his understanding of the game and his arrangements from the start.

Knowing Ramsay well, Fitch didn’t think the Trail Blazers’ start was Dr. Jack’s handiwork; his setups were not like this.

Ramsay liked to have his tall players hold the ball at the top of the arc at the start, with the swingmen running through baseline cuts to find opportunities for shots at the 45-degree angle, then using speed and adept coordination for defensive counterattacks once they’d opened up the game.

This was his winning secret that led to the championship in 1977, the historical legacy left by Bill Walton, which had been slowly redirected by Gan Guoyang up until now.

Entering the ’80s, the talent of several NBA giants became more and more terrifying, with teams like the 76ers, Celtics, and Lakers all having two to three superstars and three to four near all-stars.

Ramsay’s strategy was no longer very effective in the ’80s, especially in the playoffs. Even if a prime Walton returned, the Trail Blazers couldn’t beat the Lakers.

On the contrary, Gan Guoyang’s aggressive and lethal style of play had proven in 1981 that it could puncture through Jabbar and the Lakers.

Fitch had witnessed this firsthand, seeing how terrifying Moses Malone was in the paint, and the Celtics’ victory in ’81 was more of a triumph in terms of roster talent.

"Moreover, this kid has much better defense than Moses, his shooting is very precise, and he has a greater team spirit, a mature product..."

Fitch held a very high opinion of Gan Guoyang. The old coach might be one of the League’s most connected individuals, with students and former colleagues all over the world, very accurate in judging and understanding people.

But at the same time, he was also known for his bad temper and stubbornness, often causing friction with players and management wherever he went.

During the timeout, Fitch instructed Olajuwon to stop trying to defend Gan Guoyang one-on-one; instead, he should focus on help defense.

He tasked Sampson with matching up against Gan Guoyang on both ends of the court, keeping up the confrontation and pressure, regardless of advantages or disadvantages, and not to be afraid of the youngster.

"He’s just a rookie. You’re not scared of Jabbar, so what’s so scary about this guy? Take him down," Fitch encouraged Sampson.

Sampson said, "I’m not scared of him, not at all."

Olajuwon then said, "I still want to defend him one-on-one; I have the experience."

Fitch snapped, "What experience? The experience of him kicking your ass in the NCAA?"

Olajuwon’s expression darkened, and he fell silent, providing some insight into why Fitch often had difficult relationships with others.

And in his heart, he still found the two giants mentally immature; in fact, nearly all seven-footers or those around that height have some psychological issues.

Being so tall, many of them grew up under the gaze of others; some were called monsters, others unwittingly shouldered enormous expectations.

Very few young giants could accept themselves and deal with their height issues correctly. Most needed a long time to grow and realize none of it mattered.

Ralph Sampson was particularly sensitive about his excessively lanky frame, often emphasizing his 7-foot-4 height while repeatedly stressing that he was just an ordinary person.

He once told reporters, "I have two eyes, two ears, a nose, and a mouth. Like everyone else, I have normal emotions. My heart can also be hurt."

Ordinary people would be moved by such words, but Fitch disliked this kind of tone and showing weakness, because empathy wasn’t needed on the basketball court. Opponents seeing your soft side would only tear you apart.

As for Olajuwon, Fitch’s annoyance with him came from a different place. If Ralph Sampson was a classic case of the "seven-footer syndrome," overly sensitive and indecisive, then Hakeem was like a piece of sun-dried, wind-hardened dung dropped by an elephant on the African savanna after eating thorny branches!

The guy wasn’t stupid, just obstinate. Having come to America from Africa many years earlier, he still retained many habits from his life in Africa.

Moreover, he was straightforward and often oblivious. Once, during Fitch’s tactical briefing, Olajuwon inexplicably yawned. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The always sharp-tongued Fitch mocked, "Am I the reason you can’t sleep well?"

The honest Olajuwon, without thinking, said, "Yes, that’s right."

Fitch was left so infuriated he didn’t know what to say.

In the eyes of an old coach like Fitch, all these young players were just a bunch of dumb, stubborn, and immature fools who happened to stand at the center of the stage simply because they were tall and could play basketball.

He couldn’t truly understand young players, nor did he want to. He simply wanted his players to act according to his ideas, and only those with a mania for victory, true students of the game like Bird, could understand Fitch.

"Do as I say, do as I say! If you want to beat Ah Gan’s team in tonight’s game, follow my thoughts!"

Fitch roared at the two big fools, who had no choice but to collaborate again following Fitch’s ideas.

The game continued, and Sampson used his footwork to shake off Gan Guoyang on the right, catch the ball on the low left side, turn around, and hit a hook shot for two points.

Then, on the defensive end, Sampson began to defend Gan Guoyang head-on, with Olajuwon lurking behind, ready to come over for help defense and shot blocking at any time.

This only increased the pressure on Gan Guoyang a lot. When he had the ball in the low post, he had to watch out for Olajuwon. Even though he was shorter than Sampson, his shot-blocking ability was stronger than Sampson’s.

Though Sampson couldn’t hold off Gan Guoyang, having a 7-foot-4 person behind you affects your field of vision greatly, and it’s tough to concentrate on one-on-one matchups when you know there’s a panther lurking behind the trees.

After observing for a moment with the ball in the low post, Gan Guoyang abandoned his plan to go one-on-one with Sampson down low. Instead, he moved to the high post, giving the 45-degree angle to Parkson and Vandeweghe, and began playing Ramsay’s favorite position strategy.

After the adjustment, the Rockets stabilized their formation, beginning to display their traits bit by bit: height, offensive rebounds, strong points on both low sides, and the transfer of the ball from strong to weak side.

Bill Fitch had already started paying attention to ball movement from strong to weak side, which meant that tactically he was moving away from the ’70s mindset, gradually shifting from "linear" to "zone," from "set plays" to "holistic approaches."

The two strong inside points and the high point inside forced the opponents to concentrate their defensive resources, creating vast spaces and areas on both sides of the court and giving teammates room to maneuver.

It’s just that these two guys weren’t mature enough yet. They lacked understanding of how to make good use of these spaces, but given time, Fitch believed they could challenge the Lakers’ dominance in the Western Conference.

However, halfway through the first quarter, the Rockets were still being firmly suppressed by the Trail Blazers, 14:22, an eight-point difference.

Although the Rockets broke the deadlock and started scoring, and their defense successfully stopped Gan Guoyang’s rampage in the low post.

But when Vandeweghe scored six points in succession on fast breaks, Fitch’s expression grew uglier and uglier, and he yelled onto the court, "Stop crashing the offensive rebounds! Fall back, fall back!"

"Xie Te, damn it, how can he defend the paint by himself? He doesn’t need anyone else’s help at all..."

If Gan Guoyang heard Fitch’s words, he would definitely tell him, "With the Trail Blazers’ perimeter, what help could they possibly give!"

The real power of Gan Guoyang was reflected in his defense: solid backcourt rebounding protection and very clever defensive choices.

Facing two beastly players with extraordinary athletic abilities like Sampson and Olajuwon, Gan Guoyang would jump as little as possible, commit fouls when necessary, and steal the ball when the time was right.

He learned the slippery way of defending from Paul Baulch, drawing fouls; you both like to charge, so I’ll just stand there and let you hit me, then I’ll fall and draw the foul on you.

Gan Guoyang could jump, and his strength wasn’t lacking, but he knew defense must be minded first and body second. Standard procedures worked against ordinary teams, but strategies were needed against the Twin Towers.

This year, Olajuwon and Sampson were 23 and 24, respectively, while Gan Guoyang had just turned 20, yet he played like a wily 35-year-old veteran.

With Mitchell Thompson’s cooperation, Gan Guoyang successfully curtailed their assault on the interior.

Especially in terms of protecting defensive rebounds, his judgment of where the ball would land was eerily accurate, and with a body as sturdy as a steel plate, his rebound protection was watertight.

The more impatient the Twin Towers became about chasing offensive rebounds and attempting immediate counter-steals, the more they missed the chance to fall back, repeatedly allowing the Trail Blazers to launch fast breaks.

Vandeweghe didn’t have to defend and could focus on offense, his condition was quite good, making outside shots, finishing layups on fast breaks, scoring 10 points in the first quarter alone.

And after Sampson picked up his second foul on offense, Fitch took him out to rest. A frustrated Ralph kicked a chair on his way out, a sign of his unrest.

Just now, after drawing a foul from Sampson, Gan Guoyang had said to him, "Merry Christmas, Ralph; feeling good today?"

As the first quarter was about to end, Olajuwon finally grabbed his first offensive rebound of the game, facing Gan Guoyang’s defense.

Olajuwon put his head down to dribble, turned, created space and distance, and then took a fadeaway jumper!

Gan Guoyang stretched his hand to block but didn’t touch the ball. The ball traced a flat arc and dropped into the basket.

After making the basket, Olajuwon clenched his fist forcefully, marking his first field goal of the game!

At that moment, Gan Guoyang spoke his first words of the game to Olajuwon.

"Hakeem, you weren’t this soft before; why resort to a fadeaway now?"

As he said this, Gan Guoyang blew a bubble at Olajuwon.