The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 207 - 94 Dr. G_2

Gan Guoyang excelled at sticking to his opponents and knocking the ball away before they could even get a shot off.

If it had been Irving from five years ago, that play would have been a powerful dunk over an opponent after a drive through the middle.

Now, with his speed and explosiveness far from what they used to be, Irving’s average points per game had dropped to a career-low 20, and his shooting percentage fell below fifty percent for the first time in five seasons.

This time, he was closely guarded by the pressing Gan Guoyang and didn’t have enough space to get off the ground, resulting in a merciless block.

After blocking Irving’s layup, Gan Guoyang took control of the ball and made a long pass to the frontcourt, where Vandeweghe caught it for a fast break, scoring a left-handed layup for two points.

Malone had an early lead by drawing a foul on Gan Guoyang with an aggressive play at the start of the game, but unexpectedly, the Trail Blazers went on an 8:3 run.

Irving and Malone each got blocked once. Both players’ speed and explosiveness weren’t what they used to be, signaling the start of the 76ers’ decline.

Billy Cunningham watched Gan Guoyang’s performance with a complex feeling in his heart, not expecting the team to slide so quickly after their glorious 1983 season.

Apart from the slightly older Irving, Malone and Cheeks were all under 30, supposedly still in their prime years, and they had the fourth pick in the 1984 draft.

Cunningham favored Charles Barkley at the draft because Barkley had the potential to become the future centerpiece of the team, with tremendous untapped potential.

However, from the standpoint of building a well-rounded team, Sam Perkins was indeed a better pick. Having graduated from North Carolina, he was a perfect fit for the 76ers’ system.

Perkins, tall and skilled at both offense and defense with excellent tactical understanding, had a nice mid-range shot and was the perfect complement to Moses Malone at the power forward position.

In comparison, Charles Barkley’s skills overlapped somewhat with those of Moses Malone.

But Perkins lacked Barkley’s superstar potential. Standing 6 feet 10 inches tall, he played without much passion and even seemed reluctant to dunk on the court.

Even if he got a clear fast-break opportunity, Perkins would go for a mundane layup instead of a passionate slam dunk to boost the team’s morale.

He was doomed to be an excellent role player, like Bobby Jones, but the current predicament of the 76ers couldn’t be solved by another Bobby Jones.

Cunningham envied Gan Guoyang’s talent and energy, and in the draft, the 76ers really hoped to acquire him. They wanted to trade up using their fourth pick and Moses Malone for the Trail Blazers’ second pick to begin the 76ers’ rebuilding process with Ah Gan.

Moses Malone, although only 29 and in his prime, had entered the professional league at 19 and been playing for ten years, with a playing style that was demanding on his body.

One of the hardest-working players in the League, maintaining such a high level of performance for ten years was already miraculous.

But Malone’s game, which relied on raw power and vitality, couldn’t deliver the best results if his body began to decline even slightly.

Moreover, his assisting and passing had always been poor, making the 76ers’ on-court tactics lack diversity. Malone remained a top-tier player in the League, but this year his efficiency in the paint dropped to a career low.

Stu-Inman decisively rejected this tempting trade offer. Having watched Gan Guoyang play throughout the training camp, he had no intention of giving up the second pick.

In the following possessions, Moses Malone stubbornly attacked the point defended by Gan Guoyang to little effect, failing to draw fouls.

The Trail Blazers’ double-teams were very timely, and their defensive rotations were quite swift.

Even Vandeweghe, who typically struggled on defense, was assisting and covering positions, ultimately forcing the 76ers to settle for perimeter jump shots or rush to the paint on Gan Guoyang’s side, leaving it to Gan Guoyang to protect the rim and handle the ball.

Although Gan Guoyang gave up defense on a few plays, getting dunked on by Irving and scored on by Sam Perkins, overall his defensive efficiency was very good.

He didn’t let Malone cause damage, nor did he give the 76ers the chance to score easily in succession.

The Trail Blazers’ offense was fully blooming, with an inside-out game, as Vandeweghe and Parkson’s shooting touch returned to its November form, hitting from the perimeter repeatedly.

The first quarter ended with the home team Trail Blazers leading the 76ers by six points, 27:33.

After committing an early foul, Gan Guoyang did not foul again, effectively protecting his team’s three-second area.

He finished the quarter with 4 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 3 blocks, playing a very comprehensive game, and coach Adelman praised Gan Guoyang during the break for playing well.

"When you fouled at the start, my heart almost jumped out of my throat, and I was on edge with every play after that, thankfully you didn’t foul again."

"I was on edge, too, fuck, calling a foul on me right from the start, but luckily the 76ers’ impact wasn’t good enough, I blocked them."

Hearing Gan Guoyang’s words, Adelman sighed inwardly, thinking the kid sure had guts to say that.

The 76ers were once the team with the strongest impact in the League, and even if they had declined this season, they still ranked at the top in offensive rebounds and had the highest number of free throws in a single game, with the NBA’s top ability to draw fouls.

In your mouth, their impact has become inadequate.

Of course, Adelman knew it wasn’t just Gan Guoyang alone resisting the 76ers’ push; Ramsay’s player rotation and tactical setups also provided assurance.

Ramsay advanced the playing time for Drexler and Kossie, beginning the substitutions a little later in the first quarter, taking out Vandeweghe and Valentine.

The Trail Blazers’ lineup on the floor then consisted of Gan Guoyang, Thompson, Kossie, Drexler, and Parkson.

Parkson was the Point Guard, Drexler at the two, Kossie at the three, significantly strengthening the team’s rebounding and resistance to penetration.

Vandeweghe fired away on offense from the start, using up his ’bullets’ early and resting, and when Kossie and others came on, Gan Guoyang and Thompson took over the main attack.

Of course, this lineup still needed to gel, with Kossie and Drexler lacking in perimeter shooting, and the 76ers quickly responded by collapsing their defense and double-teaming Gan Guoyang.

Parkson was also uncomfortable with his role as Point Guard, hesitating when organizing the offense, indicating a need for further integration.

In the second quarter, when Gan Guoyang was off the floor, the Trail Blazers’ interior, lacking its core pillar, clearly played somewhat chaotically.

The backup center, Audie Norris, was far behind Gan Guoyang in all aspects, causing a noticeable drop in the team’s offensive and defensive efficiency. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

The 76ers seized the opportunity for a counterattack in the second quarter, closing the gap, until Ramsay put the starters back in and Gan Guoyang scored on an offensive rebound, halting the momentum of being caught up.

The Trail Blazers’ backup front-court was always a significant issue, as neither Norris nor Scheffler could provide high quality offense and defense in higher intensity games.

When facing a team like the Lakers with strong inside presence and multiple stars, this was undoubtedly a big disadvantage.

By halftime, the two teams reached a score of 55:60, with the Trail Blazers still leading by five points entering the third quarter.

When Gan Guoyang returned to the locker room for the halftime break, he was stopped by a local television reporter for a mid-game interview.

The reporter asked Gan Guoyang about his feelings facing Moses Malone again, and Gan Guoyang’s opinion on being pointed out by many as resembling Malone’s playing style.

Gan Guoyang denied this, saying, "Moses is an impressive center; I’ve watched a lot of his tapes and learned so much, and facing him is full of challenges, tonight I won’t fight with him again. But I want to say that actually, my model isn’t Moses, when I started playing, my real model was Dr. J, Irving. They call me Dr. G, because my dunks are also spectacular."