The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 208 - 95 Rock the Baby

Gan Guoyang was not a person who liked to boast without basis; his statements always had factual grounding.

When he first arrived in America, Gan played street basketball in San Francisco, and his dunks had a kind of graceful elegance reminiscent of Doctor J, Julius Erving.

This was thanks to his long arms, broad shoulders, combined with impressive jumping ability and particularly good flexibility, which made his body exceptionally fluid during dunks.

The beauty of Erving’s dunks was not solely because he could jump high (though he certainly did)—there were countless basketball players who could jump high.

It was about the gymnast-like grace when he spread his limbs in the air, like an eagle unfurling its wings, delivering the audience the ultimate visual treat.

Moreover, he had surprisingly long arms and incredibly broad shoulders, along with a pair of massive hands that could easily grip the basketball, making his dunks appear effortless and relaxed.

Erving had become famous for his dunks back when he played in Rucker Park, and later became the star draw of the ABA. In the 70s, during the rough and tumble, injury-prone professional games, coaches of all ABA teams reminded their players not to hurt Erving, because it was Erving who "fed them" — most people came to the court just to watch Erving play.

In his high school years, Gan Guoyang’s dunks were simply a "larger-scale" Doctor J, mesmerizing many San Francisco street basketball fans.

Even many years later, the legend of Gan Guoyang’s sudden rise still circulated in the streets of San Francisco, where a yellow-skinned Chinese boy dunked like Erving but could also play like Moses Malone, forming a one-man Philadelphia 76ers team.

After entering the NBA, Gan grew taller, gained weight, and his strength further improved, making his dunks less ethereal than they were in high school.

As a center, he more often grabbed defensive rebounds providing ammo for Vandeweghe and Drexler, and he didn’t have many opportunities for fast-break dunks of his own.

In his limited fast-break opportunities, trying to barge through opponents, he hardly dunked with the elegance of Erving; it was more about aggressive collisions followed by forceful two-handed slams.

But given the chance, Gan Guoyang didn’t mind showcasing his dunking talent to the fans at the Memorial Coliseum.

The second half of the game began, and the 76ers increased their defensive intensity, starting to disrupt the Trail Blazers’ ball handling and passing on the perimeter with pressing defense to gain fast-break opportunities.

This was the secret to the 76ers’ dominance in the Eastern Conference in the early ’80s. The basic process of winning games in the 1983 playoffs was like this: play casually in the first half, ramp up the defense in the second half, and then go on a highly efficient offensive run to finish the game.

In the 1983 Finals against the Lakers, the 76ers swept them 4-0, but in all four games, the 76ers were behind in the first half, by a minimum of 2 points and a maximum of 14 points.

In the end, without exception, they all managed to come from behind to win, including Game 4 in Los Angeles, where they were 11 points down to the Lakers at the end of the third quarter. Using their strong defensive pressure in the fourth quarter, along with Moses Malone’s dominant offensive rebounding and inside scoring, they hammered the Lakers with a 33:11 run, successfully turning the game around once again, and incidentally, completed the sweep on the Lakers’ own floor at The Forum.

This method of winning the championship could be said to be utterly crushing, thoroughly avenging their Finals losses in 1980 and 1982, and leaving the rest of the League powerless to respond.

At the time, the 76ers averaged 11 steals per game in the Finals, especially in the second half, the Lakers were unable to execute a smooth offense and frequently turned the ball over for fast-break counters.

By 1985, the 76ers were still using this strategy to defeat opponents, but its effectiveness gradually declined with Erving’s aging, as he was no longer able to provide the ultra-high success rate in fast breaks.

Sometimes he had to slow down and pass the ball back to his teammates for a reset into a half-court offense, which prevented their pressuring defense from quickly converting into points, giving their opponents a chance to catch their breath.

After acquiring Gan Guoyang, the Trail Blazers had the best transition defense in the League, and when Gan didn’t go for offensive rebounds, he was the fastest retreating center in the League.

Moreover, facing the 76ers’ pressing and trapping defense, the Trail Blazers executed extensive strong-side and weak-side ball transfers, which were rare in Ramsay’s previous teams.

Ramsay was a traditional coach who preferred safe vertical and short passes, as lateral and long passes are easily intercepted and turned into quick counterattacks by the opponent.

But when you have a strong pivot on the court, how to create space and tactics for the off-ball side became the biggest issue Ramsay had contemplated recently.

Moving the ball from the strong side to the weak side was becoming a necessary part of the Trail Blazers’ regular training and game strategy.

During the third quarter, the 76ers went all out on defense, but the score difference remained largely unchanged.

They managed only two steals which led to one fast-break point, and the rest was nullified by the Trail Blazers’ good passing and quick transition defense.

Billy Cunningham couldn’t believe this was Dr. Jack’s team, whose style was undergoing a change from the past.

Moreover, as a center, Gan Guoyang could do an astonishing amount on both ends of the floor.

His pick-and-roll screens, his responses when guards were trapped, his threat from the mid-to-long-range at the top of the arc all significantly diminished the force of the 76ers’ aggressive defense, tasks that Gan had been doing since high school.

These undertakings might not show up in the stat sheet, but they played an unequivocally crucial role in the team’s offense, turning the Trail Blazers into a team like having three guards on the court—how could you still press and trap effectively?

Cunningham decided during the timeout in the third quarter to give up the pressing defense and stick with ordinary defensive tactics, reminding Moses Malone to try and get that kid off the court.

And the always self-confident, powerful, and enduring Moses Malone actually said, "How am I supposed to send him off? Should I elbow him with the other side of my brow bone?"

Malone was a man of few words, with a very thick Southern accent from Virginia. He had been mocked a lot in his youth, and his classic "FoFoFo" was the result of his muddled old Southern drawl.

But Malone wasn’t dumb, on the contrary, he was clever, quick-witted, and his occasional dry humor often made everyone laugh, like when he complained about an expensive hotel bill by saying to the front desk, "I’m here to pay for the room, not to buy the hotel."

From the start of today’s game, Malone had been full of aggression, trying to drag the game into his familiar combat rhythm, and pull Gan Guoyang into the foul quagmire.

But Gan Guoyang handled it extremely well. He had ample physical fitness, strong power, excellent defensive positioning, and was in place under the basket; he defended what needed to be defended and let go when appropriate, playing very wisely.

After playing three quarters, Moses Malone had worked up a sweat without scoring many points, grabbing few rebounds, and Gan Guoyang had committed only a few fouls, which left Malone somewhat discouraged.

Gan Guoyang didn’t score much tonight. He saw through Moses Malone’s intentions, so instead of getting tangled up with him, he stayed on the court helping the team in other ways.

Before the end of the third quarter, Gan Guoyang had already snagged 15 rebounds, including 13 defensive ones, dished out 4 blocks and 2 steals, as well as countless assists, screens, pick-and-rolls, quick defensive hustles, and basket protections.

Upon hearing Malone say this, Cunningham was speechless, and so were the 76ers players. Cunningham simply said, "Or you just go up and punch him."

Malone gave Cunningham a glance, "I still want to play a couple more years, Coach."

Billy Cunningham knew that his time as coach of the 76ers wouldn’t last much longer. A magical, sweet journey was coming to an end.

As the timeout ended and they returned to the court, the 29-year-old Moses Malone looked at number 11, Ah Gan, and for the first time felt he was truly getting old. He was only 29.

Everyone said Gan Guoyang played like him, full of vitality, overwhelmingly boisterous, but tonight’s complete confrontation made Moses Malone feel the huge difference between them.

When Moses Malone couldn’t get the ball or drive to the basket, his help to the team was very limited, whereas Gan Guoyang was different; there was so much he could do.

For example... steals!

Just as Malone was about to take the ball in the low post, Gan Guoyang, who was defending from behind, suddenly cut in front and intercepted Cheeks’ pass.

Drexler ignited, receiving Gan Guoyang’s pass for the fast break, while Bobby Jones and Dr. Irving both hurried back in defense chasing after Drexler.

The usual fast-break, head-down charging Drexler heard Gan Guoyang shouting from behind, "Watch out for the back!"

Drexler noticed the chase-down and saw Gan Guoyang sprinting along on the left side. Drexler found the right moment to pass the ball to Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang caught the ball with one hand and, after a dribble, had already penetrated below the free-throw line, smoothly tucking the ball between his forearm and wrist.

The basketball and Gan Guoyang’s arm became one.

He ran waving his arms as if he wasn’t holding a ball at all.

One beat, two beats, jump.

The right arm that had been swinging behind swung up in a large arc, lifting the ball to its highest point with the soaring Gan Guoyang.

Not far away, Julius Erving felt this posture looked very familiar.

A thunderous windmill dunk!

The ball went in, driving the Memorial Coliseum completely wild.

Bill Schonely didn’t shout "Rip city," instead repeating "Rock the baby, Rock the baby! Sonny Gan, dunking a Rock the baby in front of Dr. Irving! My goodness, what a performance!"

Irving didn’t expect that Gan Guoyang, a center, could catch a fast break and dunk a Rock the baby-style slam dunk; his rhythm and coordination were invincible.

Irving himself laughed, coming forward to fist-bump Gan Guoyang after the successful dunk. Gan Guoyang said, "I told the reporters at halftime that my model isn’t Moses Malone, it’s Dr. Irving! I wasn’t lying."