The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 250 - 133 Still Not Enough

Gan Guoyang’s opening three-pointer didn’t alert the Nuggets players and fans to the looming danger.

For a team like the Nuggets, it didn’t matter how many points the opponent scored, as long as they scored even more.

Fatt Lev, after coming to the Denver Nuggets from the Portland Trail Blazers, deeply felt and was immersed in this team culture.

He, Natt, and Cooper had worked together for two years with the Trail Blazers, executing their roles meticulously within Jack Ramsay’s system.

was the best year for the Trail Blazers after the Walton controversy, with a regular-season record of 48 wins, second in the Western Conference, and a robust lineup with one or two strong players in every position.

Although they lacked an absolute core player, under Jack Ramsay’s tactical system, they each played their roles, producing the sixth-highest average scores in the league and a medium-level defensive scoring, making them a well-balanced and formidable team.

However, despite leading the Phoenix Suns 4:2 in the regular season, they were upset in the playoffs, overturning nearly three years’ worth of rebuilding efforts by the Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers management believed they needed an outside star, and with a trade that got them the second overall pick from the Pacers, they decided to break the existing framework and rebuild.

Thus, Lev and his two teammates arrived at the Nuggets, entering a completely different basketball world.

Here, they could shoot from the outside whenever they wanted, even if a defender was in front, as long as there was the slightest gap and opportunity.

They only practiced for one hour every day, without the need to run and remember any tactical plays, just to follow some basic tactical principles.

No one had specific roles anymore; they had to do everything they were good at: everyone had to shoot, grab rebounds, and make assists.

The only thing that remained the same from their time with the Trail Blazers was Coach Doug Moe’s shouting from the sidelines, which was even more intense than Jack Ramsay’s.

All the Nuggets players feared Doug Moe’s yelling and cursing; his temper was as unpredictable as his offensive system.

This might have been a key factor for his success: Once, a coach from the Suns wanted to emulate Moe’s system, but led the team to abysmal results and had to revert to conventional play because he couldn’t go wild with the players like Moe, keeping them on a tight leash to fulfill his demands.

Only a madman could implement such crazy tactics and ideas.

At this moment, the game had just begun, and Doug Moe had not yet gone mad.

To him, Gan Guoyang’s three-pointer was merely an accident, and he just shouted at Lev, "Faster, faster!"

Lev was the only Point Guard for the Nuggets, which was the madness of Doug Moe: a team that revolved around passing and offense, yet had only one point guard.

Moreover, Moe often complained that Lev was not fast enough. With the Trail Blazers, Lev often felt he was too fast, risking disruption of Ramsay’s tactical formations, and had to slow down a bit.

With the Nuggets, he had to be faster, even faster; not only in running speed but also in passing and shooting speed.

He received the ball from the backcourt and quickly initiated the offense, passing to English and cutting to the left, starting the Nuggets’ round-the-clock offense.

After a series of passes, fast and crisp, Lev received the ball on the right and scored with a jump shot, two points, everything looked normal.

Lev backpedaled on defense, and barely 5 seconds later, before he could tangle with Valentine to position himself, Valentine passed the ball to Gan Guoyang at the 45-degree mark.

Gan Guoyang caught the ball, faked a move, drove left to the baseline, and with a rare left-handed moon hook, completely unchallenged by Cooper, he scored.

Lev once again initiated the offense after taking the ball, English tried a shot but missed, and Thompson grabbed the rebound for the Trail Blazers, who counter-attacked with exceptional speed.

Vandeweghe charged to the frontcourt, drove in with his left hand, his layup disrupted by Calvin Natt’s interference and missed, but Gan Guoyang followed up with a put-back, 7:2.

A slight unease crept up, knowing that this did not resemble Ramsay’s style, nor the style of Ah Gan in the previous three games—he had been good at protecting the backcourt rebounds and not so fiercely fast in transitioning forward.

Doug Moe wasn’t concerned, still yelling from the sideline, "Faster!"

In his first year with the Nuggets, Lev still hadn’t completely shaken off the tactical thinking of the Trail Blazers.

After all, he had played under Ramsay since his rookie year, and the influence of a first coach is always profound.

Moreover, Ramsay was an esteemed coach, and many of his directives were correct and beneficial, shaping Lev’s play.

With Ramsay, he felt too aggressive; with Doug Moe, he felt too conservative.

So, in his first season with the Nuggets, Lev often swung between aggression and caution.

At this moment, Lev felt maybe it was wise to settle down since Ah Gan was unusually dominant from the start tonight.

Even Doug Moe should call a timeout; this wasn’t normal, and he should know how terrifying Ah Gan can be.

That game with 44 points and 33 rebounds was a painful memory for all Nuggets players for some time.

But Doug Moe showed no signs of pausing the game, and Lev could only continue to speed up, pass, and position himself.

Under the basket, Cooper had a chance, the man to the ball, but Gan Guoyang blocked Cooper’s layup from behind.

The ball was slapped against the board and bounced out; Gan Guoyang seized it, running past the halfway line without passing.

Lev stood in his path ready to steal the ball, reaching out, but Gan Guoyang dodged with a behind-the-back dribble.

Leaf completely missed his block and then turned to see Ah Gan charging into the paint like a truck — no one could stop him now.

He leaped, grabbed the ball with one hand, and dunked in a Statue of Liberty style, while the sturdy Calvin Natt was knocked away like a tricycle.

The referee blew the whistle, calling Natt for a blocking foul. Gan Guoyang stepped up to the free-throw line and made the extra shot, 10:2, the Trail Blazers had taken an 8-point lead in just two minutes.

Gan Guoyang scored 10 points straight from the start, leaving the entire Memorial Coliseum in a daze; something seemed amiss with the script of the game’s opening.

Doug Moe finally couldn’t sit still any longer and called a timeout. Sweat began to bead on his forehead, his body felt hot, and he loosened his tie before telling his players, "Offense, where’s your offense? Shoot the ball into the basket! No worries, an 8-point difference, score one in 15 seconds, and we’ll catch up in a minute! Fatt, you need to be faster, even faster! Aim to score one in 10 seconds, and we can catch up in half a minute!"

No one cared much about the coach’s peculiar time calculations. They knew Doug Moe was reminding everyone to quicken the pace and score more points.

During the timeout, Doug Moe was relatively good-natured; he didn’t start cursing or making sarcastic comments. His emotions were stable.

No one liked to see Doug Moe curse — not because his cursing was vicious or harsh, as almost no coaches in the NBA refrained from cursing, and none could rival Bill Fitch in sarcasm.

People disliked Doug Moe’s outbursts because on a regular basis, Doug was a very friendly and enthusiastic person, exceedingly generous to everyone. He wouldn’t allow any praise of himself, hating compliments, feeling incredibly embarrassed by them; he’d rather be teased, as he felt that was a sign of respect.

This made him different from Bill Fitch, who was consistently intense, never veering from berating people both on and off the court.

So when Doug Moe began to lose it on the court, everyone knew things were going sour; they were playing terribly, and the situation was grim. Even the mild-tempered, friendly Doug was starting to burn.

For Cheche Vandeweghe, perhaps the hardest thing to accept was seeing Doug Moe’s behavior change so drastically. Vandeweghe was a polite, even timid, individual both on and off the court, and Doug Moe’s sudden flip could cast a shadow over someone.

After the timeout, Fatt Leaf tried to stabilize the situation. After two screens, he took the ball himself, driving to the basket, hoping to score from underneath.

But this was undoubtedly a poor choice. Leaf had underestimated Gan Guoyang’s agility and alertness that evening. Like a ravenous wolf, no one could escape his pursuit.

Resting for 36 hours left him exceptionally energetic and powerful; Leaf’s layup was pinned against the backboard with a block, and the ball was once again in his hands.

This time he made a long pass to the frontcourt. Vandeweghe sped up on the left side, bypassing his defender and dunked with his left hand.

Finally, someone from the Trail Blazers scored other than Guoyang.

12:2, the gap had widened to 10 points, and the Nuggets were in trouble.

English scored with a jump shot, breaking the two-minute scoring drought.

But the Trail Blazers, with the lead, played even more relaxed and unrestrained.

Gan Guoyang quickly penetrated the paint, receiving the ball with his back turned and spun swiftly.

A leaning shot was released and scored — it was a lightning-fast move.

Since the start of the game, the Trail Blazers’ offense hadn’t missed once.

Fatt Leaf felt his palms beginning to sweat as he heard Doug Moe’s "hurry" ringing in his ears again.

He sped up crossing half court, passing the ball, cutting, receiving, and passing again; Calvin Natt was open in the corner.

A mid-range shot was taken, and it went in! Leaf could finally relax a bit.

But the Trail Blazers were moving fast too; he had never seen a center run so quickly past half court.

Valentine and Gan Guoyang’s high pick and roll. This time, they had to be cautious of Ah Gan’s top of the key shot.

But Valentine didn’t pass, instead driving down the middle into the paint, and suddenly tossed a backward pass.

It wasn’t a good pass — Guoyang hadn’t shaken off the defense, Cooper was sticking close, and Leaf had a chance to intercept.

But he still caught it and, under the coverage of two players, he managed a difficult shot, a jump shot — smooth and graceful.

The ball’s arc was as silky as satin, dropping steadily into the dead center of the hoop for two more points.

16:6, the lead was still 10 points, and the situation was growing increasingly dire.

Leaf glanced at Coach Doug Moe on the sidelines and noticed that Doug had taken off his suit jacket.

Dressed in what appeared to be pajamas, his shirt untucked and collar loose, with his hair slightly disheveled, it was a sign that the game was descending into chaos.

That’s when Gan Guoyang suddenly leaped out along with Valentine to double-team Leaf, who was caught off guard and the ball was knocked away by Valentine.

Gan Guoyang raced down the court, caught Valentine’s pass, and dunked with both hands effortlessly.

Coach Mo could only call another timeout. As Gan Guoyang passed by the startled Leaf, he said, "I’m playing like this, and you’re still getting distracted?"

"It seems not enough," Gan Guoyang added softly.

A chilling fear that pricked at his nerves all the way down to his tailbone coursed through Leaf’s mind — this wasn’t enough?