The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 361 - 95: The Funeral Procession

[In 1982, CBS’s sports programming advertising department was struggling. Not all advertising slots during NBA games were filled. Sometimes, as a Sunday game approached, on Friday afternoons there would be a "fire sale," selling those advertising slots at extremely low prices.]

[A 30-second advertising slot could go for as little as $5,000, and this was CBS, the largest TV station in America, advertising during a live broadcast to a national audience.]

[By 1986, during the first game of the NBA Finals between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Boston Celtics, Sunny Gan’s dunk broke the hoop at the Garden, delaying the game almost 20 minutes.]

[Those 20 minutes became an unplanned advertising slot, and the advertising department of CBS was inundated with calls, eager to snap up the time slot for ads, and the department was unusually busy as the ad prices climbed.]

[Eventually, CBS even hoped that the hoop replacement would take longer because the bidding price for a 30-second slot had reached $500,000.]

[Know that during the 1987 Super Bowl broadcast by CBS, a 30-second commercial slot cost $600,000, a price the NBA Finals ads had never reached in the 1980s.]

[According to Nielsen Company statistics, after the game resumed following Gan breaking the hoop, TV ratings soared. Many switched to the CBS sports channel to watch the live repair of the basket at the Boston Garden and the replays of the hoop’s collapse.]

[From around that time, Gan gradually became a cultural phenomenon in America, not just a foreigner playing basketball there. His identity, nationality, and skin color ceased to matter; he began to blur and rise as a symbol.]

[After the end of the Cold War, with the world’s political landscape changing and a new wave of political and cultural trends arriving in America, there would never again be another Ah Gan, just as there would never be another Michael Jackson.]

[Of course, 1986 was just the beginning.]

————Published in 2000, excerpt from "Playing for Keeps: Sunny Gump and The World He Made" by David Halberstam.

[Gan Guoyang did not realize his dunk breaking the hoop caused a surge in CBS’s ratings. People all over the world love a spectacle; basketball is just a hobby, but watching the excitement is an instinct.]

[The players of both teams were forced to sit on the sidelines to rest, completely disrupting the flow of the game. No one knew what would happen when it resumed after the break.]

[Players donned their warm-up jackets, sat at the side drinking water, and discussed tactics. The fans in the Garden Arena had nothing to do, as there was no entertainment other than basketball.]

[There were no cheerleaders warming up the crowd, no prize draws, and no mascots cheering everyone up. The only thing they could watch was the staff repairing the hoop.]

[The logistics department urgently brought a new backboard from the storeroom. Because the passages in the Boston Garden were too narrow for large machinery, everything had to be moved and installed manually.]

[Workers carried the new backboard to the court, set up pulleys and ropes, and gradually installed the new board onto the frame, then wired up the timer and repaired or replaced any damaged parts.]

[After 20 minutes, the hoop was finally fixed, and the game could continue.]

[The audience erupted into warm applause as CBS reluctantly ended its golden advertising period.]

[The players returned to the court, their sweat already dried. The intensely fierce confrontation had been interrupted, and both teams seemed to revert to the first quarter.]

[Larry Bird attempted a long-distance shot that didn’t go in, with Gan Guoyang grabbing the rebound.]

[Vandeweghe’s dribble-jump shot from the wing also missed.]

[The players’ shooting touch had suddenly cooled down, and their offense kept hitting iron.]

["Sonny has messed up both sides’ momentum with that dunk; I don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing,"]

[Adelman said to Jack Ramsey with some concern on the bench.]

[Ramsey, expressionless, said, "I’d like to believe that whatever he does, it’s planned. Besides, the third quarter is about to start."]

[The second quarter ended quickly, with both teams playing dreadfully in the latter part. Numerous shots from outside and even under the basket were missed.]

[The Trail Blazers had been 8 points behind the Celtics, but they used this interruption to narrow the gap to 4 points, 46:50 as both teams went into halftime.]

[In the Trail Blazers’ locker room, Jack Ramsey criticized the players for their carelessness in the game, wasting many opportunities that should have resulted in points.]

[The Trail Blazers hadn’t yet freed themselves from the habits formed in the games against the Rockets. The seven-game battle left deep impressions on them.]

[Ramsey also criticized himself, "My rotation has some issues; I subbed Bill in too early. You rest during the third quarter, and then come on in the fourth."]

[Dr. Jack likewise felt the impact from the games against the Rockets, not yet adapting to a new routine with Walton. He needed to rectify this.]

[The first game carried a lot of exploratory plays. Later on, both teams made significant changes in tactics and substitutions.]

[Gan Guoyang scored 13 points in the first half, along with 8 rebounds and 7 blocks, single-handedly guarding the Trail Blazers’ basket firmly.]

[The Celtics’ 50 points were their lowest halftime score during the playoffs. Their game rhythm was thrown into chaos by Guoyang.]

[In the Celtics’ locker room, Bird was furious with his teammates over their first-half performance.]

[Kevin McHale nearly got shut down by Mychal Thompson. They completely failed to leverage their speed advantage.]

[A lot of missed shots, many failed offensive rebounds, they were dragged into the mire by the Trail Blazers.]

[KC Jones agreed with Bird but added, "We’re still leading, and we did well defensively."]

["Offense, we need offense, we need speed! That’s our lifeblood, you know that, KC."]

[Bird was acutely aware of the team’s lifeline. The first-half game pace had drifted somewhat out of the Celtics’ control.]

[Leading was only temporary; if the team’s defense collapsed at any point in the third quarter, or if the Trail Blazers found their offensive rhythm, the 5-point lead could vanish in an instant.]

["We definitely need to pick up the pace, lessen our passing, increase attacks on the basket. We need to play more aggressively!" Jones demanded increased aggression.]

[Their first-half passing was excessive; they played too cautiously, missing some opportunities.]

[This was the Celtics’ habit of team basketball, but tonight the Trail Blazers were handling it well, making the Celtics struggle.]

Especially Gan Guoyang’s defense in the paint caused the Celtics’ counter-attacks and easy baskets in the post to fail repeatedly, costing them at least 8 points.

If they had those 8 points, the situation on the court would be vastly different.

"Larry, Kevin, Robert, we have the best frontcourt in the entire NBA, yet we’re being stopped by a sophomore, a 6-foot-10 guy from scoring inside! I’m paying you guys such high salaries for nothing! Each and every one of you is overrated!"

The speaker was Auerbach, who came to the locker room at halftime to investigate. He ranted at the players, and the Celtics’ locker room fell silent.

Since he retired from coaching, he seldom interfered with coaching and locker room affairs. K.C. Jones was his trusted former subordinate.

But tonight, it was evident that Auerbach was somewhat anxious; even though they were leading in score, the team wasn’t displaying their true style.

"I’ll tell you that the contract salary you’re giving isn’t wasted. In fact, you’re getting quite the bargain."

Just before returning to the court, Bird said to Auerbach, and then he jogged back through the tunnel to the court as the third quarter began.

The third quarter has always been a crucial period for determining victory or defeat. The probing of the first half is over, and the decisive final quarter has not yet arrived.

The third quarter often serves as a summary and resolution of first-half issues, as well as a stage-setting for the final phase of the fourth quarter.

Do this stage-setting well, and it can set the tone for the game, securing the victory; otherwise, a collapse could mean that it’s too late to catch up by the fourth quarter.

Bird was very adept at exerting himself in the third quarter, increasing his scoring, assists, and concentration to another level during this period.

And according to statistics, Gan Guoyang’s regular-season third-quarter scoring was ranked first in the league, by a clear margin.

He averaged 33 points per game, with over half of them coming in the third quarter, truly earning him the title of "King of the Third Quarter."

The contest between the two in the third quarter officially began.

Bird’s approach to dealing with Guoyang was not just about handling the ball offensively and challenging the paint.

First, he started on defense, frequently appearing in the paint and at the top of the key, getting involved in double-teaming Guoyang.

On offense, Bird posted up Vandeweghe, launching consecutive turnaround jumpers and fadeaway shots.

Bird scored 6 consecutive points, while the Trail Blazers struggled with the Celtics’ double-teaming of Guoyang, and their outside shots after passing the ball failed to hit the mark.

In just 3 short minutes, the score gap widened from 4 to 10 points, putting the Trail Blazers at a disadvantage.

Ramsay quickly called a timeout for personnel adjustment, replacing the defensively average and cold-shooting Vandeweghe with the rookie Jerome Kossie.

This was a critical substitution. Ramsay didn’t use veteran Kenny-Carl because he knew Carl couldn’t stop Bird either.

Kossie’s advantage was his outstanding physical fitness and abundant energy, and he always managed to trouble Bird when he came on.

Then, Guoyang broke through the Celtics’ double team with a spin move, catching Drexler’s lob pass and scoring over the helping McHale with a high-arching shot.

In defense, Kossie kept pestering Bird, Dennis Johnson’s forceful outside shot missed, and Guoyang grabbed the defensive rebound to initiate a fast break.

In the fast break, Guoyang cut to the offense through movement, received a pass from Drexler, and scored with a clever right-hand hook shot.

Bird sank a three-pointer, and immediately Guoyang answered with a three-pointer of his own.

Bird passed to Parrish, who scored a high-arc close-range shot.

Guoyang snagged an offensive rebound, muscled past Parrish, and scored with a left-handed hook shot.

Bird’s layup attempt was blocked by Kossie, and in the counterattack, Guoyang charged down the middle, received the ball, and scored with an effortless layup.

He certainly didn’t want to break another hoop.

In the middle, Bird cleverly passed the ball to Danny Ainge, who scored with a layup.

Guoyang shone even brighter in the third quarter, but Bird did an even better job leading the team.

The Celtics maintained a lead of more than 5 points throughout.

And as the final four minutes of the third quarter approached, the Trail Blazers made a substitution.

Jones came onto the court, and Guoyang wondered if this meant he was going to rest, or would it be Thompson?

Guoyang usually didn’t play with Jones, who, as the fourth option for the interior, didn’t get much play time.

So, it should be me resting for a while, what is the old man thinking, the third quarter isn’t over yet.

But after Jones came on, he pointed at Jerome Kossie, signaling him to come off.

Guoyang remained on the floor, and Jones said to him, "Jack told you to go one-on-one with Bird; I’ll handle the inside, and Larry is yours to deal with."

"Fuck, the old man really isn’t that kind-hearted. Bird’s on me, that’s good news."

The Trail Blazers resorted to playing big, moving Guoyang to the small forward position, their ace in the hole against the Celtics.

Using their best, biggest, and strongest defender to take on your keystone player.

Bird had long anticipated this and said to the approaching Guoyang, "Did Jack send you to your doom?"

Guoyang laughed and replied, "No, I’m here to bury you."