The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 373 - 105: I Want to Play_Part 2
The competition between the two sides reached the fifth game, and from a broader perspective, it had become a battle of tempo, with only minor details left.
Gan Guoyang’s exceedingly high shooting percentage in the post and his substantial ball-handling responsibility were the foundations that allowed the Trail Blazers to play at a slow pace.
Otherwise, what’s the use of playing slowly if you can’t score? The lower the shooting percentage, the faster you die if you play slowly.
And the Celtics needed to push for speed, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to harness their full offensive potential.
At the start of the third quarter, McHale called for the ball in the low post, Bird passed it to him, and McHale immediately initiated the attack upon receiving it.
In this respect, he was just like Ah Gan. Neither would dillydally with the ball; they attacked right away.
After turning around, his hook shot was on target. McHale was getting better and better as the night went on.
On the defensive end, Bird tried to front Guoyang, fighting desperately not to let Gan get the ball.
The Trail Blazers moved the ball around the perimeter, giving it to the other side to Walton, who went one-on-one against Parrish, turned, drove strong to the basket, and muscled in a layup past Parrish!
Walton was all in tonight, playing 15 minutes in the first half and at least the same in the second. This was a massive test for his knees and ankles.
The Celtics continued their tactical movement, with Guoyang tangling with Bird on the outside, their physical contest escalating.
Bird found it very difficult to break free, but by holding Guoyang, he could create opportunities inside.
Parrish received the ball, turned, and missed the shot, but McHale was there for the put-back basket— a shot that would have been hard to make if Guoyang had been in the paint.
Gan stepped out for a mid-range shot that didn’t go in, giving the Celtics a precious opportunity for a fast break.
Dennis Johnson orchestrated the counterattack, with Marques leading the charge, taking the ball and driving hard to the basket for a layup, drawing a foul from Drexler.
Both free throws good, the Celtics showed signs of gaining momentum.
Walton immediately went to the high post to direct play, as Guoyang shook off Bird with a backdoor cut.
Walton’s pinpoint pass to under the basket found Gan, who shook McHale and scored with a backhand dunk!
Gan Guoyang and Walton high-fived. The Trail Blazers’ only two MVPs teamed up to break through the Celtics’ defensive line.
Then Mychal Thompson suddenly made a defensive play, intercepting Bird’s pass to McHale.
With the steal, the Trail Blazers went on the counterattack. Gan quickly got to the baseline, received the ball, turned and attacked, drawing a foul from McHale.
The Celtics’ frontcourt was talented, but in terms of talent, the Trail Blazers’ "three towers," two top overall picks and one second overall, were also bursting with potential.
The score was pulled apart again, and this time it was the Celtics who seemed a bit desperate.
Pushing for fast breaks with a backcourt advantage, the Celtics’ Johnsons plus Bird forced the Trail Blazers’ rookies into disarray.
Fighting in set plays with a frontcourt advantage, the Trail Blazers’ "three towers" had solid offense and defense, which the Celtics struggled to withstand.
But they had to hold on even if they couldn’t withstand it. The Trail Blazers’ defense forced Bird to take a solo drive and a forced three-pointer from the outside, which he missed.
Walton fought for the rebound under the basket. With Gan primarily defending Bird, securing rebounds largely depended on Walton.
Gan received the ball in the post, executing a smooth turn-around jump shot, which went in, 55:68, stretching the lead to 13 points.
Then both teams started missing shots on offense. This was what the Trail Blazers wanted to see, as being ahead, the quicker the time passed, the better.
But in the sixth minute of the third quarter, Walton twisted his ankle landing from a rebound challenge and collapsed in pain on the court.
It was the sight Portland fans least wanted to see. Walton, who had maintained his health through the entire season and dedicated himself to every game, fell in what might have been the most important game of the season.
"Oh no, Walton is down, he has twisted his ankle, and Calvin is checking on him, he has to leave the court, and probably won’t be able to continue the game. This is the last thing we want to see," Schonely’s voice trembled, for the Trail Blazers had lost too much due to Walton’s injuries.
No one wanted to see Walton struck down by injury at such a crucial moment.
At this point, the Trail Blazers were leading the Celtics by 12 points, a fairly secure advantage. But with one of the "three towers" compromised, with a quarter and a half to go, it really wasn’t looking good. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
Gan Guoyang was responsible for guarding Bird, leaving the basket under-defended. With McHale in good condition, Walton’s rim protection and rebounding were crucial, something Jones couldn’t match in height and physique.
But after several attempts, it was clear Walton couldn’t move normally. He could only walk to the player’s tunnel, leaning on Calvin, and return to the locker room.
Jones replaced Walton on the court. The Memorial Coliseum, unusually quiet that evening, held its breath for a few minutes as the fans prayed for the giant plagued by injuries.
Helping Walton, Calvin felt as though he had traveled back eight years to the 1978 playoffs. In the first round against the Supersonics, Walton had fallen just like that.
After that fall, Walton never truly stood up again, until this season when he redeemed himself. But was fate still mocking him?
With his head down, limping, Walton’s legs were scarred from dozens of surgeries, but his spirit and soul bore even more scars.
Calvin wanted to say something but found no words that could comfort Walton.
"Calvin, give me a shot later," Walton suddenly said to Calvin.
"What? A shot? What kind of shot?"
"A cortisone shot. After it, I want to go back in."
"No, no, no, we’ve already made one mistake. We can’t make another."
"Yes, you made a mistake before, you can’t make it again. In 1978, you shouldn’t have given me that shot, you were wrong. This time, you should give it to me, so it’s not another mistake."
They arrived at the locker room, and Calvin, dumbfounded, watched Walton and swallowed hard, saying, "Bill, are you sure you want to do this?"
"I’m sure. This is my last chance. Even if I don’t get the shot, could I possibly play 82 games next year? I know my body; I’m barely holding on."
As he spoke, Walton took an envelope wrapped in brown paper out of his sports bag and handed it to Calvin. Calvin received the envelope with surprise, opened it, and saw it was filled with green US dollars.
"Bill, what do you mean by this? Are you paying me to give you the shot? Is this a joke?"
Walton shook his head, "This is what I owe you. I was going to give it to you after the game. Remember the playoff bonus?"
Speaking of the playoff bonus, Calvin recalled the contentious 1978 season that ended their friendship.
Since 1974, Calvin had been servicing the Trail Blazers as a trainer and therapist.
Back then, when Bill Walton had just arrived in Portland as the first overall pick, the two quickly became good friends.
The two young men were full of passion for basketball and life. At that time, Calvin used to debate with Jack Ramsay about whether "loyalty" truly exists in the league.
Ramsay pragmatically said that loyalty in the league was limited and conditional, whereas Calvin believed that the Trail Blazers were different; there was genuine loyalty here.
Because of Walton’s poor physical condition, Calvin spent a lot of time doing physical therapy and post-injury rehabilitation for Walton, to an undeniably meticulous extent.
But in 1978, Walton got injured, the dynasty dream crumbled, and after the series against Seattle ended, the team handed out playoff bonuses to the players.
The pay for team trainers was meager at that time, so each year, the players would give a part of their playoff bonuses to the trainers as a reward for their hard work throughout the season.
However, that time, the players held a vote and decided not to share the bonus with Calvin because many believed Calvin spent too much time on Walton; he was serving Walton, so why should everyone pay?
In the end, Calvin didn’t get the bonus, and then Walton sued the team, as well as the doctors and trainers—including Calvin—their relationship shattered, and Walton left.
In that moment, Calvin’s belief in "loyalty" collapsed, he told Ramsay, "Jack, you were right; there is no real loyalty in the league."
Afterward, Calvin continued to serve the Trail Blazers and the players, but he never got fully involved again and no longer considered himself part of the collective. He was just a paid worker.
He no longer answered calls in the middle of the night to offer medical advice for the health issues of players and their families. Once his shift was over, his duty was done, no longer on call from 5 in the morning till 11 at night.
It was only after Walton returned this season that they hugged and wept at the airport, forgiving each other, that Calvin’s passion for his job was somewhat rekindled.
But the issue of the playoff bonus had never been resolved, Calvin hadn’t forgotten, but he didn’t want to bring it up again, after so many years had passed. He hadn’t expected Walton to remember.
Clutching the envelope with tearful eyes, Calvin watched as Walton patted his shoulder and said, "It’s all in the past, all of it. What’s important is now. Give me the shot, Ron. I’m going in."
