The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 408 - 27: King of Singles

The Trail Blazers’ "new style" of play quickly stirred up a whirlwind in the third week.

The defending champions, who had performed poorly in the first two weeks, gradually found their rhythm.

Without Bill Walton, they simplified their overly complicated frontcourt passing and movement tactics.

Starting with a large number of low post isolations by Gan Guoyang to create space, they quickly gained the upper hand in the games.

Once the advantage was established, the Trail Blazers’ offensive command would shift to the outside, with Porter and Drexler becoming the initiators of the offense.

Gan Guoyang’s quality screens, along with Vandeweghe’s perimeter hovering, made the Trail Blazers’ offense simple yet multi-dimensional.

When the game reached its most intense stage of confrontation, Gan Guoyang would step up to dominate the game with strong low post play.

Although every game had different circumstances, problems with fouls, turnovers, and shooting inaccuracies.

But currently, the Trail Blazers were adopting this approach as a whole, and once the strategy became clear, the regular season matchups became much simpler.

On the other hand, in the Eastern Conference, the Chicago Bulls, with Michael Jordan, were implementing similar tactics.

Although the Bulls’ new coach Collins did not let Jordan play as many one-on-ones, when it came to crunch time, the Bulls just gave the ball to Jordan.

Jordan, who had been frustrated throughout the 85-86 season, completely unleashed his offensive firepower in the new season. His presence on the offensive end was extremely high, and scoring came as easily as drinking water.

Therefore, from November to December 1986, fans were surprised to find that every day when they turned on the TV to watch sports news, or opened the newspaper to the sports page, they saw a "Ah Gan vs Jordan" scoring battle.

November 23, Chicago Bulls 107:109 Denver Nuggets, Michael Jordan scored 37 points.

November 25, Portland Trail Blazers 115:109 Washington Bullets, Gan Guoyang scored 44 points.

November 26, Cleveland Cavaliers 98:105 Portland Trail Blazers, Gan Guoyang scored 38 points.

November 28, Chicago Bulls 103:110 Los Angeles Lakers, Jordan scored 41 points.

November 28, Portland Trail Blazers 114:112 Philadelphia 76ers, Gan Guoyang scored 40 points.

...

At first, people still paid attention to the outcomes of the matches; the Bulls lost more, while the Trail Blazers won more.

Gradually, many people no longer cared about winning or losing, they just wanted to see how many points Jordan and Gan Guoyang had scored.

Jordan started from November 29 to December 12, scoring respectively 40 points, 40 points, 45 points, 43 points, 43 points, 40 points, 41 points, 41 points in individual games.

Considering also the 41 points on November 28, Jordan had nine consecutive games scoring 40 points, creating a scoring feast.

As for Gan Guoyang, starting from November 28 to the victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on December 12, he scored respectively 41 points, 40 points, 39 points, 38 points, 42 points, 48 points, 33 points, 35 points, 46 points.

Although Gan Guoyang did not have a record of consecutive 40-point games, with some gaps in between, his higher scores demonstrated his strong scoring explosiveness.

In fact, in terms of scoring outbursts, an inside player like Gan Guoyang is not as good as an outside player like Jordan, but the Trail Blazers’ almost stubborn reliance on one-on-four play ensured the continuity of Gan Guoyang’s scoring and made it too difficult for the opponents to defend against him.

Moreover, Gan Guoyang almost played around 44 minutes in each game, with only two brief breaks per game.

As fans and media worried about whether Gan Guoyang would overextend himself physically, he instead stated, "Confrontation and isolation do not consume much energy for me, I can play even more."

Gan Guoyang was an endurance freak in high school and college, and with his exceptional self-discipline, his daily training regimen kept him in excellent physical condition.

This year, his third in his professional career, he was entering his prime.

On the court, Gan Guoyang could feel the game pace slowing down even further.

In the 1984-1985 season, game scores often reached around 120 points.

This year, high scores generally fell between 115-120 points, with low scores below 110 points.

Games with scores under 100 points increased gradually, indicating that the entire league was slowly shifting towards a slower pace and stronger defense.

Actually, a slow pace and high physicality have relatively lower energy consumption because players get chances to catch their breath.

Fast-paced, high-transition games require more physical stamina, which is why ice hockey has such frequent line changes. The pace of attack and defense in hockey is the highest among all ball sports, and they don’t even pause when switching players.

Moreover, Gan Guoyang was extremely strong, with a solid frame, his bones seemingly composed of muscles. When he demanded the ball in the low post and squatted down, the average center, trying to push or squeeze him, couldn’t budge him at all.

Once he received the ball and nudged inside, with a bit of space, scoring with a casual layup seemed as effortless as practice, barely breaking a sweat.

So, just like Bobby Berman said, "Letting Ah Gan go one-on-one is essentially giving him a rest."

No team was prepared for such a brutally simple offense, and no one had stockpiled strong, defensively oriented big men for low post defense.

During November and December, Gan Guoyang and the Trail Blazers swept through the competition, stringing together an eight-game winning streak, trailing only the Lakers in the Western Conference standings.

Gan Guoyang began a scoring duel with Jordan on the leaderboard, with Jordan averaging 39 points in November and December, while Gan, hindered by a few early games, averaged 38 points.

This unparalleled scoring battle garnered intense attention from fans all across America; with one playing inside and the other out, they showcased exceptional offensive skills.

Jordan was leagues ahead of his opponents in speed, jumping ability, and explosiveness. Only after defenders fell away would he release his shot in mid-air, racking up countless points this way.

Meanwhile, Gan Guoyang overpowered his opponents with sheer strength, needing little finesse to easily penetrate the defense and score inside.

Additionally, he could screen for teammates, then shoot after a pick-and-roll, contributing more on both offense and defense, leading the Trail Blazers to continuous victories.

In contrast, the Bulls’ record was far poorer, with the team often losing more than winning in high-scoring games from Jordan.

On the other hand, this all-out scoring method sparked considerable controversy in the basketball community.

Many commentators believed, "This is not how basketball should be played."

Especially when the Trail Blazers and Bulls frequently employed a strategy in which one person held the ball on the strong side for an isolation play while four others simply watched with hands on their hips, turning what should be a team confrontation into a one-on-one showdown on the court, violating the basic aesthetics of basketball.

This issue, increasingly debated, eventually landed on the desk of NBA Commissioner David Stern, and the League might consider changing the rules to limit such persistent gameplay.

David Stern’s focus this year remained steadfast on banning drugs.

The cases of Michael Ray Richardson and John Drew were right in front of him, but David Stern knew that setting an example to warn others wasn’t having enough impact in the current NBA.

These black players were just too accustomed to their libertine ways; merely banning two individuals and witnessing a rookie die from drug use still wasn’t enough to serve as a real warning.

Many within the League were still using banned substances, thinking Stern’s toughness was merely temporary, put on for show.

They believed that once the heat died down, everyone would resume their usual ways, after all, America is a free country. What I do off the court is my own business and doesn’t affect my performance on the court.

At the time, that’s what most players thought, completely unaware that Stern was not just tough but also very shrewd.

He had close collaborations with the FBI and had planted his security secret agents all over the country to investigate the players’ actions.

As soon as they got any information, the League would turn over the evidence to the New York Police Department, which would enforce drug testing via police jurisdiction, catching those trying to slip through the cracks.

In December, David Stern received news that John Drew, previously suspended, had bought cocaine from an undercover secret agent, and got arrested in Atlanta.

He sighed, finding it incredibly difficult to reform these addicts. The best solution was to expel them from the League.

Therefore, when Stern saw Jordan and Gan Guoyang criticized by many commentators for their one-on-one play, he actually felt it wasn’t a big deal.

It wasn’t just not a problem; it was a good thing. With just these two individuals, the NBA was stirring up a new wave of public discourse.

Previously, Bird vs Magic was a clash between two team-oriented stars. Now Gan vs Jordan represented a face-off between two isolation stars.

This topic was full of appeal, and to Stern, it seemed like a godsend business opportunity.

However, as the NBA Commissioner, he still had to put on a show of propriety.

During a meeting, Stern discussed the issue, then stated,

"Each year, we revise and fine-tune the rules to ensure the fairness and appeal of the game. However, the rules are set during the off-season, providing teams and players ample time to understand and adapt. Since the season is ongoing, we can’t change the rules on a whim; we’ll have to wait until the season ends to address it."

No one raised any objections. In just two short seasons, Stern had gone from a small, smiling Jewish lawyer to a dictator-like Commissioner wielding substantial power and with FBI agents under his command, having eliminated other dissenters.

This man was the real ’King of Singles’.