The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 421 - 39 The Dawn of Idols

Jordan was indeed different from any other guard in the League, and the defense against him naturally differed as well.

One-on-one defense wasn’t very effective, and double-teaming him didn’t necessarily produce better results either.

Because double-teaming would inevitably leave openings, giving Jordan’s teammates chances, and Jordan’s passing was not bad at all.

Especially tonight, with heightened concentration, Jordan always managed to accurately pass the ball to teammates who were open.

Just like dealing with Gan Guoyang, it was necessary to surround him with three players or use some unconventional methods, such as illegal defense to double-team him early, in order to disrupt Jordan’s offensive rhythm and achieve a relatively good effect.

Gan Guoyang was an inside player; sometimes his offensive drives required his teammates to feed him the ball, while Jordan could bring the ball up from the backcourt by himself, making the defense against him even more challenging.

Starting from the second quarter, the Trail Blazers adopted a strategy where Terry Porter would guard Jordan full-court, with Drexler or Jerome Kossie ready to double-team him, and Gan Guoyang acting as the last line of defense.

This strategy was based on a special version of defense traps against Jordan from the previous season. Jack Ramsay did not want to let Jordan continue scoring unrestrainedly in the Christmas game.

Jordan’s offensive momentum was temporarily contained; once he started to push forward with the ball from the backcourt, there was always someone in front of him. Upon entering inside the three-point line, Kossie or Drexler would close in to surround him.

Jordan would choose to pass or seize the gaps to attack directly with speed and skill, but when Gan Guoyang came over to help, Jordan’s several attempts to attack the basket were unsuccessful.

In the 1986-1987 season, Jordan’s offensive firepower was naturally strong, but his attack techniques were not yet fully matured, especially his mid-to-long-range shooting, which had not reached the level of being effortless.

Facing the Trail Blazers’ multi-layered defense, and weakened by the two front defensive lines, when finally facing Ah Gan, he already seemed to be at the end of his rope.

Moreover, Gan Guoyang’s basket defense skills were even better than before, forcing Jordan to evade blocks with some highly difficult maneuvers.

The movements were all very gorgeous, but the ball was just a bit off, failing to hit the mark, and was grabbed by Gan Guoyang.

The Trail Blazers did not opt for a fast break, playing a methodical half-court game just like the Bulls. This was when Gan Guoyang’s advantage as an inside player came into play.

Isolating for a clear one-on-one, squeezing inside from a low post position after getting the ball, dribbling to under the basket, turning around and easily scoring—it was as simple as drinking water. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Jordan thought, if you go one-on-one, I’ll do the same. So the Bulls also opened up the floor, giving Jordan the chance for a one-on-one on the strong side.

But then the Trail Blazers acted somewhat dishonorably; Kossie still double-teamed Jordan, even at the risk of completely leaving his own man unguarded.

Jordan naturally passed the ball to his teammate. Gene Banks caught the ball and drove to the basket, but his layup was blocked by Gan Guoyang, who had followed up from behind. Charles Oakley followed up, trying to score on the rebound, only to have his shot emphatically blocked again by Gan Guoyang, who then firmly secured the ball.

Gan Guoyang defended a two-on-one under the basket, leaving the Bulls in a very sorry state.

Then under the basket, Gan Guoyang continued to call for the ball in the low post. This time, Jordan couldn’t hold back and went over to double-team.

Gan Guoyang passed the ball to Drexler, who cut inside. Drexler caught the ball, took flight, and easily dunked the ball!

There was indeed a big gap between the teammates of the two players, unlike the earlier game where both sides scored 50 points.

In that game, the Trail Blazers were tired from an away game, and at least Jordan had Ulrich as a helping hand, while the overall strength of the Trail Blazers was not as formidable as it was today.

In today’s Christmas game, it was a case of one side’s loss being the other’s gain. The Trail Blazers were the defending champions, while the Bulls, aside from Jordan, had slid in strength from 1985.

Gan Guoyang said to Jordan, "Go back and have Klaus get you some decent teammates."

These words greatly irritated Jordan, who always got angry at the mention of Klaus.

All summer long, they were hoarding draft picks, trading away players with strength.

Frankly, Klaus didn’t trust Jordan. He believed that even with strong players added at this time, the Bulls wouldn’t achieve much success.

So he simply hoarded draft picks, opting for young players, preparing for the future.

In Klaus’s view, the best thing for the Bulls this year would be to tank and secure a lottery draft pick, to draw a high pick.

As a result, the Bulls held several first-round picks in the 1987 draft, paving the way for Krause to flex his drafting skills and select talent.

But Jordan wouldn’t say it aloud—deep down, he didn’t want Krause to have his way. He wanted to win the championship in Ah Gan’s second season—why should anyone doubt his strength?

That’s why Jordan was so relentless on offense this year. If his teammates weren’t up to par and couldn’t score, then he would take it upon himself to make up for their lack of talent.

Stimulated by Gan Guoyang, Jordan continued to assault the basket. This time, he didn’t directly challenge Guoyang with the ball but used his off-ball movement to shake off the defense before launching his attack after receiving the pass.

This was one of the most valuable assets he acquired from his three years playing in North Carolina—his off-ball movement, which made him even more unpredictable on the offensive end.

Once he received a pass from a teammate, he would cut to near the three-second area, then leap high, throwing himself into the air before shooting the ball towards the basket.

Using such off-ball techniques, Jordan scored once again, and immediately stole the ball from Porter on defense and countered with a layup.

Jordan’s competitiveness also ignited Guoyang’s bloodthirsty desire; he no longer held back the pace and started signaling Porter to speed up the attack.

His post moves became faster as well; he would instantly go on the offensive upon receiving the ball, with Charles Oakley looking virtually non-existent in front of him.

Cutting to the front was futile, Porter and Drexler would lob the ball under the basket, and Guoyang would leap for an airborne, two-handed slam dunk!

The game quickly turned into a duel between the two players, with the pace getting faster and the scores alternating rises, while the other teammates gradually fell into supporting roles.

The Trail Blazers maintained a lead of about 5 points and were gradually extending it because Guoyang’s low post offense was more efficient than Jordan’s.

On Collins’ side, they really had no effective strategy; they truly had no one that could stop Gan Guoyang in the paint.

In contrast, the Trail Blazers had a wealth of defensive resources to deal with Jordan, making it increasingly difficult for him to play.

In the final stages of the second quarter, Jordan was trapped with the ball and his forced shot was blocked by Guoyang.

Then the Trail Blazers counterattacked; Guoyang made a long pass to the frontcourt, and Drexler quickly broke through, taking off with his head down and dunking the ball.

The score reached 42:49, with the Trail Blazers pulling the lead to 7 points—the difference in the overall strength of the two sides was indeed significant.

The TV cameras kept switching between Jordan and Guoyang. Jordan was pulling at his shorts, underneath which he wore North Carolina inner lining shorts.

Gan Guoyang stood with his hands on his hips next to Jordan, who was also wearing inner lining shorts. Not just him—but Drexler and Porter had likewise followed suit.

Now, the league’s young players were all emulating these two, sporting shorts that were looser and slightly longer than the past’s tight-fitting shorts.

Many people had started chewing gum, with Gan Guoyang now an endorser for Wrigley’s gum, often chewing through four or five pieces per game.

Kids on the street played basketball, imitating Jordan sticking out his tongue, a habit he had when driving to the basket, seemingly unafraid of biting his tongue.

When Guoyang scored critical shots, he would pretend to dust or blow off non-existent dust from his arm, a gesture copied by many young people.

Some emulated Jordan wearing chains on the court, others copied Gan Guoyang’s cool-looking avia arm sleeves. Some practiced Jordan’s mid-air hand switch, others learned Guoyang’s move hook.

Thanks to live TV broadcasts, the two players’ influence among the youth grew ever more substantial, marking the golden age of sports media, the dawn of idols.

In the Bulls’ last offense of the first half, Guoyang directly took on Jordan one-on-one on the perimeter, instructing Porter and Drexler to clear out.

The entire audience stood up, applauding and cheering; it was a duel between Knights. Guoyang lowered his stance and said to Jordan, "You won’t pass the ball, will you, Michael?"

Jordan gave a disdainful smile, looked up at the timer, lowered his head, bent over, increased the pace of his dribbling, and with his tongue out, he accelerated and drove past!

The sharpest spear lunged fiercely at the sturdiest shield.