The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 424 - 42 Not So Desperate for You

Gan Guoyang did catch a cold. Despite his strong physique and high resistance, he was not immune to the occasional headache and fever.

After playing bowling and cards with Jordan, Gan Guoyang woke up the next morning feeling a bit under the weather, with symptoms of a cold appearing.

But he didn’t let that stop him from playing. Stuffing his nose, he dragged his slightly achy body to take part in the Christmas Battle.

During the game, he couldn’t feel any discomfort, but once he got home after the game, he developed a high fever.

Wang Fuxi took care of him at home, excused him from the team explaining the situation, and even unplugged the home phone line to prevent any disturbances.

Gan Guoyang was well-connected in Portland and throughout Oregon, having made many friends through various business activities and games.

In an era without cell phones and digital contacts, these friends’ contact information and addresses were recorded on an intricately rotating Rolodex.

Wang Fuxi organized these contacts alphabetically by their names, recording on each card Gan Guoyang’s relationship with the person, how they met, along with some of their habits and characteristics.

Compared to her college days, Wang Fuxi had changed a lot.

In college, she was youthful and beautiful, loved wearing sportswear, and could go out on a date with Gan Guoyang with her hair tied back in a casual ponytail.

She was the epitome of a college girl in love.

Now, she was more like Gan Guoyang’s personal assistant, arranging and managing every aspect of his life.

This included managing Gan Guoyang’s public image, organizing his social activities, and handling some business affairs.

The once casually dressed girl now paid close attention to her attire, always appearing next to Gan Guoyang in the most appropriate image for the occasion.

At home, she was like a steward, taking care of the household and ensuring everything was well-arranged—including preparing nutritious meals for Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang was surprised at how quickly and smoothly she had adapted without encountering a "rookie wall" or anything of the sort.

Wang Fuxi’s answer was simple, "When I decided to be with you, I was mentally prepared for this."

"What if I hadn’t become a star? Like, what if I suffered some career-ending injury and had to retire young, what would you do then?"

"Then I’d go out and work to support you. My major makes it easy to find a job, there are plenty of opportunities in Portland or San Francisco. If that fails, we can go back to Los Angeles. I’ll sell tape recorders, and you can sell fried rice."

Gan Guoyang was amused by Wang Fuxi’s words, thinking to himself if he would really need to sell fried rice.

But then he thought that aside from playing basketball, his best chance of making the most money in America might indeed be selling fried rice or being a chef.

Staying home sick with a cold was a rare opportunity for Gan Guoyang to relax and rest during the season. He didn’t have to get up early for runs, didn’t have to train all day, and could just nestle at home, lying in bed sleeping.

However, Gan Guoyang was not used to this. Without the thrill of sports or the cheers and attention of the games, he felt restless, as if there were bugs biting and ants crawling inside him; nothing felt right.

Although the stuffed nose and fever were painful, he could tolerate the physical discomfort; it was the unease of the mind that made him more anxious. Especially since he had been at home for almost a day without a single phone call?

Gan Guoyang couldn’t help asking Wang Fuxi, "Fosse, why hasn’t anyone called me?"

Wang Fuxi replied, "I unplugged the phone line a long time ago."

"What? You unplugged the phone line! What about the people who care about me? How will they know about my situation?"

"I’ve already spoken to the reporters at the newspaper. I told them you have a severe cold and need rest, and also mentioned that you played the Christmas game despite being ill."

"Then you should have left the phone line connected. Michael, that idiot, would definitely have called..."

As he spoke, Gan Guoyang coughed a few times and collapsed onto the couch. Days without basketball were truly dull.

Gan Guoyang found it dull, and on the other hand, the Trail Blazers were in trouble due to his absence.

On December 27th, in their game against the Suns, they lost 111 to 109, a 2-point deficit on their home court to the Suns.

Then, on December 28th in a back-to-back game against the Supersonics, the Trail Blazers were defeated again with a score of 107 to 103, a 4-point difference, making it two consecutive losses.

This was the Trail Blazers’ first losing streak of the season. Ramsay erupted in the locker room after the game, shouting, "Have you forgotten how to play basketball?"

This was a flaw of having Gan Guoyang as the absolute core: when he was absent, the others really didn’t seem to know how to play.

After all, when Gan Guoyang was present, there were nearly a dozen or twenty plays in every game where the Trail Blazers could do nothing, just stand on the perimeter and watch.

During those times, the Blazers could rest, adjust their state, and recharge for the next offense or defense.

In short, they didn’t have to keep running on taut strings as in past games; they could play in a relaxed manner, and when they encountered a tough opponent, they just had to pass the ball to Ah Gan.

So, it was natural that they wouldn’t know how to play all of a sudden if they lost such a sturdy and reliable "mechanical leg."

While Ramsay was cursing, he also felt a sense of resignation, realizing that he understood less and less about the world of basketball.

In the 1960s, the peak of individual play was Wilt Chamberlain, who in one season averaged 50 points per game.

But he just couldn’t win a championship until 1967, when he started to play like a team player, passing the ball and becoming part of the team, eventually leading to the creation of a great basketball squad.

years later, now, his own team seemed to badly need a strong power forward position player. Of course, Ramsay knew Ah Gan was not Chamberlain; the two were vastly different.

Still, Ramsay couldn’t help feeling melancholic, realizing that the role of a head coach was becoming less like a general and more like a political officer.

Their role wasn’t to devise tactics and strategies, to command battles, but to provide counsel to the players, engage in political work, and offer psychological support.

Of course, there is no such position as political commissar in the American military. More common is the presence of military chaplains, and Ramsay was indeed feeling more and more like a priest.

After getting angry for a while, he could no longer stay angry because he felt it was unnecessary. Why be so mad?

Looking at the players in the locker room, all with gloomy faces and silent, Ramsay suddenly said, "You guys keep losing like this, I don’t even know what Ah Gan will say when he returns for the next game."

As soon as Ramsay finished speaking, the locker room became noisy, with everyone whispering to each other and expressing their unease.

"Sonny will definitely say, ’You guys really need me!’"

"He said the same thing last season and we still lost when he came back."

"Sonny won’t make the same mistake. That guy will talk about these two consecutive losses for an entire season."

"An entire season? He’ll talk about it until he retires!"

"He’ll talk about it even after he retires. I bet it will definitely be written in his autobiography."

Everyone was talking at once, clearly very familiar with Gan Guoyang’s mannerisms.

Seeing that he had achieved his effect and the team had quieted down, Ramsay said, "Since everyone knows the consequences, please make an effort in the next game."

Adelman added from the side, "Ah Gan is coming back in the next game."

"Don’t let him come back. Put him on the injury list and observe him. Our star player needs a good rest."

So, on December 30th, the Trail Blazers went to play an away game against the Dallas Mavericks.

Gan Guoyang had recovered from his cold and joined the team in high spirits. On the plane, he said to the entire team, "You motherfuckers really need me!"

However, Ramsay informed Gan Guoyang that he would not be on the court for the game against the Mavericks but would instead be put on the injury list for observation.

"I am not injured; I am well now."

"You’ve just recovered from a serious illness; we need to observe you."

"What serious illness recovery, I just had a cold."

"A cold can kill people. The Spanish flu caused at least 50 million deaths. Plus, flu can trigger myocarditis, and doing intense exercise immediately is risky. I need to observe."

"Jack, are you a Doctor of Medicine? You’ve got a whole set of arguments. Without me, do you want to lose three in a row?"

Ramsay didn’t respond to Gan Guoyang anymore; he simply wouldn’t let him play, and everyone else was supportive of this decision.

Gan Guoyang thought to himself that if he was not playing, then he was not playing; he wanted to see how they would handle the Dallas Mavericks.

The Mavericks have been performing quite strongly this year, ranked third in the Western Conference standings due to divisional rules.

In the summer, the Mavericks sent Dale Ellis to the Supersonics in exchange for Al Wood, which proved to be a bad trade. Dale Ellis was a potential All-Star scorer, whereas Al Wood was past his prime and entering the late stage of his career.

However, for Dick Motta, Dale Ellis was a destabilizing factor for the team. Without Ellis, Motta’s philosophy could be better implemented.

For Dale Ellis, leaving the Mavericks for the Supersonics was also an opportunity for him to break out of his shell and was considered a win-win trade.

To further strengthen their frontcourt, the Mavericks also signed Kurt Rambis, who had been sent from the Lakers to the Spurs and then waived.

Rambis’s arrival added more toughness and championship experience to the Mavericks’ front line. This seemingly ordinary signing was considered to be highly related to the rise of the Mavericks.

On the bench, the second-year player Schlammfeste was becoming a qualified, versatile sixth man, allowing Dallas fans to temporarily forget that they had given up Karl Malone for this German.

This season was Dick Motta’s seventh year coaching the Mavericks and the seventh year of his partnership with Mark Aguirre, with whom he had developed a strong rapport.

In November, they went on an 8-game winning streak and in December, they won against the Los Angeles Lakers with a score of 131:115.

This season, any team that could defeat the Lakers was strong.

In the last game of ’86, the Mavericks also hoped to win at home against the Trail Blazers and beat their direct competitors in the Western Conference.

Moreover, when the Mavericks found out before the game that Gan Guoyang was on the injury list and wouldn’t be playing that night, their morale surged.

Especially Kurt Rambis, who let out a long sigh of relief upon learning that Gan Guoyang wouldn’t be playing.

However, what neither the Mavericks players nor the Dallas fans expected was that the Trail Blazers, without Gan Guoyang and after two consecutive losses, played a beautiful last game of ’86.

They swept the Mavericks away with a 35-point advantage of 135:100 on the road, with the Mavericks having an off game and being beaten by the Trail Blazers 41:22 in the first quarter, falling behind by 19 points.

After that, the deficit remained around 20 points, and even in the final quarter during garbage time, the Trail Blazers didn’t let up on the Mavericks, with the bench players performing exceptionally and leaving the Dallas people humiliated.

Thus, the Trail Blazers avoided a three-game losing streak and also avoided being nagged by Gan Guoyang for an entire season about "how much you need me," successfully proving their strength.

Winning was of course a good thing, but Gan Guoyang felt a twinge of melancholy. During that week of rest, he realized that the world didn’t stop without him.

Although he was the Sun of Portland, that was just a metaphor. In this world, no matter how great and extraordinary you are, no matter how much people would be sad and miss you, everything still goes on.

ended with such a victory, which was a very good year.

After returning to Portland, on January 1, 1987, Gan Guoyang proposed to Wang Fuxi.

He understood who it was that couldn’t live without him and whom he couldn’t live without.