The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 441 - 59: Charles-Malone
Gan Guoyang compensated the billiards hall owner for the light.
He certainly didn’t want to sneak away with Barkley and see the headlines the next day, "Ah Gan and Barkley damaged billiards hall equipment and fled, NBA stars’ quality so low".
Barkley called it dull, he sure wasn’t short of cash, he just found the act as amusing as dining and dashing.
"Tomorrow’s game is where the real fun is at, I’m going to shatter your offense."
"Cut the jokes, Sonny, we’re going to make it to the finals this year!"
Barkley was quite confident in the Bullets’ strength, as they acquired Moses Malone in the summer through a trade.
This was undoubtedly a very cost-effective trade, sending off Jeff Luland, who was plagued by injuries, in exchange for superstar Moses Malone, greatly strengthening the Bullets’ interior lineup.
Upon arriving at the Washington Bullets, Malone clicked immediately with Charles Barkley, both in temperament and playing style; both were aggressive on the inside and had an exceptional desire for rebounds.
Although Barkley had a strained relationship with his biological father, he found a paternal figure in Moses Malone and received ample advice from him.
From basketball to everyday life, Malone always communicated with Barkley in his indistinct Virginia accent, guiding him in the right direction.
For instance, selling off his excess cars that were not needed and shifting his focus from entertainment and women to basketball and a normal life, keeping a passion for basketball.
Last season, Barkley squeezed out the head coach, Gene Shue, and bore a significant portion of the blame.
Because Shue had always favored Barkley, carefully nurturing him, yet their relationship deteriorated, culminating in Shue’s dismissal.
This gave the impression of Barkley being spiteful to a benefactor, and the local Washington media mocked him, "All because Shue wouldn’t let Barkley eat doughnuts, the Bullets team needs a pastry chef as the head coach."
In reality, the discord was due to a clash in personalities and philosophies, plus Barkley was young and too temperamental to accept some of Shue’s actions.
Shue had a strained relationship with players even during his time with the 76ers, as he wasn’t adept at managing player relations, which was also personality related.
This season, under the tutelage of Lou Holtz, a coach skilled at using superstars, Charles Barkley experienced a breakthrough in his career.
He averaged 23 points and 12 rebounds per game, successfully making it into the Eastern All-Stars and leading the Washington Bullets to the playoffs.
Moses Malone recognized Barkley’s core status and willingly assisted him, with the 31-year-old Malone delivering an All-Star performance as well.
The competition in the Eastern was fierce, primarily to confront the Boston Celtics’ frontcourt trident and, on the other hand, to be prepared to face Ah Gan if they should advance from the Eastern, putting all their effort into enhancing their frontcourt’s strength and depth.
With Moses Malone, Barkley, and Manute Bol, the Bullets had height and strength and could hold their own against any strong interior team in the league.
No wonder Barkley was confident about making it to the finals.
However, the night before the actual game, Barkley stood on the court, his expression somewhat uneasy.
Gan Guoyang asked Barkley, "What’s the matter, nervous because your dad’s here to watch you play?"
He saw right through Barkley’s mind, and Barkley hurriedly explained, "No way! I don’t care at all, quit your nonsense and think about how you’re going to face your doom tonight!"
Gan Guoyang laughed, Barkley was indeed very confident tonight, seeming affected by his stepfather’s attendance, even boldly taunting him to prepare for demise.
When the game truly began, Barkley learned who was there to meet their demise.
Gan Guoyang displayed excellent competitive form right off in the first quarter, aggressively taking on Moses Malone inside with three baskets.
At 31, Malone’s body had declined, even in his prime he could hardly stop the rookie Gan Guoyang, and now their gap was even wider.
Without any double-teaming, Malone found he couldn’t withstand Guoyang at all, absolutely not; the guy’s strength was terrifying.
Then on defense, Guoyang fought hard for every rebound in the backcourt, securing the Trail Blazers’ defensive rebounds within the three-second zone and preventing Malone and Barkley from any second-chance attacks.
Offensive rebounds were a crucial part of the Bullets’ attack, with both Moses Malone and Barkley being masters in that area; some games, they could collapse the opponent’s defense merely with offensive boards.
Tonight, the Bullets had few chances for offensive rebounds, as Guoyang and Mychal Thompson efficiently protected the backcourt. After securing defensive rebounds, the Trail Blazers were in no hurry to launch a fast break.
Playing a slow offense and grinding against the Bullets, the game fell into the Trail Blazers’ rhythm; before anyone realized, the first quarter ended with the Trail Blazers leading the Bullets by 5 points.
By the second quarter, the Bullets tried to close the gap, with Manute Bol entering the game and hitting a three-pointer. However, the Trail Blazers were still controlling the pace and were in no hurry to fully engage in a showdown with the Bullets.
Gan Guoyang defended Barkley one-on-one. Moses Malone passed to Mychal Thompson, making it very difficult for Barkley; he couldn’t score at all against Guoyang one-on-one.
This year, various "one against four" tactics were popular among teams, and aside from Guoyang and Jordan, the third player to benefit the most from them was Charles Barkley.
His backside was getting bigger, his body stronger. Once he got the ball in the low post and pushed his backside in, almost no one could withstand him.
At just 6 feet 6 inches, his unstoppable "backside push" allowed Barkley to dominate in the low post, achieving an average of 23 points per game with a shooting percentage close to 60%.
Unfortunately, this move, which worked against other players in the League, was completely ineffective against Guoyang. Barkley couldn’t move Guoyang at all!
In the second quarter, he tried to play one-on-one against Guoyang twice and failed both times. After that, he stopped trying to play isolation basketball.
Without isolation plays, fighting for offensive rebounds, and not succeeding, Guoyang was the only opponent in the Buckley League whose physicality Barkley couldn’t match, and he was completely outplayed.
Without his low post "backside push" and no offensive rebounds, Barkley’s offense was largely neutralized. His low post game lacked finesse. Relying too much on brute force, he couldn’t create opportunities with footwork and feints as Olajuwon could, effectively being locked down by Gan completely.
By the end of the first half, Barkley had only made 1 out of 7 shots, and with free throws, had scored just 4 points.
Barkley was getting desperate. In a scuffle for a rebound under the hoop, he was called for an offensive foul as he pushed against Guoyang.
He was very frustrated, occasionally glancing towards the sidelines, where, in a corner, Frank-Barkley was watching him.
The situation did not improve in the second half, and Barkley truly felt the gap between himself and Guoyang.
Barkley’s average of 23 points per game was already impressive, but Guoyang was a beast averaging 38 points per game.
His strength was so great that even Moses Malone struggled against it. In the third quarter, he even dunked over Manute Bol, deeply humiliating the African prince.
The vindictive fellow surely still remembered the impolite incident with Bol at the dinner last year.
In the third quarter, Guoyang surged ahead early, helping the Trail Blazers to take a 10-point lead over the Bullets.
With the lead secured, the Trail Blazers seemed to enter a cruising mode again. The Bullets, propelled by Jeff-Malone’s offensive performance, managed to close the gap to 3 points at one instance.
But as the fourth quarter’s crucial moments approached, both the Bullets and Washington fans realized that it had all been an illusion; the Trail Blazers were just grinding it out for 44 minutes, saving the last 4 minutes to reveal their true strength.
Ramsay subbed in Walton in the final stretch, alongside Guoyang and Thompson forming a "three-tall" lineup—a combination the Trail Blazers had not used this season, bringing a sense of nostalgia.
Relying on isolation plays, cut-ins for scores, offensive rebound put-backs, and drawing fouls to get to the free-throw line, Guoyang scored 8 points in a row, leading the Trail Blazers to a 10:1 run against the Bullets, instantly sealing the victory.
The Bullets could only muster a single point from Malone’s free throws, and as the fourth quarter reached its final moments, they no longer had the stamina to face the Trail Blazers’ intense defense.
112:100, the Trail Blazers comfortably secured a victory in Washington—Guoyang with 41 points and 22 rebounds, demonstrating to Barkley and the Washington fans what true dominance looked like.
Charles Barkley, due to being tightly guarded by Gan throughout the game and his unstable mentality, managed to score just 8 points and grab 9 rebounds, with also 5 turnovers. His performance could be described as very poor.
Returning to the locker room, Barkley was quite dejected. He refused to attend the post-game press conference and any interviews with reporters, even if that meant being fined by the League.
At that moment, a staff member came to tell Barkley that a man named Frank wished to enter the locker room to see him, claiming to be Charles Barkley’s father.
Barkley hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I don’t have a father; that’s not my dad."
After a while, Moses Malone, who had finished his shower and interviews, entered the locker room and saw Barkley still sitting there looking sad.
Malone, with his muffled accent, said to Barkley, "Charles, wanna go shoot some hoops?"
Barkley looked up at Malone, who continued, "I’ll teach you how to sneak rebounds when the box-out isn’t working."
Even with Gan Guoyang’s exceptional protection of the backcourt rebounds tonight, Moses Malone still managed to snatch 4 offensive rebounds, relying not on boxing out, but on anticipation.
Although he had been blocked three times, not making a significant impact on the game, Malone’s prowess in offensive rebounding was still admirable.
Barkley stood up and followed Moses Malone out of the locker room, back to the court. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
On the way there, the two said nothing. Barkley simply followed Moses, feeling a little better.
