The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 466 - 83 Quite Difficult

Bickerstaff and Kloppenburg quickly realized a problem: Gan Guoyang was not Mark Aguirre.

Although there were some similarities between the two, like excellent one-on-one skills, a lot of attacks from the waist position, and comprehensive abilities.

But essentially, Aguirre and Gan Guoyang were not on the same level as attackers, Guoyang was much taller and had longer arms.

Moreover, Guoyang probably had the best strong shooting ability in the entire league—only Larry Bird could compare.

This was thanks to his model talent and extremely hard training.

For instance, this position at the baseline, Guoyang had practiced shooting from here countless times in training.

Shooting forcefully by feeling alone in contested, disruptive situations, ignoring any defense.

Guoyang’s height and strength meant Maxwell simply couldn’t cover him.

Of course, such defense indeed made it less easy for Guoyang to play, as forced shots under double teams would indeed reduce his shooting percentage.

But Guoyang immediately thought of a second method, using wall passes in cooperation with Thompson and Walton who pulled out.

He didn’t fall for the "Death Triangle" trap, throwing the ball to the point guard or shooting guard outside the three-point line, but instead passed to Thompson or Walton positioned at the corner.

After passing the ball, he immediately cut along the baseline towards the basket. Then Thompson or Walton would make a direct pass down low, where Guoyang would receive the ball and power through the Supersonics’ defenders under the basket.

At this point, there would often be three people converging under the basket. If it had been Aguirre, he would have been completely obscured by the defense, not knowing where the basket was.

But this was useless against Guoyang, "Your centers are as tall as I am, what do you expect to cover me with?"

Once in the three-second zone, it was Guoyang’s domain. His hands were like massive iron clamps, his elbows like hoes, keeping mortals at bay.

His explosive power was astonishing; he would take off for a dunk with defenders hanging on him to no avail. Either you fouled him and sent him to the free-throw line or you let him score.

But Guoyang’s free throws were also among the league’s best, with his percentage already having surpassed Vandeweghe’s, leading the team for the year.

The Supersonics’ so-called Death Triangle became Guoyang’s scoring triangle. After several plays, the Supersonics had to call a timeout and change their defensive tactics.

The first quarter ended with the score at 22:27, the Trail Blazers leading by 5 points.

Actually, the Supersonics played well; their defense indeed caused trouble for the Trail Blazers.

Nate McMillan’s entanglement with Porter, Maxwell’s all-around defense, and the SOS defensive system put a lot of pressure on the Trail Blazers’ players.

This Supersonics team was clearly different from the one in the regular season. If they weren’t careful, they would pay the price.

During the interval, Ramsay emphasized defense. The Supersonics’ offense was unique.

They basically gave up all low-post offenses, opened up broadly, with a lot of movement, catching and shooting, and also dribble penetration.

The Supersonics of 1987 could be said to have moved beyond the 70s’ dominant low-post strategies, starting to exploit the space around the three-point line.

However, with Guoyang in the low post, the Supersonics’ attempts to penetrate the basket were repeatedly rejected by Guoyang. He contributed 3 blocks in the first quarter alone.

The Supersonics’ scores all came from shooting. Chambers and Ellis were decisive with their three-pointers, while McMillan and McDaniel both had mid-range shooting abilities.

They moved quickly, passed fluidly, and shot decisively, requiring the Trail Blazers’ entire team to focus.

Bobby Berman said to Ramsay, "If the Supersonics keep playing this way, their offensive efficiency won’t be enough to catch up with us."

Ramsay replied, "That’s because we have Ah Gan. If Ah Gan rests, our defense also needs to hold."

"Does Ah Gan need rest?"

Gan Guoyang was sitting next to Berman drinking water. Hearing Berman’s words, he almost spit it out and said, "Bobby, I’m human too."

Ramsay’s concern was justified, as the head coach, he had more foresight.

When Guoyang rested off the court in the second quarter, the Supersonics indeed built up a wave of counterattacks.

Tom Chambers suddenly hit a three-pointer from outside, followed by Walton getting intercepted by McDaniel during offense.

Walton’s leg speed and agility were declining more and more this year; after all, he was about to retire.

In the counterattack, McDaniel drove towards the basket, passed out to the perimeter, and Ellis caught the ball and hit another three-pointer.

Two successive three-pointers for the Supersonics, including a fast-break three, brought them back by six points, closing the gap.

Ramsay called a timeout, and Guoyang returned to the court.

But Guoyang didn’t stay on the court long before he was called for a foul on defense.

Not far into the second quarter, Guoyang had already committed two fouls, which was not good news for him.

Then, in the middle of the second quarter, the Supersonics double-teamed Guoyang again, and Guoyang used wall passes with Walton.

Cutting to the basket to receive the ball and dunk directly! He knocked down Tom Chambers.

But Dick Bavetta called Gan Guoyang for an offensive foul.

Boos filled the Memorial Coliseum; Jack Ramsay protested loudly to the referee, arguing that it was clearly a blocking foul.

Dick Bavetta and Hugh Evans discussed for a while before Hugh said, "That play could be called for a blocking foul."

But Bavetta insisted on his judgement, "It was a charge, I was the closest, and I saw it very clearly."

If Guoyang committed another foul now, that would be his third, and he would have to sit out to rest.

Guoyang wanted to protest to Bavetta, but Walton came over and held him back, saying, "Sonny, I know you don’t like Dick, but don’t argue with the ref, relax, relax."

That play obviously targeted Guoyang by Bavetta; Ramsay called a short time-out to substitute Guoyang out for a rest.

However, Guoyang said, "No need, he wouldn’t dare call another foul on me, don’t worry, I want to stay on the court."

Ramsay exchanged opinions with Beelman and Adelman and still chose to trust Guoyang’s self-control.

Gan Guoyang’s control over fouls and mistakes had always been very good; he played quite rationally and calmly on the court, and he had strong insight.

He defended what he needed to defend, let go when it was necessary, and committed fouls when it was time to do so, trying his best to avoid unnecessary mistakes.

Mistakes and pointless fouls were things that extremely frustrated Guoyang; he was somewhat of a neat freak in this regard.

In the post-game stats, he didn’t care much about points, rebounds, or assists, but he hated having too many fouls and turnovers.

Those were like stains on the stat sheet that needed to be wiped clean.

The Supersonics did not expect Guoyang to still be on the court after the brief time-out.

So, the substitute Morris Lucas tried attacking Guoyang in the low post twice.

Thinking Guoyang would be reluctant to defend well because of the fouls, and if he could draw a foul that would be even better.

But after getting blocked twice, he calmed down.

With Guoyang not sitting out, the Supersonics were completely suppressed on both offense and defense.

The "Death Triangle" was useless, so the Supersonics went to the "Death I" defense.

The small forward and the center stood in line in the three-second zone, while the power forward went to front Guoyang.

Guoyang could forget about receiving the ball in the low post, and what about a lob pass? The small forward and center would immediately rush over to double-team.

The common solution for most teams, of course, was to move the ball to the top of the arc and then distribute it to the weak side.

However, the Supersonics’ players were very quick on their feet; if the ball went to the other side, their defense would disperse and start one-on-one defense.

If the ball came back to Guoyang’s side, forming a strong side, they would regroup and prevent Guoyang from receiving the ball.

Bickerstaff thought since the Death Triangle was of no use, giving you the ball, now let’s just prevent you from even getting the ball!

This tactic did have some effect; Guoyang didn’t touch the ball for two straight possessions, Walton made a shot, but it had limited impact.

The Supersonics continued to attack the basket; Guoyang was still afraid of committing a foul, showing restraint, which allowed the Supersonics to close the gap, 35:36, trailing by just 1 point.

However, Guoyang was always quick to find the weaknesses and problems in these defensive schemes.

Afterwards, he communicated with Porter, who tried a lob pass from outside but didn’t pass it.

Then he passed the ball to the top of the arc; the Supersonics’ defense immediately spread out, but Guoyang suddenly cut to the basket, and Drexler passed him the ball into the three-second zone, allowing Guoyang to easily make the layup!

The Supersonics defense had spread too early, forgetting Drexler’s ability to make direct passes inside.

Then, the Supersonics missed a three-pointer from outside, and Guoyang grabbed the defensive rebound, still calmly playing the set offense.

At the same spot, Lucas fronted; the three-second zone was in "I" defense, Porter still didn’t pass, but gave it to Drexler at the arc’s top.

This time the Supersonics’ defense didn’t disperse as quickly; Drexler passed it to Walton on the weak side, and Walton took a direct mid-range shot.

It didn’t hit, but Guoyang cut to the basket, secured the offensive rebound, and easily scored on a put-back, scoring 4 points in a row, 35:40, as the Trail Blazers pulled away again.

The biggest problem with the "Death I," was that with the power forward constantly fronting and the defense spreading out, the opponent could easily cut inside.

Whether it was direct passes or fighting for offensive rebounds, it would become a weakness for the defense, especially since Guoyang was so strong at offensive rebounds.

Bickerstaff and Kloppenburg sighed deeply on the bench, thinking what SOS defense, it’s they who should be calling for SOS, it was deciphered so quickly!

The Supersonics’ so-called SOS defense was still too naive in front of Guoyang.

Just as the second quarter was about to end, Drexler suddenly made a steal, and the Trail Blazers initiated a counterattack.

Guoyang immediately turned and ran towards the frontcourt, then caught a glimpse of a shadow in the corner of his eye, but couldn’t control his steps and crashed into it with a loud "clang."

Someone was sent flying by him.

When he stopped, he realized that the person sent flying was none other than head referee Bavetta.

He lay on the side of the court, motionless, apparently not dead but certainly in bad shape.