The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 486 - 103: The Dark Prince

Although Gan Guoyang left the bench to make a move on Rodman on the court, the referee only gave Gan Guoyang a technical foul.

In later years, if a bench player rushed to attack an on-court player, they would definitely be ejected from the game.

For more severe situations, additional suspensions could be given. If that were the case, it would be a losing proposition for Gan Guoyang and the Trail Blazers.

But now it’s 1987, and brawls are common throughout the playoffs, with nobody getting suspended.

A star like Gan Guoyang certainly wouldn’t be ejected in the second quarter; otherwise, the fans at Memorial Coliseum would tear the referees apart.

Television ratings would surely plummet; what’s the point of watching a game without Ah Gan?

So there was no way they would penalize Ah Gan.

The moment Gan Guoyang made his move, according to Nielsen Company’s post-game statistics, live viewership ratings soared.

People came for the excitement. A game played too civilized and clean—who would watch that?

Without a spark in the NBA Finals, the fun was significantly reduced for the fans of that era.

Vinnie Johnson shot the technical foul free throw, then Jerome Kossie stepped up to the line, sinking both shots, and the score was 33:29, Pistons leading by 4 points.

As Johnson took his free throw, Gan Guoyang got ready to play again. Seeing this, Chuck Daly immediately substituted Dennis Rodman out, bringing Bill Lambier back into play.

Lambier patted Rodman on the back, muttered a few words, and sauntered onto the court, swaggering in front of Gan Guoyang.

Little brother Rodman had already caused Gan Guoyang one technical foul; if it happened again, Gan would be ejected from the game.

This time, the referees would show no mercy, unconcerned with viewer ratings or fan opinions—they would definitely eject Gan Guoyang.

That’s why Lambier was confident that Gan Guoyang wouldn’t retaliate this time, and he decided to guard Ah Gan himself!

The guy did have a clear head.

When Gan Guoyang returned to play, the Trail Blazers’ defense found its backbone.

With Walton anchoring the paint, Gan Guoyang patrolled the perimeter, posing a threat to the Pistons’ ball handlers.

The Pistons’ offense relied almost entirely on the perimeter game, with only Melvin Turpin having some low-post one-on-one abilities.

The rest of their interior scoring had to depend on Dantley’s ball-handling and one-on-ones.

Dantley’s one-on-one play was extremely important to the Pistons’ offense.

He could handle the most ball possessions and support the team’s scoring output.

When the positional game became stagnant, passing the ball to Dantley was the Pistons’ top choice.

And Gan Guoyang’s defensive focus was on Dantley, like a ghost, always applying pressure on the strong side.

This made the Pistons unable to find a good strategy in their positional play. They relied on fast breaks, much like the Celtics.

Dantley drove hard to the basket for a floater, disrupted by Gan Guoyang and missed, Walton grabbed the defensive rebound, initiating a fast break for the Trail Blazers.

The Pistons retreated quickly, but so did Gan Guoyang, slashing to the hoop, Walton received the ball at the top of the arc, delivering a direct pass inside.

Lambier, knowing he couldn’t stop him, shoved Gan Guoyang hard—only the push wasn’t strong enough, Gan hardly moved, and scored off the backboard.

The referee blew the whistle for a foul, counted the basket, and added a free throw!

"I didn’t foul, look he didn’t even budge!" Lambier complained, feeling wronged and protesting to the referee.

"Stop acting, I didn’t move because you’re not strong enough," Gan Guoyang retorted with a cold laugh.

Lambier was furious, he had pushed with full strength, not expecting that Ah Gan would stand solid as a rock.

The free throw was good, 33:32, and the Trail Blazers were only 1 point behind.

Subsequently, both teams increased their mistakes on offense and defense, leading to a series of misses.

Both coaches started to maneuver their players, bringing back the starters to the court in turn.

Thomas, Dumars, Drexler, Porter, Thompson all re-entered the game.

Gan Guoyang once again took the ball in the low post to make a one-on-one play against Lambier, swiftly turning for a baseline drive to the basket!

Lambier’s steps couldn’t keep up, and from the other side, Melvin Turpin crashed into him fiercely.

Despite the collision from Turpin, Gan Guoyang kept his upper body stable and laid the ball in the basket.

Then he fell backwards towards the baseline, steadied himself, and turned to glare at Turpin.

Turning his face away, Turpin raised his hand to the referee and acknowledged the foul.

Turpin had undergone a significant change this season, his previously gentle countenance becoming more incisive.

His once diffuse gaze now harbored a frightening chill.

Everyone despised Lambier, but many players said Melvin Turpin was even more fearsome.

An honest man turned wicked tends to be more terrifying than an ordinary bad guy.

Tempered in Detroit, Turpin unleashed the wildest and darkest aspect of his nature.

If Lambier was aware of his actions, provoking and agitating opponents, then Turpin fought just for the sake of fighting.

In the Eastern Conference semifinals, Michael Jordan was nearly taken out by Turpin’s relentless charging; he discovered the joy in the incessant clashes, realizing basketball could be played this way.

In the Eastern finals, Melvin Turpin was often tasked with guarding Kevin McHale, turning the player who had a regular-season shooting percentage of 60% and scored 26 points into one who shot 57% and only scored 17 points.

Of course, part of this was due to the collective defense of the Pistons and Bill Laimbeer’s contribution, as well as McHale’s foot injury, but Turpin’s continuous physical confrontation and barbaric charges tormented McHale.

Even Laimbeer was left speechless by this. After a foul, Laimbeer said to Turpin, "Melvin, control yourself, don’t commit unnecessary fouls."

Turpin nodded. He looked at Ah Gan, who was preparing to shoot free throws, and said, "I’m not afraid of him."

Laimbeer patted Turpin on the back and said, "I know, but I am. How about you guard him?"

Laimbeer knew that if he thoroughly infuriated Gan Guoyang, it would be himself who would be trampled on defense.

Turpin’s eyes cleared up a bit, and he shook his head, "The coach wants you to guard him; I’m only responsible for help defense."

"Fuck you... All spineless jerks."

Turpin was very clear-headed facing Ah Gan; he remembered that fall in the Silverdome all too well.

That fall could be said to have opened up Turpin’s meridians. He suddenly saw the light and knew how to play the game.

Ah Gan and Laimbeer both provided good examples for him. To play basketball, you need to be brave, not be afraid, and at worst, just take a beating.

Thus, Turpin became more violent on the court but off the court, he grew more spirited. He lost weight and overcame his chronic overeating.

His weight dropped to a reasonable 255 pounds, his body all toned muscle, and he even sported a shiny bald head, a rarity back then.

He realized that being hated by many was not scary; the scariest thing in life is to hate oneself because then living becomes unbearable.

So, don’t be a person who represses themselves, don’t be someone who pleases others at the expense of their own happiness.

Better to go mad on the court and be pointed at by people than to go quietly insane, swallowing all the bitterness alone.

In this respect, the team’s newcomer, Dennis Rodman, and Turpin saw eye to eye; both felt that doing things their own way was fantastic.

Gan Guoyang just pushed Rodman, and Turpin was ready to go on the court and return the favor.

But Ah Gan was really strong; despite being hit hard, he could still get the ball into the basket.

And hitting him made one feel sore themselves; there was a dull pain in the chest, so one really had to take it easy next time.

Gan Guoyang scored another free throw, consecutively converting two three-point plays, demonstrating his exceptional core strength.

His massive core muscles played a stabilizing role at that moment, 33:35, the Trail Blazers took a 2-point lead.

The Pistons urgently needed to score, Thomas used a screen to cut to the basket, drew the defense, and quickly passed it out to the perimeter.

Dumars received the ball, faked a move, dribbled in, and stopped suddenly for a jump shot, hitting a very stable mid-range jumper.

The contest between the Pistons and Trail Blazers was not limited to the frontcourt; the backcourt was also a vital battleground.

Whether Drexler and Terry Porter could withstand the test from Thomas and Dumars was still a question at this point.

Thomas was already a mature superstar, and the less experienced Porter was no match for him.

And Dumars was beyond his years; in his sophomore year, he had already become the core of the Pistons’ offensive and defensive backcourt.

Dennis Johnson was held to a mere 39% shooting by Dumars in the Eastern Finals.

While Dumars himself had an outstandingly high shooting percentage of 59%, steadily scoring 14.9 points.

Though he wasn’t the primary attacker as Thomas took on most of the ball-handling pressure,

Dumars’s efficiency was still extremely high; his smooth and unruffled finishes always brought necessary help to the team.

The score was tied at 35:35.

The game didn’t go as the outside world expected, with a one-sided battle.

On the contrary, the Pistons played well, their defense solid, their offense patient and methodical.

At the same time, the ferocious claws of the Detroiters were beginning to emerge bit by bit.

Gan Guoyang could intimidate them for a while, but as the series progressed, in moments when Gan Guoyang was off the court, in areas where Gan Guoyang’s reach couldn’t extend, the Pistons would surely engage in their tricks.

The impeccably dressed Chuck Daly sat firmly on the bench, unfazed by the earlier referee decision to give Ah Gan a single technical foul without ejecting him from the game.

He knew that issuing a technical foul to Ah Gan was already a success; he had the patience to gradually erode Ah Gan’s influence, to confront him with the collective strength of the team, much like they did with Larry Bird.

In the sixth game of the Eastern finals, Bill Laimbeer knocked Bird to the ground; unable to stand it any longer, Bird punched Laimbeer and was ejected from the game.

One strange thing was that while the Pistons had a notorious reputation across America, Chuck Daly’s own reputation was quite good.

It seemed as if all the savageness and violence of the Pistons were spontaneous acts of the players, unconnected to the coach.

It must be said that Daly was very good at maintaining his personal image; after all, for fans and the media, as long as they didn’t see the coach directly telling the players to "take that guy out," they wouldn’t associate the players’ foul play with the coach.

Moreover, Daly wasn’t the kind of unscrupulous madman like George Karl; he paid a lot of attention to his behavior and had a good relationship with the media.

Thus, even though it was clear that the team’s style was completely influenced by the coach, the bulk of the blame fell on the players, and the coach didn’t receive much censure.

Daly, like a lurking serpent, was waiting for the opportunity to strike a fatal blow to Gan Guoyang and the Trail Blazers.

However, Daly definitely didn’t know that when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back into you.