The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 487 - 104: Beheading

The second quarter ended with both sides evenly matched.

Although physical contacts between the two teams increased and their actions grew larger, the overall situation was still under control.

The Pistons inside defense couldn’t stop Gan Guoyang, but no matter how much Guoyang scored, their defensive line didn’t collapse.

They were disciplined, their fortress solid; aside from Ah Gan, the other Trail Blazers weren’t shooting well.

On offense, focusing on outside attacks, the Pistons did their best to avoid Gan Guoyang’s strong defense.

Another point was the game tempo control, where Adrian Dantley’s ability to draw fouls was truly first-class.

Twice, just as the Trail Blazers began to quicken the pace, Dantley charged to the basket to draw fouls and went to the free-throw line.

Dantley was particularly slow at free throws, by the time he finished, the Trail Blazers’ counterattack rhythm would be disrupted.

Forced to grind it out in set plays against the Pistons’ "Turtle Shell Defense", the Blazers struggled to get their offense going.

Moreover, the Pistons’ backcourt was excellent at rebounding, with Melvin Turpin and Lan Bi’er sticking close to Guoyang at all times, denying him the offensive rebounds.

In the first half, Guoyang’s desire to fight for offensive rebounds wasn’t strong because he had to be mindful of the Pistons’ counterattack and get back on defense quickly.

At halftime, the score was 55:54 with the Pistons leading by one point. Guoyang had 19 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a shooting percentage of only 58%.

When playing against the Lakers, Guoyang’s shooting percentage soared above 65% in the first two games, indicating just how formidable the Pistons’ inside defense was.

A great deal of physical contact, the rotation battle, high suppression, quick double teams, hunting in packs of three to four players, technical fouls to disrupt psychologically.

Before the game, the Detroiters had prepared very meticulously and seemingly used every defensive method that other League teams had tried out.

On offense, unlike the Lakers who were stubborn about charging at Guoyang, the Pistons played a lot of fast breaks and mid-range from the outside, avoiding confrontation with Guoyang.

Since the Pistons had solid defensive resources, they didn’t need to rely on offense to play defense or try to wear down Guoyang with offensive plays.

In the end, it was Guoyang who didn’t get worn down but kept feeding the opposition in the paint.

Overall, Chuck Daley’s pre-game preparation was quite successful. The coaching staff had thoroughly studied the Trail Blazers and Guoyang, coming up with appropriate defensive strategies.

"In the second half, we need to ramp up the intensity; if possible, I hope... we can draw blood!" Daley said fiercely.

The successful defense of the first half gave Chuck Daley even more confidence. The third quarter would be when the victory was decided.

If they could manage to take Guoyang out of the game by drawing blood, that would be ideal. But even if they couldn’t take out Ah Gan, they needed to break the Blazers’ morale!

On the other side, Jack Ramsay, Bobby Beelman, and Adelman were discussing the second half strategy in the locker room, as the team’s performance in the first half was only average at best.

The Pistons’ "Turtle Shell Defense" was as solid as a rock. Even with good spacing, it was impossible to stretch their defensive formation, as they blatantly played a disguised zone defense.

In the Eastern finals against the Celtics, whenever Bird had the ball on the wing, regardless of how much the Celtics spread out, the Pistons would try to shrink close to the paint.

Many times, this was essentially zone defense. But Chuck Daley and the Pistons’ coaching staff disguised and covered it up well, and with the referees turning a blind eye here and there, they became even more brazen.

This tactic was very effective against the Trail Blazers tonight, using zone defense to limit your penetration and isolation plays while physical confrontations and malicious fouls disrupt your shooting touch.

If you can’t break through on offense, and despite having space to shoot from the outside, you lack shooting touch, and you can hardly grab offensive rebounds, how could you possibly play well offensively?

"We need to find our shooting touch. There’s a lot of space and opportunities outside; we haven’t seized them. We can use some tactics and strategies, provided we find our shooting touch," Ramsay said while tapping on the whiteboard and illustrating several high pick-and-roll tactics.

However, he stressed again and again that finding the shooting touch was fundamental; without it, any tactics would be futile.

"Don’t fear taking long shots. When it’s time to shoot, be decisive," Dr. Jack emphasized.

In just two short seasons, Ramsay had done a 180-degree turn in his attitude toward three-point shots.

He realized that when facing a retracted defense like the Pistons’, there were mainly two ways to counter it:

One was to punch through forcefully, seeing if your turtle shell was harder, or if my fist was stronger.

The Celtics had a head-on collision with the Pistons in the Eastern finals, exhausting their frontcourt trio, with Bird averaging 42 minutes per game, yet they still fell to the Pistons.

The other was to circle around the turtle defense and shoot from outside. Traditionally, relying on outside shooting was not seen as a way to secure playoff victories.

Especially long-distance shots, which more often than not were just icing on the cake.

While Bird was an excellent shooter, averaging 27 points in the Eastern semifinals, he still lost the games.

But in Ramsay’s view, the Trail Blazers had someone even better at shooting.

The halftime break had ended, and both teams returned to the court.

Gan Guoyang said to Beelman, "Bobby, I can smash the Pistons’ turtle shell."

Beelman replied, "I know, I know you have the capability. But we have a more clever way, don’t fall into the Detroiters’ trap. They like to muck it up, and maybe that way we can win, but it would delight them, dragging you down to their level. Turtle shells have gaps; puncture them with a sharp blade."

Gan Guoyang nodded, knowing this was Ramsay’s strategy. Dr. Jack had a keen eye for the game.

The Pistons’ turtle defense did indeed cause headaches but was not without flaws.

Their biggest weakness was that their frontcourt was too young, with Salley and Rodman both being rookies.

And Dantley had always been a defensive weak spot, as his one-on-one abilities were not outstanding.

After the start of the third quarter, the Trail Blazers’ offensive focus unusually shifted to Vandeweghe.

Gan Guoyang moved to the weak side, with Vandeweghe at the 45-degree angle on the strong side, one step inside the three-point line, going one-on-one with Dantley.

Using his height advantage, Vandeweghe continuously hit two mid-range shots from the outside.

On his third attempt, Vandeweghe deceived Dantley with a fake move, charged to the basket with his left hand, and dunked it over Lan Bi’er with one hand!

The shot was not only successful, but it also drew a foul from Lan Bi’er, and he would head to the free-throw line for an additional attempt!

Cheers erupted throughout Memorial Coliseum, and Bill Schonely, incredulous, exclaimed, "Vandeweghe’s dunk! How long has it been since we’ve seen Cheche make such a spectacular drive to the basket!"

Vandeweghe, throughout the season, had gradually evolved into a perimeter shooter, many fans forgetting that when he first arrived in Portland, he was also a super offensive player adept at both shooting and dunking.

But Vandeweghe hadn’t forgotten, and now stronger than ever, he wasn’t afraid of Pistons’ Turtle Shell Formation, smashing through for a successful three-point play.

With the bonus shot made, the Trail Blazers took the lead, 57:61, leading by 4 points.

Vandeweghe ignited the Blazers’ passion on both offense and defense, and they began to intensify their defensive efforts, putting more pressure on the Pistons’ players.

Gan Guoyang expanded his defensive range, frequently joining the perimeter in double-teams against Dumars, Thomas, and Dantley, forcing them to make hasty passes.

Mychal Thompson firmly occupied the paint, as the Pistons didn’t have any big men for low-post play—Thompson was more than capable of defending the basket.

The Pistons tried to let their big man Thompson go one-on-one against Mychal Thompson in the low post, with Thompson having height and reach, being left-handed.

He could manage in the regular season, but come finals’ intensity, the low post wasn’t his forte.

His turnaround jumper missed, Mychal Thompson grabbed the defensive rebound, and the Blazers launched a fast break.

Gan Guoyang received the ball in the middle and passed it to Vandeweghe on the wing, who was quickly making his way down.

Vandeweghe went for another dunk but was violently knocked out of bounds by a charging Lan Bi’er who followed from behind!

Lan Bi’er was just about to raise his hand to the referee to acknowledge his foul, when Mychal Thompson, who had followed up, charged into Lan Bi’er, sending him flying!

Mychal Thompson raised his hand towards the referees, indicating he had committed a foul, while players from both sides surged forward.

Gan Guoyang stood in front of Mychal Thompson; no Pistons player dared approach, as Porter and Drexler helped Vandeweghe up.

After Lan Bi’er got up, he complained to the referees, who gave Mychal Thompson a technical foul, which Mychal willingly accepted.

He said to Gan Guoyang, "Don’t get heated, Ah Gan. I’ll take care of him for you; you can’t afford to foul out."

Gan Guoyang patted Mychal Thompson, grateful for the reliable veteran. Facing the Pistons, even the normally serene and composed Mychal Thompson had gotten rough.

In the second half, the physicality of the game intensified, and the confrontation became wilder, with Lan Bi’er sitting out due to too many fouls, and Melvin Turpin entered the game.

Just one minute after Turpin came on, he elbowed Mychal Thompson in the ribs during an offensive play, which left Mychal Thompson in so much pain, he couldn’t straighten his back.

Such a dangerous elbow move only resulted in an offensive foul against Turpin, and the ball was turned over to the Trail Blazers.

Anger was beginning to appear in Gan Guoyang’s eyes, but he was restraining himself; the finals were not like the regular season, he needed to stay in the game.

With 12 players on the Pistons, he couldn’t possibly fight them all off one by one, and since the Pistons were a team-oriented squad, even if he did trade one-for-one, it would still be the Trail Blazers who were at a loss.

He wondered if there was a decisive way to rid the problem and teach the entire Pistons’ squad a lesson.

He suppressed his emotions, holding the ball at the top of the arc, facing Thompson, took a probing step and launched a mid-range jump shot—swish!

Then on defense, Gan Guoyang knocked Turpin flying with a block, earning a common foul and giving away two free throws.

The atmosphere on the court was heating up, and emotions from both teams were beginning to flare.

The noise in Memorial Coliseum grew louder, and when Gan Guoyang knocked Turpin flying, the cheer almost lifted the roof off the building.

Melvin struggled to his feet, shaking his head and realizing that Ah Gan’s impact was not something ordinary people could withstand.

Melvin missed the first free throw, still dizzy from the blow; he made the second, 60:65, with the Trail Blazers still leading by 5 points.

From the sidelines, Jack Ramsay yelled at Gan Guoyang, "Sonny! Sonny! Control yourself!"

Gan Guoyang replied, "Don’t worry, Jack, I know what I’m doing!"

Next on offense, Gan Guoyang once again positioned himself outside for a pass.

He reduced his own low-post attacks, further stretching the Pistons’ defensive formation.

From the sideline, Chuck Daly stood very close to the line, shouting and directing his team’s defense. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Suddenly, Gan Guoyang made a soft pass, and Turpin immediately rushed to tip it away.

The ball lost control, flying toward the sidelines, with Gan Guoyang, Mychal Thompson, and Turpin all rushing towards it.

Gan Guoyang touched the ball, and it changed direction again, heading toward the Pistons’ bench—or more precisely, towards Chuck Daly.

Seeing this, Turpin braked, but Gan Guoyang showed no sign of stopping, his eyes only on the basketball.