The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 516 - 19: Keeping Promises

Unimpressed with Reggie Miller’s finger provocation, Gan Guoyang did not even glance at him.

He did not say to Ramsay, "Let me play earlier, I want to take on Reggie."

What level do you think you are? Do I need to compete with you?

Gan didn’t look down on Miller; Miller just wasn’t worth his full attention yet.

He would simply play his game, and if they were both on the court at the same time, he would give him a little newcomer’s gift.

You’re just a rookie trying to provoke me, I’m not interested in indulging you.

Facing Gan’s disregard, Reggie Miller felt somewhat embarrassed.

After the brief stoppage, Gan did not return to the court; Ramsay gave him a rare extended rest.

This season, Gan’s playing time had also slightly decreased, more than two minutes lower than last season.

In the rotation, Ramsay increased the playing time of Hornacek and Dell Curry.

Sometimes the old man would even play three guards on the court, Hornacek, Drexler, and Terry Porter, or switch Curry for Hornacek, as a tribute to Old Nelson.

Of course, the downside of three guards is defense, but the advantage is a smoother offense.

A fluid offense helps make regular season play a bit easier.

Tonight, Hornacek and Curry were quite diligent on defense, after all, the boss had spoken—they needed to defend well and block shots.

Earlier, Reggie Miller tried to provoke Gan, and Gan did not bother with him.

As his juniors, Hornacek and Curry certainly couldn’t stand idly by; the two went to teach Miller a lesson.

During defense, Hornacek and Curry kept pushing Miller with their elbows.

This was a common defensive move for NBA perimeter defense back then because handchecking was allowed, although the rules stated, "Hands could only be placed on the waist without exerting force."

But referees weren’t all-seeing; discerning whether force was used was difficult.

Moreover, referees spent most of their time watching the ball-handler.

Miller, skilled at off-ball movement, was accustomed to defenders pushing and nudging him—that was standard practice.

Over the next decade or so, night after night in games, Miller would encounter this kind of jostling and elbowing.

Rookie Miller was undaunted; he found an opportunity on the wing, rushed over to receive the ball, and made a mid-range shot!

The Pacers kept closing the gap, but Hornacek responded too. He cooperated with Jones in the low post, cut to the basket after a hand-off, and made the layup.

The Pacers’ interior defense was indeed awful.

After that, Hornacek became entangled with Miller once more.

The two had similar technical styles, both were prolific without the ball, shot with precision, and had excellent positioning.

Miller had better physical attributes and a significant advantage in height and wingspan that allowed him to score despite intense defense.

On the other hand, Hornacek was more versatile, especially in terms of dribbling and ball-handling attacks, where he had an edge over Reggie Miller.

What they shared was the toughness of their gameplay.

Hornacek might look harmless, but he often used his elbows aggressively in actual play.

He dared to confront bigger players during screens and defense.

Even during pick-and-rolls, he was bold enough to act as a wall to block the opponent’s center.

While blocking, he would brace his arms across his chest to fend off the opponent’s chest.

This kind of bravery and toughness earned Ramsay’s appreciation.

This season he gradually replaced Jim Paxson to become the team’s primary guard substitute.

It was inevitable for two players with such tough playing styles to clash, especially since they were both young and hot-headed rookies.

Soon Hornacek got into a scuffle with Miller on defense; he grabbed Miller’s jersey, and Miller, turning around, elbowed Hornacek’s shoulder.

The move was subtle, seemingly shaking off Hornacek’s hand, but in reality, Hornacek took a hit.

Such tactics were commonplace in the games of the 80s.

Apart from a few players like Mark Price who played very cleanly due to their moral scruples, others would engage in such maneuvers to some extent.

Of course, then there were players like Gan who didn’t bother with such dirty tricks and went straight for the play.

Hornacek was riled by Miller’s elbow and shoved him hard.

A conflict broke out on the court, and the referee quickly intervened.

In the end, Hornacek was called for a defensive foul, and it was the Pacers’ sideline ball.

At that moment, Gan entered the game; he replaced Jones and partnered with Greg Anderson in the interior.

Miller had finally waited for Gan’s entry, and he was very excited.

On a sideline play, Miller circled around pretending to receive the ball but suddenly cut inside, signaling to his teammate.

This seemed like a great opportunity. A teammate lobbed a long pass to the basket.

Gan seemed to react slowly and did not immediately follow; Miller caught the ball and went straight for the layup without dribbling!

Gan suddenly sprang into action, using his left hand to definitively block Miller’s shot.

If Gan had reacted on time, he should have immediately turned around to the basket.

Then, with his arms raised, he would have formed a barrier in front of Miller.

Even if Miller had caught the ball, it would have been very difficult for him to attempt a layup.

But Gan didn’t; he purposely gave Miller the space to catch the ball and attempt the layup.

Because he was confident he could block the rookie’s shot.

The block was light, just a tap, and Miller got the offensive rebound.

Unconvinced and wanting to go up again, he was blocked by Gan once more!

The ball flew to Wayman Tisdale’s hands, who went for a left-hand hook shot.

Gan leaped a third time and blocked the ball again.

This time he was careful with his power, just lightly tapping it, then leaping to secure the ball.

Three blocks in one play, tonight Gan was hosting a block party in the paint for the Pacers’ players.

Gan never swatted balls like a volleyball player; his blocks always seemed desperate, just barely touching the ball.

But such blocks always kept the ball in his hands.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t make a massive block, he just knew how to control the timing and height of his jumps.

Jumping too aggressively made it easy to get faked out and left him unable to adjust, which wasn’t to his advantage when guarding two players.

Gan Guoyang passed the ball to Hornacek, choosing not to start a fast break.

Hornacek muttered, "All the money’s been taken by you."

Gan replied to Reggie Miller, "Welcome to the NBA, Miler."

"Miler? My name is Miller!"

"Alright, Miler."

Gan Guoyang deliberately mispronounced Miller’s name, which really lit a fire under him.

On defense, Miller tried to double-team Gan, but Gan made a beautiful low-post play, passing to a cutting Hornacek.

Hornacek caught the ball and scored with a layup, giving the Trail Blazers control of the game once more.

Since Gan Guoyang’s arrival, the Trail Blazers’ defense immediately improved by several levels.

Hornacek stopped tangling with Miller and let him go on one side.

Inside was Ah Gan, go ahead and challenge him if you dare.

Miller really did take up the challenge; he thought he would not go for a layup but rather pull up for a jump shot instead.

But Gan Guoyang predicted Miller’s thoughts.

Miller used a screen to get the ball on the baseline, driving on the left to the basket. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Gan was three steps away from him, and Miller wanted to pull up for a quick shot.

Instead, Gan took a huge step forward, leapt high into the air, and swatted Miller’s shot out of the sky.

It was a perfect prediction, and Miller was simply too inexperienced.

If he had passed the ball inside instead, the lane was open and he could have set up his teammate for an easy layup.

John Williams couldn’t help but complain, "You should have passed the ball, rookie!"

Miller didn’t respond, and the Trail Blazers regained control of the ball again.

Gan Guoyang made a long pass to the frontcourt where Jerome Kossie received it, drove past halfcourt, and scored with a layup.

The gap widened once again, with Miller eating three blocks in a row.

His inexperience and lack of finesse were glaring, and he was completely suppressed and targeted by Gan.

In the following plays, his teammates stopped passing him the ball.

Without explosive drives and low-post attacks, the Pacers relied on perimeter shooting for scoring, which was inefficient.

Gan Guoyang dominated the paint, making life difficult for the attacking team.

Miller knew that if they continued like this, the coach would call a timeout, and he would be benched to rest.

He didn’t want to leave the court in such a disheartened state after being blocked three times.

He still moved actively, seizing an opportunity to shake off Hornacek.

Cutting from the middle to the paint, he received the ball and tried to use his speed to get past Ah Gan.

Gan Guoyang’s defense in the middle was different from other centers of the same period.

In the absence of a defensive three-second violation, other centers would often choose to stay under the basket, lying in wait for opponents to come to them.

This method had the advantage of saving energy and countering movement, but it lacked pressure, was inflexible, and was vulnerable to floaters and pull-up jump shots.

Gan was different; he liked to extend his defense, putting pressure on opponents further out.

He left the duties of clogging the inside to players like Thompson, Walton, and Jones, and now it was Anderson and Gilmore doing it.

This kind of high-pressure defense was very stressful for the ball-handler.

In last year’s finals, whether it was Thomas, Dumars, or Johnson, they all found it tough facing this kind of defense.

If Miller tried a normal drive, with his lack of speed and strength, there was no way he could shake off the beast-like defense of Gan Guoyang.

So, the moment Miller caught the ball to dribble, he threw his elbow into Gan’s stomach!

The elbow is the hardest part of the body, while the stomach is the softest and most vulnerable.

Even someone with a strong core like Gan couldn’t take such a hit.

He instantly bent over, his steps faltered, and then Miller shook off the defense and scored with a layup!

After scoring, Miller even jumped in front of Gan, watching him for a while.

The referee didn’t call a foul on Miller, and Gan, rubbing his stomach, said to the referee, "He elbowed me just now, did you not see it?"

"That’s a normal move, but if he did it on purpose, I’ll call a foul on him next time," replied the referee.

The referee still gave Gan some face; plays like that were common in league games and hard to spot every time.

Gan didn’t argue with the referee or even glance at Miller, completely ignoring his provocation.

After that, Gan actively set up a pick-and-roll with Hornacek.

The Pacers switched on defense, and Miller was left to guard Gan one-on-one on the outside!

The fans in the stands all stood up, thinking to themselves, this number 31 is really tough.

With that physique, he dares to guard Ah Gan one-on-one?

Gan held the ball in one hand, backing down Miller.

Miller felt like he was being crushed by a mountain, but he held his ground with effort.

With a dribble, Gan nudged inside, and Miller was immediately pushed away.

Gan then spun around with the ball, his left hand dribbling, his right elbow rising, and with a spinning blow, landed an elbow right on Miller’s brow bone!

Miller felt a darkness in front of his eyes, and then he went down.

When he came to, his left eye was drenched in red, blood soaking into his eye.

He sure did get a taste of Gan Guoyang’s colors.

Truly a man of his word.