The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 517 - 20: Must Go
Gan Guoyang was always precise with his moves, which were explosively effective, but he rarely hurt anyone.
However, there were exceptions, and tonight, Gan Guoyang didn’t control himself, not only drawing blood from Miller but also sending him into a brief sleep, unfortunately woken up by the medics, seemingly not rested enough.
Gan Guoyang commended Miller for his bravery.
But in order for him to understand the cruelty of professional competition, it was necessary for Gan Guoyang to teach him a lesson.
Such scenes would almost happen daily in the professional games of the 80s.
Games in the 80s weren’t as violent as in the 60s or 70s; fights were restrained.
But the overall martial spirit still remained, and if you were a gentleman, you’d always be a gentleman, and over time, people would come to respect you for it.
Players like Mark Price, you’d feel embarrassed even thinking about playing dirty with him.
Or like Michael Jordan, who insisted on retaliating with his skills, was equally respectable.
Once you set a precedent, you had to keep facing the challenges from newcomers, and if they went after you, you had to respond in kind promptly.
Gan Guoyang truly had no rival in the League, turning many into pacifists.
But there would always be new hot-blooded rookies joining every year.
Full of passion and dreams of glory, they set their sights on challenging the mightiest in the League.
As the reigning king of the arena, you had to make a strong response.
Otherwise, after the game, the young guns would say, "That guy was nothing special, I elbowed him and he didn’t do much."
Then, more and more youngsters would come looking for a trial by combat.
Regardless of what Miller thought, Gan Guoyang had to return the favor.
The referees called a foul on Gan Guoyang but didn’t eject him from the game.
Instead, Reggie Miller, assisted by the team doctor, headed back to the locker room to tend to his wound.
But Miller shook off the doctor’s hand, indicating he could walk on his own, without any help.
Miller was indeed tough, showcasing the mettle of a team leader.
In the second half, Reggie Miller returned to the court with gauze wrapped around his brow.
For someone as competitive as him, a wound was not something to fear, but rather a badge of honor.
In the Pacers, Reggie Miller could boldly say to his teammates, "I’m the guy who dared to elbow fight with Ah Gan."
Just for that, he could overshadow Wayman Tisdale and Chuck Person to become the undisputed leader of the Pacers.
Mike Schuler, aiming to protect Miller, reduced his playing time in the second half and kept him away from Gan Guoyang.
Provoking Gan Guoyang not only got Miller hit but also led the entire Pacers to a brutal beating.
The only highlight of the game was the elbow Gan Guoyang gave Miller.
Besides that, the Pacers couldn’t mount any credible offense or defense, failing to find any opportunity to defeat the Trail Blazers.
Person’s stats were good, scoring 20 points in the game, but he lacked aggressiveness.
The "Long Shooter," who could average 18.8 points per game and win Rookie of the Year last season, saw both his average points and shooting percentage decline this season.
His nickname stemmed from his increasing fascination with long-range shots; his three-point attempts significantly increased while his free throws decreased, leading to an overall drop in shooting percentage.
So far this season, he was only averaging 17 points per game, his rebounds dropped from eight to six, turnovers increased, and both blocks and assists numbers were on the decline.
In his rookie season, he had confidently told his wife, "Someday, I will achieve something great. I mean, I don’t have any obvious weaknesses."
His wife sarcastically replied, "You can’t cook, clean, do laundry, or iron clothes."
Whether the wife was right or not, Person had shown tremendous confidence last year and truly seemed to be without flaws.
But having no shortcomings could also mean a lack of standout strengths.
For Person, after a year in the NBA, his overwhelming realization was that there were too many monsters here.
It was even more terrifying than facing Charles Barkley and Jackson at Auburn University.
Especially Ah Gan and Michael Jordan; they were so strong it was disheartening to even try catching up to them.
This might have been Person’s biggest weakness, as his fighting spirit was being worn down by the monstrous NBA competition.
He was content with being a sharpshooter, a forward with precise shots, rather than striving to become the next Larry Bird. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
The Pacers were crushed by the Trail Blazers in this game, 115 to 96, a 19-point difference.
Gan Guoyang scored a triple-double with 33 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 blocks for the night.
At the end of the game, Gan Guoyang shook hands and embraced Reggie Miller, saying, "You’ve got a hard head, my elbow hurts a bit from bumping into you."
Reggie, unconvinced, replied, "Playing against you, one should wear a helmet."
For a tough guy like Miller, Guoyang had a lot of respect.
As for Chuck Person, the brown-noser, Guoyang said, "Chuck, I hear your trash-talking is top-notch in the League. Next time you come to Portland, you should really show it off."
Person’s trash-talking was well known in the League, but trash-talking is something that needs skill to back it up.
With skill, trash-talking adds splendor and shines even brighter.
Without enough skill, trash-talking makes one look like a clown, quite ridiculous.
"Oh no, I definitely don’t want to experience your first-class wrestling and bumping techniques."
Person had the good sense to keep his trash-talking to a minimum around Ah Gan.
Gan Guoyang just smiled and shook his head, thinking he wasn’t that scary.
In his view, Person was no match for Miller; at least Miller was brave.
When he got back to the locker room, Gan Guoyang pulled a "no outsiders" move and took $100 from the money won last time from gambling.
My goodness, one game’s bounty was worth five or six games for an average player.
Drexler also got $20, and curiously asked, "Ah Gan, where’s the bucket?"
"Bucket? What bucket, there’s no bucket."
"We always have a bucket to put the money in when we bet."
"We’re not betting now, so no bucket."
"..."
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After leaving Indiana, the Trail Blazers had two days of rest.
They arrived in Chicago and rested up until the 31st to play the last game of the year against the Bulls on the last day of 1987.
This was undoubtedly the final game of the year that garnered much attention.
The new season of "Gan vs. Jordan" was ready, with all the major TV stations prepared.
The news media flocked to Chicago, gearing up for this destined-to-be-thrilling game.
Tim Hanni, the former marketing director of Avia and now the general manager, came to Chicago personally, met Gan Guoyang at the hotel, and told him Avia was planning to hold a business event with Nike in Chicago.
Because he signed Gan Guoyang, it was only natural for Hanni to become the company’s general manager. He also served as a client manager with only one client, Gan Guoyang.
For Gan Guoyang, having Avia’s top executive as his exclusive client manager was totally deserved.
Without him, Avia wouldn’t have been as successful; he was the company’s main support.
Gan Guoyang said, "You and Nike are cooperating more and more now, aren’t you competitors?"
"You’ve said it before, sir, companies, like players, should compete and cooperate. Although we compete with Nike, there’s more cooperation, and the results are good," replied Hanni.
Nike and Avia indeed had different strategic directions.
In the sports field, Nike’s target demographics were mainly Black people, while Avia targeted White people and Asians.
Nike was set to focus on the mid-to-high-end market, while Avia was prepared to concentrate on affordability.
The two companies competed, yet did not interfere with each other; plus, being both in Portland, they cooperated a lot.
"What kind of business event? Are we going to play basketball? It’s not video games, is it? If it’s video games, I won’t go," said Guoyang, remembering the last time he had made a video game advertisement with Bird. Though fun, he didn’t want a repeat.
Hanni shook his head and said, "It’s not a game. It’s just a brand promotion event for both sides. You might play some basketball, interact with fans, give a speech or two. Oh, and Michael mentioned he wanted to challenge you at pong."
"What? Pong?"
"If you don’t like playing it, or if you can’t, you can opt out of this part," Hanni added, thinking Guoyang might not be interested in pong. It would be embarrassing if he lost to Jordan in the event.
But to Hanni’s surprise, Guoyang said, "Go! I’ll definitely attend the event. And yeah, take me to the best sports store in Chicago; I want to buy a top-notch pong paddle and rubber."
