The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 634 - 26: Made it Big

Ewing took the lead and got the ball.

By 1989, Ewing had become stronger, his weight reaching 255 pounds, making his ability to contend even more formidable.

His knees were still bound with thick pads to protect his patellae that had been ravaged by injuries.

The Knicks initiated their first offensive play, creating space through movement and giving Ewing a one-on-one low-post chance at a 45-degree angle.

After catching the ball, Ewing dribbled and gave Sabonis a nudge, then quickly turned for a mid-range jump shot—the ball bounced a few times on the rim but did not go in.

Gan Guoyang grabbed the rebound and said, "You don’t score even when I don’t guard you, Pat. You really need to work on your shooting."

Ewing shook his head slightly, as every time they faced the Trail Blazers, he would suffer from insomnia, dreading the thought of battling it out with Ah Gan under the hoop.

Fortunately for today’s game, the Trail Blazers had Sabonis guarding Ewing.

The bad news was, Ah Gan was still on the court, and he was not being quiet.

The Trail Blazers quickly countered, and Gan Guoyang passed the ball to Porter before dashing downcourt.

Porter understood instantly, bouncing a pass to Gan Guoyang, who drove straight to the hoop and scored with a one-handed slam dunk!

Securing the game’s first points.

With Sabonis playing center, Gan Guoyang could play like a forward.

He could be more aggressive and did not have to worry about defense or stamina issues.

Soon after, the Knicks let Oakley back down Gan Guoyang in the low post—a mere feint.

Oakley pretended to dribble in, then passed the ball to Ewing, who cut through the middle.

Catching the ball inside the free-throw line, Ewing took a step and scored with a jump shot, adding two points.

Contrary to what many might think, the sturdy, strong-looking Ewing was actually quite a marksman in the offense.

Over the past two seasons, Gan Guoyang had been increasing his mid-range attempts, giving his teammates more space to attack the hoop.

His mid-range-to-paint shooting ratio was balanced at about fifty-fifty.

As a center, Gan Guoyang still maintained his aggressiveness under the basket.

Since his rookie season, Ewing’s mid-range attempt ratio had reached 57%.

In the following seasons, his mid-range shooting rate slightly declined as Pitino had him actively involved in many fast breaks, directly attacking the basket.

This season, under Stu Jackson, Ewing once again became a reliable mid-range shooter in set plays.

Starting this season, Ewing’s mid-range shooting ratio hardly dropped below 55%,

sometimes even exceeding 60%.

It’s worth noting that last season, Michael Jordan’s mid-range shooting ratio was just 53%.

Charles Barkley’s mid-range attempts were consistently under 20, with his paint shooting at 65% or even 70%.

Olajuwon’s mid-range attempts were around 40%, gradually reaching 50% this season, similar to Gan Guoyang.

The farther from the basket, the less stable the offense becomes; for mid-range to significantly impact, the shooting percentage must be exceptionally high.

From his rookie season, Ewing’s lack of offensive lethality was set; he relied too much on mid-range, yet his shooting percentage wasn’t particularly high.

Of course, in some games, particularly during the regular season, Ewing’s power was still formidable.

During a set play, Gan Guoyang got double-teamed by Oakley and Ewing, and passed the ball to Sabonis.

Sabonis drove to the basket with the ball and scored with a one-handed dunk!

The defense from both sides seemed a bit lax early in the game, with the Knicks visibly less intense than the Spurs.

The Knicks gave the ball to Ewing for the third offensive—positioning him low on the left, backing into Sabonis.

After receiving the ball, he smoothly spun baseline, leaned forward to overpower Sabonis, and scored with a jump shot.

4:4.

It seemed like Ewing had learned that leaning forward shot from Gan Guoyang.

"Pat, did you steal my move?" Gan Guoyang shouted after passing the ball.

"Who learned from you? Many people know this move; I learned it from Bernard King."

"Bernard learned it from me too, back when I was still in high school."

"..."

There was not much Ewing could say to someone so shameless.

The Trail Blazers played very relaxed tonight. Porter took the ball upcourt and abruptly stopped to take and make a jump shot.

4:6.

Both teams started the game with a light and fast pace.

On the Knicks’ side, Ewing was calling for the ball inside.

But Mark Jackson, having received the ball, shot a three-pointer between the arcs.

In the early to mid-1980s, this would have been an unimaginable choice.

By 1989 or 1990, such situations had become quite common in regular-season games.

Under Rick Pitino, guards were allowed to shoot threes so quickly.

Whether it went in or not, they’d shoot first and ask later; best if it went in, otherwise they’d fight for the rebound.

And Oakley did exactly that, securing the offensive rebound and reorganizing the attack.

Once again, they passed to Ewing, who spun inside, bypassed Sabonis through the middle,

Kossie stepped up to help, but Ewing passed out to Johnny Newman on the perimeter, who took and made a three-pointer!

7:6.

The Knicks executed a beautiful set play with an inside-out combination, decisively shooting threes both times.

Gan Guoyang said to Sabonis, "You should handle Ewing on your own, helping out will create openings."

"Yes, I was a step slow."

"Middle, remember to block the middle, cut off his middle!"

Gan Guoyang repeatedly reminded Sabonis that it was crucial to pay attention to Ewing’s middle.

In the first quarter, the Blazers were a bit slack on both offense and defense, which was quite normal after a series of victories.

Porter’s pass was a mistake. They wanted to make a large-scale transition, but Sabonis’s screen meant Porter couldn’t see the player and he overthrew it.

"He’s too big, he’s blocking Hornacek!" Porter shouted.

The ball was meant to be a screen for Hornacek, who would receive it at a 45-degree angle on the left.

The screen was so successful that it even blocked Hornaceck, preventing Porter on the right from seeing Hornacek’s position.

As a result, Porter’s pass went too far, landing in the hands of the spectators on the bench.

The Blazers’ guards needed to adjust to Sabonis starting.

"Sorry," Sabonis apologized to his teammates for his overly large body.

"Sorry my ass, Porter is the idiot who made the bad pass!"

Gan Guoyang reminded Sabonis not to take responsibility that wasn’t his.

Then Gan Guoyang told Porter to tighten up and be alert.

On the Knicks’ side, they passed the ball to Ewing again, who was playing one-on-one with Sabonis on the low left side.

The Knicks’ strategy completely revolved around Ewing on offense.

Ewing had indeed improved a lot over the last two seasons.

Not only was his shooting more accurate, but his decision-making had also become very decisive.

Last season, Ewing’s assists had reached 2.4 per game, and his turnovers had dropped to a career-low of 3.3 per game.

Gan Guoyang thought, Mark Jackson was cunning, seeing Sabonis defending Ewing alone, he relentlessly fed the ball to Ewing.

Mark Jackson might be one of the NBA players with the worst physical conditioning.

His survival in the NBA depended on his flexible mind, excellent passing, and precise control of the game.

After three rounds, Jackson had realized Gan wasn’t going to provide help defending Ewing, leaving Sabonis to defend on his own.

Since that was the case, he continued to feed Ewing the ball.

Ewing’s fourth isolation play at the start.

This time, Sabonis learned from his mistakes and decisively cut off the middle.

As soon as Ewing turned around, the ball was knocked out of his hands and out of bounds.

A nice defensive play, but not completely successful as the Knicks retained possession.

Sabonis was starting to get a feel for it.

Gan Guoyang came over to encourage Sabonis, "You defended really well, don’t think of yourself as 7-foot-3 in defending Ewing. Think of yourself as 7-foot, the same height as Ewing, or even shorter."

Sabonis nodded.

In defense, height is a great asset.

But relying too much on height can make a player overlook mobility, confrontation, and interception.

These aspects are often more important than height.

Afterward, the Knicks’ mid-range shot was off target.

The Blazers counterattacked, Hornacek took a shot from the perimeter, but missed.

Ewing grabbed the rebound, the Knicks counterattacked, with Newman’s layup being blocked by Gan Guoyang.

Oakley got the offensive rebound and shot again, only to have it blocked from behind by Sabonis.

Both sides were attacking back and forth quickly, pushing the pace of the game to its limit, but it was messy with neither side scoring.

The score of 7:6 lasted for quite a while.

Seeing his teammates play chaotically, Gan Guoyang had to step in to put things in order.

Holding the ball on the wing, the Knicks showed no intention of double-teaming him.

Gan Guoyang drove directly from the baseline to the basket and in the three-second zone, he bumped Ewing and scored on a layup.

Ewing was knocked down, but his teammates helped him up, knowing well that if Gan decided to score, no one could stop him.

Ewing also understood that apart from Gan, no one on the Blazers could stop him from scoring, not even Sabonis.

Then on offense, Ewing got the ball again and moved through the middle against a double team. He cleverly passed the ball to a cutting Mark Jackson.

Jackson caught the ball and scored a layup.

Then Ewing stole the ball from Sabonis on defense.

The Knicks counterattacked, with Ewing participating in the fast break.

Driving down the middle, and amid a double team from Kossie and Gan Guoyang, he received the pass, charged fiercely, and drew a foul from Kossie.

Ewing fell again but was helped up by his teammates and went to the free throw line.

He made both free throws, giving the Knicks a lead of 11:8.

Ewing looked at Gan Guoyang, as if saying, "You should come defend because no one else can handle me."

Of course, Ewing wouldn’t dare say that out loud; it would cause trouble. Conveying the message with a look was enough.

Gan Guoyang could clearly sense it, Ewing had completely dominated the game from the start, excelling on both offense and defense.

Sabonis could only gain a slight advantage occasionally, but was predominantly on the losing end.

Gan Guoyang thought to himself, "Patrick, this guy really has come a long way."

But still, Gan Guoyang encouraged Sabonis, "If it comes to it, just punch him and let him rest for a while."