Chapter 107 Rookie Flutters His Wings
The terrible thing about the Lakers is that even if this team does not have any tactics, the five players will play singles one by one, and there are not many teams in the NBA that can compete with it.
The team's three main players, Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Jabbar, were all the top picks in the draft that year, forming the only three top picks in the league.
Starting shooting guard Byron Scott was the fourth-place draft in the first round in 1983, Bob McAdu on the bench was the second pick in 1973 and the former regular season MVP; and Jamal Wilkes, the hero of the Warriors' championship in 1975, and was also the Lakers' main small forward before the 1984 season.
The Lakers' lineup is so powerful that it is no wonder that the entire West is unstoppable, and it also makes the Trail Blazers who perform normally at the beginning look dirty.
Ramsey knew that he would not fall too much at the beginning of the game when playing against the Lakers, otherwise he would be dragged down by the Lakers' high rhythm later, and the entire team's will to win would be destroyed.
"Clyde, you come on the court to replace Paxson, go to the main room Johnson, remember to oppress Johnson, don't think about destroying his pass, start to oppress from the dribble; Gan, go around Kareem, KiKi, you should pay attention to Worthy's point, I'm worried that they will attack this point later, Sampson, please pay attention to help KiKi."
Ramsey mainly made appropriate adjustments to the Blazers' defense, and in terms of offense, he decided to continue to use the previous routine. The previous offense was not a problem with tactics, but the players were not in the right way to deal with the ball and feel. He hoped that the players could adjust as soon as possible.
The short pause passed quickly, and both sides returned to the court. The Blazers made substitution adjustments, Drexler replaced Jim Paxson, and the Lakers were still the five starting players.
"Come on, Clyde and show it to the old man." Gan Guoyang patted Drexler. Drexler was rarely replaced in the fifth minute in this game. Before, he had to end the first quarter before he would get a chance to play.
"Leave it to me, I will deduct one for you later." Drexler said with a smile. He was also eager to show himself in this game, which was broadcast live across the United States.
The Great Western Forum Arena slowly cooled down, and both sides were once again involved in the battle.
The Lakers' defense still shrinks near the three-second zone. After seeing Drexler come on the court, their defense shrinks even harder, and they are not worried about Drexler's shooting ability.
Sure enough, Drexler took the ball outside the three-second zone on the right and passed Scott in one step, but Lambis made a layup.
This guy, Lambis, has a pair of black-framed eyes, is white and clean, and has a mustache. He doesn't look like an NBA basketball player at all, but like a white-collar worker working in an office building.
But it makes sense that he can gain a foothold in the NBA and play for a giant like the Lakers. The most important thing is that he has self-knowledge and knows what he should do and what he can do.
On the defensive end, he knew that he should constantly make up for leaks and make up for leaks and block people. Although his defensive skills and physical fitness are not first-class, his enthusiasm is absolutely first-class.
Drexler's breakthrough was too impatient, and suddenly it was too deep, and he came to the right bottom line. Lambis' position was stuck very well, and together with Scott, he squeezed Drexler into the corner.
Sampson, who was leaked, opened his hand to ask for the ball, but Johnson had already stepped forward to make up for defense in time. Valentine, who was vacant, was too far away for Drexler to pass the ball.
As a result, Drexler could only use his crappy shooting posture to shoot a mid-range shot in the bottom corner. He was not accurate in the shooting, but naturally he could only make a blacksmith under the interference of the two of them.
"Bang!" The ball shot from the bottom line actually hit the front of the basket, and it was quite skewed. This shows how unreliable Drexler's shooting was.
"I asked him to adjust his shooting posture and he just refused!" Ramsey, who was off the court, got angry when he saw Drexler's mid-range shot.
"Clyde Drexler, when he shot, he was like a monkey jumping up and throwing the coconut in his hand. The coconut hit the front of the basket... Oh, Gan grabbed this rebound, but Jabbar and Lambis surrounded him tightly, and he had nowhere to escape!"
Gan Guoyang struggled to grab the frontcourt rebound, but the 7-foot-2 Jabbar and Lambis who were tightly attached gave him no room to jump and shoot.
"Beep!" At this time, the referee's whistle sounded, and the referee blew Gan Guoyang for three seconds.
Gan Guoyang stared at him with helpless eyes, but he didn't know what to say. He just came to the NBA and didn't know how to communicate with the referee.
"Don't put down your hands! Don't put down your hands! Keep holding them!" Ramsey yelled from the side. Gan Guoyang was still inexperienced after all, and he didn't pay attention to many details.
For example, if you take off the frontcourt board at the basket, it is best not to receive the ball below your chest. Once it is taken, you will basically not be able to lift it.
Gan Guoyang has such a good wingspan, so he should raise it high and beat it, take the rebound in the air, and complete the attack directly in the air.
"Hey rookie, your coach is starting to preach you again. You really should study in college for a few more years. It is not a bad thing to read more books." Woxi said to Gan Guoyang when he retreated.
"Don't think that you are an intellectual with your eyes. Take care of yourself and be foolish."
James Worthy is nicknamed Eye Snake because he has been wearing a pair of sports glasses in the game, which has also become the reason why Gan Guoyang mocked him.
Worthy stopped talking, obviously he was a little angry, and he thought about giving the kid a look.
The Lakers continued to launch a positional offense, but Gan Guoyang had already begun to defend Jabbar from the front, while Drexler had been staring at Johnson since the backcourt, reducing Johnson's advancement speed and forcing Johnson to stick his butt for half the game.
Gan Guoyang showed his outstanding strength in the front defense. He seemed to be in a figure, and the strength of his back, arms and thighs was quite amazing. According to his talent, Gan Guoyang himself estimated that it should reach 70, which was rare in the NBA at that time.
37-year-old Jabbar had no good way to face Gan Guoyang's circumvention. He couldn't even stand firm under Gan Guoyang's pressure.
But in addition to Jabbar, the Lakers have another good player in low-single singles, that is Worthy.
Seeing that Jabbar on the right was out of position, Worthy inserted from the left and suddenly got stuck in the middle of the three-second zone. His placement was deep and accurate, and Van dervich couldn't stop him at all.
Johnson's pass was also very timely. A quick and accurate pass was passed to Worthy's hand. Worthy turned over after receiving the ball, pressing Van dervic to prepare for a layup.
Since Woxi was the right-handed player, he turned left and turned to Gan Guoyang's side. Gan Guoyang saw Woxi want to make a layup, and he wanted to block him no matter how hard he rushed up.
But Woxi's turn was extremely fast. When Gan Guoyang took off, Woxi's ball had already taken, and Gan Guoyang also hit Woxi's hand.
"Beep!" The referee whistle sounded, Gan Guoyang's foul, Woxi's goalkeeper had to make a penalty.
"Hey, Gan, come here!" Ramsey saw Gan Guoyang standing there with a depressed look on his face and waved to him.
Gan Guoyang walked to Ramsey, not knowing what Ramsey was going to say to him.
"In this case, you don't need to reach out. You can no longer stop the opponent from scoring. Why do you have to foul and give the opponent a chance to get extra penalties? We cannot guarantee that every ball can be defended, so we must ensure that the losses are minimized and not do anything that is not worth the effort."
Ramsey taught this somewhat impatient newcomer that Gan Guoyang has very good defensive awareness and skills, good physical fitness, and amazing strength.
But his experience is insufficient after all. In the NCAA, players who are two levels away from talent and other aspects, Gan Guoyang can naturally compete for every goal, and block the shot until his opponent dares to enter the three-second zone.
But in the NBA, every player is a genius, and some are even more talented and powerful. For example, like Worthy, it is impossible to completely curb him, so you must be free to restrain him, and you can make the best choice every time to minimize the losses.
Gan Guoyang nodded. He knew that he was really too young. Many of his experiences in the NCAA were no longer applicable. He did not feel the previous game against several weak teams. Today, he played against the strongest team in the West, and Gan Guoyang's weaknesses were exposed one by one.
"You are doing a good job now. You can go to the low post appropriately to enrich our offense." Ramsey continued, saying that he meant that Gan Guoyang could try to singles against his opponent.
In previous games, Gan Guoyang's singles efficiency was quite good. He was becoming more and more confident in his right hand hook. After resisting, he turned over and hooked. As long as the opponent was not particularly tall, he was basically sure.
But today Gan Guoyang is facing the particularly tall Jabbar, and he is the master of hooking and the enlightener who learns hooking. Gan Guoyang really feels like "showing off his skills" when he uses hooking in front of Jabbar.
So when Gan Guoyang was in the low position and got the ball, he hesitated for a while, and finally he used a chic Sigma step to turn into a basket.
"Oh, Gan gave up the hook-up match with Jabbar. Obviously, when he used a hook in front of Jabbar, the shooting rate of any player will automatically be reduced by half. Gan wants to rely on the footsteps of the basket to deal with Jabbar." Zick Hearn did not miss any opportunity to mock the opponent's players.
Gan Guoyang has his own ideas. During several training confrontations with him and Jabbar, he found that the 7-foot-2-tall-tall-tall-span of Jabbar was a very unwise choice.
In this case, Jabbar almost didn't need to move. As long as he straightened his back and stretched his arms, he would form an insurmountable wall.
Obviously, confronting Kareem in this way is a typical self-investigation.
If you want to fight Jabbar one-on-one, you either rely on footsteps, strength, or both. After all, Jabbar is 37 years old and has a slender figure.
Gan Guoyang decided to use the footsteps and impact of the basket to deal with this old superstar.
Gan Guoyang's Sigma step was very skillful and smooth. The moment he turned around, he observed the Lakers' defense and found that there was no one at the basket, but Lambis was eyeing him near the three-second zone and was ready to make up for defense at any time.
Jabbar stood in front of Gan Guoyang like a big tree. Obviously, he could no longer defend with all his strength as he was when he was young, so he could only put on an air.
Gan Guoyang suddenly automatically broke through the basket from the bottom line on the right side. He took a huge step and passed by Kareem Kareem in one step.
After passing by, he did not pause, and just slapped the ball, then grabbed the basketball with one hand with his right hand, and took another step, reaching the edge of the three-second zone.
Lanbis had just reacted and wanted to step forward to make up for defense, but it was too late. Gan Guoyang was already flying in the air with the ball in his arms.
"Bang!" Gan Guoyang buckled with one hand, easily as if climbing up a ladder to install a light bulb on the lamp, and with one hand.
"Oh-my-god (Oh, my god), Gan's dunk, which reminded me of the dunk of Dr. J in the finals, the same step forward, the same three-second zone jump, the same one-handed grabbing, the same relaxed and graceful! I can't believe this is an action made by a center!"
Zeke Hearn obviously remembered the scene where Dr. J. Irving easily slashed Jabbar with one hand at the Great Western Forum Arena. The goal kept the entire player's audience for a long time.
At this time, the fans of the Great Western Forum Arena were also stunned. They did not expect this Chinese center to have such an excellent dunk. Although his jumping speed and height were much worse than Dr. J, his movements in the air were exactly the same as those of Irving, with the same long arms and the same giant hand, facing Jabbar.
This live broadcast game across the United States allowed the whole United States to see Gan Guoyang's dunk. This was Gan Guoyang's second dunk in this game. His fast break self-dumping and self-dumping at the beginning was also amazing.
At this time, the TV station focused all the broadcast close-ups on Gan Guoyang, and of course on his feet. Gan Guoyang was wearing a pair of sneakers with the hook logo, which was Nike.
At this time, the Nike boss who was watching the game in front of the TV was already very happy. Gan Guoyang's performance would undoubtedly attract a large number of fans, which would be of great benefit to the appreciation of Nike's brand.
However, Gan Guoyang was extremely calm. Dunks were never what he loved. He developed his own dunks just to verify a conjecture about talent growth.
Gan Guoyang quickly forgot about this goal and threw it into defense.
At this time, the Trail Blazers were still 4 points behind the Lakers at 9:13. They just started halfway through the first quarter, and there were too few 9 points.
The Lakers also don’t score much. Due to Gan Guoyang’s delayed obstacles and Drexler’s entanglement, the Lakers have never played a continuous fast attack, but their offensive efficiency is quite high.
But the Trail Blazers began to strengthen their defensive strength, and the Lakers' running operation became stagnant. After several rounds of cover, they could never find any opportunity.
Johnson handed the ball to Worthy, and Worthy faced Gan Guoyang after the switch to the misalignment.
"Come on, baby, you can get the ball in my hand." Woxi provoked Gan Guoyang.
Gan Guoyang was unmoved and focused on Worthy. He knew that he would not be able to pass by him.
Worthy's back attack is quite powerful, and his fast break Finish ability is extremely strong, but his ball-holding attack power is insufficient, so he really has no choice but to play Gan Guoyang alone.
Seeing that the 24th second was approaching, Woxi suddenly moved horizontally, avoiding Gan Guoyang and preparing to take off the mid-range shot. Gan Guoyang reflexed and reached out to jump to block the block.
"Beep!" The referee's whistle sounded again, and Gan Guoyang was sentenced to a foul.
Because Woxi's shooting was just a fake move, he tricked Gan Guoyang into his head and made a foul.
Gan Guoyang was too focused and too anxious. He was eager to teach Woxi a lesson, but he ended up falling into his trap.
Chapter completed!