Chapter 444: The Eve of the Storm
People who were in the United States in the 1980s may have learned a lot of news and news in China earlier than many Chinese people. First of all, the media industry in the United States was developed, and every family had television, radio, and newspapers and magazines industries were also very prosperous. In comparison, the Chinese media industry at that time was still quite backward. In many areas, there might not be even radio, and there were only one radio in a village in some rural areas; newspapers, paintings, etc. were rare and there were not many types.
Secondly, China is relatively strict in media control, and the official controls a unified caliber, while the United States is different. Although the media control in the United States is everywhere, a large number of private media and a looser public opinion environment make people immerse themselves in the ocean of various news every day.
As a person from the Internet age of the 21st century, Gan Guoyang came to the United States in the 1980s and occasionally felt that there were too many news in this country every day. No wonder he had to use the Internet technology of the Ministry of Defense to spread news for civilian purposes. Newspapers and TV could no longer carry it.
During the years in the United States, Gan Guoyang paid attention to news in China every day. He knew that new changes were occurring in China every day, and new problems were constantly emerging. Gan Guoyang saw the little changes in his motherland and hometown, and even though he had some concern in his heart.
In 1989, Gan Guoyang also knew that something would definitely happen. After the game on the 23rd, he returned home and heard what Wang Fuxi said, and he knew that what he should come would always come, and his time travel would not change anything.
Gan Guoyang then turned on the TV and transferred it to the International News Channel, then turned on the newspaper on the sofa and started to search. It was April 23, and China time was April 22, and on April 15, when the recording incident just broke out, Gan Guoyang was in a state of great concern. He did not notice that there was an obituary about the Chinese leader in a small area in the Oregon newspaper.
On April 22, Beijing time, China Xinhua News Agency issued a formal notice to overseas media. Wang Fuxi, who was far away in the United States, saw this news report and related reports after returning home. However, domestic people did not receive any relevant information.
At the same time, on the news broadcast on the evening of April 22, Beijing time, the obituary about the leaders was broadcast twice in a row, and there were chaos in time and doubts. Soon, commemorative activities began to appear in colleges and universities, and the activities themselves had a strong venting meaning.
Gan Guoyang has roughly learned about these things through American newspapers, and American TV stations also reported them briefly. In the eyes of Americans, the leader of an important country has passed away. That's all, only Gan Guoyang knows in his heart what kind of storm will sweep away immediately.
However, Gan Guoyang can no longer control so much. He cannot change things like this. He must devote all his energy to the upcoming NBA playoffs.
April 23 is the last game day of the entire regular season. The Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings are the last game on the last game day. However, this game has no impact on the Western Conference playoff rankings. The Trail Blazers have long been locked in the league. They will face the Golden State Warriors, the eighth-ranked West in the first round.
The third in the West is the Los Angeles Lakers, which has 56 wins and 26 losses. Although their record is second in the West, they rank third because they are in the same division as the Trail Blazers.
This season, the complete aging of Jabbar, without the addition of new players, and the failure to enter the Finals for two consecutive years, made the Lakers a little overwhelmed. Although Magic Johnson played a historically-level personal performance in the season, he could not change the fact that the Lakers were overall decline, fatigue and aging. However, their years of dominating the West's kingly aura, the team's rich game experience, and personal abilities reached the peak, all have allowed the Lakers to continue to maintain strong championship competitiveness.
The Lakers faced the Denver Nuggets in the first round. The Nuggets kept their core lineup unchanged for many years. England still had the style of scoring king, while Fat Leaf has grown into the all-round backcourt king, but Calvin Knight was troubled by injury and played 14 games throughout the season. They got Alwan Adams in the interior, but did not bring qualitative changes to the Nuggets. After experiencing the peak in the mid-1980s, with the overall defense level of the league and the continuous improvement of defensive quality, the Nuggets, which are competitive with smooth offense, inevitably declined.
The Utah Jazz are slowly rising. After trading their scoring champion and black hole Dantley on the court, the Jazz began to build a team around Malone, Stockton. Sloan took office and injected tactics, team and defensive ideas into this lack of talented plateau team. A strong and lasting Utah Jazz began to gradually enter the ranks of Western Conference powerhouses. Of course, they still have a long way to go. 51 wins and 31 losses are the best results since the Utah Jazz were founded, and the second in the West is also the highest ranking they have ever had.
The Jazz's opponent is the Houston Rockets again. The grudges and hatreds of the 1985 playoffs have not yet dissipated, but both teams have changed. Only Olajuwon is left in the Rockets' double towers. The Jazz's double towers are still there, but it is no longer Sloan's favorite tactics. Due to the arrival of Gan Guoyang, Olajuwon will start confronting Karl Malone in advance.
The most intense first round of confrontation was not the Jazz against the Rockets, but the competition for the fourth and fifth positions, the Phoenix Suns and the Seattle Supersonics. Coincidentally, the main power forward of the Phoenix Suns is now they just dug Tom Chambers from the Supersonics in the summer. Chambers would not have thought that they would meet the old master in the playoffs so soon.
Phoenix Suns have made huge improvements through trading and signing with the Liberty. However, they were originally the third in the West in terms of record, but because they were in the Pacific Division with the Trail Blazers and the Lakers, they had to rank fourth in the West. They had to face the fifth-ranked team in the first round and are likely to face the first in the West in the second round.
The two teams, one with strong offense and the other with strong defense, is also the one that Gan Guoyang is most concerned about in addition to his own series. The winner of the No. 4 and No. 5 will compete in the semi-finals with the No. 18 winner.
In comparison, the showdown in the East is definitely even more sad. The Detroit Pistons made a strong effort in the second half of the year and scored a winning streak, surpassing the Cleveland Cavaliers in one fell swoop, ranking first in the East with a record of 63 wins and 19 losses. Their opponent in the first round was the Boston Celtics who blocked their progress for many years.
Thirty years in Hedong, Thirty years in Hexi, in the NBA, the time span can be changed to three years, three years in Hexi, the former overlord Boston Celtics also fell under the erosion of time and injuries. The arrival of Ren Baias only continued the glory of the Celtics for one season. Due to his serious back injury, Bird only played six games throughout the season. Although Ren Baias performed well, he was far from able to replace Bird. Moreover, he had to face the temptation of drugs, and the road ahead was still very long.
The Cleveland Cavaliers were ineffective in the end and could not run over the Pistons who were rushing forward. They ranked third due to division reasons. Their luck was indeed not very good, because the Chicago Bulls led by Michael Jordan will be the Chicago Bulls led by Michael Jordan. Although the Bulls are only ranked sixth in the East, as long as Jordan is there, even if they are ranked eighth in the East, the first team will never dare to take it lightly.
The New York Knicks are thriving under the leadership of Ewing, who is growing rapidly. Ewing has also played a superstar performance this season, averaging 22.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks. The last Knicks player who has achieved this level is Willis Reed. However, under the brilliance of Gan Guoyang, any center performance is pale in comparison. Moreover, in the media's sarcastic New York, Ewing is often compared with Gan Guoyang, and then criticized for being useless, which makes Ewing feel pressured.
Also feeling the pressure was Charles Barkley. Malone left and Dr. J retired. Barkley finally became the well-deserved leader of the 76ers team. His personal performance was also speechless. His average of 25 points and 12.5 rebounds per game made people completely unthinkable that this was a 6-foot-6 player. But in terms of being a leader, Fat Ba undoubtedly has a long way to go. His irritable temper also made him ranked first in the team for fouls, and he did not have a decent helper around him. The 1983 champion only had Cheeks, and the newcomer was not capable, so they could only barely squeeze into the playoffs.
The Hawks and the Bucks are an animal showdown, with two teams that play the defense to an ugly point. In ESPN's pre-match prediction, this round of showdown received the least attention, and even Dominic Wilkins could not drive the ratings of the two teams' games.
This is the situation in the playoffs. Gan Guoyang is no longer the guy who didn't even look at the schedule in the past. Now he will seriously study each round of duels and contribute to the championship road. However, after understanding these things generally, Gan Guoyang still couldn't calm down. He didn't know what impact it would have on him for the upcoming storm.
"Fuxi, I'll go out for a walk." Gan Guoyang suddenly picked up his clothes and said to Wang Fuxi after watching the playoffs.
"It's so late, don't you have a good rest? Where else do you want to go?"
Chapter completed!