[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-golden-age-of-basketball":3,"chapter-the-golden-age-of-basketball-the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1119":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Golden Age of Basketball",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1444536,1896,"Chapter 1119 - 10 New and Old King of Strength_3","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1119",1119,"\u003Cp>The referee saw that Brown said nothing, so he walked away without intervening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Rose Garden Arena, you still want to complain about Ah Gan, what a joke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang and Vandeweghe bumped fists and said, \"You’re still hanging out with the Clippers, buddy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vandeweghe said, \"He’d better bench me as DNP because I don’t want to play anyway.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Are you preparing to retire?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"After this season, probably soon. I’ve got everything I wanted, it’s time to relax a bit.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vandeweghe indeed had nothing more to ask for.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Besides, without you, this lunatic, by my side, playing really becomes dull without any motivation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his seasons in New York, Vandeweghe didn’t have many highlights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Being beside Ewing, Cheche increasingly felt the gap between him and Ah Gan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not just in skills, but more in mental will and leadership character.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ewing is tough, but his toughness seems more like rashness, and not true courage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, Ewing often acted foolishly, saying inexplicable things that dampened morale, whether to teammates or the media.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He seemed to speak without thinking, which really hurt the feelings of teammates and fans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In contrast, looking back on his Trail Blazers career, Vandeweghe couldn’t help but sigh, as the whole team was tightly controlled by Ah Gan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The game that night was quite intense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Brown wasn’t liked by the players, his coaching skills were still on point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This year, under his complete guidance, the Clippers indeed displayed some strong team qualities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With outstanding defense and attention to detail, the team’s core consisted of Manning, Jackson, and Harper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When playing against the Trail Blazers, it was competitive, at least not one-sided.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Trail Blazers had a full lineup, but the main starters had played on and off for half a season, and the lack of synergy was evident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Plus, Kossie was on bail pending trial and was suspended indefinitely, which weakened the Trail Blazers’ strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Beelman made suitable adjustments to help the Trail Blazers maintain their performance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In December, the Trail Blazers played well; their defensive efficiency slipped significantly, but their offense was maintained well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The team’s offense and defense focus shifted outward, with Porter, Lewis, and Petrović forming a backcourt triangle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang stood out alone on the inside, with Sabonis’s playtime being controlled due to injuries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this game against the Clippers, Beelman used a starting lineup of Sabonis, Gan Guoyang, Lewis, Petrović, and Porter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This lineup gave up the oppressive perimeter defense, pulled back the defense line, relying on rim protection and outside attacks to wear down the opponent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beelman didn’t want to use up Sabonis’s precious knees, nor did he want Gan Guoyang to spend the regular season doing extensive defense rotations, helping and switching on defense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lewis transitioned from being a defensive spearhead and offensive role player to a main offensive handler on the outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Petrović and Porter formed a double-barrel backcourt, providing extremely strong outside firepower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang played the role of a free agent in offense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The team’s Princeton System was fully mature.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In most regular time, Gan Guoyang became a part of the team offense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past dozen games, his assists frequently reached double digits, having become an organizational master.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Sabonis’s coordination and screens, the Trail Blazers’ offense was extremely flexible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This compensated for the shortage of the bench, lack of combat power, and deterioration in details.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They relied on more scores to counter their opponents, using offensive efficiency to outdo the opponents, and also covered their issues with scoring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simply put, when the Trail Blazers scored more points than the opponent, the Trail Blazers won.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Involving calculations of offensive efficiency, Beelman, after repeated calculations, came to this strategy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short, it was a victory of mathematics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tonight, in the battle of spear and shield between the Trail Blazers and the Clippers, the Trail Blazers laughed last.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the third quarter, Gan Guoyang, Porter, and Petrović joined forces to launch a 15:4 offensive surge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They hit consecutive three-pointers on the break, rendering Larry Brown’s proud half-court defense useless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, Brown knew that Ah Gan hadn’t even activated the hard drilling mode in positional play.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was just cooperating with teammates on the perimeter, playing like a small forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tonight his three-point touch was excellent, the Clippers had to send a tall guy to defend him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Defensively, Ah Gan guarded the basket loyally, controlling all defensive rebounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whenever the Clippers’ shooting percentage dipped, Porter, Petrović, and Lewis would initiate fast breaks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It can be said that this lineup and playstyle of the Trail Blazers was quite sly in logic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They would lose games, have bad states, and stumble in certain matches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The issue was that they played with minimal effort and were tactically impeccable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only way to defeat them was: direct conflict.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shoot more accurately than the Trail Blazers, have fiercer match-up defense, suppress shooting percentage one-on-one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Trying to gain an upper hand in forming tactics was impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was also why the Trail Blazers were terrifying:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For many seasons, due to the presence of Ah Gan, their margin of error was frighteningly high.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter what problems arose in roster structure, player age, injury, or health.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as adjustments were made around Ah Gan, they could quickly piece together a high-efficiency, handy makeshift lineup and system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without offensive resources, they’d shrink in, fight hard on defense, highlighting Ah Gan’s one-on-one prowess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With insufficient defensive resources, they’d open wide offensively, highlighting Ah Gan’s versatility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If there were more forwards, they’d build the team with forwards, using a three-towers approach, rough play, wave-like defense and crash the offensive rebounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it was guard-centered, they’d build the team with centers and guards, inside-out, Princeton, fast breaks, and surround shooting with threes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Come 1993, this characteristic of the Trail Blazers remained unchanged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And because Ah Gan became more versatile, their variations increased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brown attempted to adjust the lineup and keep up with the Trail Blazers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, after gaining a leading advantage, the Trail Blazers’ offense became increasingly relaxed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang started to exert force in the fourth quarter, continuously hitting mid-range shots.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This guy began to seal the victory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brown tried to struggle, instructing players during a timeout to commit fouls aggressively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the Clippers players didn’t listen to Brown at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aggressive fouls? Are you crazy, Larry?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it was in Los Angeles, it might be something to consider.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is Portland; you want us to foul Ah Gan aggressively?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why don’t you go and shout aggressively at Ah Gan yourself?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s just a regular season game, why go all out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Clippers inherently lacked a tough team culture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And there was no grudge with the Trail Blazers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If there was, it was between Sterling and Ah Gan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bosses’ issues had nothing to do with the players.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, Brown’s words were basically wasted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Clippers players finished the fourth quarter normally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Trail Blazers won at home 119:107, defeating the Clippers by 12 points.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They secured their first victory of the new year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the game, Larry Brown stormed off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without shaking hands with Beelman, he left the court with his head down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shortly after this game ended, Brown internally submitted his resignation to the Clippers’ management.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said he would leave after this season.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Clippers initially agreed but later tried to retain him, offering Brown a long-term contract.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Brown was determined to leave, knowing he couldn’t achieve much here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the following games, the Trail Blazers both won and lost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The games they lost were often due to poor outside shooting and offensive slumps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once their offense weakened, they struggled to lift their defense, easily falling into disadvantage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the games they won, their offense flowed smoothly, and opponents found it hard to resist the highly talented offensive lineup of the Trail Blazers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They began to turn into a team mainly focused on offense, with defense slightly lagging behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, this was just the regular season, and things would certainly differ in the playoffs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In January, the Trail Blazers achieved an 8-4 record, which was still passable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By February, as the All-Star game approached, voting for it was in full swing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang and Jordan were still leading the voting charts by far.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two were impeccable whether in stats, team performance, or individual display.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the NBA always needed new faces, new idols, and new heroes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially in the great position of center, the topics about giants were never-ending.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On February 7th, just before the All-Star game, the Orlando Magic was set to challenge the Phoenix Suns on the road.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rookie Shaquille O’Neal tore the Suns’ home basket completely apart with his immense power during the game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This terrifying strength and huge frame shocked NBA fans, as another monster had descended into the league.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, from a physical standpoint, he was even more daunting than Ah Gan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>People began to look forward to their first encounter during the Trail Blazers’ Southeast road trip on February 11th.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The showdown between the new and old kings of power was incredibly anticipated.\u003C\u002Fp>",1508,"2026-06-06T01:41:50.199Z",1,"novelbin.me","5b91d4e318dd211d938a509cdc5514622f7d9041236d14d456a64e89e5247782","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1120","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1118",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]