[{"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-1155":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},1444676,1896,"Chapter 1155 - 18: Fighter No More_5","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1155",1155,"\u003Cp>The Pistons were the ones who received the most targeting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They faced the most public criticism, and the Bad-boy reputation was known to everyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When they could win and get championships, they took pride in it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as there was a slight slump, countless people were ready to kick them when they were down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This led to enormous obstacles in Pistons’ team-building efforts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Daley eventually had to leave, ending the Bad-boy era.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, with the continuous addition of new teams, talent kept getting diluted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Pistons didn’t get fresh blood, and the lineup kept aging.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Four new teams joined, dispersing many talented players.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In these years, besides Dennis Rodman, the Pistons haven’t developed any outstanding new players.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rodman is an exceptional role player, but he’s destined not to be the core, much less an offensive core.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furthermore, Rodman and Salley were both acquired in the 1986 draft.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the 1988 expansion, in the next five drafts, the Pistons’ yield was zero.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only player who played for a while was Lance Banks—who averaged 1.7 points per game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides him, the players they picked were either traded or simply abandoned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No team can endure five or six years without new players emerging.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Pistons are like this, not even cultivating a decent bench rotation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the remaining core players, Dumars can be a great helper but can also not be the core player.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Melvin Turpin’s discipline issues finally exploded, and he couldn’t continue anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Daley left, by the start of the team’s training camp in the summer of 1992, Turpin’s weight had reached 300 pounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Pistons’ only tactical core is Isaiah Thomas, who just turned 31 this year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Logically speaking, he’s in the prime, yet due to consecutive setbacks, his drive to advance has significantly diminished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, he was left out of the Dream Team at the Olympics, then nearly elbowed to death by Malone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Ah Gan elbowed him, he could endure it; there’s nothing he could do, Ah Gan was the boss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t that he elbowed me; it was that I hit his elbow with my face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back then, Clinton, who stood up to support Ah Gan, is now the president.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luckily, Ah Gan finally forgave me, and it’s all right now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, you, little Malone, also do this? Who gave you the guts?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thomas hoped the league would impose heavy penalties and the media would speak up for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a result, the league’s punishment for Malone was just a one-game suspension and a fine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The media hardly made any noise; some even gleefully thought Thomas deserved it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From that moment, Thomas knew he wasn’t welcomed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the basketball circle, in the NBA, David Stern would rather see him dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he had been elbowed to death sooner, Jordan would have already met Ah Gan in the finals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The NBA’s ratings would have been higher, and there would’ve been more money to be made.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Realizing this, Thomas, who had already won a championship, felt dejected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He understood that his era was over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From then on, he kept a low profile on the court, focused on playing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once a person loses that spirit, that drive to overturn everything, their competitive state declines rapidly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This season, Thomas’s average score dropped to 17.6 points, and his shooting percentage fell to a historical low of 41%.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is an awful shooting percentage; just over 40% is unbearable for a small guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This means that when the ball is in your hands, the opponent is delighted and hopes you attack with the ball.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because your efficiency is low, I don’t even need to mobilize too many defensive resources, just one-on-one is fine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This year, being selected as a starter in the Eastern lineup for the Salt Lake City All-Star game offered Thomas some comfort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He realized many fans still support and acknowledge him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, he couldn’t give the fans more; this little guy was almost exhausted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That night, in the grudge match against the Trail Blazers, the fans were as crazy as ever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Bad-boy banner flew on the court, various slogans and screams stimulated the players’ nerves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Honestly, I still prefer the Silverdome. It’s bigger there, more people, like a magnificent opera house. When playing there, I feel like fighting at the center of the universe, with so damn many spectators; it’s really exciting.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the game, Gan Guoyang and Thomas shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang’s words seemed to carry a slight hint of provocation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, they didn’t; he was simply reminiscing about the Silverdome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The eyes of Thomas, who shook hands with Gan Guoyang, no longer held the arrogance of the past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His smile was no longer sly, just a simple reveal of white teeth to show friendliness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I also miss it there; there I feel more like a fighter, not an actor.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thomas called himself an actor, feeling like he’s acting every night now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Putting on a basketball-related show for the fans, performing a role called the Smiling Assassin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He acts very convincingly, but deep down he knows it’s acting, not real.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though he is still him, this name and nickname will always belong to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the most glorious and loudest memories of this player are already buried in the Silverdome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The current Thomas is just gliding on the court by inertia, not soaring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, before a game between the Trail Blazers and Pistons, the two would never chat or exchange pleasantries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They loathed each other; Gan Guoyang even instigated Jordan against Thomas, preventing him from going to the Olympics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, they are like old friends, holding the ball, chatting near the middle line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They talked about future investment development, and Thomas asked Gan Guoyang if he had any good investment projects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang immediately said, \"The funeral industry!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a funeral industry magnate, Gan Guoyang promoted the benefits of this industry to Thomas.\u003C\u002Fp>",984,"2026-06-06T01:41:51.304Z",1,"novelbin.me","f3edd4bee08bf601384881051129baeae70c9aa4887b6f6054363cf2797e6c31","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1305","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1304",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]