[{"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-1179":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},1444720,1896,"Chapter 1179 - 24: I’ll Score 50 Points","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1179",1179,"\u003Cp>Portland fans are in high spirits, and their desire for a championship has returned after entering the semifinals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Owner Tang Jianguo has been talking about \"four consecutive championships,\" attracting more media attention and bigger newspaper coverage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The championship genes of the Trail Blazers have been triggered, and the war machine has started to operate from top to bottom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s spewing thick black smoke, making explosive sounds, crushing Western Conference opponents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, sitting in the driver’s seat is Beelman, and at the heart of the team is Gan Guoyang, who knows best that the Trail Blazers are weak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They are much weaker than in past seasons; although a 58-win record in the regular season is still impressive, a record is always just a surface number.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the playoffs begin, the only role of the regular season record is to determine whether you have four or three home games, and nothing more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Trail Blazers’ main issue remains injuries; although the whole team is playing, Terry Porter, Petrović, and Sabonis are not at their best physically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Porter’s calf muscles are tight, greatly affecting his performance against the Lakers in the first round, with movement, defense, and shooting all lacking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Petrović, no comment needed, the tear in his knee’s cruciate ligament remains, and he will wear thick knee pads throughout the playoffs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sabonis is the most stable of the three in terms of injury; he’s always been injured anyway, and the decline in his mobility and defense impacts the team greatly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the starting five, three are playing injured; their condition is certainly not optimistic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, Reggie Lewis does not have major issues; besides occasional back pain, his knee and ankle are fine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He and Ah Gan, one inside and one outside, have contributed significantly on both offense and defense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The worst situation is Jerome Kossie, whose mid-season rape incident greatly impacted him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn’t focus on basketball for a long time, exhausted from dealing with lawsuits and negative publicity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Trail Blazers have very good and close relations with the Portland local community.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of Kossie’s incident, some fans have become distrustful of the team, believing the players’ character is problematic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kossie had to spend a lot of time participating in community activities to repair his relationship with the fans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His own emotional life was also destroyed by this incident, leading to a breakup with the girlfriend he was going to marry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Off-court troubles ruined Jerome Kossie’s court status, and he delivered his worst performance since the 1986 season.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All statistics fell to their lowest in nearly six seasons, the number of appearances dropped to 50 games, and attendance time reached an all-time low.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the latter half of the season, Mario Ely had completely replaced Kossie as the team’s top choice at the three position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Bernard King joined, Kossie’s time was further squeezed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the championship and big contract in hand, Kossie wasn’t particularly concerned about it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Often he happily waved towels for Ah Gan from the bench.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That counts as luck in misfortune; the Trail Blazers locker room hasn’t had issues.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short, injuries and slumping performance are objective facts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They cannot be changed by will; stirred championship hearts won’t instantly regain peak status.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Against the Lakers in the first round, Porter’s stopped jump shots weren’t there, Petrović’s scoring explosiveness diminished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kossie’s scavenging and sneak attacks during chaos vanished, and Sabonis frequently fell into foul troubles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Trail Blazers’ coaching staff sees these, so they must be strategic when facing the Supersonics in the next round.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hard power is sufficient; before power, all tactics are foam.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when your hard power isn’t enough, strategy becomes crucial.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Supersonics are a tough bone to chew and aggressive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Last year they suffered in the first game, overturned later with all-out strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this year’s first game suffers again and they lose home-court advantage, the following games will be tough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So in strategy formulation, Gan Guoyang and Beelman agreed to hold back a bit first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Supersonics will definitely defend like crazy, Gan Guoyang will avoid their sharpness, not engage head-on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You defend, I defend too, let’s play a defensive game, deplete each other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the Supersonics exhaust their sharpness, at the decisive moment, Gan Guoyang will strike to seal the victory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the first half, Gan Guoyang played very conservatively; without his firepower, the Trail Blazers struggled to keep up in scoring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Porter looked quite embarrassed under Gary Payton’s defense, Petrović struggled against the Supersonics’ wings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sabonis fell into foul trouble, Jerome Kossie didn’t get much playing time, he couldn’t keep up with the rhythm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, their defensive foundation was intact; once it comes to the crucial playoff moments, they can still deliver quality defense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lewis, Ely, and Curry contributed a lot of points, especially Ely and Curry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their wing threes gave the Supersonics a big blow, punishing their flat, frantic switching and double-teaming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, the Supersonics wouldn’t abandon their defensive strategy because of such punishment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At halftime, George Karl demanded the team increase defensive intensity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Our goal is to strangle them!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We will build a solid advantage in the third quarter, letting them get lost in our defense.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Energy, energy, energy! They are approaching their end, don’t see fans still clinging to championship hopes and the owner shouting ’four consecutive championships’; that’s just a dying fantasy. I bet this year the Portland people are doomed, we are their grave diggers, sending them into the grave, I am sure of it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",910,"2026-06-06T01:41:51.304Z",1,"novelbin.me","ec1b7c0743903367ac1531cf70a05cf1c85ac1e8ec0368f4545792034d9089ff","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1180","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1324",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]