[{"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-1187":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},1444732,1896,"Chapter 1187 - 25: Massacre (Part 2)","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1187",1187,"\u003Cp>Karl had no confidence in verbally sparring with Beelman, especially here in Portland.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Karl couldn’t back down; he couldn’t show fear. He had to hold on until the end of the game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the handshake between the coaches, Beelman refused to shake hands with Karl, making it awkward for Karl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At 7:30 p.m., the game officially began—both teams embarked on this crucial fifth game, a decisive match for the series.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Terry Porter remained on the sidelines, and the Trail Blazers made an adjustment in the starting lineup, with Mario Ely starting at the small forward position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reggie Lewis returned to the shooting guard position, and Petrović moved to the point guard position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beelman intended to strengthen the backcourt defense and fortify the team’s perimeter to prevent the Supersonics from launching too many counterattacks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the game, Beelman assigned Mario Ely the task of locking down Supersonics’ guard, Ricky Pierce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the 1993 season, the Supersonics were developing Payton and Kemp as the core players, but based on on-court performance, perimeter player Ricky Pierce was the more crucial one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially on the offensive end, Pierce’s scoring from the perimeter played a vital role.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the two games the Trail Blazers won earlier, Pierce’s performance had been mediocre.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back in Seattle, Pierce scored 24 points in the third game and 25 points in the fourth game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, many of Pierce’s points weren’t tactical points but rather solid individual scores.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pierce wasn’t a super scorer; at 33, he was entering the latter stages of his career.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back when he was a substitute for the Milwaukee Bucks and won the Sixth Man of the Year, he could average 23 points per game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His perimeter shooting ability and tough penetration were what Payton, a \"jack-of-all-trades,\" lacked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So whenever the game was on the line, it was Pierce who stepped up to score and stabilize the game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beelman realized this issue and was determined to contain Pierce on the defensive end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pierce stands 6 feet 4, not very tall, with an average wingspan, but he’s strong and has very solid skills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Mario Ely is 6 feet 5, slightly taller than Pierce, equally strong, and very tenacious defensively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>George Karl saw Beelman starting Ely and immediately knew that the Trail Blazers were targeting Pierce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ely initially made his mark during Karl’s tenure in the CBA, achieving an impressive record on Karl’s team.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Subsequently, NBA noticed him, and he successfully entered the NBA, so Karl knows Ely well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knows Ely is an excellent role player, and Pierce is likely to encounter trouble tonight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Karl didn’t have any other solutions; the team inherently lacked a super isolation scorer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To some extent, Payton and Kemp were anomalies and had flaws as core players.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They could only rely on a 33-year-old veteran like Pierce to provide scoring when tactics failed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The importance of Pierce goes without saying. During his peak with the Bucks, he was always in the Sixth Man role.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon joining the Supersonics, Karl discovered how vital his perimeter scoring was and had to place him in the starting lineup.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, Beelman had seized on this weakness of the Supersonics and ramped up the effort to strangle it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the first few minutes of the first quarter, both sides played back and forth, while Gan Guoyang didn’t rush to exert himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He continued cooperating with teammates, organizing, passing, as if he had forgotten his 50-point vow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, the Supersonics continued using tough defense to cause turnovers, capitalizing on fast breaks and energy to score.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the series entered Game 5, both teams understood each other, and their play styles became cautious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a 10:10 start, both teams endured a relatively tranquil warm-up jogging phase.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this time, Bobby Berman stood up from the bench and approached the sideline.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed to signal that the Trail Blazers were ready to speed up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang began calling for the ball in the low post, first moving to the left side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the perimeter, Petrović passed the ball to Sabonis, then ran inside to draw the defense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sabonis lobbed the ball to Gan Guoyang, and the Supersonics’ double-team immediately came.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang patiently passed the ball out, back to Sabonis, who paused before passing it back inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By this time, Gan Guoyang had squeezed into a deep position in the middle, catching the ball and immediately turning to hook shot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many Supersonics players’ hands were waving nearby, but none could interfere with Gan Guoyang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From such close range, it was practically a freebie for Gan Guoyang, as he easily scored the two points.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After making this shot, Gan Guoyang didn’t immediately retreat but stayed in the frontcourt to execute tight defense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was another adjustment for the Trail Blazers in tonight’s game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You Supersonics like tight defense, right? I’ll return the favor with the same strategy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Likewise, increasing the intensity of tight defense early, disturbing your first pass, making it uncomfortable for you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang’s ability to defend smaller players is formidable; Payton felt as if he was surrounded by a cage while dribbling past the half-court.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He habitually tried to use his body to pressure the defender, his usual strategy, being taller and stronger than most point guards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this is Ah Gan, and trying to collide with him was like hitting a wall, resulting in Payton’s unstable dribble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang swiftly stripped the ball away, successfully stealing it, and immediately passed it to the frontcourt, where Petrović had already dashed ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catching the ball for a quick layup, the Trail Blazers scored another 2 points, 10:14, as the Trail Blazers began accelerating their efforts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Supersonics had to keep pace, yet Gan Guoyang continued to put pressure on Payton, forcing him to pass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ball went to Kemp, who hesitated near the three-point line before deciding to drive inside himself.\u003C\u002Fp>",974,"2026-06-06T01:41:51.304Z",1,"novelbin.me","5b82723d19babe00e7692c12d8e87e63582e246081b6ad878fca1edf72c41fa8","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1188","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1328",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]