[{"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-1428":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},1444995,1896,"Chapter 1428 - 43: The Perfect Opponent","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1428",1428,"\u003Cp>As close friends, Gan Guoyang can’t apply psychological pressure on him. Instead, Gan Guoyang occasionally feels constrained when playing against Stockton.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike playing against Isiah Thomas, where he can go all out and play freely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In earlier years, the Trail Blazers’ weapon against Stockton was Terry Porter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regardless of the situation, he could score 40 points on your head, making any strategy useless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stockton remains strong nowadays, being selected for the All-Star and named one of the league’s 50 greatest players, one of the best point guards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Porter has declined, and Ah Gan’s return couldn’t revive his form, leaving him only a regular point guard backup.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Van Exel often has a streaky performance against the Bulls, but struggles against Stockton’s experienced defense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the two previous games against the Jazz, he scored 2 out of 10 in one game, and 3 out of 11 in another, with an appallingly low shooting percentage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We can only say that some players complement others, one counteracts another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past, Stockton alone was enough to make playing the Jazz nauseating and troublesome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This season, with Hornersek added, Gan Guoyang truly experienced the frustration of unable to fully exert his strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially on the defensive end, Stockton and Hornersek maximized guerrilla warfare tactics against Gan Guoyang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Using numerous high-pick and corner coordination tactics to continuously help teammates evade Gan Guoyang’s defense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Karl Malone sacrificed his stats and performance to tangle with Gan Guoyang, creating opportunities for others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the first two games, the Jazz team flourished with multiple outside shooters, and Gan Guoyang alone guarding the inside was ineffective.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tonight, Gan Guoyang decided to break free from previous constraints, focusing less on defense to avoid being led by the Jazz.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the team overall less strong, leverage his offensive advantage and rely on high scoring to crush the opponent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the game starts, Gan Guoyang told Stockton, \"John, I’m definitely going to win tonight. If I need to score 60, I’ll score 60.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stockton nodded and said, \"I believe in you, Sonny. You certainly can score 60.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m not here seeking encouragement, John.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know, but I just believe in you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stockton’s expression didn’t seem fake. Facing an old friend like this, Gan Guoyang wasn’t sure how to respond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Hornersek, that old fellow was also all smiles, who knows how many three-pointers he’ll score tonight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang could only vent his frustration on Karl Malone, but before Gan could speak, Malone said, \"I won’t elbow you, I can’t beat you, I don’t score as high as you. Play good, enjoy the game, today is a beautiful day, Sonny.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Jerry Sloan, who usually swears all the time, praised Gan Guoyang from the sidelines, saying, \"Your status as the greatest in history is well deserved!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now Gan Guoyang couldn’t even find an excuse to provoke, he could only hold his anger back and stand at center circle ready for the jump ball.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is Utah Jazz acting this way because they’re afraid or cowardly?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the contrary, they are fully prepared to topple the Trail Blazers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not just for a regular season game, but aimed at the playoffs, starting from Gan Guoyang’s decision to return, they’ve been striving towards this goal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Ah Gan wouldn’t know, in the 1996-1997 season, when he decided to return, the entire team started their preparations from the summer training camp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every detail, every aspect, from mental to physical to tactics, aimed to counter him, because Ah Gan is a perfect opponent, we invested so much in him that we somewhat overlooked other opponents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I have an innate advantage in this regard, I understand him, I’m clear about everything he does regarding basketball, I love him, but I must defeat him.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>——Excerpt from John Stockton’s autobiography \"Assisted\" published in 2012.\u003C\u002Fp>",632,"2026-06-06T01:41:56.049Z",1,"novelbin.me","7da8f7b95db0e50187cb9199303e596498626193f8ea16d2cb29783cdb817750","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1429","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1427",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]