[{"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-1431":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},1444998,1896,"Chapter 1431 - 44: Only He Is Flying","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1431",1431,"\u003Cp>When Stockton stepped off the court, he draped a towel over his shoulders and wondered, \"Did I come off too early? With Ah Gan still on the court, he’ll exploit every gap. Tonight, his desire to win is strong.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sloan replied, \"I know, let him be. Give Karl some room to shine. Besides, it’s just the regular season; we can’t reveal all our moves.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s true, but I really want to win this one. If we win, it’ll be 3-0 this season. We hope to sweep the Trail Blazers.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s just the first quarter, don’t rush, John.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I am a bit anxious. Ah Gan said he wants to score 60 points.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh, really? Well... why don’t you have a drink of water and prepare to go back in later.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the court, the Jazz scored two more points amidst chaos, with Brian Russell hitting an open three-pointer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PJ Brown had already blocked Asley’s breakthrough, but the Trail Blazers couldn’t control the ball outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the ensuing chaos, Brian Russell was left open, and AC Green couldn’t close in time, resulting in a three-pointer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, Gan Guoyang missed a mid-range shot, and the Jazz countered, with Malone orchestrating from a high position, passing straight inside, allowing Russell to score again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Trail Blazers’ man-to-man defense appeared full of holes against the Jazz’s intricate and coordinated moves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang persisted in one-on-one defense against Malone, and wisely, Malone didn’t force it but opted to orchestrate from high positions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sonny, this is a tactic you often used against other big men. It’s really effective,\" Malone said boastfully after the assist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You keep watching my tapes every day. Did you pay your tuition?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I did, haven’t I paid enough, Sonny.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malone’s biggest improvement this season wasn’t his scoring, but his assists.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His average assists per game rose to a career-high of 4.5 — almost half of Ah Gan’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From an early score-focused forward with little assist capability, Malone had become adept at orchestrating high-to-low plays.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reaching 65% of Ah Gan’s peak level, it was enough to usher Karl Malone into the most glorious phase of his career.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afterward, Hornersek scored another mid-range shot during a fast break. This guy didn’t break in fast breaks; he just stopped and took a jump shot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew breaking inside would give Ah Gan a chance for a block, so he opted for the steady jump shot, securing two points.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Malone and Hornersek held the fort, Stockton could rest assured on the bench, preparing for his return to exploit mismatches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nearing the end of the first quarter, the Trail Blazers trailed the Jazz by 8 points, 18:26, with the gap widening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang had already scored 10 points with 2 assists, but the team struggled against the Jazz, with Fan Madman’s point consistently ineffective.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the end of the first quarter, Bird substituted Kobe for Gan Guoyang, who went to rest, asking, \"Do we need adjustments?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang shook his head, saying, \"No, no need to adjust. Stick to our game plan; things will get better later on.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bird nodded, knowing the situation on court couldn’t be changed by adjustments. The Jazz had a lineup and style that restrained the Trail Blazers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When your style is countered, all you can do is stick to the optimal strategy, wait for players to hit form, and rely on individual skills to turn the tide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang’s performance in the first quarter was standard. Calculatively, he had taken Ostertag off early, but the Jazz maintained stability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Kobe came on, the situation didn’t improve. The Trail Blazers’ outside shooting percentage at the start was poor; everyone seemed out of form.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stockton soon returned to the court, playing through to the end of the first quarter. With the start of the second, he led the Jazz’s second lineup in battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At 22:32, the Jazz once expanded the lead to 10 points as Stockton, like a commander, orchestrated the team’s offense effectively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stockton’s assists had significantly declined this season compared to before, not due to poor form, but because he adjusted his role and play style.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He reduced his time holding the ball, reallocating some organization responsibilities to Malone and Hornersek, making the Jazz less dependent on his passing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stockton knew his weakness: His ball-handling offensive ability wasn’t strong. A player with weak ball-handling offense controlling too much output isn’t beneficial to the team, especially during crucial offensive moments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maintaining a proper balance between passing and shooting creates enough decision-making dilemmas for opponents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A guard with inadequate attacking capability holding much ball control is easily targeted in crucial moments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This could lead to the team struggling offensively after losing his ball control, which is particularly detrimental in high-stakes games.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Stockton’s stats declined in all aspects this season, the Jazz’s overall combat effectiveness reached its peak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the difference reached 10 points, Bird called a timeout, and Gan Guoyang took off his jacket to return to the court.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PJ Brown stepped off to rest. Surprisingly, Bird didn’t substitute Dudley or use Little O’Neal, but teamed up Ben Wallace with Gan Guoyang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Ostertag had already returned to the game, and Ben Wallace, standing a little over two meters tall, appeared dwarfed by Ostertag.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Bird had his plan with Ben Wallace. He valued Wallace’s agile movements and defensive coverage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Wallace was young, on the court, his build didn’t look much inferior in width and strength to Karl Malone’s; he had trained himself to be quite robust.\u003C\u002Fp>",918,"2026-06-06T01:41:56.049Z",1,"novelbin.me","95dd8f533665bca43158aa78ebf6670946026c8df0b84c316f270408e050bf78","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1432","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1430",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]