[{"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-1489":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},1444906,1896,"Chapter 1489 - 6: My Grandma","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1489",1489,"\u003Cp>The opening game of the 1997-1998 season, Rose Garden Arena, Miami Heat vs. Portland Trail Blazers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pat Riley stood on the sideline, with his immaculately slicked-back hair and a crisp Armani suit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His physique hadn’t changed at all, no signs of weight gain, no belly, still as dashing as ever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The additional wrinkles on his forehead and at the corners of his eyes bore witness to the passage of time; he had already been with the Heat for 10 years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ten years, two Finals appearances, one championship, building a strong team from scratch on a blank slate; Riley’s achievements are worthy of praise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He relied on a superstar strategy, focusing on attracting superstars from other teams, building a superteam, and applying methods to rapidly expand the team.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To him, draft picks were merely resources for trading superstars, a team-building model in the NBA that could be seen as pioneering, offering inspiration to teams that followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the 80s and 90s, when labor agreements were still imperfect, there were many loopholes to exploit. Riley used every means to consistently build dazzling rosters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, over the span of ten years, a single championship seemed rather solitary. Alas, the dominance of Ah Gan and Jordan in the league was too strong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Jordan around, reaching the Finals was impossible; even upon reaching the Finals, Ah Gan was waiting, making it exceedingly difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This summer, after losing Hakeem Olajuwon, the wrinkles on Riley’s face deepened, and he knew that the 10-year championship cycle had likely ended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the team still had Barkley, Hardaway, Drexler, and as usual had poached PJ Brown from the Trail Blazers, the team’s combat effectiveness was much diminished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Drexler was completely unmotivated, having decided before the season began that it would be his last, retiring after the games.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tim Hardaway was still in his prime, and acquiring him was a proud move by Riley, but it also led to the disintegration of the Heat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Trading away John Starks for Hardaway seemed to strengthen the point guard position, but it hurt the players’ feelings—they had clearly won a championship, forming a beautiful team.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Riley’s eyes, past championships were history; whether you could stay was entirely based on your current abilities. If there were better options, he wouldn’t hesitate to trade you for better assets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This cold, ruthless approach allowed the Heat’s star players to see through his tactics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ideological differences between Olajuwon and Riley increasingly exacerbated, and the conflicts grew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Olajuwon would rather start anew with the disorganized roster of the Nets than stay with the Heat for another year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Olajuwon’s departure, Charles Barkley became the linchpin in the interior. When Riley saw Barkley at training camp, he almost fainted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This guy hadn’t trained properly all summer, instead indulging himself until he reached a staggering 300 pounds, hoping the training camp would help him slim down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the game started, Barkley was warming up on the court. Like a large, solid door, his 6’6\" height appeared quite immense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Barkley didn’t dare make eye contact with Gan Guoyang. He resembled a guilty child, looking up and down, left and right, but never straight ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang shook his head at Barkley’s demeanor, understanding why Olajuwon left the Heat—after all, the man was a Muslim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the introduction of players by the onsite DJ, when Charles Barkley’s name was called, the arena was filled with boos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His misdeeds in Orlando had led to widespread boycott and boos across the nation, with waves of derogatory comments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang was correct; Barkley needed a bodyguard and should make sure his wife and daughter were safe, or they would surely face attacks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, all Gan Guoyang could do was offer advice; he didn’t have the time or energy to manage his friend any further. Being able to make a phone call as a reminder was commendable enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Last season’s Western Conference Finals loss drove Gan Guoyang to pour all his energy into training and games.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most social activities were halted, and business matters were entirely handed over to his wife, allowing him to wholeheartedly focus on basketball and continue improving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For someone like him, the anguish of losing serves as the best motivation to move forward, having already had more than enough experience of the joy of success.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the game neared its start, Gan Guoyang took off his warm-up jacket, ready to enter the court, leaving a space on the bench.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Larry Bird would be absent until December due to heart problems and wouldn’t return for the season’s first month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Team leadership was handed to assistant coach Rick Carlisle, who appeared quite nervous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though Hart was older and had experience as a head coach, he still ceded interim coaching authority to Carlisle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because Hart knew he was already established in the coaching circle, at his age, he needn’t worry about job security—he could certainly make a living.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, he was content being an assistant coach, with no ambition to be a head coach; being older, his approach was to continue diligently working in his role.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Carlisle was different; he was very young and relatively new to the coaching circle, yet to gain acceptance from his peers, he needed the credential and experience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, Carlisle picked his best suit for tonight, with a blue tie, making himself look sharp and dashing, like the movie star Jim Carrey, not one bit inferior to Pat Riley.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that Carlisle was nervous, Gan Guoyang went over and patted his shoulder, then somehow pulled out a photo frame.\u003C\u002Fp>",923,"2026-06-06T01:41:56.527Z",1,"novelbin.me","25837ad15ab0541d9c6c96f0906e42e516d54652d80a19912b50c8540d8fd383","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1490","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1488",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]