[{"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-1522":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},1445039,1896,"Chapter 1522 - 15: Portland’s Three Young Stars (Part 2)","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1522",1522,"\u003Cp>The ball is returned to Ron Harper, Harper shoots again, still misses, the Bulls’ start is a bit off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang grabs the rebound, Trail Blazers counterattack, Sabonis gets the ball at the top of the arc and goes for a three-pointer!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, the ball doesn’t go in, but Gan Guoyang grabs the rebound again, squeezes out Wennington under the basket, and scores with a one-handed dunk!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a 6:0 start, the Trail Blazers quickly take the lead, but the Bulls don’t seem too rushed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This season, the Bulls are a typically slow-starting team, and not just usually slow, but extremely slow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They often go for half a day without scoring, trying to find their rhythm and only start to find their offensive feeling midway through the first quarter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But tonight you’re facing the Portland Trail Blazers, and if you continue to be this slow, you’ll be doubting life from the Blazers’ onslaught.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jordan seems unperturbed on the surface, but he actually starts running quickly and receives a pass from Harper on the right side, scoring a mid-range shot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Immediately after, the Bulls begin to apply pressure on the ball in defense, Harper takes on full-court defense to disrupt Brellock’s dribbling rhythm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chris Mullin comes over to help, but gets tangled up by Dennis Rodman, nearly turning the ball over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first pass in their set plays turns out like this, meaning half of the tactics initiation has already failed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mullin stabilizes the ball, finds Gan Guoyang at the top of the arc for support, and immediately passes the ball to Ah Gan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Wennington and Rodman immediately double-team Gan Guoyang—an extremely strong trap, something Jackson had set up before the game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Starting the double-team this early clearly shows Jackson has meticulously prepared for this game, Gan Guoyang quickly returns the ball to Mullin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The right side has cleared a path for Mullin to break through, and Mullin has no choice but to attack, the veteran holds the ball and drives inside, challenging Lang Li under the basket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the side, Jordan comes over to help, Mullin doesn’t force it and tries to pass to the other side’s Sabonis, but Jordan’s presence blocks the passing lane.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the crowded paint, a pass error occurs, Jordan intercepts successfully, launching the Bulls’ counterattack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Bulls, of course, won’t miss such a good scoring opportunity, they advance quickly on three fronts, with Jordan attracting the defense in the middle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, the ball goes to the side where Ron Harper hits a mid-range shot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Bulls close the gap to 4:6, Gan Guoyang quickly moves to the perimeter for support in their set offense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Following a screen at the top of the arc, he receives the ball and hits a mid-range jumper, making it 4:8, maintaining the lead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As with every past \"Gan Qiao Battle,\" the Bulls and Trail Blazers always get into the rhythm quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because both sides clearly understand that in such level of confrontation, a slow start means death, and there aren’t many opportunities for warm-ups and mistakes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once on the court, every ball must be contested, and every opportunity seized, otherwise, as time runs out, the missed chances and mistakes made earlier will hurt more and more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Subsequently, neither team scores in their next two possessions, the score remains 4:8 for two minutes, the game enters a timeout, and both sides take a rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Trail Blazers’ offense met with a strong defensive backlash from the Bulls, whose defense is layered, disciplined, and boasts strong defensive players.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simple passes and screen plays find it hard to break through the Bulls’ man-to-man defense and rotations, let alone find many open shot opportunities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Twin Towers of Wennington and Lang Li mainly aim not to block Ah Gan, but to prevent Mullin and Brellock from scoring under the basket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In creating defensive traps, the Bulls excel, and Jackson has successfully identified Chris Mullin’s importance and his weaknesses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mullin is crucial to the Trail Blazers’ smooth offense in normal situations; he is sharp in shooting, adept at passing and serves as a connecting link inside and outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the situation where multiple strong points of the Trail Blazers attract defense, Mullin fully plays his role as a lubricant, connecting the inside and outside lines, linking the entire team.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Mullin’s role in the Trail Blazers, Jackson uses Dennis Rodman to tightly mark Mullin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, Mullin is 34 years old, and his true form is not at its peak; his revival at the Blazers is actually system-enhanced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once targeted, he immediately encounters obstacles, and the offensive side takes a hit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Trail Blazers must call a timeout, otherwise, if they don’t, the Bulls’ offense will soon level the score as they regain their touch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bird spot this problem and reminds the players during the timeout, \"We need to be more careful and patient. Don’t think you can easily get scoring opportunities.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In many previous games, the Trail Blazers indeed played too easily because no team’s defense could reach the Bulls’ level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is without Pippen in the Bulls lineup; if Pippen returns and plays normally, the Trail Blazers’ offense will be even harder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a few rounds of confrontation in the first quarter, Jackson feels the Trail Blazers are strong, but seemingly not overwhelmingly so.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a bit of targeting, though still leading, the Trail Blazers show some signs of sluggishness; will they have to rely on Ah Gan to play hard next?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jackson is a bit anxious, thinking, can’t be that just by suppressing Mullin, the Trail Blazers’ offense will be locked down, and again rely on Ah Gan going one-on-one, right?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The one-on-one play of the core players should certainly wait until late in the third quarter or the crucial moments of the fourth quarter, now is too early.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Trail Blazers surely have unreleased tactics in reserve, Jackson wants to see if this game he can force more of the Blazers’ strategies to be revealed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the timeout, the Trail Blazers make adjustments, with Mullin coming off for a rest and Bird bringing in Kobe Bryant early.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Bulls also make substitution adjustments, with Toni Kukoc coming on, replacing Bill Wennington.\u003C\u002Fp>",1031,"2026-06-06T01:42:01.245Z",1,"novelbin.me","9cef2f771999e5675493942a34f4a49e0a84456cbbf10a29af81e53d9ad927c5","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1523","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1521",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]