[{"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-1781":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},1445198,1896,"Chapter 1781 55: This Damn Game","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1781",1781,"\u003Cp>May 22, 2000, Los Angeles, Staples Center, the first battle of the Western Conference Finals begins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two sides are old rivals, even to the point where there are hardly any secrets left between them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the game, Phil Jackson attempted to create some controversial topics at the press conference and encouraged his players to attack the Trail Blazers, creating a tense and fierce atmosphere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But unexpectedly, no one acted on Jackson's words, as everyone knew it was best not to provoke Gan Guoyang if they wanted to defeat him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Los Angeles media showed little interest in these topics, with only one thought in mind: \"Let's play the game, let's settle this, stop with all the nonsense.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jerry West rarely showed up at important games; he usually preferred to stay home and wait for news.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He appeared much older than he did in Portland, with gray hair and sagging skin—the past few years in Los Angeles hadn't been easy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The issues within the Lakers were more troubling than those with the Trail Blazers, lacking someone like Gan Guoyang to stabilize things while catering to a big boy like O'Neal; players were quarreling, scheming, and undermining each other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, the team's two cores, O'Neal and Kidd, despite their off-court differences, cooperated seamlessly on the court, without letting excess emotions affect the game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Phil Jackson truly had methods, acting like a psychologist, administering specific antidotes for each player's issues and meticulously crafting the Triangle Offense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Shaquille O'Neal wasn't always impressed with Jackson's system, and young players like McGrady and Kidd had their own ideas; Jackson's control over the Lakers was clearly less strong than over the Bulls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, West was filled with worry about whether the Lakers could overturn the Trail Blazers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The good news was that the Trail Blazers were equally troubled, with the veterans having lost their fierce drive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While the newcomers had great potential, from the first two rounds, relying on them to take the lead would still take time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kobe was like a ticking time bomb due to the uproar at home over the Vanessa incident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Los Angeles newspapers' sports pages were filled with gossip about Kobe's family troubles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Understandably, Kobe's condition would be affected, and the atmosphere within the Trail Blazers wouldn't be as united as in the previous two seasons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short, both teams had their own issues and flaws; who could stand out in the series, and accomplish the final honing before the finals amidst intense battles and confrontations, would be revealed in the games.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At 7:30 PM, the game started on time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Trail Blazers' starting lineup featured Gan Guoyang, Little O'Neal, Sabonis, Kobe, and Brellock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the playoffs progressed, Rick Carlisle gradually settled on the team's starters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sabonis returned to the starting center position, while Gan Guoyang moved to the small forward spot, and Alan Henderson was basically out of the rotation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After enduring a \"tormenting\" regular season, Gan Guoyang successfully reduced his weight to 255 pounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was basically similar to his rookie season, although such mid-season weight loss wasn't great for his game state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But to reduce body stress and contribute more in offense, compensating for the lack of seasonal planning during the off-season, Gan Guoyang resolutely carried out the weight loss plan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After losing weight, Gan Guoyang clearly felt his body in better shape, more agile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Correspondingly, his strength and bulk were somewhat affected, but mobility improved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To have someone withstand O'Neal at the center position, Carlisle naturally sent Sabonis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang directly faced those swingmen prepared by Jerry West, ready to challenge them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Lakers' starters were O'Neal, Audie Norris, Robert Horry, Tracy McGrady, and Jason Kidd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dennis Rodman played a third of the season with the Lakers but left due to conflicts with O'Neal and Kidd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jerry West didn't want to keep a ticking time bomb in the team locker room, so he released Rodman mid-season, allowing rookie Devin George to rise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The 37-year-old Thorpe had some oil left in his tank, capable of supporting the starting position for a while, providing protection for O'Neal and having some low-post offensive ability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The teams were very familiar with each other, studied one another thoroughly, with hardly any secrets left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially the Lakers' meticulous study of the Trail Blazers, from Phil Jackson to Jerry West, had thoroughly researched the team.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, after the game started, both sides quickly got into the rhythm, as O'Neal knew the Trail Blazers wouldn't double-team early on, he repeatedly received the ball under the basket, attacking Sabonis aggressively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Trail Blazers, of course, understood Gan Guoyang's defense against O'Neal would be more effective, but doing so would leave their offense under-resourced; Gan Guoyang mainly focused on scoring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The interior was entrusted to Little O'Neal and Sabonis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Los Angeles, Gan Guoyang always played well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As O'Neal scored, Gan Guoyang also found his touch early with post-up plays and mid-range shots.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the first quarter, the score reached 24:25, with the home team Lakers leading by 1 point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Apart from O'Neal, Jason Kidd managed the team's offense with smooth coordination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kidd's impact on the team was subtle, often not holding the ball himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He always passed the ball to teammates, to McGrady, to O'Neal, to Horry.\u003C\u002Fp>",872,"2026-06-06T01:42:07.224Z",1,"novelbin.me","fb41997cec28d9f7346d28520a2bf0b62553c3264cac1012522145a359731e7b","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1782","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1780",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]