[{"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-588":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},1444055,1896,"Chapter 588 - 7 A True Man Should Be Like This_3","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-588",588,"\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang smiled and said, \"That’s also good, Divac is a player with potential.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Potential! Heavens, what we need is immediate combat power, an experienced veteran.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My experience is already very rich, Buck, this is a good signing, I think there are no major issues.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang still had an impression of Divac, a slippery defender and a passing maestro on the offensive end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His role indeed overlapped somewhat with Sabonis, having such heavy-duty centers, one is enough for a team.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang’s role was much more flexible, after bulking up he could fight in the low post, becoming the most powerful center in the League.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or he could slim down to play at the power forward position, his shooting and face-up attacks were lethal, unmatched across the League.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just in terms of offensive lethality, Guoyang’s face-up game was stronger than his back-to-the-basket game, after all, his height of 6 feet 10 inches restricted his vision and options when posting up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Guoyang’s strength advantage was too great, and the tactical role of the back-to-the-basket game was stronger than the face-up game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the season of 1985 to 1989, the proportion of Guoyang’s face-up offenses increased, as did his mid-to-long-range shooting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Offensive rebounds decreased, pure physical skirmishes under the basket decreased, Guoyang’s offense became more three-dimensional, and his methods of attack more concise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the 88-89 seasons, his mid-range face-up gradually became his main scoring method, not just a supplement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mid-range shots were accurate enough to ignore defense, at a distance of 14-20 feet whether it goes in relies mainly on his condition, and less on how you defend him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guoyang was further enhancing his range, hoping to achieve the same accuracy from 23 feet, the three-point line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, during this off-season, Guoyang didn’t pursue heavy lifting but worked on refining muscle details, especially those related to shooting power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three-point training was not just about quantity, but quality, making sure to identify issues and explore experience and details with each shot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since Guoyang said \"no problem,\" Buckwalter was reassured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Ah Gan said no problem, it wasn’t just comfort, it meant he was prepared, confident in his approach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Buckwalter knew clearly, that’s how Ah Gan always put people at ease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>-----------------\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The draft on June 27th ended just like that, the off-season had just begun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jerry West’s plan hadn’t been fully realized, but snagging Divac and Robinson, sending away Vandeweghe, and trading for Sanders meant that the strategic objectives had been achieved, Trail Blazers had a great start for the new season.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as either Sabonis or Divac panned out, the Trail Blazers would profit, solving their interior issues.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if neither made it, West still had plans to acquire a suitable big man to assist Ah Gan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for guards, Petrović represented hope and potential, while Sanders represented stability and a safeguard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Petrović could dominate like he did in Europe, the Trail Blazers’ perimeter play would reach a new level, filling the void left by Drexler.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If not, relying on Terry Porter, Hornacek, with Sanders and Curry was sufficient for a strong team’s core to partner with Gan Guoyang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But whether a dynasty could be established was hard to say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although people often say the NBA is a giant’s game, all teams want tall players in the draft,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The roles of guards and big men have always been equal; beside every towering champion, there are always one or more exceptional guards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, with the development and spread of the three-point shot in recent years, the importance of guards has become increasingly prominent; the Trail Blazers’ idea in building a strong guard rotation was correct.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The day after the draft ended, Jerry West flew to Portland, Tang Jianguo held a press conference and announced West would become the new general manager of the Portland Trail Blazers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This news surprised the entire League, Jerry West to their arch-rivals the Trail Blazers?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Los Angeles reacted intensely, \"Los Angeles Times\" immediately claimed it was a conspiratorial defection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Los Angeles media sensed West’s involvement in the draft, suggesting that the Trail Blazers snagging Divac at the 24th pick could very well have been deliberate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Don Nelson was furious, pointing out in an interview that West’s move was a betrayal, he hurt the Lakers, and he joined the Lakers’ biggest rivals the Trail Blazers, bolstering their roster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the other hand, Lakers owner Jerry Buss made no negative remarks in public, instead, he had a private phone call with Jerry West.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the call, Buss apologized to West, saying he shouldn’t have claimed in \"Sports Illustrated\" that anyone could do the job of a general manager, he knew that must have hurt West, and he hoped everything went well for West in Portland.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Buss was such a complex and peculiar person, different from many other owners, emotional, sometimes indecisive, and at other times resolute and ruthless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was full of contradictions, similar to West but very different from the simple-minded Nelson.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Despite feeling a bit guilty, West still assured Buss of his determination to work for the Trail Blazers and bring them a championship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Portland’s \"Oregonian\" didn’t hesitate to counterattack in defense of West, saying it was Los Angeles that first discarded West, not Portland who had taken the excellent general manager.\u003C\u002Fp>",881,"2026-06-06T01:41:33.911Z",1,"novelbin.me","f50071fc977ad5bbeafe2c869c9ec82b8e4a9c28880e1cb6b664275153186b2c","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-589","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-587",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]