Chapter 664 - 52: The Wall of the Empire

Since entering the League in 1984, Gan Guoyang’s playing time had always been the highest in the league.

In his most solo-heavy 1986-1987 season, he averaged 42.6 minutes per game.

That was 2 minutes more than the second-ranked Larry Bird.

His total playing time was 3,493 minutes, which was 212 minutes more than the second-ranked Michael Jordan.

He could rightly be called the NBA’s number one Iron Man, the top Sakiema.

After 1987, Gan Guoyang’s playing time gradually decreased, 41 minutes in the ’88 season, 40 minutes in ’89.

After this season began, because Beelman wanted to give more practice time to players like Sabonis and Divac, Gan Guoyang’s playing time was reduced to 38 minutes, the lowest in his career.

But obviously, Beelman couldn’t just let Ah Gan off the hook.

As the season progressed and the lineup and rotation stabilized, Gan Guoyang’s playing time was bound to increase.

After moving to the four-spot, Gan Guoyang was irreplaceable on the defensive end; his primary task was to help out in the backcourt defensively, controlling the attacking prowess of the opposing backcourt’s aces.

Players like Reggie Miller, Richmond, and Mu Lin, the new generation of NBA guards, were rapidly growing.

Compared to the traditional classic guards of the past, they were taller, played more advanced styles, and had stronger ball handling and attacking skills.

The Trail Blazers, lacking a strong backcourt defender, frequently faced difficulties. Without changing their lineup, naturally, they had to bring out their top workhorses to plug the leaks.

After the jump ball, the game started, and Duckworth won the ball for the Lakers’ first offense.

Johnson’s knees were wrapped in thick blue knee-pads; in terms of the number of games, Gan Guoyang had actually clashed with Magic Johnson more often.

Just as people once hyped up Larry Bird vs Magic Johnson, in reality, Bird’s top opponent in the league was Dr. J, Irving, from the Eastern.

The Trail Blazers and the Lakers were both in the Pacific Division, playing each other five times a year and even more fiercely in the playoffs. Out of Gan Guoyang’s three championships, two were won trampling over the corpses of the Lakers and Johnson, though he also lost twice to Johnson.

Thus, their relationship off the court was very distant, but on the court, they highly regarded each other, continuously studying and witnessing each other’s improvements.

At 30, Johnson was now a very mature and experienced point guard, with a strong ability to control the game.

This season, his average turnovers dropped to a career-low of 3.6 per game.

Meanwhile, his scoring stabilized at about 22 points, and he was delivering around 11 assists per game.

His steals were down, his rebounds were fewer, and he put more energy into offensive organization.

Previously, with Drexler around, it was always Drexler guarding Johnson one-on-one.

After Drexler left, no starting guard for the Trail Blazers could match up to Magic in height and strength.

During the Lakers’ first offense, Johnson deftly dribbled past mid-court, observing his teammates’ positions.

Terry Porter was guarding Johnson and could hardly put any pressure on Magic.

Byron Scott got to the top of the key through a screen, Johnson passed a simple direct ball, Scott caught the ball and shot from mid-range, scoring two points.

This pass by Johnson was very relaxed; he was standing at a 45-degree angle on the left side while Scott ran to the top of the key, and they were very close.

Johnson, backing into Porter with his body, then lightly pushed the ball forward, passing it to Scott, making it impossible for Porter to intercept.

Porter then faced a double team from the Lakers. Just past half-court, Scott pushed Porter towards the sideline, then Duckworth joined Scott to trap Porter towards the corner of the court.

Porter tried to pass the ball to Ah Gan, but it was disrupted by Duckworth’s hands as if they were a net, sending the ball out of bounds, possession to the Trail Blazers.

Don Nelson had clearly done his homework and preparation before the game, knowing that the Trail Blazers’ relative weakness was in the backcourt.

As an inside player, even a great one like Ah Gan still needed backcourt feeding support; instead of meaninglessly trapping Ah Gan, it made more sense to focus on cutting off his supply line of ball possession.

Phil Jackson thought similarly to Don Nelson, and now, most teams in the league followed this strategy.

Of course, if Ah Gan got the ball down low, they still needed to converge and trap him.

Kossie inbounded, passing to Sabonis at the top of the key to handle the ball possession.

Gan Guoyang positioned himself low, blocking AC-Green, while Sabonis passed to Porter on the wing, who then looped the ball to Ah Gan.

The Lakers decisively double-teamed; Byron Scott stepped up, Gan Guoyang moved a step inward, creating space for Porter on the perimeter and passed the ball to Porter, who then took a three-point shot.

Unfortunately, it did not go in, but Sabonis rushed into the paint, grabbed the offensive rebound, and turned around for a one-handed slam dunk!

The monumental dunk from the Lithuanian giant made the hoop at the Great Western Forum sag as if it were about to break.

On the Lakers’ offense, Johnson continued to use his physical advantage to suppress Porter on the perimeter, dribbling while observing the Lakers’ movements.

After moving to the four-spot, Gan Guoyang’s position was clearly more outside, and Johnson suddenly passed a straight ball from beyond the three-point line right under the basket.

Duckworth caught the pass, reversed a powerful dunk! Returning the favor to Sabonis!

Chances like this, only Magic Johnson could see and make the pass.

Other players either wouldn’t have noticed this fleeting gap at all, or if they did see it, wouldn’t dare to pass or couldn’t make the pass.