[{"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-666":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},1444083,1896,"Chapter 666 - 52 The Empire’s Wall_3","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-666",666,"\u003Cp>Receiving Porter’s high arching pass, he pushed forward through the middle to the three-second zone, drawing in the Lakers’ defense, but Gan Guoyang didn’t pass the ball at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He bulldozed his way to the three-second zone and took off for a one-handed slam dunk!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Weighing 265 pounds, Kevin Duckworth was knocked flying by Gan Guoyang straight out of bounds, tumbling over in a complete flip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The impact of Ah Gan is really astonishing... What’s the difference between this and a truck?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chick Hearn had witnessed Gan Guoyang’s brute force charges more than once, and no one in the league could stop him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the first quarter’s break, both sides were tied at 14:14; one could say they were evenly matched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed that Gan Guoyang moving to the power forward position, letting Sabonis play center, aside from giving him a larger defensive coverage, didn’t make much of a difference.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Magic Johnson knew that Ah Gan hadn’t even exerted his full strength yet, neither on the offensive nor the defensive end – the guy was holding back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After five years of playing against each other, Johnson knew the terrifying extent of Ah Gan’s abilities; as a superstar himself, he understood that Ah Gan was continuously improving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s just that it wasn’t obvious in the stats, especially as Ah Gan’s scoring had declined in the past two years, making it seem like he had hit a plateau.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only by facing him head-on on the court could one understand the unfathomable depth of Ah Gan; he would always hold back in the regular season, occasionally showing a hint of brilliance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Come playoff time, he’d give his all, and when the going got tough, it became clear how utterly hopeless he made people feel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Magic also knew that compared to offense, what made Ah Gan’s play truly despair-inducing was his defense; this was often overlooked by many experts, journalists, and fans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Trail Blazers were able to build a dynasty, break the Lakers’ and Celtics’ hegemony, break the consecutive championships curse, wait for their younger players to grow and develop, and achieve current success with a roster not particularly known for its outstanding talent, all because Ah Gan’s defense was the absolute foundation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the Trail Blazers lost Ah Gan’s offense and scoring, they could still probably win the championship with firepower from other players.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But without Ah Gan’s epoch-surpassing defensive abilities, they wouldn’t stand a chance at a title, definitely unable to beat the Lakers or the Celtics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s just that compared to the flashiness of scoring, defensive plays on the court are often silent yet thunderous, and typically go unnoticed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Magic Johnson was an offensive genius, possibly the best offensive organizer in NBA history; he knew all too well the level of Ah Gan’s defense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a word — an unparalleled imperial wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention, Gan Guoyang’s one-on-two defense at the basket was the best in the world; sometimes, even three against him wouldn’t be enough to break through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His defense didn’t rely just on explosiveness, technique, and reaction speed; he also possessed exceptional psychological warfare skills, often causing the offense to mentally collapse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rambis’s bloody lesson was something Magic still vividly remembered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Our offense needs to open up, take shots more decisively, don’t hesitate. You have to dare to shoot; you definitely have to.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the bench, Johnson reminded his teammates to be decisive in shooting; the moment the ball came to them, they had to attack decisively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had to trust Magic’s judgment; if he passed the ball to you, it meant he believed you could make the shot, no problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But, if Ah Gan is near you, you’d better think about moving the ball.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Johnson guessed that by the second or third quarter, Ah Gan would surely start putting pressure on the outside shooters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Johnson’s guess was right; Sabonis sat down to rest with four minutes left in the first quarter, and Mychal Thompson stepped on the court.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang took a break with 1 minute and 54 seconds left in the first quarter, replaced by Divac— this was a different rotational strategy than in the past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the first quarter ended in a 28:28 tie, the second quarter saw Gan Guoyang’s ferocity suddenly unleashed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On defense, he suppressed Larry Drew and Michael Cooper, constantly stretching out to pressure them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stole from Drew on a fast break, bulldozed his way to the basket for a layup.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he blocked Cooper, controlled the ball, and made a long pass to assist Petrović for a layup— their fast-break partnership was becoming more and more seamless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this point, Johnson was resting off the court, and the Lakers’ backcourt couldn’t break through Ah Gan’s spider web defense in their half-court offense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now with Eastern European big centers like Divac or Sabonis under the basket, Ah Gan could confidently leave his back to his teammates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Don Nelson didn’t expect Beelman to be so shameless; everyone else was playing their second unit, why would you still keep your ace on the court?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beelman didn’t care, \"My big brother has an extra-long battery life; I’ll let him stay on the court. Let my superior players beat up your average or subpar ones, and see what you do.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What could Nelson do? After the Trail Blazers ran a 7:0 stretch to widen the gap, he quickly called for a timeout and subbed Magic Johnson back in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Johnson didn’t fear Ah Gan, for he was also a superstar; he had the courage to face Ah Gan directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And having beaten Ah Gan twice in the playoffs, he had a psychological edge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He dared to provoke Ah Gan: \"Sonny, you only push around others. Why don’t you come and defend me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was Johnson’s way to spur him on; if Ah Gan truly went all-out to defend Johnson, the others would have many opportunities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Johnson could deliver more assists, confident in finding every teammate who found a chance to move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is what a team’s leader should do – draw in the strongest defense to create opportunities for teammates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang glanced at Johnson and said, \"Magic, do you think your offensive skills are even better than Larry’s?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang had once locked down Bird in one-on-one defense, pushing his shooting percentage down to a very low level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why don’t we try and see?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Johnson was not one to back down; this was their first confrontation of the season.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was eager to gain the upper hand in their battles, especially in terms of mental dominance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only with that mindset could he stand a chance to take down the Trail Blazers once more in the playoffs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Johnson didn’t feel as confident on the inside; after all, he no longer had Jabbar by his side this year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Returning from the timeout, the Lakers had a sideline inbounds play, with Magic Johnson taking the ball.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang actually went one-on-one in defending Magic, leaving the interior completely to Divac.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ah Gan stood like a wall in front of Johnson; when Johnson tried to back him down as usual, he found he couldn’t move him at all—like an iron barrier, immovable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A hint of regret flashed through Magic’s mind. Why had he forgotten the Gump Law and provoked this guy?\u003C\u002Fp>",1215,"2026-06-06T01:41:36.635Z",1,"novelbin.me","95aabcfb6dadfb3c0bf6bfe9e64f4f28347a3b93263f71c65d77eeb3efad4996","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-667","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-665",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]