[{"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-978":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},1444445,1896,"Chapter 978 - 21: Another Path_2","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-978",978,"\u003Cp>Regarding Karl’s provocative behavior, Gan Guoyang certainly wouldn’t tolerate it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the second game started, Gan Guoyang went straight to the visiting team’s locker room door at the Rose Garden Arena to block Karl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Karl saw Gan Guoyang standing there, his legs immediately went weak, and he almost knelt on the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Ah Gan causing trouble, Kemp wanted to go up, but Payton quickly held him back, whispering: \"Bro, don’t, don’t.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Payton had known Gan Guoyang for many years, he understood Ah Gan and knew that Gan Guoyang’s fighting power was amazing but wouldn’t act recklessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you don’t provoke, it’s fine; if you go up and escalate the conflict, no one knows what might happen later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang stood with hands on hips, looking down at Karl, and said: \"George, when you returned to the NBA, Whitsett called every coach and management in the league, asking for evaluations about you. Guess who gave you a good review?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>George Karl scratched his bald forehead and said: \"Uh... I know, it was Shi Bobby, Bobby Berman.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Now do you know that Bobby’s opinion has always been my opinion? He consulted with me at the time, saying George Karl wanted to return to the NBA, what do you think? Guess what I said?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This... this I really don’t know...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I told him, George will be a great coach and stay in the league for a long time. He relayed the exact words to Whitsett.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang was telling the truth, which made George Karl sweat profusely, unsure how to respond for a while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He actually hoped Gan Guoyang would scold him, threaten, or provoke him so that he could have the energy and passion to attack the Trail Blazers later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, awkwardly standing at the locker room door, he could only shrug and say: \"I... you know, some words are just... uh, tactics before the game, it’s normal.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s right, it’s normal, so you won’t get any punishment, except losing the game. Good luck, George.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, Gan Guoyang left, and the atmosphere in the entire Supersonics locker room lightened considerably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After entering the locker room, George Karl adjusted his tie and said: \"Why didn’t anyone stand up to stop this guy?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Payton, chewing gum, replied: \"Because our brains are all normal.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the young Supersonics, grabbing a home game from the Trail Blazers was already considered a mission accomplished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Karl wanted to take this opportunity to ignite the players’ desire to win, to continue moving forward and create a miracle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the recent event was like a cold shower, drenching him thoroughly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because he realized, he himself feared Ah Gan, so how could he let the team overcome him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I should have punched him then, or called security, or reported him to the league to penalize him! Or... at the very least I should have insulted him...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>George Karl was filled with regret, thinking that his previous performance was too cowardly, and if he had been tougher, maybe they could have won tonight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Actually, deep down, George Karl also knew, they were very likely to lose tonight; winning two games in a row in Portland was completely impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As it turned out, in the second game, the Trail Blazers only made a simple adjustment, and the Supersonics were thrown into disarray right from the start.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beelman designed the first quarter tactics as pick-and-rolls between Porter and Gan Guoyang, with Gan Guoyang making consecutive mid- and long-range shots from the top arc and 45-degree positions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His touch was excellent in this game, and Kemp experienced a feeling of \"I’ve already tried my best but really can’t defend.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>George Karl continued with the strategy of allowing Gan Guoyang to shoot mid- and long-range from the previous game and paid a heavy price for it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>95:115, the Trail Blazers easily beat the Supersonics with a 20-point advantage at home, tying the score at 1:1.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang made 4 out of 6 three-point shots and 7 out of 11 mid-range shots, efficiently scoring 35 points along with 18 rebounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tonight he completely dominated the Trail Blazers’ offense and defense, and besides focusing on pick-and-rolls at the start, the Trail Blazers didn’t make any more adjustments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If tweaking their game after losing one to the Supersonics required major adjustments, it would prove they lack confidence in their own strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After winning the second game, Gan Guoyang remained calm inside; back in the locker room, he uncharacteristically refused interviews from reporters and then asked Jack Shaloff to play the game footage for himself to watch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shaloff said: \"It hasn’t been edited yet, Sonny.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No problem, I’ll pick the key parts myself to watch, play it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang was watching the game tape in the locker room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He held the remote control, fast-forwarding at times, pausing at others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In about half an hour, he had reviewed the entire game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone else had left by now, going home to get a good rest, as they had a flight to Seattle early the next day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bobby Berman saw Gan Guoyang still watching the tape and asked, \"Sonny, are you not satisfied with this game?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang shook his head, then nodded, and said, \"Not too satisfied, I could have played better.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"35 points, 18 rebounds, 4 blocks, winning by 20 points, how much better do you need to be? Do you need to score 50?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, Bobby, no... Bobby, do you think I could be better?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bobby Berman was tidying up his locker, sorting out things given by his ex-girlfriend to discard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Gan Guoyang’s words, Berman paused for a moment; he initially wanted to say, \"Sonny, you’re already good enough, what more do you want?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he swallowed those meaningless words back; he had a premonition that Ah Gan was seeking a breakthrough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Berman had been Gan Guoyang’s head coach for over a decade, knowing him better than his own daughter; Gan Guoyang rarely asked such weak questions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he changed his tone and said, \"Of course, you can do better. Get your spirits up, you son of a bitch, do it better, starting next game I’m going to have you play 45 minutes and beat the shit out of those glass guys in Seattle, especially that George Karl guy, XXXXX...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a series of profane insults, the old friends laughed together in the locker room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, Gan Guoyang dressed up, and Berman threw a box of past items into the trash can, and they left the Rose Garden Arena.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>-----------------\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, in another venue, in the Eastern Conference, in Chicago, the Bulls and the Heat had surprisingly tied 1-1.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This big score was equally unexpected, as the Miami Heat showed quite a remarkable fighting spirit in the playoffs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the first game, the Bulls had a predictable win over the Heat on their home court, and they crushed this new team by a big margin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jordan had a clear advantage over Drexler, dominating both offense and defense over the Glider.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just when people thought the Bulls would easily take a 2-0 lead heading to Miami, in the second game, the Heat put up an extremely tough defense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The most impressive performance came from the Heat’s center, Ronnie Secali, a robust and handsome Lebanese center, who used agile footwork and fierce rebounding to suppress the Bulls’ frontcourt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He scored 19 points, grabbed 21 rebounds, and made 3 blocks, leaving the Bulls’ inside struggling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Secali’s career high was grabbing 34 rebounds in a game, making him one of the few freaks in the 90s league capable of getting 30 rebounds in a single game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Secali was embroiled in trade rumors involving Olajuwon towards the end of the regular season, his postseason performance was impressive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the Bulls’ helplessness against a powerful center was evident, leading the media to again question the Bulls’ prospects this season.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ronnie Secali was just a thoroughly weakened version of Ah Gan, yet you struggled like this, what will you do against the real Ah Gan?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, what truly troubled the Bulls wasn’t Secali, nor was it Drexler with his triple-double, or McDaniel clashing with Pippen, but the Heat’s head coach, Pat Riley.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Phil Jackson realized that Pat Riley was building a team in Miami with a strict, almost military-like style, using harsh defense to challenge the Chicago Bulls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once trade rumors materialize and the Heat acquire a superstar center like Olajuwon or Ewing, the Heat would surely pose a huge threat to the Bulls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bill Cartwright and Buck Williams’ aging was inevitable, as both were already over thirty and their performance was visibly declining.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, Bill Cartwright’s slim build and Buck Williams’ short stature were more than enough against other league interiors but were easily disadvantaged against the strong-type centers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ah Gan was the strongest inside player in NBA history, even more formidable than Chamberlain, and Chicago media had every reason to worry about the Bulls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what the Chicago media and the Bulls didn’t know was that Ah Gan was transforming on a different path.\u003C\u002Fp>",1504,"2026-06-06T01:41:40.447Z",1,"novelbin.me","ab667b35ccadf929fe5ca5e602929d56e3bcc779a3d5ebbb53532f78f035caa3","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-979","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-977",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]