Chapter 997 - 28 Beneath Feet_5

"Today I invited your teammates and colleagues for a meal, not for any special reason, but to show you the ground beneath your feet, the people around you, and those who fight alongside you. Capture them, work with them, only then can you continue. I watched your first two games; you didn’t play well, your eyes were absent from your teammates. Although you passed the ball, seemingly playing well, your eyes were lifeless! I don’t understand basketball, but I can see that because, after all, I have watched you play for many years."

Gan Youwei rarely makes long speeches in front of his son. After speaking, his serious expression dissipates, and his gaze becomes flickering again, as if embarrassed by saying so much.

He continued to apply sauce to the duck, preparing to roast it in the oven.

Gan Guoyang said nothing, burying his head in chopping vegetables, and casually prepared a few specialty dishes.

The evening at Gan Guoyang’s home was lively; Curry’s son and Thompson’s children all came over.

They ran up and down in the house with Gan Wenshan, playing mischievously and having a lot of fun.

At dinner, everyone vented the frustration and resentment from losing the first two games.

Everyone shared their opinions and thoughts, discussing what didn’t go well, where problems lay, and strategies to tackle challenges.

The Trail Blazers are an outstanding team, but any team will stagnate without communication or dialogue over a long period.

The Trail Blazers have had smooth sailing in the past two years; a little effort would see opponents fall easily, reducing communication between players.

It wasn’t until tonight that everyone openly shared their sentiments; Sabonis mentioned he occasionally wants to try playing the five-position and swapping with Ah Gan.

Petrović expressed he could occasionally start instead of always being the sixth man, as starting helps him get into rhythm more quickly.

Reggie Lewis said he felt more comfortable at the small forward spot, though the shooting guard position is fine too, but he worries his weak three-point shooting might affect team tactics.

Porter mentioned he could play the two-position as well, facing the Bulls as the point guard was torturous, especially since their assault on point guards has been more relentless this year.

Everyone chimed in with their thoughts, ideas previously suppressed by victories now surfaced.

Finally, Gan Guoyang slapped the table and said, "Alright, you think about this, and that, haven’t you all messed things up? You refuse to play here or there, then who’s going to fulfill these responsibilities!"

Everyone turned their gaze unanimously to Gan Guoyang, who realized, in the end, damn it, it still comes down to practicing alone!

Of course, the team was more or less joking, Bobby Berman spoke on behalf of everyone to Gan Guoyang, saying, "Sonny, many times, we don’t know what you’re thinking, but we trust you unconditionally. As long as you have confidence, we still have faith in winning the championship and completing our three-peat."

The whole team looked at Gan Guoyang with burning eyes, and Gan Guoyang stood up, saying, "The two most important days in life: the day you are born and the day you know why you were born. I, you, the entire Portland Trail Blazers, were born for the championship."

The night was calm as water, and Gan Guoyang could not fall asleep for a long time. Tonight he continued to sleep alone, pondering some questions.

Although today everything Gan Youwei did was inspiring, Gan Guoyang also understood he couldn’t always gaze upwards, but should look more at his feet and his teammates.

However, the feeling of impending breakthrough remained silent; he knew something, some thoughts must be holding him back.

Someone knocked on the door, Gan Guoyang got up to find Gan Youwei standing at the door.

"Dad, why aren’t you asleep yet?"

"I... did some things and said some things today, was I over the line? You wouldn’t blame me, right?"

"What are you saying, I couldn’t thank you enough, you’ve awakened me, I was looking too high, forgetting what’s beneath my feet."

"Actually, you’re not wrong. You should aim high and look there; even Kant said something about the starry sky and morality, we should look up when necessary."

Gan Guoyang laughed, saying, "Dad, I really underestimated you, you’ve started reading Kant."

"Well, live and learn, your father is not illiterate. I just casually chatted with you, fearing you couldn’t figure things out, feeling terrible about losing, with so many hoping for your defeat, I can’t help being annoyed."

"Dad, I didn’t expect you were quite knowledgeable about basketball, you didn’t use to like it."

"My son is a superstar now, how can I not like basketball? Even if I don’t like it, I have to watch. Recently, I watched some Japanese manga, about basketball. I initially intended to buy them for the grandson, but once I watched, found it quite interesting, well-drawn but a bit childish, exaggerated; quite suitable for kids."

"Manga? You even read manga? What manga."

"It’s... what’s it called, SLAM DUNK, the protagonist is a red-haired lad."

Gan Guoyang immediately understood, it’s "Slam Dunk Master," the popular basketball manga Inoue Takehiko started serializing in 1990, a work that influenced a generation’s youth.

Upon hearing about this manga, Gan Guoyang suddenly felt a sense of disorientation, this work that had influenced him was currently in serialization.

Gan Youwei continued, "I know this manga, heard the author is your fan, started drawing after watching your games. I wanted to see if the story has anything to do with you. Turns out, it’s a high school story, the protagonist doesn’t even understand basketball, playing for a girl, not as good as you..."

The rest of what Gan Youwei said, Gan Guoyang could hardly hear or remember.

He only felt he suddenly understood something, all things binding him had vanished.

"Breakthrough? What breakthrough? I am the strongest, no one knows how to play basketball better than me, no one!"

In an instant, Gan Guoyang took a big step forward, crossing the towering mountains of time and space, standing higher, even higher.