Chapter 107: The rookie flapps its wings
The scary thing about the Lakers is that even if this team doesn't have any tactics, five people pull out singles one by one, and there are few teams in the NBA that can compete with it.
The team's main three, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Abdul-Jabbar were all draft picks that year, forming the league's only three-top combination.
Starting point guard Byron Scott was the fourth-best pick in the first round in 1983, and Bob McAdoo on the bench was a 1973 pick and former regular season MVP; and Jamal Wilkes, the champion of the Warriors in '75 and the Lakers' main small forward before the '84 season.
The Lakers' lineup is so strong that it is no wonder that the entire West is unstoppable, and it also makes the Trail Blazers, who played normally in the opening game, look discouraged.
Ramsey knows that the Lakers must not fall too far behind at the beginning, otherwise they will be dragged down by the Lakers' high rhythm in the back, and the will to win of the entire team will be destroyed.
"Clyde, you come on for Paxson, go to Johnson in the main room, remember to press Johnson, don't think about destroying his passing, start pressing from the dribble; Gan, before Abdul-Jabbar, KiKi you need to pay attention to this point of Worthy, I am afraid that they will storm this point later, Sampson you should pay attention to help KiKi. ”
Ramsey mainly made appropriate adjustments to the Trail Blazers' defense, and on offense he decided to continue with the previous routine, the previous offensive disadvantage was not a tactical problem, but the players were not right in handling the ball and feeling, and he hoped that the players could adjust as soon as possible.
The short timeout quickly passed, and the two sides returned to the court, with the Trail Blazers making substitutions, Drexler replacing Jim Paxson, and the Lakers remaining in the starting five.
"Come on Clyde, behave well for the old man." Gan patted Drexler, who was rarely substituted in the fifth minute, and he had to play until the end of the first quarter before he got a chance to play.
"Leave it to me, and I'll deduct one for you later." Drexler said with a smile that he was also anxious to show himself in this game, which was broadcast live in the United States.
The Great Western Forum Arena slowly cooled down, and the two sides were once again engaged in the battle.
The Lakers' defense is still shrunk around the three-second zone, and their defense has shrunk even more after seeing Drexler on the court, and they are not worried about Drexler's shooting ability.
Sure enough, Drexler picked up the ball from outside the three-second zone on the right side and got past Scott in one step, but Rambis made a layup.
With black-rimmed eyes, a long white and clean beard, Lambis doesn't look like an NBA basketball player at all, but a white-collar worker working in an office building.
But it makes sense for him to gain a foothold in the NBA and play for a big club like the Lakers, the main thing is that he has self-knowledge and knows what he should do and what he can do.
On the defensive end, he knew that he should constantly make up for the leaks and block people in the position, although his defensive skills and physical fitness are not first-class, but the positive xìng is definitely first-class.
Drexler's breakthrough was too impatient, and he suddenly went too deep to the right baseline, and Rambis was well stuck, squeezing Drexler into the corner with Scott.
Sampson, who was missed, opened his hand to ask, but Johnson had stepped forward in time to make up for it, and the vacated Valentin was too far away for Drexler to pass.
As a result, Drexler could only shoot a mid-range shot in the bottom corner with his lame shooting position, and he couldn't shoot accurately, but under the interference of the two, he naturally only hit the iron.
"Phew!" The ball shot from the baseline smashed into the front of the basket and deflected quite badly, which shows how unreliable Drexler's shot was.
"I asked him to adjust his shooting stance, but he just wouldn't!" Ramsey off the court was angry when he saw Drexler hit the shot.
"Clyde Drexler, when he shoots, it's like a monkey jumping up and throwing a coconut out of his hand, and the coconut smashes hard into the front of the basket...... Oh, Gan grabbed the rebound, but Abdul-Jabbar and Lambis surrounded him tightly and he had nowhere to run! ”
Gan Guoyang struggled to grab the rebound, but the 7-foot-2 Abdul-Jabbar and the stubbornly stuck Rambis left him with no space to jump and shoot.
"Beep!" At this time, the referee's whistle sounded, and the referee blew Gan Guoyang's three seconds.
Gan Guoyang's eyes widened and he looked helpless, but he didn't know what to say, and he didn't know how to communicate with the referee when he just came to the NBA.
"Don't put your hands down! Don't put your hands down! Hold it all the time! Ramsey yelled on the side, Gan Guoyang was still inexperienced after all, and he didn't pay attention to many details.
Like taking off the frontcourt board under the basket, it's best not to bring the ball below the chest, once you put it down, you basically can't lift it.
Gan Guoyang has such a good arm span, he should hold it high, pick up the rebound in the air, and complete the attack directly in the air.
"Hey rookie, your coach is starting to lecture you again, you really should study in college for a few more years, and it's not a bad thing to read more books." When he retreated, Wossey said to Gan Guoyang.
"Don't think you're an intellectual with your eyes, mind yourself, fool."
James Worthy is nicknamed the Eye Snake because he has been wearing a pair of sports glasses in the game, which has also become the reason for Gan Guoyang to mock him.
Worthy stopped talking, obviously he was a little angry, and he thought it was time to give the kid a look.
The Lakers continued to attack the position, but Gan Guoyang had begun to defend Abdul-Jabbar in front, while Drexler had been staring at Johnson from the backcourt, slowing down Johnson's advance and forcing Johnson to pout for half time.
Gan Guoyang showed his strength in the front defense, he seems to be in general shape, the strength of his back, arms and thighs is quite amazing, according to the talent value, according to Gan Guoyang's own estimates, it should reach 70, which is rarely rivaled in the NBA at that time.
The 37-year-old Abdul-Jabbar didn't have a good way to face Gan Guoyang's circle, and he couldn't even stand firm under Gan Guoyang's pressure.
But in addition to Abdul-Jabbar, the Lakers have another good player in the low post, and that's Worthy.
Seeing that Abdul-Jabbar on the right couldn't get a position, Worthy plugged in from the left and suddenly stuck in the middle of the three-second zone, his card was deep and accurate, and Vanderwig couldn't stop him at all.
Johnson's pass was also very timely, a fast and accurate through ball passed to Worthy, who turned over directly after receiving the ball, pressing Van der Veric to prepare for a layup.
Since Worthy is a right-handed general, his turn is a left turn, which happens to turn to Gan Guoyang's side, Gan Guoyang sees that Worthy wants to make a layup, no matter how much he rushes up, he wants to cover him.
But Worthy's turn was extremely fast, and when Gan Guoyang jumped, Worthy's ball had already been shot, and Gan Guoyang also hit Worthy's hand.
"Beep!" The referee's whistle sounded, Gan Guoyang fouled the beater, and Worthy had to add a penalty when he scored the ball.
"Hey, Gan, come here!" Ramsey saw Gan Guoyang, who was standing there with a depressed face, and beckoned to him.
Gan Guoyang walked up to Ramsay, not knowing what Ramsay was going to say to him.
"In this case, you don't need to reach out, there is no way to stop the opponent from scoring, why do you have to foul the opponent to give the opponent a chance to add a penalty? We can't guarantee that every ball can be defended, so we have to make sure that the damage is minimized and we don't do things that are not worth the loss. ”
Ramsey taught the impatient newcomer that Gan has very good defensive awareness and technique, as well as good physical fitness and amazing strength.
But his experience is not enough after all, in the NCAA facing players who are two grades inferior in talent and other aspects, Gan Guoyang can naturally fight for every ball, and block so that the opponent does not dare to enter the three-second zone.
But in the NBA, every player is a genius, and some are even more talented and powerful, such as Worthy, it is impossible to completely contain him, so you must be free to make the best choice every time to minimize the loss.
Gan Guoyang nodded, he knew that he was indeed too tender, many of his experiences in the NCAA were no longer applicable, he didn't feel it in the previous games with several weak teams, and today he played against the strongest team in the West, Gan Guoyang's weaknesses were exposed one by one.
"You're doing a good job right now, you can go to the low post and enrich our attack." Ramsey continued, meaning that Gan could try his opponent alone.
In the previous game, Gan Guoyang's singles efficiency was quite good, he became more and more confident in his right-handed hook, and after resisting, he turned over and hooked, as long as the opponent was not particularly tall, he was basically nine out of ten.
But today Gan Guoyang is facing a particularly tall Abdul-Jabbar, and he is the great master of hooking, and he is also the enlightener of Gan Guoyang's learning to hook hands.
So when Gan Guoyang was in the low post and got the ball, he hesitated, and finally he turned it into a basket with a dashing sigma step.
"Oh, Gan gave up on the hook duel with Abdul-Jabbar, obviously casting a hook in front of Abdul-Jabbar, any player's hit rate will automatically be reduced by half, and Gan wants to rely on the footsteps of the basket against Abdul-Jabbar." Zike Hearn doesn't miss an opportunity to taunt an opposing player.
Gan Guoyang has his own ideas, and in several training confrontations with Abdul-Jabbar, he found that it is a very unwise choice to beat Abdul-Jabbar, who is 7-foot-2 tall and has an extremely long arm span, with his back to his opponent.
In this case, Abdul-Jabbar barely needs to move, he just straightens his waist and stretches his arms, forming an impassable wall.
Obviously, confronting Abdul-Jabbar like this is a typical self-defeating trap.
If you want to fight Abdul-Jabbar one-on-one, you either rely on footwork, strength, or both, after all, Abdul-Jabbar is 37 years old and his body is also a slender type.
Gan decided to use the footwork and impact of the basket to deal with the aging superstar.
Gan Guoyang's Sigma step is very skillful and smooth, and the moment he turned, he observed the Lakers' defense and found that there was no one under the basket, but Rambis was eyeing the three-second zone and ready to make up for it at any time.
Jabbar stood in front of Gan Guoyang like a big tree, obviously he could no longer defend as closely as he did when he was younger, he could only put on a shelf.
Gan Guoyang suddenly automated, from the right side of the baseline straight to the basket, his steps were huge, one step past Abdul-Jabbar.
After passing the pass, he didn't pause, just slapped the ball, and directly grabbed the basketball with one hand with his right hand, and with another step, he had reached the edge of the three-second zone.
Rambis just reacted at this time and wanted to step forward to make up for the defense, but it was too late, Gan Guoyang had already pinched the ball and flew in the air.
"Bang!" Gan Guoyang split the buckle with one hand, as easily as climbing a ladder to install a bulb on the lamp, and it was with one hand.
"Oh-my-god, a dunk from Gan, it reminds me of that dunk from Dr. J in the finals, the same one-step pass, the same three-second jump, the same one-handed catch, the same ease and grace! I can't believe it's a move made by a center! ”
Zike Hearn was clearly remembering the image of Dr. J. Irving's one-handed smash at the Great Western Forum Arena with Abdul-Jabbar, a goal that left the entire player crowd stunned for a long time.
At this time, the fans of the Great Western Forum Arena were also stunned, they didn't expect this Chinese center to have such a sè dunk, although his jump speed and height are much worse than Dr. J, but his movements in the air are the same as Irving, the same long arms, the same giant hands, the same face Abdul-Jabbar.
This national live broadcast of the game allowed the whole United States to see Gan Guoyang's dunk, which was Gan Guoyang's second dunk in this game, and his fast-break self-throwing and self-dunking at the beginning was also brilliant.
At this time, the TV station focused all the close-up shots broadcast on Gan Guoyang, and of course on his feet, Gan Guoyang was wearing a pair of sneakers with a hook logo, which was Nike.
At this time, the Nike boss who was watching the game in front of the TV was already very happy, and Gan Guoyang's performance will undoubtedly attract a large number of fans, which is greatly beneficial to Nike's brand appreciation.
However, Gan Guoyang is unusually calm, dunks have never been something he loves, and he developed his own dunks just to verify a conjecture about the growth of talent.
Gan Guoyang quickly forgot about the goal and threw himself into defense.
At this time, the Trail Blazers still trailed the Lakers by 4 points at 9:13, and the first quarter was just halfway through, and 9 points was too little.
The Lakers also didn't score much, and due to Gan Guoyang's delay and Drexler's entanglement, the Lakers never played a continuous fast break, but their offensive efficiency was quite high.
But the Trail Blazers began to increase their defensive intensity, and the Lakers' movement was sluggish, and after a few rounds of cover, they couldn't find a chance.
Johnson handed the ball to Worthy, who faced Gan Guoyang after the misplaced defence.
"Come on, baby, you can get the ball in my hand." Worthy provoked Gan Guoyang.
Gan Guoyang was unmoved, staring intently at Worthy, he knew that he must not be passed by him.
Worthy's back-to-body attack is quite powerful, and the fast-break finish ability is extremely strong, but his ball-handling attack is insufficient, so he really can't do anything to single Gan Guoyang.
Seeing that 24 seconds were coming, Worthy suddenly made a sideways move, dodging Gan Guoyang and preparing to jump to shoot, Gan Guoyang reversed the condition and reached out to jump to block.
"Beep!" The referee's whistle blew again, and Gan Guoyang was awarded a foul.
Because Worthy's shot was just a feint, after deceiving Gan Guoyang, he leaned directly on Gan Guoyang and made a foul.
Gan Guoyang's attention was too focused and too anxious, eager to teach Worthy's stinky mouth a lesson, and he fell into his trap.
Ramsey could only shake his head on the side, it seems that this rookie really has a long way to go.