Chapter 642: Chapter 33: The Great Feng
Some people are naturally afraid of heights, or their bodies and nerves cannot bear too much overload.
Gan Guoyang had no physical issues, but he had some psychological issues. He always felt that the sensation of speed, weightlessness, and flipping in the dark seemed to transport him to another dimension, never to return.
He had never experienced this before, but sitting on a roller coaster made him feel like he had, and he didn’t want to go through it again.
When he left Disney, Gan Guoyang vowed to crush the Orlando Magic the next day to vent his frustration.
On December 4th, at the Orlando Sports Arena, the Trail Blazers played an away game against the Orlando Magic.
This was the first historical meeting between the two teams, and the home game tickets were sold out. Orlando Sports Arena (future Amway Arena) was fully booked with all 15,077 seats sold.
The plan for the Magic to settle in Orlando was proposed back in 1985 when Orlando businessman Jim Hewitt believed that Florida should have a professional basketball team.
Among the many states in America, Florida, being in the deep south, was developed later and was once dense with swamps and teeming with alligators.
As the economy developed continuously and cities expanded, Florida became a haven for tourism, retirement, and immigration.
In 1966, Miami welcomed its football team, the Miami Dolphins, who made consecutive Super Bowl appearances from 1971 to 1973 and in 1972 set a record of a perfect season, unique in NFL history.
The Dolphins created tremendous economic value for Miami and became an important symbol of the city.
The 70s were the darkest and lowest point for the NBA, having exhausted its energy merging with the ABA, and had no capacity for further expansion.
Not until Stern took office did the NBA’s various problems lessen, and the league began to consider expanding its territory.
Hewitt’s suggestion received multiple endorsements from local and NBA authorities, but initially, everyone thought the new team would be in Miami or Stan because Orlando was considered too small; in the 80s, it didn’t even have a major airport, let alone a venue that met NBA standards.
However, as Hewitt was from Orlando, he naturally hoped the team could be in Orlando, so he teamed up with local real estate agents, fruit merchants, and other investors to build a new arena and expand infrastructure in Orlando with support from Orlando Municipal.
With concerted efforts, the NBA’s expansion plan grew from three to four teams, and eventually both Miami and Orlando acquired NBA teams.
The NBA’s territory now included Florida.
Naturally, Florida’s fans also had to be part of the NBA arenas.
Fans from each region had their unique styles.
Previously, Gan Guoyang could profoundly feel the difference between the fans of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Detroit Pistons when he played in the Western Conference Finals and the NBA Finals.
Many Lakers fans were well-dressed, wearing suits, dress shirts, and POLO shirts, with some even sporting neckties.
During the 1987 Finals, the Silverdome was filled with blue-collar worker fans dressed in T-shirts and shorts, colorful and casual.
By the 1988 Finals against the Washington Bullets, it was different; the Bullets were in the Capital, and many politicians attended the games.
Therefore, the audience at the Capital Gymnasium was densely packed, with spectators dressed more formally and conservatively.
In Orlando, the scene was different again; fans dressed casually, many in striped shirts, floral shirts, and brightly colored T-shirts, emanating strong Florida beach vibes.
The cheerleaders here were also very hot and had beautiful, radiant smiles, being very active on the court.
This vibrant and lively atmosphere made the game feel more relaxed.
Magic fans and players knew they were unlikely to beat the Trail Blazers.
Since the Magic were a new team with no performance expectations, instead of fearing losing, they took a defensive stance.
The Magic’s November record was quite good, with seven wins and eight losses, nearly a fifty percent winning rate.
Although they lost their debut game, they secured a victory in their second game against the Knicks.
In their recent six games, they had five wins and one loss, including a big away victory against the Utah Jazz and a home win over their in-state rivals, the Miami Heat, which were morale-boosting victories.
The Magic’s head coach was Matt Guokas, who played for the Philadelphia 76ers during the 1966-1967 season and was teammates with Chamberlain and Cunningham, capturing the 1967 championship.
The Magic and the Heat, these two teams, have deep connections with the Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers.
Many players on both teams were once associated with the 76ers and Trail Blazers.
It started because the Magic’s owner initially sought the help of the 76ers’ owner to bid for the franchise rights, and Billy Cunningham became a minority owner of the Heat, coming in with persons including Yin Man and Spoelstra to invest.
Relatively speaking, the Heat’s influence was more complete and powerful, while the Magic appeared somewhat weaker, lacking someone like Riley who had the ability to steal key players.
The biggest star on the Magic was Reggie-Seth, who had begun his leading player career in weaker teams after Jordan went to the Chicago Bulls.
He played for the Kings for a few years, was traded to the Hawks last season, and stayed for one year before the Magic picked him up in the expansion draft.
The team’s second player was Terry Catledge, who in 1986 was traded to the Bullets involving Moses Malone in transactions with the Philadelphia 76ers and Washington Bullets.
In 1988, he followed the Bullets to the finals, always serving as Charles Barkley’s backup in the frontcourt, averaging 9 points and 6 rebounds per game.
Once in Orlando Magic, he became the team’s leading scorer — the scenario where "in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king."
In addition to these two outstanding players, Magic’s starting lineup included Jerry Reynolds (who shares his name with the coach for the Kings), point guard Sam Vincent, and center Mark Acres.
Overall, it was a team with some experience and skill, better than the Timberwolves but only slightly.
And as a new team without pressure to perform, having too many old players wasn’t necessarily good; in the end, without the spirit of young players, their performance might only decline.
Playing against such teams as the Magic and Timberwolves was stress-free for Gan Guoyang.
Because the Magic lacked a tough frontcourt presence, Mark Acres was a typical soft white center.
In an era when toughness in the paint became more important, it was very difficult for new teams to acquire a good starting black center.
Not to mention, the Trail Blazers had players like Sabonis, Divac, and Mychal Thompson — aged but extremely talented in the frontcourt.
So, from players to fans, everyone in the Magic had a good mindset, not playing to win but to perform well and provide an entertaining night.
Having suffered an injury in a Disney roller coaster, Guoyang didn’t hold back, declaring before the game, "Tonight, I’m going to play hard!"
Everyone thought he was going to rack up points again, maybe scoring 50 or even 60 points if he felt hot.
But Guoyang started playing as a point center, drawing Magic’s defense and continuously passing the ball to Sabonis inside and to Porter and Hornacek outside.
Magic’s sloppy defense gave Guoyang room to excel.
Who had once made just one or two assists, now averaged six assists per game this season.
His ability to coordinate was getting stronger; previously, Beelman had wanted Sabonis to act as the point center, but now it seemed that Ah Gan was more effective, it had to be him.
Guoyang avoided the paint, spending most of his time near the three-point line, acting as a tower to pass to teammates or shooting from afar.
Tonight, his three-point shooting was also quite good, scoring 4 out of 6 attempts, causing the already fragile Magic defense to spread even thinner.
Sabonis was truly effective in the paint; with high-arching moves, all Guoyang had to do was throw the ball in, and Sabonis could catch and turn to attack the basket.
Thus, Guoyang transformed into a "playmaking power forward," contributing 17 assists in the game, setting a new career-high for assists.
In NBA history, the regular-season assist record for a center is 21, held by Wilt Chamberlain.
He set the record in the 1968 season when he switched to playing as a point center, focusing on passing.
Guoyang was four assists shy of this record, and his passing skills were increasingly becoming second nature.
Although toward the end, some of his passes and assists looked a bit forced, with time, Chamberlain’s record seemed within reach.
Of course, honing one’s passing skills was slower and more difficult than other technical skills; it was not only about technique but also about having the mind for it.
Guoyang, in November, could average six assists per game, partly due to the well-oiled system and also because of his successful long-term video analysis and tactical practice.
Once Guoyang fully mastered passing, reaching seemingly effortless proficiency, his achievement of "Great Skill Requires No Work" would be fully realized.
Watching Guoyang deliver one beautiful pass after another, Divac nudged Petrović, saying, "See, passing is essential. While the core is efficiency, passing is key to achieving it, for individual strength has its limits!"
