Chapter 791: Chapter 20: Enduring the Old Man_3
Gan Guoyang stood on the court, hitting another three-pointer.
At this moment, through the glass walls, he saw the beautiful fireworks bursting in the sky.
City of Portland was holding the New Year’s Eve fireworks display tonight, and the year had stepped into 1991.
In the end, it was Wang Fuxi who knew where her husband had gone to, who squeezed into the gym and dragged him back home.
In the basement, she swiftly wiped off Gan Guoyang’s sweat with a towel and changed him into a new set of shirt and suit—custom-made from Kevin Willis’s store.
Having put on a tie and tidied up his hair a bit, she led him out of the basement and into the lively living room.
Although they missed midnight, Gan Guoyang’s return heightened the party’s atmosphere to its peak, and everyone toasted and celebrated once again.
Gan Guoyang embraced his wife and asked her, "Where’s our son?"
"Don’t worry, he’s been lulled to sleep, he’s doing great."
"Thank you, you are my rock."
"Next time you go to play ball, let me know, don’t make everyone search for you."
A new year had begun.
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On January 3, 1991, the Trail Blazers quickly faced their first opponent of the year, their old rival from the same division in the Pacific, the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Trail Blazers were still facing some injury issues; Sabonis had recovered from his knee effusion, while Petrović was sidelined due to an elbow injury.
This is a challenge that European players have to face; in the NBA, both the intensity of the games and the density of the schedule are far higher than European leagues, and they also have duties to their national teams.
In their first season, they need to adapt; by the second season, as fatigue accumulates, big and small physical issues are bound to follow.
This is the time when the team’s medical protection capabilities are tested, as well as the resilience of the player’s bodies.
Compared to ordinary people, anyone who can step onto the stage of professional basketball has an extraordinary physical quality—they are, in essence, Superman.
Gan Guoyang still maintained his extremely high attendance rate; he seemed immune to injury and continued to be active on the court.
In this game, both sides fought intensely. The Lakers team, after experiencing some unexpected fluctuations and injuries at the beginning of the season, gradually got back on track by 1991.
In the summer of 1990, key guard Michael Cooper left the team.
Before this, the sensitive guard had numerous times thought he was going to be traded, plunging himself into an anxious state.
Now, the day had truly arrived. The Lakers did not renew Cooper’s contract because he could no longer provide the high-quality defense and offense the team needed.
Cooper went to Italy and signed a three-year contract with the Messenger Team—which had just given up on Brian Shaw and acquired Dino Rađa.
Besides that, the Lakers also got rid of Orlando Ulrich and Mark McNamara, making room to sign Sam Perkins.
Clearly, Don Nelson’s guard-oriented move had failed. In the Western Conference, they were no longer contenders against the Portland Trail Blazers, not to mention the San Antonio Spurs.
Gan Guoyang, David Robinson, and Charles Barkley, who had just arrived at the Suns, made the interior lines of the Western Conference even more formidable. The Lakers needed excellent frontcourt players.
As for the backcourt, Magic Johnson could do a lot of things. He was still at his peak and wisely, the Lakers continued to have faith in their 32-year-old superstar.
Although Johnson’s and Bird’s shine was being overshadowed by Jordan and Ah Gan, it didn’t mean they were easily exiting the competitive arena.
In the game on December 26th last year, when the Trail Blazers challenged the Boston Celtics on the road, Portland won a tough victory over the Celtics 120:116, with a four-point lead in two overtimes.
The Celtics showed tremendous fighting spirit during the game, the clever frontcourt coordination between Divac, McHale, and Bird gave Gan Guoyang and Sabonis a lot of trouble.
In the end, by wearying the old Celtics in the overtime, seizing on the Celtics’ errors, they won the game.
Now, the 32-year-old Magic Johnson played more and more like Larry Bird—heavy, strong, slower, and with trickier, slyer tactics.
Apart from Ah Gan taking on mismatched defenses, the Trail Blazers, including Reggie Lewis, found it hard to cope with Johnson.
Moreover, Johnson, like Gan Guoyang, didn’t really need to be directed by a coach to play; he knew what to do with the ball, how to play, and how to control the game.
Johnson’s good teammate, Jordan’s older brother James Worthy, was arrested for solicitation before a road game against the Houston Rockets in November last year.
Houston has a large number of strip clubs, and James Worthy was caught in a sting operation by Texas police.
At the time, Worthy might have faced charges, and if convicted, he would be punished with up to 180 days in jail and a hefty fine, his 1991 season would be over.
Fortunately, the Lakers bailed him out, and he appeared in the game against the Rockets in the second half, but his life was already a mess.
His wife, who had been with Worthy since college and married him, divorced him, and the Lakers had a string of losses at the beginning of the season, even falling out of the playoff ranks at one point.
However, they ultimately had a very good roster, talented players, an outstanding coach, and a legendary core guard.
The Lakers slowly got back on their feet, putting together a nine-game winning streak at the end of November and early December, and consistently maintaining strong competitiveness in subsequent games.
This season, Don Nelson valued defense more, having excellent interior lines in his hands that he never had during his time with the Bucks; he was not merely a coach who relied on offensive barrages.
The two teams once again went into overtime. Like against the Celtics, the Trail Blazers kept their advantage, but their defense seemed a bit slack, giving their opponents too many chances.
As a result, the score kept rising alternately, without a winner in regular time. The first overtime ended at 101:101, and they entered the second overtime.
In the second overtime, the Lakers started to falter; their offensive success rate began to slide, while Gan Guoyang once again successfully weathered the veterans—scoring ten points consecutively in the second overtime, helping the Trail Blazers lock in the victory.
After the hard-fought win, Bobby Beelman believed that Ah Gan might just be able to play until the age of 50.
years old, that would be the year 2014—what a distant time.
