Gan Guoyang was always precise with his moves, which were explosively effective, but he rarely hurt anyone.
However, there were exceptions, and tonight, Gan Guoyang didn’t control himself, not only drawing blood from Miller but also sending him into a brief sleep, unfortunately woken up by the dics, seemingly not rested enough.
Gan Guoyang comnded Miller for his bravery.
But in order for him to understand the cruelty of professional competition, it was necessary for Gan Guoyang to teach him a lesson.
Such scenes would almost happen daily in the professional gas of the 80s.
Gas in the 80s weren’t as violent as in the 60s or 70s; fights were restrained.
But the overall martial spirit still remained, and if you were a gentleman, you’d always be a gentleman, and over ti, people would co to respect you for it.
Players like Mark Price, you’d feel embarrassed even thinking about playing dirty with him.
Or like Michael Jordan, who insisted on retaliating with his skills, was equally respectable.
Once you set a precedent, you had to keep facing the challenges from newcors, and if they went after you, you had to respond in kind promptly.
Gan Guoyang truly had no rival in the League, turning many into pacifists.
But there would always be new hot-blooded rookies joining every year.
Full of passion and dreams of glory, they set their sights on challenging the mightiest in the League.
As the reigning king of the arena, you had to make a strong response.
Otherwise, after the ga, the young guns would say, "That guy was nothing special, I elbowed him and he didn’t do much."
Then, more and more youngsters would co looking for a trial by combat.
Regardless of what Miller thought, Gan Guoyang had to return the favor.
The referees called a foul on Gan Guoyang but didn’t eject him from the ga.
Instead, Reggie Miller, assisted by the team doctor, headed back to the locker room to tend to his wound.
But Miller shook off the doctor’s hand, indicating he could walk on his own, without any help.
Miller was indeed tough, showcasing the ttle of a team leader.
In the second half, Reggie Miller returned to the court with gauze wrapped around his brow.
For soone as competitive as him, a wound was not sothing to fear, but rather a badge of honor.
In the Pacers, Reggie Miller could boldly say to his teammates, "I’m the guy who dared to elbow fight with Ah Gan."
Just for that, he could overshadow Wayman Tisdale and Chuck Person to beco the undisputed leader of the Pacers.
Mike Schuler, aiming to protect Miller, reduced his playing ti in the second half and kept him away from Gan Guoyang.
Provoking Gan Guoyang not only got Miller hit but also led the entire Pacers to a brutal beating.
The only highlight of the ga was the elbow Gan Guoyang gave Miller.
Besides that, the Pacers couldn’t mount any credible offense or defense, failing to find any opportunity to defeat the Trail Blazers.
Person’s stats were good, scoring 20 points in the ga, but he lacked aggressiveness.
The "Long Shooter," who could average 18.8 points per ga and win Rookie of the Year last season, saw both his average points and shooting percentage decline this season.
His nickna stemd from his increasing fascination with long-range shots; his three-point attempts significantly increased while his free throws decreased, leading to an overall drop in shooting percentage.
So far this season, he was only averaging 17 points per ga, his rebounds dropped from eight to six, turnovers increased, and both blocks and assists numbers were on the decline.
In his rookie season, he had confidently told his wife, "Soday, I will achieve sothing great. I an, I don’t have any obvious weaknesses."
His wife sarcastically replied, "You can’t cook, clean, do laundry, or iron clothes."
Whether the wife was right or not, Person had shown trendous confidence last year and truly seed to be without flaws.
But having no shortcomings could also an a lack of standout strengths.
For Person, after a year in the NBA, his overwhelming realization was that there were too many monsters here.
It was even more terrifying than facing Charles Barkley and Jackson at Auburn University.
Especially Ah Gan and Michael Jordan; they were so strong it was disheartening to even try catching up to them.
This might have been Person’s biggest weakness, as his fighting spirit was being worn down by the monstrous NBA competition.
He was content with being a sharpshooter, a forward with precise shots, rather than striving to beco the next Larry Bird.
The Pacers were crushed by the Trail Blazers in this ga, 115 to 96, a 19-point difference.
Gan Guoyang scored a triple-double with 33 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 blocks for the night.
At the end of the ga, Gan Guoyang shook hands and embraced Reggie Miller, saying, "You’ve got a hard head, my elbow hurts a bit from bumping into you."
Reggie, unconvinced, replied, "Playing against you, one should wear a helt."
For a tough guy like Miller, Guoyang had a lot of respect.
As for Chuck Person, the brown-noser, Guoyang said, "Chuck, I hear your trash-talking is top-notch in the League. Next ti you co to Portland, you should really show it off."
Person’s trash-talking was well known in the League, but trash-talking is sothing that needs skill to back it up.
With skill, trash-talking adds splendor and shines even brighter.
Without enough skill, trash-talking makes one look like a clown, quite ridiculous.
"Oh no, I definitely don’t want to experience your first-class wrestling and bumping techniques."
Person had the good sense to keep his trash-talking to a minimum around Ah Gan.
Gan Guoyang just smiled and shook his head, thinking he wasn’t that scary.
In his view, Person was no match for Miller; at least Miller was brave.
When he got back to the locker room, Gan Guoyang pulled a "no outsiders" move and took $100 from the money won last ti from gambling.
My goodness, one ga’s bounty was worth five or six gas for an average player.
Drexler also got $20, and curiously asked, "Ah Gan, where’s the bucket?"
"Bucket? What bucket, there’s no bucket."
"We always have a bucket to put the money in when we bet."
"We’re not betting now, so no bucket."
"..."
-----------------
After leaving Indiana, the Trail Blazers had two days of rest.
They arrived in Chicago and rested up until the 31st to play the last ga of the year against the Bulls on the last day of 1987.
This was undoubtedly the final ga of the year that garnered much attention.
The new season of "Gan vs. Jordan" was ready, with all the major TV stations prepared.
The news dia flocked to Chicago, gearing up for this destined-to-be-thrilling ga.
Tim Hanni, the forr marketing director of Avia and now the general manager, ca to Chicago personally, t Gan Guoyang at the hotel, and told him Avia was planning to hold a business event with Nike in Chicago.
Because he signed Gan Guoyang, it was only natural for Hanni to beco the company’s general manager. He also served as a client manager with only one client, Gan Guoyang.
For Gan Guoyang, having Avia’s top executive as his exclusive client manager was totally deserved.
Without him, Avia wouldn’t have been as successful; he was the company’s main support.
Gan Guoyang said, "You and Nike are cooperating more and more now, aren’t you competitors?"
"You’ve said it before, sir, companies, like players, should compete and cooperate. Although we compete with Nike, there’s more cooperation, and the results are good," replied Hanni.
Nike and Avia indeed had different strategic directions.
In the sports field, Nike’s target demographics were mainly Black people, while Avia targeted White people and Asians.
Nike was set to focus on the mid-to-high-end market, while Avia was prepared to concentrate on affordability.
The two companies competed, yet did not interfere with each other; plus, being both in Portland, they cooperated a lot.
"What kind of business event? Are we going to play basketball? It’s not video gas, is it? If it’s video gas, I won’t go," said Guoyang, rembering the last ti he had made a video ga advertisent with Bird. Though fun, he didn’t want a repeat.
Hanni shook his head and said, "It’s not a ga. It’s just a brand promotion event for both sides. You might play so basketball, interact with fans, give a speech or two. Oh, and Michael ntioned he wanted to challenge you at pong."
"What? Pong?"
"If you don’t like playing it, or if you can’t, you can opt out of this part," Hanni added, thinking Guoyang might not be interested in pong. It would be embarrassing if he lost to Jordan in the event.
But to Hanni’s surprise, Guoyang said, "Go! I’ll definitely attend the event. And yeah, take to the best sports store in Chicago; I want to buy a top-notch pong paddle and rubber."
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