The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 655 The Faith of Inevitable Death

Losing is painful, but Jordan remained surprisingly calm.

In a post-game interview in the locker room, Jordan appeared relaxed.

When asked about the Bulls' problems during the game, Jordan honestly said, "We were thrown off our rhythm by the Trail Blazers and didn't play our own game. Also, we were really not used to the Finals, and it will take some time."

Jordan didn't blame any of his teammates, even though, in theory, the rest of the Bulls players weren't performing very well.

Pippen was almost invisible in the second half. Of his 17 points in the game, 12 were in the first half. He couldn't find his rhythm on offense and was exhausted on defense.

Bill Cartwright continued to be labeled as having a fear of Gambit, finishing with 4 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 fouls, struggling to keep his head up in the paint.

Cartwright was unable to challenge Forrest in the low post, and due to Sabonis' presence and Forrest's exceptional reaction speed, Cartwright was unable to get any easy baskets.

Unable to score easy baskets, unable to make shots, and unable to score in the low post, Cartwright completely lost his offensive rhythm, and he was blocked twice under the basket.

The rest, such as Grant, Williams, Paxson, and Armstrong, did not perform to their expected level.

But Jordan said nothing, neither complaining to reporters nor criticizing anyone in the locker room.

As Jordan packed his bags to leave Memorial Arena, a reporter asked him, "Michael, if you lose this Finals and don't win the championship, will you feel regretful?"

Jordan glanced at the reporter, thought for a moment, and then answered the question very seriously:

"I will be sad, but I will not regret it. Even if I never win a championship in my entire career, I will not regret it. I will be disappointed by not winning, but my career will not be disappointing because I have achieved success, I have met a lot of friends, and I have experienced a lot. Even if I don't win a championship, basketball is still very fun. Of course, I will fight hard to win, but if I don't win, when I look back on my career, I will not feel that it is blemished. It was successful, great, and very good."

After saying that, Jordan left the court, boarded the bus, and went back to the hotel to rest.

The Bulls have two days to rest and regroup, and prepare for the second game.

The day after Game 1 of the Finals, the Trail Blazers held their usual morning practice to help the players maintain their form.

As usual, a large number of reporters gathered outside the training hall. Today was media open day, and the players were required to give interviews, with some training content to be made public.

Gan Guoyang was naturally the focus of the interviews. After securing their first victory, the outside world was optimistic about the Trail Blazers, and Gan Guoyang's amazing performance was even more admirable.

However, Gan Guoyang has experienced this situation too many times. He calmly accepts the praise from the public and then continues to train quietly to adjust his body.

To be honest, Gan Guoyang also expended a lot of energy in the first game. He didn't rest at all in the third and fourth quarters, playing the entire second half and pushing his physical strength to the limit.

Fortunately, Gan Guoyang had built up a lot of physical reserves during the regular season, enough for him to exert himself at a high intensity during the finals.

However, the intensity of this Finals is really too high, otherwise Jordan wouldn't have been forced to ask for a rest in the third quarter.

After the interview, Wu Zhixiong, an old classmate of Gan Guoyang and an ESPN reporter, came to the sidelines and told Gan about the interview with Jordan the night before.

The reporter who interviewed Jordan after the game last night was him. Wu Zhixiong originally wanted to provoke and challenge Jordan, but he was stunned by Jordan's answer.

After listening to Jordan's words, Gan Guoyang smiled and said, "Michael is indeed like that. Truly competitive people will always set a bottom line for themselves. This bottom line ensures that they can win beautifully and also afford to lose. People without a bottom line are people who cannot afford to lose. Such people will forget the true meaning of victory and will only keep pursuing false power."

"Forrest Gump, what would you think if you lost to Jordan and the Bulls this time?"

Gan Guoyang glanced at Wu Zhixiong and said, "Of course I have no regrets, I already have four rings."

"But you want more."

"Wanting to win more doesn't mean I should win more. Winning a championship is a process, not a result. If you have the ability, you will naturally win. If you don't, there must be something wrong. You're not strong enough, your form isn't good, or you're not well prepared. Nothing is a given, and winning a championship is even less so. If you take it for granted that the championship belongs to you, you're deceiving yourself. So if I lose, then I've lost. I'm not as good as others, so what's there to regret?"

Wu Zhixiong lowered his head and wrote down Gan Guoyang's words in his notebook.

Gan Guoyang said, "Hey, you interview Jordan and then you interview me, how does it feel to eat from both sides?"

Wu Zhixiong laughed and said, "I'm so full~ But forrest Gump, I really admire you two. Your matchup was even more exciting than Russell's matchup against Chamberlain."

Gan Guoyang said, "Don't worry, this is only the first round. There are more to come."

The victory made the atmosphere within the Trail Blazers team relatively relaxed, but Bellman was still on edge.

The second game will continue in Portland, which is both good and bad for the Trail Blazers.

The Bulls will definitely launch a full-scale counterattack in Game 2. Having adapted to the pace of the Finals, they are sure to bounce back strongly.

If the Trail Blazers lose their second home game, they will lose home-court advantage and then spend the entire week in Chicago.

This will make the schedule more complicated and difficult, so the Trail Blazers still need to fight hard for victory in the second game.

So that night, Bellman canceled his date with his girlfriend and locked himself in the video room to repeatedly watch the replay of the first game against the Bulls, hoping to find more problems with the team in the details.

Gan Guoyang went to Petrovich's house with Sabonis, and Petrovich invited two friends and his family to dinner that evening.

Petrovich's parents and brothers warmly welcomed Forrest Gump and Sabonis, and thanked Forrest for helping their family come to the United States to escape the chaos at home.

However, when discussing the situation in Croatia, the Petrovic family stated that if war were to break out in their country, they would actually try to return.

“The more dangerous the moment, the more we must stand with the country, and our home is there,” Petrovich’s mother said firmly.

Petrovic also stated that if Croatia becomes independent after the finals, they will return home to support them.

Gan Guoyang nodded, understanding their good intentions, and said that if needed, he would do his best to help ensure the safety of the family.

Sabonis faced the same problem; Lithuania had declared independence in 1990, but the Soviet Union did not recognize it.

Gan Guoyang knew that by the time the finals ended, the lifespan of the Soviet Union, this superpower, would be nearing its end.

During the meal, they naturally talked about the Finals and their rivalry with Jordan and the Bulls.

Petrovic and Sabonis both admitted that the intensity of the first match was really too high, and that they would really be unable to handle playing seven matches like that.

"My knees are still sore. I fell asleep as soon as I got back, and I felt a little lightheaded when I woke up this morning."

"I had several bruises on my body from the impact. After the match, I was a little dazed. The intensity was too great, and I was almost exhausted."

But when talking about the second game, Gan Guoyang said without hesitation: "We still have to maintain this intensity. If we can't handle it, neither can the Bulls. It's a battle of who can't hold on in the end. We've already gained the upper hand, and we absolutely cannot give up. If we lose the second game, our home-court advantage will be gone."

The day after the first game, the Trail Blazers held a tactical practice session during the day.

After watching the game footage of the first game, Bellman requested a change in the defensive strategy against Jordan.

Although the Trail Blazers won the first game, Jordan still scored the highest points in the game and delivered a lot of assists.

Theoretically, the best course of action for the winning side is to continue with the strategy from the previous game without making any changes until it stops working, at which point adjustments can be made.

But Bellman believed that a mechanical, reactive approach was insufficient; instead, a proactive and assertive approach was needed to address potential changes. He wouldn't have done this against other opponents, but the Chicago Bulls were truly different, and the more he watched the game footage, the more alarmed he became.

This team has enormous potential, an astonishing amount.

Once the rest of the Bulls get into form in Game 2 and Jordan adapts to the rhythm, the Trail Blazers will definitely be in big trouble.

The Trail Blazers need to adapt to the changing situation and not get complacent with their previous victory, otherwise they will inevitably fall into trouble.

Therefore, Bellman made an early prediction. Through image analysis and data analysis, he believed that triple-teaming Jordan would not be very effective.

Compared to double teams, triple teams not only failed to significantly reduce Jordan's offensive efficiency, but also caused a mismatch in his defensive lineup, giving other Bulls players more opportunities.

If the Bulls hadn't had their rhythm disrupted at the start, with Jordan focusing more on attacking than passing, their inside game failing to connect, and their outside shooting not finding its rhythm, the Trail Blazers would have faced much more trouble.

"If a triple-team allows Jordan to score 40 points, a double-team will only allow him to score 45 points. The extra 5 points can reduce the number of other players' scores by 10, and our gains will still be sufficient."

Bellman is good at profit analysis, a habit he developed over many years of gambling and playing Texas Hold'em.

After repeated discussions and deliberations with the coaching staff, Bellman concluded that this was feasible.

Of course, there's no doubt that Jordan had the ability to score 50 points.

Therefore, the defensive intensity of a double-team should not be underestimated.

In the last game, Lewis, Cossie and Porter were the three-man double-teamers, and sometimes Forrest Gump would join in.

This time, Bellman made a bold adjustment, assigning the task of double-teaming Jordan to Reggie Lewis and Sabonis.

Sabonis played power forward throughout the second half of the season and the playoffs, and despite his massive size, he thrived at that position.

His perimeter screens, handoff passes, and mid-to-long-range jump shots all make him well-suited for high-post play.

The seemingly clumsy Lithuanian giant has a wide defensive range, and defending beyond the three-point line is commonplace for him.

To keep his knees healthy this season, the coaching staff had him lose 15 pounds, which made him more flexible.

With Forrest Gump guarding the paint, the Trail Blazers don't need another heavyweight center.

After watching the first game, Berman realized that having Sabonis guard Bill Cartwright or Buck Williams was a waste of resources.

It would be better to let him use his massive size to deal with Jordan—of course, there are definitely risks involved, especially the risk of fouling.

If Sabonis picks up two fouls early on, the Trail Blazers will be in trouble in the paint, and Forrest Gump will face increased pressure.

With the home advantage and the first victory as a foundation, Berman believed it was worth taking the risk and giving it a try.

Adelman and his assistant coaching staff initially objected, believing that Sabonis was simply not suitable to help defend Jordan.

Although Sabonis was agile, Jordan was just too fast, and Sabonis could easily be beaten.

Meanwhile, Sabonis and Forrest Gump need to guard the paint together; the interior is the Trail Blazers' biggest advantage, and they can't afford to lose it.

However, after conducting defensive training experiments that day, everyone agreed that it was a good choice.

Because Sabonis went to help defend Jordan, the double-team made the overall formation more stable.

At the same time, although Sabonis is at a disadvantage in terms of speed, his positioning and anticipation are very good.

Bellman did not require Sabonis to guard him closely, but rather to maintain a proper distance, preventing Jordan from driving to the basket and allowing him to shoot more mid-range shots.

This is equivalent to assigning Jordan a super tanky bodyguard who is always waiting for him at the edge of the paint.

As for other people breaking through? There's Forrest Gump.

Bill Cartwright, Buck Williams, and Grant? And Forrest Gump too.

Rebounding? Forrest Gump has that.

Protecting the rim under the basket, helping out? There's Forrest Gump.

In short, Bellman further stripped Sabonis of the responsibility of the inside game, handing it all over to Agan.

According to his data analysis, in terms of revenue, Forrest Gump's ability to handle the paint defense alone is not much different from adding Sabonis.

If Forrest Gump alone can achieve 80 points, then adding Sabonis would only get him 90 points.

Besides, if we give Forrest Gump a little more responsibility and toughen him up, he might be able to score 100 points all by himself.

Gan Guoyang had nothing to say about Bellman's ingenious idea except to applaud and say "I'm impressed".

Thus, the Trail Blazers devised a new defensive plan to counter Jordan before the game, determined not to let Jordan score as many points in the second game, nor to give him the opportunity to lead the whole team.

On the other hand, Phil Jackson's situation was the opposite of Bobby Bellman's.

Assistant coach Bach repeatedly watched the game footage of Game 1 of the Finals and Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.

Bach noted that the key to the Suns' third victory was that Charles Barkley harassed Forrest Gump like a bulldog throughout the game.

Barkley's pressure came not only from defense but also from offense, causing him to focus his attention on one-on-one defense and leaving him with insufficient energy for help defense and rotations.

Therefore, Bach proposed a bold strategy: to have Pippen guard Forrest Gump more often, not only on defense but also on offense, by having Pippen challenge Forrest Gump at the 45-degree angle to wear him down.

Jackson and other coaches thought Bach must be crazy to send Pippen to take on Forrest Gump one-on-one so often. Even Bird couldn't do it, how could Pippen?
The regular season had already proven that Pippen's help defense was the best way to defend against Forrest Gump, with Buck or Cartwright just needing to cover from behind.

Bach maintains that while Pippen's overall offensive ability is not as good as Bird's, Pippen has physical qualities that Bird lacks.

“The skill and experience of Bird and Johnson won’t work against Forrest Gump. You have to get physical, you have to go all out with him. I think Scottie can do it! Our goal isn’t to defeat Forrest Gump, but to distract him as much as possible and create opportunities for others. Someone has to step up and challenge Forrest Gump, but that person can’t be Michael, that person is Scottie.”

Phil Jackson was persuaded by Bach, but during practice, Pippen shook his head immediately upon hearing the coach's strategy.

"Forrest Gump is a center. Are you asking me to play center? It's not impossible, but we'll have to pay more. The contract will be worth an extra million."

Pippen was obviously joking, but he also subtly expressed his dissatisfaction. Making him play center, a mismatch, like Forrest Gump? That would be disastrous.

Jackson had to temporarily shelve the plan and stick to the original arrangement, mainly adjusting the offensive rhythm.

Bach sighed, thinking to himself, "How can I defeat the Trail Blazers if I don't have the determination to die?"

(End of this chapter)