The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 802 The world of young people
The Trail Blazers finished their first-round playoff series early.

Gan Guoyang's presence made the rest of the Trail Blazers players realize that with Gan on the team, the first round was just child's play, and they would get through it with minimal effort.

For a historical superstar like Gan Guoyang, once the team's strength is somewhat formed, the first round is just a formality, and there's nothing to worry about.

The real challenge was the regional semifinals. Although Gan Guoyang was also undefeated in the semifinals, the difficulty of the semifinals was similar to that of the Western Conference Finals for most of the time.

In the other three Western Conference matchups, the top-seeded Utah Jazz also easily defeated the Los Angeles Clippers, advancing to the next round with a 3-0 sweep.

The Los Angeles Lakers and the Seattle SuperSonics, whose strengths are most evenly matched, are locked in a fierce battle, with the first four games ending in a 2-2 tie, forcing a decisive Game 5.

The decisive Game 5 took place in Seattle, where the Los Angeles Lakers and the SuperSonics battled through two overtime periods. In the final moments, thanks to Steve Smith's scoring and Audis Thorpe's crucial rebound, the Lakers defeated the SuperSonics 112-109 and advanced to the semifinals.

When they finally won, Bobby Bellman ran around the court with joy. This was his first playoff series victory since 1993.

This was also his first playoff victory since Forrest Gump left, which was incredibly important to him.

After returning to the hotel from the celebration in the locker room, Berman called Gan Guoyang and burst into tears on the phone.

"Congratulations, Bobby, you did a great job. You took down that jerk George Carr, making him choose his opponents and scheme against him. He was too clever for his own good."

Gan Guoyang couldn't resist mocking George Karl over the phone, saying that his cunning had backfired and cost him his life.

In the final rounds, the SuperSonics used various means, winning or losing, to try and drop to fourth place and avoid the Trail Blazers in the semifinals.

George Karl had to admit that he was genuinely afraid of Forrest Gump and the Trail Blazers, having never won against them since 1987 and being repeatedly beaten.

The SuperSonics don't want to face the Trail Blazers too early; a Western Conference Finals matchup would be ideal, as they aim to reach the NBA Finals for the third consecutive year and challenge for the championship.

Moreover, in the first round against the Lakers, the SuperSonics had a 3-1 advantage in the regular season, and the combination of Gary Payton and Patrick Ewing had an experience advantage over O'Neal and Jason Kidd.

As for the semifinals against the Jazz, the SuperSonics eliminated the Jazz in 95 and 96 to advance to the Finals. In their view, apart from the Trail Blazers, the Western Conference was a smooth road ahead.

But the world is constantly changing; nothing is foolproof, and there is never a permanent, unchanging balance of power.

Jason Kidd was indeed intimidated by his older brother Gary Payton, just as Payton was intimidated by Forrest Gump.

But the Lakers have more than just O'Neal and Kidd; they also have Smith, Thorpe, Derek Fisher, and Jerome Cahill.

In this series, Berman demonstrated the qualities of a championship coach, unleashing the energy of every player on the team despite losing the first game and facing a dire situation.

The Lakers won two straight games, giving them a chance to end the series in Los Angeles.

But Shaquille O'Neal's free throws gave the SuperSonics a chance to turn the game around, forcing the series into a decisive final.

In the final moments of the decisive battle, it was once again Bellman's decisive substitutions and tactical arrangements that helped the Lakers emerge victorious.

"Sonny, I feel like I finally know how to win without you. This feeling... I don't know how to describe it. I'm looking forward to meeting you in the Western Conference Finals. I need to go up against John first."

For Berman, this victory was far more than just winning a game; it could even be seen as the beginning of a new phase in his coaching career and even his life.

The two talked on the phone for a long time. This time, Bellman didn't complain or scold anyone. He just reminisced with Gan Guoyang about the past, about his high school and college life.

When it was time to say goodbye, Berman suddenly said, "Sonny, I want to leave Los Angeles when this season ends."

"Leave? Why? Once you reach the semifinals, your mission is accomplished. The Lakers will be even better next season. O'Neal and Kidd are both developing, and you have the opportunity to achieve even greater things! Although you might still not be able to beat me, there's no need for you to leave!"

“Fuck you, I guess it’s not that I’m afraid of you or that I want to run away. I just… want to leave. Los Angeles isn’t right for me, and I’ll find a new job.”

"Do you want to go to China? I can help you with some things."

“No, no, no, I can do it myself. Sonny, sometimes I really wonder, who’s the coach, you or me? All these years, you’ve always been the one taking care of me, not the other way around. Coming to Los Angeles is more or less thanks to you, otherwise, how would Jerry have even noticed me? It’s really… I feel like the moon in the sky, always being illuminated.”

Gan Guoyang remained silent for a while; the phone was quiet.

"Bobby, you're a fantastic coach. I look forward to meeting your team in the conference finals or the NBA finals. You're only 53, the prime of your career."

"Yes, I will work hard. You must play in the league for a few more years. I really look forward to meeting you in the finals, just like in 1992."

Gan Guoyang really wanted to roll his eyes at Bellman on the other end of the phone. So you want to assemble a dream team to bully me, huh? I'm afraid you won't have that chance!
-
With the SuperSonics and Lakers series concluded, the matchups for the second round of the Eastern and Western Conferences have been set.

The Utah Jazz will face the Los Angeles Lakers, while the Portland Trail Blazers will play against the Houston Rockets, who are ranked third in the Western Conference.

They easily defeated the Phoenix Suns 3-1 in the first round to advance to the second round.

This marks the first time in nine years, since 1988, that the Rockets have faced the Trail Blazers in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, 11 years have passed since the two teams' seven-game series in the 1986 Western Conference Finals—a series that determined Gan Guoyang's career.

Eleven years have passed, and everything has changed. None of the Rockets from 1986, from the coach to the players, are still with the team.

Even the team's owner changed. In 1992, after Hakeem Olajuwon decided to leave the Rockets for Miami, the Rockets' owner became disheartened about the team's future.

After winning the number one draft pick in 1993, he decisively sold the team, and Jewish owner Leslie Alexander bought the Rockets franchise for $8500 million.

In the 1993 NBA draft, the Rockets selected Chris Webber, once again starting a new era with a number one draft pick.

Learning from Hakeem Olajuwon's experience, the Rockets offered Chris Webber an extremely long contract to ensure that the nationally renowned Michigan forward would play in Houston for a sufficient amount of time.

In the years that followed, the Rockets built their roster around Chris Webber, determined to make a comeback.

Last season, they made the playoffs for the first time, but lost to the Seattle SuperSonics in the first round.

This season, Webber has matured further, while the Houston Rockets have maintained a relatively stable roster for many years, with their core players continuing to grow.

Sam Cassell and Kenny Smith completed the handover in the backcourt, and the team traded away Maxwell, a player with a volatile temper, to establish Webber as the leader.

They traded for Campbell and signed Kevin Willis to protect Chris Webber in the paint.

With Robert Horry, an excellent swingman, on the roster, and Tracy Murray off the bench, the Rockets' lineup is quite impressive.

In the 1996-1997 season, the Rockets made some changes to the team logo and jersey colors, changing the main color from red to navy blue.

LGOG has changed its logo from a simple basketball and the English word "Rockets" to a cartoonish rocket with a shark pattern, which is very eye-catching.

The team's jerseys also followed the trend, using the currently popular striped shirt design, and the whole team strived for a fresh look.

This rising force aims to change the power structure in the West, so in the draft phase of the regular season, the Rockets ultimately decided not to fall to fourth place, but to stay in third, or strive for second place.

Tomjanovich stated frankly, "Entering the playoffs means being prepared to defeat every opponent, and I think we are ready to challenge the strongest one."

Actually, the Rockets performed well against the Jazz in the regular season; they played better than the Trail Blazers because the Rockets' roster countered the Jazz's.

Chris Webber can match up against Malone, and more importantly, neither Kenny Smith nor Sam Cassell can hold their own against Stockton, and sometimes even outmaneuver him, which makes things very difficult for the Jazz.

Furthermore, the Rockets have tall forwards like Horry and Tracy Murray. Tomjanovich often starts these two together, using their height and long-range shooting to attack opponents on both ends of the court. It's a simple and brutal approach, but it works very well against teams like the Jazz with their aging backcourt.

The Rockets and Jazz were tied 2-2 in the regular season, and the Rockets were not at a disadvantage in the games they lost, so dropping to fourth place seems like a good option.

Ultimately, the Rockets abandoned their plan to intentionally lose and drop their ranking, and instead fought hard to move forward, unafraid of the high probability of facing Forrest Gump and the Trail Blazers in the semifinals.

As a result, the SuperSonics, who were in a tougher position, were eliminated early, while the Rockets, who fought hard, easily passed the first round and earned the opportunity to challenge the Trail Blazers.

The Rockets are not without a chance to upset the Trail Blazers in the semifinals. Tomjanovich knows that Forrest Gump is still Forrest Gump, but the Trail Blazers are not the same Trail Blazers they used to be.

The Trail Blazers have significant weaknesses in perimeter defense. In the regular season, they can make up for it with the individual abilities of one or two players, but in the playoffs, they will be relentlessly targeted and there is no solution.

Gan Guoyang was able to defend the perimeter and face Michael Jordan one-on-one back then because he could confidently leave the paint to Thompson, Sabonis, and Lewis.

This season has been poor, as evidenced by their first-round matchup against the Timberwolves. In the playoffs, the Trail Blazers rely even more on Gan Guoyang's consistent interior protection than in the regular season.

Jermaine O'Neal and Ben Wallace are too inexperienced, PJ Brown is somewhat lackluster, and Dudley is unlikely to play in the playoffs.

Therefore, Gan Guoyang is becoming more and more well-rounded and perimeter-oriented on offense. Conversely, on defense, he is more like a drop center than he was in his rookie season in 1985, and his 4.4 blocks per game are a result of that. This disconnect and contradiction will trouble Gan Guoyang, and even more so the entire Portland Trail Blazers.

Tomjanovich was well-prepared for this. Instead of devising any ingenious tactics, he decided to take advantage of the frontcourt to constantly bombard the Trail Blazers' relatively weak perimeter defense.

The first battle took place on May 5th at the Rose Garden in Portland.

Surprisingly, the Rockets played extremely aggressively and took the lead in the first quarter.

Tomjanovich had Robert Horry play small forward and Tracy Murray play shooting guard, with the two big men, both over 6'7", constantly firing from beyond the arc.

The Rockets made 7 of 11 three-pointers in the first half, a terrifying number of shots and a high shooting percentage. The team once led by 7 points going into the third quarter.

The Rockets displayed the ferocity of a young team in Game 1 of the series, showing the fearlessness of youth.

Although they were outmaneuvered by the experienced Gan Guoyang many times during the regular season, the playoffs were a different story, and the Rockets were in high spirits.

During halftime in the locker room, Bird was dissatisfied with the players' performance, especially their terrible perimeter defense, which was completely overwhelmed by two tall shooters.

But Bird knew that this weakness was unlikely to change this season, and their solution was not to improve their defense, but to overpower the Rockets on offense.

Among them, Van Exel and Riddell's guns must be used effectively, otherwise, it will just be another Forrest Gump training session.

The performance of this low-quality duo in the first round was nothing short of criminal; their field goal percentage was below 40% and their three-point percentage was below 30%. They need to find their form.

After the start of the second half, the King of the Third Quarter began to shine. Gan Guoyang continued his relentless low-post isolation plays, indiscriminately defeating Willis, Campbell, or Webber.

Compared to the first round, Gan Guoyang added more mid-range shots from the top of the key and three-pointers from the 45-degree wing, because the Rockets' defense was much stronger than the Timberwolves'.

Their inside and wing players are all quite big, and their help defense and double-teaming, while not particularly strong, are very effective. If they don't carefully choose their offensive tactics, their efficiency can easily drop.

Gan Guoyang knew that he needed to maintain a high level of efficiency in his singles play in order to lead the team to an advantage; otherwise, he risked falling into a vicious cycle.

Two points from a singles play and two points from a team attack are both scores, and there is no difference between them on the scoreboard.

The real difference lies in the fact that, over a long period of time, individual play can cause the team's overall offense to feel increasingly cold, while a well-executed team offense tends to get hotter and hotter as the game progresses.

Once a certain threshold of quantity and emotion is reached, one-on-one plays will start to hurt the team, while team offense will feel better and better until it becomes unstoppable.

For singles players, the lower the efficiency of their singles play, the earlier and more obvious the tipping point will be. The higher the efficiency and the simpler the methods, the later the tipping point will be, or it may not even come at all.

Gan Guoyang is the most efficient one-on-one player in league history. He scored 20 points in the third quarter, helping the Trail Blazers take the lead, but the lead was not large.

Because the Rockets' three-point shooting percentage remained high, Chris Webber continuously set up his teammates and punished the Trail Blazers' collapsing defense with mid-range shots, effectively avoiding Agan's sharpness.

Entering the fourth quarter, Gan Guoyang sat on the bench for two minutes to rest. Bird personally handed Gan Guoyang a towel and water, saying, "To be honest, I don't like the way you play."

Gan Guoyang took a sip of water and said, "I've won championships like this before."

"You mean 1987? No, that's different. Your defense was much better back then."

"It's us."

"No, it was you. I was a Celt back then."

"I don't care how I play, or whether you like it or not, I just want to win. If the team needs me to score, I will score, it's that simple. If my teammates are good, I'll pass; if not, I'll do it myself."

Kobe, sitting next to Gan Guoyang, silently kept these words in mind.

But Gan Guoyang didn't tell Kobe that there was a prerequisite for doing this: your efficiency should ideally reach Jordan's level.

When your efficiency starts to decline, you must be able to recognize this and make adjustments in time.

Even if Gan Guoyang is having a bad day in one-on-one situations, he will immediately adjust, try to draw fouls, and attack the basket.

Otherwise, they will go down a dead-end road to destruction, harming themselves and the team.

Bird knew that Forrest was acting out of necessity; the Trail Blazers hadn't made adequate preparations for this playoff run.

In the fourth quarter, the two sides engaged in a close battle, with the lead changing hands frequently—a situation that has also occurred during the regular season.

Van Exel and Riddell finally found their offensive rhythm, with Van Exel hitting two consecutive three-pointers.

Riddell received a pass from Gan Guoyang and scored with a low-post back-to-the-basket move and a fast break. At 6 feet 5 inches tall with an average wingspan, Riddell was at a real disadvantage against the Rockets' tall forwards.

The playoffs are sometimes that simple and brutal. Tactics, skills, and shooting touch are all less effective than raw talents like height and speed in the end.

The two teams battled fiercely until the final moments of the game, when Sam Cassell's leisurely drive down the middle and pull-up jumper helped the Rockets tie the score.

The Trail Blazers called a timeout. After the timeout, Gan Guoyang received the ball on the perimeter and suddenly made a long pass to the inside, where PJ Brown caught the ball and dunked it in.

PJ Brown's first field goal tonight came when Chris Webber was distracted on defense and failed to mark his man.

Since losing the NCAA championship due to that non-existent timeout, Webber has been somewhat traumatized, making him prone to making mistakes in crucial moments.

Immediately afterwards, Gan Guoyang, who had been camped in the three-second zone for the entire game, suddenly extended his position and risked double-teaming Cassell with Van Exel, causing Cassell to make a mistake.

With an assist and a steal by Gan Guoyang, the Trail Blazers defeated the young Rockets 113-110 in Game 3, securing their first win in the series.

It was a hard-fought victory, and in the end, it was thanks to the power of a superstar. Gan Guoyang scored 40 points, grabbed 20 rebounds, and blocked 5 shots, with a 67% field goal percentage, and they won by three points.

Tonight, the Trail Blazers' outside offense was a complete mess, and as for their defense, the Rockets shot nearly 50% from three-point range.

Although the Rockets lost the game, they realized that while Forrest Gump was very strong, the Trail Blazers were not invincible and even had many weaknesses.

In the regular season, a loss is just that—a loss. But the playoffs are different. Coaches and players alike make targeted adjustments, exploiting the opponent's weaknesses to further aggravate the injury.

In the second game on May 6, the Rockets continued their offensive strategy from the first game, shooting a high three-point percentage once again. On the defensive end, they assigned veteran Kevin Willis to guard Gan Guoyang throughout the game, reducing his offensive efficiency.

"Put Forrest Gump's shooting percentage below 60%!" This was Tomjanovich's demand of Willis.

Willis did it. Gan Guoyang only shot 59% throughout the game, scoring 34 points, but the Trail Blazers lost to the Rockets 109-114 at home.

Not only were they tied by a large margin, but they also lost their home advantage, making their prospects for the semi-finals suddenly uncertain.

On May 8th, in Game 5 of the series at the Summit Arena in Houston, the Trail Blazers suffered a rare and crushing defeat.

Gan Guoyang had his "ugly duckling night." He was feeling unwell before the game, which affected his offensive shooting. Although he made adjustments, his shooting percentage was still less than 50%.

As a result, when Gan Guoyang's efficiency dropped slightly, the Trail Blazers collapsed and were relentlessly attacked by the Houston Rockets, who were riding high on their home court, falling behind by 15 points early on.

The Trail Blazers lost to the Rockets 95-110 in Game 15, falling behind 1-2 in the series and facing a huge crisis.

At the end of the game, Gan Guoyang stopped Bird on his way back to the locker room and said, "We have to make changes, big changes."

Bird said, "How about I play instead?"

"Good idea, if it works."

Bird waved his hand; he was also annoyed, so he made a joke.

He knew Forrest Gump was right; he had to make significant adjustments.

We can no longer afford to see this low-quality duo wasting too many offensive opportunities in the starting lineup.

They performed very well in the regular season, but the playoffs are not their stage.

Bird thought about it seriously, and he realized that this series might belong to the younger players.

(End of this chapter)