The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 846 No Blowing Means a Good Play
When the series score became 3-0, the Western Conference Finals were no longer in doubt.

The only suspense is whether the Jazz can win a game in the fourth round and salvage some face.

A score of 1:4 is slightly better than 0:4, and it could break the Trail Blazers' undefeated playoff record this season.

But the Trail Blazers clearly don't want to waste any games and slow down their run to the Finals; they've waited too long.

During their day at the Salt Lake City hotel, the entire Trail Blazers team stayed in their rooms watching TV, reading, or training in the hotel gym, playing billiards in the pool room, or playing ping-pong in the table tennis room.

No one went out, and no one ate at restaurants outside.

The Trail Blazers' food is prepared in the hotel kitchen by a chef brought by the team, in order to prevent a repeat of the food poisoning incident that occurred during last year's NBA Finals involving Michael Jordan.

The Trail Blazers were extremely cautious, and their focus and desire for the game and the championship were at their peak; nothing could distract them.

On May 24, the fourth game between the two teams was played at the Triangle Center. Salt Lake City fans continued to wholeheartedly support the Jazz. Although they knew that the Finals were out of reach, winning this game would add another loss to the Trail Blazers' record.

Karl Malone has been heavily criticized in these three games, as his offense has completely fallen from the level he displayed in the regular season and the first two rounds.

Facing Gan Guoyang's defense, he was unable to cause any real damage to the Trail Blazers' defense, achieving only 60% or even half the effectiveness.

The Jazz are a strong yet fragile team. They have been working on their system for over a decade and are a near-perfect team.

But in the brutal playoffs, the Trail Blazers only need to target one of their weaknesses and work hard to dismantle the Jazz's previously perfectly functioning system.

They don't even have an effective damage control or backup system, which is a result of their roster and talent deficiencies.

So before the game, Jerry Sloan could only do some mental pep talk and couldn't make any effective adjustments.

He can't just not start Malone, can he? He can't just bench Hornacek and use him as a sixth man to surprise everyone, can he?
On the bench, players like Shandon Anderson and Anthony Karl are functional players who lack the ability to support the offensive system.

In comparison, the Trail Blazers this season could easily use Gan Guoyang as their sixth man without affecting the team's fighting power.

If the Trail Blazers start Jermaine O'Neal and pair him with Domantas Sabonis in the frontcourt, they can still achieve very good offensive results.

If Gan Guoyang brings his second unit back to the court to dominate, the Jazz will have no way to stop him.

Larry Bird didn't do that simply because he didn't want to break Gan Guoyang's streak of starting appearances.

After the game started, the Jazz put up a very tenacious resistance. Stockton increased his shot attempts in the first quarter, hoping to break through the Trail Blazers' perimeter defense with his individual offense, just like last season, and cause trouble for Agan.

But the Trail Blazers remained unmoved. No matter how the Jazz played, they wouldn't change their strategy because the Jazz couldn't break their ordinary punch.

In the first quarter, the Jazz and Trail Blazers were evenly matched, with the Jazz trailing the Trail Blazers by one point at 24-25.

In the second quarter, the Trail Blazers gradually increased their intensity, accelerated, and increased their defensive strength, leading to more turnovers by the Jazz.

Counterattack, an omnipresent counterattack, a tidal wave of counterattacks that left the Jazz exhausted.

If the Jazz fail to execute an efficient, high-percentage offense, they will immediately face the Trail Blazers' fierce fast breaks.

The Jazz tried to slow down the pace, reduce three-point attempts, and increase their efforts to grab offensive rebounds, but the effect was not obvious.

The result of slowing down the pace is that they still have to feed the ball to Ma Long for one-on-one play, but Ma Long can't beat Agan, so it's all for nothing.

Reducing the number of three-pointers is understandable, to avoid giving the Trail Blazers fast break opportunities with long rebounds, but offensive rebounds are simply unattainable.

The Jazz already had one of the worst offensive rebounding records in the league, and when they faced Gan Guoyang, a defensive rebounding monster, they relied entirely on luck to grab rebounds.

Once Gan Guoyang gets a rebound, he initiates a counterattack himself, keeping the Jazz's backcourt and forwards constantly on the move.

In the first half, the Trail Blazers extended their lead to 10 points, and Jazz fans knew that the game was over.

In the third quarter, the Trail Blazers unleashed their full potential, with Sabonis, Riddell, Blaylock, and Mullin all hitting three-pointers.

The Trail Blazers have the only roster in the league where all five starters are capable of shooting three-pointers, and Carlisle has not wasted this special ability in his offensive design.

Gan Guoyang and Sabonis frequently appear beyond the three-point line. They are not only good at shooting, but also have excellent screen-setting and passing abilities, giving perimeter players plenty of space and opportunities for flexible offense.

Carlisle will never rigidly mold the Trail Blazers into a twin-tower interior offense team, where the two big men are always inside and the perimeter players are just waiting to shoot mid-range and long-range shots.

Mullin, Riddell, Kobe, Blake Blaylock, and Terry Porter all had many opportunities to attack the basket with the ball, draw fouls, or assist their teammates.

The Trail Blazers' offensive disruption of the opponent's defensive system was comprehensive and strategically suppressive.

He displayed this to the fullest in this series against the Jazz.

After a sharp offensive run, the Trail Blazers extended their lead to 20 points.

The team with the second-best record in the league and 62 wins in the regular season fell behind by 20 points in three of the four playoff games against the Trail Blazers.

The gap between the two sides was so large that the players could no longer bridge it with sheer willpower.

In the fourth quarter, Jerry Sloan glanced at his wife watching from the stands, and Barbie waved to him, her eyes full of comfort.

Sloan understood the meaning in his wife's eyes: You and your players have done enough, that's enough, don't push yourself, take a rest.

The Jazz are not a young team; they are one of the oldest teams in the league. In just four games, they have been exhausted by the Trail Blazers.

The torment was unbearable, both mentally and physically, especially for Karl Malone, who was heavily suppressed throughout the series and unable to mount any effective comeback.

The reason is simple: Gan Guoyang has the energy to focus on dealing with Malone, while other tasks can be left to Sabonis, O'Neal, and others. How can Malone handle that?

When Jerry Sloan called a timeout and substituted key players such as Karl Malone and Stockton, Salt Lake City fans knew the series was over.

Defeating the Trail Blazers to reach the Finals in 1997 felt like a beautiful dream. But in just one year, the dream shattered, and we were back to the harsh reality: the West was still dominated by the Trail Blazers and Forrest Gump, and the gap between them was enormous.

Malone hung his head, very disappointed with his performance.

In four games, he scored 6 points in the first game, 21 points in the second game, 26 points in the third game, and 19 points in the fourth game.

The team's offensive core is only averaging 18 points per game in the series, nearly 10 points less than in previous games. How can they win this series?
Even so, the Salt Lake City fans still gave the Jazz players the loudest applause.

They brought immense dreams and passion to this remote, desolate, and largely ignored small town in the United States.

Stockton and Malone fought in this city day after day for ten years, falling down time and time again, getting up time and time again.

They fell again, and Stockton sat on the bench, watching the meaningless game continue on the field with his usual melancholy gaze.

On the Trail Blazers' side, the starters have also gone to the bench to rest. This year's Trail Blazers are indeed incredibly strong; even 77 wins might not be enough to fully demonstrate their power.

Some teams have outstanding regular season records, seemingly unstoppable, but when the playoffs come and everyone intensifies their efforts, it becomes clear that they are not as formidable as their regular season record suggests. The Trail Blazers, on the other hand, were incredibly strong in the regular season, but it wasn't until the playoffs, when everyone stepped up their game, that it became apparent that they hadn't been playing at their full potential during the regular season; that wasn't their 100% form.

Just like the Chicago Bulls in 1996, the Bulls never played at 100% even in the Finals. In some games, playing at around 80% of their potential was enough to defeat their opponents.

Many years later, what people regret most is that the 1996 Bulls could not compete against the 1998 Trail Blazers in the NBA Finals.

This is also the most popular, most hotly debated, and most controversial pairing among the many "IF" topics. They are all exceptionally strong and from a very recent era, making them full of endless topics and possibilities.

As the buzzer sounded to signal the end of the game, the Trail Blazers defeated the Jazz 108-96, a 12-point victory, returning to the NBA Finals after a four-year absence.

The game was won easily, but after winning the Western Conference championship, Gan Guoyang still shed tears, which is rare for him.

It turns out that five years have passed since the last finals, a full five years, from age 29 to 34.

All of my teammates have changed, and I've experienced retirement, comeback, failure, and then getting back on my feet.

Time slips away so easily through our fingers. Although these five years have been fulfilling and exciting, the lack of a finals and a championship has ultimately made things less meaningful.

Now, he's finally back, back on the highest stage of the basketball world.

In the center of the arena after the crowd had dispersed, Gan Guoyang received the silver trophy for the Western Conference championship from David Stern and raised it high.

Many years later, the league will name the Western Conference Playoffs Best Player trophy after Gan Guoyang, who is the undisputed King of the Western Conference Finals.

Back in the locker room, the Trail Blazers had a brief celebration, knowing that the journey was not over and that one final hurdle awaited them.

Gan Guoyang took a break and called Michael Jordan, who was in Indiana—the two hadn't spoken on the phone after a game in a long time.

"Michael, see that? I'm in the Finals again. I'll be waiting for you. If you're scared, you might as well lose to the Pacers. That way you'll avoid the pain of being beaten by me once more."

"Stop dreaming, Sonny. Get clean and wait for me."

"Forget it, forget it. I think you're going to be tied by the Pacers. Think about how to get to the Finals first."

"Come on, I'll definitely make it to the Finals. I'm not like you, who won so many honors last year but lost to the Jazz in the Western Conference Finals. This year, you'll still need Sabonis and Blaylock to help you take down the Jazz, you useless guy."

"Just wait and see! If you make it to the Finals, and you win even one game, I'll consider it a series win and give you the Larry O'Brien Trophy!"

Both of them were over 30, and as they chatted, they got just as carried away as when they were young, arguing with each other and even making oaths.

After arguing on the phone, the two reluctantly hung up. Jordan let out a long sigh, put his phone on the bedside table, turned off the hotel TV, and lay down staring blankly at the ceiling.

He just watched the broadcast of Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals between the Trail Blazers and the Jazz at the visiting team's hotel in Indianapolis.

The Trail Blazers' overwhelming offense left the Jazz with no chance to fight back.

The Bulls lost both of their regular season matchups against the Jazz, and they also had a tough time in last year's Finals.

Jordan knew that the Jazz were a very strong team, but he didn't expect them to be so easily defeated by the Trail Blazers.

In three of the four games, the point difference exceeded 20 points, limiting Karl Malone to an average of 18 points per game.

Jordan knew that there was a reason for the teams being mutually exclusive.

Last year, the Jazz defeated the Trail Blazers because the Trail Blazers' perimeter defense was weak and their interior defense, particularly Gan Guoyang, was unable to carry the team alone.

After adding three veterans in the summer, the Trail Blazers transformed. With Agan playing more at the small forward position, the Jazz relying more on Malone, and Stockton declining, the Trail Blazers were able to completely dominate the Jazz in terms of both roster and tactics.

Coupled with the players' strength and the Trail Blazers' strong desire for revenge, the Jazz, who had won 62 games and swept the Bulls in the regular season, were as fragile as paper in front of the Trail Blazers.

Jordan closed his eyes, trying his best not to think about the Trail Blazers game or Forrest Gump; he wanted to focus on the struggle against the Pacers.

The Bulls won the first two games relatively easily at home, but in the third game back in Indiana, the Pacers won 109-106.

The fourth game is about to begin. If the Bulls can win, they will be almost guaranteed to enter the Finals. If they lose, they will have to go back to Chicago to play the pivotal Game 5.

Jordan had plenty of confidence in himself, but not so much in his teammates.

In their third year of vying for a three-peat, the entire Bulls team was exhausted. Pippen's performance was inconsistent, and Dennis Rodman, at 37 years old, was losing his stamina and physical strength.

The Pacers' home fans are incredibly enthusiastic, and the Pacers' fighting spirit is noticeably enhanced when they return to their home court.

In the Eastern Conference semifinals, they defeated the young Celtics led by Bobby Bellman and Tim Duncan in six games.

The Bulls believe this clears the way for their advancement to the Finals, as a big man like Duncan is someone the Bulls dislike.

However, the Pacers are definitely not easy to deal with.

On May 25, Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, which followed Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, was played in Indianapolis.

The Bulls wanted to return to Chicago with a commanding 3-1 lead, while the Pacers hoped to tie the series. The outcome of this game was completely different.

The game was extremely intense, and the Bulls led the Pacers by one point until the final moments of the fourth quarter. With four seconds left, Scottie Pippen was given two free throw opportunities.

If the Bulls make both free throws, they will have the game in their grasp, or at least avoid defeat, and the game will go into overtime.

However, at this crucial moment, Pippen missed both free throws!
Jordan, watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but laugh—a helpless laugh.

Dude, you're kidding me if you miss both free throws at a time like this?
The Bulls were exhausted, leaving the Pacers with just 4 seconds left.

Adelman called a timeout and set up a game-winning play for Reggie Miller.

Back on the court, Miller shoved Jordan away while running!
He couldn't push Forrest Gump away, but he could push Jordan away.

The referee didn't blow the whistle. Miller found an open shot on the right side, received the ball, and launched a three-pointer!

Goal! Lights on, game-winning goal!

Reggie Miller hit a game-winning three-pointer in the final moments of Game 4 to seal the victory for the Chicago Bulls and force a pivotal Game 5.

When asked about the controversial game-winning shot after the game, Jordan calmly said, "If the referees didn't call it, it's a good shot. And no matter how the series goes, we're going back to Chicago, and we'll eventually make it to the Finals, so it doesn't matter."

Jordan's immense confidence made what would have been an incredibly frustrating game-winner seem less devastating.

What Jordan cared about more was that the day he would meet Forrest in the Finals would have to be postponed.

(End of this chapter)