The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 906 Don't Go to Eagle County
Hill's season-ending injury has effectively ended any suspense in the Suns-Trail Blazers series.

Although the Suns still have Antoine Walker, Anfernee Hardaway, and Kevin Johnson has some gas left in the tank.

However, Grant Hill's efficient 25 points per game was an insurmountable weakness, and their already subpar position made it even more difficult for them to compete with the Trail Blazers.

In the second game in Portland, Anfernee Hardaway recorded a triple-double with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists, but in the high-scoring battle, they still lost 104-110 to the offensively potent Portland Trail Blazers.

Gan Guoyang and Kobe Bryant combined for 75 points in the game, accounting for more than two-thirds of the team's total points.

The Suns were able to compete with the Trail Blazers because they had many firepower options and outstanding talent, but they didn't have any advantages in terms of system or tactics.

Without Hill, the team lost a significant amount of firepower and talent, and no matter how hard Hardaway and Johnson tried, they were powerless to turn the tide.

On May 11, the two teams moved to Phoenix for Game 5, a crucial game for the Suns. Grant Hill watched the game from the sidelines wearing a suit.

His expression was relaxed yet tinged with melancholy; he could finally rest, for this long and arduous season was over for him.

But watching your teammates fight on the field, giving their all for a victory and to prolong the season, while you can only watch, is a really unpleasant feeling.

Phoenix fans are hoping the Suns can bounce back at home and win at least one game so the series doesn't end too badly.

But the course of the game was quite unexpected. The Suns, who had no room for error, encountered the Trail Blazers' hot shooting from the outside tonight.

Kobe, Blake, Mullin, and Dell Curry hit one three-pointer after another.

In the first two quarters, the Trail Blazers made 10 of 15 three-point attempts, which is equivalent to scoring 10 more points than their two-point shots.

Once the three-pointers started falling, the Suns' fast break lost its rhythm, and their defense became overwhelmed, allowing the Trail Blazers' fluid offense to break through their defense.

One of the key reasons for the Trail Blazers' decline this season is their poor three-point shooting, which is much worse than in 98 and 99.

But as the saying goes, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. These players are still around; they've just gotten older and declined, not died.

Whenever the team has a good game and goes on a scoring spree, the Trail Blazers can relive their 1998 glory days and crush their opponents.

Such a performance occurs roughly once every 10 matches. Once an opponent encounters it, they are helpless and will either be killed or seriously injured.

This is what is called "championship heritage." No matter how much one falls from grace, the genes of a strong person that once flowed in their blood will still play a role.

So far in the playoffs, the Trail Blazers have had a tough run of games, including four games against the Timberwolves, none of which were decisive victories.

Tonight in Phoenix, the Suns were really unlucky, but it was also time for them to get their comeuppance.

Not only did they lose Grant Hill, but they also encountered a "last gasp" of a breakout performance from the Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers scored 67 points in the first half, leading the Suns 67-52 by 15 points, which basically sealed the Suns' fate in this game and even the series.

The Suns showed no improvement in the second half, and the Trail Blazers once extended their lead to 20 points. By the end of the third quarter, eight Trail Blazers players had scored in double figures, and six players had made three-pointers.

This is definitely good news for the Trail Blazers. Shortly after the start of the fourth quarter, the Suns, who were down by 22 points, chose to surrender, and the head coach substituted the starters.

Rick Carlisle also substituted key players off the court, allowing veterans to get more rest. For veterans, playing 10 minutes less per game is a good way to conserve their energy.

Ultimately, the Trail Blazers easily defeated the Suns 110-87 on the road, a 23-point advantage, bringing the series score to 3-0 in the semifinals.

With a sweep imminent, the Trail Blazers will absolutely not hesitate when faced with the opportunity to sweep.

Two days later, at the American Airlines Center in Phoenix, the Trail Blazers defeated the Suns 97-92, a 5-point advantage.

Gan Guoyang scored 27 points, while Kobe Bryant led the team with 30 points, along with 8 rebounds and 8 assists, showcasing Kobe's all-around abilities.

With Grant Hill sidelined for the season, the Trail Blazers swept the Suns 4-0 without any doubt, advancing to the Western Conference Finals.

When the buzzer sounded at the end of Game 4, Rick Carlisle breathed a sigh of relief. They had won; the team had advanced.

Gan Guoyang has reached the Western Conference Finals in all 14 full NBA seasons without missing a single one, making him the undisputed king of the Western Conference Finals.

Carlisle can finally relax and not worry about becoming the first coach to fail to reach the Western Conference Finals among those who coached Forrest Gump.

After the game, Gan Guoyang hugged Grant Hill again and wished him a speedy recovery and a healthy career.

This is crucial for Hill, because Gan Guoyang is not only the king of the Western Conference Finals, but also the king of health, an iron man who has never been plagued by major injuries in his career.

The last player with such an iron body was Elvin Hayes, an ironman who had a 16-year career without injury and only missed 9 games. Both of them wore the number 11 jersey.

With the Lakers locked in a tough battle with the Seattle SuperSonics, the two teams tied 2-2 after four games and heading into Game 5, the Trail Blazers got a lot of rest.

However, during these few days of rest, things were not peaceful within the Trail Blazers team, and the players' focus was not on the basketball game.

After eliminating the Suns in Game 4 and returning to Portland, Kobe Bryant flew to Los Angeles to propose to his girlfriend Vanessa.

He brought a $10 diamond engagement ring and openly displayed the relationship in front of the media, stating that he and Vanessa were not just playing around, but were going to get married.

This immediately caused a huge uproar on the entire West Coast. Kobe and Vanessa appeared at the Lakers' Game 5 against the SuperSonics, and the young couple attracted more attention than the game itself.

Pamela, who was far away in Portland, was waiting for her son to return victorious, but instead of her son, she saw news on TV about Kobe proposing to her.

Pamela was furious and flew to Los Angeles with her husband, who opposed the marriage!

Later, this strong and proud woman learned that Kobe had been giving money to Vanessa's family to solve their debt problems, which fueled her anger even more.

The current situation in Kobe's family is that his parents took money to buy a team in Italy, but after one season of operation, they lost a fortune.

Joe Bryant only knew how to play basketball and had no idea how to run a European team. He thought that European teams were like the NBA: generously offer contracts to players, play well, win games, sell tickets, and make money, thus creating a virtuous cycle.

As a result, European leagues follow a different operating logic, completely different from the NBA. There is no salary cap, and no league to subsidize or bail you out. You need to manage your club, maintain good local relationships, and so on.

In short, the deal fell through, and all the money Kobe earned went down the drain in Europe. His wealth wasn't large enough to support a professional team.

The younger one, on the other hand, became increasingly unruly, and his relationship with Vanessa caused quite a stir. The more Pamela objected, the more Kobe insisted on being with Vanessa.

Pamela originally thought that young people should just fall in love. When they get older, have had more fun, and have seen a better world, they will figure it out and give up on their own.

As it turned out, her son's stubbornness exceeded her expectations, or rather, he was just like Pamela when she was young, but even more rebellious and unconventional.

He actually announced the marriage proposal in front of the public, putting Kobe in a difficult position, especially since he was only 20 years old.

Because it's currently the playoffs, and the Trail Blazers have made it to the Western Conference Finals, Kobe is now the team's number two player.

The team didn't want Kobe's performance to be affected by this, as family conflicts can have a significant psychological impact. Seeing that she was powerless to help her son, Pamela called Larry Bird, hoping he could persuade Kobe not to treat his marriage so lightly.

Bird had already heard about the situation from the news; it had caused quite a stir in Los Angeles, with gossip news programs featuring photos of Kobe and Vanessa together.

Bird himself had an irrational marriage when he was young. At that time, he was still in college. In 1975, as a freshman, he married his girlfriend, Conrad.

As a result, this farcical marriage lasted only a year before ending in divorce. The two had a daughter, but Bird never acknowledged the girl.

Thinking back on this painful past, Bird felt it was necessary to remind Kobe not to step into the unfathomable river of marriage when he was too young.

On May 14th, the result of Game 5 between the Lakers and the SuperSonics was announced.

In the pivotal Game 5, the Lakers defeated the SuperSonics at home, taking a commanding lead in the series.

In Game 6 in Seattle, the Lakers did not prolong the series.

They crushed the SuperSonics with an overwhelming victory at KeyArena, eliminating their opponents 4-2 and advancing to the Western Conference Finals.

The Los Angeles Lakers vs. the Portland Trail Blazers: another classic Western Conference Finals matchup is about to unfold.

This marks the seventh time the two teams have met in the Western Conference Finals, following their encounters in 1977, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1999.

In their previous six matchups, the Trail Blazers held a 4-2 advantage, including a 3-2 record against the Lakers in five previous encounters.

It can be said that the Lakers have always been Gan Guoyang's biggest enemy in the West. They always have the best talent in the league to compete with the Trail Blazers.

In the past it was Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Pat Riley; now it's Shaquille O'Neal, Jason Kidd, Tracy McGrady, and Phil Jackson.

Of course, the Lakers' path to the playoffs was not smooth. They almost lost to the Kings in the first round and were forced into a Game 5.

In this round against the Seattle SuperSonics, O'Neal's performance against Ewing was inconsistent in some games.

Furthermore, the Lakers exposed their problems with fighting spirit, often becoming careless in certain games and suffering unexpected defeats.

For example, in the first round against the Kings, they suffered heavy defeats in the third and fourth games. They scored over 110 points in the first two games, but only managed 88 and 91 points in the third and fourth games, respectively.

The same pattern was observed in this round. When they won, they scored over 110 points, but when they lost, they only scored 80 or 90 points, showing a very poor consistency.

When they play well, they are full of momentum; when they fall into trouble, they collapse completely. Having never won a championship, they clearly lack resilience.

This is exactly what Phil Jackson is most worried about; in his mind, this Lakers team would be in great danger against the Trail Blazers.

He believed it was necessary to boost the players' morale and provide some psychological support, a tactic Jackson often employed during his time with the Bulls.

After the game against the SuperSonics, Phil Jackson gave a speech in the locker room, informing the players that their next opponent would be the Portland Trail Blazers.

Instead of trying to boost the players' morale, Jackson did the opposite, showing them a compilation of movies and game footage, specifically choosing "The X-Files" and "The Green Mile".

Phil Jackson's central message in using these two films was to tell the players: "Let go of the hatred, let go of everything from the past."

"The past rivalries and wins and losses between the Lakers and the Trail Blazers are not important. What matters is the present, the Western Conference Finals that haven't even started yet. Everything that happened in the past, whether it's related to you or not, should not interfere with you. This is a completely new matchup."

Jackson hoped to eliminate the players' fear of the Trail Blazers and Forrest Gump through this method; starting from scratch was the best option for the Lakers.

Most players were moved by Jackson's movie clips and speeches, but O'Neal seemed unmoved and complained afterwards that the court was full of idiots, that the law had loopholes, and why John Coffey was electrocuted! (Note: The protagonist of The Green Mile, a tall, fierce-looking black man with a kind heart and mysterious abilities, was wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to electrocution.)
"Prejudice against tall Black people has always existed, even in movies!" This was O'Neal's biggest takeaway after watching the film.

Phil Jackson couldn't help but feel worried about the Western Conference Finals, not because of Shaq, but more because they would have to face Forrest Gump again.

After the Western Conference Finals matchups and schedule were finalized, the entire Trail Blazers team flew to Los Angeles on the 14th to prepare for the first game of the Western Conference Finals.

Larry Bird approached Kobe during practice the next day, wanting to talk to him and advise him not to rush into marriage, but to focus his energy on basketball and the most important Western Conference Finals game.

"You're still very young, and it's not a wise choice to tie yourself down to marriage so early." Bird advised Kobe with his own experience, and he was not optimistic about Kobe and Vanessa's marriage.

But Kobe turned a deaf ear. He nodded in agreement with Bird's advice on basketball, but ignored his other suggestions.

Out of respect, Kobe didn't make fun of Bird's refusal to acknowledge his daughter, but Bird could tell from his eyes that Kobe wasn't listening to him at all.

Bird wasn't the type to meddle in other people's business. For the sake of the team's stability and harmony, he would only step in to offer advice once at most, and he couldn't be bothered to care whether the advice was actually given.

The Trail Blazers have many veteran players who are all married with children. They generally hold a negative view of Kobe's youth and impulsiveness, believing that he is too irrational.

But Kobe didn't care at all. No one's persuasion or gossip could shake his belief. He had already decided to marry Vanessa.

Of everyone, Gan Guoyang was the only one who expressed support for Kobe. After practice, he told Kobe, "Getting married is good for you. It allows you to take your focus away from basketball for a little while and rest a bit. Then, with a more determined heart and belief, you can throw yourself back into the game, right?"

Kobe nodded and said, "That's right, you're right, you're right, Sonny."

In fact, Kobe also wavered and struggled internally; persisting in something that everyone opposes is not easy.

Especially since his parents were among those who opposed him, Kobe had never disobeyed them like this before.

But Gan Guoyang's experience did indeed encourage Kobe. Gan Guoyang also got married early, and his family has always been a strong support and motivation for him.

A good wife allowed Gan Guoyang to focus all his energy on basketball and achieve brilliant success, which set a good example for Kobe.

Kobe knew he had chosen the right person to learn from, so he asked Gan Guoyang what the secret was to maintaining a loving marriage.

Gan Guoyang said there's no secret, it all depends on your own ideas and choices, but there's one thing he wants to remind Kobe of.

Kobe asked, "What did you say?"

"It's best not to go to Eagle County."

"What? Don't go to what?"

Eagle County, Colorado.

"why?"

"There's no reason why, I just said it offhand."

At that moment, Kobe had absolutely no idea what those words meant.

(End of this chapter)