The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 976 He always falls for his tricks

On the morning of April 26th, in Los Angeles, before the game, I gathered the players together and asked everyone to meditate with me.

This process doesn't last too long, usually around 15 or 20 minutes.

But it is enough to tell the players that if they want to make breakthroughs—in terms of results, championships, and mental strength—they must rely on each other.

McGrady's outstanding performance, or Shaq's outstanding performance, or even both of their outstanding performances, were far from enough.

We are facing a long-standing nightmare, an opponent that has always been difficult to overcome, and we believe this showdown will be very important.

Therefore, we need to achieve unity in spirit and action, and find a space where we can embrace each other and grow together.

This is undoubtedly a terrible challenge. What's terrible is not the opponent, but our current situation.

Today's players are too focused on developing their individuality; they all want to be unique and habitually resist cooperating with other forces.

Especially after winning the championship last year, we lacked the stubbornness to "do it again".

At the beginning of the season, we held a few meditations, and I soon realized that there was a sarcastic atmosphere in the locker room, and people were belittling the ritual.

In fact, we need meditation and unity; meditation can deepen the connection between people.

This is a natural state that is difficult to describe, regardless of whether it is logical or makes normal sense.

It was as if suddenly, the players found their rhythm, and they could clearly feel each other's presence.

I often had this kind of inspiration when I played for the Knicks in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

I remember one game where Tom McMillan, Bill Bradley, and I were able to perform all the moves smoothly.

This includes pick-and-roll, bounce passes, help defense, and so on—at least for five consecutive minutes.

On the field, I've never felt so active, like playing a jazz symphony where when someone plays a note, everyone else is in the right place at the right time so the team can maintain its rhythm.

We all became one, a true whole.

The atmosphere within the team forced me to cancel my meditation plan and instead, like a regular coach, ramble on and on.

In fact, meditation helped us last season, on that unforgettable morning in Portland during Game 6 of the 2001 Western Conference Finals against the Trail Blazers.

Typically, when we decide to have meditation at the pre-match buffet, the players are always a few minutes late.

But that time, they all arrived early, eager to use the ritual to help them focus.

I knew they were prepared for the challenge even before we finalized our battle plan.

At the infamous Portland Rose Garden arena, you can look up and see 11 championship banners, at least half of which were won by stepping on the blood of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Ultimately, we defeated the Trail Blazers on the road, winning 4-2 and advancing to the Finals, paving the way for the championship.

But this year, it doesn't seem to work anymore. In short, everyone's attention was diverted early on, and various external opinions disturbed us. Everyone had their own thoughts.

Everyone wants to see us fail, to see us dethroned from our position as number one in the West.

This is infuriating, but the anger stems not from the words themselves, but from the very real fear of failure.

We must acknowledge this.

After the meditation, I gave a speech.

Telling everyone that everything is uncertain and we should hold nothing back is a crucial step in building confidence and establishing a dynasty.

I know Shaq is excellent. He played hard throughout the regular season, appearing in 74 games.

It's a pity he lost to Tim Duncan in the regular season MVP voting; I think he was fully capable of winning the award again.

This kept him in a state of anger, and during the regular season he would never sit on the bench for more than five minutes to watch the opponent's game footage.

But when it comes to the playoffs, he will study every single possession and every single detail.

He, who is usually cheerful, did not smile once until the moment the competition started; instead, he was as serious as a stone statue.

Of course, at that time I didn't realize that behind anger often lies fear.

—Excerpt from Phil Jackson's autobiography, *Christ, Hippies, Indians, Zen, and Basketball*, published in 2014.

After the playoff matchups were finalized, Gan Guoyang and his teammates from the Glory team arrived in Los Angeles four days early to prepare for the first round.

On April 22, the day after the regular season ended, they took a private jet directly to the City of Angels without even transiting through Las Vegas.

Many people said they didn't bring a change of clothes, but Gan Guoyang said they could just buy them in Los Angeles, where you can buy anything you want.

Besides victory.

Victory requires meticulous preparation and relentless effort.

Every time Gan Guoyang comes to Los Angeles, he feels at peace.

He still enjoys playing here, but he hasn't won a game in Los Angeles this season.

Although in the first game of the regular season, Gan Guoyang scored 50 points and made an amazing three-pointer to defeat the Lakers and win their first game.

However, the Lakers won all three of their subsequent matches against the two teams, and their roster's advantage in talent and experience was undeniable.

Especially after McGrady's return, the Glory team was unable to manage both their inside and outside offensive systems simultaneously.

This would be a huge test for any team's defense, especially since the Glory are not known for their defense.

Therefore, in order to achieve victory, Gan Guoyang led the team to Los Angeles early on, allowing everyone to live a "collective life".

Gan Guoyang paid for all expenses, including accommodation, transportation, and food.

He rented a small hotel in Palm Springs, near a basketball court, where they practiced together until the start of the game on the 26th.

This is a rare experience of living together in a group. This is the NBA, not the CBA. Everyone works together to play basketball, but their personal lives are separate.

Gan Guoyang knew that a high degree of unity was required to win the series between the eighth and the first.

Gan Guoyang has always been rational about winning and losing in basketball. He never pins his hopes on a sudden burst of form, as that is a vain fantasy. Hoping for miracles to happen is like praying to gods and Buddhas before a major event.

The gods are only responsible for sending people into the world; they usually don't care how you live. A miracle is an explosion triggered by a flash of inspiration after all your efforts and preparations have been made.

Without prior accumulation, a flash of inspiration is just that—a flash of inspiration.

No matter how much hype there is, Glorious could upset the Lakers in the first round, and the Lakers were unlucky to run into Glorious in the first round. Gan Guoyang was not swayed by him.

He was acutely aware of the gap between the two teams, as well as the reality that he was no longer at his peak.

Blindly believing in such praise from the public will inevitably lead to a terrible end and even backlash.

However, the panic created by this kind of public opinion is worth taking advantage of.

On his first day in Los Angeles, Gan Guoyang gave an interview to local media, saying he wanted to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Los Angeles as soon as possible.

When asked about his thoughts on the first-round series against the Lakers, Gan Guoyang said, "The Lakers bravely accepted the top seed in the West to meet this glorious challenge, which is commendable. I voted for Shaquille O'Neal in the regular season MVP voting. Scottie Pippen will always be a formidable opponent, even as he gets older than me. And I admire Derek Fisher."

Gan Guoyang spoke at length, praising the Lakers' courage, commending O'Neal, mentioning Pippen, and even Fisher, but he didn't mention McGrady at all.

This will undoubtedly make this rather arrogant young man unhappy. He may not say anything, but he certainly has something to say about it.

McGrady performed quite well in the regular season; he was the team's second offensive option after O'Neal.

At only 22 years old, he is already averaging 25 points and 5.3 assists per game, making him a strong contender for the first team.

Because he also wore size 1, he was often compared to Penny Hardaway and was considered the second Penny alongside Shaq.

However, the final outcome between the shark and the penny wasn't so good.

Phil Jackson could obviously see that this was Gan Guoyang's attempt to sow discord.

Intentionally omitting a core issue in statements can create resentment among young people.

McGrady and O'Neal never really got along. Given O'Neal's personality, he was unlikely to develop a deep understanding with any guard, and Jackson had long seen through this.

That's why Jackson didn't have a good way to deal with Forrest Gump's propaganda campaign.

What could he do? Publicly state in the media that he believes McGrady is an excellent guard and an important figure on the team?
That would make O'Neal unhappy.

Or you could praise O'Neal, but that would be the same as saying nothing at all.

It wasn't that Gan Guoyang stirred up discord within the Lakers team; rather, there were already existing conflicts, and he added fuel to the fire.

After causing a minor conflict with the Lakers, in order to allow the players of the Glory team to fully concentrate on the game and not be distracted by Jackson, Gan Guoyang ordered everyone to cut off communication, and not to watch TV or read newspapers.

Four days is too difficult for a modern person to live without communication, television, and newspapers, as if returning to rural life.

But that's exactly what Gan Guoyang did. After checking into the hotel, he asked everyone to call their parents, wives, and children to let them know that they couldn't contact them for a few days because they needed to focus on preparing for the competition.

Then, hand over your phone. If there is an emergency, call the hotel and they will notify you.

The televisions in the room had their data cables and antennas disconnected, and the newspaper delivery service was stopped.

Rookies like Arenas and Gerald Wallace, playing in the playoffs for the first time, were surprised, saying, "Is this what the playoffs are like? No wonder people say the playoffs are different from the regular season; it's like being in a concentration camp."

Porter told them that this was not the case under normal circumstances, but it was clearly not the case now.

"Because Sonny, that idiot, is afraid of losing. He's afraid of being eliminated in the first round. Don't be fooled by his nonchalant attitude during the regular season, saying he wants to give the young players a chance to develop. He's terrified of the playoffs. Losing in the first round would be incredibly embarrassing, especially since he's never missed a Western Conference Finals game before!"

"This guy is a control freak, a psychopath, a victory dictator, that's his true colors. The regular season is alright, he can accept not playing as well. The playoffs? No way, everyone says he set up the Lakers, but I think he set up Forrest Gump. Anyway, whether the Lakers die or we die, those guys will be happy."

"Play well, guys. Don't make mistakes or errors. Train hard these next few days to improve your focus, or you'll be in for a world of hurt in the competition."

Porter has extensive experience playing in the playoffs with Gan Guoyang, and he knows exactly what kind of person Gan Guoyang is.

The playoffs and the regular season are completely different things. Arenas and the others broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing this, and put all other thoughts to the back of their minds.

Gan Guoyang brought his teammates to Los Angeles early so that everyone, especially the younger players, could get into playoff form.

There was no high-intensity training arranged, but Gan Guoyang required everyone to act together.

We get up early together, eat together, practice tactics together at the training hall, go back to the hotel together, and watch a movie together in the evening.

The training focused on tactics, with some basic physical exercises but no strength training. Everyone ate very well.

Tomjanovich devised several specific tactics for the team to play against the Lakers, which they practiced repeatedly in Palm Springs.

The environment here is great. The weather in April is pleasant, sunny and warm, with a sea breeze that makes people feel very comfortable.

In the 80s, Pat Riley loved to bring Lakers players here for preseason training or pre-Finals practice.

Four days passed in the blink of an eye, and the match day arrived in the blink of an eye. On April 26th, the entire Glory team was in a very good state for the match.

In the morning, we would gather together for breakfast and sing a song together. We sang a different song every day for the four days.

Singing together can boost morale, and on the 26th, Gan Guoyang chose "California Dream," a classic old song from 1966.

It has to be said that Black people have a natural talent for singing. With Riddle taking the lead, everyone quickly picked up the singing style and started singing along.

After the song, everyone tidied up and went to the training hall for an hour of basketball shooting warm-up practice.

After lunch, Gan Guoyang returned the phones to everyone and said, "You can call your family now and tell them to turn on the TV tonight and watch the game between the Las Vegas Glory and the Los Angeles Lakers. We will win at least one game to return to the desert and send the top seed in the West home."

Four days without touching my phone, making calls, meeting women, gambling, or watching TV felt like a lifetime ago.

On the bus to Staples Center, some people were making phone calls and others were sending text messages.

In short, everyone was in high spirits and eager for the game and victory.

Because I was not exposed to any outside opinions or information, my mind was free of distractions; all I had on my mind was the game and my teammates.

The entire team at Glorious has never been so united, with everyone focused solely on victory.

Except for one person, Terry Porter.

He had long seen through Gan Guoyang's tricks; he was a master at manipulating people's hearts.

"He tricks everyone into working for him again. But there's nothing we can do; we always fall for his tricks."

(End of this chapter)