The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 982 Surprising Calmness

Gan Guoyang's dunk that drew a foul effectively dashed the Los Angeles Lakers' hopes of winning their first game.

If they're on fire from three tonight and have a good shooting touch, there's still a chance they can come back in the final moments.

However, the Lakers' shooting was terrible, with their outside shots repeatedly missing, causing the whole team to have a cold shooting night.

After Gan Guoyang made the free throw, Guanghui insidiously started a two-minute "Hack-a-Shaq" tactic.

Sending O'Neal to the free-throw line gives him a high probability of making one of two free throws, or even missing both, which wastes the Lakers' chance to close the gap.

Despair spread again, and more and more people in the stands held their heads in their hands. The fans knew that this game was likely to be another one where Forrest Gump would win.

During the timeout, Gan Guoyang sat on the bench, looking at the dejected expressions and disgruntled body language of the fans in the stadium. He said to the young players on the bench, "See? This is the meaning of victory, and the scenery of victory. Enjoy it, guys."

The Glory team was in high spirits; although they were eighth, no one was afraid of the Lakers, who were ranked first.

In the final minutes, the Lakers employed the most intense full-court double-team defense.

In response, the Glory fielded a three-guard lineup, preferring to delay the game until the 24-second shot clock expired rather than take unnecessary shots or make passing errors, all to prevent the Lakers from having a chance to counterattack.

The Lakers, with their massive press and full-court coverage, left their backcourt vulnerable.

Gan Guoyang seized an opportunity, grabbed a rebound in the backcourt, and made a long pass to the frontcourt.

Van Exel received the ball and easily made a layup, scoring his 26th point of the game.

This shot effectively extinguished the Lakers' hopes of a comeback, driving the first nail into their coffin.

Gan Guoyang scored 47 points and grabbed 25 rebounds, achieving a massive double-double, proving he remains an unstoppable force.

Helping the Glory team defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 106-101, a 5-point advantage, on the road, they secured their first victory.

After lying low and playing dead for most of the season, Gan Guoyang finally showed his true colors in the playoffs.

However, this battle took a toll on him. Although his playing time was not long, his usage rate was extremely high, and he took a lot of shots, excelling on both offense and defense.

The most striking point is that Gan Guoyang didn't put his hands on his hips once during the game tonight; he simply didn't have the opportunity.

When the game ended, the Lakers players did not hug or shake hands with Gan Guoyang, but went straight back to the locker room.

Gan Guoyang shook his head and said, "The local team is so rude. They act like this after losing the game, it's really..."

Having secured their first victory, the Glory team was naturally overjoyed.

During the post-match debriefing in the locker room, Gan Guoyang did not dampen the team's spirits, but instead said, "I think we can do better."

Tomjanovich said, "With an away win, our mission is accomplished, and we have home-court advantage."

Gan Guoyang shook his head and said, "No, we haven't completed our mission. Our goal is to win both away games and take a 2-0 series lead back to Las Vegas."

The locker room, which was originally filled with joy, became much quieter. Was winning this game not enough?
"The so-called home-court advantage simply doesn't exist in the NBA, forget about it. What we need to do is take the series lead as quickly as possible. We are the underdog, so we need to act quickly, otherwise we won't be able to outlast the Lakers."

Gan Guoyang's judgment was exactly the same as that of the 1987 Western Conference Finals.

At that time, the Trail Blazers were the defending champions, but the Lakers were in excellent form and very strong that year.

They returned with a strong sense of revenge, determined to defeat the Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Finals and reclaim the title of King of the West.

However, Gan Guoyang was aiming for a quick victory and unleashed his fury in the first two games in Los Angeles.

After scoring 48 points in the first game, the Lakers thought, "You won't explode in the next game, will you? Let's even the score."

In the second game, Gan Guoyang scored 51 points, once again crushing the Lakers, which caused Riley to be furious in that game.

Trailing 0-2 left the Lakers with no room for error, and even though they played better later on, they still lost the series.

That series led to Pat Riley's dismissal, and he joined the Heat, thus beginning his revenge career of poaching players from Gan Guoyang.

They were all defeated by Gan Guoyang's god-like performance.

His performance tonight triggered a strong reaction from the Lakers, especially from veteran fans.

It's said that Jack Nicholson considered getting a refund after the game and deciding to quit being a Lakers fan.

"If I had become a Forrest Gump fan earlier, life would have been so much better, damn it," Nicholson later recalled.

Does Gan Guoyang still have the ability to score 47 points in one game and 50 points in the next?
No one knew, not even Gan Guoyang himself, that his confidence in his physical abilities wasn't as strong as it used to be.

This has led to some of his strategic plans being compromised, so he is thinking that for the second battle, he might need to come up with some other methods.

After the Lakers' first game against the Glorious Ones, other matchups between the East and West gradually came to a conclusion.

In the West, the Trail Blazers, Kings, and Mavericks, the other three teams in the top half of the bracket, all secured victories.

Needless to say, the coaching staff of all three teams must be grinning from ear to ear. Seeing the Lakers get crushed in the first game shows that this scheme was quite successful.

On May 19th, the two teams had a day off, and on May 20th, the battle resumed at the Staples Center.

After a day of rest and adjustment, it's clear that the Lakers players felt much better before the game than they did in the first game.

At least during warm-up, they were no longer lazy and sluggish, but actively dunking, laying up, and sprinting, and everyone's expression was very serious.

Especially O'Neal, since the start of the playoffs, a smile has never appeared on his big black face, which is simply unbelievable.

For the first time, Phil Jackson felt so at ease with O'Neal, believing that he had finally matured and would no longer be so timid in the face of Forrest Gump.

In the first game, O'Neal was the Lakers' best player, with 35 points, 16 rebounds, and 4 blocks.

If it weren't for Forrest Gump's overwhelming brilliance, the victory in the first game and the honor of being the best player should have belonged to him.

Standing in the center circle again, he jumped for the ball with Gan Guoyang. The two looked at each other, and Gan Guoyang saw a sense of confusion in O'Neal's eyes.

"Shaq, are you afraid of losing?"

"Nonsense, aren't you afraid of losing?"

"No, I just want to win."

Gan Guoyang wanted to win, but tonight's situation was very different from the last battle.

The Lakers started the game with extremely tight and meticulous double-team defense against Gan Guoyang.

Phil Jackson no longer dared to simply man-mark his opponents; instead, he insisted on using three-man squads.

In the last match, they actually gave Gan Guoyang a lot of one-on-one opportunities.

Local Los Angeles media also criticized Jackson for being too arrogant in his tactical arrangements.

"Countless historical lessons have proven that letting Forrest Gump fight alone is tantamount to suicide."

"Unfortunately, the only lesson we learn from history is that we don't learn from our mistakes."

However, the Lakers really learned their lesson in this game.

In addition to defense, Jackson demanded that offense start with attacks from the perimeter, rather than focusing on O'Neal.

Faced with a formidable defensive strategy, O'Neal couldn't effectively lead the team. They didn't double-team him and instead used a zone defense, turning him into a scoring machine rather than the engine of the team's offense. While 35 points is impressive, our Forrest Gump has 47 points; we have nothing to fear.

The key to the Lakers' victory is for their outside shooting to be on fire, especially their three-pointers.

In the first game, the Lakers' three-point shooting was far inferior to that of the Glorious Ones. The Glorious Ones made 14 three-pointers, while the Lakers only made 4.

With a difference of 10 three-pointers, the Lakers' loss was entirely justified.

So right from the start of the game, McGrady attacked from the outside, repeatedly driving to the basket and targeting the rim.

He reduced his pull-up jumpers, which were too inconsistent in the playoffs and couldn't wear down or hurt opponents.

However, neither team scored for a long time at the start, and the Glory team wouldn't let the Lakers' outside shooting open easily.

The score remained 0-0 for two minutes until McGrady drove to the basket, drew a foul from Raja Bell, and made both free throws, finally scoring the first point of the game.

On Guanghui's side, Gan Guoyang did not attempt a direct attack despite being surrounded by multiple opponents.

He moved inside, broke through, and bounced the ball out. Brad Miller caught the ball and made a mid-range jumper, scoring the Radiant's first point.

However, unexpectedly, this became Glory's only score in the first 6 minutes of the first quarter.

After that, the Lakers' shots came out like a floodgate opening, with Fisher, McGrady, Pippen, and others all hitting their shots.

On the Guanghui side, Gan Guoyang was completely shut down, making it difficult for him to even receive the ball, so the others couldn't play.

Mistakes, missed shots, rebounds being stolen, dribbling out of bounds—all sorts of terrible situations arise.

从2:2，一直打到12:2，湖人打了光辉一个10:2，迫使汤姆贾诺维奇叫暂停。

However, after the timeout, Guanghui's offense still didn't improve, and Gan Guoyang's start was not good.

Surrounded by multiple defenders, his forced shot also missed.

The first game took a toll on him, and he knew his mid-range and long-range shooting wasn't great.

He needs to regain his offensive rhythm, but the Lakers clearly don't want to give him that opportunity.

Phil Jackson made substitutions early, bringing on Richmond, Brian Shaw, and others to increase the rotation on the perimeter and relieve pressure on Scottie Pippen.

Gan Guoyang didn't score until midway through the first quarter, just before leaving the court, when he managed a hook shot under the basket and made two points.

At 4:18, the Lakers have already widened the gap to 14 points, and only half of the first quarter has been played.

At this point, it was time for Gan Guoyang to go off the court for a rest. He said to Tomjanovich, "Maybe I should play a little longer; the situation is too bad."

Tomjanovic said, "Let's stick to the plan. The game is still long. Trust your teammates."

Gan Guoyang could only nod. He had anticipated this situation, and the Lakers were bound to bounce back strongly in the second game.

But they only scored 4 points halfway through the first quarter, their offense was terrible.

Is this the true strength of the Glory team? Without Gan Guoyang performing at his full potential, they are destined to be crushed by the top team in the West.

After Van Exel came on, he was subjected to the same defensive treatment as Gan Guoyang, being double-teamed and surrounded.

The open shot was available, but neither Bell nor Gerald Wallace capitalized on the opportunity.

Wallace's shooting ability is lacking, and Bell wasn't in form tonight either; they're both too young.

With veteran players leading the way and providing support, they can handle things with ease. But once the veterans are locked up early and they're asked to carry the team, they're completely overwhelmed.

The Glorious's overly obvious binary structure makes it all the more easy to target.

Although the Lakers seem to have two core players, one inside and one outside, the other players all have the ability to solve problems.

If you dare to double-team O'Neal or McGrady aggressively, and pass the ball to Horry, Pippen, Fisher, or others, they can solve the problem.

No matter who throws the ball, the score is the same.

The illustrious role player still lacks the ability to stand alone.

Phil Jackson capitalized on this, employing aggressive defense and virtually shutting down Glorious in the first quarter.

By the time Gan Guoyang returned to the court at the end of the first quarter, the situation had deteriorated, and the Lakers' lead had widened to 17 points.

Although Gan Guoyang tried his best to close the gap with low-post scoring, the hole he dug himself in earlier was too big, and it was difficult to get out later.

The key point is that the Lakers' outside shooting was on fire tonight, which is more difficult than guarding O'Neal one-on-one.

At the end of the first quarter, the score was 14-29, with the Glorious trailing the Lakers by a whopping 15 points – a truly disastrous situation.

That's how NBA games are; times change, and the ups and downs are like waves.

During the break, Gan Guoyang looked at his somewhat dazed teammates and knew that everyone had been completely overwhelmed tonight.

Such situations often occur in NBA games; momentary lapses in judgment are inevitable. The key is how you recover.

If they can't get out of this situation, the series is over.

Once you've finished this match, you can face the next one and fight again.

If they can turn things around in the first half, they still have a chance to turn the game around in the second half.

However, a 15-point difference is really difficult.

But you have to find a way out of the hole you dug yourself.

With three quarters left in the game, Gan Guoyang discussed with Lao Tang: "Coach, let me play center."

This is a solution that Gan Guoyang has repeatedly used successfully when encountering problems in the past.

Play center, go to his most familiar position, and use power and efficiency to destroy the opponent.

But Tomjanovich hesitated. He held the tactical board and thought for a moment before saying, "No, we can't do that."

"why?"

"Things are different now, Sonny! Don't rush. You should focus on your job. We need to start with defense, take it slow, it's not too late to begin now."

Tomjanovich made arrangements, and Gan Guoyang continued to play for a short period in the second quarter before leaving the court, with the remaining time given to other players.

He abandoned the zone defense and ordered man-to-man defense in the half-court to get through this difficult phase first.

"Our primary goal is to prevent the opponent from widening the score gap further. Stay around 15 points, don't rush to catch up, and don't take random three-pointers. Sonny, your primary task is rebounding, understand?"

No wonder he's the man who said "it's a little salty" after his brains were splattered out; he remains unfazed even when Mount Tai collapses before him.

Tomjanovic's remarkable composure kept the Glory's bench in check.

He didn't readily accept Gan Guoyang's advice because he knew that Agan was 38 years old, and he had to make good use of him, not abuse him; the competition was still long.

(End of this chapter)