The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 1798 - 60: Youth Is Wonderful (Part 2)

Beelman also controlled his emotions, thinking to himself that the Finals haven't started yet, and you know how cunning Ah Gan can be, so don't get soft-hearted.

"Sonny, this is your last chance to experience losing the Finals, make sure you seize it."

"Haha, Bobby, you know me, I won't." Gan Guoyang remained as confident as ever.

The two parted ways, the small moment of affection and nostalgia came to an end, and next came the ruthless battle for the championship.

To be honest, when it comes to the championship will, Beelman and his Celtics desire it more than the Trail Blazers.

Since arriving at the Celtics in 1997, Beelman took full charge and built the team around Duncan, leading the Celtics to rise quickly.

In the 1998 and 1999 seasons, the Celtics already had opportunities to contend for the Finals, but their strength and timing were not yet mature.

This season, with Duncan entering his third year, the Celtics' roster has become more complete and they are taking big strides towards the championship.

During the Celtics player introduction, Tim Duncan was the last to appear, with the whole arena's cheers for this superstar power forward.

In the regular season MVP voting, Duncan ranked second after O'Neal, but in the playoffs, he advanced further than O'Neal.

In the three-round series in the Eastern Conference, Duncan didn't score as dominantly as O'Neal, but he also didn't go completely silent in crucial games like O'Neal did.

From beginning to end, he remained expressionless, with calm and steady performances helping the Celtics secure victory after victory.

He indeed resembles Ah Gan, though his explosiveness on offense is far less, and his sharpness on defense is slightly lacking, but even a 70%-plus Ah Gan is enough to be the cornerstone of a championship team.

Around Duncan, Beelman meticulously crafted a youthful elite guard team, keeping the Celtics highly competitive for many years to come.

The Celtics starting lineup tonight features center Ilgauskas, power forward Tim Duncan, small forward Rick Fox, shooting guard Paul Pierce, and point guard Steve Nash.

In the starting lineup, the oldest, Rick Fox, is only 30 years old, and the others are all under 25. This Celtics team is very young and very talented, and they have not yet reached their peak.

This youthful team, with no more Michael Jordan in the East, already had no rivals.

They swept their opponents in the first and second rounds, facing some resistance only against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals, winning 4-2.

But if you watched the process of all six games, you would know that the Pacers had no hope of advancing against the Celtics.

With comprehensive domination on both ends of the court, the Pacers could only steal two victories relying on momentum, home court calls, and physical confrontation back at their home court.

Once the series went into deep waters, returning to Boston, the Pacers lost their momentum and had no power to resist.

In fact, the Pacers' overall strength this season was quite formidable, stronger and more mature than in 1998 and 1999.

Yet they were easily eliminated by a Celtics team with an average starting age of under 25, no wonder the Boston media is so arrogant, thinking the Trail Blazers aren't a match for the Celtics.

Being young is great, being young is truly wonderful.

In this game, Gan Guoyang returned to the starting small forward position.

Little O'Neal and Sabonis continued to guard the interior, with Kobe and Brellock as the backcourt duo.

The game began in a tense yet relaxed atmosphere because this is the first match, and everyone is probing their form.

Whether win or lose, predicting the series' ultimate result is difficult, there's always room for adjustments and changes.

This is the characteristic of an NBA series, it will never be like the Olympics, World Championships, or NCAA with elimination rounds every game.

It's like watching a movie; you can't miss a single scene or line because everything will be revealed in 90 minutes.

An NBA series is more like a TV drama with many episodes, the first episode has just started, you can grab a soda, popcorn, find a comfortable spot on the sofa and take out your phone to check texts, because there will be ads at the start and in the middle, the early plot is just buildup, with the climax in the latter part.

So, both teams started off cautiously in both offense and defense.

Gan Guoyang just went 21-for-21 in the last series Game Seven, like a god descending to earth, but it took a toll on him.

After all, he's 36, and the cooldown time for his big move is getting longer, even he doesn't know when he'll be in such form again next.

Or perhaps, with the promise of retiring after the Finals, it might never come again?

Actually, deciding to announce his retirement in a pre-game press conference was a spontaneous decision by Gan Guoyang, after just a phone call to his wife.

This decision is indeed related to coming to Boston, where past memories surged forth.

His first championship, the 1986 Boston Garden, breaking the rim in the first game leading to a pause and getting a rest, and so on.

Since last summer's offseason, Gan Guoyang has been avoiding letting himself fall into reminiscence because once a person starts reminiscing, it means he's getting old.

For the tenth championship, for Charles Barkley, to prove himself, he threw himself into the 2000 season with passion and resilience.

But persevering until the Finals in Boston, the emotions were irrepressible, coupled with the occurrences of this year, he knew he no longer needed to hesitate.