The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 345 - 80: The Chasm

Although Gan Guoyang held Olajuwon in check tonight, Olajuwon’s performance was not bad judging from the statistics and his showing on the court.

In three quarters, he scored 17 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, recorded an impressive 5 blocks and 2 steals, and apart from Ah Gan, everyone else was at a disadvantage when facing Olajuwon.

The Trail Blazers, unlike the Lakers, do not have someone like Jabbar, and on the front line, they have James Worthy who can punish Olajuwon with his incredible speed.

But after three quarters, the Rockets were nearly 20 points behind, and unless a miracle occurred in the fourth quarter, the Rockets had essentially lost the first game.

The key reason for such a large deficit was that Ralph Sampson was completely neutralized by Gan Guoyang, not just limited, but completely shut down.

After three quarters of play, he scored only 2 points, made just one field goal, had no free throws, and contributed only one block on defense, and that was it.

As "The Twin Towers Nemesis" Gan Guoyang had anticipated, the Twin Towers needed to both perform if they wanted to win the game; lacking either one would not suffice.

Since both players are post players, occupying a lot of the team’s ball rights and spatial resources, having one rendered ineffective meant wasting half of the team’s precious interior resources.

Against weak teams like the Kings, they could rely on the third or fourth scoring options, but against a Western Conference number one team like the Trail Blazers, if the second scoring option does not perform, it’s very hard to win.

The reason why Gan Guoyang is known as the "Twin Towers Nemesis" is that your core resources are all in the post, all within my attacking range, and I’m just right there to take care of you guys.

If the Rockets had a dual star system with one inside and one outside, there would inevitably be one Gan Guoyang couldn’t attend to; if he had to help defend the perimeter, the inside would be lost, and if he focused on the inside, the perimeter would be neglected.

Just as other teams couldn’t rely on dual guards to deal with Michael Jordan, the Rockets also couldn’t use their Twin Towers to handle Gan Guoyang, but would instead be dealt with by him.

Bill Fitch began to realize this and sat Sampson down for the fourth quarter, replacing him with Jim Petersen.

This was a white post player capable of mid-range shooting; he could partner with Olajuwon as a supporting role, capable of executing jump shots after catching the ball and engaging in a limited amount of back-to-the-basket solo plays.

When he was on the court, Gan Guoyang’s defensive focus shifted to Olajuwon, while the Rockets’ offensive strategy shifted from a Twin Towers-centric approach to an inside-outside combination.

This lineup achieved some success at the start of the fourth quarter, with Petersen hitting consecutive jump shots, Olajuwon as the pivot, and the Rockets quickly moving the ball for consecutive perimeter jump shots.

But soon after, Vandeweghe and Gan Guoyang steadied the situation by making shots on offense.

Gan Guoyang kept attacking Olajuwon in the low post, passing the ball out when double-teamed, with the Trail Blazers moving the ball very quickly on the perimeter.

Vandeweghe and Parkson were both able to hit precision jump shots, and considering the gap in the score from the first three quarters, the Rockets were already out of reach.

In the latter half of the fourth quarter, Fitch put Sampson back on the court, but facing Walton’s defense, his shooting still could not find the mark.

Tonight, Sampson went a miserable 1 for 12 from the field without any free throws, scoring a measly 2 points.

Meanwhile, Gan Guoyang, who guarded him, scored 31 points, pulled down 19 rebounds, blocked 6 shots, stole the ball 3 times, and dished out 5 assists with a 65% shooting accuracy.

The 5 assists set a new personal postseason record for Gan Guoyang—he was not a center known for his passing, as in the past he had no trustworthy teammates.

Starting this season, under the guidance of Walton and tactical innovations by Ramsay, Gan Guoyang’s number of assists began to slowly increase.

The Trail Blazers stood firm against the Rockets’ final counterattack, winning the game 108 to 95 at home, a 13-point advantage, taking the first victory in the Western Conference finals.

As the final buzzer sounded, the entire Memorial Coliseum erupted in jubilation; nobody left their seats just because the game was over.

Next door at the Paramount Theatre, applause was continuous; what was supposed to be a one-and-a-half-hour concert extended to nearly three hours, as for the last hour and a half, everyone listened to the live broadcast of the basketball game in the concert hall.

Although it was far from the time for celebration, securing the first game was obviously a good omen, and tonight countless Portland fans cheered and rejoiced for the team’s victory, unable to sleep from excitement.

The losing Rockets players also couldn’t sleep, with Sampson leaving the court dejected, knocking over a chair again when he left the bench—kicking chairs was his main way of venting his emotions.

His performance tonight was atrocious, "I have never had such a terrible performance in my entire basketball career, and I promise it won’t happen again next game," Sampson told reporters during the post-game interview.

While he said so with his lips, did he truly have confidence in his heart?

Hard to say.

The main reason for Sampson’s poor performance tonight, apart from his state of play, was that he had been tightly marked by Gan Guoyang.

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He had no chance at all, and the scoring methods he excelled in, such as alley-oops, jump shots after receiving the ball, and hook shots, were all restricted.

The disparity in strength could not be compensated for by height, nor could skill suffice. Sampson’s scoring techniques might have been sufficient in the regular season, but in the playoffs, against this level of one-on-one defense, they were simply not enough.

This superstar center, once renowned across All-America, upon whom many fans and experts had pinned great hopes, was completely lost in the shadow of Portland’s king.

Like Patrick Ewing and Sam Bowie, he had wasted too much time in college, playing too many low-quality games, without properly honing his one-on-one skills.

In fact, two to three years of college was already enough. By his junior year, Sampson had stopped making significant progress. He could have entered the NBA but instead played all four years.

Dominating for too long in the NCAA, filled with zone defense and lacking in tall, confrontational centers, Sampson entered the NBA at 23 years old, with many of his skills already set in stone.

He was still an outstanding center, a star, but when facing genuine top-tier talent, his offense seemed so frail and clumsy.

Moreover, the Rockets and Bill Fitch might not have been the team and the coach that suited him best. Fitch’s tactical system was designed around Olajuwon.

Simple, crude—it was entirely Moses Malone’s approach. Perhaps Bill Fitch had developed "Moses Malone PTSD" in 1981, or maybe he just thought Malone’s approach was straightforward and efficient. In any case, he used Olajuwon as if he were an even better Malone.

As for Sampson, he was a good assistant to Olajuwon, an Olajuwon 0.8 version, doing almost exactly the same thing.

But Sampson wasn’t a player with a violent, rough style. He could dribble outside, he liked mid-range shots, he had a beautiful hook shot.

His play was "light," with a kind of ease and elegance like walking in the clouds; he should have become the next Jabbar, but the team’s underlying style was that of Jabbar’s nemesis, Moses Malone.

He was doing fine, but it wasn’t 100% him. Against the Lakers, Sampson didn’t perform as well as Olajuwon, even though he contributed a golden buzzer-beater.

By the Western Conference Finals, facing the Portland Trail Blazers, he started to feel that this was not the game pace he wanted. He and the rest of the Rockets, especially Olajuwon, were out of sync.

But what could he say or do? Could he change Bill Fitch’s mind and make him change the whole season’s tactical strategy in the Western Finals?

Clearly, he couldn’t. He could only take his shower, sit dejectedly on the bench, and listen to Bill Fitch’s long speeches about how poorly they did that night and what they should do next game.

Sampson couldn’t listen. The only thing he could think about was how he should play against Ah Gan’s defense in the next game.

He might have to trust his shooting feel, the second game shouldn’t be so bad again. But could constant shooting really finish off the Trail Blazers?

If he didn’t go to the basket, Fitch would constantly criticize him for shooting too much, saying he lacked competitiveness and aggressiveness.

But Sampson wanted to say, didn’t Ah Gan also shoot from outside? He even shot threes, and he would dribble and go for fast breaks on his own.

These were things Sampson could do too; he could shoot from afar, dribble past mid-court, or even drive straight to the basket—all of which had been his signature moves in college.

With the Rockets, he occasionally did this, but most of the time it wasn’t possible. He had to attack the basket like Olajuwon, fight fiercely, and slam dunk the ball.

That style of play was indeed thrilling, and against the Lakers’ aging front line, it was very effective. But Ah Gan was not old, he was the most ferocious beast in the league.

Sampson still hadn’t recovered mentally by the next day’s training. He didn’t want to watch the video of the first game—it was like an execution to him.

At the tactical meeting, Fitch made slight adjustments, ordering that in the second game, Ralph Sampson would primarily defend Gan Guoyang while Olajuwon would provide help defense.

Just like against the Lakers—one to cover, the other to block from behind. Fitch didn’t believe that playing defense this way could let Ah Gan maintain a 60% shooting rate for 30 points.

Sampson couldn’t help but ask, "Is he really worth both of us defending? The Trail Blazers are more than just him. If we both defend him, it’s a waste."

Fitch glanced at Sampson and said, "Do you want him to score 60 points? Then I might consider letting you defend him alone. Do you have that confidence?"

Sampson wanted to say yes, but the words stopped at his lips. After two seasons, didn’t he have a clear idea of what level Ah Gan was at?

Seeing Sampson silent, Fitch continued his meeting, while sighing internally, wondering when these two would truly work together with one heart and mind, setting aside personal tenacity and joining forces to defeat Ah Gan.

Fitch knew that talking wasn’t enough; growth had to be experienced and understood firsthand.

Ah Gan was destined to be a vast gulf on their path of growth. It would be difficult to cross alone, but together there was a chance.

However, Fitch felt that both were still young. He looked forward to the day they would unite, the sooner the better.