The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 362 - 96 You Can’t Kill Me
"The only weak point Larry had—I think he hid it well—was that he really struggled against those strong, low-post players, especially if they were bigger than him. But most of the time, Larry managed to avoid that. He was too smart. He was predicting everything in the game. He was the master of half an inch, always half an inch taller or faster than his opponents."
This was what Tom Heinsohn, the commentator for CBS Television, said about Larry Bird years later on an interview program.
As a die-hard Celtics fan, Heinsohn had coached the Celtics during the 1977-1978 season, one year before Bird’s arrival at the Celtics.
He knew Bird well enough to pinpoint his weakness incisively.
Many people thought Bird wasn’t fast enough, didn’t jump high enough, lacked explosiveness, and was poor at one-on-one defense, and so on.
These were all issues, but every player has issues. Issues and weaknesses are not the same thing.
Weaknesses are the problem of problems, the most difficult to solve among all issues, the one that needs to be hidden the most; it’s the weakest link in a player when all the problems are combined.
The Trail Blazers were still trailing in the latter part of the third quarter, but Gan Guoyang, after waiting for most of the game, saw the Celtics and Bird expose their biggest weakness:
When the game was dragged into one-on-one decisions by core players, it would be the weakest moment for the Celtics.
Bird’s personal ability was outstanding; he was called Mr. Clutch, and his shooting was deadly, plus he had a big heart.
But aside from those highlight moments, purely from a data analysis perspective, when the game got tense, and the Celtics’ tactics had to rely on Bird going one-on-one, his efficiency was not high.
Especially when he faced Ah Gan, Gan Guoyang’s defense had a terrifying dominance over small forwards. His strength, height, speed, explosiveness, and defensive skills could lock down any number three in the league.
The only ones that somewhat troubled Gan Guoyang were James Worthy, who was too fast, and Dantley, who was too adept at drawing fouls.
For a forward like Larry Bird, who primarily relied on shooting and was outmatched in strength, height, and speed, relying on skills and brains for his play, Gan Guoyang wasn’t afraid at all.
Although defending Bird could disrupt Gan’s own offensive and defensive rhythm, he could effectively contain Bird’s offense.
Bird certainly knew his disadvantage when facing Ah Gan, but knowing wasn’t enough; in the regular season, you could avoid it, but in the NBA Finals, you had only to face the challenge head-on.
The game’s pace had been dragged down by the Trail Blazers into a muddy state, better to hold the ball and force his way through rather than letting Dennis Johnson or McHale throw up wild shots.
A basketball game is like war, after exhausting tactics, logistics, and strategies, in the end, it’s about the bravery of the warriors, whether they can stand firm despite the casualties.
Without the determination and ability to fight a tough battle, all strategies are empty talk because, no matter what, you have to put that damn ball into the basket.
Bird held the ball at a 45-degree angle facing Ah Gan, the pressure from the defense was overwhelming, and he chose to pass to Dennis Johnson as a transition.
Then he cut from the middle, took a dribble, stopped abruptly, and then fadeaway shot!
"Shit..."
The ball hadn’t left his hand when Bird knew it was bad news; this shot was going to be blocked!
Bird immediately changed his posture and flicked the ball to Dennis Johnson.
But the pass was too hurried and got stolen by Drexler, igniting a counterattack for the Trail Blazers!
At that moment, the Trail Blazers no longer dragged the pace but accelerated it.
Gan Guoyang raced down, received a pass from Drexler, and dunked with one hand!
On the second attack, Dennis Johnson decided to shoot from the outside, but he missed.
Jones grabbed the defensive rebound, An Ji snatched it back successfully, turned for a layup but was blocked by the swiftly recovering Gan Guoyang!
His help defense was too fast.
Gan had not been awarded the Defensive Player of the Year that season.
Because in the regular season, he didn’t go all out on defense, letting many plays slide.
The NBA Finals were different, and that was Gan’s ninth block of the night.
In the cramped spaces and without the defensive three-second rule of the ’80s, a defensive big man with his mobility was a nightmare for all backcourt players.
Aside from him, no other big man played like this at the time because they were all taught from a young age not to leave the three-second area.
The ball returned to Drexler’s hands, he dove in, accelerated, and Dennis Johnson had to grab him, opting for a deliberate foul.
Another weak point of the Celtics: their overall physical condition was mediocre; they lacked the aerial prowess of the modern player.
Dennis Johnson, Ainge, Bird, McHale, and Parrish were all players with below-average physical fitness.
Dennis was strong, but speed and explosiveness were not his strengths, and not to mention the three white guys.
Parrish was tall and thin, with ordinary speed and explosiveness and no advantage in strength against Gan Guoyang.
Marques Johnson was the only Celtic possessing strength and athleticism above the league’s standard.
Following the foul, KC Jones immediately subbed in Marques for Dennis Johnson.
With the side inbound, Gan didn’t stay still waiting for the ball but started moving.
Receiving the ball on the wing, he drove towards the baseline, hoisted a move hook shot, and scored two points.
Bird called for the ball in the low post, he didn’t even bother to set up because he couldn’t hold position; he tried to spin past Gan.
It was useless, completely covered, he could only pass the ball to Marques Johnson. Marques drove to the basket with the ball, made a floater, but it still didn’t go in.
The Celtics’ offense hit a snag, lacking fluidity; their perimeter play seemed to have been drained by the scrappy rhythm and intense physical confrontation.
The Trail Blazers, on the other hand, grew stronger as the battle raged on. Gan Guoyang caught the ball on the fast break and, once again, executed a move hook shot. Parrish was speechless—how on earth do you guard that?
Gan Guoyang simply didn’t allow the Celtics’ players to set themselves up, then move in to double-team him; he caught the ball and immediately moved towards the baseline or the top, hooking the shot in stride.
Facing the Celtics’ rigorous but average intensity defense, and lacking players with superior physical attributes, the running hook shot was a quite effective weapon—against the Rockets, this tactic wouldn’t be effective.
When that shot went in, the Trail Blazers had already taken back the lead, 75:73. Without anyone realizing it, they had quietly turned the situation around.
However, Bird finally made a long-distance jump shot after receiving the ball, bringing the score back to even.
For the last play in the third quarter, Drexler had the ball on the perimeter; Gan Guoyang set a pick-and-roll screen for him.
The Glider charged into the paint, then no-look passed the ball back to Gan Guoyang at the top of the arc. Gan Guoyang’s three-point shot was good!
78:75, the Trail Blazers ended the third quarter leading by three points.
In the last four minutes, Bird only scored 2 points, totaling 8 points and 3 assists for the quarter.
And Gan Guoyang, making 4 shots in the last four minutes, scored 9 points, ending the quarter with 16 points and a total of 29 points for the game.
During the break, Gan Guoyang said to Bird, "You are very versatile, but I know why you are so versatile, it’s because you lack a killer move. You can’t kill me, Larry."
Bird didn’t respond. He glared at Gan Guoyang, and at that moment, he finally understood why Doctor J, Irving, had once given him a punch. Only when one finds oneself in the same situation can one truly sympathize with others.
But Gan Guoyang was right, Bird was known for his versatility, capable of every offensive skill, basic jump shots, hook shots, floaters, and even ambidextrous shooting, or some unthinkable, highly difficult (but ugly) movements to get the ball into the hoop.
Why? Because he lacked a signature move, a go-to skill, and due to physical limitations, stop-and-go and penetration were not his strong points.
Lacking speed and explosive power, he couldn’t tear through the defense to lay up or stop and shoot like Michael Jordan or Wilkins.
His shooting mostly came from catch-and-shoot or turn-around jumpers after posting up, which was also why he struggled against tall, low-post defenders.
When a player’s key offense primarily depends on mid- to long-distance shooting, being as successful as Bird is already exemplary, but it’s still inefficient at the highest level of competition.
During the intermission, Bird sat fuming on the bench — he threw down his towel twice in a row, almost wanting to tell his teammates: From now on, give me the ball, I want to annihilate Ah Gan.
If it had been any other defender, Bird might have said just that, but facing Ah Gan in the finals, he couldn’t, he couldn’t blow his own horn.
Of course, the game wasn’t over yet, the Celtics were only three points behind, and it was still unclear who would come out on top.
But for Ramsay, having managed to fight to a draw or even take the lead by the end of the third quarter was already an advantage for the Trail Blazers.
Ramsay finally subbed in Bill Walton, who had been resting for a long while. With Gan Guoyang, Walton, and Thompson’s "Three Towers" on the court.
The Trail Blazers’ offensive fluency was lifted to another level; Gan Guoyang returned to his favorite low post, turned around after receiving the ball, and pressed down on Parrish with a jump shot that went in!
80:75, Gan Guoyang’s touch had completely warmed up, and Parrish simply couldn’t stop Ah Gan.
On the other hand, the Celtics shifted their offensive focus, Bird fed it to Kevin McHale; McHale turned and hit the jumper.
Under Thompson’s defense, McHale had only scored 10 points tonight, far below his playoff average.
Additionally, he couldn’t make use of his up-and-under moves at all, as Thompson wasn’t biting on fakes; McHale had to rely on brute force to try to score on Thompson.
Playing at home, the Celtics were incredibly tough, and although they were in a favorable position, the Trail Blazers couldn’t afford any slip-ups.
The turnaround and upheaval of the situation often happen in the blink of an eye, within a possession or two.
So, when Terry Porter and Drexler consecutively made mistakes, Gan Guoyang called a timeout.
The score was caught up by the Celtics to 88:86, with the Trail Blazers only leading by two points.
On the bench, Ramsay hadn’t even started talking when Gan Guoyang already chewed out the two for being too reckless.
"Listen up, when this timeout is over, every single ball must go through my hands, every single one! I’ll decide how we play the final shots! No one is going to give this victory away, understood?"
Gan Guoyang wasn’t a ball hog, but at such a critical moment, he had to be one rather than passing the crucial shots to his teammates; he didn’t trust it to anyone else.
During the timeout, Ramsay set up a clever play with Gan Guoyang receiving the ball on the strong side to draw the defense, while Walton appeared to be waiting at the high post, but actually cut inside to attack the basket.
The Trail Blazers executed this offense well. Gan Guoyang drew in the defense and then subtly passed the ball to Walton without looking. Walton caught the ball under the basket and made an easy layup!
The situation was stabilized again. Bird was still facing Gan Guoyang’s high-intensity defense; key plays had to be transferred to Dennis Johnson.
Dennis Johnson was truly fearless in taking shots, but he couldn’t make them. Walton grabbed a critical rebound, then immediately handed the ball over to Gan Guoyang to bring up.
In the 1977 finals, the Trail Blazers utilized full-court pressuring, baffling the 76ers who let Jones bring the ball up the court, resulting in the Trail Blazers almost falling over themselves. Walton nearly took a spill.
Now it was Walton’s turn to give the ball to Gan Guoyang. Facing the Celtics’ full-court press, Gan Guoyang took the ball up himself. Though he stumbled a bit, he charged toward the basket, drawing a foul from Parrish.
Parrish stood with his hands on his hips, his face as stoic as a chieftain’s, yet filled with confusion. Tonight, Parrish had a terrible game, getting blown up by Gan Guoyang on both ends and turning into a complete background board.
Feeling extremely exhausted both physically and mentally, he had barely rested and could no longer guard Gan Guoyang’s ball-handling breakthroughs at this moment.
At the free-throw line, Gan Guoyang made both shots, 92:86, with 1 minute left to go in the game, the Trail Blazers were about to clinch the victory.
