The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 372 - 105: I Want to Play

Bird scored only eight points twice in the history of the NBA Finals, both times in the 1981 Finals against the Rockets.

That year, Bird was 24 years old, in his sophomore year, and his offensive skills were not yet fully refined; facing the Rockets’ defense, he made only 3 out of 11 shots in both games, losing one and winning the other.

Although he played a significant role in rebounds and assists, and contained Moses Malone’s offensive rebounds on the defensive end, his poor offensive performance led to Maxwell being awarded the Finals MVP that year.

As Bird relied heavily on his shooting touch from the outside, he had several games in the playoffs with extremely low shooting percentages, like making 3 out of 11, 5 out of 16, and 7 out of 22 shots.

In his peak 1984-1985 season, he averaged 28 points per game with a 53% field goal percentage in the regular season, but his shooting percentage dropped to 46% in the playoffs, averaging 26 points per game, and he lost the championship.

This season, Bird conserved energy in the regular season, and his performance in the playoffs was more stable than last season, playing consistently well from the first round through the Finals.

But tonight, he scored only eight points in the first half and felt off in his offense. Gan Guoyang had been overpowering him on both ends of the court since the first quarter, preventing Bird from getting into rhythm. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

KC Jones decided to strategize with McHale as the breakthrough point, which was the right choice, as McHale scored an efficient 15 points in the first half, leading the team in scoring.

Bird’s main task was to feed Kevin McHale the ball, ensuring McHale could receive it in the best position to attack the basket, and Bird had no doubts about this.

He didn’t care much about how many points he scored; the key was to win the game. As long as they could win, even if he didn’t score at all, he was willing to accept it.

Yet sitting in the locker room, thinking about Gan Guoyang’s 31 points to his eight and having to endure his taunts, Bird couldn’t help feeling an itch of hatred.

At that moment, he surprisingly felt a twinge of regret, lamenting that he should not have taunted the venerable Dr. J, Julius Irving, with a "42:6, 42:6" in the past.

Now the boomerang had come back around so quickly to hit him. Unless he could explode offensively in the second half, it was as if he was going to be suppressed completely.

However, the typically supremely confident Bird didn’t feel assured about breaking through Guoyang’s one-on-one defense in the second half.

Guoyang’s physical abilities seemed tailor-made for defending Bird, who was known as "Mr. Half-inch," while Guoyang happened to be half an inch better than Bird in every aspect.

Guoyang’s speed was somewhat strained when defending James Worthy, with Drexler or Kossie being more suitable, but it was just enough for guarding Bird.

Guoyang’s strength could handle any center on the planet, let alone Bird, and Guoyang’s explosiveness was just enough to catch every one of Bird’s fakes.

While other teams needed two or three players to form a defensive net to contain Bird, Guoyang alone constituted a bird-catching net.

And the key was that Guoyang kept scoring without resting, even finding the energy for help defense.

Thinking of this, Bird crushed the can in his hand.

Approaching the start of the second half, Jones said to Bird, "If you can’t get past Ah Gan’s defense, then tie him up. Being able to do that would be a great contribution to victory."

Bird smiled ruefully, "Have I become so pitiful as to be someone who sacrifices himself to restrain the opponent?"

Jones replied, "There is nothing pitiful about that. Losing the game is the ultimate sadness; individual statistics are trivial."

Bird nodded; he agreed with Coach Jones’s view. Although he choked on the pride, he was willing to sacrifice himself for victory.

This required Bird to not isolate too much, as his efficiency was low, but he couldn’t completely refrain from shooting either, otherwise, he would lose the threat and fail to attract defense. He had to control this balance himself.

Tactically, if a play could be successful, they had to go for it, passing to McHale or the two Johnsons; if the tactic failed, he would be the one taking the isolated shot.

Simply put, all the good and easy meat had to be shared with teammates, while he kept the tough bones for himself.

Sacrificing his stats and limelight, holding back Guoyang, and creating the best opportunities for his teammates.

The game resumed at Glass Palace Stadium, where the home fans remained wildly enthusiastic, on this night of intense fervor.

Guoyang’s stellar first-half performance had the fans in a frenzy, with large crowds outside Memorial Coliseum gathered around televisions and radios, singing.

The game continued, with the Celtics initiating the offense. The Trail Blazers’ 11-point lead was not secure, with performances from players other than Guoyang being modest.

In particular, Porter and Drexler were unable to provide enough support from the outside shooting to back up Guoyang; their marksmanship was not yet perfected.

Porter was completely outweighed against the seasoned, power-defending Dennis Johnson, and Ramsay was considering increasing Jim Paxson’s playing time in the second half.

Drexler was having trouble against Marques Johnson as well; they were similar in height, but Marques was noticeably stronger. Drexler leaned towards shooting guard, while Marques was a true small forward.

Drexler was disadvantaged in confrontations, and his play was restricted in set offenses.

The Trail Blazers needed to continue trusting their absolute core and also ensure strong defense to drag the game into a half-court battle.

It didn’t matter if they couldn’t score themselves, as long as they didn’t let the Celtics open up their offense.

The previous four games had proved that entering a slow-paced, half-court battle gave the advantage to the Trail Blazers, with two victories under their belt.

Once it turned into a fast-paced shootout, the Celtics thrived, and the Trail Blazers stood no chance against their five-star starting lineup.