The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 520 - 23: Baffled

The Bulls’ roster had finally stabilized a bit this season after Klaus’s repeated tinkering.

Charles Oakley had secured his position as the team’s starting power forward.

Brad Sellers became the team’s main center, while Dave Corzine, who had been with Chicago for six seasons, was now the number one veteran.

John Paxson earned a stable spot on the team because of his outstanding performance last season.

Off the bench, rookies Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant were able to make consistent contributions in their limited playing time.

Head coach Doug Collins’s position had also stabilized, and his coaching staff had been joined by a man named Phil Jackson, inserted by Klaus.

Jackson had previously coached in the Puerto Rico League, where his hippie style and unconventional ideas were hard for the conservative and traditional NBA management of the ’80s to accept.

But it was also because of this environment—brutal, savage, and rule-less—that Phil Jackson was trained to the greatest extent possible in the Puerto Rico League.

There, he learned not tactics, but how to control the hearts of men and how to make his players play for him.

The Puerto Rico League was nothing like the NBA; players’ salaries were not stable, and the court conditions were even worse.

If the NBA was the regular army, then Puerto Rico was a bandit den.

Being a general in the regular army means that as long as you wear the general’s uniform, the soldiers will still follow orders.

But in a bandit den, where survival is uncertain, getting the players to follow you requires personal charisma and special methods; otherwise, nobody will listen to you.

In the eyes of the NBA management, someone like Phil Jackson, a hippie in his youth, who did not coach at college level but went to Puerto Rico to "play ball in the wild," was someone who couldn’t enter the NBA’s gates.

It was said that when he came to interview with the Bulls, he wore an oversized beach hat with a parrot feather stuck in it and was even wearing flip-flops, which made the management disagree with hiring him.

But Klaus still insisted on his choice and added Jackson to the coaching staff in 1987 to assist Collins.

Collins was a completely different style of coach than Jackson, with a strong obsession with tactics, liking to treat players as chess pieces, and constantly shouting tactics from the sidelines to keep everyone running.

While Jackson always talked about mysterious things, such as Zen and Buddhism, and liked to deal with and befriend the players.

Collins knew that Jackson was Klaus’s placement, who greatly admired Jackson and was trying to groom him as a legitimate head coach.

The two were inherently incompatible to begin with, and this added layer of competition made Collins wary of Jackson, fearing that Jackson might replace him one day.

So sometimes, before a game’s tactical meeting, Collins would refuse to adopt Jackson’s suggestions and preferred to do the opposite.

Jackson was mainly responsible for defense at the Bulls, knowing that defense was not just about tactics but more about the players’ emotions and will, which he was very good at managing.

Before the highly anticipated "Gan vs. Jordan" matchup, Jackson suggested that they start pressuring Gan Guoyang from the first quarter, exerting full pressure.

Using a rotational strategy, especially wanting the perimeter players to actively trap and harass Gan Guoyang.

"Michael should get involved with the defense against Ah Gan, go for more traps, more steals, and create trouble for Ah Gan. Tonight, Ah Gan’s definitely going to come out all guns blazing," Jackson proposed, suggesting that Jordan should participate in the encirclement of Gan Guoyang.

This season, Jordan’s defensive ability had reached a very high level.

Not only was he a strong contender for MVP, but also a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year.

Collins, however, ignored Jackson’s advice, thinking that Jordan had to take a lot of shots on offense and letting him help defend Ah Gan would be too taxing for him.

"Moreover, Michael still has to guard Drexler. If we focus all our attention on Ah Gan, Drexler will be just as big a problem if he gets going," Collins reasoned.

Collins found an excuse which Jackson couldn’t agree with, countering, "Drexler is no big problem, if the Trail Blazers let him score, let him build his feel for the game, then let him do it, Sonny is the real threat, everyone in the League knows that!"

"I know, but we have Michael; Michael can counter him, plus I need Michael to score more," Collins asserted.

Jackson felt helpless; he didn’t want to tell Collins, "You’re just too reliant on Michael."

After all, Collins was the head coach, while Jackson was just an assistant coach who had arrived a year ago.

This year, the Bulls were in good form, with Collins winning the support and trust of the players.

When the head coach spoke in such a way, the assistant coach had no choice but to comply.

Jackson told Jordan to go one-on-one to guard Drexler and leave Ah Gan to others.

"I can take on Ah Gan."

"Doug has asked for you to focus all your energy on offense."

"Ah Gan isn’t going to focus only on offense."

"Ah Gan is a center, you’re a guard, follow the coach’s plan."

Jordan nodded in agreement; he personally still liked Collins very much.

The reason was simple, Collins held Jordan in the palm of his hand, demanding that the ball go through Jordan’s hands; he had unlimited firing rights on the team, free to play as he wished.

No player would dislike such a coach, able to play freely without being micromanaged and constantly directed by the coach.

This was the treatment Jordan deserved.

However, Jackson didn’t believe the game should be played this way.

He wanted to tell Jordan, "Ah Gan in Portland didn’t play like this; although he scored a lot, he was more rational in his shot selection and defense, and terrifyingly consistent."

But Jackson didn’t say it out loud; he didn’t want to make Jordan unhappy.

In the Chicago Bulls, making Jordan unhappy was asking for trouble.

By seven o’clock in the evening, after the opening ceremony, the game between the two teams was finally about to start.

Jackson sat on the sidelines, watching Gan Guoyang intently from start to finish. During the national anthem, he stared up at the ceiling with wide eyes.

When he took off his tracksuit and stepped onto the court, his robust figure was filled with explosiveness, stronger than any player of that time, fierce like a tiger.

Jackson was a very perceptive person; he had his unique perspectives on basketball, the world, and people.

He came from a devout Christian family with a father who was a missionary, yet he strayed from the path, doing everything against tradition.

Such a life often brought pain, the great sense of imbalance making him seek solace in both illicit drugs and religion.

Ultimately, he discovered that the sport of basketball allowed him to find a balance between these two, especially in the process of building a championship team.

Team sports are always like this, constantly filled with contradictions.

Offense and defense, inside and outside play, old and young, fast and slow, tall and short; the fiercest contradictions forge the most intense games and create the greatest champions.

In a team, the fusion of tradition and rebellion could shape a perfect team, and a perfect player.

Jackson knew that Michael Jordan had such potential.

But at the same time, he was clear in his heart that Ah Gan was already that sort of person.

Both sides jumped ball; the game began.

The Trail Blazers quickly took possession, with Gan Guoyang suddenly charging towards the front court.

Drexler passed the ball swiftly under the basket, and Gan Guoyang caught it and easily dunked!

The volume in the Chicago Stadium was turned down a notch.

Collins became instantly anxious with such a rapid loss of points at the start.

He stood up from the bench in the first play and moved to the sidelines to supervise.

Phil Jackson shook his head gently; the head coach was too impatient.

The Bulls were already at a disadvantage in terms of overall strength compared to the Trail Blazers, and they didn’t seize the initiative from the start.

Now, seeing Ah Gan start off as if he was ready to devour his opponents, are you getting anxious?

You should have acted sooner.

Jackson understood Gan Guoyang. In such a high-profile game, with the Chicago media mocking Ah Gan before the match, how could he not play his hardest?

You still want to play by the book, regular offense and defense, just wait to be beaten up by Ah Gan right from the start.

As expected, Gan Guoyang played fiercely in the first quarter; he was there to score.

After catching the ball, it was all strong drives to the basket, smooth Euro steps, and simple yet effective footwork. Once under the basket, he would go for a hook shot, layup, or draw a foul.

With a breathless 14 points in one quarter, he led the team to an 18:6 run against the Bulls.

And Jordan’s touch at the start was average, the Trail Blazers’ tight double-teaming didn’t give Jordan any good shooting opportunities.

Jordan wanted to engage his teammates, to play well and win the game.

But who knew Ah Gan would start so fiercely? After the timeout, Collins immediately initiated a double-team on Ah Gan, but it was useless.

When his touch arrived, there was no stopping him.

In a double-team situation, wherever they squeezed, he went the other way; if there was no way through, he used brute force, shouldering his way in.

Gan Guoyang’s strength advantage was fully displayed, showing that he wasn’t fooling around and immediately traded it for an early advantage for his team.

At the end of the first quarter, the Trail Blazers were up 33:21, leading the Bulls by 12 points.

Gan Guoyang scored 17 points, with 3 rebounds and 1 assist, leaving Collins perplexed.