The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 553 - 55: Escaping from the Cliff

The division finals’ schedule was set to have a game every two days.

Between the second and third games, both teams had to take flights between home and away venues, leaving very little time for the players to rest and adjust.

After undergoing a long physical training session on the afternoon of the 27th, Jack Ramsay let everyone rest for the whole morning on the 28th, the day of the game.

Being down 0:2 in the series brought a torrent of negative evaluations to the surface.

Especially after the disastrous loss in the second game, many believed the Trail Blazers were on their last legs, their good times coming to an end.

Most fans from Oregon and Portland still supported the Trail Blazers, believing they could pull through from desperate straits.

However, voices of criticism and mockery were also numerous. "The Oregonian" newspaper’s sports column featured a section dedicated to publishing fan letters.

After the Trail Blazers’ dismal performance in the second game, the newspaper received letters from fans all over Oregon; the editors picked some encouraging messages but also included some harsh sarcasm.

"The Trail Blazers seem to have developed a Gan Guoyang dependency; when Ah Gan fails to score, I doubt if the rest even know in which direction our basket lies."

"Drexler is darting around the court like a headless fly, muddled since the first round. His shooting seems to have regressed to his rookie days, never having the same posture twice, before attempting a shot he seems to ponder the ’standard shooting pose: 1...2...3’."

"The Trail Blazers are playing on a certain inertia, one formed over the past two seasons. When that inertia is disrupted by formidable opponents, their direction changes, plummeting downwards, lacking any initiative to rise."

"What disappoints me the most is actually Coach Jack, who’s been spoiled by Ah Gan’s performance, completely losing the sharpness a coach should have. He’s outdone by Don Nelson in their face-off, without any visible adjustments. The Trail Blazers have never played so rigidly."

These criticisms were all quite sharp, and they were surely uncomfortable for the Trail Blazers’ coaching staff and players to see.

But Jack Ramsay brought the newspapers into the locker room and read those words out loud in front of everyone.

At first, everyone’s faces turned sour, especially Drexler, who was the subject of the harshest and most hurtful criticism.

However, when reading the last one, everyone laughed. It said, "I think Ah Gan should change his hairstyle; it seems a bit too long and lacks spirit and aggression, it’s too feminine."

Gan Guoyang also laughed, cursing, "Fucking bullshit, the Oregonian is printing any damn thing now; my hairstyle is the best in the league!"

Gan Guoyang’s hair had indeed gotten a bit long recently, with the intensity of the games and the constant traveling between home and away games, he hadn’t thought about getting a haircut.

The laughter grew louder, and Gan Guoyang said, "What are you laughing at? You guys are almost bald, are you jealous of me? Clyde, did you send this in?"

Drexler shrugged and said, "Don’t smear me, Ah Gan, I’m quite satisfied with my hairstyle."

The jokes in the locker room eased the pre-game tension and allowed everyone to relax a bit.

Despite verbally opposing the criticism from the newspaper, Gan Guoyang asked Quentin to bring the haircutting tools over before the game started, and he cut his hair short in the locker room.

Quentin’s skills were decent, sometimes when Gan Guoyang didn’t want to go to the barbershop, he would have Quentin cut his hair.

After the haircut and a shower, changing into his uniform, the Trail Blazers team was ready to take the court for the critical third game.

Another loss, and the Trail Blazers would truly be without hope; no one has ever come back from a 0:3 deficit.

At seven in the evening, the Memorial Coliseum was, as always, packed.

No matter how the fans expressed their dissatisfaction, the live support was always abundant.

In the playoffs, some teams’ home courts would not fill up—like the Houston Rockets, for example.

In 1986 during the Western Conference Finals, there would be many empty seats at Rockets’ home games.

After all, with many professional teams in Houston, a considerable part of the population wasn’t much interested in basketball; they preferred football and baseball.

This was the first time Gan Guoyang felt so grounded playing at home.

In the past three seasons, Gan Guoyang preferred playing away than at home.

This season was different; the Trail Blazers relied more on their home court.

Due to instability within the team, playing away could easily unsettle the players, resulting in poor performance.

At such times, the value of the home court became evident; it was an ideal place for players to regain their form.

Nowhere feels warmer than home, especially in Portland, which has some of the best fans in America.

Criticisms in "The Oregonian" made sense, but when venting their emotions, the fans overlooked two points:

Firstly, losing two away games in a series is indeed bad, but not beyond redemption.

Especially the second game’s defeat wasn’t a true reflection of both teams’ strengths.

Secondly, the Trail Blazers were, after all, a team with 60 regular-season wins, the second-best record in the league.

It’s hard to win 60 games just on inertia; there’s still drive in the Trail Blazers team.

Gan Guoyang, with his newly cut hair, jumped ball against Jabbar at center court.

Neither side wasted any words or engaged in pre-game press slandering, getting straight to the game—if the Lakers’ coach had been Riley, a war of words would have certainly ensued.

Gan Guoyang won the jump and started the Trail Blazers’ first offense.

Learning from the previous game’s lesson, for the opening play, Gan Guoyang immediately made a cut to the basket.

After receiving the pass from Drexler, he went for the layup despite being defended by three men.

He missed, grabbed the offensive rebound, and went up again! He scored and even drew a foul from AC Green!

Green shook his head; he sensed something was amiss.

Being an Oregonian, Green’s performance always fluctuated whenever he returned to Portland to play.

The feeling of being an adversary against his own people was not pleasant.

Gan Guoyang made the bonus free throw, and unlike the second game, the Trail Blazers did not suffer a scoring drought, securing their points early on.

The Trail Blazers cranked up their defensive intensity in the first quarter, with Drexler making two steals against Johnson for fast-break points.

During one defensive play, Drexler blocked James Worthy in the air, and Gan Guoyang, who got the ball, didn’t slow down. Instead, he passed it to Drexler to initiate a fast break, bombarding the Lakers’ basket.

By the end of the first quarter, the score was 23:35, with the Trail Blazers blitzing to score 35 points in a single quarter, leading the Lakers by 12 points and thereby establishing a significant lead.

When the second quarter began, and Don Nelson went back to his old trick of fielding three guards, Ramsay substituted Gilmore in.

Gan Guoyang moved to the perimeter to guard Johnson one-on-one, insisting on a full-court defense that hardly gave an inch.

Gan Guoyang’s strong physique, excellent wingspan, and exceptional speed have always been the nightmare of average-sized players.

Bernard King once remarked that Ah Gan was like a power-enhanced version of George Johnson.

The list of players he has shut down includes Bird, Barkley, Mark Aguirre, and Dantley. Now Johnson would be added to that list.

Gan Guoyang entrusted his teammates with everything behind him: Gilmore for the three-second zone, Drexler, Kossie, and Porter for perimeter defense, and Thompson for rebounds.

He disregarded everything else. If the Lakers played three guards, he would stick to Johnson like glue.

When Gan Guoyang began guarding Johnson, Johnson’s usual size advantage over most defenders was completely neutralized.

His classic backing down move became ineffective; how could you push Ah Gan around?

Johnson could only rely on his agile dribbling, speed, and explosiveness.

But since Johnson was not renowned for speed and explosiveness to begin with, and considering Gan Guoyang was always very quick, guarding a slightly smaller forward was never an issue.

Therefore, Johnson had to rely on continuous ball-handling deception and acceleration during transitions to pass and cooperate in order to rid himself of Gan Guoyang’s entanglement.

This resulted in the Lakers’ three-guard lineup almost malfunctioning in set plays, able to only operate through transitions, with Johnson trying to use acceleration to shake off Ah Gan.

But if you’re going for transition play, then why bother with three guards? With Worthy and Green available, asking three guards to drag two big centers into transition was a waste of resources.

Nelson quickly realized something was amiss, but the old coach was stubborn. He insisted on playing three guards in the latter half of the second quarter and instructed Scott and Cooper to cut inside more, with Duckworth and Edwards playing closer to the post.

Because Ah Gan was guarding Johnson, the Trail Blazers’ interior defense was left exposed.

Unexpectedly, Gilmore surged with energy and stood his ground in the paint.

He had three blocks and five rebounds in the second quarter alone, helping the Trail Blazers withstand the Lakers’ comeback.

By halftime, not only had the Trail Blazers not lost their lead, but they also extended it to 15 points.

When the Trail Blazers controlled the game’s tempo and took the lead, it became very difficult for their opponents to come back.

In the third quarter, holding a 15-point advantage, the Trail Blazers dragged the game into a slow-paced set match.

Effective inside-out play, double-teaming, passing, shooting, or if not double-teamed, Gan Guoyang went one-on-one.

It could be said that this clear offensive strategy was still a work in progress for the current Trail Blazers.

Ramsay’s new approach had only been implemented for one season, leaving the Trail Blazers in a state of transition, neither fully developed nor outdated.

Hence, they relied on home-court advantage, morale, and shooting touch.

Old Nelson continued to try to catch up with three guards in the third quarter, but whenever he used three guards, Gan Guoyang would take Johnson head-to-head.

Gilmore, Thompson, Anderson, and Jones took turns in the lineup with one goal in mind: protect the basket. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Every Trail Blazers player who stepped on the court made a contribution, even if it was just one defensive play or one rebound.

In the first two games, the Trail Blazers’ bench had almost no presence; they relied entirely on their starters to hold firm.

Back in Portland, Anderson, Hornacek, and Curry, who had shone in the semi-finals, as well as the crucial Gilmore, all made strong contributions.

Having weathered the Lakers’ surge in the third quarter, by the fourth quarter, the Lakers’ momentum waned, and without committing errors, the Trail Blazers left no opportunity for the Lakers.

107:121, The Trail Blazers triumphed at home over the Lakers by 14 points, reclaiming a game and bringing the series to 1:2.

After securing the game, Gan Guoyang told reporters from Portland in the post-game interview, "We’ll meet here again for Game 6, guys."

Clearly, Gan Guoyang was absolutely confident in winning the fourth game.

On May 30th, in the fourth battle, the Trail Blazers crushed the Los Angeles Lakers with a defensive showdown.

85:92, The Trail Blazers won another game at home, evening the series at 2:2, pulling themselves back from the brink.