Gan Guoyang showered O’Neal with praise, making O’Neal feel a bit embarrassed.
He felt ashamed of his own pettiness earlier.
This was the true giant—generous and magnanimous.
Viewing younger players with appreciation.
As Gan Guoyang turned to leave, O’Neal was still worried that Ah Gan might turn back and say, "But today, I’m going to crush you."
Gan Guoyang didn’t.
Instead, O’Neal asked proactively, "Hey, Sonny! Are you going to crush me tonight?"
Gan Guoyang turned his head, smiled, and said, "No, we’re just going to spar and exchange ideas. It’s just a regular-season game, relax kid."
O’Neal, upon hearing this, truly relaxed.
He thought to himself, that’s right, in a regular season, it’s just a bit of sparring and exchange.
Dozens of minutes later, the game was about to begin.
The Magic’s home court introduction was very dazzling.
O’Neal came out under the spotlight, surrounded by cheerleaders dancing hip-hop.
This guy is indeed a captivating player.
In many people’s eyes, super centers are freaks, but Ah Gan is relatively normal.
And O’Neal not only seems normal, but also very cheerful, quirky, very mismatched with his massive size and brute force.
Of course, many times O’Neal covers his sensitive, small heart with antics.
When Gan Guoyang made his entrance, he simply smiled and waved, yet the cheers from the crowd were still loud.
This always made O’Neal envious—is this the number one in the League?
At seven Eastern Time, the game officially started.
The Trail Blazers were still starting with Gan Guoyang, Sabonis, Lewis, Porter, and Petrović.
Gan Guoyang and Sabonis no longer distinguish between who is the center and who is the power forward.
Both could play the four and five positions, relying on their chemistry to blur the lines.
But tonight, it was Gan Guoyang who stood at the center circle for the tip-off against O’Neal.
The Magic’s starting lineup was O’Neal, Nick Anderson, Scott Skiles, Anthony Bowe, and Tom Tolbert.
The Magic’s lineup originally lacked some talent, having a certain depth in their backcourt and frontcourt.
With O’Neal’s arrival, the Magic’s interior play and talent level improved significantly.
As a young new team, the Magic were willing to try many new things.
For example, more three-point shots, more direct penetrations, fewer low-post isolations.
They represented the trends of the League in the ’90s: tall, precise, defensive, and complex multifaceted attacks.
O’Neal was the foundation of all this. With O’Neal, the Magic demanded respect.
Any team visiting Orlando could no longer treat it as just a one-day trip to Disney.
The ball flew into the air, and the game began.
In the jump ball, O’Neal got the ball and tipped it to Skiles.
In their small collision, each felt the other’s strength.
O’Neal was a bit surprised, as he had always bulldozed everyone.
From high school to college, even in the League, he found many professional players were like paper.
Only Karl Malone gave him trouble, but Malone’s height was an issue.
But just now, he felt he had hit a rock.
Gan Guoyang was excited; he too had hit a rock.
Someone could finally stand their ground against him in a physical contest.
Both sides began probing attacks and defenses.
O’Neal pushed towards the basket, Gan Guoyang guarding him.
However, the Magic opened with a baseline-running play.
Nick Anderson received the ball and shot, scoring.
This tall shooter-type guard, who entered the League in 1989, had become the Magic’s most important scoring point on the outside.
He averaged 19 points per game, with a good mid-range and three-point shooting ability.
The Trail Blazers were then called for an offensive foul on a screen during their attack.
Followed by a blocking foul in their defense.
Not even a minute into the game, they were called for two fouls.
The home-court bias seemed noticeable tonight.
Of course, the audience wasn’t there to see whistles; they came to watch Ah Gan and O’Neal’s showdown.
Soon, on the second offensive set, O’Neal found himself in the left low post with a chance to back down Ah Gan one-on-one.
Skiles comfortably delivered the ball to O’Neal—no one on the Trail Blazers’ side tried to stop him.
Low post against Ah Gan?
Go ahead and try.
Until you don’t want to anymore.
Faced with their first duel, the TV gave a close-up.
O’Neal looked a bit tense; the moment he caught the ball, he hesitated.
This showed he wasn’t using muscle memory but was thinking.
This pause cost him the initiative. When he tried to push inside, he couldn’t move.
In reality, due to his height and high center of gravity, O’Neal’s low post shove isn’t unsolvable.
Against a defender with good positioning and a strong lower body, O’Neal sometimes couldn’t get through.
In this, he wasn’t as good as Ah Gan or even Charles Barkley.
These two had a lower center of gravity and more solid footwork.
O’Neal’s bigger advantage lay in his height, wingspan, and explosiveness.
He possessed speed and acceleration unmatched by his size.
His spin and shot were quick.
O’Neal, upon realizing he couldn’t push through, opted for a spinning straight floater.
The ball left his hand and right away it was clear it wasn’t going in. Gan Guoyang turned and easily secured the rebound.
Handing the ball over to Porter, Gan Guoyang told O’Neal, "Bad choice, you can do better, buddy."
O’Neal was actually a bit embarrassed, like a student called out by a teacher and giving the wrong answer.
O’Neal told himself, he needed to get closer to the basket; he was too far out just now.