For these years, Jordan has always held a conservative attitude towards the three-point shot.
Even when he scored 5 points in a three-point contest and was mocked by All-America, he never buried himself in practicing threes.
Jordan has had his own system of play since he was young, in which the three-point shot is of the least importance.
Because in his growth process, whether it was elementary school, middle school, or college, there was no three-point line on the basketball court.
Therefore, in all his practices, there was no training for three-pointers.
For guards to score more efficiently, the main practice was various breakthroughs, layups, and mid-to-short-range jump shots.
Long shots were only done when necessary, even after entering the NBA, three-pointers were considered heretical.
When the direction of the league changed, and three-pointers became more important, Jordan’s style had already formed.
The form of the shot, the timing of the release, is different for two-pointers and three-pointers.
Of course, this doesn’t mean Jordan’s three-pointer is worthless, without any practice at all.
This season, Jordan’s three-point shooting has been the best of his career.
The most attempts per game (3 times), the most made shots (1.1), and the highest shooting percentage (36%).
This all indicates that Jordan has put effort into three-pointers, absolutely not giving up on this area because he wasn’t good at it.
But compared to Gan Guoyang, his three-pointer seems much weaker.
This season, Gan Guoyang is already the league’s top three-point shooter.
The most three-point attempts (5.8 times), the most made shots (2.5), and the highest shooting percentage (43%).
Although the high number of three-point attempts increased his offensive instability, making some games seem like he’s shooting bricks.
This lowered Gan Guoyang’s previously terrifyingly high shooting percentage, increasing the fluctuations.
But it further enriched the Trail Blazers’ offensive layers, opened up space, and made some games easier.
Unlike Jordan, Gan Guoyang has crossed over, fully aware of the importance of three-pointers.
From the moment he started playing basketball, he has been diligently practicing long-distance threes without interruption.
He shoots every day, never falling behind.
His high-arc, no-backboard shooting style has been maintained from high school to today.
Except when he receives the ball under the basket and goes for a layup using the backboard, any other distance shots he won’t use the backboard.
This gives Gan Guoyang an advantage of full distance and full range in his shooting.
This guy is surprisingly strong, theoretically, as soon as he crosses the half-court line, it’s all within his shooting range.
Even without crossing half-court, he has a certain confidence in his full-court long-range shots.
This season, Gan Guoyang has made four mid-court ultra-long-distance three-pointers.
More than the rest of the league players combined.
This kind of "foresight" is something Jordan doesn’t have.
It’s also one of the reasons why Jordan has always lagged behind Ah Gan.
During the intermission, Jordan was discussing the three-point shooting issue with assistant coach Bach.
"Should I further improve my three-point shooting? A three-pointer is only worth one more point, but if you shoot a lot, it can be really scary. I bet in some games against Portland, if all of Ah Gan’s threes were twos, he would have lost at least half of those games!"
"Three-pointers are indeed a good thing, but it can only be gradual. This season, you’ve shot very well, your career best."
"Ah Gan is historically the best."
"Our primary enemy is still ourselves, believe in yourself, Michael."
The second quarter began, and Jordan was resting on the bench while Pippen led the second unit to catch up on points.
Gan Guoyang was also sitting on the bench, sipping Gatorade and chatting with Lewis.
Their conversation also focused on three-pointers.
Gan Guoyang believed that Lewis needed to further develop his long-range shooting.
"Your three-point shooting is worse than Jordan’s," Gan Guoyang criticized.
Lewis sighed, thinking that Jordan’s three-point shooting wasn’t bad this year.
As for Lewis himself, he averaged less than 1 attempt per game, with a 25% success rate.
This indicated that his shots were all desperate attempts, either when out of options or completely open shots.
Getting one by chance in four games, such a hit count and hit rate was equivalent to having no three-point shot at all.
"I’m trying, but some old habits are just hard to change, Sonny."
Unlike Petrovic’s sharpness and edge, Lewis had always been gentle.
Even somewhat overly gentle, lacking an edge.
In terms of physical fitness, in some aspects, he could compare to Jordan.
In his playing style, he had many traces of a classic forward, while also moving towards a modern forward.
Since signing a big contract with the Trail Blazers, he has been playing diligently, advancing step by step.
Working on defense, diligently researching offensive skills, balancing family issues, and living a simple life.
However, Gan Guoyang always had higher expectations for him, hoping he would be more aggressive.
Lewis respected Gan Guoyang a lot, as Gan Guoyang helped him a great deal with his mother’s issues.
Now, they lived quite harmoniously in Portland, allowing Lewis to focus on basketball.
"You should enter the three-point contest next year, to give you some practice motivation," Gan Guoyang suddenly suggested.
"Three-point contest? I... I’m afraid I’m not good enough..."
Lewis didn’t expect Gan Guoyang to ask him to participate in the three-point contest, feeling a bit timid about something he wasn’t good at.
If it was a slam dunk contest, Lewis would have been more confident.
"What are you afraid of? Michael has participated, and he only scored 5 points! You’re not going to score fewer than 5, right? With him at the bottom, you really don’t need to worry about losing face."
Gan Guoyang used Jordan as a shield again, and Lewis hesitantly nodded, considering this matter.