Phoenix Suns second.
Chicago Bulls third.
The Trail Blazers with six championships have fallen to fourth.
People not only don’t believe in the Trail Blazers’ condition, but also don’t want them to keep winning championships.
The Trail Blazers’ first-round opponent is the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference.
This is Gan Guoyang’s seventh playoff encounter with the Lakers; the Lakers can be considered the biggest championship roadblock.
He lost series twice, both thanks to Los Angeles Lakers.
However, this season’s Lakers no longer have the ability to stop the Trail Blazers.
Before the series began, the Los Angeles Times initiated a topic:
"When will the Portland Trail Blazers and Gan say goodbye to the championship."
Fans in Los Angeles sent many letters and messages, reminiscing their impressions of the Trail Blazers.
From the 1985 Western Conference Finals, to Gan’s consecutive threes eliminating the Lakers, and the unstoppable mid-range in 1988.
Gan has left too many classic games in Los Angeles and has brought much pain to the Lakers fans.
Los Angeles media knows that even if Gan and the Trail Blazers don’t win the championship this year, they won’t fall in Los Angeles.
The purpose of initiating this topic is to mentally and publicly harm the Trail Blazers; it’s the only thing they can do.
This season marks another year without Magic Johnson for the Lakers; they played well but showed no hope of revival.
With Don Nelson leaving, the Lakers constantly tried to attract Adelman over, but after his bad experience with the Warriors, Adelman was unwilling to move casually.
The Lakers’ head coach has turned into the unknown Randy Fend, who was once an assistant coach beside Pat Riley and Don Nelson.
He is undoubtedly a transitional figure, temporarily taking the role because he is familiar with the Lakers’ roster, and he did fairly well.
But relying solely on James Worthy, the Lakers can’t regain their former glory; Worthy is not suitable as the main leader.
The once luxurious Show-time team now can only walk the team basketball route, barely sustaining through the days.
The first two games in Portland didn’t have much suspense; the Trail Blazers won quite easily.
However, the second game went into overtime, and it was only through Gan Guoyang’s consecutive scoring and defense that victory was secured.
In the past, the Trail Blazers’ first rounds were very relaxed, almost a sweeping victory throughout.
They often adjusted to top condition before the playoffs began.
And once the playoffs started, immediately entered playoff mode.
Then they would crush their opponents without giving any chance to enter the finals.
Especially during the second three-peat; in three seasons, they only lost four Western Conference games.
In ’90 they were unbeaten; in ’91 they lost one game to the Suns; in ’92 they lost one to the Supersonics and two to the Jazz.
But this year saw a change; the Trail Blazers hadn’t entered top form before the playoffs began.
The fatigue from the regular season carried into the playoffs; they had to adjust only after the playoffs started.
The third game took place in Los Angeles, where the Trail Blazers collectively lost their touch, whereas the Lakers played better and better.
Even Gan Guoyang, usually extremely stable, didn’t perform outstandingly at his favored Great Western Forum.
Shooting 21 times and making 8, Gan Guoyang only scored 21 points, marking the lowest playoff score in recent seasons.
The Trail Blazers lost the third game in Los Angeles, 104:110, giving the Lakers hope of overturning the Trail Blazers.
After the game ended and returned to the locker room, the Trail Blazers players were in a bad mood; Gan Guoyang was even more silent.
In fact, since arriving in Los Angeles, he has been disturbed by one thing: Ron Karp, the trainer who has worked for the Trail Blazers for nearly 20 years, is about to resign.
In the visitor’s locker room on the therapy bed, Karp still diligently helped Gan Guoyang relax his thigh muscles and removed the bandage from his foot.
Gan Guoyang sat with a cold face, arms crossed, speechless; he looked at Karp, seemingly waiting for an explanation.
Gan Guoyang heard this news on the plane to Los Angeles; it shocked him greatly.
Karp began serving the Trail Blazers in 1974, now it’s been 19 years.
Why would he resign and quit right before the playoffs begin?
To the Trail Blazers players, Karp is not only a trainer and therapist.
He is also a good friend, managing various aspects of training, able to meet player’s demands anytime and anywhere.
For example, when Gan Guoyang needed to practice threes, relax muscles, wrap a bandage, find a foam stick for training, etc., he just needed to notify Karp, who would do it immediately.
Their cooperation has been extremely smooth; in Gan Guoyang’s arduous training success, much credit belongs to Karp.
Karp finished relaxing Gan Guoyang’s leg muscles and looked up, encountering Gan Guoyang’s stern gaze.
Karp sighed helplessly, saying, "Don’t be like that, Sonny, I... I wasn’t planning to reveal this. I was going to serve the team until the playoffs ended, then resign and leave. But I don’t know who leaked the news."
Gan Guoyang said, "I know who did it: you are going to Miami, to Pat Riley over there. It must be that guy Riley who leaked it! In 1988, he did the same thing! He released the news of the Trail Blazers being sold during playoffs to unsettle the team! That son of a bitch! I need to find an opportunity to smash his greasy, shiny head next time!"
Like most players leaving the Trail Blazers, Karp’s destination is still Miami.
As early as 1988, when the Heat was established and Riley began to dig into the Trail Blazers, Karp was his target.