Marley, Barkley, and even Kevin Johnson were frequently mismatched against Gan Guoyang, and he easily took advantage of them.
The Suns’ lackluster defense gave the Trail Blazers an opportunity to exploit.
Despite the Suns’ intense and rough defense, at times nearly clashing with the Trail Blazers’ players,
their tactical efforts couldn’t hide strategic flaws, nor compensate for systemic issues.
Being short, an inherent weakness in basketball, was brutally exposed by the Trail Blazers, or rather by Ah Gan, despite the Suns’ efforts to compensate with strength and speed.
The Suns put up a determined resistance, but the lack of offensive rebounds and loss of defensive rebounds kept them underwater.
The Trail Blazers didn’t repeat their Game 1 mistake of being led by the nose by the Suns, but used their height, rebounding, and mismatches to firmly control the game.
When it comes to "control," no one in the history of the league can compare to Ah Gan.
This master of control, who holds the threads, slowly tied up the free-spirited and enthusiastic Sun Team.
Paul Westphal thought they could win on the road and regain home-court advantage.
But the reality was that after losing the second game, the Sun Team was already caught in Ah Gan’s web, struggling to escape.
In Game 2, Charles Barkley fought hard because he realized Ah Gan was weaving his web.
With the morale and home-court whistle advantage at their Phoenix home, drawing out fouls to send Ah Gan out for half a quarter, winning this game for a 2-0 lead would be a completely different situation.
Even if they lost both road games, they would still have a chance to adjust and return to Phoenix for a critical game.
Just like a game of chess, one wrong move and you’re controlled at every step, gradually sinking into a quagmire, hard to extricate yourself.
Barkley played at a high level again in the fourth game, but Ah Gan and the Trail Blazers launched fierce attacks, targeting the Suns’ weaknesses.
Gan Guoyang and Sabonis dominated the paint, with Sabonis achieving his playoff-high of 31 points.
Half of those points came from Gan Guoyang’s assists, who consistently fed Sabonis the ball after drawing enough defensive attention.
Gan Guoyang scored 33 points, had 11 assists, and grabbed 15 rebounds, controlling the game inside and out, with the Twin Towers firmly grasping the Suns’ lifeline.
Whenever the Suns tried to gain momentum, Gan Guoyang would step up, using mismatch advantages to score or assist, steadily suppressing the Suns.
This rendered Barkley’s 37 points ineffective, unable to break free, always submerged, with the most discomfort.
The most disappointing aspect for Phoenix Suns fans remained Kevin Johnson, who only played well in the first game.
In the second game, he got blocked repeatedly, the third game was a blowout, making statistics meaningless, and in the fourth game, he was still hindered by the Trail Blazers’ tall players.
For a Point Guard, lack of height and long-range shooting ability is a fatal flaw.
He can compete against teams with similar weaknesses or less strength.
After all, Kevin Johnson is also a top scorer, capable of tough plays, potentially dominating when in form.
But once faced with a top team balanced in all aspects, a smaller player like Johnson suffers greater losses.
From the first to the fourth game, scenes of Kevin Johnson scoring inside were rare.
Entering the key moments, he either got blocked or wildly threw up shots, leaving it to fate whether they went in.
Ironically, during crucial times when Barkley was fatigued, only Kevin Johnson had the ability to break through.
What could the Sun Team do? If he didn’t play, others couldn’t score, unable to manage possession, so he had to play.
At these times, he was inferior to Petrović, who, despite his knee injury, still had height on his side.
Petrović scored inside against the Suns more frequently than Kevin Johnson, despite less possession.
In Game 4, 95-101, the Trail Blazers claimed another victory at home, winning three straight games after one loss.
The series was completely reversed, with the Trail Blazers leading 3-1, just one victory away from reaching the finals for the fourth consecutive year!
After the game, Charles Barkley’s expression was unusually serious as he lowered his head and left the court back to the locker room.
However, inside he felt less dejected than he appeared, feeling a slight relief despite trailing 1-3 after this loss.
He felt like everything was expected, with Ah Gan being too strong, and losing Game 2 indeed led to an insurmountable challenge.
Westphal still didn’t truly understand Ah Gan or how to play a series against the Portland people.
When playing the Trail Blazers, whether in one game or a series, one must seize the lead first.
Win early, take the lead, only then is there hope of holding victory, or else await being controlled by Ah Gan.
In an interview, Barkley sincerely said, "This year might not be the best Trail Blazers team, but it’s definitely the best Ah Gan."
Before leaving Portland, Gan Guoyang found Barkley and gave him a heavy box.
Barkley held the box, saying, "What’s this? Hawkmann’s head?"
"His brain isn’t this heavy, and it’s not suitable as an MVP gift. Open it back home."
Gan Guoyang specially crafted a gift to give Barkley as an MVP memento.
However, gifting it while the two teams were competing would be inappropriate, so it was best to give after the two road games.
Barkley, however, couldn’t resist taking a peek and found the box filled with something golden, like gold!
"Gold?! That’s great stuff, but... you’d better keep it for now. Give it to me once I make it back to Portland."
"Are you sure the series will return to Portland?"
"Absolutely, I haven’t played enough yet, or are you already scared?"
Gan Guoyang gave Barkley a bright smile, assuming this guy wouldn’t back down even at 1-3.
But, backing down isn’t in Barkley’s nature.
Gan Guoyang kept the box, saying, "Alright, I’ll wait for you to come back to Portland. If you don’t return, I’ll take this back."
Barkley hesitated, then quickly snatched the box, saying, "The series will come back to Portland, but a gift is a gift, two separate things."
Based on court performance alone, Barkley was truly excellent this year, prompting Gan Guoyang to give his all in the series.
But to beat Ah Gan, it requires skill, effort, time, place, and luck.
Without extraordinary luck, one cannot beat Gan.