"You must play tonight, the Christmas showdown, the whole country is watching, your duel with Ah Gan. You need to settle Ah Gan for me!"
O’Neal’s mind once again flashed back to memories of being dominated and humiliated by Ah Gan during his rookie season.
It was a public execution and absolute disgrace that would be unforgettable for life. The gap in strength and play style left O’Neal clueless about how to defeat Gan Guoyang.
He couldn’t admit himself to be a sitting duck like Sam Bowie and avoid rivalry with an eagle, focusing only on doing his own thing well.
Even if he could accept it mentally, the coach, spectators, fans, and commentators wouldn’t agree, as they would constantly compare O’Neal to Ah Gan.
Moreover, from this season’s situation, Ah Gan’s weight had increased, his play style became trickier, and he was harder to defend against.
O’Neal attempted to discuss with Beelman, "How about letting Thorpe defend Ah Gan? He’s more like a power forward anyway."
In the summer, the Lakers sent center Campbell to the Houston Rockets in exchange for power forward Audie Norris to assist O’Neal.
Although Thorpe was already 34, he remained in good form, consistently contributing 13 points and 8 rebounds per game, compensating for O’Neal’s laziness in help defense and rotation.
Beelman shook his head, saying, "You’re the team boss, so you need to deal with the opponent’s boss. Audie isn’t a match for Ah Gan; only you can contain Ah Gan and pressure him on offense. Relax, Ah Gan is already 32; he’s aging. The future is yours, and you must bravely challenge him."
Beelman coaxed and persuaded O’Neal to match up against Ah Gan and break open the game.
O’Neal had no choice; for the title of being the boss, he had to grit his teeth and step up.
At around three in the afternoon, the opening ceremony took place, and Gan Guoyang was the last player from the Trail Blazers to be introduced.
As he appeared, there was a resounding applause and cheers from the audience, a recognition from Los Angeles fans for the king of Los Angeles.
Since 1981, Gan Guoyang had been playing, winning, and becoming a champion in Los Angeles, constantly playing and winning at the Great Western Forum Arena, UCLA Arena.
Even today, the first line in the security manual at the Great Western Forum Arena is "No pre-entry warming up for Sunny Gan."
This rule established by Pat Riley while with the Lakers is strictly enforced even now, partly out of fear of Ah Gan, partly as a form of respect.
Truly, they had been beaten into submission, thoroughly impressed, and could only offer cheers and applause.
Gan Guoyang stood on the sidelines, calmly waving to the fans as if this were his home court.
When it was time for the Lakers players to enter, the Lakers’ starting lineup was: center O’Neal, power forward Thorpe, small forward Steve Smith, shooting guard Byron Scott, and point guard Jason Kidd.
Not long after the season started, Jerry West traded Sibaros to the Suns to get Steve Smith, bolstering the team’s wing attack power.
In terms of strength, the Lakers’ lineup was indeed impressive, balanced inside and out, with high offensive and defensive capabilities, experienced players, and good size.
Beelman’s experience and military strategy finally found room to be applied this season; the Lakers were currently second in the Western Conference, keeping their form and making the playoffs was not an issue.
Externally, it was believed that the team’s goal should be to vie for the championship, especially since they had O’Neal.
Only Beelman knew inside that the Lakers still were quite far from the championship.
The game quickly began, with O’Neal standing at the center circle for the jump ball against Gan Guoyang, unable to help but swallow nervously.
"Long time no see, Shaq, your muscles are looking good," Gan Guoyang, as usual, chatted with O’Neal.
"Long time no see, you...you’re strong too."
"Oh, do you want to see who’s stronger? No problem, there will be a chance very soon."
"No...no, Sunny."
Before O’Neal could explain, the referee blew the whistle, signaling them to prepare.
The jump ball, and the game started.
Gan Guoyang tapped the ball first, Van Exel took possession and organized the attack.
The Trail Blazers’ opening tactics were very clear, a low-post single play starting with Gan Guoyang.
O’Neal cursed inwardly, having no choice but to obediently go to the low post and defend.
If purely evaluating low post, back-to-the-basket defense ability, O’Neal was top-tier in NBA history.
It can even be said he was on par with Gan Guoyang; absolute strength and physique made it very difficult for anyone to back down O’Neal in a one-on-one post move.
But Gan Guoyang had experience and technique, as well as a psychological edge; before he received the ball, he had already begun his contest with O’Neal.
The repeated low-post grappling and positioning once again let O’Neal feel that terrifying strength; in the two seasons since Gan Guoyang retired, no other player could make O’Neal struggle in positioning.
Many times, O’Neal wouldn’t even bother with positioning; so what if you held your spot? Besides a turnaround jumper, can you really score?
Against Ah Gan, he had to position—O’Neal used all his strength against Gan Guoyang, the two equally matched in the low post—O’Neal’s muscles and weight had also grown over the past two years, and he hadn’t relaxed his training.
During the 1996-1997 season, he had achieved a very good balance between weight and strength.
While they fiercely fought for position, Van Exel lobbed the ball in, and upon receiving, Gan Guoyang turned along the baseline.
This move once tormented O’Neal to the brink of despair; now he wouldn’t make a defensive mistake, leaving the baseline wide open.
Stepping over to block the baseline, but Gan Guoyang immediately pulled back, a large sweeping spin move, followed by a turnaround jumper.
The ball drew a beautiful arc, accurately hitting the target, scoring two points. O’Neal didn’t have time to keep up or reach out, only watching helplessly as the ball went in.
"Shit, it’s starting again, starting again," O’Neal inwardly complained, truly unwilling to face Ah Gan in the Christmas showdown.
O’Neal was a simple-minded guy, not one to delve into offensive and defensive details; usually relying on talent, physicality, and some skill was enough.
But this approach didn’t work against Ah Gan—facing him required thinking, studying, catching details, and withstanding psychological and physical pressure.
O’Neal didn’t like playing this kind of game, he preferred bulldozing through, shattering opponents.
But Ah Gan was not someone he could crush.
O’Neal dropped his head, running aggressively towards the frontcourt.
He also posted up for the ball, positioning against Ah Gan, preparing for a low-post play.
Kidd passed the ball to O’Neal, a very comfortable pass.
However, at the moment of receiving the ball, O’Neal’s mind scrambled again.
"How should I play this? How to attack? Backing in? Baseline? Or going over the top?"
Once basketball players stop relying on muscle memory to think and instead use their brains, things go south quickly.
At this moment, O’Neal felt as if the entire Great Western Forum Arena went dark, a spotlight shone on him.
The entire court was deserted; only he remained, in complete silence, performing a solo act without knowing what to do.
"Where am I..."