As close friends, Gan Guoyang can’t apply psychological pressure on him. Instead, Gan Guoyang occasionally feels constrained when playing against Stockton.
Unlike playing against Isiah Thomas, where he can go all out and play freely.
In earlier years, the Trail Blazers’ weapon against Stockton was Terry Porter.
Regardless of the situation, he could score 40 points on your head, making any strategy useless.
Stockton remains strong nowadays, being selected for the All-Star and named one of the league’s 50 greatest players, one of the best point guards.
But Porter has declined, and Ah Gan’s return couldn’t revive his form, leaving him only a regular point guard backup.
Van Exel often has a streaky performance against the Bulls, but struggles against Stockton’s experienced defense.
In the two previous games against the Jazz, he scored 2 out of 10 in one game, and 3 out of 11 in another, with an appallingly low shooting percentage.
We can only say that some players complement others, one counteracts another.
In the past, Stockton alone was enough to make playing the Jazz nauseating and troublesome.
This season, with Hornersek added, Gan Guoyang truly experienced the frustration of unable to fully exert his strength.
Especially on the defensive end, Stockton and Hornersek maximized guerrilla warfare tactics against Gan Guoyang.
Using numerous high-pick and corner coordination tactics to continuously help teammates evade Gan Guoyang’s defense.
Karl Malone sacrificed his stats and performance to tangle with Gan Guoyang, creating opportunities for others.
In the first two games, the Jazz team flourished with multiple outside shooters, and Gan Guoyang alone guarding the inside was ineffective.
Tonight, Gan Guoyang decided to break free from previous constraints, focusing less on defense to avoid being led by the Jazz.
With the team overall less strong, leverage his offensive advantage and rely on high scoring to crush the opponent.
Before the game starts, Gan Guoyang told Stockton, "John, I’m definitely going to win tonight. If I need to score 60, I’ll score 60."
Stockton nodded and said, "I believe in you, Sonny. You certainly can score 60."
"I’m not here seeking encouragement, John."
"I know, but I just believe in you."
"..."
Stockton’s expression didn’t seem fake. Facing an old friend like this, Gan Guoyang wasn’t sure how to respond.
As for Hornersek, that old fellow was also all smiles, who knows how many three-pointers he’ll score tonight.
Gan Guoyang could only vent his frustration on Karl Malone, but before Gan could speak, Malone said, "I won’t elbow you, I can’t beat you, I don’t score as high as you. Play good, enjoy the game, today is a beautiful day, Sonny."
Even Jerry Sloan, who usually swears all the time, praised Gan Guoyang from the sidelines, saying, "Your status as the greatest in history is well deserved!"
Now Gan Guoyang couldn’t even find an excuse to provoke, he could only hold his anger back and stand at center circle ready for the jump ball.
Is Utah Jazz acting this way because they’re afraid or cowardly?
On the contrary, they are fully prepared to topple the Trail Blazers.
Not just for a regular season game, but aimed at the playoffs, starting from Gan Guoyang’s decision to return, they’ve been striving towards this goal.
[Ah Gan wouldn’t know, in the 1996-1997 season, when he decided to return, the entire team started their preparations from the summer training camp.
Every detail, every aspect, from mental to physical to tactics, aimed to counter him, because Ah Gan is a perfect opponent, we invested so much in him that we somewhat overlooked other opponents.
I have an innate advantage in this regard, I understand him, I’m clear about everything he does regarding basketball, I love him, but I must defeat him.]
——Excerpt from John Stockton’s autobiography "Assisted" published in 2012.