Gan Guoyang used the primitive and brute-force method of offensive rebounds to help the Trail Blazers build an advantage.
This method is particularly effective in undermining the defensive confidence of the opponents and also reinforces the determination of his own team’s players to make shots.
Shoot, comrades, there’s someone inside to grab offensive rebounds for you, shoot boldly.
This was a strategy often used by Gan Guoyang in the early days, when he had a strong desire for offensive rebounds.
Every night, he relentlessly attacked the opponents’ inside defense, destroying them with one offensive rebound after another.
As time went on, Gan Guoyang’s offensive skills became richer and more refined, and his craving for offensive rebounds became less obsessive, adjusting as needed instead.
During the three-peat era, the Trail Blazers had a strong front line with Drexler, Thompson, Karl, and others who could quickly retreat, and strong interior defense, allowing Gan Guoyang to pursue offensive rebounds with confidence.
By the time of the four-peat era, the Trail Blazers transformed into a center-guard type team, increasing Gan Guoyang’s defensive responsibilities, often requiring him to forgo offensive rebounds in favor of defending, only going for them at crucial moments.
Currently, the Trail Blazers’ perimeter defense is weak, with some players too old and others too young, leaving him with no choice but to use anything effective quickly and for immediate results.
As a result, he has to sacrifice Kobe’s shooting percentage; this kid, aside from anything else, is good at disrupting the Rockets’ defensive formations, which gives Gan Guoyang an opportunity.
Tomjanovich immediately made adjustments, instructing players to strengthen their protection of the defensive rebounds and shrink the defensive line, which gave the Trail Blazers’ perimeter more opportunities.
Kobe finally seized the chance, using Gan Guoyang’s screen to attract defense, cutting in from the middle, soaring for a one-handed slam dunk!
After scoring, Kobe shook his head and taunted the Houston fans on the sidelines, Gan Guoyang came over and gave him a slap on the head, saying, "Go back and defend well!"
Young people easily get arrogant, and Kobe soon made a mistake on defense, allowing Robert Horry to charge under the basket. Horry attempted a dunk in return but was blocked from the front by Gan Guoyang.
The ball fell into Chris Weber’s hands, Weber gripped the ball with one hand and charged in, suddenly making a no-look pass to Kenny Smith cutting along the baseline.
Smith tried a reverse layup along the baseline but was blocked again by Gan Guoyang. Smith’s performance has deteriorated drastically in the past two years, once capable of participating in dunk contests, his speed and bounce have reduced significantly due to injuries.
Gan Guoyang thus compensates for the perimeter defensive gaps with his outstanding rim protection within the three-second zone.
Meanwhile, on offense, he strengthened his fight for offensive rebounds, played simple balls, and disrupted the Rockets’ defensive setup.
At the end of the third quarter, Gan Guoyang scored 12 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and had 3 blocks, dominating the game on both offense and defense in that quarter.
The Trail Blazers led the Rockets by 9 points at 78:69, with the Rockets only managing to score 20 points in this quarter.
At this moment, Houston fans and the coaching staff were missing Olajuwon dearly, as if the Big Dream were here, Ah Gan would not be so at ease.
Tonight, Gan Guoyang was constantly protecting the rim on defense, blocking every shot the Rockets attempted in the three-second zone.
He felt no pressure on low post defense because he was not matched up against Chris Weber, leaving the task of single defense against Weber to PJ Brown and AC Green.
In the first three games, Gan Guoyang played against Weber, and although he limited Weber’s shooting efficiency and scoring, Weber could help the team through passing and organizing.
What truly killed the Trail Blazers was the Rockets’ three-point shots and various assaults on the wings and inside attacks near the basket.
Once the roles were clarified again, the Trail Blazers’ defense was revitalized, forcing the Rockets to continue increasing their shots from the perimeter.
Porter, Kobe, Alon Magee, and others’ active defense made it difficult for the Rockets to shoot comfortably.
Their three-point shooting rate dropped significantly tonight.
The Trail Blazers’ shooting accuracy wasn’t high either, but Gan Guoyang’s offensive rebound snatching was too fierce.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Gan Guoyang did not rest on the bench but immediately took the floor with the second unit to play the transition.
This guy once again played to his advantage of infinite stamina, using his size to bully smaller players, employing simple and brutal rebounding and basket assaults to dismantle the Rockets’ defensive formation.
Seeing that this Trail Blazers team was a semi-finished product and Rick Carlisle’s offensive system was immature, I might as well use primitive methods to take down the opponent.
This strategy proved successful, as the Trail Blazers continued to maintain their rebounding dominance in the fourth quarter, leaving the Rockets’ defense struggling and impacting both their defense and offense significantly.
Kobe, Porter, Magee, Riddle, and others played better and better, flourishing from all sides, it was related to confidence, not tactics, Ah Gan gave them confidence.
More penetrations by Kobe, Porter hit a three-pointer, Magee drew a foul and made free throws, Riddle charged the basket, missed, grabbed the rebound, and attempted again.
Although the Rockets repeatedly relied on three-pointers to stay afloat, Chris Weber hit continuous shots midway through the fourth quarter.
But the Trail Blazers maintained the lead by more than 10 points, with Gan Guoyang controlling the game through rebounds and efficient low-post plays.
Whenever the Rockets tried to gain momentum, Gan Guoyang would suppress them with rebounds and solo plays, and tonight they managed their turnovers well.
This was the Trail Blazers’ familiar winning rhythm, launching a wave of efficient offense to gain an advantage, then steadily maintaining it without turnovers to grind the opponent down from start to finish.
The Rockets struggled until the last two minutes of the game. This was the playoffs, and the Trail Blazers did not get complacent; Gan Guoyang extended the game with a block and two offensive rebounds, finally extinguishing the Rockets’ hopes of winning.