Dribbling all the way through the middle, passes the ball to the baseline, Kobe catches it, no hesitation, shoots the three-pointer!
Gan Guoyang looks up at the ball, observing its trajectory, judging whether it will go in, and if not, where it might bounce.
0.1 seconds of information processing, Gan Guoyang knows, this ball will go in.
"Swoosh!"
Corner three-pointer, indeed, it’s in!
Kobe hits his first and only three-pointer of the game.
A crucial three-pointer that ties the game.
Compared to the last time he made a game-winner against the Jazz, this time Kobe is much calmer.
He reminds his teammates who came to celebrate that the game isn’t over, it’s not over yet.
With Cassell’s miss at the buzzer, the two teams enter overtime.
Overtime, it’s Ah Gan’s domain, the time of the stamina monster’s hunt.
Gan Guoyang scores all of the Trail Blazers’ 11 points in overtime, blasting through the Rockets.
In the end, 112:107, the Trail Blazers take the crucial Game 5.
They lead 3-2 in the series, the Trail Blazers reach match point.
The Trail Blazers achieve a series comeback, and thus the Rockets’ fighting spirit withers.
Although they still have a shot in Game 6 to push the series to Game 7, the players are thinking more about: where to go for vacation.
After all, going to the Rose Garden for Game 7 means they won’t win either, without the obsession and belief in victory, a comeback is just talk.
On May 15, the Trail Blazers in Houston, 95:87 defeat the Rockets, ending the series quite laboriously, advancing to the Western Conference Finals.
Chris Weber played a spectacular series, his performance shone, but under Gan Guoyang’s dominant display, he was still overshadowed.
The other standout in the series was Kobe, though he didn’t score much, he contributed a crucial tying shot, and his flair on both the offensive and defensive ends gave many a glimpse of a superstar aura.
Apart from Gan Guoyang, everyone in the Trail Blazers, including management, the coaching staff, Bird, Old Tang, recognized Kobe’s limitless potential.
Because the playoffs have always been the stage for superstars, for a true superstar seedling, the playoffs are where they truly shine.
In another Western Conference matchup, the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated early by the Utah Jazz 1-4.
They only barely secured a win at home in Game 3 against the Jazz, losing cleanly in the other four games, and this year’s Jazz are undoubtedly strong.
They are fully qualified to challenge the Portland Trail Blazers, and John Stockton has been waiting 10 years for this day.
For this, he had to defeat his own mentor Bobby Berman in the semifinals, and this defeat also ended Berman’s tenure with the Lakers.
The day after the series ended, the day the Trail Blazers and Rockets fought their crucial game, the Lakers announced publicly that Bobby Berman was relieved of his Lakers head coach position, ending their partnership.
Jerry West expressed gratitude for Bobby Berman’s coaching tenure with the Lakers.
But most media outlets believed Berman’s time with the Lakers was extremely unsuccessful.
Four years mostly tanking, only winning one playoff series, with no accolades.
All he gained was more failure, criticism, abuse, a richer vocabulary of obscenities, and a failed marriage.
Resigning, Berman didn’t call anyone, including Ah Gan, as he didn’t want to disrupt Ah Gan’s playoff journey.
He understood that his future coaching path had to be walked independently, relying on no one, not even Ah Gan.
Everything he learned from Ah Gan could help him achieve success again.
At over 50, this is the prime time for a coach to strive.
As the Eastern and Western Conference Finals participants are decided, ready to clash in the upcoming Finals, another event impacting the future league landscape is underway.
On May 16, before the Eastern and Western Conference Finals kick off, the league held the 1997 draft lottery to determine the first overall pick, more bluntly, the destination of Tim Duncan.
The lottery system invented by David Stern is increasingly shaping the league’s landscape and dynamics over time, leaving the Celtics, who once toyed with league rules, confounded and outplayed.
Ultimately, the Boston Celtics, for Tim Duncan, lowered their once proud stature and outright tanked.
With a regular season record of 15-67, setting the worst record in team history, all in pursuit of the man most reminiscent of Ah Gan.
On May 16, everything finally became clear, all teams with a last chance at the top pick held their breath, awaiting the judgment of fate.
The result is out, Lady Luck finally smiles upon the idle Boston, granting the Celtics the number one pick in the 1997 draft!
News spread to Boston, the entire city erupted in celebration, Auerbach and the Celtics management popped champagne and smoked cigars, their tanking was not in vain!
The Celtics have finally welcomed their savior; now they just need a talent scout who can help this savior shine.
Auerbach is determined to find a coach, a manager, an heir, to entrust everything, the future of the Celtics team, and Tim Duncan, to them.