It was already pretty enough that when I returned to Portland, I comforted myself, "There’s nothing wrong with being like PJ Carlesimo."
Yeah, wasn’t PJ also a member of the Dream Team coaching staff?
A reporter asked me to talk about my views on the referees. In fact, every year during the playoffs, referees become a focal point.
In the Salt Lake City Jazz’s defense, they were rough, continuously bumping, blocking, and kicking. Jerry Sloan’s cursing never stopped.
And they cleverly said nice things to Ah Gan, yes, they took turns praising Ah Gan and then hurled insults at Ah Gan’s teammates—including me.
I suspect that Ah Gan didn’t even realize during the game how hostile the Jazz were to us, he was kept in the dark.
The scene was too noisy, if Hornersek was trash-talking Kobe, Ah Gan under the basket wouldn’t hear it.
In the end, I just said a few words simply, I didn’t want to talk too much about the penalties, that’s my style.
Complaining about referees might have some effect, but sometimes it can backfire.
No doubt, since I started playing, referees have changed.
I’ve always thought that being a referee is hard work and unappreciated.
If you’re dissatisfied with something, just talking to them often allows you to escape some penalties.
Yelling at them doesn’t work, nor does complaining after the game.
Moreover, now referees care more about their status than before. They act differently, wanting to be part of the show.
Earl Strom is one of my favorite referees, he was also part of the show, but he never lost control of the game.
In the end, he made fair judgments because it was really a foul, not because Ah Gan is a superstar whom no one can touch.
Earl is fair in this aspect, if you’re the twelfth man, when you’re attacked, you’ll receive the same respect as a star.
Of course, Earl was somewhat biased toward Ah Gan, as they had a good relationship, but mostly during fights.
However, by the third and fourth games, back in Portland, the referees indeed favored us a bit more.
We got more free throws, we played more aggressively, our defense became more aggressive without being called for fouls.
Back on the home court, Ah Gan showcased a dominant performance, scoring 41 points in one game and 44 in another, taking the initiative from the start.
We tied the series score, and the public opinion shifted again, believing the Jazz team might be doomed, that they would lose to Ah Gan again.
The media is always like this, going with the wind, and people are particularly susceptible to being bewildered by the current situation, making irrational judgments about the future.
Even in the same game, during a certain phase where one side plays smoothly and takes the lead, some people would pop champagne at halftime, thinking it’s amazing.
But in reality, basketball is a dynamic competition, with both sides’ states and performances fluctuating and seesawing, and many factors can influence the process and outcome of the game.
One phase, one quarter, one game often cannot be the basis for determining the final outcome, and we ourselves have a deeper understanding of the situation.
In fact, at that time, there were some bad situations within the team, as Porter sprained his ankle in the fourth game and had to miss the fifth game, which was fatal.
Because we no longer had a point guard, I had to move Kobe to the point guard position and ask Ah Gan to increase his outside ball handling and playmaking.
This was very exhausting for Ah Gan, as he was very versatile, but he had a lot of work to do on the defensive end, and the low post was a more comfortable place on the offensive end.
Now he had to dribble, organize, and set screens for teammates, which would’ve been fine in the regular season, but it’s too tough in the playoffs.
In the fifth game in Salt Lake City, we played extremely hard, scoring 91 points in total, with our offense being stiff, monotonous, and lacking creativity.
Stockton scored 35 points in this game, which was the highest score of his career, and it was simply unbelievable.
The Jazz team scored 100 points in total, with Stockton’s score accounting for more than a third of the team, and you could see his terrifyingly strong desire to win.
But we didn’t want to give up; Ah Gan didn’t want to, I didn’t want to, nobody wanted to. At that moment, I realized that something about the Trail Blazers had been carried on and burst forth at that moment.
As soon as we returned to the hotel, we reviewed the tape of the fifth game, pointed out the problems, and told everyone that the series wasn’t over and that we had to fight until the last moment.
In the sixth game, I used a very bold starting lineup, putting Ah Gan at the point guard and placing Ben Wallace on the court, letting him play power forward to defend Karl Malone, with PJ Brown playing center.
Ben’s role was to ease Ah Gan’s defensive pressure and allow him to focus more on the offense.
This tactic worked very well; Ben and Jermaine alternated on the floor, and I was afraid they would make mistakes if they stayed too long.
But they didn’t; they did very well and weren’t embarrassed by Karl Malone.
At the same time, Ah Gan revitalized the whole team on offense. We scored 110 points in this match and defeated the Jazz team, leveling the score at 3-3.
After the game, everyone interviewed Ben, who contributed two blocks; his strength and defensive intuition left a deep impression, as he wasn’t overwhelmed by Karl.
And he calmly said, "I just did my job."