For George Karl, he also wanted a change of environment. It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to achieve further breakthroughs here.
He had exhausted all means and acquired all the talent he could through trades, but without Gan Guoyang, what could he do?
Look at the neighboring Trail Blazers. When Karl heard about Sabonis’s return in the summer, he knew that the new season would once again be dominated by the Trail Blazers in the Western Conference.
Not to mention the arrival of Mu Lin and Brellock; unless Gan Guoyang suddenly died, Karl couldn’t think of any reason why the Trail Blazers would falter in the West.
The years 1994 and 1995, when Gan Guoyang wasn’t around, were the Supersonics’ best chances, but unfortunately, they didn’t seize them.
The Supersonics, who were unprepared for the game, were crushed by the Trail Blazers in the first half. For teams accustomed to the slow pace and isolation plays of the late 90s, the Trail Blazers’ multi-screen, multi-motion, and free-form tactical playstyle indeed made the Supersonics very uncomfortable.
Gan Guoyang and Sabonis stood on either side of the three-second zone, switching between high and low, constantly setting screens for teammates, making plays, or handling the ball to attack themselves. The changes were truly numerous.
Sabonis’s four years in Europe were not wasted. European basketball was improving, and the teams there played a team-oriented game. Sabonis had honed various small skills to perfection.
By halftime, at 70:50, the Trail Blazers pierced through the Supersonics’ defense, leaving the usually intense key players disheartened.
In the second half, the Supersonics had no turning point, and the third quarter became Kobe’s stage.
Kobe, who didn’t get many opportunities in the first game, received more playing time in this match.
When Kobe took the court, the attacking style of the Trail Blazers changed. He played in a very self-centered manner.
He broke through with the ball from the outside, shot jumpers after stopping suddenly, and charged the basket during fast breaks.
With significantly improved skills over the summer, Kobe freely displayed his offensive talent, scoring over the top of the league’s best defensive teams.
Rick Carlisle shook his head repeatedly seeing Kobe play like this, wanting to substitute him out or call a timeout to scold him.
But Dick Hart said, "Larry said to give Kobe more room to play freely."
"He’s playing too selfishly."
"In a selfless team, a little bit of selfishness isn’t necessarily a bad thing."
Hart said this, but Carlisle disagreed. However, since it was Bird’s request, he had to comply.
The Trail Blazers faced Seattle on the road again, defeating their opponents by 22 points, 121:99, for their second consecutive victory.
Kobe scored 14 points in the second half and ended with 18 points and a very high shooting percentage.
Two consecutive victories were just the beginning; it seemed ordinary and mundane.
But many great achievements often have a humble beginning.
The Trail Blazers players didn’t think too much about it; they just felt that victories came easily.
Especially for Mu Lin and Brellock, who never achieved much success before.
Mu Lin found that playing along with Gan Guoyang on the Trail Blazers brought little pressure, allowing him to play more freely.
And Brellock, for the first time, felt that being a Point Guard was so easy; just dribble past half-court and defend well.
Only Sabonis, after two games, started complaining, saying it was tiring and that playing in Europe was more comfortable—but he had signed a three-year contract, so he couldn’t leave for now.
After finishing this road game, the Trail Blazers returned home, with the next six games scheduled at home, giving players ample time to adjust, train, and develop team chemistry.
On November 3rd, they hosted the Kings, winning effortlessly at 124:98, achieving three consecutive wins.
On November 5th, they hosted the Clippers, winning by 37 points at 131:94, for four consecutive wins.
On November 6th, in a back-to-back match, the Phoenix Suns, led by Antoine Walker who was traded from the Celtics, came visiting.
This year, the Suns had restructured and actually had quite some fighting power, but they were no match for the Trail Blazers, as they were defeated 118:97, another dominant victory.
In several consecutive games, people noticed that the opponents’ scores weren’t terribly low given the current climate; scoring in the 90s was still decent.
The problem was, the Trail Blazers’ offense was too fluid.
After the Trail Blazers achieved five consecutive wins, the "Oregonian" published an article titled "Why Are the New Portland Trail Blazers So Smooth?"
The article briefly summarized the Trail Blazers’ recent good form and compared them to the early 1990s Trail Blazers.
In the early 90s, after the Trail Blazers completed their roster-building, they also started the season with an offensive surge, with scores more outrageous than now.
They often scored 140, 150 points per game with terrifying firepower.
The current Trail Blazers don’t have such fierce firepower, and their scoring isn’t as crazy, but their offensive power is no less formidable.
The reporter used the word "smooth" to describe the Trail Blazers’ current offense.
"They aren’t fast because, after all, there are quite a few older players on the team with diminished running and jumping abilities. But they are incredibly smooth, with perfect half-court offensive coordination, abundant screens, and movements that remind me of the old Princeton System but with distinctions. It’s said to be the fluid offense brought by Acting Head Coach Rick Carlisle."
"It’s hard to imagine that this lineup was just put together this summer; they seem like they’ve been playing together for half a century, like they started playing together in the 60s."
The article is somewhat exaggerated, but this smooth offensive model of the Trail Blazers is undoubtedly a refreshing stream and an anomaly in the late 90s NBA world.
For fans who are used to seeing muscle confrontations and have grown aesthetically tired of low-post one-on-one plays and physical matchups, the Trail Blazers and Gan Guoyang once again deliver a pleasant surprise.