The ball is returned to Ron Harper, Harper shoots again, still misses, the Bulls’ start is a bit off.
Gan Guoyang grabs the rebound, Trail Blazers counterattack, Sabonis gets the ball at the top of the arc and goes for a three-pointer!
Unfortunately, the ball doesn’t go in, but Gan Guoyang grabs the rebound again, squeezes out Wennington under the basket, and scores with a one-handed dunk!
With a 6:0 start, the Trail Blazers quickly take the lead, but the Bulls don’t seem too rushed.
This season, the Bulls are a typically slow-starting team, and not just usually slow, but extremely slow.
They often go for half a day without scoring, trying to find their rhythm and only start to find their offensive feeling midway through the first quarter.
But tonight you’re facing the Portland Trail Blazers, and if you continue to be this slow, you’ll be doubting life from the Blazers’ onslaught.
Jordan seems unperturbed on the surface, but he actually starts running quickly and receives a pass from Harper on the right side, scoring a mid-range shot.
Immediately after, the Bulls begin to apply pressure on the ball in defense, Harper takes on full-court defense to disrupt Brellock’s dribbling rhythm.
Chris Mullin comes over to help, but gets tangled up by Dennis Rodman, nearly turning the ball over.
The first pass in their set plays turns out like this, meaning half of the tactics initiation has already failed.
Mullin stabilizes the ball, finds Gan Guoyang at the top of the arc for support, and immediately passes the ball to Ah Gan.
But Wennington and Rodman immediately double-team Gan Guoyang—an extremely strong trap, something Jackson had set up before the game.
Starting the double-team this early clearly shows Jackson has meticulously prepared for this game, Gan Guoyang quickly returns the ball to Mullin.
The right side has cleared a path for Mullin to break through, and Mullin has no choice but to attack, the veteran holds the ball and drives inside, challenging Lang Li under the basket.
From the side, Jordan comes over to help, Mullin doesn’t force it and tries to pass to the other side’s Sabonis, but Jordan’s presence blocks the passing lane.
In the crowded paint, a pass error occurs, Jordan intercepts successfully, launching the Bulls’ counterattack.
The Bulls, of course, won’t miss such a good scoring opportunity, they advance quickly on three fronts, with Jordan attracting the defense in the middle.
Finally, the ball goes to the side where Ron Harper hits a mid-range shot.
The Bulls close the gap to 4:6, Gan Guoyang quickly moves to the perimeter for support in their set offense.
Following a screen at the top of the arc, he receives the ball and hits a mid-range jumper, making it 4:8, maintaining the lead.
As with every past "Gan Qiao Battle," the Bulls and Trail Blazers always get into the rhythm quickly.
Because both sides clearly understand that in such level of confrontation, a slow start means death, and there aren’t many opportunities for warm-ups and mistakes.
Once on the court, every ball must be contested, and every opportunity seized, otherwise, as time runs out, the missed chances and mistakes made earlier will hurt more and more.
Subsequently, neither team scores in their next two possessions, the score remains 4:8 for two minutes, the game enters a timeout, and both sides take a rest.
The Trail Blazers’ offense met with a strong defensive backlash from the Bulls, whose defense is layered, disciplined, and boasts strong defensive players.
Simple passes and screen plays find it hard to break through the Bulls’ man-to-man defense and rotations, let alone find many open shot opportunities.
The Twin Towers of Wennington and Lang Li mainly aim not to block Ah Gan, but to prevent Mullin and Brellock from scoring under the basket.
In creating defensive traps, the Bulls excel, and Jackson has successfully identified Chris Mullin’s importance and his weaknesses.
Mullin is crucial to the Trail Blazers’ smooth offense in normal situations; he is sharp in shooting, adept at passing and serves as a connecting link inside and outside.
In the situation where multiple strong points of the Trail Blazers attract defense, Mullin fully plays his role as a lubricant, connecting the inside and outside lines, linking the entire team.
Seeing Mullin’s role in the Trail Blazers, Jackson uses Dennis Rodman to tightly mark Mullin.
After all, Mullin is 34 years old, and his true form is not at its peak; his revival at the Blazers is actually system-enhanced.
Once targeted, he immediately encounters obstacles, and the offensive side takes a hit.
The Trail Blazers must call a timeout, otherwise, if they don’t, the Bulls’ offense will soon level the score as they regain their touch.
Bird spot this problem and reminds the players during the timeout, "We need to be more careful and patient. Don’t think you can easily get scoring opportunities."
In many previous games, the Trail Blazers indeed played too easily because no team’s defense could reach the Bulls’ level.
This is without Pippen in the Bulls lineup; if Pippen returns and plays normally, the Trail Blazers’ offense will be even harder.
After a few rounds of confrontation in the first quarter, Jackson feels the Trail Blazers are strong, but seemingly not overwhelmingly so.
With a bit of targeting, though still leading, the Trail Blazers show some signs of sluggishness; will they have to rely on Ah Gan to play hard next?
Jackson is a bit anxious, thinking, can’t be that just by suppressing Mullin, the Trail Blazers’ offense will be locked down, and again rely on Ah Gan going one-on-one, right?
The one-on-one play of the core players should certainly wait until late in the third quarter or the crucial moments of the fourth quarter, now is too early.
The Trail Blazers surely have unreleased tactics in reserve, Jackson wants to see if this game he can force more of the Blazers’ strategies to be revealed.
After the timeout, the Trail Blazers make adjustments, with Mullin coming off for a rest and Bird bringing in Kobe Bryant early.
The Bulls also make substitution adjustments, with Toni Kukoc coming on, replacing Bill Wennington.