Jordan re-entered the game, but seeing that Ah Gan on the other side remained unmoved, Jordan felt a bit uneasy.
In the past, when Gan Qiao faced off, it was never like this; the two would go at each other from start to finish, neither daring to relax easily.
The opening of tonight’s game had a bit of that vibe, but as it progressed, especially in the second quarter, the Bulls couldn’t keep up.
This was the first time in the past three seasons that the Bulls players felt they couldn’t keep up with their opponents.
After Jordan returned, the Bulls steadied themselves; he broke through twice in a row, scoring a layup once and drawing a foul from Ben Wallace, making two free throws.
Then on defense, Jordan successfully stole the ball from Kobe one-on-one, forcing the Trail Blazers to quickly retreat, while the Bulls slowed down to play in position.
On his third drive to the basket, Jordan avoided the blocks from Little O’Neal and Ben Wallace, passed along the baseline to a teammate at the corner.
The ball finally landed in the hands of Steve Kerr, who scored a three-pointer, and under Jordan’s lead, the Bulls responded with a 7-0 run against the Trail Blazers.
At this moment, Jordan glanced at the Trail Blazers’ bench and shouted, "Sonny, aren’t you coming on?"
Gan Guoyang, however, remained calm, answering loudly, "It’s not my time yet, we’ve got someone who can handle you!"
In the past, Gan Guoyang would have been on the court already, competing against Jordan and attacking each other.
But this time, Gan Guoyang and the Trail Blazers were in no hurry.
With the team’s offense drying up and Kobe having been directly intercepted by Jordan, he still dared to receive the ball on the wing and face Jordan with his back in the next play.
He mimicked the post-up play style of Jordan and Ah Gan, using his back to sense the defense, and then abruptly turned for a fadeaway jump shot with a burst of strength.
The ball drew a beautiful arc and went in accurately!
"Beautiful! Beautiful!" Gan Guoyang clapped for Kobe’s score.
Subsequently, Ben Wallace and Little O’Neal blocked Jordan’s drive and pass inside.
The Trail Blazers did not launch a quick counterattack, as the Bulls retreated swiftly, making hasty attacks prone to chaos.
The ball was again in Kobe’s hands, and this time, Jordan’s defense was more meticulous and confrontational one-on-one.
Kobe protected the ball, Little O’Neal came up for a pick-and-roll, and Kobe broke through with the ball on the left side, and Little O’Neal rolled inside.
Kobe lobbed the ball high into the inside, where Little O’Neal jumped high to catch it in midair, dunking the ball into the basket with one hand!
Trailing by 4 points in succession, Kobe led the second unit’s offense, withstanding the Bulls’ strong counterattack.
Subsequently, both the Bulls’ and the Trail Blazers’ offenses missed, and both teams entered a phase of back-and-forth bricks.
As time ticked away, and with the second quarter’s midpoint timeout approaching, Gan Guoyang was about to re-enter the game.
The Bulls’ rotation was noticeably less expansive than the Trail Blazers’, and the second unit lacked talented forces like Kobe and Little O’Neal.
With Pippen absent, the disparity in strength between the two teams became evident, making Jordan on the bench feel all kinds of complex emotions.
Why did the peaks of the two teams miss each other after ’95 like this?
From the 1995-1996 season, the reborn Bulls were incredibly strong, becoming the benchmark of the league.
Under the leadership of Jordan and Jackson, their defense reached its peak, and the triangle offense matured.
In games, the Bulls always had a leisurely manner and calmly overwhelmed their opponents.
They were once unstoppable, winning games with such ease that they hardly needed to exert much effort.
In the 1995-1996 playoffs, from the start of the season to the finals, Jordan and the Bulls never had to give 100%, let alone push themselves to 120% as they did against the Trail Blazers in ’92.
They surpassed other teams significantly and secured the championship by maintaining over 80% of their performance.
In the Eastern Conference, whether against the Orlando Magic or the Miami Heat, the Bulls disposed of their opponents with ease, as if completing a routine.
In the finals, facing the Supersonics, who had made it to the finals for the second consecutive year, a lead of 3:0 early on removed any suspense from the series.
This finals was Jordan’s worst in terms of statistics, with some attributing it to Payton+the Supersonics’ system restricting him.
This was partly reasonable, but the main reason was that Jordan hadn’t exerted himself fully, easily winning the championship with little effort, so naturally, the stats weren’t great.
In the 1996-1997 season, the Bulls maintained their invincible state of ’96 overall, though injuries and motivation issues made the finals slightly tougher.
This season was when Jordan and the Bulls felt most confident and hopeful to take down the Trail Blazers and Gan Guoyang in the finals, but unfortunately, the Trail Blazers fell in the West Finals.
By the 1997-1998 season, the scales tilted, with the Bulls plagued by injuries and internal strife, visibly weakening their strength.
Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers surged overnight to an invincible status.
Before the game, the Bulls were full of confidence, hoping to end the Trail Blazers’ winning streak.
When they faced off during the game, though, the experienced Bulls players knew that defeating the Trail Blazers wasn’t impossible;
But they also understood, with Ah Gan anchoring the Trail Blazers, this lineup would overpower the Bulls once they unleashed their full strength.
Jordan understood this clearly; he struggled to lead the Bulls forward and tolerated Pippen’s frequent absences.
Facing the animosity from Klaus and Reinsdorf, he restrained himself and focused all his energy on the court.
This was all to achieve a three-peat dynasty and, more importantly, to defeat the Trail Blazers and win the championship on the finals stage.