But tonight, after playing for more than a quarter, facing each other, Jordan realized that the Trail Blazers were like an iceberg, with a massive hidden part beneath the surface.
Ah Gan was hidden within, coldly staring at the Bulls, at the entire league, like a beast from the North Sea.
Jordan was very unwilling in his heart. Why did the Bulls have to perform so poorly this year?
Why didn’t Ah Gan return sooner? Why didn’t the Trail Blazers make it to the finals last season, and why did they have to come back for revenge this season?
Jordan and Gan Guoyang had been entangled for over a decade. In their early years, regardless of winning or losing, Jordan had a clear conscience. Even if he lost and didn’t win a championship, he still felt his career was complete.
But people change. As time passed, once Jordan won the championship, one, two, three times, his mindset changed.
He had already won championships, but conversely felt that if he couldn’t defeat Ah Gan in the finals, his career would be incomplete.
That’s the contradiction in people. Once thinking not winning a championship would be regret-free, but upon winning, having even higher demands.
A person who once had nothing thought having a roof and enough to eat was enough.
Once ascending to glory, they instead think about conquering the world, no longer satisfied with today’s achievements.
In this aspect, Jordan and Gan Guoyang are the same, only Gan Guoyang seems a bit luckier.
After the timeout midway through the second quarter, Gan Guoyang returned to the court, replacing Ben Wallace and partnering with Little O’Neal inside.
After being dormant for quite a while, Gan Guoyang began to strongly attack in the paint, scoring repeatedly under the basket, causing constant fouls from the Bulls’ inside.
Though the Bulls, on offense, relied on Yad Buchler’s consecutive two three-pointers to stay in the game, Gan Guoyang had significantly damaged the Bulls’ inside.
Rodman committed two consecutive fouls in one minute, and Luke Longley was knocked out of bounds by Gan Guoyang’s butt, injuring his tailbone and leaving to rest.
When Gan Guoyang could free his hands to focus on one or two things on the court, the situation was quite terrifying.
Whether focusing on locking down a player’s offense or continuing destructive attacks inside, it would create enormous offensive and defensive pressure on the opponent.
This is a natural advantage of the inside position, something Michael Jordan cannot match, even though Jordan, as a Shooting Guard, has achieved the ultimate in his position. However, the difference in positional influence gives Ah Gan a more terrifying impact on the court.
The center is the natural focus on the court, an existence that the spotlight cannot ignore.
Any other position, like small forward, is already very important, but on defense can still stand with arms crossed on the side watching the show, or squatting at the corner waiting for opportunities on offense, handling the ball for teammates.
The center can’t do that, the center is the busiest position on both ends.
On offense, even without the ball, they have to box out for rebounds, right? Make screens for teammates, right?
Let alone on defense, no team’s center can stand with arms crossed watching the show, guarding the basket, rebounding, and rim protection are heavy tasks.
Like Luke Longley, a blue-collar center, with no rights to hold the ball and attack, is constantly busy on both ends without any leisure.
Gan Guoyang, needless to say, participates deeply in every offensive and defensive round, with too many tasks he can perform.
Now, with strong teammates and systems, he can focus more, and the Bulls seemed to struggle in the latter half of the second quarter, sensing a big lead approaching.
Of course, the Bulls didn’t panic. In many previous games, the Bulls had fallen behind by a large margin, from ten to twenty points, then clawed back with their profound inner strength, and finally succeeded in a comeback.
Facing the incoming Gan Guoyang, Jordan immediately stepped up, using drives to attack the basket, trying to cause Gan Guoyang’s fouls while attacking the rim.
After 1995, Jordan’s drives became fewer, with more shooting finishes.
Eventually, Jordan got older, and knee inflammation had an impact, the explosive power of his drives no longer like the panther he was in his 20s.
Now in games, Jordan mostly relies on shooting to finish offense, only when necessary does he forcefully drive to cause damage.
Gan Guoyang did not confront Jordan head-on; he allowed Jordan to score twice on defense as he didn’t want to waste fouls on Jordan with so much of the game left.
Soon afterward, Gan Guoyang, receiving a pass from Mu Lin on the right baseline, made a mid-range jump shot, bringing the score to 51:41, with the Trail Blazers maintaining a 10-point lead.
Sabonis and Brellock, among other key players, gradually took the court. In the final three minutes of the first half, the intensity of both teams’ defense had been pushed to its peak.
The Bulls’ full-court press defense started to show, with Harper beginning to guard Brellock closely from the frontcourt, trying to disrupt the Trail Blazers’ offensive rhythm again.
Gan Guoyang and Sabonis both stepped up to high positions to support, with Sabonis receiving the ball, immediately returning it to Brellock, dismantling the defensive shackles with quick passes.
Moving inward, Gan Guoyang set a screen high up, forcing the Bulls’ defensive line to extend outward, stretching the Bulls’ formation into a line spread beyond the three-point line.
Sabonis had already cut to the free-throw line, Gan Guoyang received a pass from Brellock, then immediately passed inside, with Sabonis receiving it on a turn as if like a volleyball setter, without holding the ball, but instantly passing to the baseline-cutting Reed.
Reed surprisingly shook off Jordan—Jordan never anticipated that the Trail Blazers would spread out and play this way.