After the start of the second half, the Jazz adjusted their offensive strategy.
What worked last season has no effect this season.
The NBA changes quickly, fortunes rise and fall, and next year it could be someone else’s turn.
Last year’s West Finals, Stockton delivered the most explosive series of his career.
He dismantled the Trail Blazers’ backcourt defense on both ends and achieved his career playoff high score.
This season, Stockton’s form isn’t as good as last year due to injuries, while the Trail Blazers have significantly strengthened their backcourt defense.
Brellock is nothing like Van Exel, who was a defensive liability; he is a solid league second-team defender, a master of steals, and one of the best one-on-one defenders against small guards in the league.
The Trail Blazers traded for Brellock specifically for Stockton, so it’s impossible for Stockton to explode on both ends like last year.
Jerry Sloan realized this, and with few cards in his hand, he could only continue to focus the offense on Karl Malone, hoping Malone could break through Ah Gan’s defense and pose a threat to the Trail Blazers.
In these two years, Malone has indeed achieved greatness on both defense and offense, reaching the pinnacle of his skills, experience, and rhythm at the age of 34.
He has eliminated the unnecessary and unfamiliar skills in his play, focusing only on what he does best.
This makes Malone’s play more procedural, but it also possesses a simple aesthetic of strength, even in some aspects where Gan Guoyang would review the footage for learning.
Gan Guoyang entered the league a year earlier than Malone, and from his heart, he looked down on this morally low Southern hick who had relations with minors, the crybaby.
Yet this man is John’s long-time partner for over ten years, with the two tightly bound together, leaving Gan Guoyang feeling inequitable.
As a result, whenever facing the Jazz, Gan Guoyang never showed mercy towards Malone, whether in playing or fighting, always bullying him heavily.
After the 1997 season, although Malone’s stats and on-court performance were totally overshadowed in the West Finals, he still helped the Jazz win against the Trail Blazers with a team-first approach.
Adding to this season, Malone carried the Jazz forward, truly reflecting the capabilities and grandeur of a core super superstar, which finally earned some respect from Gan Guoyang, resulting in a slight change in impression.
In the first half, facing Gan Guoyang’s one-on-one defense and relentless offensive rebounds, Malone played very awkwardly.
Even so, he still managed to seize opportunities in the cracks to score 8 points; this ability to score in tight spaces is a must-have for top stars.
The situation is very tough, with extremely tight defense, yet he can still withstand the pressure and targeting to put the ball in the basket.
In a half-waste state, knowing he is not Ah Gan’s rival, Malone still took up the team’s offensive banner in the third quarter.
First, he executed a pick-and-pop with Stockton, receiving the ball and shooting near the three-point line, scoring a two-point jumper over Gan Guoyang’s block.
Then in defense, he successfully stepped help to Sabonis, chopped the ball out from Sabonis’s hands, the Jazz launched a fast break, Malone calmly passed the ball to Russell, who made a layup to score two points.
When Gan Guoyang focused all his energy on dealing with Malone, there would definitely be issues with the Trail Blazers’ defense on the small forward position.
Malone possesses the ability to pass and make plays, and he is testing Gan Guoyang: will you continue to double-team me in the third quarter, or adjust your focus to assist the small forward?
Or maybe, bro, stop toying around, let’s have a fair fight, don’t fool me with a blue-collar playstyle.
Gan Guoyang remained unmoved, continuing to assist on offense, setting screens for Brellock to attack Stockton’s spot.
Brellock, though not tall, is very strong, rushing like a cannonball to the basket for a layup after a screen but was disturbed by Adam Keefe, failing to score.
However, Gan Guoyang squeezed past Karl Malone and tipped the offensive rebound into the basket—his 12th offensive rebound of the night.
Malone felt helpless; he really couldn’t outfight, and tonight the Trail Blazers were bound to dominate on the boards.
Yet Malone had too many helpless moments against Ah Gan and still remembered his awkward state facing Ah Gan during his rookie season.
It was since then, he started to frequent the gym, practiced free throws, practiced shots, persevering for over a decade, finally reaching a chance close to or even defeating the divine.
Thus, regardless of any disadvantage, Malone remained mentally calm, already accustomed to it.
On offense, holding the ball at a 45-degree angle to the basket facing Ah Gan, Malone decided on a direct pass to the interior.
Again, Russell made a cut to the basket, pushing back Chris Mullin, and completed the layup.
Continuing to test Ah Gan: if you don’t squat inside and instead choose to single defend me, what about your rim protection?
Sabonis is experienced and savvy, but his mobility is an issue; this time, he didn’t make it to the basket in time.
The Jazz’s starting center saw a change this season, and the matchup with Sabonis was Adam Keefe.
Ostertag, though tall and an excellent rim protector, is offensively handicapped to an extent, and with Stockton absent, the Jazz needed firepower.
Keefe, with quite a good mid-range shot, after starting, achieved a career-high average of 8 points per game, offsetting some of the firepower.
Sabonis had to move to a more outward position to watch Keefe, with Gan Guoyang guarding Malone alone, leaving a gap under the basket that Brian Russell exploited.