Jordan couldn’t beat the Trail Blazers one-on-one; Alan Houston was not a threat to the Trail Blazers at all.
Instead, it was Spreewell who was targeted by the Trail Blazers for defense, with Kobe, also number 8, keeping a close eye on Spreewell throughout.
This led to Spreewell shooting 2 for 9 in the first half, scoring only 6 points, while Kobe also kept missing shots.
In the second quarter, Kobe took charge of the team’s offense, but since he was missing a lot, the Trail Blazers didn’t score quickly, leading by only 7 points at halftime.
Fortunately, Porter’s three-pointers and Little O’Neal’s offensive rebound and second chance shots supported the scoring, otherwise Kobe’s 2-for-8 would have been terrible.
"Can you make your shots more accurate? Pay attention to your breathing, your rhythm, that’s crucial. Don’t just stare at the hoop; staring at the hoop is useless."
During halftime in the locker room, Gan Guoyang didn’t forget to lecture Kobe.
The young Kobe’s importance to the Trail Blazers’ offense is obvious.
Like Spreewell, he’s one of the team’s most crucial attack forces.
Since entering the 90s, with teams’ defensive setups becoming tighter and tougher, there’s an increasing demand for outside attackers to penetrate defenses.
This demand will peak in the late 1990s and early 21st century.
Without a player capable of breaking through, attacking in the current defensive setup environment will be very difficult.
Though the Trail Blazers have the best spacing and long-range shooting in the League, and the best low-post beast, they also need this kind of attacker.
From Drexler to Petrović, and now Kobe, Gan Guoyang as an interior player has always had a striking effect teaming up with such a sharp player.
Among the three, Kobe has the highest talent and potential, but he’s also the least mature, requiring time and game experience.
Now in his third year, Kobe is only 21, and he’s maneuvering well in the regular season, becoming an important scorer in the playoffs.
However, during the intense finals, Kobe’s offensive choices are questionable, and his organizational skills are average.
But when Gan Guoyang doesn’t shoot, letting Kobe handle the ball is a safe choice—his misses are somewhat predictable, which makes it easier to grab rebounds.
Ultimately, Kobe has a strong interior to back him up, so his seemingly poor choices don’t always lead to dire consequences.
Gan Guoyang also scored only 9 points at halftime, but he contributed 10 rebounds, including 4 offensive rebounds, and countless screens and blocks.
These provided a safety net for Kobe, and gave him room to grow and learn from mistakes.
Compared to Jordan, Kobe lacks some overall grasp in high-stakes games, making the games he leads seem a bit disjointed.
Gan Guoyang knows this is due to Kobe’s lack of college basketball education; certain awareness and experience are hard to develop solely in the NBA.
Listening to Gan Guoyang’s lecture, Kobe verbally agreed but was inwardly dismissive, thinking that in the third quarter, Gan will surely make his move to beat the opponents.
Kobe knows Gan Guoyang very well; he knows that Gan Guoyang, who plays conservatively in the first and second quarters, will explode in the third quarter, widening the gap with the Knicks.
The second half began quickly, both teams resumed battle after the 15-minute break.
The Knicks scored a three-pointer right away, with Spreewell breaking through and assisting Chais on the wing, who scored the three-pointer.
A shot that really boosted the team’s morale, the Knicks reduced the lead to 4 points in one possession, and as long as they seriously defended the next possession and scored efficiently on the counterattack, they could quickly shrink the lead to 2 or even 1 point.
So the entire Knicks team tightened their nerves and muscles, entering their most familiar mode: steel-like defensive play.
Gan Guoyang seemed to foresee this, similarly entering his most familiar mode: low post attack mode.
Against the Spurs, Gan Guoyang’s low post attack frequency wasn’t high because the Spurs’ interior defense was very well done.
They have a high tower like David Robinson, with outside players having good awareness for assists and quick hands.
So Gan Guoyang utilized his mid-range game to exploit the Spurs’ weak coverages.
The Knicks are different; they excel at creating defensive traps from mid-range, forcing the opponent into corners.
In the low post, their defense is relatively simple, relying on Mourning and Kemp’s personal abilities to forcibly suppress opponents.
During this season’s regular games, Mourning contributed defensively with an average of 3.9 blocks and 11 rebounds per game.
This earned Mourning the title of Best Defensive Player for the 1998-1999 regular season.
The jury certainly knows Ah Gan is a better defender, but awards often don’t go to the best one; rather, they pick the best among those who haven’t won before.
Someone like Gan Guoyang, who has won too many awards and whose performance slightly declined compared to 1998, noticeably playing cautiously to gather strength like an old rogue, won’t get votes.
But the true Best Defensive Player needs to be tested in the playoffs and especially the finals.
In the playoffs, Mourning’s block numbers decline significantly; opponents and intensity are different.
The Trail Blazers’ first attack in the second half gave the ball to Gan Guoyang, who started his low post offense.
Mourning’s defense mainly relies on his exceptional strength and judgment, but against Gan Guoyang, strength is ineffective; height is more useful.