The Trail Blazers secured an easy victory in Toronto, but the Toronto fans were not disheartened by the team’s loss because they gained much joy.
Vince Carter offered multiple stunning slam dunks during the game, including a classic dunk in tribute to Gan Guoyang, which would leave the live audience reminiscing for a long time.
These clips will be repeatedly replayed in the future and some street players will try to emulate them, but none can replicate them.
Kobe did not lag behind, as the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest champion, he also seized the opportunity to bombard the Raptors’ basket, his practical dunking skills equally high.
In the past, Gan Guoyang, who used to possess extremely powerful dunking capabilities, dunked much less as he aged, using accurate mid-range shots in the third quarter to conclude the match.
At 36 years old, Gan Guoyang truly began adjusting the proportion of his offensive tactics, significantly increasing the frequency of his mid-range shots.
Over the last decade, Gan Guoyang’s mid-range has consistently been one of the best in the league, comparable to the mid-range god Michael Jordan.
But in terms of the shooting ratio, Gan Guoyang’s mid-range has always been stable around 20-30%, with the remaining majority of shots focused on three-pointers and close-range attacks.
In this regard, Jordan’s mid-range exceeds Gan Guoyang, especially in the mid to late 90s, Jordan’s mid-range output was much higher.
Gan Guoyang initially had fewer three-pointers, later increasing them, consistently maintaining a balance in mid-range, his core scoring method has always been close-range attacks.
Particularly Gan Guoyang’s close-range shots, surrounding the Three Second Zone with hook shots and turning plunge jump shots, being the most crucial components of Gan Guoyang’s scoring output.
This was the vital reason he could maintain a hit rate around 60% during his peak, his close-range hook shots and turning plunge jump shots were too accurate, with too high a hit rate, and too strong a destructive power.
Especially entering the 90s, these two moves have become lost, with nobody but him using them, defenders could not find anyone to mimic for practice, if straight into a match, directly opposing him resulted in a fierce beating; this was the foundation of Gan Guoyang’s intense firepower and extraordinary output.
However, as physical fitness declined and his condition became unstable, this season Gan Guoyang once again adjusted his shooting ratio, and for the first time shifted focus to mid-range shots.
He began to reduce close-range shots, low post hook shots, and turning plunge jump shots were no longer his main attacking methods, instead switching to the less efficient but more effortless, broader-ranged mid-range.
As a cooperative attacking technique for mid-range, he increased face-up strong drives, utilizing strength and footwork for direct layups, with this high success rate.
This was Gan Guoyang’s simplified adjustment once again, yet this time not as the Heavy Sword without Edge, nor capable of doing as he pleases without transgressing limits, rather as an aged man required to make some changes and shifts.
After finishing the game against the Raptors, Gan Guoyang did not immediately leave the Air Canada Center, but stayed to conduct additional mid-range shooting practice.
Due to weather impact, tonight’s flight couldn’t depart from Toronto, rescheduled for tomorrow morning, while some teammates went out drinking, clubbing, or seeking fun, Gan Guoyang utilized the time for training.
He wanted to seize every minute and second, to compensate for the training time wasted in summer, and to slowly decrease his weight.
On the sidelines, Charles Barkley, while eating a hamburger, accompanied Gan Guoyang for additional practice.
Regarding Gan Guoyang’s diligence, Barkley greatly admired but couldn’t comprehend: "Your mid-range is already so accurate, why more practice? Rest is also important!"
"You’ll have all the time to rest after you die, Charles. Come over and pass me the ball, I’ll first make 30 in a row, count them for me. Stop eating!"
"Alright, alright! Anyway, it’s my last year... Playing a bit longer is good too."
Barkley put down his hamburger and headed to the court to pass to Gan Guoyang, and count.
Gan Guoyang would receive the ball from different angles, shooting, adjusting his footwork and release, imagining various scenarios in his mind.
At this age, despite possessing such strong abilities and achievements, continuous practice and reflection remained indispensable.
On the pursuit of excellence, there is no end, Gan Guoyang while shooting, engaged his mind, analyzing his release and footwork feel.
Gan Guoyang’s shooting differs from many players, his wrist strength is extremely strong, thus the movement of his upper arm and forearm is small, heavily relying on wrist strength.
Therefore, Gan Guoyang’s touch stability is excellent, his straight-arm shooting release point is high, making it difficult to block, whether scores or not depends entirely on him.
This is why he’s never cared to use fadeaway shots, whether he fades or not, opponents can’t block him, there’s no need for fadeaway.
Instead, it’s better to lean forward on opponents, getting closer to the hoop, not to mention brushing fouls, with extremely strong destructive power.
But that’s for close-range shots; if it’s mid-range and long shots, then leaning forward to release becomes difficult.
At this time, the release rhythm is more important than leaning forward for confrontation, mid-range demands high overall rhythm requirements.
If you cannot, facing a defense, use dribble and technique to find a good release rhythm, then hit rates will greatly decline.
A good mid-range shooter will definitely find that optimal gap, send the ball out, completing a deadly strike.
In terms of efficiency, mid-range is the worst, with fewer points than three-pointers, lower hit rates than close-range, lesser destructive power, yet demands more techniques.