May 22, 2000, Los Angeles, Staples Center, the first battle of the Western Conference Finals begins.
The two sides are old rivals, even to the point where there are hardly any secrets left between them.
Before the game, Phil Jackson attempted to create some controversial topics at the press conference and encouraged his players to attack the Trail Blazers, creating a tense and fierce atmosphere.
But unexpectedly, no one acted on Jackson's words, as everyone knew it was best not to provoke Gan Guoyang if they wanted to defeat him.
Los Angeles media showed little interest in these topics, with only one thought in mind: "Let's play the game, let's settle this, stop with all the nonsense."
Jerry West rarely showed up at important games; he usually preferred to stay home and wait for news.
He appeared much older than he did in Portland, with gray hair and sagging skin—the past few years in Los Angeles hadn't been easy.
The issues within the Lakers were more troubling than those with the Trail Blazers, lacking someone like Gan Guoyang to stabilize things while catering to a big boy like O'Neal; players were quarreling, scheming, and undermining each other.
Fortunately, the team's two cores, O'Neal and Kidd, despite their off-court differences, cooperated seamlessly on the court, without letting excess emotions affect the game.
Phil Jackson truly had methods, acting like a psychologist, administering specific antidotes for each player's issues and meticulously crafting the Triangle Offense.
However, Shaquille O'Neal wasn't always impressed with Jackson's system, and young players like McGrady and Kidd had their own ideas; Jackson's control over the Lakers was clearly less strong than over the Bulls.
Therefore, West was filled with worry about whether the Lakers could overturn the Trail Blazers.
The good news was that the Trail Blazers were equally troubled, with the veterans having lost their fierce drive.
While the newcomers had great potential, from the first two rounds, relying on them to take the lead would still take time.
Kobe was like a ticking time bomb due to the uproar at home over the Vanessa incident.
The Los Angeles newspapers' sports pages were filled with gossip about Kobe's family troubles.
Understandably, Kobe's condition would be affected, and the atmosphere within the Trail Blazers wouldn't be as united as in the previous two seasons.
In short, both teams had their own issues and flaws; who could stand out in the series, and accomplish the final honing before the finals amidst intense battles and confrontations, would be revealed in the games.
At 7:30 PM, the game started on time.
The Trail Blazers' starting lineup featured Gan Guoyang, Little O'Neal, Sabonis, Kobe, and Brellock.
As the playoffs progressed, Rick Carlisle gradually settled on the team's starters.
Sabonis returned to the starting center position, while Gan Guoyang moved to the small forward spot, and Alan Henderson was basically out of the rotation.
After enduring a "tormenting" regular season, Gan Guoyang successfully reduced his weight to 255 pounds.
It was basically similar to his rookie season, although such mid-season weight loss wasn't great for his game state.
But to reduce body stress and contribute more in offense, compensating for the lack of seasonal planning during the off-season, Gan Guoyang resolutely carried out the weight loss plan.
After losing weight, Gan Guoyang clearly felt his body in better shape, more agile.
Correspondingly, his strength and bulk were somewhat affected, but mobility improved.
To have someone withstand O'Neal at the center position, Carlisle naturally sent Sabonis.
Gan Guoyang directly faced those swingmen prepared by Jerry West, ready to challenge them.
The Lakers' starters were O'Neal, Audie Norris, Robert Horry, Tracy McGrady, and Jason Kidd.
Dennis Rodman played a third of the season with the Lakers but left due to conflicts with O'Neal and Kidd.
Jerry West didn't want to keep a ticking time bomb in the team locker room, so he released Rodman mid-season, allowing rookie Devin George to rise.
The 37-year-old Thorpe had some oil left in his tank, capable of supporting the starting position for a while, providing protection for O'Neal and having some low-post offensive ability.
The teams were very familiar with each other, studied one another thoroughly, with hardly any secrets left.
Especially the Lakers' meticulous study of the Trail Blazers, from Phil Jackson to Jerry West, had thoroughly researched the team.
Thus, after the game started, both sides quickly got into the rhythm, as O'Neal knew the Trail Blazers wouldn't double-team early on, he repeatedly received the ball under the basket, attacking Sabonis aggressively.
The Trail Blazers, of course, understood Gan Guoyang's defense against O'Neal would be more effective, but doing so would leave their offense under-resourced; Gan Guoyang mainly focused on scoring.
The interior was entrusted to Little O'Neal and Sabonis.
In Los Angeles, Gan Guoyang always played well.
As O'Neal scored, Gan Guoyang also found his touch early with post-up plays and mid-range shots.
In the first quarter, the score reached 24:25, with the home team Lakers leading by 1 point.
Apart from O'Neal, Jason Kidd managed the team's offense with smooth coordination.
Kidd's impact on the team was subtle, often not holding the ball himself.
He always passed the ball to teammates, to McGrady, to O'Neal, to Horry.