The heavy rain stopped around six o'clock in the evening, and the number of traffic accidents in the City of Portland increased tenfold compared to usual.
Blazers players were affected by the rain and traffic jams, and many of them only arrived at the Rose Garden Arena at six-thirty, an hour before the game started.
There was definitely no time for a proper warm-up. In the locker room, a quick hot shower, half an hour on the exercise bike, followed by some stretching with the help of the trainer, sufficed as a warm-up.
For the veteran players, in high-intensity games, failing to warm up properly before the game can easily lead to injuries.
Players who arrived late complained that their muscles were stiff from the long traffic jam, requiring more stretching and warm-up, causing the locker room to be in a state of chaos.
Only Gan Guoyang was calm and composed, sitting in the corner meditating. He was already warmed up and was making the final preparations before taking the stage.
His mind was empty, and he focused his attention on his breathing, casting aside past glories and future uncertainties.
The present moment is everything.
No matter what kind of game it is, Gan Guoyang tries to participate with this mindset.
This is one of the secrets to his consistently high performance over the past ten-plus years; one must not be trapped by past achievements or future fantasies. The former makes one complacent, and the latter makes one hesitant.
In top-tier basketball competitions, these are all detrimental factors.
The noise and chaos in the locker room did not affect Gan Guoyang, and everyone was tactful enough not to disturb him.
Even though it was the championship point match, everyone was calm except for Charles Barkley.
Barkley was the second player on the team to arrive at the arena, right after Gan Guoyang. He didn't arrive by helicopter, of course, but because he set out early.
He saw it raining at noon and left immediately, avoiding the peak of the traffic jam, and arrived at the arena smoothly.
Last night, Barkley hardly slept, constantly waking up in the middle of the night, checking the time, going back to sleep, waking up again, and so on, unable to contain his excitement and unease.
When he arrived at the Rose Garden Arena and saw the grand scene in Portland, he was even more overwhelmed. Was the championship he's dreamed of his whole career finally coming?
Although Barkley's stats this season had fallen to career lows, even with successful weight loss, he couldn't reclaim his former glory. He only managed to maintain his attendance rate, becoming a complete role player.
But Barkley willingly played the role player, ready to step up when needed.
During the regular season, in games Gan Guoyang was absent, Barkley often took on the responsibility of the power forward, supporting the team's performance.
In the playoffs, Barkley leveraged his experience to play a crucial role in key moments of certain games.
In some games, Barkley played terribly and didn't get much time on the court.
But in others, he would act as the key player. He was no longer the superstar but an experienced veteran who knew when to make his move.
This change was painful for a former MVP, as painful as making Barkley eat fewer burgers and drink less soda.
But for the championship, he endured all the pain, and now he was finally about to achieve his wish.
He felt an indescribable mix of thrill and pressure inside, a sensation wanting to explode from his chest but unable to find a fuse because the time hadn't come yet.
Barkley initially thought that in the locker room, everyone would be unitedly bolstered for the final championship sprint.
But little did he know that everyone arrived sparsely, hastily warming up, with expressions and words appearing quite ordinary, no different from any regular game.
It was understandable, as among the entire team, only he and Alan Henderson hadn't won a championship.
Alan Henderson was still young, and unlike Barkley, his goal was to land a big contract, with little impact from winning a championship or not.
Others, like Terry Porter, already had nine rings.
He always had a somber face, and this season, he was more downtrodden every day.
Seeing the tenth championship nearing, he didn't care much about it; he only thought about retiring.
Recently, Bird and the Trail Blazers' management had been persuading Porter to postpone his retirement, discussing a contract renewal with him.
Porter genuinely didn't want to play anymore, and being dragged by Ah Gan to win another three-peat, he didn't earn much more money, and the honors he had long accumulated. To him, one more or less championship made no difference, but playing dozens more games in a year exhausted him.
Other Trail Blazers players, some had six or seven rings, while others had at least two or three.
Even the cleaning ladies at the Rose Garden Arena had several commemorative ones.
So everyone viewed the championship lightly, not like Barkley, who was overwhelmed with emotions, with nowhere to express them.
Barkley couldn't hold it any longer, ran over to Gan Guoyang, poked him, and said, "Sonny, Sonny, stop sleeping! It's time for the game!"
Gan Guoyang opened his eyes, saw Barkley's chubby face, and angrily said, "Who the hell is sleeping! I'm meditating! Can you be quiet for a moment?"
Barkley sighed and said, "Quiet? I hardly slept a wink last night, and you're all damn calm!"
Gan Guoyang said, "It's because you're not calm enough that you've never won a championship!"
"Really?"
"No, it's because you suck."
"..."
The two of them chatted before the game, and Barkley's mood calmed down a lot.