The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 363 - 97 Ah Gan’s Weakness

"Fuck, Ah Gan can hook shot from there, using his left hand at that distance. Even Jabbar couldn’t do that."

Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina, the school’s basketball gym was very quiet. It was now deep into the night, and no one was training.

However, in the lounge of the gym, someone was sitting in front of the TV watching the 1986 NBA Finals. It was Michael Jordan.

He had trained in the gym until very late and then went straight to the lounge to watch the live broadcast of the Finals.

In the final moments of the game, Bird hit a three-pointer, reducing the lead to three points. But Gan Guoyang received the ball and hit a long-distance hook shot with his left hand near the free-throw line.

The Celtics called for a timeout, their last timeout. They didn’t have much time left and hardly any chance for a comeback.

Jordan couldn’t help but swear out loud. The shots made by Gan Guoyang tonight were unbelievable. An unmatched feast of hook shots, sending the Boston Garden audience back into the fear they felt last year when Jabbar dominated.

After being eliminated in the first round, Jordan went home for some time to recuperate and then returned to his alma mater to start his off-season training.

Here, he could receive guidance from Dean Smith and dedicatedly polish his skills.

He also paid close attention to the NBA games, watching as teams were eliminated, one by one, and the number of teams left on the stage grew fewer and fewer.

As he watched Gan Guoyang and Olajuwon battling it out in the Western Conference Finals, Jordan felt envious, jealous, and possessed a massive motivation that drove him to sweat profusely in the training gym.

Then, he witnessed a series of remarkable performances from Gan Guoyang, taking the Trail Blazers to the Finals. Jordan had to admit that Guoyang had gone ahead of him.

Of course, on the day the Trail Blazers made it to the Western Conference Finals, Jordan, as usual, unplugged his phone, refusing to communicate with anyone, not wanting to hear any news.

Especially since on the same day, Gan Guoyang received the regular season MVP, which deeply frustrated Michael, regretting that he had wasted the 1985-1986 season.

Before the Finals, Jordan was very much looking forward to it. He wanted to see how Ah Gan dealt with the Celtics. Under Guoyang’s guidance, Jordan had beaten the Celtics once.

Dealing with the Celtics, who had the "Rubber Wall" defense, breaking through their defense was very difficult, but you can’t go through that defense, you can go around it.

In that 63-point battle, Jordan made full use of his agile movements and superior one-on-one skills, bypassing the Celtics’ defense—their precise positioning and blocking had no effect on Jordan.

In the victory over the Celtics, he exploited the Celtics’ erroneous defensive stance, connecting with the entire team, and broke through the Celtics’ defense from the inside.

And Gan Guoyang, as a center, had a natural disadvantage in initiating offense. Getting the ball in the low post was considerably tough, facing the Celtics’ tight double-teams and multiman encirclements.

Therefore, Guoyang took a different route because he had defense. He used his extraordinary shot-blocking skills to turn the game into a defensive battle.

Tonight, the Celtics’ playoff score did not surpass 100 for the first time, and even both teams hadn’t scored over 100. Such low scoring was rare in the games of the 80s.

"The Celtics still have the last 25 seconds, Ah Gan hit an amazing left-handed hook shot. My goodness, Dr. Jack’s heart must have leaped out of his chest. If he missed that shot, the Trail Blazers could have been in danger of being equalized. Ah Gan has shown us what it means to have the audacity of a master craftsman."

Commentator Masbourg was sweating for Gan Guoyang; the Celtics had nearly defended against the Trail Blazers for a full 24 seconds, but in the last moment, Guoyang from an unimaginable position, with an incredible left hand, hit a hook shot.

"Do you think that shot was luck?" someone asked.

Jordan jumped in surprise, thinking it was George Keller, but when he turned around, it was Coach Dean Smith.

"Oh! Mr. Smith, sorry, I didn’t even notice you. When did you come?"

"I saw when Ah Gan made that hook shot. Answer my question," Dean Smith said.

"I think... no, it wasn’t luck. If Sonny had made it with a bank shot, I might think it was luck. His use of the rare left-handed hook shot means he was confident. Sonny rarely does anything he’s unsure of; he must have calculated that using his left hand would avoid the defense. Although his right hand is more accurate, the right-hand side was blocked. With his left hand, he could shoot more comfortably, and indeed, he made it."

Dean Smith nodded. He had observed Gan Guoyang during the Olympic Training Camp.

This person plays basketball with a calculated mind, each choice carefully considered, resulting in the optimum solution.

"Do you have the confidence to beat him, Michael?"

"Of course!"

In response to Smith’s question, Jordan’s answer was very straightforward, but his tone wasn’t as certain.

He had played one-on-one with Gan Guoyang and faced him in games, he knew how formidable this guy was, and beating him was easier said than done.

The Celtics crushed the Bulls as if squishing an ant, and now they were up against the Trail Blazers, teetering on the brink of defeat in the opening game. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

With 25 seconds left on the shot clock, Bird once again chose a three-pointer from the perimeter, but this time Gan Guoyang’s interference caused the shot to go awry.

Drexler grabbed the defensive rebound, and the Celtics fouled him. The Glider went to the free-throw line, and the Trail Blazers were ready to take the game.

"So what do you think Ah Gan’s weakness is? Can you exploit his weakness?" Smith asked Jordan again.

Jordan watched as Drexler took his free throws. The first didn’t go in, but a 5-point lead was still comfortable.

"Ah Gan’s weakness... Ah Gan’s weakness is Clyde, Drexler is not an absolutely reliable teammate, I can blow him away," Jordan said.

Not sure if he sensed something, but Drexler’s second shot stumbled, rolled around the rim, and still missed. However, Gan Guoyang valiantly tapped the ball out.

This time Walton got the ball, and the Celtics could only foul again, sending Walton to the free-throw line. Time was running out, and fans at the Boston Garden began to leave.

Walton hit both free throws, 96:89, a 7-point lead was now insurmountable, and the Trail Blazers players started celebrating early.

They took the first game of the championship in the Boston Garden, taking a solid step towards the championship.

The CBS cameras kept focusing on Gan Guoyang; his face didn’t show much emotion, but one could see a hint of relief.

The network displayed his stats for the night: 37 points, 17 rebounds, 10 blocks, along with 4 assists, and 2 steals—an impressive performance.

"Michael, remember that while you’re training hard, there’s definitely someone in the world training just as hard, if not harder," Dean Smith said to Jordan.

In the past, Smith always said this to Jordan, and Jordan never really believed in "that person," but now he did, and that was the goal he would always be chasing.

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At the Boston Garden, the scoreboard read 96:91, the Trail Blazers’ 5-point advantage defeating the Celtics on their home court, leading the finals series 1:0.

Gan Guoyang was interviewed courtside. He had played the full 48 minutes, sweat soaking his hair. During halftime, he had already wrung out his jersey.

When asked why he chose to go for a left-handed hook shot, which he wasn’t good at, during the most critical attack, Gan Guoyang said, "Because I knocked my right middle finger, and it swelled up, really painful. So to ensure a good shot, I had to use my left hand. Thank heavens I was lucky, and I practice with my left hand, thankfully it went in, otherwise it would have been a big problem."

As he spoke, Gan Guoyang showed his middle finger, which was indeed swollen from being hit by the ball while rebounding. It would be fine after some treatment from the team doctor.

With a "snap," Dean Smith turned off the TV, and he and Jordan looked at each other.

"Game’s over, let’s go out for a walk tonight. Don’t just focus on basketball, life is important too."

"I think so too, after the games don’t watch the interviews anymore, they are boring."

"Yes, boring."