Chapter 2043: Chapter 14: Cultivation Depends on the Individual

In the first two games, Glory barely had to break a sweat to rub the Bucks and Bulls into the floor.

Deer and bulls are animals after all—how are you supposed to compete with the light of the sun?

Both teams had their own issues, and facing a stacked Glory roster at the very start of the season, naturally they had no chance to fight back.

Dropping 50 in that second game shook the NBA and made Glory slap a lot of people in the face right out of the gate.

Because this time Gan Guoyang and Jordan teamed up, some people were over the moon, and of course there were others who weren’t optimistic.

Especially the media in Boston and Los Angeles, who said if it were a 30-year-old Jordan teaming up with Ah Gan, then yeah, that would really be the final Chapter.

But with the two of them pushing 40, how much gas can there still be in the tank? Your two greatest lifelong enemies join forces in old age, only to end up tarnishing their late-career reputations. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

So plenty of people were waiting for them to flop—but after two games, Ah Gan and Jordan were looking pretty damn sharp.

Not quite at their peaks, sure, but maybe it’s exactly because they’re no longer perfect that once they teamed up, it actually felt more complete.

Like two puzzle pieces that were already close to perfect on their own—force them together and they’ll just clash, maybe even break apart.

But after time has carved out gaps in those pieces, when they’re put together again, the gaps fit snugly into each other and the whole picture becomes even more complete.

It’s not just about tactics and skills, it’s also their personalities and tempers—they’re bickering nonstop on one hand, and on the other hand they’re understanding and appreciating each other.

In the postgame press conference after the Bulls game, Jordan joked, "I’m already looking at the schedule, seeing when we play the Trail Blazers. By then Ah Gan’s going for 50 too."

Gan Guoyang shook his head again and again and said, "That’s not fair, the Trail Blazers are way stronger than the Bulls. Dropping 50 on them isn’t that easy, man."

"Ah Gan never backs down."

"Exactly. So I’ll go for 60."

The two of them burst out laughing, and Gan Guoyang couldn’t be bothered to overthink it—might as well brag first.

This year’s Trail Blazers are indeed loaded. The three-headed monster of Big Ben, Little O, and Kobe has stayed steady, and the last seed Gan Guoyang left behind, Michael Redd, is starting to sprout.

Off the bench, the Trail Blazers poached Bonzi Wells from the Pistons to be their sixth man, plus Dale Davis and a bunch of other bruisers.

With the Los Angeles Lakers having lost Shaquille O’Neal and Glory heading East, in the Western Conference the only team that can really arm-wrestle with the Trail Blazers is the Sacramento Kings.

In both the opener and their second game, the Trail Blazers blew out their opponents and held their scoring way down.

One game they held them to 73, the other to 82. Against that kind of suffocating defense, Gan Guoyang going for 50 or even 60 probably won’t be so easy.

The first clash between the two teams won’t come until Christmas. What things will look like then, no one knows for now.

The first two games of the season were both on the road; after finishing the Bulls game, the whole Glory squad could finally head back to Vegas for a bit of a breather.

Getting off the plane, Gan Guoyang went over to Yao Ming and asked, "So how’s the NBA feel? Tired?"

Yao Ming answered honestly, "Playing is fine. It’s the flights that wear me out a bit."

Yao Ming’s body is just too huge. The Glory Team’s private jet has already been modified, and they still had to custom-build a special seat just to hold that massive frame of his.

Once they get to the hotel, he needs a specially made bed just to sleep properly, so traveling and lodging are both a hassle for Yao Ming.

"Yeah? Sounds like we’re not pushing you hard enough yet. Tomorrow morning at eight, be at the practice facility on the dot and do extra work with me."

Seeing that Gan Guoyang didn’t look like he was joking, Yao Ming could only silently sigh to himself—guess I’m still too honest.

When your boss asks if your workload is tiring, how can you say it’s not? Even if it’s not, you still have to say, "Yeah, it’s pretty tough."

Otherwise your boss will think you’re underworked and give you more tasks.

Yao Ming had been thinking that after a few days of games on the road, he could come back, really rest up, sleep in. Looks like that dream just went up in smoke.

Gan Guoyang seemed to see through what Yao Ming was thinking and said, "You were planning to sleep in, weren’t you?"

"Uh... no."

"Good. Then be at the practice facility at seven-thirty."

"Huh? Then... then I do want to sleep in."

"That’s the truth, but I object. Seven o’clock."

Yao Ming was completely speechless. So even when I tell the truth I still don’t get to sleep? Am I supposed to be honest or not?

Still, the next day Yao Ming showed up at the practice facility right on time. What he didn’t know was that Gan Guoyang and Jordan had already been working out there for an hour.

These two really are addicted. After having his gambling taken away from him, Jordan’s投入 into basketball has become even greater and more focused.

He knows this is probably his last stretch of happy days with the game, and with the insane chemistry he’s got going with Ah Gan, he treasures it even more.

Seeing two forty-year-old geezers grinding that hard in practice, the bit of grumbling in Yao Ming’s heart disappeared.

But Gan Guoyang still told Yao Ming that if he came an hour earlier, he could leave an hour earlier and go get proper rest.

"Rest and training are equally important. Someone who doesn’t know how to rest won’t do good work. Lenin said that."

Gan Guoyang trained together with Yao Ming, but not the way Yao Ming imagined—he didn’t have Yao do low-post physical battles with him.

"You’re already doing pretty well with that stuff. Me drilling you more there doesn’t mean much. Let’s work on things that are more useful."

Gan Guoyang first took Yao Ming to the film room and played a cut of his plays from the first two games.

There weren’t many clips, but they were very representative. Gan Guoyang hit pause and pointed out all kinds of issues Yao Ming had in the little details on both offense and defense.