Chapter 658: Chapter 48 You Don’t Understand Him
Phil Jackson could never understand why, with Jordan, Ah Gan was an exception.
Jordan was very good at using his emotions; sometimes he would even create difficulties where there were none, just to motivate himself.
For example, in the All-Star game’s "freeze-out" by Isiah Thomas back then, looking back, there didn’t seem to be a need for Thomas to conspire with others to isolate Jordan.
Moreover, from the video replays, Jordan didn’t have a small number of shots; the Eastern stars didn’t deliberately avoid passing him the ball, it was just that Jordan was off his game.
But Jordan nonetheless harbored resentment toward Thomas, and after that All-Star game, he went on a scoring spree against the Pistons and Thomas, frequently notching high scores.
When Jackson became an assistant coach for the Bulls, he found that Jordan was extremely competitive—he needed a target to chase, an outlet for his emotions.
No matter whether it was a basketball game or a minor detail in life, Jordan was good at creating issues out of nothing, giving himself a reason to strive and put in effort.
This could be trash-talking opponents or even teammates, provoking them into overreacting and thus giving himself a reason to dominate them in the following game or practice.
Or it could be making bets in daily life; anyway, the parties to the bet would inevitably be on opposing sides, and then Jordan would use this opposition to inspire himself to defeat his rival at all costs.
But none of this worked on Ah Gan. Everyone knew that Ah Gan was Jordan’s biggest rival, and that Ah Gan was already far ahead.
Yet Jackson never felt Jordan’s hatred for Ah Gan, that ruthless tenacity to win against a rival at any cost, by any means necessary.
Jordan was downright vicious towards Thomas.
This summer, Magic Johnson even suggested that the stars hold a one-on-one contest.
He proposed that Ah Gan and Jordan, or even himself and Jordan, play one-on-one to draw in the fans.
Jordan and Gan Guoyang showed little interest in this, while Johnson’s suggestion was primarily motivated by the desire to make a substantial pay-per-view revenue—as the contest would definitely involve a cut for the players.
Johnson had once signed a 25-year, $25 million super-long contract. In those days, it was an astronomical amount.
But now, his annual salary didn’t even match that of newcomers like Petrović, so of course, he needed to make more money.
However, just when both expressed disinterest, Isiah Thomas had to stick his nose in.
Speaking as the president of the Players Union, he stated, "I think such a superstar competition does not serve the best interest of the general players, it’s using the reputation built by all League players to make money for a few."
At that, Jordan suddenly got excited. He reached out to Ah Gan, suggesting they have a one-on-one contest.
He even said that the Players Union should serve the players, stars were players too, and Thomas’s comments were not out of public interest but out of jealousy.
Thomas was jealous he wasn’t invited, claiming that if a one-on-one contest were held, no fans would want to watch his rounds.
Jordan made these remarks in public, and in the end, the one-on-one contest fizzled out, but Jordan’s grudge against Thomas was evident.
In the new season, on November 7, facing the defending champion Pistons in the season’s first game, Jordan exploded for 40 points.
In that game, he didn’t care about the triangle offense; he just wanted to take down the Pistons and Thomas.
Jackson said to Jordan more than once, "Can you transfer your emotions towards Thomas onto Ah Gan? Or even treat them the same?"
Jordan would just shrug his shoulders and say nothing. Then he’d just go about his business, training together in the off-season, often calling each other on the phone.
Even when Jackson used Ah Gan as an example during training, Jordan remained unmoved.
In fact, all the other Bulls players were getting a bit fed up with hearing about Ah Gan, but Jordan didn’t care.
Of course, in the game itself, Jordan’s performance was beyond reproach, and the battle of the third quarter intensified—no Gan Qiao Battle was ever anything different.
The conflict between Petrović and Jordan didn’t affect the progression of the game.
After Jordan made a free throw, he widened the gap again, then he stole the ball from Petrović’s hands on defense.
The Trail Blazers players couldn’t stop Jordan. They could only watch as he led the fast break, easily dunking the ball.
Once Jordan got going, it was difficult for Petrović to even dribble the ball in front of him, let alone launch an offensive.
Not trying to overdo it, Petrović passed the ball to Terry Porter to handle, and Gan Guoyang returned to his familiar spot in the bottom corner.
Pass after pass eventually got the ball to Gan Guoyang, who faced Cartwright. With a fake shot and a baseline drive, he finished with a one-handed dunk!
Grant and Pippen had a chance to come over for help defense, but they didn’t, knowing they’d likely give away a 2+1 and risk a brutal collision.
Gan Guoyang knew posting up could easily lead to a double-team, so in the second half, all his one-on-one plays were baseline drives aimed at the basket—this was to avoid giving the Bulls a chance to double team.
On the Bulls side, Jordan drew plenty of defensive attention.
Grant posted up Thompson on the low block, and after receiving a pass from Jordan, he dished it out to Pippen.
Pippen took the mid-range jump shot and nailed it.
But Grant didn’t lose his fighting spirit just because Gan Guoyang had shaken him off.
He stayed on the court and continued to contribute high-quality play on both offense and defense.
It was because of Grant that the Bulls let go of Oakley and brought in Cartwright.
Resolute willpower and a stable mentality are fundamental for a professional player to keep fighting.
The two sides were locked in fierce battle during the third quarter, with the Bulls unable to contain Gan Guoyang and the Trail Blazers unable to control Jordan.
The scores of both teams rose alternately, and the coaches of both teams had an unspoken agreement not to call timeouts, letting the players decide the outcome.
As a result, the third quarter was extremely intense and exciting, with fans in front of the TV not daring to leave for fear of missing any spectacular moments.
Terry Porter was assigned the task of defending Jordan one-on-one, with the perimeter cleared for their matchup.
Porter took a step back and slightly turned his body, intending to force Jordan to the left.
But Jordan didn’t take the left route. "You, Porter, think to stop me on the perimeter?"
He accelerated, a simple change of direction and breezed past Porter, slicing through the middle like a hot knife through butter!
No one from the Trail Blazers’ perimeter could stop Jordan, but the Three Second Zone did, as Gan Guoyang confronted Jordan in the air.
Jordan tried to beat Ah Gan to the punch with his speed and leap, taking off quickly for a one-handed slam!
But the shot was still disrupted by Gan Guoyang’s physical defense, and the ball flew out.
John Paxson grabbed the rebound from the outside and passed it to Pippen, who dribbled and stepped in for a teardrop shot, only to have it blocked by Ah Gan—it was his fifth block of the night.
Grant got the ball and, facing Gan Guoyang, tried a series of feints, but Gan Guoyang wasn’t fooled, so he had to pass it out.
A brilliant defense by Gan Guoyang alone held down the Bulls’ "Big Three."
But Gan Guoyang wasn’t satisfied with the defense, because the Bulls still had possession of the ball.
He used to be able to secure possession after blocking opponents, but the Bulls were different. Both Pippen and Grant were very strong at fighting for the ball and always managed to keep possession.
On the basketball court, possession is everything. With possession comes initiative; without it, you’re left with defensive passivity.
At that moment, Gan Guoyang found himself missing Drexler. Had he been there to crash in for the ball, he might have been able to snatch it.
The Bulls were running out of offensive time, but in the end, Jordan, facing a double team, forced a tough shot and hit!
Gan Guoyang’s defense prior to that was in vain.
"Damn!"
Gan Guoyang was getting heated and smacked the ball hard.
Porter, knowing Ah Gan’s temperament, executed a high pick-and-roll with Gan Guoyang.
The ball was lofted inside, where Gan Guoyang received it, beautifully spun like a top past Cartwright.
A powerful left-handed dunk made the shot and kept the score close.
In the final moments of the third quarter, Jordan’s three-point shot missed, and time expired.
The score was 85:84, with the Bulls maintaining a 1-point lead.
Jordan scored 16 points in the third quarter, and Gan Guoyang got 15, with both players still neck and neck.
"Ah Gan has scored 38 points in three quarters, and Jordan has 35. When they want to score, no one can stop them."
During the interval, Jordan suddenly said to Phil Jackson, "Phil, do you know why Ah Gan and I refused the one-on-one showdown this summer?"
Jackson was taken aback and replied, "Why?"
Jordan said, "Because we’re basketball players, not circus clowns. We’ll give fans a one-on-one show, we’ll play one-on-one privately, but we won’t use it to sell tickets and make money."
"Phil, you don’t understand him. I’m not going to hate him, but I will defeat him."
Jackson was silent for a while and then said, "Clowns also work to support their families; they deserve respect."
Jordan replied, "Anyone who works hard deserves respect, except for Thomas."
