Chapter 666: Chapter 52 The Empire’s Wall_3
Receiving Porter’s high arching pass, he pushed forward through the middle to the three-second zone, drawing in the Lakers’ defense, but Gan Guoyang didn’t pass the ball at all.
He bulldozed his way to the three-second zone and took off for a one-handed slam dunk!
Weighing 265 pounds, Kevin Duckworth was knocked flying by Gan Guoyang straight out of bounds, tumbling over in a complete flip.
"The impact of Ah Gan is really astonishing... What’s the difference between this and a truck?"
Chick Hearn had witnessed Gan Guoyang’s brute force charges more than once, and no one in the league could stop him.
At the first quarter’s break, both sides were tied at 14:14; one could say they were evenly matched.
It seemed that Gan Guoyang moving to the power forward position, letting Sabonis play center, aside from giving him a larger defensive coverage, didn’t make much of a difference.
But Magic Johnson knew that Ah Gan hadn’t even exerted his full strength yet, neither on the offensive nor the defensive end – the guy was holding back.
After five years of playing against each other, Johnson knew the terrifying extent of Ah Gan’s abilities; as a superstar himself, he understood that Ah Gan was continuously improving.
It’s just that it wasn’t obvious in the stats, especially as Ah Gan’s scoring had declined in the past two years, making it seem like he had hit a plateau.
Only by facing him head-on on the court could one understand the unfathomable depth of Ah Gan; he would always hold back in the regular season, occasionally showing a hint of brilliance.
Come playoff time, he’d give his all, and when the going got tough, it became clear how utterly hopeless he made people feel.
Magic also knew that compared to offense, what made Ah Gan’s play truly despair-inducing was his defense; this was often overlooked by many experts, journalists, and fans.
The Trail Blazers were able to build a dynasty, break the Lakers’ and Celtics’ hegemony, break the consecutive championships curse, wait for their younger players to grow and develop, and achieve current success with a roster not particularly known for its outstanding talent, all because Ah Gan’s defense was the absolute foundation.
If the Trail Blazers lost Ah Gan’s offense and scoring, they could still probably win the championship with firepower from other players.
But without Ah Gan’s epoch-surpassing defensive abilities, they wouldn’t stand a chance at a title, definitely unable to beat the Lakers or the Celtics.
It’s just that compared to the flashiness of scoring, defensive plays on the court are often silent yet thunderous, and typically go unnoticed.
Magic Johnson was an offensive genius, possibly the best offensive organizer in NBA history; he knew all too well the level of Ah Gan’s defense.
In a word — an unparalleled imperial wall.
Not to mention, Gan Guoyang’s one-on-two defense at the basket was the best in the world; sometimes, even three against him wouldn’t be enough to break through.
His defense didn’t rely just on explosiveness, technique, and reaction speed; he also possessed exceptional psychological warfare skills, often causing the offense to mentally collapse.
Rambis’s bloody lesson was something Magic still vividly remembered.
"Our offense needs to open up, take shots more decisively, don’t hesitate. You have to dare to shoot; you definitely have to."
On the bench, Johnson reminded his teammates to be decisive in shooting; the moment the ball came to them, they had to attack decisively.
They had to trust Magic’s judgment; if he passed the ball to you, it meant he believed you could make the shot, no problem.
"But, if Ah Gan is near you, you’d better think about moving the ball."
Johnson guessed that by the second or third quarter, Ah Gan would surely start putting pressure on the outside shooters.
Johnson’s guess was right; Sabonis sat down to rest with four minutes left in the first quarter, and Mychal Thompson stepped on the court.
Gan Guoyang took a break with 1 minute and 54 seconds left in the first quarter, replaced by Divac— this was a different rotational strategy than in the past.
After the first quarter ended in a 28:28 tie, the second quarter saw Gan Guoyang’s ferocity suddenly unleashed.
On defense, he suppressed Larry Drew and Michael Cooper, constantly stretching out to pressure them.
He stole from Drew on a fast break, bulldozed his way to the basket for a layup.
Then he blocked Cooper, controlled the ball, and made a long pass to assist Petrović for a layup— their fast-break partnership was becoming more and more seamless.
At this point, Johnson was resting off the court, and the Lakers’ backcourt couldn’t break through Ah Gan’s spider web defense in their half-court offense.
Now with Eastern European big centers like Divac or Sabonis under the basket, Ah Gan could confidently leave his back to his teammates.
Don Nelson didn’t expect Beelman to be so shameless; everyone else was playing their second unit, why would you still keep your ace on the court?
Beelman didn’t care, "My big brother has an extra-long battery life; I’ll let him stay on the court. Let my superior players beat up your average or subpar ones, and see what you do."
What could Nelson do? After the Trail Blazers ran a 7:0 stretch to widen the gap, he quickly called for a timeout and subbed Magic Johnson back in.
Johnson didn’t fear Ah Gan, for he was also a superstar; he had the courage to face Ah Gan directly.
And having beaten Ah Gan twice in the playoffs, he had a psychological edge.
He dared to provoke Ah Gan: "Sonny, you only push around others. Why don’t you come and defend me?"
This was Johnson’s way to spur him on; if Ah Gan truly went all-out to defend Johnson, the others would have many opportunities.
Then Johnson could deliver more assists, confident in finding every teammate who found a chance to move.
This is what a team’s leader should do – draw in the strongest defense to create opportunities for teammates.
Gan Guoyang glanced at Johnson and said, "Magic, do you think your offensive skills are even better than Larry’s?"
Gan Guoyang had once locked down Bird in one-on-one defense, pushing his shooting percentage down to a very low level.
"Why don’t we try and see?"
Johnson was not one to back down; this was their first confrontation of the season.
He was eager to gain the upper hand in their battles, especially in terms of mental dominance.
Only with that mindset could he stand a chance to take down the Trail Blazers once more in the playoffs.
But Johnson didn’t feel as confident on the inside; after all, he no longer had Jabbar by his side this year.
Returning from the timeout, the Lakers had a sideline inbounds play, with Magic Johnson taking the ball.
Gan Guoyang actually went one-on-one in defending Magic, leaving the interior completely to Divac.
Ah Gan stood like a wall in front of Johnson; when Johnson tried to back him down as usual, he found he couldn’t move him at all—like an iron barrier, immovable.
A hint of regret flashed through Magic’s mind. Why had he forgotten the Gump Law and provoked this guy?
