Chapter 828: Chapter 33 Sirius
The Trail Blazers went all out and managed a thrilling victory away against the Suns, solidifying their position as the first in the Western Conference.
Behind the Trail Blazers, the Suns, Lakers, and Spurs were in hot pursuit, with the number of wins for each team differing by only about two, keeping the gap very small.
Any slip-up in the schedule could cause a change in the rankings, affecting the team’s opponents in the playoffs.
In the Eastern Conference, the Celtics fell from their top position due to Bird’s injuries, suffering consecutive defeats.
Meanwhile, internal strife within the Bulls continued, with BJ Armstrong contemplating a trade, and Pippen remaining at odds with management over contract issues.
Jordan grew increasingly distant from his teammates, especially Horace Grant, as the two hardly exchanged words off the court due to mutual disdain.
At the same time, the relationship between Grant and Pippen wasn’t as close as before, with Pippen’s extramarital affair leading to his divorce from his first wife in 1990.
Grant’s wife didn’t want her husband to be too close to Pippen and under her influence, Grant converted to Christianity.
Grant began spending a lot of time reading the Bible, while Pippen, now a free man, frequented pleasure haunts, naturally leading to their drifting apart.
However, the Bulls players’ performance on the court was getting better, and their position as first in the Eastern Conference was becoming more secure.
They had surpassed the Lakers and Suns, reaching second place in the league, just one win behind the Trail Blazers.
By late February 1991, the United Nations forces had completed their assembly in Saudi and Kuwaiti territory. With the preliminary battles and aerial bombardments almost over, the final phase of ground warfare officially began.
The multinational forces commenced a comprehensive ground offensive against Iraq at 4 p.m. local time on February 24th, signaling the Gulf War’s entry into its second phase.
However, by then, Iraq, bombarded by the U.S. and British military’s high-tech weaponry, had become deaf, blind, and crippled, utterly powerless to resist.
Just 100 hours later, on February 26th, Saddam announced his acceptance of a ceasefire and the Iraqi military rapidly collapsed, bringing a swift end to the much-anticipated ground war.
When the news reached America, the entire nation erupted in jubilation, cheering the victory of the war, while the media unanimously praised the Bush Administration’s decisive deployment of troops and the US Army’s alien-like advanced technological weapons.
Since the Vietnam War, tumultuous anti-war and anti-government sentiments within America were dissipated with economic development, the Cold War victory, and the swift defeat of Iraq, ushering in America’s entrance into the 1990s Golden Age.
Virtually peerless in economy, culture, technology, and military across the globe, the victorious "Just War" positioned America as a beacon to the world.
Upon arriving in Chicago, Gan Guoyang saw President Bush announcing the end of the war on the hotel TV and could hear cheers from the surrounding rooms.
Many had expected the US to be bogged down in a desert quagmire, but times had changed, as had the nature of war, with technology proving to be a decisive factor in the conflict.
The process and outcome would shock many nation’s military developments and trigger profound military reforms across the Pacific Ocean.
The world changes day by day; nothing remains constant, especially with the rapid development of technology, everything is updated and iterated more swiftly.
On the very night the war ended, the Trail Blazers would challenge the Chicago Bulls—marking the year’s second showdown between Gan Qiao and the Bulls.
As the real war ended, the war on the basketball court became people’s everyday sour grape.
Currently, with only one win difference between the Trail Blazers and the Bulls, if the Bulls win this game, they will surpass the Trail Blazers to take the top spot in the league by virtue of their head-to-head record.
Naturally, Gan Guoyang didn’t want to give up the top spot in the league, and if both sides made it to June, this would determine the advantage of home court.
With similar skill levels, having home court advantage is still a significant edge, so it’s crucial for the Trail Blazers to seize that advantage.
But lately, the Bulls have been on fire, notching a streak of 10 consecutive wins, with their defense leaving other teams at a loss.
Phil Jackson’s triangle offense hasn’t shown its true power yet, but his defensive training is indeed top-notch, with high-intensity perimeter pressure cutting off the opponents’ offense at its root.
Some teams still cling to the old tactics of "post-up in half-court play + fast break," which completely stalls out under the Bulls’ swift rotational pressure defense.
Passing lanes from outside to inside are blocked, and fast breaks become a non-starter; the Bulls set up a defensive line from the three-point line to the mid-court to delay and disrupt, making it difficult for ordinary guards to set the pace.
As their record improved, the entire Bulls team began to embrace the triangle offense, including Michael Jordan, who realized that Phil Jackson’s strategy was correct, and the Bulls were getting better.
But just how much better? They needed to measure themselves against the Portland Trail Blazers, the reigning kings of the league.
The last time the two teams met was at the beginning of the season when both sides hadn’t hit their stride, and the Bulls emerged victorious.
Now, during the mid-to-late season sprint with teams in sync, the match-up was sure to be an earth-shattering battle.
Originally, Chicago local advertisers wanted to engage Ah Gan and Jordan for a joint promotional event, similar to the previous Pong promotion, aiming for a cooperative campaign.
