Chapter 976: 20 Chapters Rain Man_3
Now, Gan Guoyang more often squats in the three-second zone as the last line of defense, while the young SuperSonics, at every critical juncture of each quarter, start to escalate the intensity.
The Trail Blazers’ turnovers begin to increase, and what makes the on-site fans and Bobby Berman most anxious is that the ball cannot be passed to Gan Guoyang in time.
The SuperSonics know that once Gan gets the ball, eighty percent of their defense fails, so to succeed defensively, they must prevent Gan Guoyang from receiving the ball.
Even if Gan Guoyang wants to get the ball in a relatively shallow position, the SuperSonics still defend rigorously, even at the expense of opening up the three-second zone, allowing the Trail Blazers to cut inside and make backdoor cuts to the basket.
Their forwards would use their speed and explosiveness to quickly rotate for help defense, with Michael and Shawn Kemp frequently putting on a defensive chase-down block spectacle during the game.
This is the biggest flaw for Gan Guoyang as a center; he needs feeding, requiring outside ball possession assistance.
After the League banned isolation play, this has always been a tactical focus for the Trail Blazers.
Of course, he could choose to receive the ball in a more outer position, beyond the three-point line, or even near midcourt.
Gan Guoyang can still kill opponents beyond the three-point line, but his efficiency is certainly lower than near the basket.
George Karl knows that Gan Guoyang can shoot threes and long shots, unlike the Bulls’ comprehensive blockade, the SuperSonics simply let him shoot.
"Shoot, if you can really kill me with six or seven three-pointers, consider me unlucky, but don’t think you’ll get any low-post opportunities, don’t think about receiving the ball easily near the three-second zone."
Tonight, Gan Guoyang’s three-point touch is really mediocre, 1 out of 3 in the first half, and missing both attempts in the third quarter.
Come the playoffs, the instability of the three-point shot is easily exposed; even the best shooters sometimes go cold.
Without stable low-post offense for a foundation, relying entirely on three-pointers, once the touch is off, the offense can easily collapse.
Tonight, under the SuperSonics’ highly targeted and excellent defense, the Trail Blazers’ offense shows signs of collapsing.
The reason the score difference hasn’t widened, always maintained around 3 points, is solely due to the personal ability and experience of the Trail Blazers players.
However, as time goes by, the SuperSonics play better, more passionately—the confidence of a young team shines through.
This is when some miraculous shots, lucky shots appear; Shawn Kemp breakthroughs against Gan Guoyang, managing a 2+1.
After scoring, Kemp roars with fists clenched in celebration, even happier than after a dunk; managing a 2+1 against Gan is no small honor.
Gan Guoyang has always controlled fouls well; his defensive skills and reaction abilities are top-notch, so getting beaten by a 2+1 is indeed rare.
The referee’s call was correct, Gan Guoyang raised his hand to acknowledge the foul.
After Kemp made the free throw, Bobby Berman called a timeout, and Gan Guoyang took a big gulp of water.
Kemp’s offensive performance tonight wasn’t particularly good, far from devastating like against the Warriors.
But Kemp was well-positioned on defense and rebounding; this rash young man has truly matured.
He spared no effort competing with Gan Guoyang on both ends, dedicating all his energy to rebounding and defense as an offensive power forward.
His crazy hustles, crazy help defense, facing the League’s top player without fear—a stark contrast to his embarrassment, bewilderment in the 1989-1990 season.
This is only his third season, having entered the League right out of high school, he’s just 22 years old this year, youthful and energetic, with countless possibilities ahead.
Payton is only a sophomore, joining hands with McMillan on defense to restrain Porter, causing Porter to underperform tonight, failing to fulfill his role as the point guard.
The SuperSonics, fighting more courageously, gradually widened the score and tenaciously withstood the Trail Blazers’ final counterattack, sealing the final score at 98-94.
With a 4-point advantage, the SuperSonics ended the Trail Blazers’ 21-game home playoff winning streak and became the only team in recent seasons to lead the Trail Blazers 1-0 in a series.
After winning the game, George Karl kept clapping, encouraging every SuperSonics player; they played superbly tonight—David toppled Goliath.
Kemp only scored 11 points this game, but grabbed 14 rebounds, delivered 3 blocks, and made 2 steals.
Under his defense, Gan Guoyang scored only 28 points, and the lack of attempts led to the Trail Blazers’ offensive operation sputtering.
At the end of the game, Gan Guoyang felt frustrated but also heaved a big sigh of relief—the 21-game home winning streak was finally over.
Losing isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it means they can start anew, after all, the series isn’t over yet.
After the game, when both sides shook hands in greeting, Gan Guoyang hugged Kemp, praising him: "Well played, young man, tonight you defeated me."
Kemp felt both flattered and proud, momentarily at a loss for words, just smiling dumbly.
Gan Guoyang continued, "The nickname ’Rain Man’, today, is yours; you deserve it."
