Chapter 986: Modified: Chapter 25 The Tortoise and the Hare_2
Entering the Western Conference Finals, the Trail Blazers played with great aggression, especially in backcourt defense, putting heavy pressure on Stockton with frequent double-teams.
Stockton appeared overwhelmed against the Trail Blazers’ solid backcourt.
Jeff Malone is an outstanding scorer, but besides scoring, his other contributions are minimal.
Organizing and defense are mediocre at best, and not being a liability is already fortunate.
The Trail Blazers’ strategy is clear: defend Jeff Malone one-on-one, as his firepower is limited.
Sternly guard Stockton, the Jazz’s engine, constantly disrupting him when he has the ball.
Three turnovers in the first quarter, and by the second quarter, Stockton made consecutive mistakes under double-teams again.
Porter, Lewis, and Kossie took turns using their speed to assault the Jazz, quickly widening the gap to over 10 points.
The Jazz couldn’t initiate fast breaks and could only rely on half-court offenses to grind slowly.
After overcoming his first quarter’s internal fear, Malone gradually found his offensive rhythm.
He began to score consistently with mid-range shots and floaters after breakthroughs, stabilizing the Jazz’s situation.
However, just when they glimpsed a bit of hope, Gan Guoyang would shatter it easily with straightforward, simple plays.
No matter how the Jazz double-teamed or used Mike Brown or Malone to double-team and physically contest, it had little effect on Gan Guoyang’s offense.
He passed the ball quickly, and his possession percentage in offense was not high. Tonight, the Trail Blazers’ possession mainly focused on their guards.
This was Beelman’s pre-game strategy because he knew the Jazz’s significant weakness was their short and poor-defending backcourt.
Stockton has good defensive skills and instincts, but lacks physical attributes. Porter can overpower Stockton physically.
There’s no need to mention Jeff Malone, possibly one of the league’s worst defensive shooting guards, standing at only 6 foot 4.
Reggie Lewis, at 6 foot 7, can go one-on-one against Jeff Malone with almost no resistance.
As a result, the Jazz were consistently suppressed by the Trail Blazers from start to finish, struggling more and more.
But the Jazz have one strength: they are incredibly resilient, and they can withstand the Trail Blazers’ significant advantage.
No matter how large the disadvantages in various aspects, the Jazz players strictly adhered to the coach’s tactics, playing neither recklessly nor chaotically.
They seize any opportunity, exploit the Trail Blazers’ complacency or mistakes, and try to improve their success rate to close the gap.
The game turned into the Trail Blazers deploying intense defense and unleashing waves of assaults to extend the lead, while the Jazz slowly caught up.
Just as they seemed about to catch up, the Trail Blazers would revitalize, raise their intensity, and again widen the gap with an assault wave, with the Jazz steadfastly trailing behind.
It was like the tortoise and the hare race; the Jazz, the tortoise, remained determined and persistent, advancing steadily toward the finish line, waiting for the hare to slack off just a moment too long.
It’s not just about this game; from a few seasons, even over a decade’s perspective, the Jazz adopted such a strategy.
This tests the patience of the Trail Blazers’ players, who cannot become impetuous or reckless due to their advantage, or the Jazz will surely seize the opportunity to bite back.
Luckily, Gan Guoyang is there—he is the stabilizing force, the Sea-Calming Needle. As long as he is present, the Trail Blazers’ ship need not fear the waves.
Because no one knows how to ride the waves better than he does.
Midway through the third quarter, Gan Guoyang once again blocked Karl Malone on defense.
The play was originally a great scoring chance for the Jazz, with Stockton intercepting Porter at midcourt.
Malone was not yet back on defense, and Stockton delivered a precise bounce pass to Malone.
Malone pivoted and dribbled straight towards the basket, where Gan Guoyang was waiting for him.
If Malone had charged without fear, he might have drawn a foul.
Gan Guoyang could have stepped aside, letting him score two points, as conceding a foul wasn’t worth it.
But Malone chose a layup after two steps instead of a strong drive!
With a layup, Gan Guoyang wouldn’t be polite, blocking the shot without hesitation.
Gan Guoyang grabbed the rebound, dribbled past midcourt himself.
Faced with Stockton coming over to defend, Gan Guoyang pulled a crossover move, leaving Stockton behind!
He then burst through the disorganized Jazz defense and finished with a one-handed dunk!
The attack and defense against Utah’s double killers thrilled the live audience into a frenzy.
Even David Stern in attendance couldn’t help but applaud, though he quickly restrained his smile and stopped clapping, perhaps not wanting to seem partial to the Trail Blazers.
The play went in, and the Trail Blazers maintained their 10-point lead, delivering a heavy blow to the Jazz’s morale.
Stockton received the ball again to organize the attack, shouting to his teammates: "No big deal, it’s just two points, no big deal!"
With that, Stockton, using a double screen, drove to the mid-range and successfully made a jump shot.
Stockton’s advantage is that no matter how outstanding and shocking Gan Guoyang’s performance is, his mentality won’t collapse.
They know each other too well; Stockton knows how excellent and incredible Gan Guoyang is, so he’s unfazed and can steady his mindset.
The one whose mindset was unstable was Malone, caught in regrets of "Why didn’t I dunk that ball just now?"
Tonight, he played well, with accurate mid-range shots and a few drives into the basket against Ah Gan, drawing a foul once, scoring with a floater once, and making a hook shot once.
But he, usually so brave, didn’t dare to confront Ah Gan at the basket for a dunk, feeling ashamed and regretful for his cowardice.
The intense playoffs don’t allow time for regrets; even a second of regret worsens the next play.
In the middle of the fourth quarter, Gan Guoyang began to exert his power, receiving the ball in the low post for continuous isolations, using simple and forceful footwork, delivering a killing move within three seconds of receiving the ball, without a trace of hesitation or thinking.
With hooks, turn-around leaning jump shots, Sigma steps finishing strong at the hoop, scoring six consecutive points to further widen the score.
It’s time for Malone to respond; otherwise, as the gap widens, the game might be lost.
However, Malone started to falter, missing two consecutive mid-range shots—this time, Ah Gan was defending him one-on-one.
On the third try, as Malone attempted to break through, Gan Guoyang slapped the ball out of his hands, leading to a scramble for the loose ball.
Gan Guoyang’s large hands pinched the ball firmly into his control, and he made a long, ultra-long pass to the frontcourt.
Jerome Kossie finished with a fast-break dunk! This play sentenced the Jazz, stretching the lead from 10 to 18 points.
The Jazz had no chance of a comeback. The statistician noted Gan Guoyang’s numbers: he only scored 26 points but shot an astonishing 9 for 11.
He also grabbed 17 rebounds and blocked 7 shots, displaying a sense of effortlessly controlling the game.
Seeing no chance of a comeback, the Jazz ceased resistance, and Jerry Sloan substituted the starters to prepare for the next game.
Before Stockton left the court, he asked Gan Guoyang: "Sonny, don’t tell me you still have room to improve."
Gan Guoyang replied bluntly: "You know, I haven’t even broken a sweat."
Stockton let out a long sigh, having been thoroughly bested tonight, with 6 turnovers, 5 of which came in the first half.
Offensively, he went 1 for 6, scoring just 6 points, with his only field goal being the mid-range jumper after the double screen in the second half.
As expected, despite a strong resistance in the first game, the Jazz collapsed in the fourth quarter, losing heavily to the Trail Blazers.
The series is 0:1 behind.
However, Stockton’s series nightmare had just begun.
A day later, the two teams met again at the Rose Garden for the second game.
With only a day’s rest and still in Portland, the Jazz made no effective adjustments.
In this game, Terry Porter showed Stockton, his old friend and Gan Guoyang’s former teammate, no mercy.
In their head-to-head matchup, Porter completely dominated Stockton, scoring 41 points as he was given full offensive freedom.
He made four out of five three-pointers and hit 13 out of 14 free throws, leading the Trail Blazers to another resounding victory over the Jazz at home, taking a 2:0 lead in the series.
They are now one step closer to the Finals.
Meanwhile, the Jazz could only pin their hopes of winning on Salt Lake City.
