The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 1833 - 71: My Suns_2

From Duncan's defensive footwork, you can see that every time he moves laterally, his footwork is off and a step slow.

This one step leads to Duncan constantly being penetrated by strong interior players like Gan Guoyang and Barkley.

Of course, apart from these two, other power forwards in the league find it difficult because their basic static conditions are not up to par.

After Gan Guoyang's Hickma Step turns to face the basket, a simple triple threat move, starting from the baseline, cuts through Duncan's defense.

Usually, Ilgauskas is the last line of defense, but tonight Big Z isn't starting, and Gan Guoyang easily makes a two-handed slam dunk, scoring the first point for the Trail Blazers!

After making this shot, Gan Guoyang scored twice more at the same spot against Duncan, all using the baseline with the same move.

Once it was a reverse layup, and another time caused Duncan to foul, sending him to the free-throw line, where he made two free throws, clearly showing Gan Guoyang is in great form tonight.

Bill Walton, as the number one fan of Gan, commented: "Tim was repeatedly scored on with the same move. The Celtics need to change something."

Jack Ramsey, beside him, said, "It won't work. If you change, Ah Gan will adapt and stay one step ahead. So instead of changing, it's better not to change, to respond to change with consistency." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"Jack, have you stopped watching basketball lately and started reading The Art of War?"

"I started reading The Art of War a long time ago, and it was Ah Gan who got me into it."

Due to Ah Gan's promotion, The Art of War by Sun Tzu, which was already popular and well-received in America, has become even more popular and welcomed.

Although not everyone has a copy, many Americans know some of its phrases and use them occasionally.

From this perspective, Sun Tzu's stature in America is equivalent to that of Lu Xun in China; everyone knows his phrases and often quotes them.

Not only Duncan, but the entire Celtics team stuck to their strategy without changes, focusing on aggressive offense to gain an advantage on the attack end.

Even though Gan Guoyang continuously scored, the Celtics' offensive efficiency was equally impressive, leading the first quarter 27-22, ahead of the Trail Blazers by 5 points.

Both sides entered a somewhat relaxed offensive and defensive state, and in the second quarter, the Celtics continued their strong performance.

Duncan, Nash, and Paul Pierce kept scoring with their individual abilities; their offensive power is indeed quite strong.

Pierce is known for his all-around technique and excellent shooting, while Nash's shooting is very precise; despite his slender appearance, he's actually quite strong.

Standing at 190 cm, his explosive power is average, but his speed and strength are quite good, daring to challenge a big man like Gan Guoyang under the basket. This is not just commendable courage but a testament to his strength.

In the previous three games, Brellock, relying on experience and steals, managed to outplay Nash multiple times, but by the fifth game, he could no longer handle Nash effectively.

Talented players often show significant improvement after a few games, and the higher the level of play, the faster they learn and progress.

Certainly, for a prodigy like Ah Gan, significant improvement can be evident after just a few rounds, leaving no room for dispute.

In this battle, the Celtics were completely open, focusing on attacking with all their strength, not worrying too much about other factors, showcasing their scoring and offensive talent.

After all, if they lose this game, there won't be another opportunity this season to showcase themselves, so they might as well play freely.

What does Michael Jackson, or Ah Gan's last battle, or Portland's fading Suns have to do with us?

If we're going to be the villains, we need to strive to be the best villains, dragging the series back to Boston, allowing Ah Gan to enjoy the cheers and applause of Boston fans.

With this belief, the Celtics continued to pressure the Trail Blazers in the second quarter, while the Trail Blazers calmly kept up with the Celtics' pace without letting the lead slip away.

Beelman used every unconventional strategy, breaking the previous game's seven-man rotation and bringing in some fringe players during the transition phase.

For instance, he brought in rookie Adrian Griffin and young player Tony Battie in the interior; the Celtics are very young, without any very old veterans.

Mostly, they are young players in their early 20s. Beelman gave them a chance to play, hoping for an unexpected impact, but primarily to provide them with an opportunity to experience the finals.

If they can't win the championship, gaining some experience in the finals is still valuable, as young players need to prepare for the future.

On the Trail Blazers' side, they didn't capitalize on the Celtics' multi-player rotation to launch a counterattack but continued to keep pace steadily.

It seems everyone knew that the veterans would exert their full strength in the more meaningful second half, instead of exhausting themselves in the uncertain first half.

In 1983, the strongest team in the league, the Philadelphia 76ers, often lagged in the first half, then surged in the second half to seize the game.

In a game against the New York Knicks, they trailed by 18 points at halftime, with the gap reaching up to 20 points. But in the third quarter alone, they reversed the situation with a 24-9 run.

In the finals, every game against the Lakers saw them trailing in the first half, only to overturn the deficit in the second half each time, sweeping the series 4-0 to win the championship.

Having experienced comebacks in the second and fourth games, everyone in Portland had the confidence that no matter the first-half situation, the team could turn it around.

They went through what may be the most relaxed and chaotic second quarter of this finals, with both teams rotating their players, seemingly in unison in the belief that this was the last shot, so everyone not playing yet should get on the court.