The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 346 - 81: The Test

After the first game of the Western Conference Finals, the Eastern Conference Finals series also kicked off in Boston.

The Milwaukee Bucks, having struggled mightily to eliminate the Washington Bullets, once again encountered the Celtics.

As a perennial third-place team, the Bucks were able to hold their own against the Celtics, aside from being bullied by the 76ers.

The earliest grudge between the two teams dates back to the distant 1976, when the Bucks were still in the Western Conference and lost a seven-game battle in the Finals against the Celtics.

After Alcindor left for Los Angeles, the Bucks began to rebuild under Nielsen, and they were moved to the Eastern Conference in the 1980s, starting the rivalry with the 76ers and Celtics.

There is a reason the Bucks have always been the underdog: besides a lack of talent, the guard-centric Bucks, facing Celtics’ strong frontcourt and equally impressive backcourt defense, could hardly find any breakthrough.

In regular-season games against the Trail Blazers, Nielsen had the tactic of three-guard disruption, but using that against the Celtics and dragging the game into a mess was purely suicidal—Bird might be the best scrambler in NBA history.

His versatility and acute insight allowed him to find a path through the chaos and eventually triumph amidst disorder.

On the contrary, Bird’s influence could be diminished in a disciplined, set-piece offense matchup due to his average athleticism.

In personal offenses, he often relied too much on his shooting touch, resulting in very inefficient games with a low shooting percentage in some key matches, where he was forced to shoot regardless.

For example, in last year’s Finals, Bird had three games where he shot 8 out of 21, 12 out of 29, and 9 out of 21, while only dishing out 3 assists in each game.

This indicated that when he couldn’t orchestrate the team, he had to force his way through, but against the Lakers’ tight set defense, Bird’s siege offense was not so efficient.

This aligned with Gan Guoyang and West’s assessment from the previous season: the Celtics couldn’t engage in set-piece battles for long; they desperately needed to speed up the game. Bird also needed to showcase his passing talents in scrambles and transition offenses, for his efficiency dipped once they got bogged down in positional battles. And the Lakers had Jabbar, their towering figure in set-piece battles, which was their biggest advantage.

The Bucks didn’t have such a towering figure; their guard-oriented play was exactly what the Celtics favored.

In the first game, the Celtics showed the whole of America what it meant to have all players firing on all cylinders: all 12 players scored, with even the lowest getting three points, as they bludgeoned the Bucks into submission.

After the seven-game battle, the battle-weary Bucks were virtually helpless in the Boston Garden, with no one scoring over 20, the highest being a substitute, Kenny-Fields, who racked up points during garbage time.

The Bucks’ starters, probably having spent their energy in the semifinals, together scored only 41 points, less than what the Celtics’ reserves scored.

When a team’s starting lineup scores less than the opponent’s reserves, it’s very difficult to beat the adversary.

96:128, the Celtics took the victory of the first game in a dominating manner.

However, Nielsen was not quite convinced after the match. In the press conference, he said, "Boston has too much talent. Look at their starters, then their bench, five All-Star players. To be honest, if you give me an Ah Gan, I am definitely confident for this series."

Since the last time Gan Guoyang scored 54 points against him at the MECCA Center, Nielsen never hid his admiration and desire for this superstar center.

One day later, after the game between the Bucks and Celtics, the Trail Blazers and Rockets began their second battle at the Memorial Coliseum.

This time, the Rockets changed their defensive strategy, starting with a three-man encirclement of Sampson + Olajuwon + the front line, compelling Gan Guoyang to pass and testing the perimeter shooting of Vandeweghe and the others.

This tactic worked fairly well, as Vandeweghe and Parkson’s perimeter shooting were not very accurate at the beginning, and the Rockets also abandoned their strategy of all players crashing the offensive rebound, allowing only Olajuwon to go for it while the others immediately retreated on defense.

Olajuwon could go for the offensive rebound and create his own shot if he could grab it; if not, it was no big deal—just ensure not to compromise the defense and not to give the Trail Blazers too many fast-break opportunities.

This game was much more intense than the first, with the referees not favoring the Trail Blazers tonight. Gan Guoyang got into foul trouble in the first half three times, spending quite some time on the bench.

With Gan Guoyang off the court, Olajuwon and Sampson breathed a sigh of relief, quickly seizing the opportunity to score and assault the basket. The Rockets led by 4 points entering halftime.

Sampson found his touch tonight, hitting several long shots without being guarded by Gan Guoyang. It just felt right.

In the third quarter, both teams engaged in a desperate struggle, and this time it was Gan Guoyang’s turn to aggressively drive to the basket. When the team was behind, they had to change their tactics, it was time to start playing rough.

He repeatedly fought for offensive rebounds causing Sampson and Olajuwon to foul, then continuously hit his free throws, helping his team to cling to the score and enter into the fourth quarter.

However, after the start of the fourth quarter, Guoyang was called for a charging foul, his fifth, forcing Ramsay to bench him.

The Rockets immediately launched an offensive surge, extending their lead to around 10 points.

When Guoyang returned to the court, the Trail Blazers began another arduous effort to close the gap. Guoyang’s play was plagued with fouls during the game, leading to fragmented playing time and, as a consequence, a lack of consistent contribution.

With less than 2 minutes before the end of the game, the Rockets still maintained a 7-point lead, creating a very perilous situation for the Trail Blazers.

As time was slowly draining away, Vandeweghe stepped up. With the Rockets failing to score, Vandeweghe took advantage of a fast break to launch a decisive three-pointer from beyond the arc!

A 23-foot three-point shot instantly narrowed the gap to 4 points. It was also the Trail Blazers’ first three-pointer of the match, and this bold shot gave the home fans a glimmer of hope.

Immediately after, Guoyang drew an offensive foul from Olajuwon, leading to a turnover for the Rockets. The Trail Blazers regained possession, and the referee’s whistle finally seemed to shift in favor of the Trail Blazers a bit.

Following a missed layup by Drexler, Guoyang valiantly tipped the ball out where Parkson, standing beyond the three-point line, caught it and without hesitation, made another three-pointer!

The Memorial Coliseum erupted in an instant, as a 7-point deficit was slashed to just 1 point with an incredible three-pointer!

Ramsay, who had been standing on the sidelines, now knelt down, placing a towel under his knees.

The game entered its most tense moment. The Rockets opted not to call a timeout but failed to score.

Unfortunately, Guoyang’s hook shot also missed. With 30 seconds left before the end of the game, the Rockets secured a defensive rebound.

Fitch called a timeout, but their attack couldn’t find a way through the Trail Blazers’ tight defense, leaving them without a clear shot.

A 24-second violation! With a little over 5 seconds left in the game, the Trail Blazers stifled the Rockets’ offense, securing the last chance to attack.

Jack Ramsay called a timeout, arranging the final play on the bench. One point behind, and nobody knew how the Trail Blazers would play.

"Bee-beep-beep-beep-beep!"

The referee blew his whistle urgently, urging the Trail Blazers players to re-enter the game quickly. Ramsay was still dragging out the instruction of tactical details to his players, these last five seconds were too important.

Ramsay’s strategy was not complex, but he created several contingency options in case of various unexpected situations. He designed a set of tactics they had used before, which were fairly safe. Drexler would handle the inbound from the outside, with Guoyang coming to the three-point line to receive it. After passing the ball, Drexler would cut inside using Guoyang’s screen.

If the Rockets’ defense wasn’t tight enough, Guoyang would pass the ball to Drexler for a drive and floater. If the defense was close, Parkson would move from the right side to the middle to receive the ball, and Guoyang could then choose to pass to Parkson.

If Parkson also couldn’t receive the ball, then Guoyang would have the option to attack himself. Though a bit far from the basket at the three-point line, he was capable of a breakout, floater, or mid-range shot from this spot.

This was a considerable test of Guoyang’s judgment and ball-handling skills, but Ramsay was willing to put such responsibility on Guoyang’s shoulders, trusting him at the critical moment.

Pressured by the referee, the Trail Blazers players returned to the court to face the last five-second challenge.

"Drexler inbounds the ball... Guoyang catches it, he doesn’t pass, Parkson... still no pass, Guoyang drives with the ball, mid-range shot!"

The fans’ hearts raced along with the ball and the voice of Bill Schonely as it reached their throats.

Guoyang chose to drive with the ball and then shoot. The ball slowly descended and then fell through the net as the lights came on.

Guoyang’s mid-range buzzer-beater, the Trail Blazers defeated the Rockets, taking a 2:0 lead in the series.