The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 347 - 82: Uniting Together

The game was over, Olajuwon sat on the bench, gasping for air, his mind a complete blank.

The cheers of the fans were deafening, but Olajuwon blocked them out, hearing only his own heavy breathing.

Tonight he had given it his all, 32 points, 14 rebounds, 6 blocks, 4 steals, producing yet another performance that could be called a masterpiece.

Due to the referee’s calls, Ah Gan only played 31 minutes, spending a lot of time on the bench, which gave Olajuwon room to perform.

They had controlled the tempo of the game, leading all the way, up by 7 points in the last two minutes, victory seemed within grasp.

But no one expected Vandeweghe and Parkson to hit two three-pointers. It was one thing for Vandeweghe to score one, but for Parkson to also make a shot was astonishing.

Those two three-pointers completely turned the situation on the court, and the 24-second offense showed that the Rockets were thrown into chaos, with no one daring to take the final shot.

But what really troubled Olajuwon was Ah Gan’s last second shot. Olajuwon had tried with all his might to block it, feeling his hand almost touching the ball.

But Ah Gan made a step-back move before he jumped, creating distance from Olajuwon, a KiKi-Step, and then hit the mid-range buzzer beater.

Last season in the playoffs, Gan Guoyang had used the same move and mid-range shot to clinch victory against the Dallas Mavericks, facing Sam Bowie at the time.

For a center to use such a forward’s step, it was too difficult for a defender to disrupt, especially since the Rockets players didn’t expect Gan Guoyang to take such a bold shot.

Olajuwon closed his eyes, and the 1984 NCAA final’s buzzer-beater that he could not reach flooded his mind, almost identical, watching the ball being shot, but unable to touch it.

The pain of experiencing it a second time was twice as agonizing.

"Hey, Hakeem, Hakeem!"

Someone was patting Olajuwon’s shoulder, it was Ralph Sampson.

"Let’s go Hakeem, the series isn’t over, why are you so downhearted."

Olajuwon lifted his head to look at Sampson, everyone else had already left, only the two of them remained from the Rockets team.

Sampson had performed much better tonight than the last game, scoring 20 points, his shooting back to normal.

Out of Gan Guoyang’s five fouls, three were drawn by Sampson, and though it was somewhat opportunistic, it worked well.

With that, Sampson reached out his hand, pulling Olajuwon up from the bench.

At the moment, the entire Memorial Coliseum was still basking in the joy of the buzzer beater, but Olajuwon and Sampson walked shoulder to shoulder, Sampson wrapping an arm around Olajuwon’s shoulder, leaving through the player’s tunnel together, heading back to the locker room.

At the post-game press conference, Olajuwon said only one thing, "We’ll see you in Houston."

There was no flight back to Houston that night, and the Rockets players had to stay one more night at the hotel, catching the early morning flight the next day.

Sampson knocked on Olajuwon’s hotel room door, holding beer from the front desk and the video recorder and tapes from the assistant coach.

The two spent the whole night awake, drinking and watching the playback of the first two games, analyzing Gan Guoyang’s playing style and details, play by play.

Both had previously avoided reviewing the game tapes due to psychological barriers, but now, they tortured and spurred themselves with the images of defeat.

At first, it was quite unbearable and oppressing to watch their losses again, their hearts weighed heavy.

Yet as they kept watching, they discovered many details through the tapes that they missed during the games.

It was only from a bird’s eye view that they realized how clever and sly Ah Gan was on the court.

They started with tonight’s game, focusing on the last second shot.

Through slow motion, Olajuwon realized that before Ah Gan released the ball, his gaze was on the basket beneath rather than on the hoop.

If Sampson had come to help defend inside or if Olajuwon had guarded him tighter, Ah Gan would probably have opted for an alley-oop to Walton instead of taking the shot.

"You did the right thing by not coming to help with the defense, that guy would have passed the ball."

"I was hesitant at the moment, now seeing that the kid had a trick up his sleeve, we would have been beaten by a buzzer-beater no matter what."

"Actually, you should have taken the main defense instead of switching over to me. You have the advantage in blocking, forcing him to drive rather than shoot and I would have been waiting for him under the basket."

"You make sense, next game I’ll try to force him towards you as much as possible, we need to surround him; his passing isn’t that great."

After watching tonight’s game and then revisiting the previous game’s big loss, there was even more to discern.

Gan Guoyang’s protection of the defensive rebounds, as well as his sensible choices on offense, allowed him to react quickly in various positions.

"His reaction time is really fast, but have you noticed that there is a pattern? In each position, his techniques are limited to one or two moves. Look here—doesn’t he often just turn around and shoot? And at this spot, the hook shot should be the most frequent. As long as there’s no interference from the perimeter, he’ll definitely choose either a hook shot or a drive, depending on whether you stick close or not."

By repeatedly studying the footage and recalling past experiences playing against Gan Guoyang, they slowly uncovered some patterns.

Gan Guoyang indeed had prepared options for different spots on the court; these were the secret weapons Bernard King had taught him. Through relentless practice, Gan Guoyang’s offense became so swift, he hardly needed to think.

Regardless of whether it’s offense or defense, you must force the opponent to make choices, to think, to hesitate—that’s how you get them to make mistakes.

Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson hadn’t thought of making Gan Guoyang commit errors; they just focused on whether they could handle Jabbar together. Couldn’t they deal with Ah Gan together?

Even Olajuwon wanted to take on Ah Gan by himself. The idea was good, but the harsh reality was that alone he couldn’t manage, and a random team effort wasn’t enough either.

Jabbar would get knocked around by them because the Sky Hook was 39 years old and wasn’t as cunning as Gan Guoyang in his play.

As they watched the video, their emotions shifted from frustration to heart-to-heart conversations and exchanges, and then to drinking and self-mockery.

"Xie Te, we got blown out. Ah Gan’s positioning in this play is really good; he knew I was going to pass and he intercepted it successfully. I really want to ask him if he watches video replays every day because damn, I need to do that too!"

"Do you know what Ah Gan told me after the first game? He said, ’If I don’t go all out to crush you, you’ll think you’re on the same level as me!’ F*ck, I was left speechless! This guy, I really want to punch him, but I don’t dare! I don’t dare!"

"Because you’re a coward."

"Would you dare to hit Ah Gan?"

"Haha, I wouldn’t dare either."

"But what do you think if you choke him and I punch him, do we have a chance?"

"I think it’s worth a shot, but I think it would be better if you choked him since you’re about the same height as him. I’ll throw the punch! I’ve got longer arms!"

The two were slightly drunk; it was their first time drinking and talking together as teammates.

The relationship between the two young men had always been average. They were both too proud. In a relationship where both are in high positions, it’s tough to be friends.

As the saying goes, two kings rarely meet. In NBA teams, the relationship between the top player and the second-in-command has always been subtle. It’s rare for the top two to be best buddies.

There’s often some tension between the two, whether due to differing personalities or mutual disdain. On the court, they might collaborate seamlessly, but off the court, they’re just colleagues or acquaintances at best.

Olajuwon and Sampson could hardly even be considered acquaintances, partly because of their personalities and partly because neither would acknowledge the other as the lead on the court, each believing himself to be the top dog.

But now, there’s no need to argue. It didn’t matter who was the top dog; neither could beat that Chinese player. They needed to join forces to deal with him first.

With a strong external adversary, internal unity often strengthens. The Houston Twin Towers, having been tormented by Gan Guoyang over the last two years, finally realized that they needed to unite exceptionally closely to stand against this demon.

The two drank a lot and dozed off, almost oversleeping and missing their flight the next day. When they appeared on the bus with tired faces, Fitch teased, "Did you two pull an all-nighter to secretly take out Ah Gan? It couldn’t be better if so. If not, I suggest you rest well to prepare for the upcoming games."

Olajuwon said, "We were figuring out how to take him down."

"Is that so? Looks like I might need to call the cops, or should I just take you to the station myself?"

"Coach, we’re serious. We spent all night watching video replays. And we will stop him."

Sampson looked at Fitch very seriously, and Fitch’s expression grew solemn.

He nodded and said, "This isn’t just the two of you’s job; it’s the whole team’s job. Our targets are not just Ah Gan but also the Portland Trail Blazers! Our goal is the Finals, the championship! Being down 0:2 isn’t the end of the world. We still have a chance; the series is long."

The plane soared into the sky, heading from Portland to Houston, with the Trail Blazers following close behind to Texas.

Gan Guoyang was filled with confidence both in himself and his team, but he knew that the series wouldn’t be so straightforward.

The second game was a very close win for the Trail Blazers, with a considerable amount of luck in the last three plays. The Rockets were a strong team.

And Summit Arena wasn’t going to be easy to conquer; the unknown awaited them.