The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 648 Soft Cushions
Barkley is not an opponent you can easily defeat.

Although Gan Guoyang completely outclassed Barkley in terms of physical attributes and skills, basketball has always been a sport that supports the underdog winning.

In sports, when physical condition and technique reach a certain level, performance on the day and willpower often play a decisive role.

Willpower is highly malleable; the difference between weakness and strength is just a thought away. Once a player musters his fighting spirit and courage, he can often unleash tremendous energy.

Compared to the 1988 Finals, Charles Barkley's biggest growth was not in his skills, but in his competitiveness and willpower.

In his repeated disadvantageous confrontations with Gan Guoyang, Barkley honed his willpower. After each failure and loss, he rose again, determined to defeat Gan Guoyang.

That's why he chose to be traded to the West, to Phoenix, which is in the same Pacific Division as the Portland Trail Blazers. He is not afraid to compete with top teams like the Trail Blazers and the Lakers.

In this year's MVP rankings, Charles Barkley ranks third, only behind Jordan and Gan Guoyang, and he is just one step away from the two monsters ahead of him.

Of course, his unruly behavior off the court held him back, preventing him from fully committing to basketball like Forrest Gump.

This affected Barkley's potential; look at his less than 30% three-point shooting percentage. Gan Guoyang reminded him more than once that he needed to practice three-pointers like crazy, instead of just doing "good enough."

In fact, Barkley had already done his best. You can tell from his physique. During his time with the Bullets, he was a bit chubby, with a round head and his muscles were covered by fat.

After joining the Suns, Barkley's body fat percentage dropped significantly, his muscle definition became more pronounced, and his shoulders became as hard and solid as a hammer, enabling him to participate in the most intense battles in the paint.

His height is a disadvantage, but sometimes it is also an advantage, making him more agile and able to turn and dribble faster, launching attacks like a guard.

In the second game against the Trail Blazers, Barkley pulled out all the stops, using accurate mid-range shots and varied driving routes to compete with Gan Guoyang on both ends of the court.

Barkley's biggest contribution in this game was not only scoring the highest points for the team, but also that he kept Gan Guoyang on his toes, and the two were locked in a close battle, leaving Gan Guoyang with little energy to assist his teammates.

The Suns have seized the opportunity to win. Although the Trail Blazers have a deep roster, they have a seemingly small but potentially fatal problem: they don't have a true second option.

Sabonis is theoretically the second tactical core, but he is not the team's second-best player. Porter, Korsey, and even Curry have more seniority than him.

Moreover, Sabonis is not the type to seek the limelight; he simply plays quietly, makes his own contributions, and has no intention of becoming second-in-command.

He and Forrest Gump were the de facto twin towers, but from the outside, the Trail Blazers were always Forrest Gump's one-man team, not the so-called twin towers core.

Terry Porter is qualified to be the second-in-command in terms of experience and ability, but he lacks star power and is also low-key and unassuming, not a strong second-in-command.

For many years, he has worked diligently to support Forrest Gump. Although he had a conflict with Drexler, he never thought of becoming the team's second-best player.

Reggie Lewis is qualified to be the team's second-best player. His salary is second only to Gan Guoyang on the team, and he was once the Celtics' top player that they were trying to develop.

However, he is too inexperienced. This is his first season with the Trail Blazers, and he has never been selected as an All-Star before. Since arriving in Portland, he has been doing auxiliary work, with defense taking up most of his energy.

The rest, like Petrovich and Kosi, were capable of leading independently, but not cut out to be second-in-command; they had no ambition to be second-in-command.

It's fair to say that since Drexler left, the Trail Blazers' second-best player position has been vacant; no one has taken it, and no one wants to take it.

Forrest Gump is energetic and charismatic. The whole team revolves around him, designing tactics and carrying out activities. Everyone else is on equal footing, so there seems to be no need to create a number two.

However, the advantage of having a number two player is that when the number one player encounters some trouble, the team already has a backbone and can use the number one player's presence to create a stable offense and defense.

During his first three-peat, Drexler repeatedly took on this responsibility, stepping up to secure the victory when Gan Guoyang was absent for various reasons or targeted.

From this perspective, Drexler's contribution is underestimated; his presence gave the Trail Blazers a second brain, an important backup.

The Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns both have such backups: Scottie Pippen and Kevin Johnson, both excellent playmakers.

However, the functions of the Pioneer 2 brain were distributed among the others, with each person having a little bit of it, but not much.

This created a small hidden danger for the Trail Blazers' system operation.

In most cases, this potential problem will not materialize because Gan Guoyang is very stable.

Moreover, the other players aren't stupid either. If Agan is targeted, they will naturally execute a different set of tactics to launch an attack.

However, the playoffs are different from the regular season. The playoffs are intense competition, with very high pressure and defense.

If the game gets stuck and there's no reliable second option to transition and alternate with Forrest Gump, the Trail Blazers will be in trouble.

The Trail Blazers have never encountered a situation like this in the 1990 playoffs or in the first two rounds of this year's playoffs.

Their overall strength was too great, and Forrest Gump's intimidating presence was too strong; they never encountered any challenges along the way.

In 90, the only threatening inside player Gan Guoyang encountered was David Robinson.

However, Robinson's fighting spirit was too weak, and he was completely suppressed in the confrontation, and this year he was simply upset by the seventh seed.

In the brutal playoff battles, he was no match for Forrest Gump.

Barkley, on the other hand, came from an impoverished background and possessed a wild and untamed spirit.

While he may have wasted a lot of time and talent on and off the court, his determination to reach the top of the league and become the strongest is unwavering.

Returning to Phoenix trailing 0-2, Barkley avoided further trouble. To avoid arguing with his wife, he simply stayed in a hotel instead of going home, locking himself away in a secluded place.

He asked his assistant coach to bring him the game replay, and watched it over and over again, pondering every detail of his confrontation with Forrest Gump.

The more Barkley watched, the more he felt that Forrest Gump was a master of detail in confrontations, striving to make the best choice in every action, whether on offense or defense.

Accumulate small advantages into a large one, and ultimately transform those advantages into a winning position.

Actually, Barkley openly taught him all these things when he trained with Forrest Gump in the summer.

Forrest Gump never kept anything to himself, but Barkley was oblivious and let it go in one ear and out the other, not taking it seriously.

In this playoff series, Barkley truly settled down, especially after being detained by the Portland Police Department for a period of time and being released by Forrest Gump, followed by a crushing defeat in the first game.

He gave it his all in the second game, but still lost. However, Barkley realized that the Suns and he were not entirely without a chance.

If you thought you were doomed to lose from the start, why bother participating in this series?
Barkley spent the whole day watching video in the hotel, and then on May 24th, he welcomed the Trail Blazers to his home arena.

The third game between the Bulls and Pistons was scheduled for May 25, four days after the second game. This was because the league schedule had to be adjusted to match NBC's broadcast schedule, and this unreasonable scheduling was the only option for the sake of ratings.

Therefore, the third game of the Western Conference Finals between the Suns and the Trail Blazers started earlier than expected, and they were actually one step ahead of the Bulls and Pistons.

This marks the third consecutive year that the Suns and Trail Blazers have met in the playoffs. In 89, the Suns lost 3-4, and last year they were swept by the Trail Blazers.

Tonight, Barkley is determined to win a game, or else his trip will have been in vain.

Whether you come or not, you'll still get your head shaved, so it's pointless.

However, unlike the first game, the highly motivated Barkley didn't say anything before the game.

He remained quiet in the locker room, and when interviewed by reporters, he was very humble, simply saying, "I will do my best."

The most important thing Barkley learned from Gan Guoyang was to put into practice every word you say, and that will make you more and more powerful.

For example, "I will do my best" has been said by so many people, as if there is no one in this world who does not try their best.

In reality, very few people truly gave their all; most people, most players, did not.

Barkley was a braggart, but he knew that if Forrest Gump said, "I will do my best," then he would definitely do his best, dedicating himself completely and burning himself out.

This big mouth is finally starting to understand the weight of words and the meaning of "a word spoken cannot be taken back."

A person who is strong and keeps their promises can make even a casual remark incredibly powerful; the saying "a promise is worth a thousand pieces of gold" carries immense weight.

A person who breaks promises and always speaks carelessly, even if he is armed with great power, is still seen as a clown by many.

Today they want to spend their lives here, tomorrow they want to win five, six, or seven championships, but in the end they always weigh the pros and cons and make decisions on a whim, which will eventually make them a laughing stock.

Barkley didn't want to be that kind of person. He didn't want to be weak and hypocritical. If you want to fight against Forrest Gump, you first need to be sincere, try your best, and go all out.

Fitzsimmons sensed Barkley's unwavering determination and continued with the rotation strategy from Game 2, starting Barkley at power forward and having him battle against Forrest Gump throughout the game.

Before the game, Barkley told Fitzsimmons, "Don't let Forrest and me play at the same time. If he's on the court, I'm on the court; if he's off the court, I'm off the court. I don't want him to be comfortable for even a minute." Tonight, Barkley kept his word. He knew that if he made Forrest uncomfortable, Forrest would definitely not make him comfortable either, but he was mentally prepared.

At 7:30 p.m., the game officially began. Led by Barkley, the Suns were in high spirits and determined to take a bite out of the Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers, who were relatively relaxed before the game, quickly realized that the Suns were coming to fight hard tonight, as evidenced by their high level of defensive intensity.

However, the Trail Blazers have seen it all before. They set up their formation, used the Princeton offense, and followed the principle of "slow is fast," steadily wearing down the Suns.

But soon, the Trail Blazers ran into trouble—their outside shooting percentage was poor tonight, and Gan Guoyang noticed that the Suns seemed to have removed the padding behind the rim, which would make the rim less elastic and the ball more likely to bounce out.

The Suns are clearly trying to play more in the paint and on fast breaks against the Trail Blazers, preventing the Blazers' accurate long-range shooting from taking effect.

The game had already started, and the referees wouldn't check the basket, so Gan Guoyang mostly attacked from the low post, driving towards the inside and targeting the Suns' three-second zone.

Charles Barkley and Sam Bowie teamed up to defend Gan Guoyang, with Barkley providing full-force defense and Bowie helping out from behind; their teamwork was excellent.

However, Gan Guoyang scored 21 points at the start of the first half, helping the Trail Blazers take a 3-point lead into the third quarter.

However, one downside was that Gan Guoyang only had one assist in the first half, and he failed to connect with his teammates.

Gan Guoyang was not worried about this. He knew that tonight would be a tough battle. Rather than forcibly organizing his teammates, he would rather use his strength to overcome all obstacles!

This is what makes Gan Guoyang stand out from the crowd; he never plays by the rules and his playing style is quite fierce.

If most star players are double-teamed and forced into one-on-one situations, the coach will definitely remind them to connect with their teammates and make the ball move around. The opponent will then be overwhelmed and their attack will crumble on its own.

Gan Guoyang rarely does this. At this moment, he will mobilize all his adrenaline and concentrate his strength to launch a strong attack, determined to break through the opponent's dense defense.

The third quarter became the most intense moment of the confrontation between the two sides, with Barkley, West, and Bowie triple-teaming Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang, however, was still able to use his quick reflexes to launch attacks from mid-range after breaking free of the encirclement, and he maintained a high level of efficiency.

Driven to a bloodthirst, Gan Guoyang unleashed all his weapons, including his early self-created move, the move hook, launching an all-around, no-dead-angle attack.

In the third quarter, the Suns' defense was excellent, and on the offensive end, Charles Barkley drew a lot of attention from Gan Guoyang.

Even so, Gan Guoyang still made 5 of 11 field goals and 4 of 4 free throws, scoring 14 points in the quarter. His shooting percentage of less than 50% shows that the Suns did a good job.

This was the most intense and exciting game for the Trail Blazers this season, or rather, for Gan Guoyang.

Before the start of the fourth quarter, Gan Guoyang was drenched in sweat, his jersey and hair completely soaked, but he was extremely excited.

“Don’t let me rest in the fourth quarter. Keep going until I beat them,” Gan Guoyang said to Bellman.

Bellman knew that Forrest Gump was out of control, but at this moment, he had no choice but to let him decide the game.

At this point, the Trail Blazers truly lacked a second core player to step up and take over the game; the team had to revolve around Forrest Gump.

As long as the core remains intact, Portland will remain intact.

When Barkley saw that Gan Guoyang was still on the court in the fourth quarter, he did not hesitate to get up and return to the court.

Fitzsimmons originally planned to let him rest for three minutes before playing again, but Barkley knew he couldn't rest.

If Forrest Gump is given a chance to relax, three minutes is enough for him to unleash an attack that will pierce the sun.

At this point, the score was 74-73, with the Trail Blazers leading the Suns by one point. Gan Guoyang had already scored 36 points, nearly half of the team's total score.

"Charles, are you still able to fight?" Gan Guoyang asked, seeing that Barkley was not resting either.

"I can play four more quarters, I won't get tired at all."

So far, Barkley has scored 22 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and made 2 blocks.

This was his best defensive performance of the season. Fitzsimmons said that if they didn't let Forrest score 50 points tonight, it would be a successful defensive effort.

In the fourth quarter, the game became extremely intense, and the Suns' home fans felt the temperature rising in the arena.

Gan Guoyang, who had been attacking hard for three quarters, suddenly started passing the ball in the fourth quarter, catching the Suns off guard.

Petrovic and Terry Porter received the ball on the perimeter and hit two consecutive three-pointers—the lethal three-pointers.

Although they weren't the second core, under Forrest Gump's leadership, they knew what they should do and what they could do.

The point difference suddenly increased from 1 point to 7 points, and the Suns were almost instantly defeated.

Gan Guoyang's variation reveals his calm side.

His aggressive, one-man attacks in the first three quarters were all setting the stage for those two game-winning three-pointers in the fourth quarter.

In most fast-paced games, a 1-point gap can quickly turn into a 7-point gap, at which point the opponent has already collapsed.

But this time the Suns didn't. After Fitzsimmons called a timeout, Barkley encouraged everyone on the bench, "The fourth quarter has only just begun, we must persevere!"

After the timeout, Barkley received a pass from Kevin Johnson at the top of the arc and hit a three-pointer, responding to the Trail Blazers' basket.

With the score difference reduced to 4 points, the Suns regained their composure and continued to battle the Trail Blazers.

At this point, the Trail Blazers' lack of a second core player finally widened—Agan could still score, but their offensive efficiency began to fall below that of the Suns.

Without a second core player, everyone else can attack, but the attacks lack focus and fail to create sustained, wave-after-wave offensives.

On the contrary, the Suns, with Charles Barkley and Kevin Johnson taking turns taking over the game, played a simple and brutal style, but with a clear objective and increasing efficiency.

Gan Guoyang did indeed have to spend a lot of energy on defense, as Barkley's constant contact, harassment, and trash talk made it difficult for Gan Guoyang to play with much ease.

Although his stats were still impressive, scoring 40 points before the fourth quarter was over, he knew in his heart that his control of the game tonight was not as strong as in the first and second games.

The advantage gradually shifted to the Suns, and when the score was tied at 93-93, Charles Barkley hit another three-pointer, completely turning the tide in the Suns' favor!
Barkley only attempted two three-pointers the entire game, and both of them went in!

Whether you say he was lucky or skilled, that's just how basketball is—if you score, you're amazing.

Despite trailing by 3 points, the Trail Blazers opted for a two-point play to try and regain possession.

Gan Guoyang received the ball, drove to the basket, and dunked, scoring 2 points and closing the gap to just 1 point.

Then, on defense, Charles Barkley drove to the basket and drew a foul from Sabonis.

A controversial call enraged Bobby Bellman, who unleashed a string of American profanities at the referee and was ejected from the game.

Barkley stepped up to the free-throw line and made both shots, making it 95-98, another 3-point difference.

The Trail Blazers didn't have enough time left, and the Suns very cleverly fouled early—before it was time for the free throws.

After wasting some more time, Gan Guoyang finally had to take a long-range three-pointer.

The ball traced a high arc, and Barkley watched its trajectory with his heart in his throat.

"Fuck, this ball won't go in, will it?" Barkley was on the verge of despair.

If this continues, I'm really out of options and won't be able to hold on any longer.

Fortunately, the ball, which seemed poised to go in, ultimately bounced off the rim.

After bouncing high, it landed on the rim, bounced again, and finally rolled out.

Barkley breathed a long sigh of relief. Finally, finally, he won a game. It was so hard-won.

Gan Guoyang thought to himself, "If the Suns hadn't removed the padding from both sides of the basket, this shot would have gone in."

They're incredibly lucky.

(End of this chapter)