The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 685: The Tortoise and the Hare
The strength of jazz is its stability, but its weakness is also its stability.

Since Larry Miller took over the team and built a small-market club around Stockton Malone, the Jazz have been a force to be reckoned with in the league.

Their stability is mainly reflected in the fact that the team's focus is truly on basketball. Jeff Malone said after joining the Jazz, "The atmosphere here is just like in college, it doesn't feel like a professional team at all."

Many professional sports teams are like companies; everyone gathers together to work, trains in the morning, plays sports in the evening, and after playing sports, they go out for drinks, eat something, and have some fun.

Basketball is my job, a part of my life, or even a small part of it.

The Jazz are different. Salt Lake City is a small city with not many entertainment options, so basketball itself is the biggest form of entertainment.

Here, even fringe players are celebrities, and the players rarely go to the movies or eat out except for playing basketball.

It's not that they don't like it, but they're all very famous in Salt Lake City, and they get asked for autographs everywhere they go, which is a nuisance.

Furthermore, the team leader often determines the team's character, and the Jazz's two core players, Stockton and Malone, are both guys who don't like nightlife.

Stockton was a devoted family man when he wasn't playing basketball, while Karl Malone's hobbies included fishing, hunting, logging, and driving trucks—basically, things that had little to do with the glitz and glamour of the city.

Furthermore, these two guys have an incredibly high attendance rate. From the 84-85 season to now, the number of games they have missed can be counted on one hand.

Together with the city, they shaped the Jazz's understated, united, and basketball-focused stable team culture, making the Jazz a force to be reckoned with.

On the other hand, being too consistent often means a lack of surprises, a lack of explosive power, and a lack of the ability to turn the tide in a series.

Therefore, in the playoffs in recent years, the Jazz have been inconsistent against weaker opponents, often getting beaten badly by unpredictable teams like the Warriors and Suns, resulting in upsets.

Facing teams with significantly stronger overall strength, they have no chance. The Lakers of the 80s and the current Trail Blazers don't seem to have much hope of winning; they can only say they won't have a bad time.

In the first quarter, Stockton and Malone struggled against the Trail Blazers' superior talent at the guard and forward positions.

Stockton, in particular, had already committed three turnovers before the first quarter was over, which is quite fatal for a point guard.

Porter, Lewis, and others defended Stockton closely and double-teamed him effectively, making it very difficult for Stockton, who lacked individual offensive ability, to succeed.

After the timeout, Sloan made a substitution, replacing Mark Eaton, who was a liability on offense and aging on defense, with backup center Mike Brown.

Brown isn't particularly tall, but he has a strong physique and an impressively broad back, making him resemble a large brown bear from behind, hence the nickname "Big Bear" among fans.

With Brown on the court, the Jazz became more flexible on offense. Brown also has better self-scoring ability than Mark Eaton, which can alleviate some of the pressure on Malone's inside offense.

In his matchup against Gan Guoyang, Brown was one of the few tough guys in the league who could put up a fight against Gan Guoyang one-on-one in the low post. He was one of the best low post defenders in the league.

The Jazz breathed a sigh of relief when David Bennault dropped into the low post, quickly positioned himself, received the ball, turned, and made a layup.

Seeing the Jazz's attack, Gan Guoyang unconsciously shook his head and said to Stockton, who was back on defense, "They're playing too slowly, John... too..."

Stockton glanced at Gan Guoyang, who realized that they were in a match and there was no need to discuss such matters, so he didn't continue.

In the last offensive play, the Jazz first used Stockton to break through and stretch the defense, then faked a drive and passed to Malone who was receiving the pass at the high post.

Malone took a step inside and set a handoff screen to Stockton, who had come around. At this moment, Mike Brown moved to the right wing, drawing away Gan Guoyang's defense, and David Bennault dropped to the basket to receive the ball and complete the attack.

The teamwork was excellent. From passing to screens to playmaking to spreading out the defense, they ultimately completed the attack. The five Jazz players played with great chemistry; without even one step, this play wouldn't have been possible.

But in Gan Guoyang's opinion, it was a bit too tedious; it could have been much simpler.

At that moment, Porter made the same breakthrough as Stockton on the wing, stretching the Jazz's defense.

Gan Guoyang pulled out to create space for Porter, while simultaneously supporting from the high post. Porter then turned and passed the ball to Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang received the ball in almost the same position as Malone, and facing Mike Brown's defense, he took a three-pointer directly from the top of the arc!

A high, beautiful arc, the ball piercing through the air! Three-pointer!
After scoring, Gan Guoyang pointed at Stockton, indicating that he should have played that shot like this – simple and could have earned him an extra point.

Stockton shook his head slightly, not wanting to pay any attention to Gan Guoyang. Who else but you could play such a shot?

Malone did have a good open shot in front of him. He could have caught the ball, adjusted, and shot directly, but Jerry Sloan would have thought Malone was crazy and substituted him out of the game to give him a good scolding.

At the end of the first quarter, the Jazz trailed the Trail Blazers 24-31, a gap of 7 points that proved insurmountable for the Jazz in this game.

Entering the Western Conference Finals, the Trail Blazers played extremely aggressively, especially in their backcourt defense, where they double-teamed Stockton extensively.

Stockton appeared outnumbered and outmatched against the Trail Blazers' deep backcourt.

Jeff Malone is an excellent scorer, but apart from scoring, he is unremarkable in other aspects.

Their organization and defense are unremarkable; it's fortunate they don't drag the team down.

The Trail Blazers' strategy was clear: Jeff Malone would defend one-on-one, as his offensive firepower was limited.

They kept a tight defense on Stockton, the Jazz's engine, and constantly interfered with him on the ball.

Stockton committed three turnovers in the first quarter, and in the second quarter, he committed consecutive turnovers again under double teams.

Porter, Lewis, and Cahill, the three forwards and guards, took turns using their speed to attack the Jazz, quickly widening the gap to more than 10 points.

The Jazz couldn't mount a fast break, so they could only rely on half-court offense to slowly grind things out.

After overcoming his initial fear in the first quarter, Malone gradually found his offensive rhythm.

He started using mid-range shots and layups after drives to score points and stabilize the Jazz's situation.

But whenever they see a glimmer of hope, Gan Guoyang will easily shatter it with a simple and concise attack.

No matter how the Jazz double-teamed or had Mike Brown and Malone double-team or engage in strong physical contact, it didn't have much impact on Gan Guoyang's offense.

He passes the ball quickly and doesn't have a large possession rate on offense. Tonight, the Blazers' ball possession was mainly concentrated in the hands of the guards.

This was a strategy devised by Berman before the game. He knew that a major weakness of the Jazz was their short backcourt and poor defense.

Stockton has good defensive skills and awareness, but poor physical attributes. Porter can physically overpower Stockton.

Jeff Malone, needless to say, is probably one of the worst defensive shooting guards in the league, and he's only 6'4".

The 6-foot-7 Reggie Lewis would face virtually no resistance in a one-on-one matchup against Jeff Malone.

This resulted in the Jazz being firmly suppressed by the Trail Blazers from start to finish, making it increasingly difficult for them to play.

But the Jazz have one advantage: they are very resilient and they were able to withstand the Trail Blazers' huge advantage.

Regardless of their disadvantages, the Jazz meticulously executed their coach's tactics, avoiding reckless and haphazard play. They seized every opportunity, capitalizing on the Trail Blazers' carelessness and mistakes to maximize their success rate and gradually close the gap.

The situation on the court then became that the Trail Blazers launched several intense defensive attacks, creating a scoring surge that widened the gap, while the Jazz slowly chased back.

Just when they thought they were about to catch up, the Trail Blazers rallied, increased their intensity, and launched another offensive surge to widen the gap again. As long as the Jazz didn't collapse, they could slowly catch up.

Just like the tortoise and the hare race, the Jazz team, like the tortoise, is determined to keep going, while you go your way and I'll keep moving firmly toward the finish line.

If you take a nap for even a little too long, this tenacious tortoise might just overtake you and turn the tables.

This strategy is not limited to this one game; from a long-term perspective, spanning several seasons or even a dozen seasons, the Jazz employ it as well.

This will test the Trail Blazers players' patience. They cannot be impatient or take reckless shots just because they have an advantage, otherwise the Jazz will definitely seize the opportunity to retaliate.

Fortunately, Gan Guoyang is there. He is the team's ballast and anchor. As long as he is there, the Trail Blazers are not afraid of waves.

Because no one is more adventurous than him.

Midway through the third quarter, Gan Guoyang once again blocked Karl Malone's shot on defense.

This was originally a great scoring opportunity for the Jazz, but Stockton intercepted the ball at midfield and Porter scored.

Before Malone could get back on defense, Stockton delivered a superb bounce pass to him.

Ma Long turned around, dribbled straight to the basket, where Gan Guoyang was waiting for him.

If Malone had charged forward fearlessly on that ball, he might have been able to draw a foul.

Gan Guoyang could also simply avoid him, giving him two points; it's not worth committing a foul.

But Malone didn't force his way in; instead, he took two steps and then opted for a layup!
Gan Guoyang didn't hold back when it came to the basket, and blocked it with a single shot.

Gan Guoyang regained possession of the ball and dribbled it across half-court.

Facing Stockton's defense, Gan Guoyang actually performed a crossover, shaking Stockton off!
Then, facing the disorganized Jazz defense, he drove to the basket and dunked with one hand!

A single offensive and defensive maneuver outmaneuvered Utah's dynamic duo, sending the fans into a frenzy.

Even David Stern, who was watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but applaud, but he probably didn't want to appear biased towards the Trail Blazers, so he quickly stopped smiling and clapping.

The shot went in, and the Trail Blazers maintained their 10-point lead, but it dealt a significant blow to the Jazz's morale.

Stockton took the ball and reorganized the offense, yelling to his teammates, "It's nothing, it's all the same, just two points, it's nothing!"

As he spoke, Stockton used a double screen to drive into the middle and hit a mid-range jump shot.

Stockton has one advantage: no matter how well or impressively Gan Guoyang plays, his mentality will not collapse.

They knew each other too well. Stockton knew how outstanding and incredible Gan Guoyang was, so he wasn't surprised and was able to keep his composure.

The one whose mentality was truly unstable was Ma Long, who was filled with regret for "why didn't I dunk that ball just now".

He actually played quite well tonight, with a very accurate mid-range shot. He drove to the basket several times, drawing a foul, making a floater, and hitting a hook shot.

But even though he was usually so brave, he didn't dare to rush to the basket and dunk on Forrest Gump. He felt ashamed and regretful for his cowardice.

The intense playoffs don't give players any time for regret. A second of regret won't undo the damage; on the contrary, it will make the next offensive or defensive play even worse.

Gan Guoyang started to exert his strength in the middle of the fourth quarter, with continuous one-on-one attacks after receiving the ball in the low post, simple and powerful footwork, and a killer move that was always executed three seconds after receiving the ball, without the slightest hesitation or thought.

A hook shot, a turnaround jump shot, and a strong drive to the basket from behind the rim for a layup—he scored 6 consecutive points, further widening the gap.

At this point, the Jazz need Malone to step up and respond, otherwise the point difference will only widen and the game will be over.

At this point, Malone began to falter, missing two consecutive mid-range jump shots—and by then, Forrest Gump was guarding him one-on-one.

The third time, Ma Long tried to break through, but Gan Guoyang slapped the ball out of his hand, and the ball went to the floor, with both sides scrambling for it.

Gan Guoyang's large, pincer-like hands firmly controlled the ball, and he launched an extremely long pass to the frontcourt.

Jerome Kossie scores a fast-break dunk! This play sealed the Jazz's fate, widening the gap from 10 points to 18.

The Jazz had no chance of a comeback. At this point, the statistician looked at Gan Guoyang's data. He only scored 26 points, but his shooting percentage was 9 out of 11, which was astonishingly high.

He grabbed 17 rebounds and made 7 blocks, giving the impression that he controlled the game at will.

With no hope of a comeback, the Jazz gave up the fight, and Jerry Sloan substituted his key players to prepare for the next game.

Before leaving the field, Stockton asked Gan Guoyang, "Sonny, don't tell me you still have room for improvement."

Gan Guoyang said bluntly, "You know I didn't sweat at all."

Stockton let out a long sigh. He had been thoroughly outplayed tonight, committing six turnovers in total, five of which were in the first half.

He only scored 6 points on 1-of-6 shooting, with his only field goal coming from a mid-range jumper after a double pick-and-roll.

As expected, the Jazz collapsed in the fourth quarter after putting up a strong fight in the first game, losing by a large margin to the Trail Blazers.

Trailing 0-1 in the series.

However, Stockton's nightmare in the series had only just begun.

A day later, the two sides fought their second battle in the Rose Garden.

Even with a day of rest in Portland, the Jazz made no effective adjustments.

In this game, Terry Porter showed no mercy to Gan Guoyang's old teammate and good friend Stockton.

In one-on-one offense and defense, Porter completely dominated Stockton, getting full control of the game and scoring a whopping 41 points.

其中三分球5投4中，罚球14罚13中，率领开拓者主场再度大胜爵士，系列赛大比分2:0领先。

They are one step closer to the finals.

The Jazz can only pin their hopes of winning on Salt Lake City.

(End of this chapter)