Chapter 708 - 74: Narrow Path Meeting

An interesting fact is that most of Gan Guoyang’s fights occur on the road.

On the contrary, at his home court, Memorial Coliseum, Gan Guoyang rarely throws a punch.

Because in the NBA, most players pick on others leveraging their home-court advantage, acting all high and mighty, with lots of push and shove.

Gan Guoyang fights against these people; he has had three big brawls and numerous smaller ones in Detroit, to the point where Detroit’s children dare not cry at night.

But at the Memorial Coliseum, Portland’s home court, opponents become civilized and peaceful.

Think about it, if you can’t beat Ah Gan in his own turf, would you challenge him in his den?

This also offers a glimpse into Gan Guoyang’s ferocity.

However, this year’s finals, the Detroiters are prepared to have a big fight in Portland.

The grudge from 1987 is like a thorn firmly lodged in the hearts of these Pistons players.

Swept 0:4, beaten up at the Silverdome — even the coach got hit.

Even with Gan Guoyang suspended for a game, they still lost the match.

Every single incident is seen as a disgrace by the Pistons players, something they ponder day and night, aiming for vengeance on the finals stage.

As night falls, the Detroit players arrive at the Memorial Coliseum, each with a solemn face and a somber demeanor.

It’s as if they’re not attending a basketball game, but rather a duel to the death.

For the Pistons players, this is a round of finals that requires no rally.

In an interview with CBS before the game, Dennis Rodman stated bluntly:

"Dad doesn’t need to say anything, we know it all, we know what to do. Back in 1987, I was a rookie, and I didn’t understand much. I was tossed onto the scorer’s table by Ah Gan. Back then, I didn’t know how to react, I was totally dumbfounded, but now it’s different, I will fight back, I will retaliate, I will make sure neither of us can play on the court."

Before the game started, CBS, not afraid to stir things up, broadcast the interview.

Rodman is not the strongest physically, nor is he the best brawler, but he’s genuinely brave.

For the Pistons, the good news is that this interview was broadcast before the game, and the players had already taken the court to warm up, so Ah Gan wouldn’t know about it.

The bad news is that he’ll probably find out during the halftime break.

In fact, Gan Guoyang already knew about Rodman’s interview during warm-up.

At the front row of the press seats, ESPN’s special correspondent Wu Zhixiong informed Gan Guoyang of Dennis Rodman’s provocation.

After hearing it, Gan Guoyang just nodded, without any other expression.

Seeing Gan Guoyang’s emotionless face, Wu Zhixiong said, "Boss, this guy is too arrogant, should we take him down?"

Gan Guoyang glanced at Wu Zhixiong and said, "Do you think I’m a born killer or a fighting enthusiast? That I should just fight whoever I can? I’m here to play basketball, to win the game, not to fight."

"Of course, if there’s really no other way, I’ll have to resort to the old methods—but don’t write that in the report," Gan Guoyang added.

For this finals series, Gan Guoyang is brimming with confidence, determined to claim his fourth championship.

On the other hand, he was also aware of the Pistons’ formidable strength and absolutely should not be underestimated.

In strategy, he might disdain the Detroit Pistons, but tactically, he had to take them seriously, as the Pistons had completely changed since 1987.

The core players had all made significant progress and growth, and though Dennis Rodman seemed arrogant, the content of his play was really rich and diverse.

During the wait for the finals, Gan Guoyang watched live broadcasts of the Bulls and Pistons games, as well as repeatedly viewed recordings of the Pistons’ previous playoff games.

The Pistons’ defense was no longer the simple Turtle Shell Formation of 1987, but a combination of Turtle Shell Formation and Meat Grinder, which can be called the fusion of the ’87 Pistons and the ’88 Bullets.

Jordan, Pippen, and others were tormented in the Eastern finals and had several layers of skin peeled off.

In the regular season matchups, Gan Guoyang could already feel that the Pistons definitely had something held back, especially for him.

In the expansion draft, they would rather lose the important backcourt rotation player Vinnie Johnson and keep Rick Mahorn—wasn’t that for the purpose of targeting him?

Gan Guoyang was not afraid of Mahorn alone, but the Pistons also had the seasoned Salley, Rodman, Melvin Turpin, and the cunning Lan Bi’er.

Even with utmost confidence, Gan Guoyang wouldn’t be so arrogant as to think he could easily roll over the Pistons’ heads.

In the Western Conference, no team’s frontcourt was as full-bodied, three-dimensional, and equally strong in offense and defense as the Pistons’.

The reason the Trail Blazers could crush their way through to the finals was that every opponent they met in the West had been contained by the Trail Blazers’ lineup.

The Nuggets and Suns, needless to say, didn’t even have a proper strong inside presence; how could they play against the Trail Blazers’ Twin Towers.

And while the Spurs seemed to have David Robinson + Terry Cummings, your Twin Towers can’t beat the Trail Blazers’, and at the same time, your backcourt is inferior to the Trail Blazers’.

More importantly, the Spurs’ leading scorer was not a guard but Terry Cummings, who matched up against Ah Gan.

When your leading scorer has to face Ah Gan every game, his impact is greatly reduced; Ah Gan alone could take care of him.

The reason the Lakers could beat the Trail Blazers before was due to their strong backcourt firepower, avoiding Ah Gan’s defense and targeting the Trail Blazers’ weak backcourt.

In ’89, the Suns were able to push the Trail Blazers to a Game 7 thanks to the robust backcourt firepower from Kevin Johnson and Danny Ainge, but this year as soon as Kevin Johnson was contained by Ah Gan, they were swept.

Now, the Detroit Pistons are theoretically the team whose lineup contains the Trail Blazers, with a defense-oriented frontcourt with ample rotation, paired with a powerful backcourt duo.

As for the loss of Vinnie Johnson, the Pistons tried to make up for it as much as possible with Rickey Green and Gerald Henderson—Rickey Green being a former All-Star with threatening speed and vision, serving as Stockton’s backup for two years.

In the playoffs, Rickey Green performed very well, averaging 7.4 points and 4.8 assists per game—numbers he put up alongside Thomas and Dumars.

For the Trail Blazers’ backcourt, facing the Pistons will be a huge challenge.

Ah Gan certainly can’t, like he did against the Suns, confidently leave the Three Second Zone entirely to Sabonis to go outside and suppress Dumars or Thomas.

Melvin Turpin, Salley, Lan Bi’er, Mahorn, Mark Aguirre are all trouble, all needing him to settle personally, leaving no energy to take care of the perimeter.

Gan Guoyang could foresee that this year’s finals against the Pistons were bound to be a brutal fight, unavoidable and a tough battle with no room for trickery.

Before the game started, in the locker room, Gan Guoyang, uncharacteristically, put away his relaxed and confident demeanor and issued a rallying call to his teammates with a serious tone.

"There’s an old Chinese saying, ’In a narrow path, the brave meet and the braver win.’ Right now, there’s only one path in front of us, the path to the championship. This path can only allow one team to reach the end, it is the narrowest of paths. Our games in the West went smoothly, we didn’t encounter any real resistance. But the Detroiters are different, I’ve been playing against them for years, I know what kind of people these guys are."

"Many players on the team participated in the 1987 finals, and there are also some newbies in their first finals. What I want to say is, the battle before us is one with no way back. Looking at what the Detroiters have done these past few years, I bet they’ve waited a long time for this moment of revenge. There is bound to be blood in this series, and sure to be pain."

"My dear teammates, I want to tell you, I don’t want casualty numbers, I only want the championship."