Chapter 2223 - 34: Winning the Future

Chapter 2223: Chapter 34: Winning the Future

On the evening of May 11th, every seat was filled at Oracle Center, where bright yellow T-shirts made this somewhat modest old arena look like a golden wheat field.

This arena was once the Oakland-Alameda County Arena, later known as Oakland Arena, and in 2006, it became Oracle Center, named by Oracle Corporation.

Gan Guoyang once watched his first NBA game in America here, and it also witnessed his charge to the California high school league finals, becoming the starting point for his ascent to basketball greatness.

The old venue, built in 1966 and having undergone multiple modern renovations, was barely adequate, yet it couldn’t compare to the newer arenas constructed in recent years.

However, this old arena with its special dome design had an excellent sound-gathering effect, where the shouts of twenty thousand fans became an ocean of noise, amplified by the echo beams.

During the first round against the Mavericks, the passion of the Warriors fans overwhelmed the cold blue Dallas people.

When Gan Guoyang passed through the player tunnel, he could see the hole Nowitzki left in the wall after losing the series in the sixth game.

"In the end, this guy left something behind," Gan Guoyang thought to himself.

Gan Guoyang had left much more behind at Oracle Arena.

Before the game started, the big screen began to play a montage of Gan Guoyang’s magical performances at Oracle Arena.

Regular season, playoffs, he had killed the Golden State Warriors countless times here.

Yet, the fans in Oakland and San Francisco didn’t hate him.

On the contrary, the fans here cheered for every super performance by Gan Guoyang.

Because Ah Gan was a San Francisco kid, he started his legendary career from here.

When introducing the visiting team players, the entire audience stood up and cheered for him.

Gan Guoyang waved in acknowledgment, feeling fortunate to play at Oracle Arena for his last playoff journey of his career.

This place held many memories for him, and he had already decided that after his official retirement, he would live in San Francisco to accompany his father.

When the game began, that warmth quickly vanished.

Under the frenzied shouts of Oakland fans, the entire Warriors team transformed into berserkers.

Fans held up "WE-Believe" signs to cheer for the Warriors.

Iverson took the first shot of the game, missing a mid-range jumper.

The ball bounced far, and Baron Davis seized the rebound.

The Warriors immediately launched a fast break, the ball going to Jason Richardson, a three-way fast attack.

Richardson shook off Gerald Wallace, drove to the basket, and scored the first point with a layup.

Iverson’s second mid-range shot was successful; the Glory team’s strategy started with Iverson.

During the half-court battle, the Warriors centered their offense around Baron Davis.

Don Nelson adjusted the starting lineup, benched Biedrins, and replaced him with Yi Jianlian.

Compared to Biedrins, Yi Jianlian was weaker defensively, but he had the mid-range shot and could shoot threes.

This starting lineup was evidently more aggressive; the Warriors were risking it all.

The Warriors missed their outside shot, but Baron Davis grabbed the offensive rebound.

Faced with Ah Gan’s defense, he dared not shoot and passed to the baseline.

Yi Jianlian received the ball and made a successful mid-range shot!

Yi Jianlian exploited Yao Ming’s defensive weakness in stepping out, using his shots to strike.

Yao Ming quickly reciprocated with a turnaround jumper.

Baron Davis, at the low post, backed down Iverson, cut inside, and passed to the wing Al Harrington.

Harrington hit a three-pointer from the left 45-degree angle!

Back at home, the Warriors played with unstoppable momentum.

It was clear they wanted victory at home no matter what.

On Glory’s side, both Iverson and Yao Ming were performing well.

One relied on speed and the other on height, using personal ability to resist the Warriors’ tidal wave of attacks.

In the first quarter, Gan Guoyang played cautiously, observing that the Warriors were desperately ramping up the pace.

Once they secured a defensive rebound, they’d immediately throw a long pass across half-court, attacking behind Glory.

Gan Guoyang didn’t follow the Warriors’ pace; he patiently observed and waited for opportunities.

Iverson capitalized on Gan Guoyang’s precise screens and passes, scoring consecutive jumpers.

The high-low cooperation between Yao Ming and Gan Guoyang also left the Warriors helpless.

The two teams were neck and neck, and halfway through the first quarter, Gan Guoyang subbed off to rest.

This was Glory’s normal rotation strategy, letting Gan Guoyang rest after playing four to five minutes in the first quarter.

However, the Warriors exploited this rotation loophole, with Baron Davis launching repeated attacks on Glory’s three-second zone.

Once he squeezed out the defender and scored a layup, another he attacked the basket on a fast break, causing Gerald Wallace’s defensive foul.

On the third attempt, although Yao Ming blocked Davis’s layup, the ball ended up in Stephen Jackson’s hands on the perimeter.

Jackson took the ball and drove to the basket, slamming it in with both hands!

With Gan Guoyang off the court, the Warriors seized the opportunity to launch a 6-0 run, widening the gap for the first time.

The continuous high-paced onslaught loosened Glory’s defense, forcing them to call a timeout.

Porter changed the defensive strategy, opting for a zone defense to counter Baron Davis’s drives.

"Don’t rush, guys, don’t rush! We need to reclaim control."

Inside, Yao Ming also rested and was replaced by Oseola Harrington, switching to a small lineup to spar against the Warriors.

In the previous game, Glory relied on small lineup exchanges to overwhelm the Warriors.

But this game was different; first was the Warriors’ strong determination, second was the presence of Yi Jianlian.

Yi Jianlian’s offensive ability is stronger than Biedrins, and under Old Nelson’s guidance, his finishing skills had significantly improved since his CBA days.

After all, Old Nelson had developed Nowitzki, and during his time with the Mavericks, he was optimistic about Wang Zhizhi, only for the Hawks to eventually draft Wang Zhizhi, leaving the Mavericks without a chance.

After joining the Warriors, Old Nelson always wanted a versatile, shooting-capable big man.

Yi Jianlian perfectly fit Nielsen’s expectations, and being a Chinese player, his popularity was high in the Bay Area.

After acquiring Yi Jianlian in 2005, after two seasons of development, Yi Jianlian improved quickly.

He is introverted, not a natural leader like Gan Guoyang, nor humorous and witty like Yao Ming.

However, he trains incredibly hard and has better natural athletic gifts than Wang Zhizhi.

Through extremely tough training, Yi Jianlian quickly gained a foothold with the Warriors.

In the first round of the playoffs against the Mavericks, Yi Jianlian had an outstanding performance as a backup inside player.

In the semifinals facing two elder brothers, Yi Jianlian did not shrink back.

Starting this game, he played brilliantly on the offensive end.

Aside from hitting mid-range jumpers, he also received passes from teammates and drove to the basket for layups.

After the timeout, with Yao Ming and Gan Guoyang not on the court, Yi Jianlian played with even more freedom.

In a fast break, he received a pass from Baron Davis in the left corner and hit a three-pointer!

Then, he blocked Robert Horry’s layup on the defensive end.

Next, leading the fast break, he charged to the basket for an alley-oop and dunked with both hands!

Yi Jianlian’s outstanding performance helped the Warriors create a scoring run.

Gan Guoyang, sipping water, said to Porter, "The small lineup doesn’t work against Terry, using the same method won’t do."

"Stop blabbering, just get on the court!" Porter didn’t want to hear Gan Guoyang rambling, just get on the court.

Gan Guoyang had to take off his jacket, warm up a bit, and wait to get on at the scorer’s table.

After a dead ball, Gan Guoyang re-entered the game, replacing Oseola Harrington.

But Yi Jianlian also went off to rest, as his task was temporarily complete.

Don Nelson subbed in Biedrins, continuing the rotational defense on Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang’s offensive shooting touch was average tonight, missing his first two attempts after returning.

However, he blocked Baron Davis on defense and stole the ball from Stephen Jackson, stabilizing the situation for the Glory.

Then, he caught the ball in the low post, powered through Biedrins, drew a foul, and went to the free-throw line.

Then again, he drove through the middle, drew another foul, hitting all four free throws.

At 42 years old, Gan Guoyang was that Sea-Calming Needle, playing the role of a fireman.

By the end of the first quarter, with Gan Guoyang’s effort, the Glory gradually closed the gap.

In the first quarter, the sides ended 27:29, with the Glory trailing the Warriors by just 2 points.

But in the second quarter, the situation on the court changed dramatically.

Baron Davis exploited a mismatch with Yao Ming, hitting a fadeaway jumper.

Yao Ming was pulled far out from the basket.

The Warriors were clear, resolutely avoiding attacking through Ah Gan, targeting Yao Ming instead.

Then, Baron Davis caught it at a 45-degree angle on the left and hit another three!

Subsequently, Warriors backup point guard Monta Ellis stole the ball.

Gerald Wallace’s pass was too casual.

Ellis, having stolen the ball, directly went on the fast break, scoring with a two-handed dunk!

The gap suddenly widened, and at that moment Allen Iverson did something unwise.

Facing Monta Ellis’ persistent pestering defense, an irate Iverson pushed Ellis.

Ellis staggered back, falling to the ground.

The referee tonight was Bavetta, who called an offensive foul on Iverson.

The ball went to the Warriors, who didn’t waste the opportunity to widen the lead.

Baron Davis continuously attacked the inside, pulling in Yao Ming and Gan Guoyang as defensive targets.

Gan Guoyang’s defensive range is no longer what it was in his younger days, and under Davis’s repeated maneuvers, he could only hold the paint.

As a result, Davis found an opportunity, passing to the right corner, Al Harrington caught it and hit a three!

The Glory, facing such wide-range maneuvers and quick shooting, seemed unable to keep pace.

Actually, at this moment, Don Nelson’s small-ball experiment was already showing its power.

Like the Glory’s traditional lineup structure, with an inside of Yao Ming and Gan Guoyang, Iverson lacking defensive coverage on the outside, and only Gerald Wallace on the wing, against modern playstyles, they would be shattered.

But the reason this didn’t happen is that the Warriors’ three-point shooting didn’t genuinely exceed the efficiency of inside and mid-range attacks.

They erupted with three-pointers in the first half, achieving such a great effect.

In the second quarter, the Warriors charged with a crazy offense, dropping 40 points!

In the 2007 NBA playoffs, scoring 40 in a single quarter is unheard of.

The Warriors did it, demonstrating the power of modern basketball.

Even greats like Ah Gan, Yao Ming, and Iverson, under this fast-paced and precise three-point shooting style, appeared as clumsy as oxen.

Actually, as early as 1998, the Trail Blazers led by Gan Guoyang had already set an example for everyone, sweeping the league, invincible.

But back then, the Trail Blazers didn’t shoot as many threes as the current Warriors, let alone more than future teams.

They had Ah Gan to hold things down, while the Warriors don’t, and future teams won’t either.

At halftime, the Warriors led the Glory by as much as 18 points with a score of 69:51.

The entire Oracle Arena was echoing with cheers as the Warriors scored again and again.

Excited fans clapped and shouted, managing to defeat the Glory like this was already a huge achievement.

Don Nelson stood calmly courtside, but inside, he was extremely thrilled.

He firmly believed that his strategic approach would eventually spread and flourish throughout the league.

Ah Gan is incredibly great, unparalleled, but as he ages, the era of centers will inevitably come to an end.

The Warriors may not win the current series, but they will win the future; Old Nelson is convinced of this.