Chapter 2228 - 36: Forsaken Land (2)

Chapter 2228: Chapter 36: Forsaken Land (2)

At the end of the fourth game, when the dust settled, the San Francisco fans applauded and cheered for Gan Guoyang.

It is very rare for a player to receive blessings from fans during away playoffs.

Gan Guoyang had a towel draped over his shoulders as he waved goodbye to the fans.

He knew in his heart that this was his last game in the Bay Area.

As his second home, it held many basketball memories for him.

That night, Glory’s entire team left San Francisco and returned to Las Vegas.

Gan Guoyang didn’t travel with the team but instead went with Quentin to the old site of Gan’s Restaurant in the Tenderloin District, at the hotel.

Quentin said to Gan Guoyang, "Boss, the ownership of this hotel now belongs to us."

Gan Guoyang nodded and said, "You didn’t use any coercive methods, right? We should be civilized."

"No, I just gave him an offer he couldn’t refuse."

"Great, that money will be deducted from your salary."

"What? That’s not right!"

"Haha, I’m just joking with you. I’ll leave this place to you, I plan to reopen a restaurant."

"Are you really planning to be a chef after retirement?"

"I just want Dad to have a familiar environment for his retirement. Let’s start immediately, it’s in your hands."

Quentin nodded, knowing that handling this project meant there was good money to be made.

Gan Guoyang was quite lenient with some of his subordinates’ opportunistic behavior, letting them eat well so they could work well.

While Las Vegas was great, Gan Guoyang also focused on creating more "control zones."

Vegas’s gambling, the Bay Area’s high technology, Los Angeles’s entertainment industry, Portland’s sports products—these were the domains that Gan Guoyang had conquered.

Besides these, Gan Guoyang was planning to spend a significant sum to purchase land in the West Coast Region, becoming a true landowner.

In America, there are many landowners with huge land resources; their presence is like being lords in independent kingdoms.

As a Chinese person with farming roots, buying some land in America to grow vegetables seems quite normal, doesn’t it?

Gan’s Restaurant is just a memorial stop. As his basketball career enters its final phase, Gan Guoyang has already made plans for the future.

Beating the Warriors 4-0 gave the veterans of Glory ample rest time, which is why Gan Guoyang pursued a quick resolution.

In the playoffs, whether at home or in a hotel, he slept on the floor to relieve back muscle pressure.

Elsewhere, another semifinal showdown was taking place between the Phoenix Suns and the Portland Trail Blazers. After four games, they were tied at 2-2, requiring at least six games.

Glory hoped that the series would go to seven; as predicted, both teams defended their home courts and battled into a grueling Game 7.

On the night of May 20th, Gan Guoyang lay on the cold floor of his bedroom at home, watching Game 7 between the Trail Blazers and the Suns.

Kobe had put on a god-like performance in this series, as the Suns had no one who could stop him.

Their shoot guard lineup consisted of offensive players like Babosa and Matt Carroll, but there was hardly anyone to halt Kobe.

In the series, Suns had primarily tasked defending Kobe to the 34-year-old Grant Hill, but Hill’s ability to limit Kobe was truly limited.

All six games were scoring shootouts with firepower surges.

Compared to the Warriors, the Suns undoubtedly had more impressive firepower.

They scored 100 or more points in all games, with two surpassing 120 points.

If Gan Guoyang had to choose, he’d certainly hope to play the Trail Blazers in the Western Conference finals.

This year, the Trail Blazers’ overall strength had declined; it relied solely on Kobe’s support.

If this seven-game battle ended with a victory in the West Finals, it would already be a tough fight.

Additionally, playing his career’s last Western Conference Finals in Portland would be a perfect farewell.

The Suns had not only strong players but also a style that suppressed slow, aging teams like Glory.

Though they eliminated the Warriors in the semifinals, facing the upgraded version of the Suns, whether Glory could keep up with the pace was a question mark.

But once the game truly began, shortly into the first quarter, Gan Guoyang knew: the Blazers had already stumbled.

There seemed to be evident strains between Kobe and either the coaching staff or the team. Rumors before the game hinted at Kobe’s dissatisfaction with the Trail Blazers’ management, indicating he might seek a trade in the summer.

The discord between Coach McMillan and Kobe grew irreconcilable; relationships always have expiration dates.

Kobe was evolving, McMillan changing; their tactical differences had increasingly widened.

McMillan hoped for Kobe to be more team-oriented, while Kobe felt McMillan’s conservative tactics limited his performance.

Throughout the first six games, Kobe averaged 36.5 points, showcasing outstanding firepower.

But before this game, McMillan told Kobe he needed to rely on his teammates, integrate the team, and thus clinch the series.

Pre-game, both had an intense locker room argument; Kobe argued the team rode on his extraordinary performance to reach this point. Now that it’s Game 7, if he’s not allowed to give his all, how could he rely on his teammates?

"If it were Ah Gan, he’d score 60 points and win the Game 7!"

"But you’re not Ah Gan! You can’t score that many points in Game 7!"

This was their pre-game dialogue, one that led to an irreparable rift in their relationship.

The consequence was Kobe refusing to take shots from the start of the first quarter, opting only to pass.

Kobe’s reluctance to shoot led the overall Trail Blazers’ offense to verge on collapse.

As the offense was built around Kobe, when he refused to take shots, the others were baffled and didn’t know how to play.

Witnessing this, McMillan was furious, thinking, I wanted you to play more team-oriented, not stop taking shots!

McMillan understood this was Kobe’s protest; in a playoff Game 7 refusal to shoot, only Kobe would dare do such a thing.

"That kid still has such a bad temper." Gan Guoyang watched Kobe’s performance, the TV coverage continuously flashing to Kobe, showing his stubborn face.

In the 12-minute first quarter, Kobe had just one attempt, which didn’t go in, rendering the Portland Trail Blazers to trail the Suns by 11 points.

23:34, such a deficit is not easily overcome.

In the second quarter, Kobe still didn’t want to take shots, with three tries and one basket, gaining only 2 points.

This was Kobe’s worst playoff half performance, not due to poor execution or strong defense.

He simply refused to shoot, expressing his discontent towards the team and the coach in his own stubborn way.

More importantly, he felt he couldn’t progress further here.

This season, Kobe was 28 years old, precisely at a player’s peak.

Despite his four rings, one of them a real ring, Kobe wasn’t satisfied.

Ah Gan had always been his goal, a lofty one that reaching even half of Ah Gan’s level would be a blessing.

Presently, the Trail Blazers lacked the support from management to ownership that Ah Gan had cultivated, and were declining.

He sensed that if he stayed in Portland, he’d eventually become Nike’s cash cow.

With Ah Gan overshadowing, many top players were unwilling to come to Portland, particularly big men.

Anyone coming here would inevitably be compared to Ah Gan, living under the shadow of that towering stature.

Except for players like Kobe and Little O’Neal, whom Ah Gan had personally nurtured, having feelings for the team, other stars wouldn’t want to play here, they’d rather create their own legend in another city.

Some players preferred Las Vegas, defecting directly to Ah Gan and Jordan, and were reluctant to come to Portland.

To many, Portland was a forsaken land where reliving the past 20 years of glory satisfied fans.

Kobe’s semi-abandonment in the first half caused the Trail Blazers to collapse, trailing by 27 points against the Suns at halftime.

Although Kobe attempted to shoot more in the second half, his effort was too late. As McMillan said, you’re not Ah Gan.

With the team’s morale completely drained and without teammates’ support, Kobe’s solo play posed no threat to the mighty Suns.

Finally, the Phoenix Suns crushed the Trail Blazers in Game 7, winning 127:96 by a massive 31-point margin, advancing to the Western Conference finals with a 4-2 series victory!

Watching Kobe leave the court with his head held high, Gan Guoyang, lying on the floor, knew Kobe could be such a bastard sometimes.

What he gave up wasn’t only his shooting but also his Trail Blazers career.

This summer, Kobe’s departure would mean the end of the Trail Blazers’ "post-Ah Gan era" boom.

What Gan Guoyang left for the Trail Blazers, the arrangement, would gradually vanish under the passage of time.

God had fully abandoned that place.