Chapter 2239 - 43: Approaching

Chapter 2239: Chapter 43: Approaching

Glory is in a state of excitement from top to bottom.

Everyone is eagerly anticipating the 2007 NBA Finals.

They entered the Finals with an astonishing 12-1 record in the Western Conference, advancing with ease.

This situation left many critics, the media, and fans shocked and bewildered.

Although there were some elements of luck, like facing a lineup-clashing Utah Jazz in the first round.

In the second round, the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks were eliminated early, and the Warriors had no resistance whatsoever.

The Suns in the West Finals were all flash and no substance, seeming powerful but unable to last three rounds against Glory.

Moreover, the Trail Blazers greatly exhausted the Suns in the semi-finals, leaving the Suns powerless in the West Finals.

In the last few games, the Suns kept battling Glory to the end but eventually succumbed.

With Gan Guoyang, Allen Iverson, Yao Ming, Wallace, and Bell as the core, Glory demonstrated a dominance on the court not seen during the regular season.

Sweeping all the way into the Finals like this reminded people of the peak Trail Blazers, who breezed through the Western Conference playoffs into the Finals with no suspense.

As for Glory’s opponents, the Cleveland Cavaliers, it was their first time in history entering the Finals.

Their lineup was also quite solid, composed of capable young players and veterans.

But compared to Glory, they were quite lacking.

Before the match, experts unanimously predicted that Glory would defeat the Cavaliers without any suspense and clinch the championship.

Ah Gan’s 12th championship was just within reach.

For the Cavaliers, the main good news is that they have home-court advantage.

They had two more wins than Glory in the regular season, with the first game of the Finals to be held at the Gund Arena.

However, in front of Gan Guoyang, how much of an advantage this home court would provide is anyone’s guess.

The first game of the Finals was scheduled for June 7th, with both teams getting a week for rest and preparation.

Gan Guoyang’s main task this week is to take care of his back, ensuring no issues during the Finals.

Every day, he wakes up from the floor of his room, then does two hours of physical therapy before starting his day.

The therapist always tells him that as long as he doesn’t play, his back will recover in six months.

Gan Guoyang always smiles, saying nothing, while feeling that his time has indeed come.

With just four more wins to go, the sixteen numbers on the stadium would be wiped away.

He wonders if LeBron James and Arenas can extend their NBA journey for a few more games.

Every day, Gan Guoyang still insists on training, mainly focusing on shooting practice and agility exercises.

Even though there aren’t many games left in his career, he doesn’t relax at all.

He rarely goes to the gym anymore, his strength is sufficient, and excessive muscle training would reduce his agility.

Now besides shooting, he keeps his body youthful with seemingly playful activities like jumping rope, grabbing sandbags, and box jumps.

"You can play for another two seasons," the trainer says during practice, a statement completely different from that of the therapist, suggesting he can continue playing.

Gan Guoyang still smiles, not revealing any plans about retirement or continuing to those outside his core circle.

After training, Gan Guoyang sits alone in the gym, daydreaming for a while, pondering over various thoughts.

Some are related to basketball, some are not; he simply lets his thoughts flow.

Sometimes he remembers past Finals, sometimes he thinks of the sea in his hometown or his vaguely remembered mother.

The only thing he isn’t thinking about is this Finals’ opponent: the Cavaliers, James, Arenas; they’re not even on his radar.

He’s played in too many Finals, too many crucial games, and thus feels no nervousness towards this Final.

To him, these are just normal games with a larger audience and more significance, nothing more.

As for significance, it’s always people who assign it, and when you don’t care, it becomes nothing, merely revealing its true self.

Basketball, held in Gan Guoyang’s hands, its brown pebbled surface, contains half of his life.

On June 5th, the Glory team flew to Cleveland.

Gan Guoyang was rather excited, not because of the Finals, but because Cleveland felt fresh.

In his past 11 Finals, three in Portland, two in Chicago, two in Boston, two in Detroit, one in New York, one in Miami, and one in Washington, all were iconic big cities with teams that had historically won championships.

After coming to Vegas, the Finals opponent was his old home Portland, which he knew inside out.

Cleveland is truly a brand new rookie.

Thinking about experiencing something new for his last Finals made Gan Guoyang find it quite interesting.

Upon arriving in Cleveland, the team stayed at the Hilton Hotel.

The entire city of Cleveland was immersed in the joy of the Finals.

They lack Finals experience, and the first time is always a mix of restraint, enthusiasm, and wildness.

The entire Glory team adapted to Cleveland for a day and went to Gund Arena for training on June 6th.

Outside the arena, the players saw the colossal LeBron James Nike promotional poster hanging on the facade of a skyscraper opposite the arena.

"It’s pretty big, but why not put his face on it instead of just using the back view?" Gan Guoyang commented.

This giant promotional poster, reaching ten stories high, was quite magnificent, although it still lacked compared to Gan Guoyang’s former poster in Portland.

Besides, the current Vegas arena is already named after Gan Guoyang.

Clearly, Nike hopes James can replicate Ah Gan’s influence.

This finals is very significant for James and Nike.

Nike’s star lineup has spanned from Jordan to Kobe, and now James, three generations, constantly challenged by Ah Gan.

Will they succeed this time? No one knows.

In the pre-game public interview, Gan Guoyang was asked how he viewed his twelfth finals experience.

Gan Guoyang didn’t joke or say anything playful; he seriously contemplated for a moment and said, "I will give my all, no matter what number time it is."

His serious and earnest attitude startled the Cleveland media a bit.

Everyone is discussing how many games the Cavaliers can hold out against Glory, and whether they can win one.

Rick Carlisle stepped up to boost the team’s morale, saying the Cavaliers’ lineup is not worse than Glory’s.

"We have Arenas, we have the experienced Wei Bo, Fenli, and most importantly, we have LeBron James. We also came through hurdles to get here; we are one of the league’s two best teams."

Regarding Carlisle’s "stubbornness," the harsh Vegas media bluntly stated, "It’s just because you have LeBron that you can’t win a single game."

"LeBron cannot easily score against the defense woven by Ah Gan and Yao Ming; he barely knows how to shoot."

The Vegas media writers do understand the game; as the Cavaliers’ core, James’s scoring against Glory will definitely be compromised.

Glory’s defensive lineup and strategy are indeed very effective against him.

Of course, the Cavaliers can argue that regular season is regular season, and finals are finals.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, James had beautiful mid-range and long-range shooting, once using shooting to overturn the game.

Moreover, is the inside defense combo of Ben Wallace and Okafor really that much worse than Ah Gan and Yao Ming?

Both sides have engaged in a series of verbal duels before the game, but these don’t decide the match; they are just pre-game morsels for fans to savor.

The real outcome will only be known upon clashing in the finals.

On the evening of the 7th, the first battle of the finals officially began.

Needless to say, tickets for Gund Arena were long sold out.

Cleveland fans fueled with frenzy, cheering for the Cavaliers.

Many arrived more than two hours early to support the home team.

Outside the arena, vast numbers of fans gathered in the plaza to watch the match.

Both sides had finished warming up, and the starting players were all set.

Glory: Gan Guoyang, Yao Ming, Allen Iverson, Gerald Wallace, Raja Bell.

Cavaliers: Arenas, James, Brad Miller, Gooden, Mike Finley.

Before the tip-off, Gan Guoyang approached Arenas to say hello and embrace him.

"The East Finals didn’t go so well, you little punk." Gan Guoyang patted Arenas’ head.

"I was preparing for the finals," Arenas boasted shamelessly.

Compared to the explosive performance in the 2006 playoffs, Arenas’ performance in this season’s playoffs can only be described as mediocre.

This caused him to lose the qualification to compete with James for the team leader.

In fact, it’s inevitable because Arenas is far from being a match for James commercially.

The Cavaliers know who to support, and Arenas cannot compete with James on this front.

But Arenas is not willing to play the supporting role; his struggle with James has not ended.

Only that this time, James led the Cavaliers to the finals, and his reputation reached its peak.

Arenas can only avoid his sharp edges and temporarily assist him.

After all, Arenas also desires to defeat Glory and claim a championship.

In the finals, there is no grudge that cannot be put down — except for the rare few obsessive players.

As Gan Guoyang spoke with Arenas, James stood far away from Gan Guoyang, the two gazing at each other from afar.

James looked at Gan Guoyang, feeling he was both distant and close.

He wanted to approach but didn’t know if he can withstand the scorching sun’s rays.

Yao Ming and Brad Miller jump for the ball, and the finals began.