Kevin Johnson didn’t know what nonsense Kurt Rambis was talking about.
Sotis this guy is just babbling and acting crazy, a real weirdo.
These two n are so different, one black, one white, one a gifted guard, the other an average forward.
Rambis’s basketball experience was different from Kevin Johnson’s; Johnson was a prodigious talent and beca a star on the court early on.
Whereas Rambis was always overlooked. After being selected in the third round by an NBA team that didn’t sign him, he went to Greece to play for a year.
In Greece, Rambis shared an apartnt with two waitresses from a restaurant and had a happy ti; there, he was a celebrity.
Back in Arica, he was a nobody again, and because of his nerdy black-frad glasses, he constantly received strange looks from players and fans.
He made a na for himself with the Lakers, and even after leaving the Lakers, he still wore those glasses and maintained many weird habits—like taking hotel toothbrushes, shower caps, toothpaste, and soap from away gas to use in the locker room.
After coming to the Suns, Rambis was the oldest player on this young team, at 31 years old, everyone else was younger than him.
But he did not beco the locker room leader as expected, even though he gave an inspiring speech in January that turned the team’s fortunes around.
To the other young players, he was too strange, even if his journey with the Lakers was inspiring, he lacked the charisma to command everyone’s respect.
Kevin Johnson, knowing that Rambis had been repeatedly crushed by Ah Gan, was dissatisfied with Rambis’s demoralizing talk and replied, "Play well, Kurt, where’s that courage you had before? The series just started, and you’ve lost confidence because of Ah Gan?"
Rambis shook his head and said, "You must have played against Ah Gan in high school, right? Don’t you have any deeper understanding of him?"
Kevin Johnson recalled playing against Ah Gan in high school in Sacranto, indeed, those were not pleasant mories, but they were a long ti ago.
Rambis continued, "It’s normal that you don’t understand him. You are a real good guy, Kevin, and he... he is actually a very unpleasant person, although only on the court. He tornts every opponent like a cat playing with a mouse, haven’t you felt it? I only realized today, this guy hides his nastiness very deep."
As Rambis said, Kevin Johnson was indeed a good person, in the most traditional sense of the word.
Although a black player, he excelled in both academics and sports, with very good results from high school to college, spending ti in the library until it closed.
After being traded to the Phoenix Suns, he rented an apartnt close to the training center.
The first thing he did when he got ho every day was to clean up by himself, holding a sponge and bucket and cleaning both inside and out.
His apartnt was equipped with a piano, chessboard, and desk, where he placed replies to fan mail, and works by Martin Luther King, Erich Fromm, Malcolm, and Plato—he didn’t even have a TV, let alone any pornographic videos.
He was so different from most flamboyant NBA players, in this regard, he resembled John Stockton.
But on the court, he was more honest and noble than Stockton, who was often sneaky and full of tricks.
Kevin Johnson was so honest that even referees believed him; when the ball went out and the referees didn’t see it clearly without video replay, they would ask him who last touched it.
Kevin Johnson honestly said he was the last to touch the ball out of bounds.
In a ga against the Hawks, when Kevin Johnson and Moses Malone scrambled for the ball and a foul was called, Kevin Johnson complained, saying, "I thought I succeeded in stealing the ball," and the referee said he might have made a mistake and apologized.
This was Kevin Johnson, the nice guy on the court, but certainly a formidable and fearso opponent to many—except Ah Gan.
Hearing Rambis’s words, Kevin Johnson seed to realize, playing against Ah Gan was not just any ga, but a terrifying gamble.
Losing ans being trampled and crushed by him, not just in one or two gas but throughout an entire career.
Rambis continued, "In fact, great athletes all have a very vicious side. They are obsessed with winning and will stop at nothing to win. Ah Gan is one of the cleanest in his thods; he never resorts to tricks or scheming. On the other hand, he is also the most brutal because he doesn’t just want to win; he wants to completely destroy you. That’s his joy in playing. He’s more terrifying than Jabbar, Moses, or Michael—like a born killer."
Listening to Rambis’s words, Kevin Johnson thought this guy was exaggerating. It’s just basketball, could it be that serious?
Bro, are you so traumatized by Ah Gan that you’re delirious and talking nonsense now?
Actually, Rambis’s words made so sense. In the history of professional sports, no great achievers were ever gentle, kind-hearted people.
The excessive hormones in their bodies and their competitive spirits ant they were not the honest type, and so even had terrible personalities and a poor nature.
If it wasn’t for the halo of sports honors surrounding them, fans wouldn’t just not admire them; they might not even have ti to hate them.
But Kevin Johnson was still young. He couldn’t fully understand Kurt Rambis’s words and still held a positive view about the future and success.
He believed that as long as he worked hard and diligently, one day he could reach the other shore of victory and defeat opponents like Ah Gan.
While they were talking, the Suns gradually closed the gap in the score thanks to consecutive counterattacks—Eddie Johnson’s three-pointers were indispensable.
Backup player Eddie Johnson hit two three-pointers in a row in the second quarter, and the Suns’ three-point shooting was outstanding in this ga.
During the first-round ga against the Jazz, Eddie Johnson scored 12 out of 19 three-pointers, with a shooting accuracy of 63%. His precise three-point shooting was key to the Suns’ coback.
The score was now 27:33, with the Trail Blazers leading by 6 points, and Bobby Beelman called a tiout.
Unlike regular season gas, Gan Guoyang wouldn’t rest for too long; after a little over three minutes, he was back on the court.
The Trail Blazers’ defensive issues at the forward positions were glaring. They lacked height and speed at the small forward position. Beelman needed Gan Guoyang’s defensive abilities to counter the increasing number of sharpshooters in the League.
Players like Mark Aguirre and Dantley, who were dominant low post forwards, would beco increasingly rare in the future.
Kevin Johnson and Kurt Rambis also re-entered the ga, with very tight rotations in the playoffs.
Kurt Rambis told Fitz Simmons, "I can guard Ah Gan, no problem."
Fitz Simmons sized up Rambis a bit and said, "You can handle Ah Gan?"
Rambis shook his head, "I can’t, but I’m not afraid, I’ll give him a bit of trouble."
Fitz Simmons appreciated Rambis’s attitude and decided to let him continue to match up against Gan Guoyang.
As a result, Gan Guoyang rarely went on a scoring spree of 20 points in the second quarter, totalling 33 points for the half, and led the Trail Blazers to widen the score gap.
45:63, the Trail Blazers led the Suns by 18 points at halfti, almost putting the ga beyond doubt.
Heading back to the locker room at halfti, Kevin Johnson asked Rambis, "How were you confident in guarding Ah Gan?"
Rambis said, "I told you, I can’t, I’m just not scared."
"You also said you’d give him a bit of trouble."
"Yes, I did create ’a bit’ of trouble, at least he didn’t score 30."
"..."
Kevin Johnson was sure, Rambis must be crazy.
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