In the 1990 playoffs and the first two rounds of this year’s playoffs, the Trail Blazers had never encountered such a situation.
Their overall strength is overwhelming, and Gan Guoyang’s presence is too intimidating, leaving them unchallenged along the way.
In 1990, the only opponent Gan Guoyang faced who posed a threat in the paint was David Robinson.
However, Robinson’s fighting spirit was too weak; he was thoroughly suppressed in the matchups and outright suffered a humiliating defeat this year.
In the brutal battles of the playoffs, he simply couldn’t compete head-to-head with Gan Guoyang.
Barkley is a different story—coming from a starkly impoverished family background, he carries an aura of rugged determination.
Although he squandered much of his ti and talent both on and off the court, his ambition to rise to the top of the league and beco the strongest is unwavering.
Returning to Phoenix with a 0-2 deficit, Barkley refrained from getting into trouble this ti. To avoid argunts with his wife, he stayed at a hotel instead of going ho, isolating himself in a room.
He had the assistant coach bring him ga footage, which he watched repeatedly, analyzing every detail of his matchups against Gan Guoyang.
The more he watched, the more Barkley realized that Gan Guoyang is a master of details in competition, always striving for the optimal decision whether on offense or defense.
Small advantages accumulate into larger ones, ultimately converting into victory.
These principles had in fact been generously taught to Barkley by Gan Guoyang during sumr training sessions.
Gan Guoyang had never kept such knowledge to himself, but Barkley hadn’t grasped it at the ti—letting it go in one ear and out the other without taking it seriously.
This playoff series forced Barkley to truly focus, especially after spending a brief period detained at the Portland Police Departnt, where Gan Guoyang bailed him out, followed by a crushing defeat in the first ga.
In the second ga, although he tried his utmost and still lost, Barkley ca to recognize that neither the Suns nor himself were entirely without chances.
If you think you’re bound to lose from the start, then what’s the point of playing this series?
Having spent an entire day reviewing ga tapes at the hotel, Barkley prepared himself for May 24, when the Suns would host the Trail Blazers at ho.
The third ga between the Bulls and Pistons was scheduled for May 25, separated by a four-day gap from the second ga due to the league’s decision to accommodate NBC TV Station’s broadcast schedule for better ratings, resulting in these less-than-ideal scheduling arrangents.
Thus, the Suns and Trail Blazers began their Western Conference finals Ga 3 earlier, progressing faster than the Bulls and Pistons.
This marked the third consecutive year the Suns and Trail Blazers t in the playoffs—losing to the Trail Blazers 3-4 in ’89, and being swept last year.
Tonight, Barkley swore to win this ga; otherwise, why was he even here?
Losing here again would be pointless—if you’re swept again, there’s no significance to your presence.
However, unlike the first ga, the fiercely determined Barkley said nothing before the match.
In the locker room, he remained quiet, and when interviewed by reporters, he spoke humbly, only saying: "I will do my best."
The most important lesson Barkley learned from Gan Guoyang was to practice what you preach; this would make one stronger with every word spoken.
For example, "I will do my best"—countless people have said this, as if no one in this world ever holds back.
In reality, very few truly give their all; the vast majority of players simply don’t exhaust all their effort.
Barkley enjoyed bragging, but he understood that if Gan Guoyang said, "I will certainly do my best," he would truly give his all—completely dedicating and burning himself out in the process.
The big talker finally began to understand the weight of words, the aning of honoring one’s commitnts.
A strong person who keeps promises carries imnse power with even the lightest of words; they embody the value of integrity and the gravitas of "a promise worth a thousand gold"—weighty and unyielding.
Conversely, soone who breaks their promises and speaks recklessly, even if externally strong, often appears as nothing more than a clown in people’s eyes.
Declaring lifelong commitnt today, promising five or six or seven championships tomorrow, but ultimately calculating temporary gains and losses, changing plans impulsively—such people invite ridicule in the end.
Barkley didn’t want to be like that. He didn’t want to be weak or hypocritical. If he wanted to compete against Gan Guoyang, he first needed to be sincere and give it his all.
Fitzsimmons felt the unwavering strength in Barkley and continued to implent the rotation strategy from Ga 2, putting Barkley as the starting power forward to confront Gan Guoyang throughout the ga.
Before the ga, Barkley told Fitzsimmons: "Don’t stagger my playti with Gan Guoyang. If he’s on, I’m on. If he’s off resting, I’m off too. I don’t want him to have a single mont of comfort."
Tonight, Barkley stayed true to his words. He knew that making Gan Guoyang uncomfortable also ant Gan Guoyang would never let him feel comfortable, but he was ntally prepared for that.
At 7:30 PM, the ga officially began. Under Barkley’s lead, the Suns surged forward with incredible montum, determined to take a chunk out of the Trail Blazers.
The Trail Blazers, who had been relatively relaxed before the ga, quickly realized that the Suns were here to fight to the death tonight—evident from their highly active team defense.
Yet the Trail Blazers were seasoned veterans, having weathered many storms. They set up their formation, leveraging their Princeton offense and adhering to the principle of "slow is fast," engaging in a steady exchange of attrition with the Suns.
But soon, the Trail Blazers found themselves in trouble—tonight, their three-point shooting was off. Gan Guoyang noticed that the Suns seed to have removed the soft padding behind the rim, which affected the hoop’s elasticity, making the ball more likely to bounce out.
The Suns were clearly aiming to drive play into the paint for layups and rebounds, favoring fast breaks while suppressing the Trail Blazers’ accurate outside shooting.
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