A person can resist as much praise as he can, as much slander as he can.

For Gan Guoyang, in the two days from June 3rd to the finals, he experienced a gap from heaven to hell in public opinion, when the Western Conference Finals just ended, he was the hottest superstar in the United States, his skin color, his nationality was ignored, his god-like performance in the Western Finals, 65 points in a single playoff game that made history, regular season MVP, the best record in history, the best defensive player, the rebounding king, one after another halos were superimposed on him, and his brilliance in the basketball world has been incomparable. Like Larry Bird in 1986 and Moses Malone in 1983.

However, everything changed completely in one night, and the footage of Gan Guoyang being interviewed after training, silent and shaking his head while answering reporters' questions, was broadcast on major television stations, and criticism poured in.

Much of the evening television program now discusses the incident, criticizing Gan's actions, reminiscent of the 1987 rebuke of the smiling assassin across the sports world after Thomas agreed with Rodman's statement that "Bird is just an average player if not white."

In the United States, there are two very sensitive issues, one is race and the other is freedom, Thomas's approval is seen as an endorsement of racial antagonism, while Gan Guoyang's "denial" is a denial of people's freedom, even if this people are not American.

"Eight years in the United States do not seem to have changed the genes of this Chinese, and in this free country, he has not sympathized with his compatriots, and I have to doubt the personality of this player and his original intention of insisting on not becoming an American citizen." This is one of all the criticisms of Gan Guoyang, which can not be described as vicious, and the seemingly bland and helpless tone is a heart-wrenching argument.

And there are countless criticisms like this, even on June 5, the day the finals are about to start, Gan Guoyang only needs to turn on the TV and open the newspaper to see the discussion about him - a week ago, it was about basketball, and a week later, it was about politics.

As early as the beginning of the playoffs, Gan Guoyang was involved in a similar turmoil, and the recording incident shook the hearts of the entire Trail Blazers, but unlike last time, the last time Gan Guoyang was a victim, everyone was on Gan Guoyang's side, and what Gan Guoyang needed to solve was an internal problem, a problem of unity for the Trail Blazers.

This time it was different, almost everyone was on the opposite side of them.

However, Gan Guoyang's heart is quite calm, even if he suddenly lost his voice at the moment of the interview, Gan Guoyang did not panic, he already understood that all he could do about this matter was to do nothing.

Everything Thomas experienced in 1987 is still vivid, Thomas's stubbornness at the press conference, Bird's brushing away, Thomas's face was full of helplessness and frustration on the TV show, and he was almost the enemy of the world at that time.

In 1988, Thomas won the championship and scored 25 points in a single quarter with an injured leg, and he became a hero in the American basketball world again. And the guy who is considered a bad guy will really be like a rotten egg, getting more and more stinky, and some dirty water that doesn't belong to him will also be splashed on him.

What's more, Gan Guoyang actually didn't do anything, but in the media world, he offended some people, and at the same time, some people didn't think he was happy, and some people in the outside world didn't think it was a big deal to watch the excitement, so he was involved in the whirlpool of the storm.

Therefore, Gan Guoyang clearly realized that the best way to shut up those guys is to win the championship, and the defense lawyer will always have it.

When his cousin Qian Huidu called and asked Gan Guoyang if he wanted to hold a press conference to clarify, Gan Guoyang rejected her, he said, "Some questions can't be said clearly, I will only get the right to speak if I win the championship, and now everyone is on the rise, and everything will be wrong." ”

So, after two chaotic and bad days, Gan Guoyang finally joined the Portland Trail Blazers and prepared to start their second Finals journey in the 80s, in this eventful playoff process, they overcame obstacles, carried a sword to the throne, and now, what they have to do is to kill the opposing team, put on the crown, and ascend to the top of the league.

"Good evening, everyone's situation tonight doesn't seem to be so good?" When Gan Guoyang came to the locker room of the Memorial Gymnasium, he could see that everyone's expressions were a little strange.

"Gan, we've all heard the news outside, those damn reporters, they like to make some messy news, I don't know what to say, is it that serious to shake your head gently?" Jerome Cauchy has always been a quick talker, and he has been constantly asked about relevant issues by reporters in the past two days, and he has no interest in politics at all.

"It seemed serious to some, but I just wanted to refuse to answer his question." Gan Guoyang said with a smile.

"Then you should make it clear to those guys! You see, look, the national champion expects the survey, only Oregon and California want us to win the championship, and the others all support Detroit! It's incredible, are we worse than those bad boys? After June 3, only Californians, where Portland is located, and Gan Guoyang, where Portland once lived, supported the Trail Blazers, and the others preferred to support the Pistons rather than the Trail Blazers.

"There are some things, if you can explain clearly, there will be no war in this world." Drexler looked at the book and said that this guy always likes to take a book in the locker room before a big game.

"Our gliders are all about to become philosophers! Haha, but Clyde is right, there are some things that don't need to be explained, they came to interview every day for the past two days, in fact, they came to find fault, we want to win the championship and let those guys get out! Buck-Williams said loudly, thinking the same as Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang suddenly felt a little moved, maybe basketball players are indeed relatively simple, they will be angry and slack off when they are discriminated against, but their teammates are bullied, especially the boss is criticized by the media, everyone automatically stands on Gan Guoyang's side, there is no reason, no political position.

"Ok, let's kick our opponent's ass hard tonight!"

………………

On the evening of June 5, 1989, the NBA Finals kicked off, and after 82 games of the regular season and three rounds of elimination in the playoffs, the two best teams of the season, the Portland Trail Blazers and the Detroit Pistons, finally stood on the highest stage and fought to the death for the highest honor.

The Detroit Pistons defeated Jordan's Chicago Bulls 4-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals to reach the Finals for the second year in a row and are one step away from defending their title.

Of course, the Pistons' Eastern Conference finals were also very difficult, in the first game, the Chicago Bulls, a dark horse in two consecutive rounds, defeated the Pistons 94-88 at Auburn Hills Palace, and Michael Jordan's performance of 32 points and 11 boards dominated the whole court and led the Bulls to take the lead.

Then the Pistons' second home court was naturally not to be missed, and they easily won 100:91, but in the third game, when they came to Chicago, Michael Jordan, who was descended by God, scored 46 points on 16 of 26 shots in a single game, and beat the Pistons at home, leading 2:1 with a big score, which instantly made Chicagoans see the hope of reaching the finals.

However, the Pistons had completely recovered at this time, and in the next three games, they completely locked Jordan and did not give No. 23 another chance to save the world, and the Pistons won three games in a row and sent the Bulls to fish.

Now, the opportunity to defend their title is in front of them, and they certainly don't want to miss the opportunity to build a dynasty.

The Pistons players came to the Memorial Coliseum early to start the warm-up training on the field, and all the Pistons players looked full of confidence, the experience of winning the championship, the majesty of the regular season, the smooth sailing of the playoffs and the good atmosphere in the team, so that the Pistons players were not afraid of the league's most terrible home court, not to mention that the opponent's core players are now in a bad political turmoil.

These bad boys even imagined that Gan Guoyang was booed by the audience after coming to the stadium, and then lost confidence under this blow and gave up the championship.

In fact, Gan Guoyang also has similar worries, he can not care about the criticism of the media, he can not care about the fans in other states who do not support him, but he can't care about the attitude of Portland fans, if Portlanders do not support him, then what is he fighting for this city and this team?

However, when Gan Guoyang walked out of the players' tunnel with a sense of apprehension, accompanied by the dazzling lights, his ears sounded with extremely warm applause from the audience, as well as huge cheers, many fans at the scene saw Gan Guoyang come out, and they all raised huge placards, some wrote "We are with you", some wrote "Let all conspiracies get out", and some wrote "Please stay away from politics".

The relationship between the past five years, the joy, surprise and emotion that Gan Guoyang has brought to Portlanders in the past five years, the honor he has brought to this team and this city in the past five years, and the contributions he has made to all Portlanders and Oregonians in sports in the past five years are not a so-called "political mistake" that can be erased.

Even if Gan Guoyang has always been unwilling to accept American citizenship and become an honorary citizen of Portland, he has become a part of the city, and the image of Gan Guoyang running down Portland Street in the misty morning has become a symbol of the city.

In fact, the political enthusiasm of many Americans is not as high as it seems, and the sentence that Gan Guoyang wants to say is also very right, "The affairs of the Chinese should be judged and decided by the Chinese themselves, and there is no need for foreigners to dictate them." ”

They just want to watch Gan Guoyang play basketball and bring them a championship.

At this time, Adelman walked up behind Gan Guoyang, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Come on, the people of Portland love you, don't let them down." ”