At first, Rambis had no reaction to Gan Guoyang's words; he just treated them as regular trash talk.
Watching an NBA game on TV seems quiet, civilized, with only the squeaking of sneakers on the court and the pleasant swish of the ball through the net.
But the real NBA arena is as noisy, dirty, and filthy as a market, a mental test for every player on the court.
Rambis had experienced the worst environment Boston Garden had to offer, and although they lost, they fought until Game 7 and nearly won there.
On the court, Rambis often defended against Bird and McHale, the league's toughest frontcourt players—a dirty label wouldn't be an exaggeration.
In Game 4 of the Finals, McHale gave Rambis a "clothesline" defense, locking his throat and knocking him to the ground.
