The Spurs hoped that after acquiring Gilmore, this "Old Train" could collide with Iceman to create a blend of icy and fiery sparks, capable of contending with Magic Johnson and the Sky Hook Jabbar in the Western Conference.
In 1982 and 1983, they made it to the Western Conference Finals in a row, but before the hugely talented Lakers, they still couldn't put up effective resistance; and as Gervin and Gilmore aged, their competitiveness gradually declined.
As the Lakers' dominance in the Western Conference grew day by day, the Spurs had not yet found a strategy to counter them, while new forces had already risen and were closely catching up.
After making adjustments at halftime, Gan Guoyang turned more of his attention to defense; he no longer fixated on tussles with Gilmore in the paint.
On the defensive end, the Trail Blazers chose to let Mychal Thompson match up with Gilmore, wasting a top defensive resource like Gan Guoyang on an "Old Train" was really unnecessary.
