The Rockets, with Wei Bo as the core, complemented by Cassell, Robert Holi, Eddie Johnson, Campbell, and Kevin Willis, are quite formidable and have shown signs of rising this season.
After the scandal broke out, Wei Bo began to undergo investigation, and his performance was affected. The Rockets suffered a three-game losing streak in mid-March and were badly defeated by the Trail Blazers in a tiebreaker, 87-105, dropping to third in the Western Conference, sharing the same record as the Seattle SuperSonics, but leading them in head-to-head standings.
On the Trail Blazers' side, Gan Guoyang was like a truck with the gas pedal fully pressed. As the playoffs approached, he couldn't care less about his teammates' form—he was charging forward at full speed.
From late February to March, Gan Guoyang put on a series of outstanding individual performances, as if returning to his most astonishing personal display in 1987.
