As soon as this lineup appeared, the TV comntators expressed doubts. Charles Barkley, who has been working at Turner Television, sharply comnted: "Sonny is taking a bunch of kindergarten kids on a field trip! Five starters, two rookies, and two who have been in the League for less than three years. The total number of gas played by these four is less than half of Ah Gan’s!"
Regarding Gan Guoyang’s coback, as well as his decision to build a team in Vegas, Charles Barkley has always held a "critical" attitude.
He has pointed out more than once on the show that Ah Gan’s second coback would be a misstep in his career.
"Many years later, people will wish Ah Gan’s career had stopped forever in June 2000, or that sumr in September 2000, ending with a championship and gold dal, an eternal freeze-fra, instead of suddenly popping up a year later saying I want to co back."
"What does the 9/11 oath have to do with you? Arica let you down; you should be happy, you should go back to China and laugh at us for a lifeti, rather than saying you want to co back! This isn’t like you, Ah Gan, it really isn’t like you!"
Barkley’s outspoken nature as usual gave Turner Television plenty of dia spotlight.
Gan Guoyang didn’t respond because privately Barkley had already spoken to Gan Guoyang, advising him not to mind as it was all for the program’s effect.
Barkley is now tead up with forr Rockets guard Kenny Smith on the comntary show, and every ti he wears his Championship Ring from 2000. When he is at a disadvantage in an argunt, he would just flash the ring in Kenny Smith’s face.
"I have a Championship Ring; what do you have, Kenny? What right do you have to speak against ?"
This always ensures Barkley wins the debates.
On the other side, the Los Angeles Lakers deployed their strongest lineup, which they hadn’t used in the preseason.
Starting Shaquille O’Neal, Samaki Walker, Scottie Pippen, Mitch Richmond, and Lindsey Hunter.
In the roster, Derek Fisher was absent due to injury, with Robert Horry, Brian Shaw, and other championship contributors sitting on the bench.
Phil Jackson looked at the Glory Team’s young starting lineup, not recognizing three of the five, and wondered if the Glory Team was deliberately showing off, or if they really had no one left.
Logically, the Glory Team should have so capable veterans; it shouldn’t be that they are out of breath just as the season starts, right?
Porter, Cole, Willis—they should still have so fuel in the tank.
If the Glory Team is arranging their lineup like this, then most of the Lakers’ pre-ga preparations were for nothing.
The only useful one was the defense against Ah Gan. But frankly, Jackson wasn’t sure what Ah Gan’s current situation was, how much he had left, or how his style had changed.
Ah Gan truly is the most unpredictable player in this League, ever-changing, yet steadfast.
In his long professional career, the Ah Gan of 2001 is already a different player from that of 1984, but after careful thought, so things seem never to have changed.
Anyway, this is a chance encounter, see how it goes while playing.
After the jump ball at center court, Shaquille O’Neal still secured the ball first, and both sides started their first offense.
This season, the League made a major change to the offensive and defensive rules, allowing zone defense, which had a huge impact on all teams.
You could even say it was the biggest rule change since the NBA’s establishnt.
Because when the League was established in 1946, team owners determined a basic rule prohibiting zone defense and only allowing man-to-man defense to ensure the ga’s watchability and compete with college leagues.
More than 50 years have passed, and all NBA rules have been modified, including significant asures like the addition of the three-point line, with zone defense being the only one continually excluded.
No matter how coaches in the ’80s and ’90s used thods to covertly implent zone defense, openly, it was banned, a key distinction between the NBA and other leagues.
However, the rapid developnt of international basketball, coupled with the failure at the 2000 Olympics, made Aricans realize they could no longer refuse to learn from others.
If the arrogance persisted, Arican basketball might be left behind by world basketball, eventually becoming two completely unrelated systems.
By then, the NBA champion would be embarrassed to call themselves "world champions."
Thus, zone defense was allowed, and tactical reforms awaited all teams.
But the NBA, ultimately a comrcial league, was afraid after introducing zone defense, all teams would adopt it, making gas monotonous; hence, another rule was introduced: the three-second defense rule.
Big n couldn’t loiter under the basket without moving; if the opponent isn’t inside, neither can you be.
This rule significantly reduced the power of zone defense, giving more room for man-to-man defense, which can be seen as a compromise.
Stern’s art of balance was still well-learned.
As a new team, the Glory Team also learned well.
From the start, they quickly employed a 2-3 zone defense, contracting around the Three Second Zone, with Gan Guoyang in the middle disrupting the Lakers’ wing triangle and low-post attacks.
This was what Tomjanovich emphasized during training sessions based on the new rules.
Anyway, the Glory Team was a blank slate now, so they could draw whatever they wanted, with no tactical burdens.
Moreover, newcors like Wallace and Arenas just graduated from college, so the concepts of zone defense were still fresh, and training went well.
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