Jiang Xingquan’s mind cleared up, he realized what was happening, nodded at Gan Guoyang, and said: "Makes sense, it really makes sense."
The timeout ended and the game continued, with ball possession for Team USA.
In reality, when playing a set-piece, under FIBA rules, Team USA doesn’t have many strategies.
It’s mainly low-post plays inside and one-on-one isolations outside, nothing fancy.
After all, the Dream Team assembled for a short period, and the coaching staff couldn’t set up too many complex tactics.
There’s no need, just relying on defense and counterattacks, no team on this planet can withstand them for an entire game.
However, the weakness in set-pieces is indeed a small flaw for the Dream Team, with David Robinson’s attempts to power through Francovic in the low post.
Robinson was called for a charging foul by the referee, he wasn’t adept at playing with his back to the basket, so he could only try to turn and face the basket.
And the FIBA three-second zone is trapezoidal, much larger compared to the NBA, especially at the baseline, which leads to positions further from the hoop.
NBA players aren’t accustomed to this, so David Robinson had to rely heavily on facing the basket with jump shots or cutting inside to score.
His efficiency in isolations wasn’t high, whereas Charles Barkley was the more reliable low-post scoring option for the Dream Team.
After watching the game for over ten minutes, Gan Guoyang realized that Croatia stood no chance against Team USA, their offense lacked consistency.
After the timeout, Croatia did change its strategy, focusing on Petrović, who successfully drew fouls and got to the free-throw line.
But subsequently, Petrović missed a three-pointer on a fast break, leading to a counterattack by Team USA.
Team USA further intensified its defense on Petrović, applying double-teams, enclosing him, and causing disruptions.
Petrović managed not to lose the ball, but scoring or creating opportunities for teammates became incredibly challenging.
Beelman, regardless of other skills, was truly adept at building defense, Team USA’s defense was like an impenetrable fortress.
The players inside and outside were all tall, fast, and agile, each one aggressive, competing for steals and excelling.
Every steal transitioned into a counterattack, putting immense psychological pressure on the offensive side.
However, Croatia in the first half did not collapse, their defense was also formidable.
Faced with the Dream Team’s relentless fast breaks, they didn’t allow easy scores for the opponent.
Though some defensive plays resulted in fouls, others successfully opposed Team USA’s not-so-cohesive fast break efforts.
Through this high-level confrontation with Croatia, Team USA exposed some problems.
Such as the lack of variety in set-piece offense, heavily relying on fast breaks, and poor coordination in fast breaks.
Many times, players took the ball and charged directly because, in the NBA, they’re all exceptional All-Stars.
Gan Guoyang watched attentively, tonight’s game was definitely of significant reference value, he wanted to memorize Team USA’s problems.
Additionally, Reiner, this little spy, would supply him with intelligence, and combining these insights, Gan Guoyang planned to devise the best strategy to counter the Dream Team.
Whether or not they would face off later, preparing was always right, otherwise losing too badly would make him a lifelong target of mockery from Barkley and Jordan.
Halfway through the first half, Team USA encountered an accident, with Magic Johnson suffering a leg injury and being carried off the court by his teammates.
He was the best player on the Dream Team so far in the first half, the real offensive initiator, the sharpest point guard in counterattacks, and the mismatch for Croatia.
After Johnson left the court, the Dream Team’s offense stagnated, going several possessions without scoring.
Drexler missed a three-pointer off the bench, Ewing missed a mid-range shot, and Malone missed a mid-range.
On Croatia’s side, they still struggled to score in live play, but Petrović continued drawing fouls successfully.
He went to the free-throw line multiple times, using free throws to help Croatia score and gradually close the score gap.
At the same time, Francovic successfully defended Bird and blocked Karl Malone!
This center wearing jersey number 11 had already given 4 blocks in 10 minutes, at this moment he seemed possessed by Ah Gan.
It dawned upon the fans that Croatia was strong, and Team USA wasn’t so undefeatable.
But despite Team USA’s poor offensive performance, Croatia couldn’t solve their scoring issues in live play.
They couldn’t score, simply couldn’t score, and every missed shot gave Team USA a chance to counterattack.
As Croatian players’ stamina slowly dwindled, Team USA players remained vigorous, their offense gradually improving, widening the score gap.
Team USA wasn’t scoring rapidly, but the problem was Croatia remained stagnant, held at 13 points for a long time.
Meanwhile, Team USA played more relaxed, and with Bird on the court, despite his lackluster offense, his presence gave Team USA confidence in slowing the game down.
Pippen became the true commander on the court, continuously assisting Drexler and Malone for layups, Team USA began to find their set-piece offensive rhythm.
Petrović finally broke the scoring drought with a mid-range shot, but as he glanced at the scoreboard, they were nearly 20 points behind Team USA.
At this moment, Petrović deeply missed Portland’s Ah Gan, thinking if Croatia had an Ah Gan, Team USA would be trailing now.