Charles Barkley avoided Ah Gan’s sharpness, constantly using mid-range shots to disrupt the solid zone defense of the China Team — their defense was as stable as the rock base of a pyramid, unyielding.
This required exceptional discipline and a strong mindset.
Zone defense is easily disbanded, especially when repeatedly attacked successfully.
If any part of it slackens, the whole structure of the defense collapses, leading to chaos.
So, coaches often rotate between zone defense and man-to-man to ensure players don’t remain tense all the time.
But for the China Team, man-to-man defense would be a disaster, so the entire first half they relied on remarkable discipline and willpower to stick together in fearless resistance.
Meanwhile, Ah Gan was a solitary runner on the offensive end, like a runner traversing the wilderness, trying his best to make the most optimal plays, scoring one difficult shot after another.
Jordan recalled his early years with the Bulls; those days, those games weren’t pleasant, he faced much criticism, but Ah Gan did so well that even his opponents started to admire everything he did.
His fadeaway jump shot was beautiful, his post moves were solid, he used no-look passes to draw defensive attention, not to show off, but to create opportunities for his teammates.
He never missed any fast break opportunities, his three-point shooting was better than anyone else’s, Jordan even thought he played better than in the finals.
In the loss of the fifth game of the 92 Finals, Jordan was not convinced, Pippen’s missed dunk was his eternal pain.
But tonight, Ah Gan’s performance was more perfect than the fifth game, not because of the stats, nor the shooting percentage, not even the skills.
It was Ah Gan’s calmness, confidence, and grace when facing powerful opponents and an almost certain loss, and the wisdom and courage to do anything for victory.
Jordan was sure Ah Gan had done a lot of research and preparation, the China Team did extremely well in many aspects, except for their overall lack of strength.
No wonder they made it to the finals, it wasn’t just about getting the ball to Ah Gan.
Beelman also realized this, during halftime he repeatedly stressed, "We must take this seriously."
"Sonny is absolutely an opponent on the court who deserves to be taken seriously, this championship is of significant weight."
As the second half began, the Dream Team became more united than ever.
No one was playing around or showing off, victory and only victory was the sole goal.
Beelman adjusted the lineup for the second half, Robinson replaced Ewing as starter, Bird replaced Malone at the power forward position.
Johnson voluntarily gave up the starting point guard position in the second half to Stockton, who was in better form and more suitable for the China Team.
Bird’s role was to stretch the floor, Beelman knew China Team would stick with the zone defense, long shots were absolutely necessary.
At the start of the second half, Bird and Stockton completed a pick-and-roll, followed by a three-pointer from the top of the arc!
Bird could only play around ten minutes per game, his back allowed him to perform only that long, which was already enough for Team USA.
Another player who excelled was Chris Mullin, the China Team couldn’t handle his long shots.
Mullin was the three-point king of the Dream Team, averaging 1.8 three-pointers per game with a shooting percentage as high as 53.8%, higher than some players’ shooting percentages under the basket.
In the second half, Beelman gave the shooting guard position to Mullin instead of Jordan, and Jordan wasn’t angry, he was willing to play as a substitute in the second half.
Jordan’s form in this Olympics could only be described as average, after all, the regular season, playoffs, and finals had exhausted him greatly.
He never intended to exert himself fully at the Olympics, performing at 60%-70% was already enough.
Seeing Ah Gan’s performance tonight, he really wanted to go all out and have a spectacular battle with Ah Gan.
But he knew he couldn’t, he was too relaxed in Barcelona, gambling, drinking, having fun, his form was far from peak.
If he forcibly entered Bulls mode, his poor shooting form would ruin the team’s offense — in this Olympics, Jordan’s shooting percentage was only slightly higher than Reiner’s, 45% to 45.1%.
So, Jordan put aside his personal desire to win, fully committing to the team game, listening to directions, all to defeat the China Team.
Once the lineup became focused on shooting in the second half, the China Team, relying on zone defense, struggled defensively.
Chris Mullin and Bird hit consecutive mid to long-range shots, with Mullin particularly hitting two three-pointers in a row.
The lead quickly widened from 12 points to nearly 20, the gap in strength between the two teams became increasingly apparent.
The Dream Team also changed their defensive strategy, no longer pressing relentlessly to steal and fast break.
If you slow down, I slow down too, utilizing Robinson’s great mobility to test the passing ability of other China Team players.
Everyone knew you were passing to Ah Gan, understanding the passing lanes, making suitable blocks and traps, the basic offensive routes for the China Team were soon blocked.
Gan Guoyang could only continue to dribble and organize the offense himself, which was a huge drain on his stamina, as he hadn’t rested the entire first half.
Without the advantage of fast breaks, just forcing himself to handle the offense alone resulted in considerable energy expenditure.
But he had no other choice, trailing by 20 points, using fierce footwork with an unpredictable rhythm, half-back, half-facing the basket to break through, slicing in from the middle into the Three Second Zone.