Marley, Johnson, Sebalos, their offense is quick and swift, not focusing on deliberate tactical coordination. They attack as soon as there’s an opportunity.
This is also a current trend in NBA offense, giving each player on the court enough offensive autonomy instead of rigidly following tactical routes.
This flexibility and autonomy pose great difficulties for defenders. The Trail Blazers, who once had the best man-to-man defense in the league, now have their footwork slowing down.
The Suns are different from the Supersonics. The Supersonics’ two cores are good at everything besides independent offense, especially defense.
The Suns’ two cores are the opposite; their independent offensive capabilities are very strong, but other areas, especially defense, have considerable shortcomings.
Therefore, the Trail Blazers’ inside line begins to bear a lot of pressure, and at this time, the Trail Blazers face a new problem: should Gan Guoyang play the four or the five?
If Gan Guoyang plays the five, it means he can’t guard Barkley, and Sabonis must defend Barkley instead.
The regular season has already proven that Sabonis’ defense on Barkley is ineffective, so Gan Guoyang has to step up.
However, once Gan Guoyang goes to defend Barkley, only Sabonis is left in the paint, making the Trail Blazers’ rim protection challenging.
Moreover, Barkley frequently handles the ball on the perimeter. This year, his playmaking ability has improved by a notch, averaging 5.1 assists per game.
At the same time, Barkley’s three-point shooting has improved considerably under Gan Guoyang’s years of reminders, making him a significant threat.
In the first quarter, Barkley hit a three-pointer and delivered two assists, making the Suns’ offense run smoothly.
Without solid defense, the Trail Blazers’ offense is somewhat choppy and fragmented.
Amid the wild cheering of the US West Center Suns fans, the Trail Blazers ended the first quarter trailing the Suns by 6 points, 25:31.
Conceding 31 points in a single quarter is obviously substandard defense for the Trail Blazers.
While defending Barkley, Gan Guoyang recalled the game years ago when he single-handedly defended Larry Bird on the perimeter.
That was the 1986 Finals. Besides Ah Gan, no one on the Trail Blazers could match up against Bird.
Gan Guoyang could lock down Larry Bird’s scoring, but Bird would still use passing and positioning to keep Gan Guoyang preoccupied with other tasks.
At that time, the Trail Blazers’ inside had veterans Bill Walton and Mychal Thompson to provide support, allowing Gan Guoyang to focus on dealing with Bird.
Now, the Trail Blazers’ inside has only Sabonis. PJ Brown and Davis, the two rookies, are obviously lacking.
Against such top teams like the Suns, Beelman is reluctant to play the rookies.
If Jerome Kossie were in good form, he could help inside.
However, throughout the semifinals, Kossie hardly got any playing time.
In the West Finals, suddenly putting Kossie in is demanding the impossible, as Kossie can no longer hold up either side of the court.
Now, besides the Twin Towers inside, the Trail Blazers have an overall lineup that’s relatively lean, short, and fast.
Gan Guoyang sat on the bench, gulping water while the coaching staff was striving to find solutions.
In the playoffs, the preparation and arrangement before the game are crucial, and changes should not be made lightly.
Sometimes, persistently implementing tactics is more useful than hastily changing them on a whim.
If you change without preparation or practice, you might lose even worse.
Beelman decided to stick to the existing strategy and, no matter what, finish this game first.
Any problems or lessons learned could be summarized and adjusted in the second and third games.
Thus, the Trail Blazers continued to follow their established strategy, further strengthening their defense, and competing with the Suns.
After all, the Trail Blazers have a deep foundation. In the second quarter, Petrović and Porter found their offensive rhythm.
Consecutive three-pointers from the perimeter, meanwhile inside, Gan Guoyang started moving inside more to assist Sabonis.
The Trail Blazers quickly tied the score, forcing the Suns to call a timeout.
At this moment, Charles Barkley stepped up, continually receiving passes and making mid-range jump shots.
Barkley, facing Ah Gan, transformed into a mid-range marksman. This year, he has honed his mid-range shooting skills significantly.
Gan Guoyang responded in the low post, with scores on both sides rising alternately.
However, the Suns caught onto a better rhythm. After Barkley broke the deadlock, they launched another wave of offense.
NBA games are like this, wave after wave. Whoever can dominate the rhythm often gains the advantage.
Because the one chasing from behind is always more exhausted and more prone to lagging behind. Tonight, the Trail Blazers are the chasers.
To deal with Gan Guoyang, the Suns specifically traded for John Salley.
Paul Westphal used Salley and Mark West in a rotation against Gan Guoyang.
In the third quarter, Salley and Mark West both came on, going all out in the siege.
When Gan Guoyang was trapped, he chose to pass, but several crucial shots by Porter and Lewis missed.
This led to the Trail Blazers falling behind again at a critical point in the chase, making it even harder as they tried to catch up.
By the fourth quarter, the competition had reached an intense stage. Like the first semi-final against the Supersonics, Gan Guoyang launched into attack mode.
Consecutive jump shots and low post scores followed, yet unlike the Supersonics, the Suns could respond.
Barkley, Kevin Johnson, Marley, An Ji, all made crucial shots at important moments.