When the Spurs were trailing more, Dominique Wilkins chose to post up on Kobe Bryant, using his strength to push Kobe aside before turning around for a jump shot that scored.
The Trail Blazers missed their outside shot, and the Spurs attacked, Wilkins received the ball at the top of the arc to coordinate with teammates, Spurs advanced inside, forcing the Trail Blazers to shrink their defense.
Wilkins, hands on hips, seemed to be spectating, but suddenly accelerated to shake off Kobe’s entanglement and cut in from the middle.
He received a pass from a teammate, dribbled, gathered the ball, and jumped with both feet into the basket area for a one-handed slam dunk!
Kobe was completely out of position in his defense for this play, not only allowing Wilkins to storm into the basket for a dunk but also fouling from behind, sending Wilkins to the free-throw line.
"Use your brain more on defense, rookie." Wilkins said after making the free throw, reminding Kobe.
Newcomers who have just entered the league all have a characteristic on defense; they’re particularly active in one-on-one defense, refusing to let go.
However, they lack a broader perspective on team defense, unable to balance aggression and caution, easily getting toyed with and suffering big losses to seasoned players.
Wilkins can be said to still have a sharp edge; this dunk was quite impressive, the jump height and explosiveness weren’t as peak but the power was still solid.
Gan Guoyang didn’t step in to help with this play; it was a lesson for Kobe — of course, even if he had come to help, it might not have been enough to stop it.
At the end of the first quarter, the score was 21:26, with the Trail Blazers leading by 5 points.
Kobe finished the first quarter with 0 points, 1 rebound, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, and one spectacle that was hilarious.
Such a performance inevitably makes one feel disappointed, as Kobe sat back on the bench sweating heavily, awaiting the coach’s critique.
Unexpectedly, Larry Bird patted Kobe on the shoulder, saying, "Good job, the defense was very diligent, that’s what you’re supposed to do."
Receiving affirmation from the head coach lifted Kobe’s spirits somewhat; Bird wasn’t a coach who liked to nag players endlessly.
Even though recently he had shouted because of poor player performance, compared with coaches like Larry-Brown and most other NBA coaches, Bird was as quiet as a mute.
For many NBA rookies entering the league, the major challenge is the head coach’s incessant nagging, yelling, and screaming.
Because college and high school coaches have an additional identity as teachers, naturally carrying the responsibility of educating and caring for students.
NBA coaches are different; their relationship with players is neither teacher-student nor superior-subordinate, it’s more akin to colleagues in different positions in the same department.
NBA coaches generally face tremendous pressure, extremely high; they earn higher salaries but face a denser schedule, more unruly players, and more responsibilities.
Many say it’s hard to find more than five smiling faces among the league’s more than 20 head coaches over an entire season’s broadcast footage.
Under the squeeze of immense pressure and negative emotions, head coaches generally have mental health issues.
Most suffer from mania, OCD, profanity tendencies, or bipolar disorder, they are VIP members of the NBA’s vast psychiatric hospital.
Of course, these symptoms significantly alleviate or even directly disappear after they leave the coaching position.
Bird was famously composed during his player days, with high basketball IQ, and a rational and profound understanding of his own abilities.
His restraint over emotions was extremely strong, even so, after a few games, he too had moments of frustration, awkwardly scratching his head, wishing he could curse aloud.
Moreover, Bird is one of those within the league opposed to high schoolers entering, but toward Kobe and Little O’Neal, he tried his best to be tolerant and encouraging.
Because having been a player himself, he knows the difficulties and obstacles a young 18-year-old faces playing in the league; there is already much to weigh them down, he shouldn’t add fuel to the fire.
In the start of the second quarter, Kobe continued sitting on the bench.
Bird asked him to observe Wilkins’ offensive patterns and think about how to defend.
"Good defense isn’t just sticking tight or digging in, it’s about blocking their offensive intentions. Anticipation is very important."
Dick Hart, sitting beside Kobe, reminded him that these fundamentals should’ve been learned and trained in college.
Kobe and Little O’Neal skipped that process; upon entering the NBA, they must make up for it.
Otherwise, their defense will always be aggressive but lacking strategy, easily detached from team defense.
In the second quarter, Gan Guoyang continued on the court leading the Trail Blazers’ offense and defense, steering the game into a rhythm comfortable for the Trail Blazers.
After six games, Gan Guoyang has found that fast-paced offense in this time really doesn’t yield high returns.
Moreover, once the pace speeds up, the Trail Blazers’ turnovers really increase, making the game chaotic.
So simply, Gan Guoyang appropriately dropped the pace and focused more on set-piece offense.
Gan Guoyang himself occupied much of the high post, wings, emptying inside space for Van Exel and Riddle to attack.
In 1992, 1993, Gan Guoyang already managed both inside and out, back then he split his time evenly between low and high post.
This season, so far, he’s spent over half his time in the high post, only pushing down low when it’s really crucial.
No wonder Gan Guoyang said he was becoming a strengthened version of Bird, who during his peak swung between the three and four positions.
Simultaneously, in the second, Gan Guoyang, during several defenses, cut to the outside to face Dominique Wilkins one-on-one.
When Wilkins faced Ah Gan, his isolation plays were completely shut down, two strong post-up attempts resulted in shooting with a fadeaway so exaggerating he almost flew out.