After the timeout, the 76ers strengthened their ball movement and increased their outside attack, abandoning the impact on the inside line.
Actually, everyone knows that facing the Trail Blazers, once you abandon the impact on the inside line, you’ve already lost half of the game.
Especially during the seven-time champion period for the Trail Blazers, giving up scoring in the three-second zone already means handing over the initiative of the court.
If the offense cannot flourish inside and out, it will certainly be greatly restricted, which is the foundation of the Trail Blazers’ strength, built on Gan Guoyang’s superior inside defensive ability.
But the 76ers, or many teams, have no way around it; Ah Gan’s deterrence at the basket is indeed too strong. Blindly attacking inside is just giving away points.
It’s better to get a feel for shooting early in the game, ideally develop a three-point shooting touch, so later on, there’s leverage to negotiate with Ah Gan.
The 76ers also followed this strategy, engaging in team play, trying to utilize passing to create space and find outside shooting opportunities.
The head coach of the 76ers, John Davis, was a member of the 1977 champion Portland Trail Blazers and deeply influenced by Jack Ramsay.
Davis wants to bring the shared ball strategy from the Trail Blazers of the past to the 76ers to strengthen them.
Unfortunately, the championship strategy from 1977, by 1997, twenty years later, was completely unsuitable.
The NBA is a rapidly changing commercial league; not just 1977, even 1987, the NBA ten years ago and 1997 are worlds apart.
It can be said that if the Trail Blazers of 1977 and the Philadelphia 76ers played a series according to the rules and style of 1997, full of stars with outstanding one-on-one abilities, the 76ers would likely crush the Trail Blazers.
Times have changed; in an era of inflated defense, the value of superstars on offense becomes increasingly important.
Therefore, although the 76ers broke the scoring drought after the timeout, they couldn’t truly turn the situation around.
On the contrary, the Trail Blazers rely on Gan Guoyang, this low-post beast, playing very comfortably on offense.
Every two or three possessions, the ball is sent to Ah Gan, and Gan Guoyang always finds a way to put the ball into the basket.
For the remaining possessions, Van Exel, Riddle, and others can find ways themselves, using Ah Gan’s attraction to find scoring opportunities.
It can be said that 1997’s NBA is the most favored era for ball handlers and one-on-one players. Whether in the low post or perimeter, if you can play one-on-one, it’s very important to the team.
If you are a super one-on-one expert, you can become a primary core, earning multi-million-dollar contracts.
A good one-on-one player has become the standard for strong teams; if you don’t have a strong one-on-one player, the game will be tough.
Players like Gan Guoyang and Jordan, who average 30 points per game, can account for more than a third of the team’s total score in a single game.
Gan Guoyang is even the cream of the crop, a man who crushes the league with isolated one-on-one play.
Against the 76ers, who have weak inside defense, no tank-like center, and almost non-existent wing defense, it’s even more effortless.
However, tonight, Gan Guoyang’s desire to score is not strong; his energy is focused on defense, specifically on Allen Iverson.
He wants to make Iverson sit tight.
Of course, as a center, he wouldn’t actively guard Iverson; that’s impulsive.
He will predict, predict Iverson’s next move, and prepare in time.
So when Iverson readied himself for offense, he found his options very limited.
It seems, aside from mid-range jump shots or three-point shots, wanting to charge into the basket and attack directly is too difficult.
Because Ah Gan always happens to appear on his best offensive route, giving the best interference.
At the end of the first quarter, Iverson went 0-for-4, scoring no points, while Gan Guoyang had 1 steal and 1 block, all from Iverson.
During the intermission, Iverson sat on the bench, gasping for breath, drinking water, with a complex look in his big eyes.
Cage came over to Iverson and said, "Tonight he will definitely target you. He has always been ruthless to challengers. Come on, Allen, you can do it."
Iverson didn’t respond; he knew Cage meant well, but nothing said mattered at the moment; Iverson was thinking of how to break through.
Van Exel and Gan Guoyang communicated well in defense, the two working together to hunt Iverson. Iverson encountered such high-intensity inside collaboration for the first time.
His stature naturally disadvantages him; being small gives him speed and explosiveness but also limits his vision and connection with teammates, making him unable to contribute to the team once trapped.
Gan Guoyang’s defense is very different from other NBA inside players; he can play inside and out, with diverse tactics and aggressive defense.
If you can’t make him choose, he’ll force you to choose, thus gaining the initiative.
This makes rookie Iverson very uncomfortable, as he always made choices himself; no one could force him before.
He feels as if he’s really back on the farm, sitting in the warden’s office; the warden tells him, "Sit down, boy, shut up."
Iverson can only sit obediently; he has no choice. This is the most stifling time in his life so far; he can’t do anything.
After the second quarter started, Iverson sat on the bench; Trail Blazers had already opened the score gap to 9 points in the first quarter, not large but stable.
Iverson doesn’t know that at the moment, while he’s full of thoughts about Ah Gan’s defense, there’s another person on the Trail Blazers also thinking about him.
That person is Kobe.