The three fouls in the first half were a huge problem for Gan Guoyang, especially for an inside player like him.
If he gets the fourth foul in the third quarter, Gan Guoyang will have to sit on the bench for a long time.
Even if he controls the fouls well, he will inevitably have to restrain himself on the court, especially on the defense end, where his rim protection effectiveness will definitely be compromised.
During halftime, when they returned to the locker room, Gan Guoyang glanced at the audience seats. David Stern was sitting in the front row, always maintaining a somewhat inscrutable smile on his face, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.
Gan Guoyang could be certain that the League hoped the Celtics would win this game, tying it to 2-2 and entering the pivotal Game 5.
A 3-1 scoreline would leave little suspense over the championship, and if it ends 4-1, there wouldn't be a chance to return to Boston, missing out on one more game of ticket sales.
Ah Gan has already announced his retirement, so playing one more game is valuable, whether it's for ticket sales or advertising revenue, it's substantial income.
David Stern hopes to squeeze out the last bit of Gan Guoyang's on-court value. It's what the League Commissioner is supposed to do.
The referees also ignored the boos from the live audience. Veteran like Jawei can't be caught technically.
Replays would definitely show there were no issues; of course, it was indeed a foul, just that the calls were slightly strict, more severe.
Conversely, with the Celtics, they were slightly lenient. Players like Pierce and Nash frequently committed fouls and illegal defenses in double-teaming, but the referees turned a blind eye. After all, the fans can't tell.
Both sides made adjustments during halftime. Things were not going well for the Trail Blazers, as the Celtics were indeed playing well tonight. The young players learned quickly and were making up for the losses they suffered earlier.
After three games, Beelman gradually broke through his inner fears, freely commanding and using tactics boldly. After all, it's do or die for this game.
When the third quarter began, the Celtics knew the Trail Blazers were adept at making a push in this quarter, so all the players were fully geared up and could not afford any slacking.
On defense, the Celtics resolutely contracted their defense. Their perimeter defensive pressure was weak; throughout the playoffs, their stats on forcing turnovers and steals were near the bottom of the league.
Their main defensive strategy was to stabilize the inside, not leaving open spots, not seeking to suppress individual plays but rather to aim to lower the opponent's offensive efficiency overall.
This was Beelman's specialty during his time with the Trail Blazers. By calculating data, they suppressed the opponent in both offense and defense efficiency, and as the game went on, the opponent found themselves trailing in the score.
The Trail Blazers were well aware of this. Gan Guoyang and Kobe led the charge at the start of the third quarter to break through the Celtics' solid defense — it's time to go all-out.
The two took turns driving inside from the perimeter, easily breaking through the Celtics' relatively weak outer defense line, penetrating the core area and challenging Ilgauskas and Duncan.
Ilgauskas and Duncan weren't easy to challenge; after breaking through Nash-Pierce's defense, they still had to face Rick Fox's entanglement, followed by either Duncan or Ilgauskas at the back — a triple-layer defense, each layer harder than the last.
Most teams' attackers would get lost in such a loose outside but tight inside defense, handing blocks to the Celtics' Twin Towers.
But Kobe and Gan Guoyang were clearly not among them; one is nimble, quick, and sharp, the other is powerful and unstoppable like a bulldozer.
Taking turns charging in five possessions, they scored 4 out of 6 shots, launching a 9-3 attack run against the Celtics, narrowing the score difference to just 2 points.
The Celtics called a timeout, and Beelman immediately changed strategies. He first substituted Steve Nash out, as Nash was a defensive disaster in these few possessions, heavily targeted.
Moreover, Nash was heavily utilized on offense in the first half, so Beelman decided to let him rest for a while. He planned to put Nash back in during the second half of the third quarter and the fourth quarter to revitalize the team's offense.
Nash returned to the bench, looking stronger than during his time with the Suns, still sporting short hair. He actually wanted to grow his hair long, but Beelman didn't allow it, insisting he keep it short.
He worked very hard to develop towards Beelman's requirement of balanced offense and defense, but his weaknesses in lateral movement and wingspan lead to a severe lack of pressure on outside defense.
In the recent few plays, with Kobe and Gan Guoyang's consecutive breakthroughs, he, as the outermost defender, found it difficult even to delay or interfere, allowing the two to accelerate through seamlessly.
The Finals and the regular season are completely different; every player on the court must give their all on offense and defense.
You can't completely disregard the center's duties just because you're a point guard, nor can you ignore the forward's responsibilities just because you're a center.
For a championship-level team, players performing beyond their usual capabilities and outside their duties can be said to be a necessary condition. There's a high likelihood of a guard going for a block in the paint or a center going for a steal on the perimeter when the game reaches its boiling point.
On this point, Nash has fallen short. Ability is one aspect; lack of experience and accumulation are more crucial reasons. He still has a lot to learn and ponder.
Beelman put the veteran Dee Brown on the floor. Compared with Nash, Brown's defense was much better. In his best season, he averaged 2 steals per game, and as a point guard, he was able to contribute 0.5 blocks per game at his peak, which was already an excellent performance.