Rick Carlisle arranged such an abstract starting lineup, really out of necessity.
Because in the US Dream Team, how the coach arranges the starting lineup can't be entirely according to their own wishes.
Everyone is a star; some are veteran leaders of the League, and some are rising superstars in the NBA. If you don't consider seniority and follow public opinion for the lineup, people will have opinions.
For instance, in the shooting guard position, Carlisle actually wants Ray Allen to start. His excellent shooting skills and outstanding movement ability can definitely create a great tactical space for Team USA.
But the problem is, if you let Ray Allen start, what about Jide, Carter, and Payton, these three big shots?
Jide is the top choice for starting point guard; his ability and skill in organizing the offense are indeed what the team needs most.
If Jide starts, Payton can't occupy the starting point guard position, but it's impossible to make him a substitute.
Because Payton is the most senior player on this Dream Team, the leader of the locker room.
Plus, with his personality and big mouth, if you let him sit on the bench? He can nag you until you're mentally deranged.
Thus, Carlisle can only let Jide and Payton partner in the backcourt, allowing two point guards to occupy starting positions.
Then what about Carter? Logically, Carter is a shooting guard. Without the guard position, he should sit on the bench; he's less experienced than Ray Allen anyway.
But Carter is very popular. When the Dream Team played warm-up games around, lots of fans came just to watch Carter dunk.
If Carlisle doesn't let Carter play, fans will go crazy with chants or boo Carlisle, with the media criticizing Carlisle afterward for "benching the biggest star."
Even the USA Basketball Association says, "Let Carter play more; his popularity is too high." No choice, Carlisle forcibly puts Carter at the small forward position, the FIBA forward spot.
This position's most suitable starting choice was originally Steve Smith. He's the only relatively standard small forward player on this Dream Team.
In reality, Steve Smith's main position is also at two guard; the Dream Team actually doesn't have a standard small forward player and brought a bunch of guards.
Thus, the Dream Team's bench is occupied by Ray Allen, Steve Smith, Alan Houston, and other shooting guards, all accurate shooters sitting on the substitute bench.
This is the problem on the perimeter; the Dream Team also has an interior flaw. The Kevin Garnett + Alonzo Mourning combination looks good, but one is skinny and the other is relatively short, focusing more on defense than offense, with substantial technical shortcomings and average ball-holding attack power in critical moments.
This lineup overall is stronger defensively than offensively, with strong pressing ability on defense, but lacks a leading scorer on offense, which obviously doesn't match Rick Carlisle's tactical coaching philosophy.
Instead, it feels more like something Larry-Brown would concoct. In fact, this is indeed the "defense and counterattack" lineup that Larry-Brown promotes.
Brown firmly believes that Team USA's biggest advantage is defense; full-court press is their key to easy victories.
As for offense? The players' personal abilities are enough; it's just that their shooting isn't very accurate. It's not that they can't shoot; besides, we can still drive to score.
In general, Larry-Brown is the more experienced one on the team, appearing to be an assistant coach but actually overseeing everything. Yet, when problems emerge on the surface, it's always head coach Carlisle who takes the blame.
No choice, Carlisle's too young; the waters in the Dream Team run way too deep for him to handle, so he can only take it one step at a time.
Now, with this broken starting lineup facing the China Team, on paper, Team USA seems to have a slight disadvantage.
To say nothing else, there's no one at the small forward position who can match up against Gan Guoyang, leaving Garnett to defend.
But if Garnett goes to defend, then what about the power forward Wang Zhizhi? He's been performing well in the Eagles Team.
Brown's strategy is to delay and trap on the outside, after all, they have Payton and Jide, who are excellent at defense and stealing.
The problem is, Jide is Payton's junior, and Payton is Ah Gan's junior; when the two play, they're already at a psychological and aura disadvantage facing Ah Gan.
Especially Payton, whose big mouth can spray everywhere and can unload a ton of trash talk effortlessly, as naturally as a running faucet, without affecting his gameplay at all.
But when encountering Ah Gan, the faucet automatically turns off, and the only use of his mouth is to chew gum, even speaking to teammates and calling tactics becomes much gentler.
It's as if afraid to disturb Ah Gan, who might come at you, no choice; for a point guard lacking shooting and reliant on post-up skills like Payton, Gan Guoyang is a complete nemesis.
And the troublesome tall, shooting small forwards for Gan Guoyang; the Dream Team doesn't have any, filling Carlisle with anxiety regarding this match against the China Team.
As expected, after the game started, the China Team quickly scored and took the lead. The team's first point came from a shot by Wang Zhizhi.
Gan Guoyang received the ball at the top position, drawing defensive attention, and distributed it to Wang Zhizhi on the baseline. Wang Zhizhi caught the ball and directly made a mid-range shot to score.
His touch is extraordinarily soft, a natural talent among big men. During his season with the Hawks, Wang Zhizhi followed Gan Guoyang's advice, not solely focusing on muscle training but constantly improving his shooting skills.