The biggest improvement is the speed of his shot.
When Wang Zhizhi played games at home, his shooting speed was a bit slow.
Because he's tall, with excellent arm length, his athleticism is considered outstanding among domestic players.
Therefore, his shots are hard to disrupt; he has enough time to make his move and shoot the ball in the most reliable posture.
But in the NBA, that's not the case. The defenders are generally more physically fit than him, with faster speed, greater strength, and remarkable jumping ability.
If his shot speed is too slow, he'll get blocked or disrupted, and his shooting percentage will drop significantly.
In the NBA, everything has to be fast; you run fast, shoot fast, and react fast.
After a season of training, Wang Zhizhi's catch-and-shoot ability has greatly improved.
At the start, he became China Team's number one scoring weapon.
A mid-range shot, a layup during a fast break, and driving to the basket drawing a foul from Garnett, making both free throws.
Wang Zhizhi scored six consecutive points, helping China Team lead 6-2, giving the US Dream Team a wake-up call.
And the US team found that China Team's interior defense was quite formidable, with three towers inside, ready to block any inside attempts.
Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi, one main and one secondary, just camp under the basket; come inside if you dare.
Carter started off with a big block from Yao Ming, clearly, he wasn't prepared, not fully accounting for Yao Ming's height.
Attacking the inside became extremely difficult, and low-post plays with Mourning and Garnett lacked space, and the trapezoidal three-second zone of the FIBA court reduced their effectiveness.
As a result, the US team's most used offensive strategy at the start was for players to take mid-range shots by themselves; if it goes in, it counts, if not, transition to defense to stop China Team's fast break.
In the past two Olympics, the real killer weapon for the US team has been their defense.
In FIBA, the use of zone defense, the trapezoidal three-second area, and smaller courts suppressed the NBA players' isolation capabilities.
So, defensive counterattacks are their powerful weapon, often using a period of high-intensity full-court press to force continuous turnovers from the opposition for fast breaks, not only quickly widening the score gap but also severely damaging the opponent's morale; truly a perfect tool to crush their spirits.
This time, the US team built their lineup following this concept; Larry-Brown is truly adept at defense, his control over formations is famous across the league.
Payton and Jide's backcourt press and steal abilities are astonishing; currently, globally, it's hard to find a more formidable backcourt defensive duo than these guys.
But the issue is, China Team has Gan Guoyang.
Gan Guoyang's strength and skilled ball-handling often render double-teams and tight defense on the perimeter ineffective.
Back in the day, even the Pippen and Jordan defensive duo struggled to contain him, let alone Payton and Jide, these two little brothers and their smaller brothers.
When the China Team is on offense, Gan Guoyang follows Li Xiaoyong in the backcourt, and once Li Xiaoyong is double-teamed, he immediately passes the ball to Gan Guoyang.
Gan Guoyang quickly takes off upon receiving the ball, scrambling the Dream Team's defensive scheme, cutting through the middle whether passing to the wings to Wang Zhizhi or Hu Weidong, or lobbing to Yao inside, all pose major threats.
And not to mention, his individual offensive capabilities are very strong too.
As a result, 5 minutes into the first quarter, China Team completely suppressed the US Team.
Starting off with a 13-5 run against the US Team, leading by 7 points, it was truly surprising.
If not for the China Team players' slightly weaker finishing abilities and the strong individual defense of the American players, the gap could have been larger.
Kevin Garnett's defensive capabilities within the three-point line were fully demonstrated; he could mark Gan Guoyang at the high post, then rush to the basket to block Wang Zhizhi's layup.
This kind of mobility and ability to help on defense has already reached 85% of peak Gan Guoyang's level—Gan Guoyang no longer defends like this now, as he doesn't have that much energy.
The US team gradually tightened their defense, got back into rhythm, and stopped another China Team offense with Jide initiating a fast-break counterattack.
With a precise pass to the frontcourt, Vince Carter received the ball, charged to the basket, shook off his defender, and completed a one-handed dunk!
Classic American-style defense and counterattack; Gan Guoyang knew the US team had regained their momentum, while China Team's initial momentum was at its end.
At this point, he either needed to call a timeout or adjust themselves; Gan Guoyang naturally chose the latter, wanting to force the US team to call a timeout.
"I'll go to the low post, Dazhi, you go to the top of the arc, Xiao Yao, you go to the weak side, pretend to fight for offensive rebounds, give me the ball, give me the ball!"
Gan Guoyang dribbled past half-court, directing his teammates' positions, then passed the ball to Hu Weidong, who played inside-out with him on the strong side.
Gan Guoyang received the ball, and the US team instantly double-teamed; Gan Guoyang passed it out again, Hu Weidong took the catch and shot a three-pointer, but missed.
Yao Ming occupied Mourning, Gan Guoyang battled Garnett for position, grabbed the rebound after getting into position, and pushed in for a turnaround layup, scoring.
Although primarily a small forward, Gan Guoyang still holds an absolute strength and technical advantage inside; his offensive rebounds remain fierce as ever.
Carl saw that Ah Gan was about to start exerting his strength and immediately called a timeout to disrupt Gan Guoyang's momentum—the US team's timeout came much earlier than before.
Back in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Bobby Berman only used a timeout in the finals, not using a single timeout in any other games.