As soon as this lineup appeared, the TV commentators expressed doubts. Charles Barkley, who has been working at Turner Television, sharply commented: "Sonny is taking a bunch of kindergarten kids on a field trip! Five starters, two rookies, and two who have been in the League for less than three years. The total number of games played by these four is less than half of Ah Gan’s!"
Regarding Gan Guoyang’s comeback, as well as his decision to build a team in Vegas, Charles Barkley has always held a "critical" attitude.
He has pointed out more than once on the show that Ah Gan’s second comeback would be a misstep in his career.
"Many years later, people will wish Ah Gan’s career had stopped forever in June 2000, or that summer in September 2000, ending with a championship and gold medal, an eternal freeze-frame, instead of suddenly popping up a year later saying I want to come back."
"What does the 9/11 oath have to do with you? America let you down; you should be happy, you should go back to China and laugh at us for a lifetime, rather than saying you want to come back! This isn’t like you, Ah Gan, it really isn’t like you!"
Barkley’s outspoken nature as usual gave Turner Television plenty of media spotlight.
Gan Guoyang didn’t respond because privately Barkley had already spoken to Gan Guoyang, advising him not to mind as it was all for the program’s effect.
Barkley is now teamed up with former Rockets guard Kenny Smith on the commentary show, and every time he wears his Championship Ring from 2000. When he is at a disadvantage in an argument, he would just flash the ring in Kenny Smith’s face.
"I have a Championship Ring; what do you have, Kenny? What right do you have to speak against me?"
This always ensures Barkley wins the debates.
On the other side, the Los Angeles Lakers deployed their strongest lineup, which they hadn’t used in the preseason.
Starting Shaquille O’Neal, Samaki Walker, Scottie Pippen, Mitch Richmond, and Lindsey Hunter.
In the roster, Derek Fisher was absent due to injury, with Robert Horry, Brian Shaw, and other championship contributors sitting on the bench.
Phil Jackson looked at the Glory Team’s young starting lineup, not recognizing three of the five, and wondered if the Glory Team was deliberately showing off, or if they really had no one left.
Logically, the Glory Team should have some capable veterans; it shouldn’t be that they are out of breath just as the season starts, right?
Porter, Cole, Willis—they should still have some fuel in the tank.
If the Glory Team is arranging their lineup like this, then most of the Lakers’ pre-game preparations were for nothing.
The only useful one was the defense against Ah Gan. But frankly, Jackson wasn’t sure what Ah Gan’s current situation was, how much he had left, or how his style had changed.
Ah Gan truly is the most unpredictable player in this League, ever-changing, yet steadfast.
In his long professional career, the Ah Gan of 2001 is already a different player from that of 1984, but after careful thought, some things seem never to have changed.
Anyway, this is a chance encounter, see how it goes while playing.
After the jump ball at center court, Shaquille O’Neal still secured the ball first, and both sides started their first offense.
This season, the League made a major change to the offensive and defensive rules, allowing zone defense, which had a huge impact on all teams.
You could even say it was the biggest rule change since the NBA’s establishment.
Because when the League was established in 1946, team owners determined a basic rule prohibiting zone defense and only allowing man-to-man defense to ensure the game’s watchability and compete with college leagues.
More than 50 years have passed, and all NBA rules have been modified, including significant measures like the addition of the three-point line, with zone defense being the only one continually excluded.
No matter how coaches in the ’80s and ’90s used methods to covertly implement zone defense, openly, it was banned, a key distinction between the NBA and other leagues.
However, the rapid development of international basketball, coupled with the failure at the 2000 Olympics, made Americans realize they could no longer refuse to learn from others.
If the arrogance persisted, American basketball might be left behind by world basketball, eventually becoming two completely unrelated systems.
By then, the NBA champion would be embarrassed to call themselves "world champions."
Thus, zone defense was allowed, and tactical reforms awaited all teams.
But the NBA, ultimately a commercial league, was afraid after introducing zone defense, all teams would adopt it, making games monotonous; hence, another rule was introduced: the three-second defense rule.
Big men couldn’t loiter under the basket without moving; if the opponent isn’t inside, neither can you be.
This rule significantly reduced the power of zone defense, giving more room for man-to-man defense, which can be seen as a compromise.
Stern’s art of balance was still well-learned.
As a new team, the Glory Team also learned well.
From the start, they quickly employed a 2-3 zone defense, contracting around the Three Second Zone, with Gan Guoyang in the middle disrupting the Lakers’ wing triangle and low-post attacks.
This was what Tomjanovich emphasized during training sessions based on the new rules.
Anyway, the Glory Team was a blank slate now, so they could draw whatever they wanted, with no tactical burdens.
Moreover, newcomers like Wallace and Arenas just graduated from college, so the concepts of zone defense were still fresh, and training went well.