Especially Shaq, since the start of the playoffs, there hadn’t been a smile on his big, dark face, which was simply unbelievable.
Phil Jackson was, for the first time, so confident in Shaq, believing he had finally matured and wouldn’t be so intimidated facing Gan.
In the first game, Shaq was the Lakers’ best player, scoring 35 points, grabbing 16 rebounds, and blocking 4 shots.
If it weren’t for Gan’s brilliance, the victory and the glory of the best player would have belonged to him.
Standing at mid-court again, jumping ball with Gan Guoyang, the two exchanged glances, and Gan Guoyang saw chaos in Shaq’s eyes.
"Shaq, are you afraid of losing?"
"Nonsense, aren’t you afraid of losing?"
"No, I just want to win."
Gan Guoyang wanted to win, but tonight’s situation was very different from the last game.
The Lakers started with a very tight and detailed double-teaming defense on Gan Guoyang.
Phil Jackson no longer dared to casually assign man-to-man defense and resolutely went for a three-man encirclement.
In the last game, they even gave Gan Guoyang a lot of one-on-one isolation opportunities.
The Los Angeles local media also criticized Jackson for being overly arrogant in his tactical arrangements.
"Countless historical lessons have proven that letting Gan go solo is suicide."
"Unfortunately, the only lesson we learn from history is that we never learn from it."
But in this game, the Lakers truly learned their lesson.
Apart from the defense, Jackson required starting with the outside for offense, rather than focusing on Shaq.
Facing Glory’s defensive strategy, Shaq couldn’t act as a focal point, with them not double-teaming and opting for zone defense, turning Shaq into a scoring machine rather than the engine of the whole team’s offense.
Sure, 35 points is impressive, but our Gan scored 47, not intimidated at all.
The key to the Lakers’ victory was still opening up the outside, especially the three-pointers.
In the first game, the Lakers’ threes were much worse than Glory’s; Glory hit 14 threes, while the Lakers only made 4.
A 10-three-pointer gap, you could say the Lakers’ loss wasn’t unfair at all.
So, as soon as the game started, Tracy McGrady began from the outside, continuously attacking the basket.
He reduced his pull-up jumpers, as those are too unstable in the playoffs and don’t wear down or impact the opponent enough.
However, both teams failed to score at the start, with Glory not letting the Lakers open up easily outside.
After two minutes, the score remained 0:0 until McGrady broke through and drew a foul from Raja Bell, hitting both free throws to score the first points of the game.
On Glory’s side, Gan Guoyang, despite facing constant double teams, didn’t force shots.
He moved inside, broke through, and dished it to Brad Miller, who caught the ball and hit a mid-range shot, scoring Glory’s first points.
However, what was unexpected was that this became Glory’s only score in the first six minutes of the first quarter.
Afterward, the Lakers’ shots flowed like opened floodgates, with Fisher, McGrady, Pippen, and others scoring in succession.
For Glory, Gan Guoyang was tightly restricted, making even catching the ball difficult, and others couldn’t play.
Turnovers, missed shots, rebounds getting stolen, dribbling out of bounds, all sorts of bad situations emerged.
From 2:2, it went to 12:2, with the Lakers making a 10:2 run against Glory, forcing Tomjanovich to call a timeout.
But after the timeout, there was no improvement in Glory’s offense, as Gan Guoyang’s touch was not good at the start.
In the face of multi-man encirclements, his forced shots also didn’t go in.
The first game took a great toll on him, and he knew his mid-to-long-range shooting wasn’t feeling good.
He needed to restore his offensive feel, but the Lakers evidently didn’t want to give him that chance.
Phil Jackson rotated the lineup early, bringing in Richmond, Brian Shaw, and others to increase the outside rotation and relieve Scottie Pippen’s pressure.
Gan Guoyang, before going out in the middle of the first quarter, only managed to score with a forced hook shot under the basket, adding two points.
With 4:18, the lead had been extended by the Lakers to 14 points, with only half of the first quarter gone.
By this time, Gan Guoyang was supposed to rest, but he said to Tomjanovich, "Maybe I should play a bit more, the situation is too bad."
Tomjanovich replied, "Still stick to the plan, the game is long, trust your teammates."
Gan Guoyang could only nod, having anticipated such a situation; the Lakers were bound for a big rebound in the second game.
But only getting 4 points by halfway through the first quarter, that offense was too poor.
Is this the true strength of the Glory Team? When Gan Guoyang can’t fully perform, are they doomed to be crushed by the Western Conference’s number one?
When Van Exel came on, he received the same defensive treatment as Gan Guoyang, double teaming, encirclement.
The open shots were there, but neither Bell nor Gerald Wallace could capitalize.
Wallace’s shooting ability was insufficient, and Bell was also out of form tonight; they were both too young.
With veteran players leading as support, they were comfortable, but once the veterans got locked down early, leaving the burden to them, they stumbled along clumsily.
Glory’s overly apparent binary structure was indeed too easy to target.
Though the Lakers seemed to also rely on an inside-outside two-core lineup, other players had the ability to solve problems.
If you dared to crazily double-team Shaq or McGrady, giving the ball to Holi, Pippen, or Fisher, they could resolve issues.
No matter who shoots the ball, the score remains the same.
Glory’s role players still lacked such independent capabilities.
Phil Jackson seized on this, applying intense defensive pressure, practically snuffing out Glory in the first quarter.
By the time Gan Guoyang returned late in the first quarter, the situation was already dire with the Lakers’ lead expanded to 17 points.
Even though Gan Guoyang tried hard to close the gap with low post scoring, the hole dug earlier was too deep, making it hard to get out from after.
The key was, the Lakers’ outside was flourishing tonight, which was more challenging than defending Shaq alone.
By the end of the first quarter, the score was 14:29, with Glory trailing the Lakers by 15 points, a real chasm.
NBA games are like this, constantly changing like waves rising and falling.
During the intermission, Gan Guoyang looked at his dazed teammates, knowing everyone had been knocked senseless tonight.
Such occurrences are not uncommon in NBA games; it’s inevitable to be bewildered at the moment, the key is how to come out of it.
If you can’t come out of it, the series is over.
If you manage to come out the next game, this one will be a lesson, and continue the battle with the next game.
If you can come out by halftime, there’s still a chance for a comeback in the next half.
However, a 15-point gap is really challenging.
But once you’ve dug a hole yourself, you have to find a way to come out no matter what.
There are still three quarters left, and Gan Guoyang and Old Tom discussed: "Coach, let me play at center."
This was Gan Guoyang’s go-to solution whenever he faced problems.
Playing center, going to his most familiar position, using strength and efficiency to destroy the opponent.
Yet, Tomjanovich hesitated, pondering over the strategy board for a while, and said, "No, we can’t do that."
"Why?"
"The situation has changed, Sonny! Don’t rush. You continue doing your job, we need to start from defense, take it slowly, it’s not too late to start now."
Tomjanovich made arrangements, Gan Guoyang would continue to play a short segment in the second quarter before sitting out, leaving the time to other players.
He abandoned the zone defense, calling for man-to-man in the half-court, intending to weather through this relatively tough phase first.
"Our primary goal is not to let the opponent further increase the score difference. Keep it around 15 points, don’t rush to chase points, don’t randomly shoot threes. Sonny, your primary task is grabbing rebounds, understand?"
No wonder he was the man whose brains were bashed out and said, "A bit salty," while remaining unfazed.
Tomjanovich used his exceptional composure to stabilize the Glory Team’s bench.
He didn’t easily accept Gan Guoyang’s suggestion because he knew, Ah Gan is 38 years old now. He must use him well, not misuse him, as the game is still long.