In the NBA, ordinary people are called King, but Gan Guoyang is more than a king; only the title of Emperor befits him.
In the eyes of American fans, Yao Ming is the new Emperor. The old Emperor must abdicate, and the new Emperor takes over.
Such high demands and expectations make Yao Ming nervous again. As a result, when he comes off the bench in the second half, Jordan’s pass to Yao Ming is intercepted from behind by Divac.
How to protect the ball will always be an issue for Yao Ming. Wingspan and hand size indeed have a significant impact.
After the turnover, Yao Ming can only lower his head and sprint back, trying hard to defend. At this time, the game on the court is extremely intense.
In the third quarter, Gan Guoyang and Jordan both push forward, overwhelming the Kings Team, and then Gan Guoyang goes off to rest as Yao Ming takes the stage, resulting in a turnover.
This season’s regular games, Tomjanovich further shortened Gan Guoyang’s playing time, having him rest midway through the third quarter.
Yao Ming’s defense doesn’t work because the Kings fire from the outside; Bobby Jackson takes a three-point shot and scores!
"You can’t just run! Pay attention to people outside, even just a hand stretch; defense isn’t only about your own area!"
Gan Guoyang watches from the sidelines, anxious, shouting. Yao Ming focuses on the basket in defense, ignoring the opponents along the way.
If it were Gan Guoyang, he’d definitely delay and disrupt, not allowing the opponents to easily execute fast breaks.
Yao Ming is accustomed to being the absolute core at home; besides, his high center of gravity often prevents him from doing that. As long as he can run back to the three-second zone in time.
In the NBA, it’s different; of course, Gan Guoyang’s demands might be a bit too high.
"Sonny, don’t set the bar too high for him; his basic qualities are there." Tomjanovich hears Gan Guoyang’s shouting, worried about Yao Ming being crushed by the pressure.
To be honest, Old Tang has Ah Gan and Jordan under him, making his coaching job really challenging.
Every time the two big shots argue, Old Tang stands by nervously, unable to persuade them and afraid to leave, hoping not to be dragged into the quarrel, staying unharmed.
"It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t meet my expectations, but he should understand what’s the rightthing to do, so he can constantly aim for the pinnacle." Gan Guoyang says.
"Doesn’t matter? Then why are you yelling so loudly?" Porter comments from the side.
Gan Guoyang’s reasoning always leaves people with no words, except Porter.
"..."
Gan Guoyang doesn’t want to argue with Porter; he shuts his mouth and sits quietly on the bench watching the game.
Jordan doesn’t hold back on passing to Yao despite his catching error, although Yao Ming soon misses a mid-range chance.
The ball bounces out, and the Kings grab the rebound, quickly countering as Bibby passes to Weber down the middle. Weber dunks successfully!
The Kings launch a small surge; Tomjanovich calls a timeout, and Yao Ming returns to the bench looking somewhat downcast.
Gan Guoyang pats Yao Ming without saying much, knowing criticism should be moderate; Yao Ming made the right choices, though his state hasn’t yet adjusted.
Porter mutters: "Not yelling now, where’s your voice?"
"..."
After the timeout, Jordan also rests while Van Exel takes the court, this guy won’t pass to Yao Ming at all.
He’s just too fired up, ignoring Ah Gan, let alone Yao Ming.
Consequently, Yao Ming spends several rounds on the court at a back-and-forth sprint.
But Gan Guoyang advises Yao Ming, telling him: "When you feel the offense isn’t working out, try focusing on defense. Adapt to the NBA’s defensive rhythm; that’s more crucial."
Yao Ming listens, so in the following defensive rounds, he blocks Chris Weber’s hook shot and effectively protects the team’s backcourt rebound without losing it.
This is key; Gan Guoyang nods appreciatively.
Porter: "When it’s time to compliment, why no loud yell? Encouragement needs a loud voice."
Gan Guoyang finally can’t resist, saying: "Terry, why are you talking so much lately? You weren’t like this before!"
In the past, Porter was always a silent assassin, the most reliable point guard and shooter alongside Gan Guoyang, but now he causes more and more headaches.
Porter replies: "Getting older, just talking more."
Three minutes later, Gan Guoyang returns to the court, taking Porter along for a cooperative play.
Though Porter jabbers, he’s unfaltering in play, hitting a three-pointer on the fast break!
Breaking the Glory Team’s third-quarter three-point drought; Van Exel has missed twice since coming on.
This streaky player was ultra-sharp in the first half, yet stone-cold in the second.
In contrast, Porter is much more stable; hence Gan Guoyang insists on keeping him.
His only issue now is being too old, serving as the third point guard, contributing about 10 minutes per game, which is quite good.
Another issue popped up though: too talkative, changing from a silent, morose-faced guard to the Glory Team’s maestro of banter.
All thanks to Gan Guoyang’s pushing.
Yao Ming scores 0 points, grabs 3 rebounds, and makes 2 blocks in the third quarter; actually, his defense is impressive.
Kings players clearly underestimate Yao Ming’s blocking capacity, misjudging shooting timing.
This performance gains recognition from coaches and teammates, but fans aren’t satisfied.
Most fans hope Yao Ming scores more and makes shots.
Yet, Yao Ming remains out of form, especially struggling with the unfamiliar Princeton System, finding it hard to catch the scoring rhythm.