The absence of Tomjanovich due to illness has indeed brought a considerable negative impact to the Glory Team.
Even though the team has two seasoned veterans, Old Tang’s role in the Glory Team is undeniably crucial.
His optimistic and humorous nature, wide-ranging knowledge, and rich experience are of great importance in this new team, Glory.
He is a bridge connecting Ah Gan and Jordan, a kind mentor to Yao Ming, and a balancer among strong-willed players like Van Exel and Andre Miller.
Without Old Tang, the entire Glory squad feels like something is missing. Compared to Old Tang, Dean Cooper is too stable and lacks personality and leadership charisma.
He is suitable to be an assistant coach helping solve problems, but not as a head coach who can rally people at critical times.
Gan Guoyang and Jordan undoubtedly hold great prestige, but players are just players; they cannot completely replace a coach.
No matter how well Gan Guoyang controls the locker room, those years he won championships were not when Jack Ramsey and Bobby Berman were doing nothing as idle managers.
On the contrary, they were extremely busy and under immense pressure, because Gan Guoyang is a meticulous leader who has high demands on coaches as well.
Glory easily defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers but subsequently lost at home to the Milwaukee Bucks and the visiting Portland Trail Blazers.
A major reason was that the head coach’s deployments were not proficient, and the team used players inappropriately at crucial moments. One mishap, one oversight determined the outcome of the games.
Especially in the game against the Trail Blazers, the Glory Team maintained the lead throughout and opened up a 15-point gap in the first half; not even the Christmas battle saw such a performance from either team.
But in the third quarter, the on-court situation changed suddenly; the Trail Blazers played exceptionally strong defense, holding Glory to only 11 points, setting this season’s record for the lowest points in a single quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the two teams were tied, and the Glory Team once again used the Gan + Jordan pick and roll to break the game with a sharp offense.
However, in this match, the Trail Blazers resolutely used the Big Ben + Little O’Neal + Kobe trio and assigned someone to guard the basket, completely leaving the corners open.
Gan Guoyang and Jordan chose several times to pass to the corner, leaving it completely open, but Bell, Wallace, and Barry failed to hit their three-pointers.
This result lowered the scoring efficiency of the Glory Team’s pick and roll, allowing the Trail Blazers to catch up and, relying on Kobe’s consecutive scoring, successfully reverse the score.
In the final moments, the Glory Team still had a chance to win, but head coach Cooper made an error in substitution, failing to rotate players in time, leading to players experiencing physical problems.
Mishaps, missed shots from outside, ultimately allowed the Trail Blazers to beat the Glory Team 94:92 by 2 points in Las Vegas, avenging their Christmas defeat.
Kobe scored 31 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists, and Little O’Neal had 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks, showcasing a wonderful performance proving they are qualified to challenge Glory.
Rick Carlisle seized on Glory’s only weakness: the three-point shooting problem, limiting the power of Gan Qiao’s pick and roll to the maximum extent.
Additionally, without Old Tang, Glory faced various issues in rotation and player usage, leading to the team’s defeat.
After these two games, Gan Guoyang did not blame Dean Cooper post-match; everyone knows he’s pushed into a tough situation, there’s no choice.
Old Tang’s commanding ability cannot be easily replaced by any assistant coach stepping in.
With a 1-2 record, Glory got the chance for a break during the All-Star game.
After the game against the Trail Blazers, Gan Guoyang returned home to discuss the team’s head coach matter with his wife.
As the owner of the Glory Team, Wang Fuxi overlooks the overall situation, but tonight during their conversation, she appeared absent-minded.
"I wonder what’s going on with Old Tang’s illness exactly. Normally, bladder cancer isn’t considered very serious cancer, and with proper treatment, he can recover and return to the team. But, what about next season? What about after that? Yet if we hire a new coach, no one will be happy, and Old Tang won’t be happy either. What should we do? Hey, say something, I’m talking to you about serious matters, why are you zoning out?"
Sitting at the dressing table and removing makeup, after becoming the owner of Glory, she has to wear full makeup every day, and putting on and taking off makeup is a troublesome affair.
She took a deep breath, saying, "I discussed it with An Ji, and we don’t plan on hiring a head coach for now. We’ll keep an eye on Old Tang’s situation and make a decision based on his treatment progress, combined with the doctor’s advice. If he can return for playoffs, we’ll just hold on like this for now. If he can’t, hiring a new head coach then might be too late, leaving it to you players to solve the problem yourselves."
"How can we solve problems ourselves? Without a coach, sometimes the games are hard to play."
"Aren’t you equivalent to a coach? Everyone says you play basketball smarter than a coach."
"That’s a different matter, even the best driver needs a navigator, without a good coach, playoffs can be very difficult."
Wang Fuxi did not reply further; she sat down on the bed after removing her makeup, and Gan Guoyang looked at his wife, noticing her face was filled with fatigue.
Being the team’s owner is not an easy job, and Gan Guoyang suddenly felt some sympathy for his wife, gently caressing her face, saying: "Your face is still so delicate, like a young girl."
Wang Fuxi smiled faintly, saying: "Stop flattering me, the wrinkles are growing more. Ever since becoming the team owner, I’ve aged faster. No wonder it’s called ’boss’ (lao ban), it really makes you old quickly."