Using an 8:0 opening surge to stun the Suns, Gan Guoyang alone scored 6 points, assisted Wallace for a dunk, earning 2 points.
But during the timeout on the bench, Gan Guoyang reminded everyone: "The Suns will chase points very quickly, you must pay attention."
He specifically reminded Yao Ming, "The pace will be fast later, we won’t drag the tempo forever, everyone can run, you have to catch up."
Yao Ming sighed inwardly, he knew it would be another exhausting game.
The saying goes, the journey of a hundred miles is half ninety, at this stage, it’s indeed painful for rookies.
Never experienced such high-intensity and tiring season, fatigue has accumulated to a certain extent.
Facing the Suns is a crucial match, Yao Ming himself really wants the Rookie of the Year award, so he definitely has to fight hard.
Moreover, Glory’s game pace has always been adaptable, they aren’t the kind of team that drags the tempo to play slow defensive games.
The team can play fast offense, or endure defense, they don’t stick to one game mode.
This is quite painful for big guys like Yao Ming, the team won’t wait for him, instead he has to keep up with the team.
It’s completely different from being in the domestic national team.
As expected, after the timeout, Hill immediately attacked the inside and scored, also drawing a foul on Gerald Wallace.
Then Jordan missed a jump shot, the Suns counterattacked, Tony Parker darting around the court like a loach.
He first wandered around the three-second zone, then emerged, suddenly executing a bounce pass to the charging Stoudemire.
Stoudemire caught the ball, exploded down the middle for a dunk! His explosiveness and sprinting speed are truly outstanding.
Since the League already has a Stoudemire, Amare Stoudemire is often called ’Stoudemire Jr.’
Domestic fans promptly gave him a suitable nickname, ’Little Overlord’, not a game console, but a beautiful name like Sun Ce.
Nicknames don’t lie, Stoudemire indeed has a domineering air on offense, even Gan Guoyang needs to shy away.
But he’s really weak on defense, Yao Ming makes an easy hook shot after receiving the ball low, assisted by Gan Guoyang.
Stoudemire, standing against Yao Ming, mainly serves as a physical présence, playing no other defensive role.
Yao Ming and Stoudemire score their first points in their respective ways, the duel officially starts.
The Suns chase points extremely fast, if the Glory Team fails on offense, they immediately counterattack, very quickly.
Given all five positions have strong individual offensive abilities, the Suns attack immediately with any slight chance, hesitating not.
This offensive style has much to do with their assistant coach D Antoni, his offensive principle is to be fast.
In the first quarter, the game tied at 33:31, the Suns trailing the Glory Team by 2 points, both sides scoring high.
Entering the second quarter, Gan Guoyang and Jordan go to rest, Yao Ming returns to the game as the core of the second group.
His partner is Van Exel; knowing Yao Ming is competing with Stoudemire, he says, "I’ll pass you the ball, but you gotta make it, OK? If you miss, don’t blame me for not giving you chances."
Van Exel never indulges anyone, including Jordan; if he thinks Jordan’s not playing well, he won’t pass, he’ll do it himself.
Only Ah Gan is an exception; he admires Ah Gan in the whole team, so he takes care of Yao Ming too.
At this moment, Stoudemire is also on the court, Yao Ming starts the second quarter by posting low, forcing an attack on Stoudemire.
Kurt Thomas comes to assist defense, Yao Ming releases the ball, passes, catches, turns, jump shots, scores!
Yao Ming follows up by blocking Parker’s layup, in the counterattack, he catches Jon Barry’s pass, dunks!
Yao Ming starts scoring continuously in the second quarter, able to play strong low and follow up fast-paced counterattack.
Yao Ming’s current weight is reasonable; he’s added muscle this season, but his weight didn’t increase much.
The team currently has no plan for significant muscle gain, his present physique is considered sufficient.
Stoudemire forcefully attacks Yao Ming, aiming for the basket, blocked by the assisting Ross, the Glory counterattacks again.
However, Yao Ming struggles to keep up; he’s slightly slower, Van Exel still passes the ball to him.
Now at the three-point line, he catches the ball and shoots a three-pointer regardless, surprisingly making it!
Yao Ming scores 7 points in a row, once again increasing the point gap for the Glory Team, the entire MGM Arena erupts in cheers.
After Yao Ming scores the three-pointer, he smiles himself; it’s his first three-pointer made in an official game this season.
Teammates come to high-five him, the Suns call another timeout, these waves of attacks feel even fiercer than ours!
It can be said that the Glory Team skillfully uses Princeton, but doesn’t stick to it, integrating its essence into every offense.
So the team can be fast or slow, slowly grinding the position play, quickly not at all less than you.
The Suns are unlike that; they only aim to be fast, but if they lose backcourt rebounds or counterattack chances, their offense stalls.
After a timeout recharge, the Suns recover their energy.
Joe Johnson hits a thirst-quenching three-pointer, then Tony Parker steals from Van Exel, counterattacks and scores a layup.
Scoring very fast, immediately Stoudemire blocks Ross’s layup, paying back!
Although Stoudemire isn’t great at defense, it’s not because of his physical attributes, but a lack of defensive awareness.
During interior defense, he doesn’t even lower his center of gravity, just stands upright there.
Such defense, isn’t it a gift for mindful opponents?
But sometimes during help defense, his jump and wingspan contribute decent block stats.
So the Suns equip him on the interior with Kurt Thomas, acquired from the Knicks.
Thomas defends strongly, Stoudemire assists behind with blocks, a good mutual collaboration.
It’s already the best defensive resource allocation for the Suns; if Gan Guoyang were here, he’d surely pierce through their interior.
But Yao Ming declines rapidly after a surge, consecutively missing two offensive plays, one hitting the rim, one turnover.
Caught by the Suns for consecutive successful counterattacks, Tony Parker’s layup and Stoudemire’s mid-range jump shot score.
Points chase back in mere two minutes, now it’s the Glory Team’s turn to adjust, Gan Guoyang and Jordan return to the game.
Yao Ming rests for a moment; his stamina and lack of endurance are a concern.
It’s not just Yao Ming; many ordinary stars and role players only have that brief flash in a game.
A few minutes of burst, scoring six or seven points, changing the game situation, forcing the opponent to adjust.
After that, he might just fade away, hardly having the same outstanding performance.
Average throughout the season, one or two games will be explosive, while most other games are just ordinary.
Only players like Jordan and Gan Guoyang can maintain such sustained bursts.
Gan Guoyang relies on his invincible stamina, while rumor has it Jordan can freely switch to Zone mode.
After becoming teammates, Gan Guoyang even asked Jordan how he does it, how to switch.
Jordan never told, not because he doesn’t want to, but because he doesn’t know how to explain.
"Anyway, I can switch freely, just go in when I say so."
"That’s useless, you still can’t beat me."
"You rely on brute force, I’ve never seen anyone with so much brute force like you."
"Nonsense, I use smart force! Not brute, I’m technically the best in history."
"Come on, your skills are outdated; look who else plays like you anymore?"
That’s the point Jordan often criticizes Gan Guoyang for, saying his skills have no heirs, will go extinct in the future.
Surprisingly, after Gan Guoyang’s return, he primarily defended Stoudemire, and Stoudemire caught the ball in the center, surprisingly using a pivoting forward-leaning shot to make it, drawing a foul from Gan Guoyang.
The fouled Gan Guoyang wasn’t upset, rather a bit excited, he asked, "Fack, do you know how to use forward-leaning shots to draw fouls?"
Stoudemire stepped to the free-throw line, glanced at Gan Guoyang, somewhat embarrassed, said, "I just got lucky..."
Beside him, Jordan covered his mouth, snickering, Gan Guoyang’s face instantly fell, damn it, is my Gan Linliang’s skill based on luck?
I’ll show you later, what a real pivoting forward-leaning shot looks like.