After easily getting past the first round, Glory awaited their opponent in the semifinals.
The winner between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Indiana Pacers.
The two teams battled to the sixth game, with the Philadelphia 76ers leading 3-2, not allowing the old guys of Glory to wait long. They won in Indiana, defeating the Pacers 4-2 in total score to enter the Eastern semifinals and compete with Glory for a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals.
A highly anticipated matchup, Allen Iverson vs. Jordan and Gan Guoyang.
As symbols of basketball culture from two eras, the symbolic significance of the series was stronger than the game itself.
In terms of strength, the Philadelphia 76ers were indeed far behind Glory, as could be seen from the matchups in the regular season. The 76ers were unable to secure even a single win against Glory.
After reaching the peak of both team and personal achievements in 2001, Iverson encountered a series of troubles both on and off the court. The team’s decline and fall came so quickly that they were eliminated in the first round of the 2002 playoffs.
The Eastern Conference defending champions could not maintain their championship competitiveness and entered a downward path early on.
This season, the situation improved slightly, but regardless of the regular season record or playoff performance, there was no doubt that the 76ers were not on the same level as Glory.
After the game against the Pacers ended, the entire 76ers team immediately flew to Las Vegas to prepare directly for the semifinals.
Iverson was still the focus, no matter where he went, he was full of charm.
Though he had a basketful of shortcomings, and in the past two seasons, he was deeply entangled in scandals and lawsuits, the spotlight would still point at him wherever he went.
His innocent bright eyes, strong presence, and unruly temperament attracted a great number of ordinary fans.
People would rather appreciate and cherish a flawed marble statue than bother about a perfect stone.
However, on the day in May, when Iverson stood on the court in Las Vegas at MGM Arena wearing the Philadelphia black jersey, his charm seemed much dimmer in the reflection of the two old guys opposite him.
Michael was reputedly the most handsome black athlete, while Gan was even more like a deity. In comparison, the greatest impression Iverson left was merely stubbornness.
Compared to 2001, the core lineup of the Philadelphia 76ers had already changed. Mutombo was sent to the Nets, and they traded for Fan Huo’en.
The Nets hoped to use Mutombo to fill the void left by Olajuwon’s retirement.
Inside, the 76ers also signed Derek Coleman, making the team more attack-oriented in terms of lineup and style.
Coleman was very talented, but he always seemed toy-grade in front of Gan, and his defense was even worse to watch.
Iverson was still Iverson, and compared to 1996, he was much more mature, with his cornrow hairstyle being all the rage in the league.
Many young black teenagers regarded Iverson as their role model, learning to braid like him, donning baggy jerseys, and practicing crossover moves in the streets.
In Louisiana, a child named Bradley Beal idolized Iverson, honing his dribbling and shooting skills. In the future, he would enter the NBA wearing the number 3 jersey.
But compared to the spirited days of 1996 and 2001, Iverson’s big eyes now held more turbid things.
He had been through too many messy affairs, with the death of his close friend Langford undoubtedly being the greatest blow, making Iverson realize that all good things have an end and will never return.
Moreover, he was certain he could never escape the streets or the mud pit where he grew up.
Every night, he had to be the idol of many white fans and children from middle-class families on the glamorous NBA court.
Shouting at them, displaying his jersey, listening to their cheers and applause, signing autographs for them, like a superhero.
However, taking off the jersey and returning to his life, not much had changed compared to his past on the streets over the years.
Still with those troublesome friends, only now rich, he covered everyone’s expenses, indulgently partying in the house.
Originally, he thought he could handle the two parallel lines of his life well, half for the light, being a hero on the court, and half for the darkness, comfortably soaking in the mud pit, which was actually fine.
No one mandated that NBA players must enter high society once wealthy, play golf, wear suits and listen to opera and attend exhibitions.
But Langford’s death made Iverson realize that everything would end and was ending, prompting him to really think about death and his life.
But the result was he became worse than before, drinking more alcohol, seeking more prostitutes, buying more jewelry, and ending up in court more frequently.
His financial advisor and legal advisor both suggested he should not spend so excessively to fill his inner void, leading Iverson to rage and fire them all.
Sometimes, starting to think about life wasn’t necessarily a good thing; because lacking answers actually made one more prone to degeneration.
Evidently, Iverson hadn’t found his answer, and even his sole consolation, his performance on the basketball court, had fallen into a decline.
In the 2001-2002 season, his shooting percentage once fell below 40%, really too low.
He often argued with his wife, and one night he kicked his wife, dressed only in pajamas, out of the house. Later, to find her, he drove around recklessly with a gun, leading to his arrest and subsequent prosecution once again.
These things inevitably led to the 76ers’ decline.
The game between both sides started punctually at seven in the evening, and the 76ers seemed a bit tired.
The first round against the Pacers was extremely tough, and now, in the semifinals, they had to face the Glory; everyone’s mindset wasn’t very positive.
This included the 76ers’ head coach Larry Brown, who had been arguing with Allen Iverson for the past two seasons and was hesitating about leaving the head coach position of the 76ers.
Struggling almost every moment, under such circumstances, the team’s condition was naturally not particularly good.
Especially since Larry Brown favored an extreme defensive approach, requiring the players to unite and have passion.
These traits peaked in 2001, but now, they were barely present.
At the start of the game, Brown sat quietly on the sidelines, like a chicken, silent. Usually loud and shouting, but when facing Ah Gan, he automatically went mute.
He feared Ah Gan, though he knew Ah Gan wouldn’t rush over and knock him flying, yet he was still afraid. He just didn’t want to provoke that troublesome guy.
The 76ers’ starters were Coleman, Iverson, Snow, Fan Huo’en, and Kenny Thomas.
The Glory’s starters were Yao Ming, Gan Guoyang, Jordan, Gerald Wallace, and Andre Miller.
This was the most stable starting lineup since the middle of the Glory’s season, having honed their offense to the best.
Larry Brown’s defensive essence lay in meticulous formation control and the ability to suddenly enhance defensive intensity.
The meticulous formation maintained defensive stability, letting opponents sink into a quagmire from the first minute of the first quarter.
The scoring in this entire series would be very low, and at this point, Iverson’s pivotal role in offense could be unleashed.
The sudden increase in defensive intensity was used in critical moments, key game nodes, to reverse the situation.
However, ever since Mutombo left, the 76ers’ defensive stability significantly declined, losing its former glory.
Plus, Coleman and Fan Huo’en were more offense-oriented players; facing the rich offense of the Glory, it was natural that no one had high hopes for them.
Even Larry Brown himself didn’t have high hopes for the 76ers, but unexpectedly, in the first quarter, the 76ers and the Glory were evenly matched.
The main reason was Iverson’s unstoppable attack, along with the 76ers capitalizing on the Glory’s generally weak three-point shooting, allowing Gerald Wallace and Andre Miller free outside shots, focusing their defense, and doubling Ah Gan and Jordan.
These strategies were effective, and after the start of the first quarter, the 76ers once held the lead, with the largest advantage reaching 5 points.
Tomjanovich called a timeout, sitting on the sidelines, his face a bit pale. Since the playoffs began, he persisted in commanding while taking medication.
Typically, the team’s training was managed by two assistant coaches; Old Tom only observed while Porter assisted, helping Old Tom convey orders.
"I may have cancer right now, but looking at your performance, it’s like you all have cancer, basketball cancer! Why is everyone passing the ball, why don’t you attack yourself!"
Old Tom severely criticized the current trend within the Glory team, focusing on point control!
Having practiced Princeton and UCLA plays too well, they kept passing and passing, everyone started passing.
Waiting for a wide-open shot before shooting, no one was greedy for stats, just playing around, passing enjoyably.
In the first round against the Heat, the whole team got addicted to passing and point control, teasing the opponent, easily advancing.
Bringing this habit into the semifinals, the 76ers were no pushover like the Heat.
After the timeout, the coach made tactical adjustments, shifting the offensive focus to Yao Ming.
Yao Ming had an absolute advantage in height inside and a very good touch near the basket.
In the first round, Yao Ming didn’t have much chance to perform because of O’Neal; facing the Shark, Yao Ming was still too inexperienced.
Come the semifinals, he indeed had the opportunity to show his skills and demonstrate his value as a scoring anchor inside the team.
"Tonight, however many points Iverson scores, you’ll score the same amount, do you have the confidence?" Gan Guoyang said to Yao Ming.
"Can I say no?"
"You’re so naive. I can just find a way to make Iverson score fewer points, right?"
"Do you have the confidence?"
"Damn, you’re still doubting me. I... to be honest, I really don’t have confidence in defending."
Gan Guoyang also admitted that it’s not 1996 anymore, and handling Iverson with big-on-small defense wasn’t that easy.