Larry-Brown finally couldn’t help but shout from the sidelines, trying to get the players to perform better and play with more passion.
But it was useless, Coleman, who was resting on the bench, even said, "I don’t want to get beaten up by Ah Gan."
Veteran players are like this; once they see little hope of winning and the situation is dire, they start to coast.
This is their survival wisdom; they need someone like Allen Iverson to step up and make the game challenging before the veterans are willing to exert full effort.
Iverson stopped breaking through inside and tried to organize from the outside, passing to Snow, who hit a mid-range jumper for two points.
Jordan immediately received the ball at the top of the arc, took a stride into the basket area, stopped abruptly, and made a jump shot.
The defense of the 76ers was easily torn apart, McGee couldn’t keep up with Jordan’s pace, and there was no help defense inside.
Because the result of help defense would be allowing Ah Gan or Yao Ming to score at an even closer range.
Back on the offensive end, the 76ers kept attacking, splitting, attacking, and splitting again, unable to find a good shooting opportunity.
Glory’s zone defense was tough, eventually giving the ball to Iverson, but he was double-teamed, and his pass to Snow was too high.
Moreover, the time ran out, 24-second violation, the entire MGM Arena was filled with fans’ shouts and cheers as the 76ers failed to score.
The point difference gradually reached around 15 points, Glory began to control the score, not rushed on offense and less pressing on defense.
Yao Ming, back on the court, once again became the offensive focus of the team, scoring continuously inside; the 76ers couldn’t find a good response.
The first half of the game ended, Yao Ming scored 16 points, Glory 59:44, leading the 76ers by 15 points.
In the second quarter, the 76ers scored 19 points; actually, this score wasn’t low for the 76ers, but their defense couldn’t contain Glory.
Back in the locker room, the team doctor checked Jordan’s waist again, confirming there were no major issues and he could participate in the rest of the game.
Jordan breathed a sigh of relief, so did Gan Guoyang, who said, "Don’t play high-difficulty moves in the future. If you get hurt, all our efforts are wasted."
"You’re right, but why can you still play with quick turn-around jump shots, Bernard’s knee was ruined."
"I’ve told you many times, you and I are different! We’re not players of the same caliber."
Jordan didn’t get angry, just laughed. He had heard this kind of talk many times, and it didn’t matter to him anymore.
He even deliberately gave the opportunity for Gan Guoyang to say so, to tease him.
The 76ers only posed some trouble for Glory in the first five minutes of the first quarter; after that, in the second half and the entire series, they didn’t pose much of a threat.
The difference in talent and lineup between the two teams was too great. If Mutombo was on the inside, and there was a peak-form Coleman at power forward, and if Iverson was still his 2001 self, the 76ers could compete with Glory.
On May 14th, the fifth game of the series, still at the Las Vegas MGM Hotel Arena, the game entered the second half, Glory leading 49:40 with a 9-point advantage over the 76ers.
At this moment, Glory was up 3:1; they won the first two games by a landslide, and the third game, back in Philadelphia, was won by the 76ers through relentless defense.
However, in the fourth game, a restored Glory easily took down the 76ers again, leaving the series finale to be concluded in Las Vegas.
In the first half, Yao Ming again scored 15 points; in the first game, he achieved a playoff career-high 25 points, and in the subsequent three games, he scored over 20 points twice.
Through his performance in the playoffs, Yao Ming proved to the outside world that he’s not just a regular-season player; he can perform excellently in the playoffs too.
During halftime in game five, David Stern presented Yao Ming with the Rookie of the Year trophy.
In the recently concluded voting, he narrowly defeated Stoudemire to win the award, becoming the second Chinese player to receive it.
When he received the trophy from Stern, Yao Ming’s expression was somewhat reserved; despite playing a whole season, he remained a shy big boy by nature.
Stern congratulated him on the win, shaking hands firmly. Yao Ming bowed his head to express his gratitude to Stern, even feeling somewhat undeserving.
"You’re a humble, hardworking good kid, and I hope you can maintain these excellent qualities. The Rookie of the Year not only rewards your skills and performance on the court but also praises your spirit. You’re a representative of the newcomers."
Stern clearly appreciated Yao Ming’s low-key, modest attitude, much better than the guy clapping at the back.
Gan Guoyang heard Stern’s words, thinking, old man, you’re speaking with implications, am I not humble and hardworking?
After the ceremony, when they were about to leave the court, Gan Guoyang pulled Stern aside and asked, "David, do you have any dissatisfaction with me? Do you think I’m not humble?"
Stern said, "Hell, I wouldn’t dare be dissatisfied with you! You’re humble, very humble, and today’s NBA is all thanks to you."
Remembering the times he presented awards to Gan Guoyang, this guy always had a "this award is rightfully mine, you’re basking in my glory" demeanor, which made Stern angry.
"Oh, don’t be like that, David, why get so worked up? Was it wrong letting you catch that referee last time?"
"That was fine, thanks to you. But lately, the ratings of the games haven’t been good; your matches with the 76ers are too dull and boring."
Prior to the series, the games between the 76ers and Glory garnered high attention; the ratings soared for the first game, but then steadily declined because the gap in skill between the teams was too large.
Gan Guoyang and Jordan didn’t exert much effort in the games; instead, players like Yao Ming, Miller, and Wallace had impressive stats.
"It’s not our fault, the 76ers’ performance is too poor. Should we go easy on them?"
"I’m not asking you to go easy on them; just finish the series promptly and efficiently."
As the president, Stern didn’t care much who won or lost; he cared about how the games were played, how the matchups could make the audience happy, and how the ratings could be increased.
The 76ers and Allen Iverson were initially seen by the League as excellent box office draws, especially with Iverson’s tremendous popularity and influence among young fans.
However, Stern didn’t like Iverson; his rebellious personality and streetwear style in dress and manner made Stern worry about affecting the market share of middle-class families.
So even though Iverson had great influence and inspired many young black players, Stern still disliked number 3, feeling Iverson’s presence didn’t align with the NBA’s overall market development direction and strategy.
He didn’t want the NBA returning to the 1970s situation, especially with Iverson recently mired in negative news, which constantly made Stern try to minimize the media impact.
Stern was also a control freak; when he first became president, he even managed how the folded napkins were placed at the All-Star Game banquet.
Nowadays, players’ hairstyles, tattoos, attire looked more exaggerated, increasingly street and hip-hop, and Iverson’s knee-length sports pants were so long they were almost seven-quarter pants; does this look like a basketball outfit?
There used to be a rule in the League that if shorts were too long, exceeding a certain length, there would be a fine of 10,000 US Dollar. Many players were fined, but Iverson escaped because he was injured and didn’t play.
Gan Guoyang could hear the dissatisfaction from Stern regarding Iverson, and of course, some directed at himself; this small old man had become increasingly temperamental over the years, swift in anger, fines, and suspensions without mercy, most NBA players feared him.
Gan Guoyang wasn’t afraid, though, reminding Stern, "David, America is a free country. You were once the innovator of the league; don’t end up being the biggest obstacle to new things."
Stern waved it away, saying, "I know what I’m doing, go play the game!"
"I will end Iverson’s season, but I can’t end what he’s left to the young fans. You need to keep up with the times, old man."
Stern shook his head and returned to the stand, while Gan Guoyang headed to the court to prepare for the second half of the game.
He was right; Iverson’s season was ended. In the second half, Yao Ming scored another 15 points, totaling 30 points in the entire game, setting a new playoff scoring record for himself.
Glory Team won 100:90, defeating the 76ers with a comfortable advantage of 10 points, eliminating them 4:1 to reach the Eastern Conference Finals.
There, they would finally need to tighten up and face a real challenge.