In the multimedia room of Cox Arena, the lights are off, and the projection screen displays a replay of the first two games between Glory and the Celtics.
In one offensive play, Tim Duncan positions himself strongly on the left, receiving the ball low and backing up against Gan Guoyang, with no double-teaming defense. Duncan turns towards the middle, but it’s ineffective; Gan Guoyang’s defense is flawless.
Duncan passes the ball to Ilgauskas at the top of the arc. Big Z has mid-range ability. Yao Ming rushes over, and Ilgauskas steps forward with the ball, distributing it to Steve Nash at a forty-five-degree angle on the right. Nash receives and drives; Andre Miller fails to keep up with Nash’s pace.
Gerald Wallace comes over for help defense, reaching out to intercept briefly, facilitating Gan Guoyang’s turnaround block.
Nash, while holding the ball, evades Wallace’s interception, then jumps and passes the ball behind his head to Bruce Bowen in the right corner.
Bowen catches the ball and makes a three-pointer, which scores.
The whole offensive process is smooth, with clear objectives; every move is well-organized, and each has its variations and follow-ups.
As long as Glory’s defensive strategy changes, they’ll have a subsequent strategy to respond, aiming to find opportunities to get the ball into the basket.
Tomjanovich, seated with a laser pointer and remote control, replayed this highly representative round in slow motion.
"Look at our defense; there are many deficiencies in the details. Being down 0-2 isn’t the end of the world, but failing to identify the issues and solutions is."
Tomjanovich drew a circle around Gan Guoyang with the laser pointer. Gan Guoyang sat in the first row, looking serious.
"Ah Gan’s defense has no problems, but I think he shouldn’t be in this position. Tim Duncan is quite impactful, but I believe Ah Gan needs to be in a more crucial spot. I feel..." Tomjanovich said, drawing a circle at Yao Ming’s place: "On defense, he should move to a higher position, supporting the perimeter, compressing the Celtics’ penetration space."
Tomjanovich’s voice was somewhat weak, burdened by the pain of cancer treatment and the pressure from the Eastern Conference Finals.
Management wanted him to rest, but Tomjanovich refused. He insisted on directing the game and analyzing the post-game footage.
"Yao Ming, at this position, your experience is insufficient. Your eyes only focus on Ilgauskas and the basketball, neglecting Steve Nash’s movements; he’s already in motion." Tomjanovich drew a circle around Nash and Miller: "Miller shouldn’t let Nash break through on the right; push him towards the middle, along the free-throw line, allowing Ah Gan to block, forcing him to reorganize the attack."
Tomjanovich then pointed to Gerald Wallace at the baseline: "The help defense isn’t problematic; without it, Ah Gan would be exposed to the combined firepower of Nash and Duncan. Honestly, Ah Gan, you must acknowledge that you’re not 28 anymore. Back then, you could defend two players. Now, during regular time, you don’t need to cover Duncan; leave it to Yao and Patrick to handle, focus on the critical moments."
Seemingly weak, Tomjanovich made a significant matchup adjustment during this pre-game tactical meeting.
Gan Guoyang will no longer single-handedly defend Duncan but will utilize this experienced defensive resource in more areas, moving to higher positions for interference.
This is the correct strategy. Duncan isn’t worth using an Ah Gan for single coverage, as it leads to greater vulnerabilities elsewhere.
As for Yao Ming, his low-post defense isn’t bad; it’s his strength. Extending outward, his shortcomings in agility and experience become magnified.
"Are you worried Duncan will explode against you?" Tomjanovich asked Yao Ming.
"He can’t possibly explode against me," Yao Ming confidently replied, "I’m not Kenyon Martin."
Laughter erupted in the meeting room, the first laughter within Glory today.
The situation in the first two games really left no room for laughter. Both games were lost miserably, making Ah Gan and Jordan lose face.
But now, face isn’t important; how to adjust and play well in the third game is what’s most crucial.
Once defeated 0-3, the series would be completely over, and the so-called Gan Gajiao would simply become a stepping stone.
A key issue is the decline in ability, particularly defensive capability, of Gan Guoyang and Jordan.
Gan Guoyang is relatively fine; he just can’t defend against two anymore, but his single defense and help defense remain top-notch.
Jordan’s decline is quite noticeable. He did well against Pierce in the first game, restricting him to 8 of 22 shots for 19 points.
In this game, Bruce Bowen’s four out of six three-pointers became the greatest surprise. In the second game, Pierce successfully challenged Jordan multiple times with a hot hand, scoring 30 points, making Jordan look somewhat embarrassed.
So when Tomjanovich said, "Michael, stop defending Pierce, let Gerald Wallace do it; you just take care of Bowen at the corner."
This differs from Gan Guoyang defending Big Z while also accounting for perimeter penetration. Asking Jordan to guard Bowen? What’s this? Corner squatting on defense?
Hearing this, Jordan was resolute: "No, Rudy, I can handle Pierce. I swear, I can lock him down in the upcoming games!"
But Tomjanovich was unconvinced, saying, "I don’t think you’re capable right now; you’re already 39, buddy. Stop showing off; the team’s victory is most important."
"No, I can, I’m sure I can. If he were Allen Iverson, I’d give up; I truly can’t keep up. But this son of a bitch, I can definitely handle him. The condition is we slow down the game, make it more like playoff basketball. I concede, the Celtics’ fast pace is formidable. We should acknowledge our current characteristics; we can’t compete with them at a fast pace; we need to slow it down."