Porter’s concerns are justified, as Glory has not sustained their performance in recent seasons.
Against weaker teams, big leads are easily caught up, and although the win rate is still high, victories are hard-fought.
Most importantly, if this keeps happening, opponents will always maintain the confidence of "I can catch up," and won’t surrender easily.
This increases the team’s wear and tear and victory costs, and occasionally results in upsets, which frustrates Porter immensely.
Porter still remembers when young Ah Gan led the Trail Blazers, always adhering to the "leave no survivors" strategy.
Facing a weak team and a big lead, there was no relaxation, they had to completely crush and cripple the opponent, entering garbage time early.
This way the main players could rest more, and the opponent would lose their will to resist, surrendering early the next time they fell behind by a large margin.
This was the situation during the peak of Empire’s reign; because Empire was strong, resistance was minimal, and because resistance was minimal, Empire appeared even stronger.
Once Empire began to decline, the resistance forces realized that they could lose games and be overturned. So next time they fell behind by a large margin, they wouldn’t give up, but gritted their teeth to persist to the end.
The cost of domination became higher, and player wear and tear increased greatly.
Last season, Ah Gan, due to overuse, injured his back for the first time and missed the playoffs.
Now, Glory seems to find it hard to have such a "leave no survivors" capability, and securing some stable victories is considered good enough.
In the first quarter, Glory’s largest lead expanded to 12 points, and after a timeout, Porter rotated players, allowing Gan Guoyang to rest.
This season, one of Porter’s tasks is to keep Ah Gan’s average playing time per game within 35 minutes, ideally compressing it to 33 minutes.
The rotation mode used by Tomjanovich, where players rest midway through the first quarter, must be adopted, coming back late in the first quarter to lead substitute players.
"Terry, I haven’t even broken a sweat yet."
"There’s plenty of time for you to sweat later, just sit obediently for now."
Gan Guoyang had to put on a sports jacket; he actually preferred to play until the final stages of the first quarter.
Because now, it takes him a long time to get in the zone, if his playing time is too fragmented, it becomes hard to maintain momentum.
But the coaching staff has their considerations, so Gan Guoyang still respects Porter’s decision.
When Gan Guoyang is not on the court, Yao Ming becomes the offensive core.
But unlike Ah Gan, although Yao Ming is the offensive core, he is more of a finisher rather than an initiator.
Glory has not designed many tactics around Yao Ming, such as the common inside-out, high-post facilitation, or low-post passing and cutting plays.
Porter’s task for Yao Ming is very simple: to finish, take shots when receiving the ball, and pass when double-teamed, without overthinking.
This has been the key to Yao Ming’s stability in recent seasons — he doesn’t have to undertake tasks he isn’t very skilled at, instead maximizing his strengths.
Externally, some media have always debated that Yao Ming can facilitate and act as a pivot to drive the team’s offense.
Porter’s response to the external debate is, "Yao Ming can do that, but it’s unnecessary; he should utilize his energy in a role that suits him."
Yao Ming himself also stated that he enjoys playing at Glory, recognizing his role and not seeing any problem with the team’s arrangements.
The true playmaker for Glory is, of course, Gan Guoyang. For now, this task is handed over to Andre Miller, and replacing Li Wei on the bench is Robert Horry.
After leaving the Lakers, Horry played for the Spurs and the Celtics. In 2005, he won a championship with the Celtics, but in 2006, the Celtics were eliminated by the Heat in the playoffs, leading to turmoil within the team. Horry left and signed with Glory for a two-year veteran minimum, hoping to get another shot at a championship alongside Ah Gan.
Of course, Horry is already a 36-year-old veteran, with diminishing energy to contribute, so Glory can’t expect him to be a core rotation anchor. If he can share some playing time and pressure with Ah Gan and make some critical shots, it would be considered good.
The lineup at the forward position has always been relatively weak for Glory. With the entry of young, versatile forwards like LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony into the League in 2003, the number of strong forwards in the league is increasing.
Pat Riley said the League is transitioning from the era of big men to the era of forwards. For Glory to achieve great results, a good forward is essential.
After Ah Gan went off, the Clippers got considerably liberated offensively. Brandon finally scored in the low post, and his baseline catch after a pick-and-roll had a touch of Ah Gan’s style.
When Yao Ming defended him, he’d drive, and when Horry defended him, he’d shoot. In the middle of the first quarter, this captain seized the time to score 6 consecutive points, helping the Clippers close the score gap.
He knew that once Ah Gan was back on the court, scoring easily wouldn’t be as simple.
At the end of the first quarter, the two teams were tied at 28:21, with Glory leading the Clippers by 7 points.
Once adjusted, the Clippers’ offense flowed smoothly, and their dispersed offensive approach made it challenging for Glory to find a focus point.
Cassell’s mid-range sniping, Mobley’s drives and threes, Brand’s post plays, and Kaman’s low post made each point a threat.
As long as their offense found rhythm and coordination, the Clippers were indeed hard to defend.
On the bench, the Clippers also have Livingston, the tall, well-rounded third-year guard with an excellent mid-range game.