The Golden Age of Basketball

On the court, Gan Guoyang scored continuously with mid-range jump shots, helping Glory take the lead.

Arenas tried to penetrate the defense and attack Glory’s Three Second Zone twice but was unsuccessful.

However, he didn’t give up trying, because he knew that if they don’t wear down Glory’s inner tower, the Cavaliers relying solely on outside shooting would definitely fall behind as the game progressed.

Finally, in a counterattack, Arenas used his speed to get past Ah Gan, resulting in Gan Guoyang committing a shooting foul, sending Arenas to the free-throw line.

Gan Guoyang’s first foul in this game prompted Carl to say to James, "LeBron, get on the court, attack Ah Gan at this point, wear him down, try to take him out."

James nodded, indicating he understood, but when it came to the game, James had his own set of tactics and logic.

He urgently needed to score; otherwise, as the game progressed, it might become increasingly difficult to compete, and his stats would look terrible.

In other games it’s okay, but in the head-to-head against Ah Gan, regardless of winning or losing, he definitely can’t be shut out from scoring.

Arenas hit both free throws, and Gan Guoyang saw James on the court and asked, "Did Rick send you to deal with me?"

James was taken aback, wondering how to respond to this.

Carl understands Gan Guoyang, and Gan Guoyang understands Carl.

The two have been working together since 1997, winning three championships together, and Gan Guoyang knows Carl’s temperament.

Meticulous, controlling, with many demands on players; he guessed Carl wanted to use him as a training tool, a grindstone to sharpen James’ skills.

"Whether he instructed me or not, I will deal with you," James responded defiantly.

Gan Guoyang laughed and said, "That’s the right attitude."

But the right attitude, the approach was not correct.

James did not directly match up against Gan Guoyang; instead, he entrusted the defensive task to veteran Wei Bo, choosing instead to provide help defense and double-team.

However, once he moved to double-team, he left Holi wide open, resulting in Holi making a three-pointer from the top of the arc and driving to the basket, causing Brad Miller to foul.

This move almost made Carl jump; during free throws, he called James to the sideline and questioned him, "I told you to match up against Ah Gan, right?"

"I matched up, I provided help defense against him."

"You need to directly defend him."

"I’m not a power forward; that’s Wei Bo’s job."

Upon finishing his words, James returned to the game, leaving Carl speechless in anger.

Carl was tolerating, not knowing how long he could endure.

The conflict within the Cavaliers was also fierce, with Arenas and James forming separate factions.

As the head coach, Carl didn’t want to involve himself in this strife; he wanted to stay neutral and coach properly.

Currently, Arenas was at his peak, performing remarkably well in the past two seasons.

However, James truly had better talent and potential, along with high popularity.

Two alpha males cannot coexist; it was clear that Arenas had a strong personality and didn’t want to play second fiddle.

James seemed mild, saying "this is Arenas’ team," but actually always aiming to be the alpha.

Even from the recent defense, it was evident; he said he’d primary guard James but ended up providing help defense when on the court.

This kid seemed aggressive, with a tough playing style, but wasn’t as robust as he appeared, playing more slippery than it appeared.

In this aspect, Carl appreciated Kobe more; though annoying, Kobe spoke his mind, straightforwardly recognizing his capabilities.

The game continued, with Cavaliers using consistent ball movement on the perimeter before finding an opportunity on the left corner, where Damon Jones made a catch-and-shoot three-pointer!

James added another assist, his court vision was indeed excellent; though his passing technique might be unconventional, it worked well, similar to his shooting form which didn’t need to be textbook.

Yao Ming received the ball, turned around for a jump shot but missed, Holi grabbed the rebound and sent it back outside to reorganize the offense.

Allen Iverson used Gan Guoyang’s screen to charge into the lane, stopping abruptly for a jump shot, scoring.

As the game progressed, more and more offensive possessions for Glory focused on Yao Ming, Allen Iverson, and Gan Guoyang.

The team launched attacks entirely based on these three’s personal abilities; as the head coach, Porter didn’t really offer much in terms of tactics.

He didn’t possess Carl’s strong learning ability nor was he as precise in handling and controlling tactics and rotations like Carl.

Porter’s advantage was in his influence over players; any command he gave was obeyed by all players without resistance or pretended compliance.

Because in Glory, defying Porter’s orders meant opposing Ah Gan, even Ah Gan had to listen to Porter; who else dared to disobey?

This was where Carl was considerably lacking; he was far from controlling the locker room.

When Ah Gan was with the Trail Blazers, with him holding the fort, there was no need to worry.

Later, the Trail Blazers’ locker room indeed had issues; Ben Wallace’s departure was connected to Carl’s inability to resolve conflicts.

Eventually, even Bird left, followed promptly by Carl.

Bird returned to hometown Indiana, and Carl was invited to Cleveland to join the Cavaliers.

Initially thinking he would have a long coaching stint with the Cavaliers, seeing the internal conflicts between James and Arenas and James’ "uncontrollable" nature, Carl realized his days in Cleveland wouldn’t be long.

In contrast, Assistant coach Mike Brown, who had a great relationship with James.

Carl suspected, did this glasses-wearing big guy carry out his orders and diligently taught James defense?

Brown had previously worked as an assistant coach for the Spurs under Popovich; theoretically, his defensive theories shouldn’t be poor.

Why did his dedicated focus on teaching LeBron defense seem ineffective? Was he spending all his time and energy bootlicking?

As the game continued, Glory’s suppression over the Cavaliers grew stronger, with Yao Ming, Allen Iverson, and Gan Guoyang attacking alternately, putting pressure on the Cavaliers’ defensive line.

Meanwhile, on offense, James was tightly marked by Gan Guoyang, limiting the Cavaliers’ offensive choices; Arenas took quite a few shots but didn’t perform above average due to Rajah Bell’s tight defense and additional interference from Allen Iverson.

In this quarter, Glory gradually widened the score gap.

With Gan Guoyang sinking a mid-range shot during a fast break, the score was now 41:32, with Glory extending their lead to nine points.

Carl called for a timeout, being quite dissatisfied with James’ performance, not knowing what he was doing on the court, seeming out of sync with the team’s system.

Offensively, lacking the courage for strongball possession, always acting as a pivot, assisting multiple times but some opportunities couldn’t be seized by teammates, requiring the ball handler to attack more strongly.

Defense was even worse; instructed to primarily guard Ah Gan, he didn’t and instead provided help defense, exposing the perimeter several times.

Especially at the top of the arc, the most critical position, his defensive lapses occurred three times, something Carl considered unforgivable.

Our defensive strategy revolves around clogging the middle and leaving the sides; you left the middle exposed, putting Miller, Webber, and others directly under the attack of the opponents’ exterior threats; how could that work?

Moreover, James in offense took over some of Miller’s responsibilities of organizing and passing, forcing Miller to step in for mid-range shooting and finishing.

Miller’s finishing ability wasn’t that strong; his strength was in being comprehensive and capable of organizing and passing; logically, he should be the one organizing and passing while James focuses on finishing, which would be far more efficient.

Actually, James was also anxious inside, having only scored 6 points so far in the first half, capitalizing when Ah Gan was off the court; he needed to score more.

"You need to focus more on finishing!" During the timeout, Carl scolded James; this time, James nodded in agreement and listened.

Because he knew, according to the rotation, Ah Gan, who is 42 years old, would need to rest at this point, giving him the best opportunity to showcase his skills!

Sure enough, Gan Guoyang went to rest in the middle of the second quarter, re-entering for the final two minutes to close out.

James certainly wouldn’t miss such a great opportunity; upon returning after the timeout, he immediately geared up, aggressively penetrating the middle!

Driving into the paint, he pushed past Old Holi, went over Old Mutombo, and violently dunked with one hand!

After scoring, James roared, securing a position in tonight’s top five plays!