The Golden Age of Basketball

It’s clear that Gan Guoyang is in a good mood tonight. He hasn’t trash-talked with young players for a long time.

They are a generation apart. Bullying young players with words isn’t really good. Gan Guoyang is quite honorable in this regard.

However, James and Nike have been making snide remarks and gestures to annoy Gan Guoyang for years. But in person, they show great respect, leaving Gan Guoyang feeling pent up with resentment.

Initially, he didn’t want to care. What is there to worry about? But before this game, James did it again, finally irritating him.

James sensed something was wrong from Gan Guoyang’s words. He had heard that when Ah Gan starts trash-talking, it means he’s taking it seriously with you.

In the next two attacks, James chose to pass, hitting Miller for a mid-range shot and giving Arenas the ball for a stop-and-jump shot, collecting two assists.

On the Glory side, Yao Ming became the primary attacker at the start, hitting a mid-range shot from the left side, then facing Miller’s fronting defense on the right side, pulled out for another mid-range shot and scored.

This season, Yao Ming’s mid-to-long-range shooting stability is becoming stronger and stronger. At his height and with his touch, once he finds his rhythm, he’s truly unstoppable.

In the short term, Yao Ming gaining weight and strength will surely help him quickly establish himself in the league and make his mark.

But this style of play is not only exhausting and injury-prone, but also not beneficial for Yao Ming’s long-term development.

The era of low-post beasts dominating the league is approaching its end. Even Gan Guoyang has reduced his low-post back-down attacks in these past two seasons, opting for more mid-to-long-range shots.

Yao Ming is only 26 this year. If his career is long enough, in the future, his shooting will definitely become one of his great allies.

Only playing with Glory, alongside Gan Guoyang, can Yao Ming plan for such a long career.

Otherwise, if America’s coaches and domestic basketball people who lack foresight make the decisions, they would surely exploit Yao Ming’s short-to-medium term value.

Subsequently, Gan Guoyang interfered with Arenas’ breakthrough lay-up at the basket. The ball was taken by Glory for a quick counterattack.

Allen Iverson made a fast break, charged into the paint, and distributed the ball to the wing. Gan Guoyang received it, faked a middle-range jump shot, deceived Gooden, and drove to the basket.

James tried to block Gan Guoyang’s assault, but the gap in weight and strength was too large. Gan Guoyang dunked over James!

After the shot, the entire Gund Arena erupted with amazement, and James was also called for a defensive foul on the play.

In situations like this, Gan Guoyang doesn’t taunt James. He acknowledges the courage in facing him head-on.

But there was only such direct defensive confrontation this once in the game. James didn’t dare straight-up defend Ah Gan afterward.

In fact, not many in the league dare to.

As the game progressed, both teams’ pace gradually accelerated. James tried to score in quick transitions.

But Gan Guoyang kept a tight watch on him. On one fast break, James charged into the paint head-on but was stopped by Gan Guoyang.

Missing the shot, James spread his hands to the referee, complaining that Gan Guoyang had committed a blocking foul.

The referee was very restrained in blowing the whistle tonight. If they could avoid calling, they would. This is a critical game; the office had given a heads-up before the game not to steal the spotlight.

Some referees are drama queens who especially enjoy stealing the spotlight in these All-America broadcast focal games with controversial calls.

But in Ah Gan’s games, referees are very cautious. If a call leaves Ah Gan unsatisfied, he would complain to the referee committee.

Previously, the Donaghy incident was widely discussed. Many referees know that Ah Gan has close ties with Stern and the FBI.

If a referee doesn’t do a good job and is caught, they’ll certainly face trouble, so referees pay close attention to maintaining a good relationship with Ah Gan.

Though not biased, they strive to be fair. James’ hand-spreading wouldn’t have any effect.

Glory’s counterattack missed as well. An error occurred on the perimeter. Carl’s defensive guidance is still quite effective.

His spatial compression and pressure within zones are done very well. If the ball-handler doesn’t have a broad vision, they’ll easily fall into the defensive trap and lose their way.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are among the top in creating turnovers, and they are also leaders in converting those turnovers into fast-break points.

In half-court offense, Arenas’ impact is more pronounced. His shooting, driving, and ball-distribution abilities have greatly improved these past two seasons.

Seeing James facing Gan Guoyang’s tight defense, finding it hard to disrupt Glory’s defensive formation, Arenas stepped up to take charge of the Cavaliers’ offense.

First, he used a pick-and-roll, forcefully driving past Allen Iverson to take a close-range jump shot.

Then from the front, eyeing Raja Bell’s defense, he launched a long-distance three-pointer and scored!

Scoring 5 consecutive points, the Cavaliers closed the gap. In response, Allen Iverson crossed over on the wing, drove, stopped, and pulled up for a fadeaway, scoring two points.

With more than half of the first quarter played, both teams are ending most of their scoring from mid-to-long distances, with few points in the paint.

Because both Glory and the Cavaliers pay great attention to protecting the Three Second Zone. Yao Ming, Gan Guoyang, Miller, Gooden, and substitutes like Mutombo, Chris Weber, all stay under the basket, not giving the opponent easy chances to score in the paint.

In the past two seasons, with the cancellation of the Handcheck rule and the addition of the defensive three-second rule, it’s gotten relatively easier for perimeter players to break through.