Chapter 2235 - 39: Bittersweet

Chapter 2235: Chapter 39: Bittersweet

Both sides won one game each in the first two games, evening the score at 1:1.

On the night after the second game ended, the entire Glory team flew out of Phoenix and quickly returned to Las Vegas.

Quentin took Porter and Gan Guoyang home together, their houses were close to each other.

On the way, Porter was somewhat disheartened; the victory in the second game proved he was indeed outdated in strategy formulation.

Today’s NBA coaches are increasingly detailed in their strategies, with thorough pre-game research and preparation using video and data as references, combined with experience and inspiration to present a good plan.

Little Spo’s pre-game arrangements were indeed well made, very targeted.

Unlike in the past, coaches relied more on experience and sudden inspiration.

Previously during the finals, there were often stories of coaches lacking ideas and unable to sleep at night, suddenly receiving a call from someone providing inspiration, changing defensive matchups or rotations to turn the tide.

These stories will always exist, now and in the future, but surely less frequently.

"The NBA world belongs to the young." Porter couldn’t help but say, with a hint of resentment and helplessness.

In the past, Gan Guoyang would mock Porter for lacking ambition, aging prematurely.

Now he just smiled and said, "Let them wait for the final season then."

After a day’s rest, the third game between the two sides kicked off at the Gump Center.

Before the game, Porter, after talking about some basic arrangements, handed the leadership over to Little Spo.

Spoelstra is only 37 years old this year, which is definitely young in the coaching circle.

But his experience is very rich; he started working on data with the Portland Trail Blazers since high school.

Later, he played at the University of Portland, and after graduation, he always followed Gan Guoyang in the team as a video analyst until becoming an assistant coach.

Because he is not a professional player, Little Spo pays great attention to pre-game preparation and game planning; on-the-spot performance is not his strong point.

After all, in Ah Gan’s team, live action decisions are entrusted to Gan Guoyang.

"In this game, we need to leverage our advantage on the inside."

"Win the third game and maintain the home-court advantage."

"Yao and Ah Gan must attack vigorously in the low post."

"On defense, we remain unchanged, disrupting the link between Nash and Stoudemire."

"The Suns’ three-pointers may recover, but we must insist on sticking to our strategy."

"Start from the inside and then the outside, gradually speed up, and drag the game to the final decisive moment."

Little Spo set the rhythm for Glory’s game, showing some changes compared to the previous game.

Last game was led by the outside, with the inside mainly on defense.

This game, Little Spo actively sought change, throwing a curve at the Suns.

Porter couldn’t help but say to Gan Guoyang: "We won the last game, generally we don’t change."

"That’s why you’re old; young coaches have different ideas, this is called prioritizing ourselves."

"Afraid the outside lacks touch, it’s steadier to play inside."

"That’s just it; I also wanted to play more from the start."

Gan Guoyang mainly assisted in the second game, exerting force only in the third quarter.

This game returned to the sports complex named after him, he decided to start strongly from the get-go, striving for a good performance to create a better situation for the team.

The game started promptly at 7:30 pm, with over twenty thousand fans cheering for the Las Vegas Radiance on-site.

Among them were many tourists and quite a few gamblers, hence the Glory’s home games rarely show uniform attire like other teams; the stands are always colorful and vibrant.

Thus, the Vegas home games have never been called a "Devil’s Arena," and due to its proximity to casinos, hotels, and spas, it’s always been a favorite away venue for league players.

However, the Glory’s home win rate has always been high; amidst the dazzling arenas lurks hidden danger.

The game began with Stoudemire successfully winning the jump ball against Yao Ming; although Yao Ming is very tall, his jump ball ability isn’t strong due to slower reactions.

He once fell behind in jump ball against smaller Point Guards like Derek Fisher.

Though opening jump ball doesn’t matter much, the Suns initiated the first attack.

Their idea was the same as Glory’s, both aiming to establish from the inside first.

In the last game, they couldn’t establish, relying on Steve Nash continuously scoring wouldn’t work.

D Antoni switched to letting Stoudemire initiate the attack and see if they could cause some damage.

Stoudemire utilized speed and explosive power; he wasn’t entirely at a disadvantage facing Gan Guoyang.

But with the opening play, when Stoudemire chose to aggressively attack Gan Guoyang facing the basket, he suffered from a hidden loss.

Gan Guoyang’s strength was formidable; Stoudemire was fast and fierce, trying to use his impact to smash open space and drive into the basket.

However, Gan Guoyang seized the moment to retreat, leading Stoudemire to overexert and crash out of bounds, taking a hard fall!

The referee didn’t call a foul; Stoudemire made a turnover.

On the sidelines, D Antoni’s face turned black from frustration.

This wasn’t a good omen; Ah Gan was starting to play tricks again.

Later, Gan Guoyang received the ball in the low post, single-taking Thomas.

Using strength, he squeezed open space on the baseline and drove into the basket.

Facing Stoudemire’s defense, he pushed through and scored with a hook.

Soon after, Stoudemire continuously tried to attack near the basket and free throw line but couldn’t succeed.

On the contrary, Gan Guoyang and Yao Ming, through clever cooperation and interaction on the inside, quickly broke through the Suns’ originally weak interior defense.

The Suns quickly called a timeout, after returning, Nash stopped the bleeding for the team with a mid-range jump shot.

Yet that’s exactly what Glory wanted to see, Nash shooting more rather than facilitating teammates.

In fact, this has been a long-standing problem for the Suns; as Grant Hill ages, this problem worsens.

An important factor in the Suns reaching the finals in 2005 was Hill returning to peak form; he could serve as a standalone offensive point, relieving pressure off Nash.

Hill’s condition these past two years has been decent, but not reaching his 2005 All-Star level.

The pressure on Nash and Stoudemire’s shoulders is heavier, while Nash as a Point Guard is limited defensively and heavily burdened offensively.

By the third game of the series, Glory’s grip on Nash became increasingly brutal and blatant, precisely knowing other Suns backcourt players struggled to stand up and solve problems.

The Suns’ system excessively relies on Nash.

Midway through the first quarter, the Radiance took a 5-point lead.

They once again suppressed the Suns, whose main response reverted to Nash’s aggressive attacks.

At the end of the first quarter, Radiance led the Suns 29 to 24, with Nash only having one assist in the first quarter.

Turner Television’s commentators, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith, discussed the Suns’ dilemma.

"Charles, in the past, it was always said that to beat Gan’s team, the most important thing was for the point guard position to explode. Just like the Utah Jazz of 1997, with Stockton transforming into Iverson, why does it seem hopeless for the Suns even when Nash scores continuously now?"

"Because Gan is no longer the Gan of the past. The operational logic of Gan’s team has undergone significant changes."

Uncharacteristically, Barkley seriously analyzed without joking around.

"The current Radiance is a more team-oriented team. Gan’s role has been limited; he’s no longer the all-encompassing, do-it-all guy from before. With players like Yao Ming and Iverson, you can develop tactics around them, and sometimes Gan is just an addition."

"Against a flexible and multi-core team, merely having a point guard avoid Gan and attack won’t work. Moreover, Nash is carrying a heavy organizational task, and him constantly attacking is indeed a desperate move."

Barkley’s analysis was quite sensible.

He played for the Trail Blazers during Gan Guoyang’s last peak as a solo cornerstone.

When he made his second comeback, Radiance shifted to a dual-core and multi-core approach.

In the second quarter, the Suns tried to change, with two foreign players, Barbosa and Diaw, leading the Suns’ offense.

Barbosa had strong impact, and Diaw was good at organizing.

This tactic actually worked well. Youth’s vigor was intimidating; Barbosa used his speed to attack the basket, drawing fouls and making layups, allowing the Suns to launch a counterattack and momentarily take the lead.

Gan Guoyang immediately re-entered the game, received the ball at the left 45-degree low post, Suns double-teamed, and Gan Guoyang passed to Iverson at the top of the arc, who hit a mid-range jumper to retake the lead.

The game entered a tug-of-war, with the Suns strengthening their defense rather than blindly speeding up their offense.

High confrontation, then constant reaching and gambling steals.

This yielded results for a time; Yao Ming and Iverson both made errors against the sudden convergence and reaching by the Suns.

Once errors occurred, it was the Suns’ time.

Barbosa and Hill consecutively made fast-break layups, and Matt Carroll’s three-pointer in the counterattack gave the Suns a 6-point lead.

The Suns gained the upper hand in the second quarter.

Iverson stood up, using his individual ability to make a floater in the paint.

In a half-court set, Nash was forced into a situation with no one to pass and could only attempt a difficult shot himself.

Missed, Gan Guoyang grabbed the rebound, and Iverson launched a counterattack.

The Suns quickly retreated on defense, and Gan Guoyang received the ball in the low post.

The Suns dared not double-team, so Gan Guoyang took on Diaw in a mismatch, easily muscling his way to the basket for a layup.

The point difference narrowed to 2 points, and the battle between the two teams grew more intense.

It was now difficult to see a game where one side won overwhelmingly as in the previous two matchups.

The game gradually entered deep waters, where the effect of tactics and strategies would slowly dissipate.

The players’ condition, fighting spirit, and a bit of luck would dominate the direction of the game.

The Suns led by two points, with Nash organizing a half-court attack.

Grant Hill and Kurt Thomas continuously set screens for Nash.

Nash penetrated deep, with Gan Guoyang blocking him like a mountain under the basket.

Passed back to the perimeter, Kurt Thomas nearly lost the ball, and Gerald Wallace bent down to grab it.

Thomas controlled the ball and threw it to Hill, who held the ball and drove inside.

One step inside the three-point line, he stopped abruptly for a jump shot, and scored two points!

If Hill can maintain such efficiency in tough shots, Radiance might have to change their defensive strategy.

Then, Gan Guoyang backed Diaw down again in the low post.

Using the Sigma Step, he faced the basket and directly pulled up for a mid-range shot.

Scored!

In this battle, Gan Guoyang played with a hint of his peak form in the first half.

Unlimited low post attacks, making the opponent helpless.

But the Suns knew Gan Guoyang was already 42 years old and couldn’t maintain constant low post attacks throughout the game.

So they stopped double-teaming Gan Guoyang, allowing him to play, but not letting him connect with teammates and orchestrate the team.

The Suns’ strategy was similar to Radiance cutting off Nash’s connection with his teammates.

But the difference was, Radiance no longer relied so heavily on Gan Guoyang’s offense; they had more paths to take.

Nash, with the ball, rushed straight to the basket, turned around, and found himself surrounded by Iverson, Gan Guoyang, and Yao Ming.

Yet Nash still keenly found that gap, hitting a bounce pass to the cutting Stoudemire.

Stoudemire caught the ball and tried to force an attack, but Gan Guoyang defended him head-on, blocking Stoudemire’s dunk.

The ball flew to the rim, rebounded out, and Yao Ming grabbed the rebound.

Radiance counter-attacked, but the Suns quickly fell back into defense and formed a setup.

Iverson, holding the ball, slowed down, knowing Gan was in good form.

He waited for Gan Guoyang to catch up, then hit a bounce pass to him. Gan Guoyang paused with the ball, then drove to the basket.

But the referee called a walking violation on him.

"Damn, how did I walk?"

"Because you’re old, Sonny."

"Who says, don’t young people walk too?"

Gan Guoyang complained but still handed the ball to the referee.

As the second quarter passed halfway, they went into an official timeout.

Back on the bench, Gan Guoyang said to Iverson, "Sorry I wasted a chance, do it yourself if you can, Allen."

"I know, that’s what I was thinking."

Gan Guoyang sighed helplessly, thinking that getting old really makes everything feel bittersweet.