The Golden Age of Basketball.

Chapter 991 New Reinforcements
For Jordan and Gan Guoyang, the preseason games were just child's play, not even an appetizer.

But for a newcomer like Yao Ming, the preseason is especially important, as it is the first step for him to adapt to the NBA playing environment.

In the first game against the Suns, Yao Ming did not get a starting opportunity, and Tomjanovich chose to start Ewing.

The Glory have three players drafted in 1984, two in 1985, and one in 1989.

They are arguably the league's biggest antique shop, the team with the most old players, and their physical condition and injury problems are worrying.

Apart from Van Exel, the Glory team couldn't find a player around 30 years old in their prime during the summer; they were either too old or too young.

Moreover, this wasn't the 2000 Trail Blazers. Back then, the Trail Blazers had many veterans, all around 35 years old, so they weren't considered too old.

Guanghui is now approaching 40. Apart from Gan Guoyang and Jordan, who are in good form and whose age can be disregarded, the other veterans can no longer maintain their good form throughout the long regular season.

Therefore, the management of the Glorious team has always wanted to sign two blue-collar players in their prime, one inside and one outside, to lower the team's average age and provide health insurance.

Danny Ainge spoke with Luis Scola, who plays in the Spanish league. Scola is very interested in coming to the NBA, especially the opportunity to work with two of the greatest and second greatest players in NBA history, which is very exciting.

However, considering his contract with his former team and his concern that the superstars would be too dazzling for him to stand out after joining the Glorious Ones, Scola decided to wait two years before challenging himself in the NBA.

But the Glorious couldn't wait, so Danny Ainge traded Scola's draft rights to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for Malik Rose.

The Spurs knew they had no hope of winning the championship in the short term, so they tried to accumulate talent as much as possible.

Scola was Ginobili's Argentine teammate and was very talented, while Rose was a workhorse player.

With Gasol and Ginobili still relatively inexperienced, they are trading workhorses for talent and planning for the future.

Unfortunately, David Robinson's career was nearing its end, and he was no longer able to compete for the championship.

After acquiring Rose, Danny Ainge then signed restricted free agent Jon Barry, 31, the son of Barry Sr., to a two-year, $6.5 million contract in the free agent market.

Last season's salary cap policy actually helped the team a lot. Last season they could only use 70% of the salary cap, but this season they can use the full salary cap.

Due to Radiance's arrival, the entire league's revenue increased, which led to a rise in the salary cap, giving Radiance ample salary cap space.

In addition, Jordan and Ewing both signed short-term contracts of one million dollars per year, so even if Gan Guoyang received a maximum salary, it would only be 1560 million US dollars per year.

Moreover, Gan Guoyang was signed to a maximum salary based on the salary cap of the 2001-2002 season. This year, the salary cap has increased from $42.5 million to $45 million, giving them an extra $2 million in cap space. With the Glory team releasing 30% of their cap space, they have enough room to acquire players in addition to renewing Arenas' contract and making trades.

After acquiring Barry, Ainge extended the contracts of Porter, Cole, Willis, and others for another year on veteran minimum contracts, bringing the total to 13 players. The total salary was only $4689 million, barely reaching the luxury tax threshold.

Cheap contracts like Gerald Wallace's $85 and Raja Bell's $61 have contributed to saving money for the team.

On the contrary, Yao Ming, as the number one draft pick, earned $385 million in his first year, making him the fourth highest-paid player on the team.

This is a huge profit, much more than Yao Ming earned in China, even after taxes.

It's also a kind of pressure. You get the fourth highest salary in the team, can you make the fourth highest contribution?
In the competition for starting positions or playing time, Yao Ming's opponents were not veterans like Ewing and Willis, but rather energetic young players like Malik Rose, who could do a good job on rebounds and defense, and bring vitality to the team.

In the first preseason game against the Suns, Yao Ming entered the game midway through the first quarter. Wearing jersey number 15, his entrance was met with cheers from the fans.

After entering the game, he ran back and forth several times, getting a chance to shoot, but missed.

Although it was a preseason game, the Suns set a fast pace, seemingly aware that the Glorious had a super big man and wanted to outmaneuver him.

Yao Ming looked a bit disheveled as he ran, because like most rookies, he didn't know what to do when he came on the court.

In domestic clubs and the national team, Yao Ming is the tactical core; everyone waits for him and plays around him.

When you come to the United States, Guanghui is Gan Guoyang's team. The team won't play around you; you have to find your own opportunities.

However, Yao Ming only looked disheveled; in reality, his physical condition was fine, and he was able to keep up with the speed.

And in one counterattack, he received a pass from Gan Guoyang, drove into the basket, and slammed home a dunk.

He scored his first point in the NBA, and being able to keep up with the pace of the NBA's offense and defense is the first step in adapting to the NBA.

In this era, the NBA is generally slow-paced, with more half-court sets and less transition offense.

However, both the Glory and the Suns played at a fast pace, with many transitions between the two teams, which posed a significant challenge for Yao Ming.

During halftime, Yao Ming was covered in sweat. He played for more than 10 minutes and scored 4 points and grabbed 2 rebounds.

Most of the time he was running and running, and he was the one running after others, not the other way around.

The former requires significantly more physical exertion than the latter.

Back in the locker room to rest, Gan Guoyang asked Yao Ming, "How are you feeling? Are you tired from running?"

Yao Ming shook his head and said, "I'm not tired. It's only been 10 minutes, no big deal."

Physical fitness is Yao Ming's weakness, but not to the point that he gets tired after running for 10 minutes.

He is, after all, a key player in the country. Key players not only have to run, but also have to attack with the ball and defend extensively.

If it's just about running back and forth, Yao Ming could easily run for 40 minutes in a game.

"Just running isn't enough; you need to contribute more on the court. The preseason is a chance for you to observe carefully. Watch closely, see what the characteristics of our tactics are, and combine what you've learned in training with real games, thinking about how to do each step. You're a newcomer, so there's room for error, but with me, that room won't be too big. Work hard."

While providing guidance, Gan Guoyang also exerted considerable pressure on Yao Ming.

Yao Ming had worked with Gan Guoyang on the national team and knew that Gan hated players making mistakes and errors during games.

One warning look, two question marks, and three means it's time to escalate.

When Porter saw Gan Guoyang intimidating Yao Ming, he privately advised Yao Ming, "Don't be afraid, don't listen to him, play according to your own ideas, he just likes to scare people. He'll back down soon, Glory is your team."

Yao Ming didn't dare to respond and could only smile sheepishly. Porter, as usual, was kept on and signed a one-year contract.

He now acts like a dead pig that's not afraid of boiling water, training and clocking in and out every day, never late or leaving early, and training normally.

He would sabotage Gan Guoyang from time to time, saying, "Go ahead and fire me if you dare, I've already quit a long time ago."

Yao Ming certainly can't listen to Porter; he still needs to think more about how to survive better in the NBA.

The NBA and FIBA ​​have very different rules, especially the three-second rule on defense, which was a big problem for Yao Ming.

In FIBA, Yao Ming could camp under the basket, but that's not possible in the NBA. He has to move around outside the three-second zone, which tests a player's judgment and reaction time.

During team practice, Yao Ming was assigned the role of playmaking center by Tomjanovich, a role previously held by Sabonis. However, Yao Ming was inferior to Sabonis in many details and experience.

Putting aside other factors, Yao Ming doesn't have Sabonis's large hands and long arms.

This means Yao Ming can't handle the ball as easily as Sabonis, holding it in his hands and playing with it without worrying about it being stolen.

Yao Ming's first priority after receiving the ball is to avoid losing possession and getting the ball stolen. With this kind of ball protection ability, it's difficult for him to make good playmaking decisions.

This is related to talent, so Tomjanovich quickly gave up on the idea. Yao Ming would not become the second Sabonis alongside Forrest Gump; he could not be Forrest Gump's understudy. He was a different type of player.

Yao Ming needs to find his own role and positioning.

Gan Guoyang's initial assessment of him was that he would be a one-on-one inside scorer, which is similar to Wang Zhizhi's approach.

In fact, apart from exceptional players like Gan Guoyang, Asian players are selected by the NBA primarily for their offense, not their defense.

Developing offense, strengthening strengths, establishing a foothold in the league, and then finding ways to address defensive weaknesses is the right approach.

However, offense requires ball possession and shooting, unlike defense where you can perform immediately. Therefore, it is very difficult for Asian players to establish themselves in the league.

Yao Ming has an excellent shooting touch, outstanding footwork, and a clear height advantage on offense.

Therefore, during the regular season, if you play some offensive tactics around him, your goal-scoring efficiency will be very high.

In the second half against the Suns, Yao Ming repeatedly called for the ball under the basket, and Gan Guoyang made comfortable passes from the high post, allowing Yao Ming to easily score with a turnaround, achieving a high shooting percentage on consecutive possessions.

In this way, Yao Ming can share some of the team's inside scoring burden and compress the opponent's defensive formation.

This is part of the functionality. Gan Guoyang hopes that Yao Ming can practice more in mid-range shooting and rim protection, which will be a long process.

From this perspective, Yao Ming is not Gan Guoyang's backup, but rather someone who fills in some of Gan Guoyang's roles. Gan Guoyang could handle these roles when he was younger, but now he chooses to outsource some of them to other players and do the work that others cannot do.

After playing the Suns, the Radiant continued their preseason journey while training.

The Glory team specifically increased its coaching staff, hiring John Weitzer, who was an assistant coach under the Trail Blazers' former coach, Bellman.

Weitzer served as an assistant coach for Berman alongside Adelman and Shalov, and together they witnessed the Portland Trail Blazers' most glorious and legendary four-peat.

Back then, the Trail Blazers built a complete tactical system based on the Princeton offense, which swept through the league and defeated the Chicago Bulls.

Today, the Princeton offense is flourishing throughout the league. The Sacramento Kings reached the NBA Finals last season, and the Celtics, led by Vilman, also incorporated the Princeton offense.

A visually appealing and fluid team offensive strategy is the best way to break through the current sluggish and physically imposing defense in the league.

Having learned from the Kings, John Weitzer, after joining the coaching staff, worked with Tomjanovich and others to develop a brilliant Princeton offense for the new season, which they believed should be built around the pick-and-roll between Gan Guoyang and Jordan.

"Our core tactic is to start with the pick-and-roll between the two old men."

The problem is that Jordan never really played pick-and-roll in his career, and Gan Guoyang isn't a player who likes pick-and-rolls either. They are both too capable, and pick-and-rolls would only lead to double teams or miss opportunities.

But back to the point, when Gan Guoyang and Jordan run a pick-and-roll, who should you double-team?

On October 8th, the Glory team traveled to Los Angeles to play preseason games against the Lakers and Clippers.

The Lakers underwent a major trade, with Shaquille O'Neal leaving and Rasheed Wallace, Wang Zhizhi, and Jim Jackson joining.

The Lakers' roster looks more deep, especially at the forward position, where there is practically redundancy.

However, in terms of talent and ability, he was far inferior to Shaquille O'Neal. Rasheed Wallace was completely incomparable to O'Neal on offense.

With the Lakers now on McGrady's team, he will have more opportunities to shoot, making this a season for him to prove his offensive prowess.

The preseason games were not very intense; both sides went through the motions, giving more opportunities to young players.

Jordan scored 12 points and Gan Guoyang scored 14 points, both just two points less than Agan.

As everyone has realized, despite the two leaders, Forrest Gump is still the real boss, and Jordan won't try to take his place.

After the game, the Glorious team stayed in Los Angeles for a day before playing the Clippers the day after tomorrow.

Wang Zhizhi did not participate in this preseason tournament because he had to return to China to represent the national team in the Asian Games; otherwise, Yao Ming would definitely have invited Wang Zhizhi out for a meal.

Wang Zhizhi has established himself in the league, securing relatively consistent playing time with both the Hawks and the Heat, often coming on as a sixth man to score quickly.

He followed Gan Guoyang's teachings and his purpose on the court was to score points and shoot, but he didn't shoot three-pointers; he mainly shot mid-range shots.

He has mastered the art of catching the ball with one hand and then shooting from the baseline at zero angles on both sides, making it a perfect mid-range shot that he can execute with ease.

Whether it's the Hawks, Heat, or Lakers, they can design one or two plays around him, and then rely on this move to consistently contribute around 6 points per game. With other scoring options, he can score in double digits in many games, which is quite impressive.

This skill is very useful when the league averages over 90 points per game, and sometimes scores very low.

Back in Asia, representing the national team at the Asian Games, the situation is different again.

Wang Zhizhi led the men's basketball team to victory against South Korea on their home court, despite the home-court advantage, using various offensive techniques to overwhelm the South Korean team.

He led the national team to win the gold medal in men's basketball at the Asian Games, shattering South Korea's dream of winning the championship on home soil.

On the Asian stage, Wang Zhizhi's offensive talent is unmatched, and no one can stop him.

After playing the Clippers, the Glorious returned to Las Vegas and played against West Coast teams such as the Sacramento Kings and the Golden State Warriors.

The preseason schedule is a final act of kindness for the Las Vegas Glory, as the regular season is about to begin and they will be playing as an Eastern Conference team.

With 82 games, including 41 away games, the number of long-distance trips will be double that of the past, with more games to be played in the far east.

Fortunately, it's a private jet trip now, so the time is controllable and the journey is comfortable; otherwise, it would be a huge test for the veteran's body.

The team's logistics team went from making frequent mistakes at the beginning of last season to almost zero mistakes by the end of the season, providing the best service to the players.

After the preseason games, the 2002-2003 regular season officially began on October 29th.

On the 28th, the entire Glorious team packed their bags and headed out. Their first game was an away game in the East, in cold Milwaukee, where it had already started snowing in October.

The league seems to be intentionally freezing the old men, letting them begin what may be their final dance in a sober state.

(End of this chapter)