Chapter 2229 - 37: New Reign, New Ministers

Chapter 2229: Chapter 37: New Reign, New Ministers

From Las Vegas to Phoenix is less than 500 kilometers away, and it takes only half an hour to get there by plane.

Gan Guoyang couldn’t even take a nap on the plane. He watched the news, listened to some songs, closed his eyes briefly for a rest, and then the plane began to descend.

The team had rested for a full week, waiting for the result of the Suns and Trail Blazers game.

This undoubtedly favored the Glory, which was full of veterans. Getting off the plane, Gan Guoyang felt good about his back and shoulders.

His energy and stamina were abundant, enough to invest in a tough playoff series.

Before the game, Gan Guoyang and the coaching staff discussed tactics against the Suns, and they found themselves in some debates.

The point of contention was the control of the game rhythm, whether to go with a defensive route, to wrestle for initiative against the Suns, or, like the semi-finals, simply go for offense and see who has more ammunition, fighting to the end with firepower.

Head coach Porter was conservative; he wanted Glory to play a slow-paced game they were adept at, using defense to stifle the Suns.

The assistant coaches, led by Spoelstra, the younger coaches, believed they should attack back with the Suns.

Both sides had ample reasons. Porter believed that in playoffs, strong teams competing should "take my initiative," never seen adapting to others’ strengths, playing into opponents’ preferred rhythm.

In the semi-finals against the Warriors, mainly because Glory’s overall strength was higher than the Warriors, they could win no matter how they played. The Suns were different.

This season, the Suns were very strong, continually keeping Glory under pressure during the regular season. Glory did not have home-court advantage and needed to seize control of the pace.

Spoelstra and the others thought differently. They believed that although Glory’s defense was formidable, the team’s age was advanced, playing a defensive war of attrition would be disadvantageous.

Moreover, regarding offense alone, Glory’s offensive firepower was not necessarily inferior to the Suns.

Using their tactics against them could catch the Suns off guard.

Besides, in the previous two seasons, Glory met the Suns, trying to use defense to suppress the opponent, with ineffective results.

The Suns lack powerful defenders at position one and two, concentrating defensive resources inside and on the wings.

Nash will have ample room to maneuver, so rather than be led around by Nash, it’s better to aggressively target him.

In short, both opinions had merit.

Porter, as head coach, held the final decision-making power.

But in actuality, the final decision on team tactics rested with Ah Gan.

Spo, leading the young assistant coaches, was vibrant in thought and equipped with advanced tools, forming the team’s think tank.

Porter was often merely executing, serving as a spiritual leader for the team, similar to his days as a player.

Gan Guoyang pondered for a moment; he said to first play according to the usual approach, and if circumstances weren’t favorable, then change it.

Though the Suns were formidable, Gan Guoyang wasn’t intimidated. There were reasons the Suns hadn’t won a championship in recent years.

They had some fatal flaws in their lineup and tactical style, and their head coach Mike D’Antoni had a rigid approach, persistently pursuing the same path.

Hence, Glory had a relatively larger margin for tactical error; trying it out in the first game was worthwhile.

Gan Guoyang had such confidence.

Yet Porter kept mumbling until right before the game when he discussed with Gan Guoyang in the tactical office.

"What if we lose the first game, should we really engage in a shootout with the Suns?"

"If we’re wrong, won’t we change?"

"It could also be that our defense isn’t good enough."

"Spo has already explained to you; maybe you should listen more to the young ones."

"He’s too young, even younger than you."

"What kind of talk is that? Although Spo is young, his experience is quite seasoned; he followed me very early on."

Gan Guoyang wasn’t mistaken; Spo started as a data analyst at the Trail Blazers back in high school.

After college, he continued working for the Trail Blazers. When Gan Guoyang left Portland, Spo followed him to Las Vegas.

In terms of loyalty, Spo and Porter were quite matched.

"Then why don’t you let Spo take my place, let him be head coach then."

"Terry, we’ve reached the Western Conference Finals; why are you still concerned about the young ones?"

"I feel a bit out of control with the coaching staff! Those young coaches are always fiddling around with their laptops there, just like Bobby back then! That guy Bobby, I can’t be unaware, can I? He’s just a schemer."

Gan Guoyang laughed, not expecting Porter to be muttering about Bobby Berman at this time.

Nonetheless, Spo did resemble Berman a bit. Nowadays, young coaches started learning from Berman, using data models extensively for analyzing teams and players, yielding great results.

Although Porter was a young coach age-wise among coaches, his thinking was quite traditional.

After all, his glory days were in the ’80s and ’90s, when everyone adhered to experience-based approach.

Even though Berman started using data models early, players had little perception; as long as the coaches laid out their plans, they followed suit.

Until becoming a coach, over the years, Porter increasingly felt somewhat out of touch with the trends; his past experiences seemed insufficient.

The failures in the previous two seasons added immense pressure on Porter.

Now reaching the West Finals, he took it tremendously seriously, believing he had a certain level of understanding against the Suns.

Because the Suns use a point-guard-centric style, having played as a point guard, Porter knew best how to tackle this type of position.

His plan was to utilize Allen Iverson to fiercely target Nash in offense, while tightening up defensively to crush the Suns.