Now, Gan Guoyang more often squats in the three-second zone as the last line of defense, while the young SuperSonics, at every critical juncture of each quarter, start to escalate the intensity.
The Trail Blazers' turnovers begin to increase, and what makes the on-site fans and Bobby Berman most anxious is that the ball cannot be passed to Gan Guoyang in time.
The SuperSonics know that once Gan gets the ball, eighty percent of their defense fails, so to succeed defensively, they must prevent Gan Guoyang from receiving the ball.
Even if Gan Guoyang wants to get the ball in a relatively shallow position, the SuperSonics still defend rigorously, even at the expense of opening up the three-second zone, allowing the Trail Blazers to cut inside and make backdoor cuts to the basket.
Their forwards would use their speed and explosiveness to quickly rotate for help defense, with Michael and Shawn Kemp frequently putting on a defensive chase-down block spectacle during the game.
