Nowitzki has always been known for his poor defense, and the task of defending Gan Guoyang has always been handed to Bradley.
However, during the pre-game tactical setup, Nielsen suddenly said to Nowitzki, "Dirk, tonight you will defend Ah Gan, handle him."
Nowitzki paused for a moment, looked at Nielsen with disbelief, and asked, "Coach, what are you saying?"
Nielsen repeated, "I'm telling you, handle Ah Gan!"
Fenli was dumbfounded and said, "Coach, are you joking? Let Dirk handle Ah Gan? He... he is still very young."
However, Nielsen seemed resolute and did not let Fenli interrupt, insisting to Nowitzki, "Tonight your task is to match Ah Gan on both offense and defense. I said, handle him, that's what you have to do. No excuses.".
Nowitzki realized the coach wasn't joking, tonight his task was indeed to handle Ah Gan—an undertaking that no one has accomplished since 1984.
Originally relaxed, Nowitzki suddenly became tense.
