Stockton had a premonition before taking the court that Gan Guoyang wouldn't let him set up the team's offense as comfortably as he did in the second quarter.
Sure enough, as soon as Stockton entered the game, Gan turned to Valentine and said, "Darnell, you need to attack Stockton more when you get the chance. I'll protect the basket; just stick with him. If he gets a chance to attack, let him."
Valentine nodded. Gan knew Stockton's weaknesses well—one was his defense against strong African American guards.
Furthermore, Stockton's offense wasn't aggressive enough to "kill"; giving him space to maneuver wouldn't be deadly.
So it was a good strategy to give him some room to attack, cutting off his connection with his teammates.
Ramsay adjusted as well when he saw Stockton come on, replacing Vandeweghe and Parkson with Jerome Kossie and Drexler.
