Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 293 293. Cole Dismisses Luke's Influence!Advance to the semi-finals!Hassell and Bowen, old and new feuds count together
At the end of the first quarter, the Grizzlies led the Suns by as much as 16 points. The huge gap in strength between the two teams surprised outside fans.

In any case, the Phoenix Suns are a traditional team that has entered the playoffs for many years. The team also has two top stars, Steve Nash and "Small Overlord" Stoudemire.

But as soon as the playoffs were fought, the Suns seemed to have no power to fight back in front of the Grizzlies, and could only be ravaged by the Grizzlies throughout the process.

Especially Stoudemire, who played the best season of his career under coach Alvin Gentry in the regular season, only scored four points in a single quarter defended by Marc Gasol.

Become the culprit for the Suns falling behind the Grizzlies.

"Little Overlord" Stoudemire has been in the league for many years, and his playing style has not changed much. Most of his points are through one-handed dunks with explosive power to kill the basket, and slightly stiff hooks in the restricted area.

When Stoudemire, who likes to force the basket, meets Marc Gasol, who was just selected to the best defensive team last season, this set of matchups is destined to be a tragedy.

Another star of the Suns, Steve Nash, is also not much better. Facing Chris Paul, who is only 1.8 meters tall, Nash can still get a good shooting space on the offensive end.

But what really kills Nash is that when he has a shooting threat, he can also use fast movement to assist other teammates to play a sharp attack on the field.

However, the Grizzlies' defense, Chris Paul and Artest, are extremely fast. When the Grizzlies defend the zone in order to limit the pick-and-rolls of Nash and Stoudemire, Nash's go-between is basically blocked. Cut off half of the defense.

Many breakthroughs were easily broken by the Grizzlies' fast-moving help defense. Jason Richardson averaged 3.2 open three-pointers per game in the regular season, but throughout the first quarter, Richardson's big Some of the shots had to be attacked against the defender.

This also caused Richardson's shooting percentage to be extremely hip. In the first quarter, he only made one of six shots and scored three points and two rebounds.

If it weren't for the "Brazilian Lightning" Barbosa who scored six consecutive points after coming off the bench, the Suns would probably be as high as 20 points behind the Grizzlies at the end of the first quarter.

Back in the second quarter, the two sides replaced the substitute lineup to start a contest.

In order to get "Slam Dunk King" Jason Richardson from the Bobcats, the Suns basically overdrawn their rotation to the limit, and now the only real player left on the bench is "Brazilian Lightning" Barbosa.

As for the contribution that other players can make to the team, it can be said that in the playoffs, players like Louis Amundson and Robin Lopez can only work hard to grab rebounds and do a good job on the defensive end. matter.

It is undoubtedly delusional to rely on these people to open up the situation on the offensive end.

Throughout the second quarter, the Grizzlies substitute Zach Randolph was simply overwhelming inside.

Facing Louis Amundson, who is 102 meters tall but weighs only [-] kilograms, Randolph was as easy as a father beating his son.

Using his fat body to push behind him, Amundson could only watch as Randolph sent the ball steadily into the basket with a soft touch that did not meet the tonnage.

As a player who has been in the league for three years, Louis Amundsen only played 37 games for the team in the first two seasons, and changed three teams in the first two years of his career. A role model for vagabonds.

If it weren't for the Suns' inside rotation, Gentry would never put a player like Amundson, who is useless on the offensive end and useless on the defensive end, in the playoffs.

It's a pity that the current overall conditions of the Suns can't be picky by head coach Alvin Gentry. What Gentry can do is to use the resources available in his hands to try to entangle with the Grizzlies.

But the idea is very full, but the reality is very skinny. As a waste wood who entered the league as an undrafted pick, Louis Amundsen is absolutely impeccable in terms of attitude and enthusiasm.

Being able to appear at the power forward position with a weight of 102 kilograms is enough to prove Amundsen's dedication on the defensive end.

However, in the face of Zach Randolph, a double-double machine who averaged 20+10 per game with ease, enthusiasm alone is far from being able to prevent Zach Randolph.

本赛季，路易斯阿蒙德森场均能够交出4分3篮板以及0.9次封盖，与在灰熊场均能够砍下17.8分9.6篮板1.1助攻的兰多夫相比实在相差甚远。

It is worth mentioning that Amundson's average of 0.9 blocks per game is the second highest among the players in the entire Suns team, second only to "Small Overlord" Stoudemire's 1.1 times.

From the block data, it is not difficult to see how broken the overall defense of the Suns this season is.

Among the team's 15-man roster, only Stoudemire has blocked more than one shot, and he is still averaging 35 minutes per game.

As Zach Randolph once again used his strength to squeeze away Louis Amundson and succeeded in a turnaround jumper, Alvin Gentry stood off the court with a very tangled face.

Glancing at the time, Alvin Gentry had no choice but to sigh helplessly as the score was getting bigger and bigger by the Grizzlies on the field, and waved his hand to signal Stoudemire, who had only rested for more than three minutes, to re-enter the game.

After playing this time, it was difficult for Stoudemire to get rest throughout the first half, but now the situation on the field makes Gentry really have no choice.

After all, except for Stoudemire who can barely match up with Zach Randolph on the defensive end, none of the Suns' other insiders are Zach Randolph's opponents.

Even if starting power forward Dudley meets Randolph, there is only one dead end.

After all, Randolph's body is too strong, and he has a soft touch that is seriously inconsistent with his weight in shooting, which makes it difficult for defensive players to defend against Zach Randolph who is going all out.

Even Tim Duncan is likely to be blown away by Randolph, who is serious and focused in one-on-one, not to mention Louis Amundson, who entered the league after being undrafted and only played 37 games in the first three seasons of his career. .

Stoudemire's reappearance gave the Suns a little relief from the collapse of the inside defense.

However, under coach Luke's signal, Randolph did not deliberately avoid Stoudemire's defense at this point, but was very tough and continued to attack Stoudemire.

Luke's offensive intentions are very obvious. As a mobile inside player, Stoudemire also has a certain gap with Zach Randolph in terms of weight.

Although Zach Randolph's offense can be limited to the greatest extent with the aid of his explosive physical fitness, as the Sun's most dependent existence on the offensive end, once Stoudemire wastes too much energy on defending Zach Randolph .

Stoudemire's offensive efficiency will definitely decline significantly, and his personal state in the next game will also be greatly affected.

If the Suns lack Stoudemire's offensive threat, the entire Suns will basically face a situation where both offense and defense collapse and paralyze. At that time, it is only a matter of time before the Grizzlies win the game.

After half a quarter, with Zach Randolph scoring 13 points and 5 rebounds in a single quarter, the Grizzlies extended their lead to 25 points.

During the intermission, the Grizzlies players were very relaxed in the locker room, and even Chris Paul, who had lost the playoffs for many years, had a smile on his face.

Obviously, Paul is grateful and satisfied with his decision to join the Grizzlies during the offseason.

However, seeing that the point difference on the field will be widened to more than 30 points, this makes the head coach Luke a little at a loss.

Before the game, Luke made a promise to his old friend Alvin Gentry that he would not let Gentry lose too badly in the playoffs. As a result, the Suns trailed by a full 25 points after halftime. It was a premeditated massacre.

I am afraid that the current online fans have begun to abuse the Suns coach Alvin Gentry endlessly, and if there is no accident with Steve Kerr, his big mouth may be able to grin to the back of his ears.

"From the overall trend of the first half of the game, it is not difficult to see that the Suns are not the team's opponent at all."

"In the second half of the game, I will arrange rotation players to play. I don't have too many requirements for this game, and everyone should not have any pressure. Just play this game as a training game."

"It will be difficult for the Suns to create threats for the team. The team's only opponent in the playoffs this year is the Spurs!"

"In the first round, you just need to preserve your strength as much as possible. Once the Spurs beat the Mavericks and advance to the semifinals, I hope to see endless slaughter in the semifinals, not just winning the game!" Luke stood shouted in the middle of the locker room.

Luke's words made Trenton Hassell and Artest, who had long been unable to bear the excitement of the Spurs match, excited, "Don't worry! Coach! If I can successfully meet the Spurs, I will definitely make the opponent regret entering the semifinals." !"

Including the veteran Ratliff, who seldom appeared in the second half of the regular season, licked his lips excitedly, "It's really exciting to play against the Spurs!"

Entering the second half, as soon as the game came back, the fans discovered that the Grizzlies had made a very big adjustment in the lineup.

Under normal circumstances, the two teams will continue to use the starting lineup in the third quarter. Even if the team leads by a big score, it must maximize the lead.

The earliest thing to do to clock in and leave work is after the end of three quarters at the earliest.

However, as the second half of the game began, the starting five sent by the Grizzlies are very interesting: "Reaper" Smush Parker, Trenton Hassell, James Jones, Yi Jianlian, and Ratliff.

This lineup is simply the standard third team of the Grizzlies, and it is even more difficult for Smash Parker and Ratliff to enter the regular rotation.

Unless the team takes a break before the game or the game enters garbage time early, these two will sit on the court shaking towels frantically in most cases, shouting and celebrating for the teammates playing on the court.

Seeing the Grizzlies' third team in the second half, on-site commentator Coney Flake said with a smile: "It seems that Lu feels confident about winning this game, and he simply let the main players not play in the second half. This kind of behavior is really a bit conceited. "

"No matter how you say it, the Suns are a strong team that has been in the playoffs for many years. Even if the Grizzlies lead by 25 points in the first half, theoretically speaking, the Suns are not without the possibility of a comeback."

"I don't know if Lu will be annoyed by his choice in the second half when the Suns hit a counterattack climax on the field, and will take the main player back on the field."

Partner Tom Horvath said: "Lu is really a guy with personality. I have commented on games for so many years. I have never seen any coach completely replace the main force in the third quarter of the playoffs."

"It seems that Lu is very confident about winning this game. In this case, let us wait and see if the Suns can seize the opportunity and usher in a counterattack in the second half."

Faced with the confusion of the fans and the ridicule of the commentator, Luke, who was sitting on the sidelines, was somewhat helpless.

The current lineup on the court is already the worst rotation that the Grizzlies can come up with. None of the five players scored in double figures, and the highest one was Yi Jianlian's 8.4 points per game.

In this case, if the Suns can't take the opportunity to reduce the score, then Luke simply slaps Alvin Gentry in the face, telling this guy to pack up and get out of class.

Although Luke's third rotation lineup in the second half surprised Alvin Gentry, it also took another blow to Alvin Gentry's self-esteem.

Originally, Alvin Gentry's intention to leave the Grizzlies and come to the Suns as the head coach was to narrow the gap between himself and Luke.

In the Grizzlies this year, Gentry learned a lot from Luke, which made Gentry, who was gradually expanding, think that the gap between himself and Luke was getting smaller and smaller.

But as the new season started, Gentry found that there was still an insurmountable gap between himself and Luke, and in terms of team building, Gentry could not reach Luke's level at all.

Since Luke entered the league, whether it was the Timberwolves period or the Grizzlies period, Luke has a very high voice in lineup construction.

Even Luke during the Grizzlies period was completely the four positions of head coach, general manager, president of operations and team owner.

Even the serious team general manager Chris Wallace is willing to be a younger brother by Luke's side. That scene really makes Alvin Gentry envious.

After coming to the Suns, Gentry discovered that not everyone can be as successful as Luke. Let alone the coaching ability, just talk about the right to speak in team building. Few coaches can convince the general manager Build the team.

As the current head coach of the team, Alvin Gentry not only completely lost the advice on building the team, but also had to go with the general manager Steve Kerr.

Seeing that Luke dispatched the third team at the beginning of the third quarter in order to help him stay in the team, Alvin Gentry was moved and felt that he was really a useless waste.

This feeling is a bit complicated, so complicated that Alvin Gentry didn't even have the heart to coach the game, sitting on the sidelines and wandering the whole process.

What I always think about in my head is whether I am suitable to be a coach. If it is really not possible, why not return to Luke and rebuild for a few years?
"Hey, what a crime~"

With Alvin Gentry's sigh, the Suns seized the opportunity in the third quarter, and the main players still had a very large advantage against the Grizzlies' third team, which allowed the Suns to successfully recover the point difference to 16 points.

In the last quarter, just when the fans thought that Luke would send a starting lineup to consolidate the point difference to 20 points again, Luke still kept the five main players off the court throughout the whole process, but let Michael Reid and Zach Randolph The two substitutes returned to play.

Although Randolph and Michael Reid are substitute players, their fighting power is too terrifying.

Facing the Phoenix Suns whose interior defense is already extremely empty, Zach Randolph is like a wild beast.

Standing in the sun's restricted area with a fat body is like a dimensionality reduction blow. Whether the "little bully" Stoudemire plays or not, it will not change the ending of Randolph's killing all directions in the restricted area.

Luke did what he said in the second half, and he really didn't let the main players play for even a minute.

With the performance of Zach Randolph and Michael Reid alone, they withstood the counterattack of the Suns' main players.

Until the end of the game, the Grizzlies beat the Phoenix Suns by [-] points at home, which not only left enough face for Alvin Gentry, but also demonstrated the terrifying lineup background of the Grizzlies.

Even if no main players are sent to the field in the second half, the Grizzlies still have the strength to beat the playoff teams. This result is even more shocking to the fans than killing the Suns by 30 points, 40 points, or even 50 points.

Throughout the game, due to the fact that the Grizzlies' main players played very little time, Zach Randolph and Michael Reid performed the best.

Among them, Zach Randolph scored 26 points, 31 rebounds and two steals in just 12 minutes of playing, almost destroying the Suns restricted area by himself.

The Suns who played inside complained again and again, and in the end they did not dare to compete with Zach Randolph head-on.

Even the team's core "little bully" Stoudemire said at the press conference after the game: "Zach is a devil! When this guy can only appear on the bench of one team , I really don't know which team can beat this Grizzlies."

As for Michael Reid, who is very likely to win the best sixth man this season, he also performed amazingly. The data of 26 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists in the game proved his strong offensive firepower to the outside world.

Even though he is only a substitute player in the Grizzlies, the strength Reid has shown is definitely the All-Star player who is comparable to the "Deer King".

At the press conference after the game, the reporter was obviously very interested in Luke's second half arrangement.

"Coach Lu, may I ask what your thoughts are on sending the third team to the field in the second half? Don't tell me you have the certainty and confidence to win this game after halftime is over?"

"And whether this approach is too conceited, it has some meaning of looking down on the Suns."

Facing the reporter's question with a provocative nature, Luke said with a smile on his face: "The Suns are a very good team, and the head coach of the Suns, Alvin, was also my assistant last season. No disrespect to the Sun in any way."

"In fact, although Mike stepped down as the head coach of the Suns and served as the assistant coach of the Grizzlies in the new season, Mike still has a lot of affection for the Suns."

"If anyone in the Grizzlies disrespected the Suns, Mike would be the first to disagree."

"As for why in the second half I switched all the main players off the court and put on a substitute lineup, I just wanted to preserve the physical strength of the main players so that they could play more roles in the next game."

The reporter asked with interest: "When you sent out the substitute lineup, did you ever think that the Suns would take the opportunity to catch up with the score?"

Luke shrugged easily: "I'm really not worried about this kind of thing happening, after all, the Suns didn't know who was behind the series of transactions this season, which caused the entire team's rotation system to be messed up. "

"The interior configuration is even more stretched to the point where it is not as good as the king who ranks last in the league. I don't think the Grizzlies should worry about this configuration at all."

"Once the score on the court is approached by the Suns, the team only needs to send Zach on the court to make sure that the game is foolproof."

"To be honest, I really don't understand the series of operations of the Suns management. If I were the boss of the Suns, I would definitely fire those pig brains who made bad proposals."

The reporter asked: "Everyone in the league knows that the Suns' trade operations this season are all from the hands of the new general manager Steve Kerr."

"May I take what you just said as an attack on Steve Kerr?"

Luke still had a smile on his face: "Young man, don't talk nonsense, I just simply don't understand the operation of the Suns management."

"Of course, maybe my vision is too short-sighted and I can't see through the real intention behind these operations. If this is the case, I think the Suns management should have picked up a treasure."

"They should spend a lot of money to keep people with bad ideas, so the sun must not be too far away from returning to glory."

"As for Steve Kerr, I'm sorry, I thought he hadn't retired yet, but I didn't expect to be the general manager of the Suns. Congratulations, congratulations."

"........."

…………

The defending champion Grizzlies' victory over the Suns in the first game of the playoffs did not make the outside world feel anything wrong. After all, before the start of this round of the series, few people were optimistic about Solar's upset victory over the Grizzlies as the eighth seed.

The two teams are far apart in terms of lineup configuration and overall strength. For the fans, it is a failure if the Grizzlies cannot sweep this round of the series, let alone being exploded on the spot by the "Black Eight" occur.

However, this game is still very interesting to the outside world. Grizzlies coach Luke did not arrange for the main players to appear in the second half, but used the team's third team plus Zach Randolph and Michael Reed The two beat the sun to collapse.

This gap in strength is beyond the expectations of many fans. No one thought that the Grizzlies would be so strong that they could compete with the Suns who entered the playoffs with only the third team.

From this point of view, it is not unacceptable for the Suns to lose this round of the series. After all, when a team's main lineup can't take advantage of the substitute lineup, losing has become inevitable.

At the same time, the outside world has significantly fewer doubts about the Suns coach Alvin Gentry.

The dominance of the Grizzlies on the court in this game has far exceeded the imagination of the fans. The loss of the Suns was not the fault of Alvin Gentry alone.

Just like what Luke said in the post-match press conference, the depth of the entire Suns lineup has become very bad due to a series of operations, and the inside configuration is not even as good as the Kings, which ranks last in the league.

This situation makes fans have to think deeply about whether the Suns management has created this extremely bad situation, or the Suns coach Alvin Gentry's ability.

According to Phoenix gossip, after the end of the playoffs G1 game, the Suns owner Robert Savor, who never interfered with the team's internal affairs on weekdays, was furious.

Directly call the team's general manager Steve Kerr into the office and scold him. Looking at the current situation, it is only a matter of time before Steve Kerr is dismissed from get out of class.

As a recognized "team building maniac" in the league, Luke's ability to build a team is definitely one of the best.

Even Luke said in front of the media that he could not understand a series of operations of the Suns management, which is enough to prove how confused the Suns management is.

Although Suns owner Robert Sarver doesn't understand deep-seated things, he can still see that the Suns have no power to fight back against the Grizzlies, and the combat effectiveness of the entire team has become weaker than last season.

The reason why Robert Sarver was furious was not that the Suns couldn't beat the Grizzlies in the playoffs.

In fact, this season, except for a few teams, no one dares to say that the Grizzlies can win a victory in the hands of the Grizzlies.

What really made Robert Sarver angry was that the team's lineup, which had been strengthened through a series of operations in the new season, didn't even take much advantage when facing the Grizzlies' third team.

And when the Grizzlies' main lineup didn't appear in the second half, they were beaten by Zach Randolph and Michael Reed on the bench. This is really a big laughing stock in league history.

Whether the Suns will overthrow the original lineup and rebuild it next season is still unknown to the outside world, but the dismissal of general manager Steve Kerr is a foregone conclusion.

The occurrence of this kind of thing made many general managers become more jealous of Luke, especially those big teams that have failed to achieve results for many years. Not easy job.

After all, no one thought that Luke's influence would be so great that just a single statement at the press conference could cause a team general manager to dismiss get out of class intermittently. fear.

…………

The sad experience of the first game of the playoffs seems to have allowed fans to see the end of the Suns season in advance, and this ending will also become a laughing stock among fans.

In the next few games, the Suns will know that there is no possibility of defeating the Grizzlies, but the outside world's complaints about the Suns players make the "little bully" Stoudemire very upset.

Even though the overall strength of the two sides is huge, the Suns still want to struggle to see if they can get away with stealing a victory from the Grizzlies.

However, the dominance shown by the Grizzlies on the field is not just a game, but a sharp and stable personal offense in every game.

Since the Grizzlies have many stars with independent offensive capabilities, even if a certain star in this game does not feel good offensively and hits the iron like a "ice shooter" on the court, others can stand up and take over the offense immediately. Daqi continued to provide a new round of offensive firepower for the Grizzlies.

In the two games of G2 and G3, Luke still adopts the mode of letting the main players clock in and leave work in advance. As long as the point difference on the court widens to about 20 points, the main players will basically be pushed off the court by Luke the whole time.

The presence of Zach Randolph made Luke not worried about the solar energy causing too many waves. Even though Alvin Gentry once double-teamed Zach Randolph in the second game, the Grizzlies ranked first in the league The high three-point shooting rate made the Suns pay a very painful price.

In these two games, the Suns still lost to the Grizzlies by nearly 40 points. Even though Luke tried his best to release water, the Suns' rotation configuration this season is too hip.

Especially the interior configuration is not reasonable at all, not to mention Zach Randolph, a double-double machine, even the rookie Roy Hibbert is properly possessed by Yao Ming in the penalty area.

Playing the Suns players is simply easy, and you don't even need to sweat to get more than ten points.

This also made Suns boss Robert even more angry. Since taking over the Suns in [-], Robert has never been as frustrated as this season.

With the Grizzlies holding the match point 3:0 in the series, the outside world has lost interest in this round of the series, and the Grizzlies' advancement has become a certainty.

In contrast, what Grizzlies fans are looking forward to more is another matchup in the playoffs, the match between the Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks

Which of these two teams can win will directly affect the opponents of the Grizzlies in the Western Conference semifinals.

Both the Spurs and the Mavericks can be regarded as traditional strong teams. The two teams dominate the Western Conference playoffs all the year round. No matter who they meet, the Grizzlies will not be as easy as playing against the Suns.

In contrast, the overall strength of the seasoned Spurs is higher than that of the Dallas Mavericks. Although Tim Duncan is getting older, Duncan's performance on the court is very stable.

Even though his personal state is no longer at his peak, Duncan still played a super giant performance in the match against "German Chariot" Nowitzki.

Let the fans envy the Spurs' shit luck and use the No. [-] pick to select Tim Duncan, a monster.

Now that the three games are over, the Spurs lead the Mavericks 2:1. Judging from the situation, the Spurs' promotion prospect is clearer than that of the Mavericks.

The Spurs' big lead made the Grizzlies fans more and more excited. The grievances between Luke and Spurs coach Eddie Jordan are well known throughout the league.

And Trenton Hassel recently had a harsh word with Eddie Jordan before the start of the preseason.

Once these two teams face each other head-on in the playoffs, fans can know without even thinking about it, it will definitely be a thunderous battle.

Even with Trenton Hassell's fiery temper, Eddie Jordan's guy is likely to spill blood on the field. Compared with the Dallas Mavericks in the semifinals, the fans hope that the Spurs can successfully advance to the semifinals and experience being touched by the Grizzlies. The fear of domination.

With the Grizzlies easily beating the Suns by 4 points in the G21 game, the Grizzlies swept the Suns 4:0 in the first round of the playoffs, advancing to the Western Conference semifinals without any suspense.

Next, the Grizzlies only need to wait for the winner between the Spurs and the Mavericks. During this period, the Grizzlies can get four to five days of rest, which is obviously very valuable for the players' physical recovery.

In addition, the promoted Grizzlies Titan Trenton Hassell also shouted Eddie Jordan through social media for the first time: "I have cleaned up and waited for you in the Western Conference semifinals, you bastard. Don't let me down, I haven't been this excited for a long time!"

Eddie Jordan, who was busy dealing with the Dallas Mavericks, naturally didn't have time to respond, but Eddie Jordan's first lackey, Bruce Bowen, gritted his teeth and replied: "You crazy dog! This time we will settle the old and new hatreds together! I must make you bandits pay the price!"

　Here comes the big chapter!Kneeling and begging for a monthly ticket, begging for a recommendation ticket, thank you, third child!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)