legendary basketball guard

Chapter 78 The Phoenix Suns

The Lakers have lost two games in a row, and Phoenix temporarily won the first place in the Western Conference with one win.

And the day after tomorrow, the Bobcats will face the Suns who came to challenge at home. A team with an 8-game winning streak came to challenge. Alvin Gentry, the head coach of the team who just took office last year, was once Larry Brown's apprentice, served as an assistant to some coaches, and also served as the head coach. After coming to Phoenix, he assisted two coaches, Mike D'Antoni and Terry Porter. Although the early coaching career was uneventful, every step They have all gone very solidly. They have not only been tempered by a famous coach like Larry Brown who emphasizes iron-blooded defense, but also worked with a coach like Mike D'Antoni who lives on offense. These experiences have also laid the foundation for his subsequent success. Foreshadowing.

In the months when Mike D'Antoni left the Big Apple and Terry Porter took office, the Suns fans and the core players, mainly Nash Stoudemire, passed the darkest period of those seasons .Terry Porter's concept of defense as the first point was incompatible with the Suns, whose blood was full of offensive cells, and he was finally dismissed.At the moment when the defensive experiment failed and the players and fans complained, general manager Cole swiped his pen and Gentry, the only uniform team left during the Mike D'Antoni period, was ordered in danger.

This seemingly temporary decision to appease players and fans has achieved the last doomsday run in Phoenix in the Nash era.Knowing the aspirations and technical characteristics of this group of players who were devastated by the defensive concept, Gentry decisively chose to set things right after taking office, and continued to follow the offensive mode of running and bombing.Continue to use Nash as the core, Stoudemire as the first end point, and a circle of outside shooters. By means of fast rotation and zone defense, Nash's defensive shortcomings are minimized, and the bench players are fully developed to create a team. The bench bandit the league fears.It can be said that under the leadership of the head coach Alvin Gentry, the Suns were indeed used to the extreme. On the basis of inheriting the bombardment system, they emphasized the defensive mode suitable for that group of players, and no longer superstitiously developed the 8-man rotation. There is a group of bench players who can influence the situation of the game.

And the iron-blooded defensive Bobcats led by Larry Brown will have a duel with the Suns, who currently average the highest scoring average in the league.

Alvin Gentry's coaching philosophy can be said to be an art. He can make the Suns' defense more aggressive and their offense sharper.

"It's really a very smooth offense!" Gerald Wallace, as a low-key, luxurious and connotative leader, will naturally not be stingy with his praise, while Stephen Jackson is not the same person as Gerald Wallace, he will only be different. A way to belittle one's opponents to increase confidence in one's teammates. "With such a defense, we will blow them up, right, Tyrus."

"That's right, we'll blow them up like this. Stoudemire probably won't get a point in front of Tyson." Tyrus Thomas flattered the two of them.

"Hey, I have to run around the whole court again." Raymond Felton frowned. Nash is not young, but Raymond Felton has no plans to run with him all the time. .

"Okay! I've read it all! Let's start training." Larry Brown specially formulated a new defensive strategy for the Suns, just like facing the Lakers, accurate to every position.

It wasn't until the evening that Larry Brown let this group of players go.Obviously Larry Brown is not very satisfied, but fortunately, many people in the team are willing to practice more, especially Tyrus Thomas is more active than anyone else, Lin Xiao still thinks it is the relationship between the contract year.After the tactical offensive training on the second day, they will face the Phoenix Suns in the evening. This season can be regarded as the last glory of Phoenix. will fall apart.

Tonight's attendance rate is the highest this season. Phoenix's offensive performance has gained a lot of fans. Even the Bobcats' home court has so many orange Suns uniforms.

"Hello, Stephen!" This should be the first meeting between Lin Xiao and Nash.

"Hello, Lin." Nash looked polite, and both of them had long hair, which was quite special among the NBA group.

"I hope you will like the defense of the Bobcats." Gerald Wallace, as the boss of the Bobcats, has been led by a group of people this season. He also likes to provoke opponents before the game. Gerald Wallace and Duncan His personality is very similar, low-key off the court, and a different person on the court, very passionate, but Gerald Wallace does not have Duncan's ability, nor does he have a good team.

The game starts soon.With Bobcats owner Michael Jordan also on the bench, this was arguably a must-win game.The victory over the Lakers and the Heat let people see that this is a team with potential.

The Suns' starting lineup. pg steve nash, sf jason dudley, sg jason richardson, c robin lopez pf, amare stoudemire.

The starting lineup submitted by the Bobcats is Raymond Felton, Stephen Jackson, Gerald Wallace, Tyrus Thomas, and Tyson Chandler.Boris Diao was once again placed in the rotation.Tyrus Thomas defending Stoudemire can be said to be more embarrassing than Dior, and Tyrus Thomas' impact is stronger than Dior.

After losing the jump ball, Nash dribbled quickly and gave Stoudemire a direct two-point shot. Under the interference of Tyrus Thomas, the ball did not enter the basket.Hitting the iron, Raymond Felton pressed the rhythm and slowed down the rhythm. The Suns' defense still has a big problem. Steve Nash is a defensive loophole for the Suns, but no one will count on him No matter how good the defense is, organization is enough.

If the Bobcats want to win this game, they must be patient.Raymond Felton obviously did a good job in this game. In the first 3 minutes, he abruptly controlled the rhythm of the game completely in his own hands. However, facing another top point guard in the league, he was still far behind. In the second half of the first quarter, the Bobcats' defense completely collapsed, and they were completely caught in a full-court run with the Suns.

But the hit rate is not bad, although Larry Brown's assistant coach yelled to calm down on the sidelines, Larry Brown didn't call a timeout, just let them run, I still don't believe it.

"Steve Nash's three-pointer! Got it!" At the end of the first quarter, Steve Nash hit a three-pointer at the buzzer.The score was rewritten to 33:30. The Suns led by 3 points.

"Tired from running?" Larry Brown looked at the main lineup with a smile on his face.In the next second, the situation changed suddenly. "Is it comfortable to run like this? Are you just being led by them? I said slow down, did you hear me? Lin Xiao, you guys are ready to play. Slow down!"

Richard Jefferson, Dragic, Channing Frye, Dudley, and Louis Amundson.

Here the Bobcats are a rotation lineup, and Augustine wanted to speed up as soon as he played.An angry Larry Brown wanted to throw the tactical board in his hand to hit Augustine. Fortunately, under Stephen Jackson's roar, Augustine slowed down, and the movement of the substitute lineup almost never stopped, especially Lin Xiao and Derek Brown. Even if they can't find a good opportunity in the end, it's a waste of energy for the opponent. They don't have any useful players as substitutes for the time being. These main players even have to play full. audience.

"Pass!" Lin Xiao asked for the ball, and Augustine quickly passed it to Lin Xiao's hands. He tricked Jason Richardson with a feint, went inside, and dunked. Lin Xiao, who fell, originally planned to pass the ball to the outside line , I didn't expect that no one would come to help defend such a dunk. When Lin Xiao was still in a daze, the Phoenix Suns' fast break had already passed halftime.

"Shua!" Channing Frye's long two-pointer hit the basket, and even the timer had just passed 6-7 seconds.It perfectly reproduced the offensive sharpness of the Suns in 05-06.

(End of this chapter)