Legend of Tomorrow

On June 21, the Suns faced the 76ers at home.

The day before yesterday, the 76ers defeated the Lakers 107-104 in overtime at home, with a record of 18 wins and 9 losses, and their morale was high.

This is another focus game that will be broadcast live across the United States. The league is promoting Jason Guo VS Iverson three days in advance.

When David Stern and his staff arranged the matchup schedule, they deliberately let the 76ers play the Lakers and Suns in succession. No matter what the result was, the media would be able to promote it.

If the 76ers win two games in a row, then publicize that the Big Three of the Lakers have been unsatisfactory since their disbandment, and were defeated one by one by Iverson, and their revenge was successful; if the 76ers lose two games in a row, then Iverson will be a tragic hero. The fans will buy into it.

If there is a win or a loss, let's make a fuss about the Big Three of the Lakers, and compare Kobe and Guo Xu. The two are the most popular guards in the Western Conference, and their fans must also hope that their idols will be ranked higher.

Regardless, this match is full of gimmicks.

When the Suns lost 7 games in a row, many experts analyzed that Guo Xu's leadership ability was not as good as Iverson. Guo Xu needed to prove himself and strive to lead the team to 5 consecutive victories.

Philadelphia fans all want to see Iverson lead the team to brutally abuse Guo Xu and the Suns. Before the start of the season, Guo Xu said in an interview that the Eastern Conference is optimistic about the Pistons and Nets, but not the 76ers. How can you tolerate this? It must be slapped in the face!

Iverson was interviewed after the last game and made it clear that he hopes to beat the Suns. The person he wants to beat most is Guo Xu.

Regardless of whether Guo Xu is a team with the Lakers or not, Iverson has been severely suppressed for two years. Because of the 51 points in the finals, the evaluations of the two were completely reversed. Now that Guo Xu is alone, Iverson has no reason to lose again. If he loses, it will be difficult for fans to find reasons to prove that he is stronger.

On the official strength list, the 76ers have always been ranked at the front. Before the Suns defeated the Kings, they were only ranked 21st. No one was optimistic about them entering the playoffs.

Iverson was also a little depressed about this. After the coaching change, the Suns suddenly became stronger. He thought he could easily vent his anger, but now the pressure is on his side again.

This game was also broadcast live on China's CCTV5. The Suns' ratings have become very high, and the fans have been conquered in just a few games. On the court, it’s a truth that offense wins fans.

Guo Xu made his final appearance and received the warmest applause from the audience.

After warming up, Guo Xu walked to the sidelines, wiped his hands with the magnesium powder prepared on the technical stage, and then grabbed the remaining magnesium powder.

He threw his hands into the air and opened his arms in a classic move for a kill.

The fans' enthusiasm was suddenly ignited, and they clapped and shouted wildly.

The flying magnesium powder is Guo Xu's way of showing his dominance. He declares to the fans and opponents that he is the master of this stadium!

Zhang Liji smiled and said: Guo Xu has already started celebrating before the game starts. I have never seen this kind of opening ceremony.

Xu Jicheng lamented: He really has a domineering attitude now, and he is becoming more and more like a superstar. With this recent wave of winning streak, the Suns are like reborn from the ashes.

In fact, what Guo Xu did was to follow James' path and leave James with nowhere to go.

James, a high school student, will enter the league next year. If Guo Xu comes here now, the young and frivolous James will have to be his imitator if he wants to show off in the future. Guo Xu didn't do this at the beginning because the team's record was not good. Now he believes that the Suns will get better and better. If he doesn't show off now, when will he wait?

After spreading the magnesium powder, Guo Xu waited until he left the area before he dared to let go of his held breath and took two deep breaths of fresh air. The front of the technical stage is already heavily polluted by PM2.5. Inhaling too much will affect the competitive state.

Players from both sides stood on the court. Due to Guo Xu's show, the Suns had already surpassed the 76ers in terms of momentum.

Suns: Guo Xu, Joe Johnson, Kirisek, Marion, Stoudemire.

76ers: Iverson, Snow, Aaron McGee, Keith Van Horn, Todd McCulloch.

Zhang Lili wondered: The Suns actually changed their formation this time. Marion was a guest power forward, and the newly joined Kirisek entered the lineup. Is this to make the counterattack faster?

Xu Jicheng smiled and said: Guo Xu and D'Antoni are both people who like to attack. Kirisek became one as soon as he arrived in the Suns. There must be something special about him.

Kirisek showed his special skills when he participated in the team training for the first time. He caught the ball and shot accurately, and he was sure of open three-pointers. His breakthrough ability was also better than that of Jakobson, the 22nd pick in the first round of the Suns.

Kirisek is 25 years old this year. He has rich experience in European games and is an immediate player. From the beginning of the game until now, the Suns coach has given Jacobsen a lot of performance opportunities. He has only played well in a few games, and performed poorly most of the time.

There was a gap in strength between the two, and D'Antoni decided to reduce Jacobson's playing time.

The 76ers also made changes. Coleman, who was in poor form, was responsible for leading the bench. In the summer, they traded back the blue-collar center Todd McCulloch, who reached the finals with the Nets and played the peak statistics of his career.

By sending away veteran Mutombo in exchange for Van Horn, the 76ers' overall offensive power has improved a lot, but their defense has become extremely weak.

Stoudemire won the jump ball and the game began.

The ball was passed to Guo Xu, and the players all spread out. The 76ers' defensive tactics were man-to-man. Larry Brown believes that zone defense must not be used. The Suns have too many people who can shoot three-pointers, and they focus on counterattacks. The players have no time to organize a zone defense.

Stoudemire played a pick-and-roll in the middle, and Guo Xu moved sideways with the ball to get rid of Iverson, and went to the left to rush to the baseline.

Todd, a white center who is 213cm tall and weighs 127kg, suddenly became a little nervous. He had encountered this situation many times in last year's finals, and every time it didn't end well. Not only was he heavy, but he also had excessive fat. He moved very slowly and couldn't keep up with Guo Xu's rhythm.

Todd was a little slow in changing defense, and Guo Xu accelerated past him and easily stepped up to the basketball and scored, 2-0.

When the 76ers attacked, Guo Xu lowered his focus and let Iverson two steps away, preventing breakthroughs but not shots.

Iverson has reduced his three-point shots this season and focused on breakthroughs. His average 27 points per game is down a lot from last season, but his shooting percentage has improved, reaching 42%.

Guo Xu deliberately kept a distance so that Iverson could not find a cover, so he would mainly focus on him alone. He did not want to see Stoudemire switch to defend Iverson, and he might be fouled in a few rounds and rest.

Todd came out to play the pick-and-roll, and Guo Xu retreated directly to avoid it, waiting for Iverson to burst from inside the three-point line. The distance would definitely not cover Iverson's shot, but if he wanted to take the shot, he would have to do it from the mid-to-long range. Outside the three-point line, or one step inside the three-point line.

After playing against each other for two years, Guo Xu can confirm that this is the area where Iverson's shooting percentage is lower, and it usually does not reach 40% under interference.

Iverson chose to make a sudden stop inside the three-point line and make a mid-range shot. Guo Xu stepped forward without jumping and slightly interfered, and the ball went in. 2 to 2.

When the Suns attacked, Iverson didn't dare to let Guo Xu shoot. After halftime, he got close to him. Guo Xu protected the ball and waited for his teammates to cover. He changed direction and went to the right, getting rid of Iverson again and leading to the baseline.

This time Todd followed up. Guo Xu held the ball in his right hand and turned to the left. He looked at the center with his peripheral vision and passed it to Stoudemire.

Stoudemire ran back after the screen, synchronized with Guo Xu's rhythm, jumped up after receiving the ball, and dunked the ball with one hand.

Iverson couldn't stop Stoudemire's cut. Van Horn was following Marion in the corner, and the inside line was completely empty. Even if Van Horn is at the basket, he can't defend Stoudemire's strong attack against his weak opponent.

4 to 4, Guo Xu made the first assist.

Obviously, the 76ers can't guard against the Suns' pick-and-roll.