Legend of Tomorrow

The most famous combination of the Suns in the previous life was Nash and Stoudemire. Their pick-and-roll cooperation was extremely tacit, and they made each other successful. Now Stoudemire has become Nash's pain. When the two teams compete, he always blocks Nash time and time again.

Nash's individual defense ability is underestimated. He has good defensive awareness and defensive skills. His weakness is that he cannot defend the pick-and-roll and is not fast enough to pursue defense. He can only rely on opportunism to defend the inside. He has more than enough intention but not enough strength.

The Mavericks attacked, and Nash took the ball to the frontcourt and passed it to Nowitzki.

German Tank isolation is a very powerful tactic for the Mavericks. The Lakers were unable to defend against this tactic in the last round of the series. Nowitzki had 40+ points in two games, and his performance in the series was amazing.

Nowitzki is the most powerful power forward in the league. Once he can really shoot to death, the Suns have to make targeted arrangements. Not only can he shoot from mid- to long-range, he can also face the frame, break through with his back, and create a lot of free throws.

The Mavericks played 8 playoff games last season. Nowitzki averaged 28.4 points, 13.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game, 2 three-pointers per game, and created 9.3 free throw opportunities. This year he had similar numbers in the first round, with a higher shooting percentage.

As soon as Nowitzki caught the ball, Haslem, who was 203cm tall, fought closely and defended from behind.

Nowitzki leaned back and didn't move at all. He turned to the right and was followed. Haslem kept close to him and interfered with one hand. Nowitzki turned back at a 45-degree angle on the right and failed to turn around. To open up space, the offensive rhythm was disrupted and he chose to pass the ball.

Finley took the ball and was closely guarded by Marion. If he couldn't break through, he looked for Nash. Guo Xu also adopted personal defense.

Compared with the regular season, the competition in the NBA playoffs is more intense. Each team has no reservations because they will be eliminated if they cannot win.

Nash and LaFrentz cooperated in the pick-and-roll, and Joe Johnson went to the right to block the breakthrough route. Guo Xu pursued the defense and formed a double-team.

The Suns used a mixed defense at the beginning, with Guo Xu and Haslem marking people, and the other three were responsible for the area.

The coaching staff studied the last series between the Mavericks and the Lakers and tried to get the Mavericks' role players who are not good at offense to take action. Because of this, LaFrentz scored relatively high in two games. Although it has weaknesses, it is better. Let all three stars open up the situation, and it will be too difficult to beat the Mavericks.

Nash passed the ball to LaFrentz in the middle. Stoudemire kept a distance of two steps. His defense still had big problems. Experienced insiders would directly rush up to get close to him and block their sight with their bodies. Unless the opponent had an absolute height advantage, Otherwise, it will be difficult to assist teammates, let alone shoot easily.

LaFrentz saw Najera cutting through,

With a dribble, he passed the ball to the low post on the left side. The latter caught the ball and scored with the basketball. Joe Johnson was a step too slow to catch up. 3 to 2.

Colangelo and his son, who were watching the game in front of the TV, felt a little regretful. They could have prevented it if they had been faster, but this is a mistake that newcomers will make, and it is a must-pay tuition.

Those who defend well may not be reliable offensively. The Pistons and Nets are examples. You can't have your cake and eat it too, and the Suns are doing very well now. When the players concentrate, their individual defense capabilities are not as vulnerable as the media said.

When the Suns attacked, they repeated the tactics just now. Guo Xuxian ran to the right side to catch the ball without the ball. This time, Nowitzki was attracted to switch defense. He didn't have a chance to make a move. He took the ball and took a step laterally. Stoudemire made an air cut. LaFrentz retreated to block.

Guo Xu dribbled the ball towards Nowitzki, attracting his attention and Nash chased and double-teamed him. He passed the ball to the center. Haslem received the ball from the free throw line and shot in the open, making a steady two-pointer. 5 to 2.

The tactics arranged by the coach before the game came out. When returning to defense, the excited Haslem clapped his hands hard with Guo Xu.

Guo Xu rubbed his right hand and said with a wry smile: If I feel bad today, it will be because of your slap.

In the Mavericks position battle, Nash went to the frontcourt to observe the situation, played a pick-and-roll with Nowitzki, and led to the weak side. Marion shrank and pushed the ball. Nash took advantage of the situation and passed the ball to Finley. Guo Xu did not chase Nash, but directly chased him. Close to Finley's left side of the three-point line.

After playing in the NBA for three seasons, Guo Xu began to understand what assist defense is about. This requires players to react quickly to predict the opponent's actions. If the ball is not close to him, Finley can easily shoot a three-pointer. , Marion would definitely be too late to defend again, and could only slightly interfere.

As long as you stay close to even a short guard, the defensive effect is better than letting people pull up easily. Finley singled out Guo Xu and brought it into the three-point line. After leaning for a moment, he turned around and shot a jumper that missed the basket.

Guo Xu looked back and immediately threw Finley away to start a fast break. Marion grabbed the backcourt rebound and passed a long one-handed pass to Guo Xu like a rugby 4-pointer. Nash took a slow step to catch up and jumped to steal the ball. , but the jumping ability is not good enough, and it can’t reach it.

Guo Xu caught the ball at the free throw line, took off in two steps, and dunked the basketball with both hands.

7 to 2, personal fifth point.

The Mavericks attacked. Nowitzki received the ball and singled out Haslem. He leaned back twice and turned from the right to the middle to shoot a jump shot. It missed the basket due to interference and the rebound was grabbed by Stoudemire.

Joe Johnson received the ball and took a step to Guo Xu. Guo Xu dribbled the ball to the frontcourt from the left, dribbled under his hips and changed direction to the right. He passed Nash in one step and attracted Najera's defense in the middle and threw the ball into the air. Marion flew up from the right and scored a dunk with both hands.

9 to 2, Guo Xu’s second assist.

Zhang Lili said: The score has a tendency to open up at the beginning. The Suns have turned away and they have defended very well this time.

Xu Jicheng said: The Suns replaced Haslem in the starting lineup to strengthen defense, and it really worked.

Nash and LaFrentz didn't get a good shot in the pick-and-roll, so they were given to Nowitzki on the right.

Nowitzki caught the ball and faced a three-point threat. He took a step forward and took a step toward the baseline to make a pull-up jump shot. Under Haslem's interference, it missed the basket again. Marion grabbed the backcourt rebound and held it in his arms. Li waited for Guo Xu to respond and stabilized the rhythm.

In the positional battle, Guo Xu and Stoudemire played a pick-and-roll in the middle, and broke through from the left side on the weak side. Only Haslem was on the bottom line here, and no one on the flank could double-team.

Nowitzki changed defense to block Guo Xu, otherwise he would have broken through directly.

Nash could only chase the defender and couldn't stop Stoudemire from cutting in the air. Guo Xu made a 45-degree emergency stop and half-turned to glance at the middle. He passed the ball from behind with his right hand to Haslem on the left baseline, but did not pass Stoudemire.

LaFrentz retreated to the basket to guard against Stoudemire's air cut. The Mavericks players knew that this man could not be guarded when he rushed, so they made sufficient preparations before the game and left one person near the penalty area to deal with him. Teams that don't do this have all come back at a cost in the regular season. Stoudemire can score more than 30 points and dunk without layups.

Haslem received the ball in an open position and made a one-step shot from outside the penalty area. Nowitzki turned around and was too late to pursue the defense and hit another one.

11 to 2, Guo Xu’s third assist.

Xu Jicheng lamented: Haslem, the undrafted rookie, is very good. He has been losing weight in the regular season and has few opportunities to play. Now he can not only defend, but also score jump shots.

Zhang Liji said: The key is that Guo Xu attracted double teams, and Haslem was left open twice.

Nelson stood on the sidelines. If he couldn't score in the next round, he would call a timeout.

Nowitzki held the ball and played singles again. He leaned against Haslem and turned towards the baseline. He was stuck and could not enter the basket. He used his height advantage to force a jump shot. His movements were not very standard and his body was a little tilted. Missed again due to interference.

Najera grabbed an offensive rebound and pushed someone for a foul, and Nelson called a timeout.

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