Legend of Tomorrow

The reuse of rookie Haslem was the result of a meeting and discussion between the coaching staff. Guo Xu also participated in the meeting as the core. D'Antoni has a very good relationship with him and likes to seek his opinions before making decisions.

Guo Xu originally requested Haslem to play in the preseason. Everyone knows this. They have a close friendship in the team, and Ha Fatty is like Guo Xu's bodyguard when they go out to play. It is precisely because of his strong relationship with the boss that he was able to jump from a marginal substitute who averaged 6 minutes per game to a starter.

Haslem's performance today surprised everyone and became the Suns' leading surprise player. The Mavericks coaching staff thought he was a weakness and arranged for Nowitzki to hold the ball in singles. As a result, he made 0 of 3 shots in the beginning.

In Guo Xu's previous life, Haslem could reduce Nowitzki's shooting percentage in single defense. Especially in the two finals in 2006 and 2011, his performance was extremely good. When a big man plays with the ball in his back, he is used to lowering his center of gravity, using his footsteps and strength to make it difficult for his opponent to move, and waiting for opportunities to take out the ball. After the opponent turns around, he bounces well and can interfere with shooting very well when taking off.

His single defense method is very similar to that of Draymond Green of the future Warriors. He is similar in stature, but he has not yet practiced assist defense. On the offensive end, his performance is not as comprehensive as Green's, with poor support ability, rough dribbling skills, and poor scoring ability. Mainly relying on catching and shooting.

He and Nowitzki played 12 games in the finals, with a score of 4-2, and each won a championship. Nowitzki played a total of 42 minutes in these two finals, scoring 24.4 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.7 blocks, shooting 40.4% from the field, 30.2% from the three-point range, 93.1% from the free throw line, and averaging 7.8 free throws per game. ball.

It is not difficult to see from the data that Nowitzki cannot score easily in a one-on-one matchup with Haslem. Although he is assisted in defense, his efficiency is much lower than in the regular season. When the two competed in the regular season, Nowitzki shot 46% from the field. This was largely due to Haslem's multiple injuries and serious decline in form after 2012. Before that, Nowitzki's defensive data was not very good. nice.

Before he mastered the unique skill of Golden Rooster Independence, Nowitzki was afraid that such a highly mobile, powerful and over two-meter-tall forward would have difficulty getting rid of him if he was entangled, so he could only attack people in the face of interference.

His weakness was still obvious when he won the regular season MVP in 2007. The Mavericks were defeated by the Warriors in the playoffs. Nowitzki was poorly defended by Stephen Jackson. In the sixth game of life and death, he made only 2 of 13 shots and scored a measly 8 points.

After the timeout, Nelson replaced Najera and replaced Van Exel, forming a double defender on the outside.

Zhang Lijia was very happy when he saw the lineup: At first, I thought that Nelson had changed his mind and had to strengthen defense, but after only playing for a few minutes, I couldn't stand it anymore.

Xu Jicheng smiled and said: You still have to attack hard. If the Mavericks strengthen their defense, they won't be able to fight. Najera didn't defend it after he came on the court.

However, with this change, Joe Johnson's physical advantage is too obvious.

Zhang Lili said: It's not surprising that Nelson dared to use two guards against the Lakers last time.

As soon as the two defenders came on, the Mavericks' offense immediately opened up. Nash passed the ball to the running Van Exel. The latter feinted with the ball and passed Joe Johnson with speed, and made a jump shot in the middle. 11 to 4.

When the Suns attacked, Guo Xu passed the ball to Joe Johnson, and Van Exel followed up with Guo Xu in the same way when he switched to the swingman.

Joe Johnson brought in the three-point line and turned around and shot a jumper from the right corner. He easily avoided the block, but the ball missed the basket.

Second-year Joe Johnson is just a 囧囧sen and is not worthy of the title of singles Joe. His singles efficiency fluctuates and is very unstable.

Nowitzki grabbed a rebound in the backcourt and passed it. Nash passed the ball to Van Exel in the middle of the court. The latter held the ball in singles and quickly changed direction and passed Joe Johnson for a layup. 11 to 6.

This is the Mavericks' best player, and it is difficult for opponents to guard him when he is a shooting guard. Just like many people say that Iverson is a shooting guard, but which team dares to send a shooting guard to defend Iverson?

Van Exel is 185cm tall and weighs 80kg. He can shoot and break through. Joe Johnson has average speed and is too difficult to defend. Moreover, if the Suns play a mixed defense and the opponent goes to his side, he can't ignore it.

This is what Nelson is best at. He doesn't care whether the lineup is reasonable or not, he just depends on how he can break through the opponent's defense. If this defensive loophole is exploited, the players will find a way.

Joe Johnson has a high golf quotient and immediately made adjustments. Guo Xu attracted the defense and passed to Marion, who lobbed the ball to Joe Johnson who came to the low post to ask for the ball.

Joe Johnson, like Kobe, can play in the low post. When facing the Lakers, the Mavericks used a zone defense, but now they use man-to-man, and there are loopholes on the defensive end.

Of course, Van Exel couldn't handle Joe Johnson, who was 201cm tall, 107kg in weight and muscular. After two attempts, his opponent turned around and entered the penalty area. LaFrentz retreated to help defend, Joe Johnson passed the ball to the center, and Stoudemire made a layup with an air cut. 13 to 6.

Guo Xu didn't brush up on statistics in the playoffs. Sometimes he would stand outside the three-point line after simply passing the ball to attract defenses and exercise his teammates' abilities. Joe Johnson's isolation is a misplaced opportunity, and not passing it to him means not trusting his teammates.

In the last round of the series, George and Fox often had mismatched opportunities to face Van Exel, but Kobe chose to hold the ball to compete with Finley and Laga Bell, and rarely passed it to his teammates for singles. If he was a little smarter, Now it's Suns vs. Lakers.

Guo Xu won't make the same mistake. If his teammates open up, he will encounter fewer double-teams. If the Suns want to have the last laugh in this year's playoffs, they need more blossoming offense.

When the Mavericks attacked, Guo Xu switched positions with Joe Johnson on the court, asking him to defend the middle area, while he focused on Van Exel.

Nash immediately changed his style of play, playing a pick-and-roll with Nowitzki, and broke through to face Haslem. The latter was also very good at guarding the pick-and-roll. After losing weight to 110 kilograms, his mobility became stronger. Nash passed the ball to the center, and Joe Johnson switched to defend Nowitzki.

The Suns had considered a way to deal with the Mavericks' double guard before the game. The three players were about two meters tall. Stoudemire, who was accelerating very quickly, switched defenses at any time when encountering pick-and-rolls. Guo Xu went to defend the madman and was able to make a one-on-one shot against his opponent. Just admit it and don't double-team.

This was the defensive strategy of the Suns in Guo Xu's previous life in the 2005-2006 season. Unfortunately, they lost to the Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals. Stoudemire didn't play that time, Kurt Thomas was injured in the playoffs, and the Suns lineup was seriously out of shape. They made it to the Western Conference Finals with their swingman lineup, and even defeated the Mavericks twice.

The idea proposed by Guo Xu was adopted by the coaching staff. Although the players are young, the Suns lineup is definitely not inferior to that of 2006.

Nowitzki couldn't turn around and passed the ball again. 24 seconds were almost running out. Nash singled out Haslem on the right baseline and made a jump shot. 13 to 8.

Although they lost points, the Suns players defended well and there were no obvious loopholes on the court.

When the Suns attacked, Guo Xu gave a signal and asked Stoudemire to go to the side to cover Joe Johnson without the ball, and he singled out Nash in the middle.

He dribbled the ball to the left and entered the three-point line. After being followed, he held the ball in his left hand and leaned back against Nash. He swayed his left shoulder to the center. At the same time, he lightly tapped the basketball with his right hand and gave it to his left hand. A fake move to turn around in the middle. Nash's center of gravity shifted slightly. He quickly turned to the right with the ball in his left hand and succeeded in passing.

Guo Xu made an emergency stop jumper at 45 degrees and scored a goal, 15-8, his 7th point.

Guo Xu is the big killer of the Suns. As long as the Mavericks players don't double-team, he will have a chance to challenge Nash alone!

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