Legend of Tomorrow

When Guo Xu was still a rookie, he had a clear advantage against Anthony Carter. Now it is too easy for him to single out Carter.

On the defensive end, Guo Xu can be as lazy as he likes. Carter averaged 18.6 minutes per game for the Heat last season, only scored 4.2 points and 4.1 assists, shot 35.6% from the field, and did not shoot three-pointers at all.

Carter's advantage is that he is stable and not messy on the offensive end, and he has a good attitude and can fight hard on the defensive end. He defends well against ordinary defenders and is a qualified substitute. It would be difficult to force him to start.

The bad thing is that the Spurs have no one to replace at the 1st position, and the defense of the third point guard Jason Hart is even worse. He is a big point guard with a height of 191cm and a weight of 84kg. He is not fast and can easily be passed.

Ironically, Hart was the 20th pick in the second round of the 2000 class and was ranked ahead of Guo Xu. He only played a total of 11 games in the first three seasons of his career. He was cut not because of injuries, but because of lack of strength.

At this time, Popovich regretted trading Barbosa to the Warriors. In the summer, he looked down on Barbosa and felt that he could only play shooting guard. If Barbossa was here, he could at least keep up with Guo Xu's speed.

Of course, if Barbosa stays, it will be ruined. Once Parker comes back, he will have no chance to play. His style of playing the 1st position lacks organizational ability, and playing the 2nd position overlaps with Ginobili. It's hard for him to become a star without an offensive coach.

Zhang Lili commented: Judging from this moment, the Suns' defense has improved a lot. Diop can resist Duncan and will not let him hit the basket casually. The offense is left to Guo Xu and he can still open up.

Xu Jicheng smiled and said: The Spurs are under a lot of pressure today. If they play the home opener, it will be a bad start.

After the timeout, neither side made any substitutions. In the Spurs' position battle, Duncan received the ball from an outside position on the right side. After taking a step, he changed direction and passed through Diop, attracting Stoudemire to cover the ball and Rasu Nestero. Vicki got an open shot and dunked with both hands. 9 to 2.

When the Suns attacked, Guo Xu continued to play pick-and-roll, and the Spurs' defensive end changed to a zone defense and double-teamed.

Last season, the Spurs knew that they had to double-team on the outside. Guo Xu was too fast. Except for Parker, everyone else was half a beat slower in pursuit. Although Parker suffered a loss in single defense, he could at least catch up and defend Guo Xu frequently in singles.

Bowen and Duncan blocked Guo Xu's breakthrough route. Guo Xu passed the ball to Marion, who was running to take over. The latter caught the ball and shot a three-point jumper. Under the interference of Carter's pursuit, Nestero missed the basket. Veach grabbed the backcourt rebound.

The Spurs attacked, but Duncan failed to attract double-teams in the low post. Diop blocked him outside the penalty area. Duncan took two steps and turned around to throw in the middle. Diop's long arm interfered and missed the basket.

Duncan, known as the Stone Buddha, will also be guarded.

He hates meat-shield insiders who are super strong, have great wingspan, and are not slower than him, that is, types like Diop and Kwame Brown.

Duncan's skills are not fancy, he is good at using his strength and height and wingspan to score points. Diop is not inferior to Duncan in these three aspects, and his strength is slightly better.

In Guo Xu's previous life, Diop defended Duncan many times and his shooting percentage was less than 40%. The most classic one was the 2007-08 regular season game between the Spurs and the Nets. Duncan played 35 minutes and made 4 of 14 shots, with a shooting percentage of only 28.6%.

As long as Diop is on the court, his teammates don't need to double-team in the low post. They can just follow the rest of the Spurs and let Dumb and D'Agua fight one-on-one.

As the worst interior offensive player in history, it is not unreasonable for Diop, a rough guy, to be able to play in the league for so many years.

When the Suns attacked, Guo Xu attracted a double team and then split Marion. The latter made a move to Stoudemire, who was cutting in the middle. Stoudemire went to the basket to hold the ball and singled out Rasu, turned around and missed the ball due to interference.

Lasu defended well in the low post and made a mistake when he grabbed the backcourt rebound and passed it to Carter. Guo Xu suddenly rushed forward and passed Carter who was slowly retreating. He directly cut off the basketball and passed it to the baseline cutter from close range. Marion, who got rid of Bowen and scored an easy layup.

11 to 2, Guo Xu’s second assist.

When the Spurs attacked, Guo Xu put Carter two meters away from the outside and retreated into the penalty area. If he hadn't taken a defensive stance facing Carter, he might have been called a three-second defensive violation.

He defends against breakthroughs but not shots. In this case, the Spurs can't cover Carter inside and will definitely catch up.

Carter was powerless in the face of this situation, and the premise of being powerless is incompetence. This stupid bird cannot fly.

Carter took a step inside the three-point line and made a mid-range shot with almost no interference. Stoudemire grabbed the rebound. This is the biggest difference between him and Parker. If Parker takes a long shot, he is very confident, and he can break through when the opponent is close.

Guo Xu still plays the same way, looking for pick-and-rolls first and trying to create mismatched breakthrough opportunities. This time he went to the right without Ginobili double-teaming him, and followed Bell to the bottom corner.

Guo Xu faced Duncan in a misplaced position, turned 45 degrees to face the frame, and put some distance between him and Stoudemire who was stationed in the middle. Carter was very embarrassed at this time. The pursuit of defense would leave Stoudemire free, and he would get a mismatch opportunity if he did not pursue Guo Xu.

Duncan kept a step and a half distance, which could not only prevent breakthroughs but also use his height advantage to interfere with shooting. Guo Xu dribbled the ball behind his right hand and passed it to the outside with his left hand, widening the distance between the two. This made Duncan feel uncomfortable and refused to follow him. Can shoot.

Duncan was attracted to take a step forward. Guo Xu held the ball in his left hand, moved his right hand closer, and used a worshiping fake move. He lowered his center of gravity and changed direction significantly to pass Duncan with his speed.

Rasu followed Diop far away on the left. Guo Xu quickly layup and scored without waiting for the opponent to cover up.

13 to 2, personal 9th ​​point.

On the basketball court, no player is perfect, and Stone Buddha is no exception.

When people talk about a star with comprehensive skills, they like to say that this person can play five positions. In fact, this statement is far-fetched.

No one can perform efficiently in all five positions. On the offensive end, the coach will not let Garnett play point guard. On the defensive end, letting Jordan guard Malone and O'Neal is also a dead end.

In Guo Xu's previous life, LeBron James was perhaps the closest person to being able to play five positions. He defended Derrick Rose on the outside and Pau Gasol on the inside. His expression when defending was impressive. …

Duncan's effect of switching defenders is far less effective than guarding the penalty area. He is 213cm tall and cannot move as fast as a defender. Especially in terms of lateral movement speed, he is much slower than Guo Xu. If he stands too far outside, he will be passed.

But the Spurs can only arrange this, otherwise Malik Rose will have to play early, and center Rasu is much worse at defending pick-and-rolls than Duncan.

Zhang Lili said with a smile: Guo Xu can't help if he misplaces Duncan. The Suns play like this is very reasonable. When he encounters a double team, he will distribute the ball and no one will double team him. This is an MVP-level performance.

This is not a normal Spurs today. The two defenders defended too poorly on the outside... Xu Jicheng shouted: Mistake!

Carter was dribbling the ball just past halftime when he was closely guarded by Guo Xu and covered by Rasu. Carter used the width of the court to move laterally and was blocked by Stoudemire. He protected the basketball, but his breakthrough speed was too slow. Guo Xu reached out from behind and poked the basketball away, and picked up the ball faster than Carter.

Stoudemire immediately started a fast break, and Guo Xu turned around and passed the ball.

Stoudemire caught the ball in front of the free throw line and made a tomahawk dunk. The human shield center Rasu was slow and was thrown away.

15 to 2, Guo Xu’s third assist.

The Spurs were beaten by a wave. When Duncan couldn't attract double-teams in the low post, the defender's peripheral breakthrough was also blocked. Everyone didn't know what to do. Popovich had just called a timeout and didn't call a second one.