Legend of Tomorrow

? On the 15th, the Suns played at home against the Pistons, who have been controversial recently.

After the head coach was replaced by Larry Brown, the Pistons, who had the best record in the Eastern Conference last season, currently have only 5 wins and 4 losses, with no game over 100 points, slow transitions between offense and defense, and extremely ugly play.

The Pistons are obviously a team headed by a group of young people, but their style of play is like a veteran team like the Jazz in the previous two seasons. They are always grinding out positions. When the overall shooting rate is very low, they prevent their opponents from shooting at an even lower rate in order to win. .

This is certainly not the way fans want to see winning. When Brown coached the 76ers, Iverson, who had gorgeous statistics, attracted fans. The Pistons played team basketball, and the team's scoring leader did not average 20 points per game.

Many people began to question Brown's coaching ability, and the management also frequently put pressure on him. Joe Dumars hoped that Brown could reuse Darko Milicic, the No. 2 pick who had high hopes, but Brown was like a bastard and was determined. Determined not to give Milicic any chance to play.

James and Anthony have become the offensive core of their respective teams. Milicic, who was not rated as inferior to them during the draft, has not even played a minute.

Brown is a typical academic coach. Playing under him is a superior-subordinate relationship. The falling out with the 76ers was directly related to Brown's excessive strictness, and Brown doesn't like to use rookies. He has always disliked it.

Not only did Brown not give him a chance, he was very harsh on Milicic, and even violently damaged the rookie's self-confidence. He said more than once in the post-game press conference that Milicic could not withstand NBA-level confrontation.

If a reporter said that Milicic was not bad at the trial, he was an enhanced version of Nowitzki and Duncan. Brown was silent and acted like, I'm a famous NBA coach, you are all idiots who don't understand football, and I'm too lazy to waste time spitting with you.

In fact, Milicic was a very hard-working young man when he first entered the league. He came all the way from Serbia and Montenegro and was the first to arrive and the last to leave every day in training in order to get Brown's appreciation. However, Brown would rather rotate with 8 people than give him any training. A chance to play for second place.

In Guo Xu's previous life, Milicic later gained weight according to Larry Brown's request and prepared to switch to center. As a result, after gaining weight, he still had no chance to play and gradually became negative.

It wasn't until Brown was fired because of his flawed character, and Dumars was abandoned by the team owner for deliberately concealing the truth for Brown, that Billups dared to reveal the shocking inside story of Brown's deliberate suppression of Milicic for two years. .

Larry scared this kid to death. Billups said: He destroyed this kid's self-esteem so much. That kind of rough attitude made it impossible for Darko to recover from the injury. Now our team His coach was replaced by Philip, maybe everything will be different. You have to know, he hurt him too deeply,

So much so that he may never get back on his feet. This kid has extraordinary talent and can be said to be omnipotent on the court.

Now Milicic's only way to survive is to ask his agent to force him and be traded to a team that can play football as soon as possible.

This game was broadcast live across the United States. When the league arranged the schedule, it considered it a powerful matchup. The Pistons' lineup is not weak, which is evident from the fact that Milicic is a marginal player.

Guo Xu attaches great importance to this game as a warm-up for the playoffs. If the Pistons can still recruit Rasheed Wallace like they did in the previous life, although their style of play is ugly, they are not weak due to their super strong lineup. It's a championship contending team.

The current Suns also have a weakness, that is, players rely more on Guo Xu's performance. He is on two teams and off the court. Teams with a super core are prone to this situation. Everyone is used to receiving assists, and they will not be so determined when they play. For example, in the previous life of James' Cavaliers and James' Heat, the team immediately collapsed as soon as the core left. .

This weakness cannot be made up for. Boss Jerry Colangelo specifically called and told the coaching staff to ensure Guo Xu's playing time, resolutely focus on him, and strive to help him average 30+10 points per game and win the title again. MVP.

For a team, having an MVP-level star can make a lot of money. It's very easy to attract investment for the Suns' home court billboards this season. Even if the Suns don't win the championship, Jerry won't sell the team.

The game was broadcast live on TNT radio, and while the players were warming up, two commentators chatted about NBA gossip.

Previously, a unique firing ceremony in the world was staged in Detroit. Dumas, the fired general manager, looked embarrassed at the press conference, while Carlisle, the fired head coach, felt relaxed and the joke was told from beginning to end.

Thank you for firing me. It seems to me to be a good thing. It doesn't seem easy, but you have to think for the best. I believe I have a bright future and it will be a good thing for my wife Donna and our two dogs. , I’m excited about the possibilities for the future.”

It's both infuriating and hilarious that Carlisle was fired in this way. The decision to fire was not made by Dumas, but by Davidson, the big boss, because Carlisle had offended the boss and several of his senior officials. Carlisle has won 50 games in each of the past two years, won two consecutive Midwestern Conference championships, ranked first in the Eastern Conference once, and was elected Best Coach.

Dumas initially considered that Carlisle would not have to attend the press conference since he was still vacationing on a small island in South Carolina. But Carlisle was born to be a maverick. Not only did he come, he also brought the petite and beautiful lady Donna in a strapless dress. It was a pity that the two dogs were left at home, otherwise Dumas would be even more embarrassed.

Carlisle is one of the most dedicated coaches among young coaches. He is very good at studying data, and he may catch even the smallest loopholes in his opponent's game. He is a natural-born miscreant who only messes with his boss and never openly criticizes his players or coaches. Attending the press conference, he also shook hands with every staff member to express his gratitude.

With such a personality, he really deserves to be Jim Carrey's brother. Carlisle became the head coach of the Pacers this season and currently leads the Pacers to the first place in the Eastern Conference, which is very embarrassing.

The starting lineup for both sides was the Suns' five: Guo Xu, Laga Bell, Joe Johnson, Marion, and Stoudemire.

D'Antoni arranged a small ball tactic, preparing to attack directly with the Pistons, man-to-man on the defensive end. Marion's single defense will not become a loophole, because the offensive ability of the Pistons' interior players is very poor, so there is no need to worry.

Pistons five: Billups, Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Eldon Campbell, Ben Wallace.

Brown started Campbell, a 35-year-old blue-collar veteran who is about to retire, substituted Memit Okur, who has a shooting range beyond the three-point line, and asked Milicic to guard the water fountain. No one could understand his formation. .

How could two young, strong, seven-foot-tall insiders have worse defensive abilities than Campbell, who is 211cm tall and has lost weight to only 98kg? At his peak, Campbell was indeed outstanding defensively, but he has already declined.

In Guo Xu's previous life, the Pistons had a very difficult start. Rasheed Wallace was traded in the mid-term, and the overall strength was greatly improved. In the end, they only achieved 54 wins in the regular season.

This is not because Brown's coaching level is high, but because the team's lineup is too strong. It's because manager Dumas made a good trade and found an All-Star at no cost. If the Pistons hadn't upset the Lakers and won the championship, Brown would have been fired after one season.

Guo Xu plans to take more shots this time, because the Pistons average very few points per game and are a team known for their defense. Score high scores against the Pistons, which will leave a deep impression.