Legend of Tomorrow

? The Suns sent in top-notch blue-collar defense, and O'Neal's offensive efficiency suddenly dropped.

Diop was able to prevent O'Neal from shooting away from the basket. He turned around and entered the basket and immediately fouled and sent him a free throw. O'Neal shot 1 of 4 from the free throw line, which was a bit tragic. He only scored 3 points in 5 minutes against Diop.

When Diop, who committed two fouls, was replaced, the home fans gave him a warm ovation, his teammates also high-fived him in celebration, and D'Antoni patted him on the back to show encouragement.

The role of this kind of person cannot be reflected by statistics. He only grabbed one rebound, but it was really useful to go up for a few minutes.

Diop smiled happily, showing his rotten teeth. He and O'Neal's reputations are so different. Being able to match up with the star is his moment of glory.

The Suns replaced Nene and Stoudemire to form a twin tower, using a double-cover offensive tactic. On the defensive end, Nene, who had not played in the previous minute, defended O'Neal alone. Every time the two sides play against the Suns, they must use a wheel battle. The Lakers' center position depends on O'Fa, and the Lakers' offensive and defensive ends will deteriorate when he is used.

Even though O'Neal moves slowly and doesn't like to defend pick-and-rolls, it's difficult for opponents to break into the penalty area as long as he's on the court, and Stoudemire can't often perform morale-boosting dunks.

During the attack, the 32-year-old O'Neal could only accept the fate of being surrounded and suppressed by the Three High Suns. Nene also tried his best to defend, but if he couldn't resist, he immediately fouled before he could force himself to take a shot.

In this quarter, O'Neal made 2 of 6 shots, 2 of 9 free throws, 6 points, 4 rebounds and 1 block. His 33.3% field goal percentage was already miserable, but his free throw percentage was only 22.2%, which was completely prevented.

Kobe's performance was also very ordinary. He made 2 of 5 shots, 1 of 1 three-pointers, 2 of 3 free throws, and scored 7 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist.

The offense of Guo Xu, Stoudemire, and Joe Johnson was much better. The Suns led 32 to 19 in this quarter and 69 to 52 at halftime.

In the second half, Kobe took more shots and O'Neal performed poorly. He had reason to take over the game in singles.

In the third quarter, Kobe made 5 of 11 shots, 1 of 2 three-pointers, and 1 of 1 free throws. He scored 12 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists. Bell, Marion, and Howard couldn't guard him in a round-robin battle.

Diop did not play, and O'Neal also regained his feeling. He made 3 of 3 shots and scored 6 points and 2 rebounds. Malone made 2 of 2 shots and 2 of 2 free throws, scoring 6 points.

Coupled with the performance of role players, the Lakers scored 34 points in a single quarter. But they only recovered 4 points, and the Suns team also scored 30 points in a single quarter.

Guo Xu made 5 of 7 shots in the entire quarter, 1 of 2 three-pointers, and 3 of 4 free throws.

Scored 13 points and 3 assists. At the end of the three quarters, he scored 34 points, 2 rebounds, 12 assists and 2 steals.

Joe Johnson also performed very well against George, scoring 7 points in a single quarter. Even if the other Suns' shooting percentages were average, their offensive firepower was guaranteed.

In the final quarter, Zen Master Jackson continued to dominate the main force. Only O'Neal went down to rest for a while. Malone and Medvedenko partnered inside, and the score soon widened to more than 20 points.

D'Antoni arranged a small ball tactic, with Marion and Stoudemire playing together. Howard, who only played 6 minutes today, served as the small forward, and Guo Xu and Bell partnered on the outside. In 5 and a half minutes, the Suns outscored the Lakers 21-8.

Among them, Marion scored 12 points, making 5 of 6 shots and 2 of 2 free throws. Malone could not keep up with him. When the Suns counterattacked, it was easy to form a 3-on-2. Guo Xu advanced too fast and the two Lakers defenders could not stop him.

Guo Xu did not score a point and sent out five assists, four of which were given to Marion and one to Bell.

On the Lakers' side, Kobe's shooting percentage dropped in the face of Bell, making 2 of 6 shots, 0 of 2 three-pointers, 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 6 points and 1 rebound. The Lakers' scoring was handled by Kobe and O'Neal. O'Neal made 1 of 2 shots, 0 of 2 free throws, and scored 2 points and 1 rebound.

Malone's strength and skills have not declined, but his physical strength is seriously lacking. He can only play well for 25 minutes at most. During the regular season, he often has defensive problems in the final quarter.

Both sides replaced all their main players in the second half. Guo Xu's statistics were fixed at 34 points and 17 assists, earning a large double-double.

The Suns also had the upper hand in the bench battle. Nene made three pick-and-rolls and then cut and caught the ball to score. Without O'Neal, the Lakers' frame-protecting ability inside was the worst in the league.

Marginal man James Jones also got a chance to play, playing the 4th position to open up space and hit a three-pointer.

Lakers veteran Cobra Horace Grant was reimbursed due to injury in the regular season. Medvedenko and Brian Cook partnered inside. The scene was so beautiful. Cook is also a defensive black hole. He has height and weight but a very soft style of play. He can't even protect rebounds and can only catch and shoot.

Another rookie, Luke Walton, got a chance to practice. He is a small forward who relies on his mind to play. He cannot take advantage of a strong player with super physical fitness like Howard.

Suns outsiders Blake and Kirisek are not vegetarians, they can shoot three-pointers, and Kirisek also has the ability to attack with the ball.

At the end of the game, 133-104, the Suns beat the Lakers by 29 points and got off to a good start.

Guo Xu didn't find it strange. This Suns is different from the Suns led by Nash in the 2004-2005 season. The lineup is much stronger. Let alone him leading the team, Nash would still have a chance to win the championship if he was the point guard.

In the 2005 playoffs, the Suns were easily eliminated by the Spurs 4-1 because their defense was so poor. The only substitute inside man was Steven Hunter, an ordinary blue-collar man who was 213cm tall and weighed 100 kilograms. He couldn't resist people.

Nowadays, the Suns have defensive blue-collar workers inside and outside. They rotate multiple players and can make targeted defense against the OK combination. In addition, the trident of Guo Xu, Marion, and Stoudemire guarantees the offense. How can a group of Lakers veterans withstand it? ?

This result was unacceptable to the Lakers star. O'Neal returned to the locker room without greeting Guo Xu. Kobe had already gone to the tunnel before the final buzzer sounded, and they all needed some silence.

Ma Long sat on the chair for a long time, unwilling to get up, and began to think about his own way out. Should he retire in the summer, or should he stay with the Lakers and continue playing, striving to break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record?

Malone doesn't want to change teams anymore. When he came to the Lakers, he thought about it for a long time before making a decision. He was tired...

Zhang Lili said: For two consecutive seasons, the Suns' record was better than that of the Lakers. This rebuilding team immediately rose after signing Guo Xu, while the Lakers collapsed after leaving Guo Xu. It is time to discuss how important he was to the Lakers' three consecutive championships. ”

Xu Jicheng smiled and said: Guo Xu has a shortcoming in height on the defensive end, but his ability to lead the team to win is beyond doubt. With just a pick-and-roll, not many people can guard him. The Lakers can't guard him today, Fisher Er and Payton don't have the lateral speed.

Zhang Liji smiled and said: I think there is no suspense in this series. It just depends on whether the Lakers can win a game to save face.

At the post-game press conference, Guo Xu was relatively low-key. He did not comment on the Lakers players or predict how many games they would win.

When reporters mentioned Kobe, Guo Xu refused to make comparisons. Let the fans decide. I just want to lead the team to win. No matter who the opponent is, my goal is to win. It's that simple.

In this game, Kobe made 10 of 26 shots, 2 of 6 three-pointers, and 9 of 10 free throws. He scored 31 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. He has the best statistics on the Lakers, but his shooting percentage is only 38.5%.

O'Neal's performance at the free throw line was poor, only 3 of 12, scoring 23 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocks; Malone scored 12 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists, and no one else scored in double figures.

Guo Xu didn't comment, and people could tell that the performance of the OK group was far worse than his.

As long as the defensive problem cannot be solved, the Lakers will have no chance of reaching the Western Conference Finals...