Legend of Tomorrow

? On February 26, the Suns flew away to challenge the Mavericks.

Joe Johnson had a good shooting touch during training. Guo Xu suggested that he take more shots and have a good opportunity to play his career masterpiece, because the Mavericks' defense was very poor.

The Mavericks' strength this season is inferior to that of Guo Xu in his previous life. Josh Howard, an important starter, was cut off by the Suns in 2003. His task is to deal with the opponent's outside arrows.

In the past, people often said that Howard missed two free throws in the overtime game of G5 in the Battle of Tianwangshan in the Finals, and also used up the last timeout during Wade's free throw in the last 1.9 seconds, leaving the Mavericks with no good chance for their last attack.

People often ignore that he averaged 16.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1 steal per game in the playoffs that year. He was the team's third scoring point and the best defensive player on the wing. Without him, the Mavericks would not have reached the Finals.

In 2003, the Mavericks drafted a subpar player, and now he can no longer play. The wing defense is a mess. Without Howard, the Mavericks don't know when they will reach the finals.

Nelson currently starts with Jason Terry and Devin Harris as two backs, and occasionally lets Stackhouse start to strengthen defense. Before the All-Star Game, Stackhouse will miss 6-8 weeks due to a right knee injury. Now the Mavericks' perimeter defense is even weaker.

The Mavericks' Achilles' heel is not the outside defense, but the center position. Dampier, the second center in the Western Conference, is injured and is out. Today, the Mavericks have no one available at the 5th position.

Dampier was just a blue-collar worker at that time, nothing special.

The Russian Yao Ming signed by the management in the summer cannot play at all. He is in the same situation as Ha Shengzhen. He has height but no skills, and his movement speed is too slow. Even Big Bamboo Rod Bradley is better than him.

Bradley moves slowly and is the tallest player in the league. He cannot guard pick-and-rolls and cannot play for a long time.

The Mavericks' third center is DJ Mbenga, a Congolese player who entered the NBA undrafted. He is 213cm tall and weighs 111kg. He has a good build, but he has almost no offensive ability. His upper limit is an 8-minute player who can play a dozen games in the second quarter and garbage time.

The Mavericks are currently only ranked sixth in the Western Conference and should be able to enter the playoffs, but I thought the first round would be difficult. If the Mavericks met the Rockets, they would probably not be able to beat them.

Since the two teams win the game on offense, they fight fiercely every time they meet and are very popular. This game is broadcast live on ESPN across the United States and also live on CCTV5 in China.

Suns starting lineup: Guo Xu, Howard, Joe Johnson, Marion, Stoudemire.

Mavericks starting lineup: Terry, Devin Harris, Finley, Nowitzki, Mbenga.

When the players came on the court, Zhang Lili introduced: The Suns will play small ball tactics in the opening game, and they will definitely attack wildly. The Mavericks have weaknesses in defense, so they will play two guards as soon as they come up.

Xu Jicheng said: If Guo Xu does not focus on the attack like he did in the game, the pressure on the Mavericks will be less. It will definitely be easy for him to single out the two defenders of the Mavericks.

Zhang Lili said: Guo Xu has been more selfless this season. He likes to pass the ball to help his teammates. If his teammates can't get rid of him, he will do it himself. Playing this way is beneficial. If young players dare to take on offensive responsibilities in the playoffs, the Suns will be even more powerful.

Guo Xu stood in the center circle and winked at Joe Johnson, who nodded and understood.

He was responsible for the main offense at the beginning, and he wanted to strive for super statistics, not only to win a big contract, but also to win a nickname.

In Guo Xu's previous life, Joe Johnson's highest score in a single game was only 42 points, which he scored when the Hawks had the ball. He has never had a nickname in North America. Contemporary Jordan, Singles Joe, and 囧囧sen are all nicknames teased by Chinese fans. Real nicknames like The Flash, Black Mamba and Big Shark are considered real.

Stoudemire won the jump ball and accurately passed the ball to Guo Xu. Guo Xu took two steps and passed the ball to Joe Johnson who was about to leave. He got the opportunity to play Harris in isolation and relied on the opponent to force the ball and scored, 2-0.

As long as the Mavericks start with two guards, there will be a natural mismatch. This weakness is too obvious.

While the Mavericks were attacking, the Suns were using a mixed defense with man-to-man marking on the perimeter. Stoudemire stayed near the penalty area and waited for someone to attack.

Mbenga has no shooting range and can be released outside the penalty area. If he reaches the low post, Stoudemire will go up and carry him. Guo Xu defended Terry and Joe Johnson defended Harris. There were also mismatches on the court.

Harris used his speed to force a breakthrough and change direction and passed Joe Johnson, attracting Stoudemire to defend and score the ball under the basket. Mbenga scored easily with a rebound under the basket. 2 to 2.

The offense was good, but Nelson pouted on the sidelines and did not applaud the new disciple.

He doesn't like Harris very much, and he gives Harris many opportunities to perform because no one is available. He found that Harris' organizational skills were very poor and his mid- and long-range shooting was terrible. He was completely incomparable with Nash.

Nelson likes players who can shoot. Harris will never become Nash. It has nothing to do with offense, but his wrist is too stiff. It is difficult for this kind of person to become a pitcher. After decades of coaching, Nelson has seen a lot.

When the Suns attacked, Guo Xu held the ball and waited for his teammates to pull away. He observed the defensive position and gave a signal to his teammates.

Stoudemire gave Joe Johnson an off-ball screen from the side to block Finley, and Guo Xu distributed the ball to the wing.

Finley was a little slow in pursuit, and Mbenga switched out. Joe Johnson passed the ball to Stoudemire who was cutting in the air. The latter squeezed away Finley and jumped up, smashing the ball with his right hand. 4 to 2.

Guo Xu plays the same style as Joe Johnson, but his speed is slower when running, and it is not easy to get direct shooting opportunities. He has organizational skills and can break through with the ball, which makes him an excellent all-around fighter.

The Mavericks attacked because the center couldn't open up and the tactics couldn't be executed. Mbenga went out to cover and was left open. It was a real tactical terminator.

Finley singled out Howard and turned around to shoot. Mbenga grabbed the offensive rebound and shot from close range. Under Stoudemire's interference, Marion grabbed the rebound and passed it to Guo Xu to launch a counterattack.

Guo Xu advanced to the frontcourt at full speed and passed to Joe Johnson, who relied on Harris to force a layup. The score also caused a foul. He also hit the extra free throw, 7-2.

When Joe Johnson returned to defense, he clenched his fists. Guo Xu could see that he was very excited. It was rare for this man to celebrate.

The Mavericks attacked. Terry ran without the ball and relied on Nowitzki to break free. After catching the ball and feinting, he changed direction and broke through, causing Marion to foul and made two free throws. 7 to 4.

As long as Terry is given enough ball rights, his offense is much more reliable than Harris. But Nelson didn't like Terry either. He felt like a short shooting guard with average organizational skills who couldn't compare to Nash.

When the Suns attacked, Guo Xu first played a pick-and-roll with Stoudemire in the middle, and then dribbled the ball to the right to create distance.

This side is the weak side, with only Joe Johnson in the bottom corner. Stoudemire can cover two teammates by running two more steps, and Marion and Howard are on the left side.

Guo Xu played particularly well. The Suns lineup is super strong, and opponents must not have obvious loopholes in every position they want to defend. If he doesn't hold the ball and attack, passing it to Howard and hitting Harris alone is an opportunity.

Terry's pursuit was in place, but Stoudemire had no time to cut into the middle and stand still. Guo Xu dribbled the ball from his crotch to his left hand, then changed direction and took a step to the right. Terry didn't take the fake move and stepped forward to form a close body.

Guo Xu leaned against Terry, shook his right shoulder, handed the ball to his right hand with his left hand, and quickly turned around towards the baseline with the ball in his right hand. Terry was attracted by his shoulder-shaking feint, so he failed to follow up and was passed.

Guo Xu quickly reached the basket and made an easy layup. Both Nowitzki and Mbenga were stationed outside and had no time to cover up. 9 to 4.

The sun starts to bloom more...