Legend of Tomorrow

The second game continued in Phoenix, and the results were similar. The Suns played positional warfare and wore down the Grizzlies little by little. The 14-point difference was not big, but fans who watched the game knew that the Grizzlies had no chance at all.

The enthusiasm of Grizzlies fans was extinguished. The strength gap between the two teams was obvious. It was impossible for the Grizzlies to eliminate the Suns and advance to the Western Conference Finals.

The Suns have Guo Xu controlling the rhythm on the offensive end, and the defensive end performs better than in the regular season, which makes people feel helpless.

During the regular season, the Suns focused on offense. D'Antoni had arranged the formations of Marion power forward and Haslem center, but now the Suns are targeting the Grizzlies in a targeted manner.

When the Grizzlies' four major swingmen cannot play efficiently, it is difficult for them to win, because the Grizzlies rely on their swingmen to shoot three-pointers. The point guard has average three-point ability and average scoring ability.

It's hard for the scapegoats to find fault with Guo Xu anymore. Some people said before that he relies on running and gunning and only plays fast-paced games. As a result, he was slapped again in this series.

It's not just the players who improve their playoff experience, but also the Suns coaching staff. They know how to play in the playoffs to make it easier to win.

The Grizzlies inevitably exposed some flaws, such as their excessive reliance on the performance of the two bears inside, poor outside breakthrough ability, etc. Because of these flaws, they played seven games with the Rockets before advancing.

Jason Williams performed well in the last round, and now he is showing his prototype. He can break through Sura, but cannot break through Guo Xu. The Grizzlies' strongest breakthrough player is Bunchy Wells, but he is not sure about his mid-to-long-range shots.

Williams performed very poorly in this game, making 2 of 9 shots, 1 of 4 three-pointers, no free throws, and scored 5 points and 5 assists. Guo Xu's big double-double with 26 points and 21 assists was another complete success.

The Grizzlies management has begun to consider sending away Williams in the summer and replacing him with a more reliable point guard, even if the defense is equally bad but the offense is better.

After the game, ESPN reported on the game and mentioned Guo Xu's defense, thinking that he was very scary when he defended seriously.

On the surface, Guo Xu has an average figure. Although his muscles are strong, he is not a little steel cannon. He gives people the illusion that it is easy to knock him away when attacking with a back. In fact, he has a low center of gravity and sufficient strength. He can always interfere closely and make the ball holder uncomfortable.

If a player is not tall enough, it is indeed easy for his opponent to jump to the basket, but if the defender is more active in chasing and defending, he can make up for the shortcomings to a certain extent by catching up with the defender. The point guard should not switch to guarding the big man recklessly, otherwise he will not be bullied miserably. The opponent's point guard is not much taller, even the heavy point guard is only about 10cm tall.

There are only a handful of point guards in the league who are taller than 195cm.

That kind of body is not fast enough to move laterally as a point guard, which also has shortcomings.

In Guo Xu's previous life, Chris Paul was not very fast. He often entered the best defensive lineup by actively pursuing defense and harassing with small moves. Although Guo Xu often thinks about life on the defensive end during the regular season, when he is serious, his pursuit ability is better than Paul's, and the confrontation is at the same level. It is not easy for opponents to miss him.

The defensive black holes on the back line are those players who have neither strength nor speed, nor are they active enough in defense. They are often grabbed and beaten to death. Guo Xu's physical fitness is top-notch at the No. 1 position, and his stamina is amazing. How can his defense be poor?

When the regular season awards are announced this time, there will definitely be controversy again, because there will definitely be no Guo Xu in the best defensive team, but there will definitely be someone who can't even make the playoffs.

On May 12, all major awards for the regular season were announced.

League officials held a meeting regarding whether to allow Guo Xu to win the regular season MVP title for the third time.

It only took 5 minutes for everyone to make a unanimous decision, making Guo Xu the next star to win the regular season MVP for three consecutive years after Bird.

In fact, David Stern doesn't want to do this because Guo Xu is too young. He is only 23 years old this year.

In the past NBA, when a 23-year-old player won an MVP, fans would talk about it for a long time. It was an eternal glory. Now, at the age of 23, Guo Xu has won three consecutive MVPs, which is unprecedented.

The league has been engaged in a star-making campaign, but they don't want this kind of super strongman to emerge and steal everyone's limelight. Guo Xu is now like Jordan in 1993, even better, because Jordan was 30 years old at that time.

It's not okay to not let Guo Xu win the MVP. It's just that the stars of other teams are so disappointing. There is no one whose record and data can compare with Guo Xu.

The Heat's O'Neal has 23+10, the Spurs have the second best record against the Western Conference, Duncan has 20+11+3, and the Hawks' Nash has 17+11. How do they compare with Guo Xu who scored close to 25+15? Not to mention the record, all of which are more than 10 games worse than the Suns.

If the league really gives the award to others, it will be over. Many fans will think that the NBA is shady, which will affect the popularity and future development of the entire league.

After confirming the MVP, Stern discussed the second topic, how to dismantle the Suns' lineup?

In fact, the league is already doing this this season, and letting Joe Johnson be selected for the All-Star Game is the first step. In fact, in terms of data and status in the team, Carmelo Anthony is more qualified to be selected, and his core data is even better, but the league would rather let the host country not participate in the All-Star game than support Joe Johnson.

In the middle of the season, the league's decision caused dissatisfaction among many Nuggets fans. Of course, the league did not do this because Joe Johnson is handsome or has a good personality, but it used this method to remind the Suns management and Joe Johnson to consciously break up.

You've already been selected as an All-Star, so you have the nerve to be the fourth boss of a team?

However, even if Joe Johnson does not renew his contract, Stern feels that it will be difficult for other teams to compete with the Suns for the championship because they still have an offensive trident. What the Suns now bring to people is the feeling of the Lakers winning three consecutive championships. There is only one word to describe it - invincible!

They combine inside and outside with strong wing defense, much like the Lakers back then. The difference is that Guo Xu was not so popular back then. The Lakers made a mistake and let him go and the dynasty ended. Now the Suns will never give up on Guo Xu and can only find ways to let his teammates leave one after another.

The outcome of this matter cannot be discussed in one meeting. It needs to be considered in the long term. Stoudemire's rookie contract has not yet ended, and Marion has already signed a long-term contract. There is no reason for the Suns to not want them.

Guo Xu held a press conference on the afternoon of the 12th, received the MVP trophy and was interviewed. More reporters came to Phoenix than last time because he broke the historical record again.

This time, Guo Xu had much less emotion. He said: Thank you to everyone, everyone I mentioned in interviews last year and the year before last. I won't repeat them here. I am not too happy about winning the award this time. Many thoughts, I tried my best to cooperate with my teammates and win the game, it’s that simple, I am the best player currently, so I got this award.”

Then, he answered several questions from reporters, refusing to compare himself with retired celebrities, nor did he comment on those celebrities who had also won the MVP three times in a row.

The reporters were still unsatisfied. Guo Xu’s feelings were less than those of some players who scored high points in the regular season. Finally, Guo Xu explained the reason for his mediocre performance.

I seem to be used to winning MVP.

As soon as the news came out, online fans went crazy with the discussion. Some people thought he was cool, while others thought he was too arrogant.

Big Bird Bird was interviewed and said something thought-provoking. I don't think Jason Guo is arrogant. He won three consecutive MVP awards and three times the team won 70+ games in the regular season. These are not blown out. He is actually very normal in the interview, but his normality is irritating. too many people.