Legend of Tomorrow

Because Guo Xu's statistics have exploded this season, the coaches of each team will be under great pressure when facing the Suns. How to defend Guo Xu is a topic that all coaching staff must study.

What Woodson is thinking about now is not winning at all, but how to make Guo Xu score less. The Hawks and Suns only played two games in the regular season. He felt that the task was accomplished by not letting Guo Xu explode. The matter of winning could be considered after meeting in the finals.

After calling a timeout, Woodson did not change his offensive tactics, playing pick-and-rolls and looking for opportunities to quickly counterattack. He emphasized the mixed defense to double-team Guo Xu, and the other three people defended the area to interfere with the shooting.

The Suns did not change their tactics. The ball was handed over to Guo Xu. He had unlimited shot rights and could also pass the ball to his teammates.

The game continued, and the advantage was still on the Suns' side because their defense was tighter. Guo Xu needs to keep up with Nash, while everyone else is on guard against breakthroughs but not shots. Guo Xu doesn't care about defending the penalty area, and the other four people shrink to the vicinity of the penalty area at any time, making it impossible for the Eagles players to break through. They can only shoot far away from the basket and will be interfered with.

When the Suns attack, Guo Xu attracts tight double-teams and actively distributes the ball. David Lee and Howard can also ensure offensive firepower.

In particular, Howard's three-point ax is not a vegetarian. He has a strong one-on-one ability. There is also a 20 rule in the Suns. Whenever he scores more than 20 points, the Suns will win. That means the Suns have the second most powerful scoring point, and their opponents cannot double-team Guo Xu all the time.

After 8 minutes, Howard took a rest, and the Hawks' defense became a little easier, but their offense was still difficult. Ariza, who came on the bench, was also a strong defender on the wing, with excellent physical fitness, height and wingspan.

The defensive ability of those who play in the Suns team is easy to improve, because they usually compete with Guo Xu, and they often sigh it's just that when facing ordinary attackers.

After the defense was down, Guo Xu lowered his tempo and settled into position, improving his success rate and firmly controlling the situation.

The Suns did not let Varejao play, and the small lineup maintained mobility and could quickly return to defense even if the shot failed. Most of the Hawks players' strong shots in the fast break turned into waste shots.

Xu Jicheng commented: The Hawks played at a bad pace today. Running and gunning is D'Antoni's best tactic. Of course he knows what his weaknesses are. If he keeps playing fast, he will be targeted.

Zhang Lili said: But it doesn't get better soon, and the Hawks lack super scorers. Nash is the number one point guard in the Eastern Conference. Everyone says that he has made significant progress, but compared with Guo Xu, he seems to be no different from when he was with the Mavericks.

The Hawks' leading scorer this season is Harrington, averaging 20.4 points per game. He is also a player who relies on shooting.

Woodson wants to strengthen the interior offense,

The blacksmith Josh was replaced and replaced by Zaza Pachulia, a center who is 211cm tall and weighs 125kg. It seems that he can bully David Lee.

However, the Suns also replaced David Lee to rest and replaced him with Varejao, who is similar in size to Pachulia and is better at defending the penalty area.

When the Suns play at home, there is always a Suns staff member behind the visiting team's dugout who is responsible for delivering tactical information. This person knows the game. As soon as he saw Pachulia listening to the tactics and changing his clothes, he knew that he was going to play, and the Suns followed suit. Adjustment.

At the end of the first quarter, the Suns led the Eagles 31 to 15.

Nash made 1 of 5 shots and scored 3 points and 2 assists. His performance was terrible.

Guo Xu made 5 of 7 shots, 1 of 2 three-pointers, and 2 of 2 free throws, scoring 13 points and 4 assists. He now scores more than 10 points in a single quarter, and fans think he is ordinary.

In the second quarter, both sides sent substitutes, the Suns' five players: Payton, Ariza, Howard, James Jones, and Varejao. A high center with four swingmen.

Eagles five: Janello Pargo, Weaver, Jim Jackson, Diaw, Pachulia.

The Eagles' lineup is very deep, which is an important reason for their good record.

Pago is a small defender who is good at breakthroughs. He is 185cm tall and weighs 79kg. His disadvantage is that he has poor organizational skills. But it doesn't matter, the Hawks can be organized by Diaw. When he entered the league, he was nicknamed the French Magician and was a big point guard.

Jackson is experienced and can shoot three-pointers. As he got older and his quality declined, he switched to the bench. He played for a while with the Suns last season. Pachulia's task is to grab the rebound and pass it, which is similar to the Suns' style of play.

Sometimes, Guo Xu's value is better after he comes off the field, because the team can't do without him. The Suns' rotation couldn't stand it, and the Hawks went 9-2 to narrow the point difference to single digits.

Payton is very comfortable playing the second position, and he can't guard against fast players when playing point guard.

D'Antoni quickly realized his substitution mistake. His idea was that Payton had been playing for a long time this season, was in very good shape, and had good statistics, so he couldn't completely abandon him after Bell.

This is confusing. The chemical reaction between players is always more important than the player's reputation. D'Antoni wanted to replace Blake, but Guo Xu winked at him and pointed at himself.

D'Antoni immediately understood what Guo Xu meant and suddenly realized.

If Payton is replaced after playing less than 3 minutes, it will hurt the veteran's pride. At this time, Guo Xu is replaced and Payton is asked to play the suitable No. 2 position. The veteran will feel more comfortable and be able to play his role.

This is like the coach admitting that he mis-employed people, rather than Payton's inability to hold the team back on the court.

When the ball was dead, Ali dug in and Guo Xu came out.

The situation of the game immediately reversed. Payton was responsible for the organization, and Guo Xu played at the 2nd position, receiving the ball and attacking under Varejao's off-ball cover.

In the first round, there was a loophole in the Eagles' defense. Pachulia was slow to change defense and did not block Guo Xu. After getting rid of Pachulia, he hit a three-pointer from 70 degrees on the right side.

Pago was very energetic when he challenged Payton. He had no speed when he bullied the veteran. He lost all advantages against Guo Xu. The difference in height between 185cm and 183cm is negligible.

Pago could only score the ball in singles. The Eagles players passed the ball several times and there was no room. When 24 seconds came, Jackson singled Payton to use his height advantage to shoot and Varejao got the rebound.

When the Suns attacked, Guo Xu slipped to the bottom line and moved, which attracted Pachulia to change defense and then feinted with the ball to break through. It also attracted Pago to pursue the defense and pass the ball to the basket.

Diaw is only 203cm tall. He plays power forward just like James Jones plays power forward. They are both guest players and cannot protect the frame. When he let go of Jones outside the three-point line on the right and retreated to the penalty area, it was too late. Varejao easily dunked with both hands!

Woodson was a bit slow to react and was unwilling to call a timeout to adjust the lineup before the ball was dead. The Hawks still couldn't cooperate in the next round. Weaver made a cut to catch the ball and wanted to rely on his physical fitness to beat Howard. A wrong choice. He forced the ball. The basket was directly blocked.

Payton picked up the ball and quickly advanced across the half court and passed it to Guo Xu. Pago did not step forward to press, knowing that his confrontation ability was not as good as Guo Xu's, and he had often been beaten hard in the past. Seeing that his opponent was standing behind, Guo Xu caught the ball and stopped suddenly, and made a three-pointer from more than one meter outside the right three-point line.

Pago didn't have time to block the shot, so he stepped forward without jumping and stretched out his hand to interfere slightly. Most people can't jump this distance and feel like they can't get in. This is a habit that common sense makes them develop.

But when Pargo turned around, he saw the ball fly into the basket.

Guo Xu led the team and quickly responded with an 8-0, and the point difference widened to 17 points. Woodson requested a timeout.

Zhang Lili commented: This is a superstar. He can't do it without double-teaming, and he can't relax for a moment. Letting the substitute defend Guo Xu is asking for death.

Xu Jicheng said: The Suns really want to compete for the best record this year, and easily suppressing the second-ranked Hawks in the Eastern Conference shows everything.