Legend of Tomorrow

In the second game between the two sides, D'Antoni arranged a small-ball tactic at the beginning, with Haslem at center, James Jones at forward, and Raja Bell, Blake, and Guo Xu on the outside.

Except for Haslem, all four of them have strong outside shooting abilities, and the formation can be completely spread out to help Guo Xu create one-on-one opportunities. Even if there is no pick-and-roll, it is difficult for the Spurs to double-team.

Popovich also adjusted the lineup, with Finley and Ginobili leading the bench. This was done to give Ginobili more of the ball and to keep Bell off guard for a while.

Bell's defense against Kobe can lower his shooting percentage. The brown sugar defense is perfect for dealing with breakthrough players, forcing the opponent to shoot far away from the basket. Bell's selection to the All-Defensive First Team this season is a tribute to him from the league. He spends most of his time defending swingmen who are good at scoring.

In recent seasons, Ginobili has been poorly defended against Bell many times. In the 2003-04 season, he made 0 of 5 shots from the field and barely scored 6 points on free throws. He shot less than 30% twice this year when he was guarded, 3-for-13 from the field and 3-for-11 from the field.

Bell signed a long-term contract with the Suns, and his low annual salary made Popovich envious. Back then, he didn't realize that this undrafted rookie had the potential to become a top 3D player.

We can also see from Bell how ridiculous the defensive S statistics are. Even though he is recognized as a defensive strongman in the league, his S statistics are not good at all, only 1.6 in the regular season. What's funny is that Guo Xu's defensive S is as high as 3.7, which is as high as Kobe.

Defensive S, steals and blocks data are very important. When the team's overall defense is strong, the data will go up all of a sudden. Therefore, Marion has the highest statistics in the Suns, breaking 5 points many times in the regular season and peaking at 6.4.

Guo Xu won the steals title twice. It is not surprising that the data is high. Iverson had a defensive score of 4 for three consecutive seasons from 2001 to 2003. At that time, the 76ers were a well-known defensive team. Iverson's data is only slightly inferior to Kidd's among star guards, completely beating Kobe.

At his peak, Iverson's defensive S was as high as 4.5, which was the career-high figure for top outside defenders such as Kobe Bryant, Battier, Tony Allen, and Bruce Bowen. Battier, Allen, and Bowen have to thank the team for being defensive, otherwise the S would be even more ugly.

If it goes against the standard of winning, then the player's defensive statistics will be ugly no matter how good he is. Bell happens to fall into this category, with mediocre steals and blocks, and the team favors offense. Bell's DS in the first defense this season can't even be called bad, it's just bullshit. The Suns have 68 wins, but you only have 1.6?

Nash's DS and DS/48 this year are both higher than Bell's, reaching the peak of 2.1 in the Hawks. Are the two actual defensive abilities on the same level?

Ginobili can't make it.

Bell also did a good job guarding Finley, leaving the simplest Bowen to Blake to deal with. For someone like Bowen, who scored 6.2 points in 34 minutes of playing time, he can just stand in front of anyone. He usually only takes shots in the open space.

The two sides were evenly matched in the first quarter, with the Spurs focusing on Duncan and Parker, constantly using double screens to separate Parker and Guo Xu.

Guo Xu is only good at defending defenders, which is his weakness. Dislocation to defend the inside is neither good at interfering with shooting nor blocking air cuts. When Duncan catches the ball in the low post or goes deep to the basket to hit hard, Haslem can't guard him. His frame is smaller. Duncan uses his long wingspan to turn around and shoot. Not many people in the league can block shots.

In the second half, the Suns replaced Haslem with Varejao, leading a big man and four small ones. The tactics were similar to the Spurs' tactics. They constantly used screens to create mismatch opportunities, allowing Guo Xu to hold the ball against the big man, or attract double teams to score points. ball.

Once the formation is spread out, it will be difficult for the Spurs to defend Guo Xu. In this game, both sides fought hard to attack.

The substitutes came on the scene in the second quarter, and the Spurs' rotation led by Ginobili began to perform. The star as the sixth man will become an important style of play for the Spurs in the future. It will be difficult to withstand the opponent's substitute without a defensive expert. Ariza and Howard failed to guard Ginobili.

The Suns' substitute inside man, David Lee, was guarded by Muhammad. He is a very mobile defensive blue-collar man. It would be difficult for David Lee to beat the opponent in the low post. In the playoffs, his mid-range shooting was not as accurate as in the regular season, and his shooting percentage dramatically drop.

This is the disadvantage of a rookie. David Lee has no playoff experience, and his mental quality is not very strong. In tough battles, he cannot display 80% of his strength in training.

The Suns coaching staff does not expect him to play an important role. Regular season training will allow him to enter the playoffs without weak legs, which means success. In the past few seasons, Suns rookies also started from the bench.

The Spurs still couldn't take any advantage in the second quarter because Guo Xu didn't rest. He singled out Van Exel, attracted double teams, scored and assisted his teammates.

In order to reduce Guo Xu's efficiency, the Spurs players intensified their confrontation and were particularly vicious when committing fouls. They hit or pulled people hard, but they did not reach the level of flagrant fouls.

No matter what the outside world thinks of the Spurs, they just want to be ruthless. Popovich made it clear during training that this was Guo Xu's trick. If the Spurs don't play dirty, they will have to wait to be swept. They only lose one game. There is a high chance of a successful comeback.

Popovich asked his players to use what they are good at and ignore evaluations. Even if people say that the Spurs do whatever it takes to win, and that they are dirty defensively, being a winner is better than being eliminated.

Popovich has always believed that the winner is king and the loser is the enemy. Controversies are only temporary. If they win the championship, how many fans will remember how they won many years later? A championship ring proves everything even more.

The two sides remained in a stalemate until the fourth quarter. Popovich saw that Duncan was physically exhausted, so he asked him to take a break and sent in Nesterovich, who had barely played.

This substitution became the turning point of the game. The Suns beat the Spurs 11-0 and opened up the score. Nesterovich is only good at defending the penalty area. He is always a half-beat slow when switching defenders when encountering screens.

The Spurs management regrets signing Nesterovic to a mid-level contract. His performance is worse year by year. He received an annual salary of 7 million this season, but he couldn't even last 10 minutes in the playoffs. The Spurs' top priority this summer is to trade Nesterovic out, no matter what he gets in return.

Muhammad is an inside man who lacks offensive power and only plays 12 minutes per game. In this series, it can be said that the Spurs' inside man is supported by Duncan alone. It will be bad if he takes a rest. Moreover, he mainly plays center, not power forward. He leads four small players.

Horry didn't play long, averaging 17 minutes per game. He was old and couldn't outrun the Suns' forwards, so the Spurs were forced to let small forwards play as power forwards.

Ariza is a powerful weapon as a power forward, with terrifying speed. During fast breaks, he often rushes to the front, resulting in more hits and fewer hits. This situation cannot be defended by the Spurs, and it is very difficult to deal with Guo Xu alone.

In the second half of the final quarter, the Suns replaced Varejao, who was full of energy and played less than 20 minutes per game. He was able to resist Duncan and interfere with shooting, and the Suns gradually opened up the score.

On the defensive end, Popovich is not the only one who knows how to be tough, the Suns will too. Haslem and Varejao are really making little moves, Ariza, Bell, and Guo Xu are also making a lot of little moves on the outside. Howard is relatively clean in defense.

Not only did Varejao make small moves, but he also liked to dive. He was knocked down several times in one game. If the referee did not call a foul, the home fans would boo, putting pressure on the Spurs players.

Phoenix City is also recognized as the devil's home stadium. It has won two championships. Guo Xu's four consecutive MVP awards have given the fans a terrifying cohesion. The stadium is full and the momentum is huge.

Guo Xu hit key goals in the second half, a three-pointer, a mid-range shot, a breakthrough and a foul, and two free throws to seal the victory.

103 to 92, the Suns lead 2 to 0... m.