Legend of Tomorrow

Unfortunately, Guo Xu was slapped in the face at home in San Antonio. The Spurs won two games in a row and tied the total score at 2-2.

The difference between the two games was not big. The Spurs won by 10 points and 7 points respectively.

The Spurs gave up competing with the Suns on tactics and instead competed for stars. Duncan took more shots and played 42 minutes in both games, severely beating the Suns inside.

In the third game, Duncan scored 40 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 blocks. In the fourth game, Duncan scored 32 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. He dominated the penalty area on both offense and defense. However, he also has some controversy, because in the third game he made 17 of 23 free throws, and he got too many free throws. The Suns would be called for a foul if they made any big moves inside.

The Spurs' defensive strategy is to guard against the Suns' outside shots, relying on Duncan to guard the basket alone, and shoot two-pointers from mid-range and low post. D'Antoni saw this through and increased Josh Howard's shooting rights. He can make mid-range shots and low post plays. He scored 20 and 24 points in these two games respectively.

It's a pity that Howard is not Kobe after all. If the Spurs insist on single defense, Kobe can score 3 or 40 points and attract double teams in the low post. The Spurs don't need to double-team Howard, Bowen can solve the problem.

The 35-year-old Bowen chose to lose weight in order to maintain mobility and be able to keep up with the speed of most swingmen. He is now 201cm tall and weighs only 84kg. He cannot defend against strong swingmen attacking the low post. Howard is 201cm tall, weighs 95kg, and his back is not that strong.

Even if Howard now has Payton as his teacher, his offensive skills are more inclined to face three threats, breakthroughs or mid-range shots. Because the core of his partner is Guo Xu, the team needs him to develop in this direction and open up space instead of running to the low post to get the ball from behind.

Howard's efficiency is not low, but Bowen is not afraid of the style of play he is good at and can interfere with shooting.

D'Antoni's tactical system also exposed a flaw. The proportion of three-point shots is too high. The Suns had the best record in the regular season by relying on defense and beating their opponents to death from beyond the three-point line, and beating themselves to death when they were not feeling good.

When the opponent's formation expanded and the mid-range guard was guarded against three-pointers, Guo Xu felt uncomfortable with the sun and had to give up the familiar rhythm. The Suns players were very determined to catch the ball and take shots according to the coach's instructions, but the Spurs' interference worked. The mentality of the role players is not as strong as Guo Xu's. They can only complete simpler tasks and cannot adjust their playing style.

The Suns' offensive tasks mainly fall on Guo Xu and Josh Howard, who are easily targeted. The Bulls in the last three companies will also encounter this situation. They can send Kukoc as the third offensive point. The Suns also have Qi Ge in charge, but it is the 38-year-old Qi Ge who is about to retire.

Guo Xu took more shots, but his shooting percentage was not high under strict defense. He shot only 45% in both games and made 5 of 13 three-pointers.

4-for-12 from the field. In the third game, he scored 40 points and 7 assists, and in the fourth game, he scored 36 points and 10 assists. This kind of shooting rate is not easy to win without efficient teammates standing up.

The Suns lost in depth inside, relying almost entirely on outside players to score points, and several big men were not good at attacking the penalty area.

**Vitch arranged small-ball tactics, and Finley served as a power forward to counter the Suns' run-and-gun tactics. He became a surprise player for the Spurs. He worked extremely hard on the defensive end, which reduced the scoring efficiency of the run-and-gun. Once the battle is on the ground, the Spurs have an advantage.

David Lee averaged 16 minutes per game in the series and only scored 5 points and 4.5 rebounds. He was completely different from the regular season. His field goal percentage dropped to 31.7%. It was difficult for Duncan to attack the basket when he was guarding him in the penalty area. He could only go behind the screen. Cutting to attack the basket is efficient.

A rookie with potential is still a rookie. Duncan can take care of David Lee just as easily as Guo Xu takes care of Deron Williams when he plays against the Jazz in the regular season.

The only big man in the Suns who is good at defending the penalty area is Varejao. Diop, who made Duncan a little uncomfortable last season, was poached.

Spurs players deliberately caused Varejao to foul when playing the pick-and-roll. In the third game, Varejao played only 19 minutes and committed 5 fouls. In the fourth game, Varejao played 24 minutes and left the field 6 times. It's not that he couldn't control the fouls well. Some of the dives that resulted in offensive fouls at home were called blocking fouls at the Spurs' home court, even though he fell to the ground.

Varejao can hit Duncan in the low post, which has obvious advantages.

Haslem is a power forward who guest-centers. He is good at guarding against big men like Nowitzki and Garnett who rely on shooting. He is at a disadvantage against Duncan who pushes inside. If you can't withstand it, you can only use fouls to stop Duncan. His free throw shooting rate is 71.8%, which is qualified.

In the regular season, Duncan averaged 6.7 free throws per game and only made 4.2, with a shooting percentage of 62.9%. In the playoffs, he took 10.1 free throws and made 7.2.

His playoff data increased to 26 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2 blocks per game. His field goal percentage also increased to 57.3%. His playing time also increased significantly, and he suddenly returned to his peak.

This is the role of a superstar. Duncan is a quiet person. He will not publicize his injuries everywhere, hype up his injuries, and then be full of energy when he comes on the court, jump up and down, and beat his teammates like shit with crazy shots. They take the blame. He will only quietly do the work assigned by the coach and try his best to help the team win.

People don't say much when they are cruel, but Duncan is the one who talks about it.

The scapegoats on the Internet have become more energetic and started posting articles mocking Guo Xu for being overrated, saying that the Suns will definitely be eliminated by the Spurs. They are the fans of whoever hits the sun. Their deformation ability is better than that of Transformers. Their alien robots have to scan the QR code first.

When Lyon, a regular player, was first injured, he jumped out to criticize Guo Xu for relying on his teammates to win. They were the same people who failed to make the playoffs in the Suns. Now that the Suns can't reach the finals, Guo Xu is overrated.

The ancient superstars who have evaluated Guo Xu before, and the famous basketball players also breathed a sigh of relief. They all hope that the Spurs will continue their efforts and eliminate the Suns in the Western Conference Finals. It doesn't matter who wins the championship in the end, as long as it's not the Suns.

If Guo Xu leads this kind of lineup to win the championship, it will be difficult for them to question it in the future. They also find it incredible.

Bulls legend Scottie Pippen, who despises Guo Xu the most, is also paying attention to the news. He recently refused to accept any interviews and even stopped doing activities to hold back at home. He has accumulated rich experience in evaluating Guo Xu and will not speak easily again.

In the past, Pippen liked to talk serious nonsense, without any need for logic or data analysis. What he pursued was the kind of understanding football emperor with a firm tone, which made him appear unique, unique and extraordinary.

He is good at creating an unfathomable feeling. To put it bluntly, he has a severe form of chuunibyou. He insists on saying something different from his opponents, and then puts on a posture of What I say is the truth, you are all LO.

Ball-blind people can easily be fooled into thinking that what Pippen said makes sense, but if they follow what he says, they will be on the road to no return.

Recently, Pippen has begun to understand that looking down on Guo Xu will not end well. He feels that Guo Xu will surpass Jordan in the future, and rings and honors are indispensable. The Suns were equalized by the Spurs and there was nothing to be ashamed of. He was the only All-Star on the team, and the Spurs were a GDP team.

Pippen feels that Guo Xu and Howard are the team's main scoring points, and they are definitely not as good as him and Jordan in the Bulls back then. The Suns' group of role players are either rookies or marginal players. The two veteran players are well-known and should retire. This lineup Winning the championship is simply unreasonable.

However, the Suns still have the possibility of eliminating the Spurs. Wasn't the Timberwolves leading the Suns 2-0 back then reversed?

It is too early to say that Guo Xu will be eliminated at 2-2. Pippen plans to wait until the Spurs win four games before being interviewed, so there is no risk of saying the wrong thing.