Legend of Tomorrow

It is clear at a glance who Guo Xu or Duncan poses a greater threat on the offensive end. The Suns can defend Duncan alone, but the Spurs cannot defend Guo Xu alone. If the Suns' role players had gained some energy, they would have won long ago.

After attracting double-teams, Guo Xu passed the ball to James Jones, who caught the ball from the left and made a three-point jumper, and the ball went in. 6 to 2.

Jones is a mediocre person with no special skills in offense or defense. He is not as good at guarding power forwards as Haslem, and is not as good at guarding small forwards as Ariza. He also lacks the ability to attack with the ball. But D'Antoni insisted on letting him play many times in the playoffs because his three-point ability is relatively strong among swingmen.

After Jones was selected by the Suns in the second round, he has done nothing else with the team in the past few years. Apart from practicing defense, he has been practicing three-pointers. His offensive ability with the ball has almost deteriorated, and he can only score off the dribble during counterattacks.

Ariza's three-pointers in the previous two games made the coaching staff feel overwhelmed. The opponent left him open in the corner many times. In the third game, no one interfered with his shots. As a result, he made 0 of 8 shots and 0 of 7 three-pointers. performance.

In Guo Xu's previous life, Ariza was a scumbag in 2018. This time he entered the playoffs and was accurate in five games.

The Spurs attack, Parker dribbles and organizes, Ginobili and Duncan play pick-and-roll, this move is very annoying for the Suns.

Ginobili caught the ball and rushed inside, getting rid of Bell. Varejao was better at guarding Duncan when he came on, but he was not as good at guarding pick-and-rolls as Haslem. He weighs 122 kilograms and moves slowly.

Ginobili made a snake-like breakthrough and scored a layup. 6 to 4.

Guo Xu dribbled to the frontcourt, and this time Bowen was replaced by Bowen on the outside of the three-point line.

Guo Xu took advantage of the situation to pass the ball, and Howard received the ball from Finley to cover. Howard wanted to make a mid-range shot, but he hesitated before passing the ball to the bottom corner. At this time, Duncan defended.

He didn't attack very far outside. He raised his arms two steps away from Jones. At this time, Varejao was empty under the basket. Jones moved sideways and tried to pass the ball to the basket. Finley returned to defend and blocked the pass. route. Jones had to look for Guo Xu to pass the ball again. After Duncan blocked the pass, he retreated to defend Varejao, leaving no space.

What best reflects the defensive ability is not the data, but this kind of flash of inspiration to help defend the position. Duncan's defensive coverage is very large.

If a player can only defend the penalty area, he has a weakness. The gap between Nesterovich and Duncan is here. Modern basketball has more and more screens and mismatches, and it is no longer possible for two players to face each other across the court.

Guo Xu relied on a screen to catch the ball and made a three-pointer, but missed due to interference.

Spurs attack,

Parker distributed the ball in the middle, Ginobili and Duncan cut through the three-point line without the ball from the side, and the others opened up. Once this Eagle Offense routine is played, Ginobili's advantages can be brought out.

In the series, Bell was only successful in defending against Ginobili in the first game. After that, Ginobili always found cover to avoid him in his offense. Bell's pursuit is very hard, but it is not easy for the opponent to catch up when cutting inside. This is a test of speed.

If the defender is hindered by a high screen or is left behind by the shooting guard, it will inevitably lead to the offense receiving the ball and scoring a layup or getting a misplaced isolation opportunity.

Varejao had good defensive awareness and knew how to switch to guard Ginobili, but the latter made another snake-like breakthrough and passed by him, picking up the basket with his right hand and scoring. 6 to 6.

D'Antoni swallowed. If Ginobili had a convulsion, the game would become difficult to play.

Ginobili's snake-like breakthrough makes defenders unable to guard against him, his movements look incredible, and his body can complete various twists. In his own words, this is a purely instinctive talent that cannot be taught. Although his snake-shaped breakthrough is essentially a European step, his European step is extremely smooth and without any pause compared to others.

Facing the defense of inside players, Ginobili can avoid the opponent like a snake and score the ball, which cannot be replicated in the NBA. Because of the butterfly effect produced by Guo Xu, the Spurs failed to meet the Pistons in the finals, but Ginobili's performance against other teams also made people recognize his offensive ability with the ball.

When the Suns attacked, Guo Xu was double-teamed again after halftime and passed the ball to Howard. The latter's mid-range shot missed due to interference from Finley's defense.

The coaching staff is now conflicted. In order to defend Ginobili, the Suns need Bell. In order to have an excellent second offensive point, they need Howard. Neither of them has the body to play as a power forward. In this case, it is not easy to arrange two defenders and let Blake.

Blake performed well in the first two games, but in the third game he was targeted after someone figured out his routine. Anyway, there are swingmen on the court. Bowen can also cover, and the Spurs forward can block people and try to let him hold the ball. The attacking player versus Blake. Blake is easier to target than Guo Xu because he is slower in pursuit.

The Spurs attacked and played wonderful teamwork again.

First, Duncan screened without the ball. Bell caught up with Ginobili who was cutting in the air. Parker could not easily pass the ball to his defender teammate. He protected the ball to observe the movement and passed it to the power forward Finley who came to the weak side to receive the ball. .

Finley could single out on the weak side against the little-known Suns substitute Jones, but he did not do so. He feinted and dribbled the ball laterally in front of the frame, and passed the ball to Duncan who flashed to the middle, completing a high to low pass. .

Duncan caught the ball very comfortably, turned and threw to the right, very close to the basket. Varejao couldn't cover it and could only interfere, and the ball went in again. 6 to 8.

TV5 broadcast the game live, and all Chinese fans hope that the Suns will advance, not only because of Guo Xu's popularity, but also because he is half Chinese. Now his teammates couldn't guard him, and everyone was worried about Guo Xu.

Zhang Lijia sighed: As long as one of Nene or Stoudemire can play, the Suns will not be afraid of the Spurs. It may be better if Diop is kept. Varejao was not included in the playoffs last season. He is just a player. It would be too difficult for an ordinary blue-collar player to expect him to guard Duncan.

Xu Jicheng said: How far the Suns will go this year will depend on Guo Xu's leadership ability and his performance. Without him, the Suns would really not be able to make the playoffs this year.

Guo Xu attracted a double-team two meters outside the three-point line and passed it out. Jones received the ball at a 70-degree angle on the right side and shot an open three-pointer. The ball missed the basket.

Jones was very accurate in three-pointers during training. His inability to make a shot was a matter of mentality. When he thought about how crucial this game was, he became a little confused. He was only a marginal member of the team last season, but he has been reused this year and is under a lot of pressure.

When the Spurs attacked, Finley pulled out to catch the ball and passed it to Duncan who was asking for the ball in the low post on the left. The latter dribbled with his back, and Parker suddenly started to rush inside from the center.

Duncan saw the opportunity to score the ball. Guo Xu was not thrown away by Parker, but Parker was a little taller than him. This time he also forced a layup very hard, and Guo Xu relied on his height advantage to score. 6 to 10.

After the goal, Parker clenched his fists and roared, even though it was just an ordinary layup.

Although he was selected as the Western Conference All-Star, he was suppressed so hard by Guo Xu that he felt resentful in his heart. Every time the two teams compete, his statistics are not as good as Guo Xu's, his record is not as good as his opponent's, and his popularity is not as good as his opponent's. It feels too bad to be completely suppressed.

D'Antoni was the first to request a timeout. He decided to adjust the lineup into a frenzied attack formation and start the offense first no matter what. The Suns cannot balance offense and defense. Guo Xu has not had a chance to make a shot. This is not the Suns' rhythm.

He replaced Jones, whose mentality was not good enough, and replaced him with Haslem. Bell on the outside also came down, and Blake came on. The two defenders can either play positionally to pass the ball to Guo Xu who is running without the ball, or they can counterattack.

If they play like this, there will definitely be loopholes in the Suns' defense. D'Antoni doesn't care, he has to make a desperate move...