Legend of Tomorrow

Some things are just unintentional. After the substitution, the Suns played a familiar offensive routine. The two insiders can provide elevator door screen for Guo Xu. They protect the rebounds in the backcourt well and quickly counterattack with one pass. Even the defense is better than before. It started fine.

Blake changed his rhythm to defend Ginobili. He was not as close as Bell, and kept his distance to prevent breakthroughs.

As Payton's apprentice, Blake's defensive ability is much better than that of himself in the parallel world at the same time. He knows how to use his own advantages. His ability to defend against the frame is better than personal confrontation.

It was not easy for Ginobili to hold the ball directly past the 191cm Blake, so he chose to use his height advantage to make a pull-up jump shot or a catch-and-shoot jump shot. His jump shot was not as accurate as breaking into the basket for a layup, and it was not easy for the opponent to foul.

In the first quarter, Guo Xu felt average, making 5 of 12 shots, 2 of 6 three-pointers, 1 of 2 free throws, and scored 13 points and 3 assists. The Suns trailed 24 to 31.

D'Antoni had no idea of ​​adjusting his tactics and did not replace Guo Xu. Unless it's garbage time, he will play the whole game against the Spurs and be the backbone of the game.

In previous games, the Suns have tried all available tactics. If Guo Xu doesn't score, can he expect the role players to step up and take more shots and dominate the game?

Duncan and Ginobili didn't take a rest either. Instead of taking part in those rotations that couldn't attack, Horry, Barry, and Van Exel came on. They can both shoot three-pointers, and spacing can make a difference.

In Popovich's system, three-pointers are not the main means of scoring, but he has never objected to shooting three-pointers. If there is an opportunity in the open space, he must be able to make it. In the playoffs, the Spurs averaged 39.2% three-point shooting per game, but they did not take many shots, averaging only 16.1 times per game.

In the substitute contest, the Spurs continued to double-team Guo Xu. He attracted the focus of the defense and distributed the ball. Ariza and David Lee were very cheating and missed consecutive open shots. David Lee cut through the air and attacked the basket, but was blocked by Duncan.

The Spurs' substitutes performed beyond their abilities. Horry, who had been doing nothing, hit two three-pointers. Barry also received Ginobili's pass during the counterattack and hit a three-pointer.

Duncan hit Haslem hard in the low post, and the point difference quickly widened to 15 points.

D'Antoni took Howard off the court to rest for a while, but the team couldn't stand it anymore. Except for Guo Xu, everyone else seemed to have lost their souls offensively.

What makes Guo Xu more depressed is that the pressure on his teammates comes from the fans. After losing two games in a row, many fans criticized Guo Xu's teammates on the Internet, saying that they were holding them back and almost dragging the MVP to death.

The more people support this argument, the more

The less role players dare to play, for fear that if they take too many shots and miss the shots, the team will lose. Ariza was the most affected. His performance in the first two games was pretty good, but in the last two games he was completely different. He was not in good condition today and could only defend.

At 7 minutes and 11 seconds, Ginobili passed David Lee for a layup after playing a pick-and-roll, and D'Antoni called another timeout.

30 to 49, the difference between the two sides widened to 19 points.

D'Antoni replaced David Lee and Ariza, and replaced him with Varejao and Howard. He was not going to let them play anymore. They would definitely be left empty and it would be difficult to regain the feeling of shooting. He didn't want to see Ariza have any more problems. Zero performance.

In the CCTV5 studio, Zhang Lili shook his head and sighed: It's difficult for the Suns to handle today. The players' psychological quality is not up to standard and they can't help Guo Xu. Unless a miracle happens, we want to win.

Xu Jicheng agreed: Guo Xu's teammates were either substitutes or marginal players last season, and there are also rookies with one or two years of experience. They have not learned to play in adversity. It is impossible to expect them to be able to do it. Kukoc's footsteps are too slow. There's no advantage in letting him play in the paint, it's up to Guo Xu, he should take more shots at this time.

The Suns players were a little frustrated. D'Antoni told them in the locker room to play the game as if it were the first game and relax. This is easier said than done.

The young players were all dejected. They didn't think they could win this game. The opponent made a sharp breakthrough and scored several outside shots despite interference. This situation is the most terrifying. Usually this is how they demoralize their opponents, but now it's the other way around.

Trailing by 19 points, the opponent is the Spurs team with GDP combination and defensive expert Bowen. How easy is it to reverse?

The cheers of most of the home fans were not as energetic as they were at the start. Many Suns fans watching the game on TV couldn't bear to watch the home game lose and changed the channel early. They all thought it was over for today.

After D'Antoni finished changing players and emphasized tactics, Guo Xu said loudly on the sidelines: Everyone cheer up, it's only 19 points. It's not time to give up. Leave the offense to me and speed up the pace. Think about it, I have to When the score is high, we can still win even if we let our guard down. As long as we defend well from now on, we can win! They can't always be so accurate.

Larry Drew also stood up to encourage and emphasized the defensive strategy. The offense can be left to Guo Xu, but the defense must be a joint effort of five people.

After the timeout, the Spurs also made substitutions. Bowen returned to the court to replace Barry, who performed well. He was responsible for guarding Howard. Parker replaced Van Exel. He was better at organizing and breaking through, and he was also faster.

The Spurs' lineup is the same as before, except that Horry replaced Finley. This lineup looks really scary. They achieved the second record in the Western Conference in the regular season. It has something to do with limiting players' playing time. If they play with all their strength, it may not be impossible. Compete with the sun for first place.

Popovich never cares about regular season results. A good ranking is enough. Rotation makes it easier to ensure players are healthy, which is beneficial to the playoffs.

The game continued, and Guo Xu quietly walked onto the court with an indifferent expression.

Judging from his expression, he seemed to have given up on the game. In fact, he didn't feel much at all, but was in a state of preparation to score points. In the fourth time loop, Guo Xu practiced no matter how many times he shot without feeling flustered. The basketball game could be like a game to him.

Guo Xu knows that attracting double-teams and passing the ball is the correct way to play, but when his teammates can't make a shot, it's his turn. He forgot about winning and losing, and forgot about the score. There was only one thing he had to do now, take action!

When the Suns attacked, Blake brought the ball across the half court. Guo Xu first distanced himself from his teammates, then ran without the ball to the right side of the three-point line to receive the pass.

He took the ball and took a knee, facing Parker in a shooting stance.

Another three-point shot? Parker immediately raised his center of gravity and prepared to jump to interfere. Guo Xu made many outside shots in the first quarter, and he didn't want to be fooled again.

Guo Xu did not shoot this time. Instead, he dribbled the ball to the middle and passed Parker in one step with his terrifying starting speed.

Duncan was on the inside, and Finley came out to cover up the defense and let Haslem go. Guo Xu didn't pass the ball, and he made an emergency stop inside the three-point line and made a jump shot, ignoring Finley's interference and scoring the ball.

32 to 49, Guo Xu scored his 15th individual point.

The Spurs attacked and passed several passes to Duncan in the middle and then received the ball. Facing Varejao's mid-range shot from a distance, he missed the shot due to slight interference. The rebound was grabbed by Haslem and passed to Blake.

Blake took a glance and found that Guo Xu was about to leave, and immediately passed the ball.

Guo Xu played 1 on 2 in the frontcourt, and the ones who quickly returned to defense were Parker and Horry.

He passed the ball and forced a breakthrough, dribbling from his hips to the left, then dribbling from behind to his right hand to go to the middle, lowering his center of gravity and speeding up the ball to pass Parker.

When he was about to hit Horry, he pulled the ball up with his right hand, circled around from behind and handed it to his left hand. At the same time, he took two quick steps to get past Horry and went to the basket, scoring a layup with his left hand.

34 to 49, personal 17th point.

The home fans applauded vigorously, seeming to see hope again...