Legend of Tomorrow

In January, the Suns defeated the Raptors, Knicks, Warriors and other teams one after another.

The Raptors have drafted high-ranking rookies in recent years. Except for Chris Bosh, no one has performed well. Marvin Williams and Tyrus Thomas have performed poorly, and potential does not equal strength.

The Raptors failed to trade for TJ Ford, but retained cancerous Mike James. After James signed the contract, his data dropped significantly compared to last season. It was obvious that he was improving his data during the contract year. The Raptors' goal this year is to make the playoffs, and it's hard to miss the first round.

The Knicks' Italian No. 1 pick Bargnani is heartbreakingly weak. As a 213cm big man, he doesn't enter the penalty area at all. He floats outside and his shooting percentage is average. On the defensive end, he can neither hold people nor rebound. .

Bargnani only averages 2.3 shots per game in the penalty area and in the low post, and his mid-range shooting percentage is far from comparable to that of Nowitzki. It is impossible for the Knicks to rely on him to rise this season.

The Warriors have created a bit of a threat to the Suns, and their outside players are pretty good.

Their coach was replaced by Mike Woodson, who seemed to have a connection with Joe Johnson. After joining the Warriors, he immediately established Joe Johnson as the first core, and Baron Davis as the second leader. His style of play imitated the Suns' positional warfare, and also had the shadow of the Spurs' inside support and defender breakthrough.

The Warriors' players can basically stretch, and Troy Murphy is also a big man who can shoot three-pointers. They also signed back Drew Gooden, who has performed well this season and is expected to make the playoffs. But the overall strength is still not comparable to that of the Suns.

Joe Johnson has become the boss of the Warriors from the fourth leader of the Suns. His personal ability is slightly lacking. He averages 20+5+5 in about 40 minutes per game, and his scoring efficiency is average.

This is the upper limit of Joe Johnson. He is unable to become a superstar because of his physical fitness, which has nothing to do with his personality. In fact, his calm personality is conducive to his performance on the court. He has a big heart and dares to play key goals. The bearded Davis is incomparable to him in this regard, his shooting is too tough.

In terms of achievements, Joe Johnson may not be higher than in his previous life. After joining the Warriors and playing in the Western Conference, it will be difficult for him to be selected as a consecutive All-Star like he was with the Hawks. There are many stars in the Western Conference and the competition is fierce.

On January 11, the Suns ushered in a focus game, facing the Cavaliers led by Little Emperor James at home.

Cavaliers fans called this game a battle of revenge and expressed their beautiful yearnings. They hope that the Cavaliers can defeat the Suns this year and get closer to winning the championship.

The Cavaliers are currently ranked first in the Eastern Conference with 28 wins and 6 losses, and they played very well at the start of the game. James' statistics have dropped compared to last season.

Still averaging 27 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists per game, he is the favorite for regular season MVP this season.

Guo Xu has won four consecutive MVP awards. This season, his star teammate is back. His data has plummeted and he has lost the qualification to win the MVP. Other Suns players can't win the award, they are not even the boss.

Kobe is one of the players with good statistics from other teams, but he can't even have a good relationship with his teammates, and the Lakers' record is not as good as the Cavaliers. The Spurs, Pistons, and Hawks have acceptable records, but the stars have no data.

Unfortunately, Nash has also been classified as a star with no data. He averaged less than 20+10 per game, which is indeed far behind Guo Xu. Guo Xu's playing time this season is nearly 4 minutes less than Nash's, but his statistics are still superior. His point guard's statistical performance is rated very high by him.

Chris Paul and Deron Williams are also stars influenced by Guo Xu. In the past, they were super point guards when they scored 20+10 points. Now no one will say that Paul is the successor of the Smiling Assassin. People will compare them with Guo Xu. The Smiling Assassin is no longer comparable.

The game on the 11th will be broadcast live across the United States. Fans are paying attention, and league officials are also paying attention. If the Cavaliers can't beat the Suns, they don't know how long their winning streak will last. Judging from the matchup between the two sides in the finals, the Cavaliers have a low chance of winning.

Sure enough, the Cavaliers were beaten by the Suns and lost by 22 points in the away game. The gap between the two sides in the No. 1 position could not be made up.

Little Flying Squirrel Stoudemire joined the Cavaliers at a low salary in the summer and had high hopes. As a result, he could only play as a substitute after the start of the season. His defense was poor and his offensive ability also declined. He played 17 minutes in this game, making 1 of 5 shots, 0 of 1 three-pointers, and only scored 2 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists.

In his rookie season, Guo Xu performed better than Stoudemire. Now that the Little Flying Squirrel is approaching retirement, the two of them score against Guo Xu more easily than in training.

This season, the Little Flying Squirrel averaged 22 minutes per game, scored 6.1 points and 3 assists, shot only 33.7% from three-point range, and his breakthrough speed was only average. The Trail Blazers were unwilling to renew his contract even with a low salary, just because they knew he was no longer good.

Eric Snow and Eddie House also couldn't guard Guo Xu. Only House played a greater role in the offensive tactical system. He could open up and shoot three-pointers. The other two had no chance to break through and lead him past. Passing the ball in half-time is not a good use of his strengths.

A flaw in one position was destined to make the Cavaliers unable to beat the Suns. Guo Xu kept throwing three-pointers from the outside in one-on-ones. As soon as Snow came up, he changed to a breakthrough. He could also rely on his teammates to cover and run to catch the ball and look for singles opportunities on the baseline.

James scored 34 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in this game, and his overall shooting percentage was not low, but it was to no avail.

After the game, James looked a little frustrated, lamenting that the Suns' offense was terrible and the Cavaliers couldn't defend it.

When a reporter asked James about Big Z Ilgauskas being put on the shelf in the mid-term, he said this was just a rumor.

In fact, the Cavaliers management really has this idea. Their goal is the championship, not the Eastern Conference championship. If they want to defeat the Suns, they must strengthen the lineup.

Big Z is not suitable to partner with Boozer. The two of them are very ineffective in guarding pick-and-rolls together, and their movement speed is too slow. Is it necessary to consider which one to keep between Big Z, who has injury risks and averages less than 30 minutes per game, and Boozer, a double-double All-Star?

The Cavaliers manager wants to use Big Z for an excellent shooting guard or a forward who is good at guarding pick-and-rolls to strengthen the Suns' lineup. With Biedrins at the center, the defense is not bad.

The early arrival of the small ball era has triggered a series of butterfly effects. In his previous life, James and Big Z fought side by side for eight years. When Big Z retired, James showed his sincere emotions in every word.

I'm in constant contact with Z, maybe once or twice a month. To me, he means everything. When you come to the team as a rookie, you need a leader, and he was the source of my insights. . He taught me how to be a professional on and off the court. You can’t take any of that for granted.”

When both Yao Ming and O'Neal began to lose weight and increase mobility, they were destined to be unable to fight side by side until Big Z retired.

After defeating the Cavaliers, the Suns' schedule was very easy. They faced many weak teams outside the playoffs. The Suns were just playing around with a team with only one ordinary star, so there was no suspense.

As long as two of the Suns' starting five players have better touch, it will be fatal. Guo Xu will attract double teams and pass the ball to them more, allowing them to take more shots. Because Guo Xu has a sharp breakthrough, he can help the team even if his shooting touch is poor.

In addition to the Trident and Roy, Raja Bell, Tim Thomas, and Anthony Parker also performed very well in the run-and-gun system. Occasionally, opponents who took a three-point shot would want to die.

The three-point shooting percentages of these three role players are all over 40%, with the highest Thomas having 44.4%. They are completely different from when they were playing for the Bulls, and are very suitable for the run-and-gun system. Ariza, who is worse, also has a three-point shooting rate of 36.8%.

On January 21, the Suns defeated the Timberwolves 131-112, bringing their winning streak to a staggering 40 games...