Legend of Tomorrow

Just as the Suns coaching staff planned before the game, the Lakers are easiest to score with Joe Johnson and Artest. The single defense they face is not very strong and they can shoot from mid- to long-range. If they break in, someone will double-team them.

In Guo Xu's previous life, D'Antoni used this defensive strategy to almost eliminate the Warriors in the 2018 Western Conference Finals when coaching the Rockets. What the players have to do is very simple, guard against three-pointers and scoring at the basket, and let Durant play mid-range singles.

With the Big Three of Durant, Curry, and Thompson in charge, the Warriors still struggled to beat the Rockets. If Paul hadn't missed the last two games due to injury and Ariza was undercover in the tiebreaker, the Rockets would have made it to the Finals.

The Lakers are a team with many offensive flourishes, but the personal abilities and overall strength of the stars are obviously far behind the Warriors in the 2017-18 season.

When attacking, D'Antoni is the same as his usual head coach, playing singles with stars, covering inside, and creating three-point shooting opportunities from the bottom corner and both sides.

Gasol's move to cover Guo Xu from the bottom line is very powerful. His body is very suitable for covering, and he often plays this way in the Spanish national team. Therefore, he became an immediate combat force for the Suns and quickly integrated into the team system.

After being blocked by Gasol, even Ellis, who is known for his speed, had a hard time getting around him instantly. As soon as Guo Xu received the ball in the bottom corner, Bogut's head got big. This was a difficult multiple-choice question.

Bogut goes out without changing defense, Guo Xu can catch the ball and shoot directly. He changes defense and actively follows out. Guo Xu finds an opening and passes to Gasol. How can Ellis guard the 216CM high center?

Therefore, Bogut can only choose to continue to follow Gasol in the low post and let Ellis pursue Guo Xu with all his strength. If he catches up slowly, there will be space. If he catches up with Guo Xu, he can duel.

The Lakers can't double-team on the weak side. The Suns only have Guo Xu and Gasol. After Roy passes the ball, he immediately retreats to the middle and opens up. If Artest dares to double-team, Guo Xu will take advantage of the situation and pass the ball to an open space. Three-point chance.

Roy has performed well from beyond the three-point line this season, shooting close to 40%. How can any team dare to let him go?

When the Suns sent the twin towers in the last series, Guo Xu almost beat Bibby to tears in a one-on-one on the weak side, and he made a jumper in two swings. Ellis was strong offensively and weak defensively, and his individual defense ability was not enough compared to Guo Xu's, and the point difference gradually widened.

As long as the Suns guard Bogut, the Lakers' overall offensive efficiency will decrease. Without Fisher on the court, the team only has two three-pointers, and the effect of the emptying will be worse.

The Suns' method of dealing with the triangle offense is individual defense. Artest's performance is the most disappointing. The only defender he faces is Morrow. He dares to take responsibility when playing in isolation, but he is really not the core material. , a blacksmith for much of the season.

When the offensive and defensive transition rhythm is not fast,

The Suns led 31-23 in the first quarter, with Guo Xu performing the most eye-catchingly, scoring 11 points and 4 assists.

The rotation battle between the two sides in the second quarter ended in a tie. The Lakers' defense was very strong. Battier defended Hill with a similar figure. Odom, who had rested for a while inside, led the substitutes. Jason Smith also performed well.

The Lakers let go of Turiaf in the summer and focused on training Smith. This was a very wise choice.

In Guo Xu's previous life, Smith was still playing for the Wizards in 2018. He was an excellent substitute inside man, moved quickly and had a good mid-range shot, and was good at playing pick-and-rolls with teammates. As a pure blue-collar player who lacks shooting range, Turiaf was eliminated by the NBA in 2014.

On the outside, Fisher played his own specialty in defending Lowry. He became a defensive expert when dealing with point guards with strong bodies. If 82 regular season games were played against Deron, Lowry, Kidd, and Davis, Several, Fisher can be selected to the All-Defensive Team.

The Suns' defense is not a vegetarian either. The partnership of Haslem and Millsap is more mobile inside and can closely guard the two big men of the Lakers, allowing them to take shots under confrontation and interference, and the shooting rate is not high.

The starters from both sides returned one after another. Jackson asked Artest to serve as power forward and Odom played center. They fought another wave of small ball tactics with the Suns. They were 8 points behind in the first half and still had to fight.

In the third quarter, Hill and Green battled to defend Joe Johnson, with Stoudemire as center, Millsap as power forward, and Guo Xu began to launch a quick counterattack.

In order to limit Guo Xu's breakthroughs and shooting, the Lakers began to double-team on the outside and relax their defense on the wing players. As a result, Hill and Green scored consecutively, and the point difference widened to 20 points.

Gerald Green was nicknamed Little Eddie back then. It was difficult for him to block his pull-up shots against the defender. After he was released, he shot very resolutely and made 2 of 4 three-pointers.

Green's three-point shooting percentage during the regular season was 38.5%, so it's not a good idea to let him take the shot. The Suns' reputation as three-point team and lo-oop city is not in vain. Players generally choose to take shots from efficient positions.

Hill's shooting range is closer, and he is better in all aspects. He can make mid-range shots, break through after feinting, and can also attract defensive passes.

Hill mainly takes advantage of his veteran experience to ensure that the team can quickly move the ball. At his peak, he averaged 7.3 assists per game and had good passing awareness. In this playoffs, he averaged only 5.3 points and 1 assist per game, but he didn't mess around and only took shots when there were good opportunities, shooting 48% from the field.

The Suns entered the final quarter with a 19-point lead. Guo Xu took a break and allowed the young players to come up and exercise.

The Lakers finally gained the upper hand. Bogut singled out DeAndre Jordan and scored 6 points in a row.

Many people may not believe it. In Guo Xu's previous life, Jordan's assist defense and supplementary defense were good, but his single defense ability was average. Not only can the aging Duncan defeat him alone, but Kaman, who played his final season with the Trail Blazers in 2016, has defeated Jordan several times.

He is good at rebounding and blocking shots, and he is suspected of cheating on statistics, so Guo Xu has always looked down on him.

The Suns drafted Jordan just to be used as a bargaining chip. The management will consider sending him away this summer. The coaching staff gave him stable playing time in the regular season. His statistics are relatively good and his efficiency is eye-catching.

Roy's efficiency in challenging Artest was not high. In recent years, Artest was at his peak and his movement speed was quite fast. In 11 years Artest will become the slow-moving Charity World Peace.

ESPN commentator Mike Breen analyzed during the timeout: The Lakers' overall strength is not weak. Compared with the Suns, they lose in terms of star ability. If Jason Guo does not play, the point difference between the two teams will not be widened.

After the timeout, Guo Xu and Stoudemire came back, and the lineup was the starting starter Gamilsap. The three of them were separated. Guo Xu and Stoudemire were playing a pick-and-roll and the Lakers couldn't guard them.

If Guo Xu is not double-teamed, he picks and rolls and plays singles on the weak side; if Guo Xu is double-teamed, Stoudemire's air-cut singles have a high hit rate; if the wing man double-teams, Guo Xu distributes the ball to his teammates and shoots directly...

The score difference between the two sides quickly widened to 23 points, and it entered garbage time.

In the end, the Suns beat the Lakers 122-98 and got off to a good start.

At the post-game press conference, Zen Master Jackson bluntly said that the Lakers could not guard Guo Xu.

Guo Xu played 34 minutes and scored 27 points and 12 assists. He didn't show much strength and shot 70% from the field. Laker Joe Johnson scored 25 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists, but shot only 45% from the field.

The gap between the cores of the two teams is obvious. Back then, Joe Johnson was just Guo Xu's younger brother in the Suns. He learned many of his playing styles from Guo Xu.

It was even more uncomfortable for Ellis to face Guo Xu. He is a player who relies on breakthroughs from the frame. Guo Xu is particularly good at preventing breakthroughs and just allows Ellis to shoot jumpers. He scored 17 points and shot only 43% from the field.

Inside, Stoudemire scored 28 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists. This is also a position where the Suns have an advantage. It is difficult to guard one-on-one.

With these two people around, the Lakers can't win if they defend in other positions.