Legend of Tomorrow

In the rotation battle between the two sides in the second quarter, the Suns went on a 9-0 run, and the point difference soon widened to 20 points.

D'Antoni did not use Jeremy Lin, but sent this year's last pick, Isaiah Thomas, who is 175cm tall. The other four are Barnes, Jason Richardson, Haslem, and Gortat.

This configuration can make sudden shots. Except for Thomas, the other four players are not weak defensively. Generally, the starters of the team may not be able to beat the Suns bench.

The Suns' main tactic is Thomas holding the ball and Gortat playing a pick-and-roll in the middle. This move is difficult to break.

The Warriors' backup point guard is this year's second-round pick Andrew Goodlock, a heavy guard who is 191cm tall and weighs 91kg. He moves slowly and has poor organizational skills. His specialty is catching and shooting.

Thomas's one-on-one challenge to Andrew, who was ranked higher than his own, was just for fun. He got rid of him when he changed directions, and the opponent couldn't keep up.

Warriors backup center Greg Monroe is also not good at guarding pick-and-rolls. His lateral speed is slow and his defensive awareness is average. Twice, Thomas dribbled past him without reacting.

O'Neal commented: Thomas turned Monroe into Monroe.

This description is really disgusting, but the two of them actually have the same last name, they just have different names. No one can help Monroe defend pick-and-rolls, not even giving him a Snickers bar right now.

Substitute Barnes played an obvious role. His task was to entangle Redick so that he could not easily shoot.

Barnes' offense has never been very good, his shooting ability is average, he works hard on defense, and he moves quickly and can guard multiple positions. Just looking at defense, he can be called a tough player.

Johnson called a timeout and didn't know what to adjust. After the game restarted, the Warriors still couldn't do anything to Thomas.

No one in the Warriors is suitable for guarding speed guards. There are too few choices in the free market, and no good point guard is willing to join.

The Warriors were harmed by the media and basketball experts. Many people said that Kobe was useless as a point guard. Any point guard paired with him had no ball rights and could only dribble through half the court. He only needed a shooter-type partner with a wide perimeter.

Although these are facts, the Warriors still want to get excellent defenders, otherwise how can they defend?

Six minutes later, Thomas, who scored 6 points and 2 assists, took a rest, and Guo Xu returned to the court to control the rhythm.

Roy goes to war,

Thompson continues to rest and recover, and Richardson can also make three-point shooting spots.

The Suns played a small ball strategy and accelerated the offensive rhythm. Ibaka and Haslem were paired inside.

Ibaka will be at a disadvantage if he plays center to defend the penalty area, but the Suns have a way to prevent Bynum from catching the ball. That is to let Roy guard Kobe alone, not to prevent breakthroughs but not shots.

Kobe, who was eager to chase points, really took more shots, hitting singles and mid-range shots again and again, with picturesque postures.

The Suns led by 25 points 63 to 38 at halftime, showing terrifying defensive intensity.

In the second half, Johnson realized the importance of scoring in the penalty area and gave Bynum the ball for him to attack. The Suns replaced Gasol, who had rested for a whole quarter.

Gasol looks much more normal after losing weight, and his fat content has also dropped a lot. He can still withstand people with his wide body and thick legs.

The two have competing styles, and it is difficult for them to challenge each other to the basket. Gasol can adjust his style of play, pull out to cover his teammates, and coordinate the offense to reduce his shots. Bynum can only attack with force, but there is no power in pulling him out.

The Suns' two inside players didn't attack hard, they just caught the ball and shot, focusing on the defensive end. Gasol and Ibaka are a perfect match, one inside and one outside.

In the pick-and-roll, Ibaka sent out consecutive big blocks. After the defender picked and rolled, he thought he was free, and he flew up from behind for a layup. Kobe pulled up the baseline for a layup, dodged and moved in the air to avoid Gasol and Thompson, and was also blocked by Ibaka from the side.

Brandela will occasionally be left open when he goes out, and Ibaka can turn the basket into a no-fly zone as soon as he shrinks. Last season he was the league's leader in shot-blocking efficiency, and this season he has become even more efficient.

Ibaka's 4 big blocks in a single quarter stunned all the Warriors players. In the second half, he chose more mid-range shots. The Suns led 93 to 59, and the game entered garbage time.

Curry hit 2 goals in 4 attempts from beyond the three-point line, and Kobe hit 1 goal in 6 attempts. It is not surprising that the Warriors fell behind by a big score.

Little General Johnson will not resolutely arrange three-point tactics for Curry. It is just a simple screen. Sometimes he runs out of position and the ball cannot be passed to his hand. The coach will not allow Curry to play Guo Xu alone with the ball, because the boss doesn't like it.

Curry is only the fourth option for offense in this Warriors, first Kobe, then Bynum, and then veteran Brand. This is thanks to Brand's serious decline in form. If Brand was the Clippers, Curry would have to be a pure point guard like Blake, never breaking through.

Both sides sent substitutes to compete in the final quarter. As long as the coach in the shortened season is not mentally ill, he will not let the stars brush up statistics in garbage time, even if they are stared at.

Guo Xu played for 27 minutes, making 6 of 9 shots, 2 of 4 three-pointers, and no free throws. He scored 14 points and 16 assists.

Thompson played 30 minutes, scoring 24 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist, and made 6 of 11 three-pointers. His main task was to run, catch and shoot three-pointers, making a perfect debut.

Roy scored 17 points, Ibaka 10 points, and four of the Suns' players who had already taken the rest and would not play again scored in double figures.

On the Warriors' side, Kobe made 6 of 19 shots, 1 of 6 three-pointers, 5 of 6 free throws, scored 18 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, and shot only 31.6% from the field.

When Kobe saw that his opponent was just a rookie, he wanted to abuse him. However, the Suns' defense was very targeted. Thompson was suitable for interfering with shooting. Kobe broke through the paint and double-teamed.

Bynum was the second-highest scorer, making 7 of 15 shots in 30 minutes, 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Curry played 30 minutes, making 2 of 7 shots, 0 of 4 three-pointers, 0 of 1 free throws, only 4 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 5 turnovers.

The Suns' final lineup is Thomas, Jeremy Lin, Barnes, Novak, and Gortat.

Jimmy Butler and Whiteside were not included in the 12-man roster for this game. Their condition during training was not good.

With the depth of the Suns' super lineup, will they be unable to win because Guo Xu didn't practice during the holidays and gained ten pounds? Even without Guo Xu, they will still be a strong team in the playoffs.

The comrades who were waiting to see Guo Xu make a fool of themselves obviously thought too much, and their idol and warrior was brutally tortured again. Moreover, being behind by 34 points is not the largest point difference, and the competition between fringe players is one-sided.

The two guards of the Suns beat the Warriors from the outside. The strategy is the same as that of the starter. The two guards can counterattack quickly, take turns holding the ball to attack, and can catch and shoot.

When Jeremy Lin is responsible for attacking with the ball, Thomas relies on Gortat to cover and run without the ball. It is difficult to prevent him. He can get rid of the defender to catch and shoot, he can also misplace the big man, and he can also attract the defense to pass the ball to the cutter. Gortat.

Another inside line of the Warriors retreated to cover the defense. As soon as the ball was passed, Novak hit two three-pointers. He does nothing, just coordinates his teammates' movement between the left corner and 70 degrees. If he catches the ball without making a move, he won't move at all. He distributes the ball to his teammates and then organizes it.

The Warriors mainly rely on Redick and Monroe as substitutes. Redick plays without the ball, and his teammates cannot give him comfortable passes. Monroe can't beat Gortat in a one-on-one.

The final result was beyond people's expectations. The Suns beat the Warriors by 53 points 127-74.

Stern regretted arranging for the two teams to face each other in the opening game. He believed the news and thought that Guo Xu was not in good condition and the Warriors could compete with the Suns. With this gap, does Guo Xu need to give his best?