Chapter 354 [New People Will Grow, the Future Belongs to Guo Xu]

In the battle of life and death, several Suns rookies performed abnormally to varying degrees.

Haslem's transition in the open position was inaccurate, and single defense could not limit Duncan. The tasks assigned by the coach were too overwhelming. His defensive methods occasionally worked against Duncan in a game, but once the opponent found his shooting touch, he was dumbfounded.

Haslem is 203cm tall and has a wingspan of 211cm. His talent is not bad, but Duncan is a monster with a height of 213cm and a wingspan of 230cm. When he stands on tiptoes, he can touch the basket with his hands. Even if he can't jump when shooting, it's not like ordinary people can block shots.

Stoudemire and Nene were trapped in a zone defense and had difficulty entering the penalty area, so the offensive threat was greatly reduced.

The Spurs did not use the "twin towers" on the defensive end. Duncan was a big man guarding the penalty area, and the three forwards Malik Rose, Bruce Bowen, and Stephen Jackson played together for a long time. Their positions were blurred, which accelerated the pace of perimeter defense. By changing positions in rotation, he can not only interfere with shooting, but also shrink near the penalty area at any time to help Duncan protect backcourt rebounds.

Jacobson, the Suns' 2002 first-round pick, was too weak in this series. He was weak on the court and the coach didn't use him at all.

In the second half, D'Antoni began to reuse Kukoc in order to clear out the interior and strengthen the offense. This was a failure.

When he was young, Kukoc mainly played small forward. Although he is experienced, his performance is mainly on the offensive end. He has never proven his defensive ability at the 4th position.

Regardless of whether he faced Duncan or Rose, Kukoc was at a disadvantage. The Suns helped defend on the flanks, and Duncan passed the ball to let his teammates on the outside shoot. He played this way in every game, with a stable 20+10, and his expression did not change.

People couldn't see Duncan panicking at all. Even if he lost the battle of Tianwang Mountain, he could still perform as usual.

When the Suns fielded a big lineup, Ginobili and Parker took the opportunity to break through in pick-and-rolls and score a lot of points.

The Suns' rookie slump mainly relies on Guo Xu, Marion, and Joe Johnson. When the others counterattack, their shots are decisive and wasteful.

In the final quarter, the shooting percentages of the three also began to decline. The game ended with 7 minutes left and the Suns trailed by 20 points.

They were also unable to maintain a normal mind throughout the game, wanting to win but afraid of losing.

This is different from the second round. After defeating the Mavericks, they only entered the Western Conference Finals and were still a long way from the championship. What about this series? Many people believe that the Western Conference can win the championship by breaking through. In this case, it would be a pity to be eliminated.

In the second half, the Suns used extreme tactics. Two big insiders helped Guo Xu cover, and he took action when he had the chance.

Attracted double teams and then scored the ball. Guo Xu made 6 of 14 shots in the final quarter, 4 of 10 from beyond the three-point line, 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 18 points in a single quarter.

The Spurs did not replace Duncan, Parker and other main players, but they were able to score both inside and outside. The Suns were too far behind to catch up.

Guo Xu played 46 minutes and scored 43 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists. He played like a shooting guard, shooting 45% from the field and 40% from three-point range. He scored 8 three-pointers in the game.

Zhang Lili regretfully said: "Guo Xu is only one step away from winning three consecutive championships in his career. The Suns win because of their youth, but they also lose because of their youth."

Xu Jicheng said: "It's just a season of running-in. The Solar has been very successful to this level. They will be stronger in the future. I think it will be a matter of time to win the championship. They just lack a good center who can defend the penalty area. As long as Nene grows up, it will be enough." .”

At the post-match press conference, reporters focused on interviewing several celebrities from both sides.

Guo Xu said: "I was a little depressed after being eliminated, but everyone has done a good job. At the beginning of the season, not many people were optimistic about the Suns reaching the playoffs, even our former head coach. We achieved Very good results.”

The reporter asked: "What do you think the Suns are missing from the championship now?"

"It's game experience. It's the first time for many people to play in the playoffs, and their performance is very unstable. I believe that the Suns will be stronger next year because everyone has accumulated a lot of experience."

Other Suns players were interviewed, and Stoudemire and Marion praised Guo Xu.

Stoudemire also apologized to Guo Xu, saying that he had hindered the team. Although he averaged 15.5 points and 8 rebounds per game in the playoffs, he was targeted miserably by the Spurs. He averaged only 12.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1 game in the Western Conference Finals. The assist was completely blown away by Duncan.

Everyone will forgive Stoudemire. He has already performed very well. If he can compete with Duncan in the first grade, he will dominate the league for 10 years. No current rookie can do this.

Joe Johnson, who scored 17 points, was facially paralyzed throughout the game. He was very confident in answering questions and basically answered them in one word. "Yes." "Yes." "Regret." "Confidence."

He will not apologize to anyone. He performed well in the Western Conference Finals and became the team's third scoring point, averaging 16 points per game.

**Veach admitted that the Suns are the Spurs' future enemy. "The Suns' rise is amazing. I think they will be championship contenders for a long time in the future, but the Spurs are not bad either. The new guys will grow."

The old man also praised several players. Ginobili and Parker performed better in the playoffs than in the regular season, providing the team with offensive firepower. Bowen and Jackson stabilized the outside defense.

The old man didn't mention Duncan much, saying that he had grown tired of praising him over the years and let others evaluate him.

The Suns' elimination did not make Guo Xu's popularity decrease, but instead became higher. Posts discussing him were everywhere on the Internet after the game.

Because Guo Xu successfully won the regular season MVP, his playoff data was even better than the regular season, averaging 28.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 10.6 assists per game, almost hitting 30+10. He has done a great job and lost because his teammates wasted some opportunities.

Marion's weaknesses have emerged. Fans generally believe that he is not a qualified second-in-command. It is not unfair that he was not selected for the best team after averaging 19.3 points and 9.2 rebounds per game in the regular season. He can't attack with the ball. To have good statistics, he needs to play fast breaks and pass the ball to his teammates. Once he falls out of position, Marion's scoring efficiency will drop.

In fact, even if Marion's efficiency does not drop, the Spurs still have ways to deal with him, because most of the time he is facing Bowen, and when he is unable to guard, the "third uncle"'s feet will catch him below.

President David Stern was a little regretful after seeing the results. The ratings of the Western Conference Finals have increased significantly compared with last season. The competition has become fierce after Guo Xu left the Lakers, unlike the previous two years where they were all swept. In this year's finals, the Spurs broke the Lakers' monopoly and entered the finals. Their matchup with the Nets was a bit suspenseful, but they did not attract as much attention as the Suns.

In fact, as long as Stern asks the referee to give the Suns more home whistles, it will be difficult for the Spurs to play in Game 6, and neither side may be able to reach the tiebreaker. But he is not as bottom-lined as Adam Silva. He knows that the key to attracting competitive sports is not star show, but competition, so he allows teams like the Pistons and Spurs to enter the finals.

Although Stern has always been involved in many controversies, such as draft manipulation, he does not like stars to get together and is good at maintaining the balance of the league. After he became president, the NBA has never seen a team win four consecutive championships.

In Guo Xu's previous life, the future NBA was about to become a show. Two or three teams competed for the championship every year. It was not enough for the Warriors' Big Three to beat Silva 73 times, so they helped them form the Big Four, and in 2018 they formed the Big Five. .

Guo Xu didn't see it in 2019, but he couldn't imagine how other teams could defeat the Big Five Warriors. Silva was translated as "Xiao Hua" by the Chinese media, which is not without reason. He is really a "joke".

Stern hopes that Guo Xu will lead the Suns to compete for the championship based on their strength and will not promote him as the champion. He believes that the future belongs to Guo Xu.