The Whip of the God of Basketball

On Sunday night, the Phoenix Suns faced off against the Cleveland Cavaliers at home in their third game of the season.

As a dark horse in the playoffs last season, under the leadership of LeBron James, the Cavaliers made history and miraculously reached the finals, and then had their heads shaved.

Logically speaking, the Cavaliers should make every effort to strengthen their lineup during the offseason and put the team into contention for the championship. But the people in Cleveland seem to be quite satisfied with their lineup. They didn't make any big moves in the summer and kept the lineup that made it to the Finals - although except for LeBron James, this lineup has almost everyone else, and there is no real backbone. core.

In the first two games of the season, the Cavaliers won one and lost one. They lost the opening game to the Dallas Mavericks. In the second game, they found their way back to the weak New York Knicks. In the third game, they encountered the Suns.

This is the Cavaliers' first of six consecutive away games at the beginning of the season. Next, they will have a half-month trip to the Western Region. No matter who the opponent is, the game will not be easy.

The game started on time at 6 pm Eastern Time, and the T-NT TV station broadcast the game live. Big mouth Charles Barkley and his old partner Kenny Smith commented on the game.

Barkley's voice, like a broken gong, appeared in front of the audience together with the game's video signals. Of course, Barkley had a lot to say about this very interesting game.

"Cleveland reached the Finals in the summer, and then they thought they could still have such luck this season without making any substantial reinforcements? Don't they know that Kevin Garnett is back this season? I still don’t know that Ray Allen has arrived in Boston, and the Celtics are on their way to a three-peat, as long as Garnett protects his knees.”

As Barkley's good partner, Kenny Smith certainly had to retort: ​​"Charles, have you forgotten where the game is today? Phoenix! The Suns are very interesting this season."

Barkley was very disdainful: "If I were still in the Suns, I would agree with this. But Steve Nash is another year older, and Stoudemire still can't defend. Look what they got in the summer. Rags, old, old and disabled, I don’t believe Fox-Leon can knead these old, weak and disabled people together. They still can’t get over the hurdle of the Spurs, believe me Kenny.”

"Hmm, is it just like when the Suns couldn't beat the Rockets?" Kenny Smith brought up the past. When the Phoenix Suns lost to the Rockets 3:4 in the playoffs for two consecutive years, it was a pain in Barkley's heart. But of course Barkley, who is now as thick as a city wall, doesn't care about this attack, and instead said: "The Suns thought Leon could bring them a strong defense, but now they have become nondescript. I don't know what they are doing." What kind of basketball, boxing basketball?"

Recently, some basketball commentators believe that the Suns currently play too many singles. Forget about Stoudemire playing singles, Nash has started playing singles. Are these the same Suns as in the past? It's just that the Suns won both games. If they lose the game, there will be a bloody storm. And losing is inevitable, it’s just a matter of time.

The Cavaliers are an upstart in the Eastern Conference. LeBron James has gradually reached his peak since last year. Even if the Cavaliers do not make major reinforcements in the summer, as long as James is still there, his continued improvement will be the biggest reinforcement for the team. Therefore, this game has attracted much attention and is a strong showdown.

After the opening ceremony, the starting players of both sides were ready to start the game. The Suns still started with a small five-man lineup with Stoudemire as the center, while the Cavaliers started with Ilgauskas, Gooden, James, and Gibson Galari- Hughes' starting lineup.

The Cavaliers' lineup looks taller and more complete. They have an absolute advantage in the paint. Ilgauskas is the high point, and Gooden is also an orthodox power forward. The Suns let Stoudemire play the fifth position alone, and he has a strong advantage in rebounding and rebounding. The interior defense is bound to suffer.

"If the Suns insist on letting Stoudemire play center, they will definitely suffer!" Barkley said without hesitation when he saw the Suns' starting lineup. At this time, the NBA is still dominated by super power forwards. Duncan, Garnett, and Dirk are all at their peak. They will be surrounded by tall and strong meat shield centers, so that offense and defense can be integrated inside. As for the Suns, Stoudemire's defense is not good to begin with, and he is not matched with a defensive inside line. Normal people would feel that this starter is seeking death.

Leon stood on the sidelines and gave final instructions to the players before the game started. He pulled Diaw, Marion and Bell to lay out the key points of defense.

"Don't shrink easily, leave space for LeBron, expand the defensive formation, and be flexible. If they want to score in the paint, let them score. Try to protect the backcourt rebounds, but fast breaks are more important. Don't score in the paint and They battled and choked their perimeter two points, especially Gibson, and don't let his three-point shot feel like that, that's your job."

Leon specifically asked Raja Bell to "take care of" Gibson. This little man shined in this year's Eastern Conference Finals, beating the Steel Pistons into a living sieve with a series of fatal three-pointers, and he was still a rookie. For such a player, it is necessary to focus on taking care of him at the beginning of the game to prevent him from developing his touch. In this way, he lacks the ability to adjust and experience and will not be able to play a big role in a game.

After the arrangement was completed, the players walked onto the court floor, and Leon sat back on the bench. It was the first time for D'Antoni to see Leon making such serious preparations and arrangements, and he thought that the Cleveland Cavaliers were indeed a formidable opponent and needed to be taken seriously. But what D'Antoni didn't expect was that this was the first time Leon seriously deployed defense in this game, and it was also the last time.

Leon has a lot of experience in how to defend James. He and Kobe are different types of players. After entering the state, he also has explosive scoring ability, but the most terrifying thing about James is not this, but that he has the ability to surpass players of the same age. Maturity and calmness, his reasonable distribution and conduction of the ball, and his accurate missile passing are the most deadly aspects.

This is why he was able to reach the finals with a group of not-so-good teammates. Leon watched the entire Eastern Conference Finals. In the fifth game, James' explosive performance completely entered the field mode. In the sixth game, Gibson exploded again and beat his opponent. Leon shook his head when he looked at the Pistons' defensive strategy. After the league canceled the handcheck rule in 2004, the Pistons' original iron-barrel meat grinder defensive power lost less than half, and Sanders's defensive training lacked a system. In the Eastern Conference, they were completely overwhelmed by the Celtics.

After finally waiting until Leon left and Garnett was reimbursed, the Pistons died at the hands of the new king. Barrel defense was ineffective against James. His sharp spear must be blocked by multiple layers of armor. Leon has enough confidence in Bell, Marion and Diaw, not because they are particularly strong, but because the Cavaliers don't have a good solution.

After the game started, the situation developed according to Leon's ideas. James was surrounded by three Suns outsiders. Marion was the main defender, and Diaw and Bell assisted in the defense. They surrounded without trapping, blocked without grabbing. This strategy builds a barrier in front of James. If it doesn't completely block you, it is to respond to you, and at the same time cut off the passing line between James and his teammates.

On the offensive end, the Suns used Nash and Stoudemire's pick-and-roll strategy from the beginning. They quickly scored inside and established an advantage. They stopped the Cavaliers 7-0 in the opening game. Among them, Nash opened the game with a three-pointer, Stoudemire broke through the basket twice, dunked once, and made a free throw. No one was sweating much.

When Leon saw the timeout, he picked up the tactical board from under his feet, handed it to D'Antoni's hands, and said: "Mike, arrange it, I won't stand up." D'Antoni took the tactical board handed over by Leon and glared. Seeing that Leon had no intention of standing up, he had no choice but to stand up, gather the players who were off the field together, and say a few words.

And Leon really sat on the bench and did not participate in the team's discussion at all. Anyway, there was nothing to say in this 20-second adjustment pause. He didn't want to waste his words. This season, the Suns' starting schedule is quite easy. After this game, they will go on a road trip to the East, and their opponents are not strong. The strong enemies in the West will basically not be encountered until the middle of next month when they go to the Southwest Division. Therefore, the November game is very friendly to Leon, and his mind is already on the experimental lineup.

"Oh, look at the Suns' bench. Has Fox Leon been left out? He's sitting there without even standing up?" Charles Barkley looked at the camera and turned to the Suns' bench, pretending to be surprised. This is nothing like his past style when he was with the Celtics, and his coaching was very Buddhist.

Kenny Smith said: "Let's make a bet. Will Fox Leon stand up from the bench in today's game? How many times will he stand up?"

Barkley responded: "I bet three times, not counting leaving at halftime, three times at most!"

"OK, I bet five times, you can count them clearly."

I would like to introduce to you a science fiction novel, "Adventures on the Dark Side of the Earth" by Papa Papa. It is the story of two men and one woman drilling a hole. Everyone is welcome to read it.