The Whip of the God of Basketball

Stan Van Gundy expected that the Suns would use a small lineup, or there was no need to predict it at all. In these few games, Leon has firmly used a small lineup, which has had a lot of influence in the media and coaching circles.

In the coaching circle, no one admits that Fox-Leon is a master tactician, because this guy became a monk halfway and has never been a professional player or even an amateur player. He used to be a boxer and was in jail.

Therefore, in a place where origin and "blood" are very important in the basketball world, no matter how many championships a wild fox like Leon wins, he will not be recognized. He has no faction. In this civilized world of basketball, he is a barbarian. people.

But in the history of civilization, it was the invasion and migration of barbarians that changed the face of the world, and Leon's acumen and development of tactics also greatly affected the basketball world.

After Boston won the championship in 2004, David Stern realized that Fox Leon and his Green Legion were likely to monopolize the league in their ugly ways like Auerbach in the past. At the same time, their ugliness has also affected other teams, such as the Spurs and Pistons. Stern shudders at the thought of the future league being dominated by these teams.

Therefore, starting in 2005, the league began to advocate offense bit by bit. The Celtics gritted their teeth and went against the trend to win three consecutive championships, but the general trend of the league's offense is irreversible. Now that Leon has come to the Suns, who are following the offensive trend, he seems to be following the trend and adding fuel to the offensive trend.

The Suns were a bit stumbling in the first few games, but after a few games, especially their small lineup, they began to show something. Of course, the fans rarely noticed this. They only saw the wonderful offense and defense and the final score. The coaching staff of each team paid close attention to it, wanting to see what else the Suns' small lineup could do. .

Stan Van Gundy thought the same way. Everyone knew that the goal of a small lineup was inside. Of course he would not miss this opportunity. He extended Howard's time on the court and changed the team's tactical strategy of shooting three-pointers. , replaced Carlos Arroyo to increase the offensive ability of the backcourt and constantly attack the Suns' interior.

This move undoubtedly had an effect. Howard continuously grabbed rebounds in the interior or received breakthrough passes from teammates to score. But the Magic still fell behind because they couldn't stop the Suns' offense on the defensive end. Specifically, they couldn't stop Jaskovicius.

After Hill came on the field, Leon decided to remove Bell and replace him with Jaskevicius. In this way, with Hill, if he is in good condition, he can make up for Jaskevicius's defensive weakness.

After a few rounds, Hill had no problem marking Turkoglu, and he was able to keep up with his pace. At the same time, his wingspan determined that Turkoglu would definitely not be comfortable. He can also help block the two outside defenders. His experience is there, and it is not comparable to that of a rookie like Dudley.

Jaskevicius's offense exploded in the second half of the first quarter. He hit two consecutive three-pointers in the offense and sent a beautiful assist to Marion for a breakthrough dunk in the middle.

The Suns' offensive strategy focuses on three-pointers. All five players on the field have three-point ability, which makes Howard's defense somewhat inadequate. Although his mobility is excellent enough to extend his defensive range to the three-point line, he is the team's only barrier. Once he fills in, there will be no one inside. Lewis's blocking ability at the basket is basically non-existent. .

This gives the Suns a lot of room to operate. Marion and Hill are both masters of cutting and running, while Nash and Diaw are legendary masters. Jaskovicius's passing ability is also very strong, with five players on the field. Three shots, two passes, and once the coordination becomes tacit, the game is simply unpredictable.

But it seems that they don't have such a tacit understanding. Hill's running position on the offensive end is still very unfamiliar. He even collided with Marion. Even so, at the end of the first quarter, the score between the two sides was 34:29. The Magic's offense Very good, but the Suns' offense was really fierce. After 30 minutes in one quarter, they hit 6 three-pointers, making the Magic unable to lift their heads.

In the second quarter, the two sides entered the rotation stage of the second team. Van Gundy finally replaced Howard. Once Howard came off the court, the Magic's entire defensive system almost collapsed and could only rely on intensity and rotation to maintain it. Leon knew this very well. He saw that Jaskevicius was in good condition tonight, so he boldly extended his time on the court, replaced Nash, and let Jaskevicius take the lead. control.

Now the "European King" completely broke out. He entered the Olympic mode at the beginning of the second quarter. He took the ball across half court, and after a pick-and-roll, he shot directly from outside the three-point line, hit, and hit two more in a row. He has hit 4 three-pointers in this game.

After accepting Leon's invitation to join the Suns this summer, Jaskevicius was determined to prove himself, so he practiced three-pointers crazily this summer, raising his three-point level to another level. After training every day, he also has to do additional training, because in Nash, he saw a successful example.

Jaskevicius's wonderful performance did not end. The Magic strengthened their defense against him on the perimeter, but he was not a player who only made strong shots. He cooperated with Hill, who continued to stay on the court, and used Diaw's On the screen, Hill cut to the basket. The Magic's outside attention was all on Jascovicius, and he made a precise through pass to Hill. Hill received the ball and hit the board for a layup.

This was Hill's first point and goal with the Suns. He had a smile on his face. It felt great to be back on the court and score a goal.

The Suns' offense became smoother and smoother. Stan Van Gundy called a timeout and replaced Howard and the main lineup. They also played very smoothly on the offensive end, but they really couldn't prevent the Suns' offense. Now, the Suns' coaching staff finally understands why Leon wants to play a small lineup and why they hope Hill can join. This flexible and experienced No. 3 position has no visible contribution to the team's offense.

Moreover, Hill has not participated in joint training with the team, and their cooperation is not tacit enough. As long as he is not troubled by injuries and is in good shape with the team, this small lineup will look quite good. There is power.

Stan Van Gundy doesn't have any prepared cards right now. Anyway, the Suns are in the Western Conference and can't compete in the regular season, but they won't be able to compete in the playoffs. So he focused on letting Howard attack. By the end of the half of the game, Howard had taken 13 shots and scored 17 points. In the past, he might have only taken so many shots in a game.

At halftime, the Suns led the Magic by 10 points, 61:51, entering the intermission. The Suns, who had no center, suppressed the Magic, which had a monster, which was a bit confusing.

Only Leon knew in his heart that he did nothing else in this half of the game. He mainly focused on giving statistics to the players and then mentally calculating the offensive and defensive efficiency values. This was a piece of cake for him.

Through some complex mental arithmetic, Leon knew that the Suns' victory in this half was due to their high offensive efficiency and average defensive efficiency. If they want to continue to strengthen, firstly, wait for Stoudemire to return and further improve offensive efficiency; secondly, It is to slightly improve their defensive efficiency, at least above average.