The Whip of the God of Basketball

Leon returned to the state of letting go of the boss. He sat on the bench with his eyes blank. He only called a timeout in the entire first half because he was about to make a substitution. Sitting next to him was the Suns coaching staff with a sad look on their faces. Headed by D'Antoni, the Suns' assistant coaches were working very hard.

The Suns completely retained the previous coaching staff structure, and then Leon gave the coaching staff a lot of power, so they are no different from the previous years on and off the court. They should work, make suggestions, and teach the players face-to-face. As far as face-to-face instruction is concerned, I am very busy before and after every game.

He was more like an assistant coach than Leon. If he hadn't considered the negative impact, he would have really wanted to bring a newspaper to the bench to read and kill some time.

During one year in college, Leon deeply realized that it is much easier to coach an offensive team than a defensive team. The defensive team must always be pushed to increase their concentration; With everything arranged, and with an excellent on-field conductor, all that's left to do is watch.

Of course, this is the regular season, and there will never be such a chance in the playoffs.

It is not unreasonable for D'Antoni and the assistant coaches to look sad, because until this game, the Phoenix Suns had not encountered a real challenge from a strong team. The other two teams in the Western Conference, the Spurs and Mavericks, will not meet the sun in the short term. In the East, the meeting between the super giants Boston Celtics and the Suns will have to wait until February next year. Others such as the Pistons and the newly emerging Hornets will not meet the Suns for the time being.

Therefore, despite a good start of 6 wins and 1 loss, it is normal for the Suns' coaching staff to be worried about the team's true strength. What's more, their head coach doesn't know what he is doing every day. After working hard for more than a week, the lineup is in order. He immediately returned to his original form and began to sit on the coach's bench in a daze.

In the middle of the third quarter of the game, D'Antoni poked Leon and said: "Fox, it's time to call a timeout and make a substitution."

Only then did Leon react. He rubbed his eyes, got up and went to the sidelines to ask for a timeout, adjusted the personnel, and replaced the second team. At this time, he looked up at the score. 91:71, the Suns already led the Knicks at home by 20 points. The sun didn't exert much force at all, so he kicked the overweight Knicks to the ground and beat him casually.

After Stoudemire returned, he was in excellent form in the first quarter. Later, out of protection, he was not allowed to play for too long. The Suns continued with their small lineup. The Knicks had a group of dark and strong men in the paint, but they were unable to display their abilities. The Suns' three-pointers were completely missed by Nash, Jaskevicius and Diaw's smart movements and passes.

In the fourth quarter, Thomas probably figured it out. He replaced Randolph and Curry, and replaced him with Nate Robinson and Fred Jones. He also focused on a small lineup, firing continuously from the outside, and played against the Suns. Confrontation. Unexpectedly, the effect turned out to be good. After hitting a few three-pointers, the score difference was slightly narrowed to about 10 points, and the scene was not so ugly.

But time became the Knicks' biggest enemy, and in the closing stages, Nash controlled the situation well on the court. Under Leon's guidance this season, his desire to attack was much stronger than before, attacking three times in a row. He would dribble alone until 24 seconds, and then force the shot, and hit two goals. This is a typical Kobe style of play.

When leading and running out of time, this kind of goal has a huge impact on the enemy's morale. After hitting a three-pointer from the front, Nash clenched his right fist tightly. In this game, he won another Arrived at 31 minutes. If this continues, Nash might actually win a scoring title this season.

The Knicks gave up after trying two desperate three-pointers from the outside. Taking advantage of the dead ball opportunity, Leon put on the bench. Thomas also gave up, replacing garbage players with garbage time and running out of time. over.

119:101, the Phoenix Suns won another victory at home. Their condition is getting better and better, and the players are finding a feeling that is different from the games they won before.

After the buzzer sounded, Steve Nash was interviewed by reporters on the sidelines. He said: "It was a good game. I feel like we are on the right path and our potential has not been fully unleashed. Come out, we can play better and be even better.”

Yes, the Phoenix Suns can play better. Leon thinks so too. Defeating the Knicks is not something worthy of praise. Their defense is really bad. The Suns have not yet encountered a truly strong defensive team. , their offensive firepower can be further amplified.

But to what extent it can be magnified, to be honest, Leon himself has no idea.

One day later, the Suns faced another challenge from the Chicago Bulls at home. Compared to the Knicks, the Bulls were in even worse shape. They had only won one game since the start of the season.

After signing Ben Wallace from the free market, the Bulls did not evolve into a super defensive team like the Pistons. Wallace's disadvantages in height and weight were amplified in the Bulls. Without the help of another Wallace's top defense and defensive system, Ben Wallace's difficulty when facing heavy insiders is clearly visible. Moreover, he is getting older, and his footsteps and reaction speed are declining, which is very fatal for a short defensive insider like him.

Therefore, the Bulls have not been able to build an impregnable defense with Ben Wallace. After achieving a relatively good record in the first two seasons, they have shown signs of degradation this season. Of course, Wallace earns tens of millions of dollars in salary, has good rebounding and shot-blocking abilities, and can be a starter in every game, but as long as he is on the court, the Bulls' offense will be a four-on-five game.

Of course, the Suns will not let go of the Bulls' weaknesses in the lineup. On the defensive end, they let Wallace score and press the Bulls' perimeter, while on the offensive end, they used Stoudemire to attack the base. Ben, who is 34 years old this year, is no longer the steel-framed afro. He can't guard Stoudemire one-on-one.

Stoudemire was saved for use in the last game, but Leon still used it carefully in this game. It happened that the Knicks and Bulls were two teams in poor condition, allowing Stoudemire to find form in the paint. Stoudemire, who showed off his power in the first quarter, was pushed to the bench by Leon later. In this game, the person who really performed well for the Suns was veteran Hill. He was extremely efficient throughout the game. He unexpectedly worked well with Diaw - some people were worried that Hill's arrival would conflict with Diaw.

Hill scored a team-high 25 points, and Nash finally returned to normal. He did not score 30 points, only scored 15 points, but also sent 15 assists, helping the Suns sweep Chicago 121:105 at the American Airlines Center. The Bulls continue to lead the Western Conference.

After the game, Amare Stoudemire looked a little unhappy. He felt that his injury had recovered, but he still couldn't get enough playing time. Leon determined his playing time. Been there for 25 minutes.

But with just one sentence, Leon allowed Stoudemire to eliminate the unhappiness in his heart. He said: "We are going to Houston for the next game. This is your chance to perform well."