The media said that you just sold your teammates? So Ji Guoshi quickly added, "If our opponent in the Western Conference finals is the Sun, we are going to do this."
On May 15th, the Clippers had another week’s rest. Today, the team got together to watch the seventh game between the Sun and the Rockets.
The seventh game of the Rockets finally limited the pick-and-roll of the Suns to a certain extent. Of course, this may be related to Stoudemire’s poor state. Some rockets chose to retract the basket and put Stoudemire’s hit distance after the pick-and-roll, but Stoudemire did not bring the sight today. The Suns fell into a passive position.
The Suns also have another bad news, that is, they spent 10 million yuan to introduce former dunk king Richardson, and the three points felt equally bad, so the first quarter of the two teams was 27:21, and the Rockets took the initiative to advance to the Western Conference finals at Toyota Center, and the dawn shone on the Rockets side.
In the second quarter, when his 3-point hand feeling dropped sharply, Richardson chose to hold the ball and rush to the basket. Although the rockets were on such excellent lines as Yao, David Lee and Scola, on this day, Richardson, the former dunk king, knew that he would not choose to lose this game and the team would always fall behind in the fishing game. He needed to give the team some help, especially after Nash and Stoudemire were picked and blocked by the Clippers, he would play an important role.
Richardson relied on his strength and bouncing foot to kill the rocket line. Sure enough, his breakthrough in the second quarter made the rocket tired. Nai chose a tough foul to stop Richardson’s former dunk king from being severely dropped by his opponent throughout the second quarter, and then he made a free throw at the free throw line to help the team transfuse blood.
The fact that the Suns can go so far this year has something to do with Richardson’s outbreak. After the Bobcats were traded to the Suns, Richardson has never found his own feeling. Even in the first half of the season, the third highest-paid player in the Suns was stumbling, and because of his high salary, he was noticed in the trading market. However, Richardson found his feeling in the second half of the season, especially his tacit understanding with Nash, which made him project like a duck to water outside the 3-point line. The first choice for the Suns to attack Nash on the outside is always Richardson.
Although there is still a slight gap between Richardson’s value and the annual salary of $13.33 million, Richardson’s performance in the playoffs is quite perfect compared with that of Orlando’s billionaire Mr. Richardson, especially in today’s life-and-death battle. Richardson risked his injury to touch the floor of the Western Conference.
At this time, Sun fans vaguely remember that gorgeous play of running and bombing the Sun fascinated all beings in 27 years, but they were gorgeous in front of the fierce Holly and the Spurs, which made the latter win the championship dream, not because the Sun’s strength was not good, but because they lacked a vicious spirit. However, today, the Sun appeared in Toyota Center and played its own iron spirit. In Richardson, Stoudemire also grabbed the ball and hit the line, even if he didn’t score a few goals, he would get a free throw from the line.
The Rockets slowly lost their momentum at home, and the breakthrough of Stoudemire and Richardson inspired the momentum of the Suns. Once the team like Suns played the momentum, their attack power was enough to crush the team.
Now we can see that there is still a gap between the Rockets and the Spurs in 7 years. This gap is not in strength but in the experience of both sides.
The Suns have fallen to the Western Conference semi-finals and finals more than once in four years, but they have always been eliminated. The Spurs also fell to the Lakers several times in the early years. These failures are actually very valuable experiences. It is because of these failures that the Spurs can beat the Suns frequently in key battles because they have a deep understanding of the small details that affect the outcome of the game.
Take a step back. Didn’t the ok group fail several times in the playoffs before winning three consecutive championships?
Now it’s time for the Rockets to hand in school. The only difference is that the Spurs and Suns were young when the Lakers handed in school. They can turn their failed experience into successful accumulation in the future, but now the Rockets can’t afford to fail.
Chapter six hundred and fourteen Three Take the initiative to be nice
The Rockets were two digits ahead in the first quarter and remained ahead at the end of half-time, but in the third quarter, they were attacked by the anti-Sun, and finally the Rockets were completely submerged in the fourth quarter.
Three people scored two points in the Suns’ game, Steve Nash scored 25 points and one assist, 15 of which were scored at half time. Jason Richardson scored 26 points, Amare Stoudemire scored 24 points and 15 rebounds.
The rockets crashed in the last quarter. They failed to hit a goal for five minutes in the middle of the fourth quarter, and they could score points by free throws. Three minutes later, the rockets finally hit a goal by Yao, but then Nash shot cold to expand the difference to one point. It was a foregone conclusion that the rockets lost.
Houston people failed to narrow the gap to one point, and their desire to return to the Western Conference finals was finally shattered by the Suns.
The clippers’ semi-final opponent in the Western Conference was finally released. The Phoenix Suns eliminated the Rockets after a tiebreaker and advanced to their western conference finals. The opponent will be the Los Angeles Clippers, who have never lost in the playoffs this year.
In fact, the Suns’ ability to reach the Western Conference finals has given fans a big surprise, because few people are willing to regard the Suns’ queue as the favorite to win the championship from before the season. In the first half of the season, the Suns sent Shaquille O’ Neal away through trading, and gentry, the head coach, still confirmed that they wanted to rebuild their minds, but their realistic goal had not been set in the championship this season.
For the Suns’ top management, there are many problems to consider at present. Nash has never renewed his contract with the Suns, and the chances of leaving the team are high. That is to say, after the end of the season, the Suns will completely lose the core of their team building. In this case, do the Suns need to renew their contract with a high salary? Or go to the free market to find other players with better quality and lower price? But Stoudemire also has a strong desire to leave. Even if the Suns want to renew their contract, Stoudemire may not stay in the end. Maybe the dream group will go their separate ways after playing for the Suns for six seasons this season.
Great changes have taken place in the personnel structure of the Suns in recent seasons. In that year, D ‘Antoni turned the Suns into a runaway queen, and the Suns injected fresh blood into the whole nba. However, in D ‘Antoni’s body, this crazy offensive tactic has a fatal weakness, that is, defense.
Throughout the previous championships, no team can win the championship by attacking alone. Crazy attack may bring ups and downs, but defense is the real magic weapon to ensure the victory of the game. So after several stops in the Western Conference finals and semi-finals, the Suns executives reformed the team. They traded O’ Neill for Richardson from the Bobcats, but O’ Neill failed to integrate into the entire Suns as many people expected. Finally, the Suns and head coach D’ Antoni also parted ways and tried to make the team start with defense.
However, D ‘Antony’s departure has not changed the Suns’ defense, and their previous good running and hitting style has been disrupted by O ‘Neill’s participation. The Suns have become a contradiction, and they have been pushed out of the playoffs this season. The nondescript football style has disappointed the fans, and even Nash has publicly expressed his dissatisfaction.
Cole, the general manager, soon saw this sign. He righted gentry, D ‘Antoni’s former hand, and then tried to send O ‘Neill away through a transaction. Even if he didn’t succeed in the end, the Suns picked up the run and run in Gentry, which made the Suns have a big height in the season and finally reached the Western Conference finals.
Of course, no one thinks that the Suns can eliminate the defending champion in the Western Conference Finals. The Clippers’ record against the Suns in the regular season is 4 wins and losses. The unruly nature born in the bones of the Phoenix people will not make them have the strength to challenge beyond the limit. Instead of running away, they may kill themselves first.
Cole, the general manager, must now think about how the Suns will develop in the future in order to truly hope to reach the championship stage. If they follow the current route, should the Suns add some players with special skills in defense? Instead of turning your defense into an hourglass as it is now.
The Phoenix media is also pessimistic about the Western Conference finals. The Clippers’ offensive and defensive speed is not inferior to that of the peak sun a few years ago. Even the center Ji Guoqiu has the peak sports ability. The younger brother Ji Guoshame is faster and more flexible than his brother. Can the sun run? What’s more, the Clippers’ defense and offense are the first in the league, and the Suns can win in their best fields. Their most realistic goal now should be to avoid being swept by the Clippers.
Charles Buckley analyzed that the sun can beat the Clippers at four points, which is very demanding.
First, Nash needs to be aggressive against the Rockets. He needs to score 3+ points to make up for his defects on the defensive end. Second, Stoudemire must be ashamed of Ji Guo. He must get as many points as Brother Fox. Third, O ‘Neill must show at least 70% of his strength in the limited 2 minutes to form a stalemate with Brother Panda in these 20 minutes. Fourth, Richardson, the former dunk king, must also show his performance against the Rockets in the seventh game.
Counting carefully, the Suns must meet four requirements to ensure that they can defeat the Clippers today. Without one of them, their hopes of defeating the Clippers are not too great.
Buckley added, "I have a few demanding requirements, but I can’t help the Suns. When they lead by 1 point or 2 points at half time, they still can’t be reassured, because this team scores fast but loses points quickly, so they must perform very well to finally beat the Clippers."
On May 16th, the league announced the schedule of the western conference finals, and the schedule of the eastern conference matches had already been announced.
The game between Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix Suns is scheduled for May 17th, and the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic East Finals will be held the day before, which means that the Clippers game is held at the end.
May 17th Los Angeles Clippers vs Phoenix Suns-Staples Arena pm21
May 19th Los Angeles Clippers vs Phoenix Suns-Staples Arena pm23
May 21st Los Angeles Clippers vs Phoenix Suns-American Airlines Center Arena pm23
May 23rd Los Angeles Clippers vs Phoenix Suns-American Airlines Center Arena pm23
May 26th Los Angeles Clippers vs Phoenix Suns-Staples Arena pm tentative.
May 2nd Los Angeles Clippers vs Phoenix Suns-pm of American Airlines Center Arena is tentative.
May 3rd Los Angeles Clippers vs Phoenix Suns-Staples Arena pm tentative.
After the Western Conference Finals match table was released, Sun coach gentry sounded the alarm to the players and talked about the strategic points of the Clippers. He said, "Because their line height and athletic ability are too obvious, we must protect the rebounds and grab them well, which will be the key factor affecting the trend of this series."
In fact, there is no shortage of altitude advantage in the Sun Array. Among the three centers, Robin Lopez is tall enough but has no offensive ability. He is doomed to have little time. The Sun has never liked this blue-collar line with no shooting ability and insufficient fast break ability.
Shaquille O ‘Neal is also tall. Unfortunately, his speed and play are incompatible with the Suns. gentry started O ‘Neal against Yao and the Clippers. It is likely that O ‘Neal will continue to play for 2 minutes in each game.
They finally have a line, Qian Ning Frye, who is the most center in the sun field and the most trusted line in gentry except Stoudemire.
Frye broke out completely after joining the Suns. In the three-point line ability regular season, his three-point shooting percentage was 43.9%, and he hit the fourth place in the league. This stability is difficult for many guards to achieve, but this center is somewhat similar to Fox’s brother in his first season, and his sports ability and strength are far less than those of his twin brother, especially for the 245-pound panda brother. It is estimated that he will be shit.
It is not unreasonable for gentry to emphasize the protection of rebounds before the Western Conference finals. Before the Western Conference finals, the Suns averaged 412 rebounds per game, ranking sixth among 16 playoff teams. It was a good performance, but in the face of the previous average of rebounds, the Clippers gentry warned that the Clippers could grab 56 rebounds in an extraordinary time. All teams in the league can contribute almost 3 rebounds per game just by two brothers. Don’t forget that the Suns are a shooting team. If they can’t protect their rebounds, it will be a dead end.
The Los Angeles Times duly published the average playoff data of the two brothers’ games before the game.
Ji Guoqiu contributed 225 points, 176 rebounds, 5 assists, 45 blocked shots, 23 steals and 44 mistakes per game in the playoffs. His shooting percentage was 62%, his shooting percentage was 5% and his shooting percentage from free throws was 9%.
Ji Guo’s shame averaged 344 points, 9 rebounds, 31 assists, 3 blocks, 25 steals and 31 mistakes in the playoffs. His shooting percentage was 52%, his shooting percentage from three-pointers was 52%, and his shooting percentage from free throws was 94.2%.
Both players’ playoff figures are higher than the season. Many panda brothers have raised their rebounds and assists to a staggering level, while fox brothers have raised their scores to Jordan level.
Speaking of Jordan’s Los Angeles Times, on May 16th, fans couldn’t help but imagine that Lakers coach Phil Jackson was interviewed by a Los Angeles media after the team was eliminated. In the interview, Jackson said that Brother Panda is the best player in the nba at present, and he has surpassed Cavaliers star LeBron James.
As soon as this statement came out, it became a hot topic these days. The two fans naturally had a saliva war, but the media paid attention to the Zen master. His remarks were too intriguing.
Phil Jackson’s coaching contract has expired after the end of this season. He is now a free agent and there has been no news of renewing his contract with the Lakers. The media speculated that he and Bass might lead to the end of his coaching career with the Lakers, but this does not mean that Jackson’s entire career is over. At least two of the 30 teams in the league are now willing to pay Jackson an annual salary check at any time.
Panda definitely has a chance to reach the same height as Jordan. In the past three years, I have noticed that he is still getting better and better. He is slowly improving his shooting percentage. He is still constantly improving his rebounds and assists to increase his offensive power in the low post. Almost no one can stop him this season when he can hit the ball from the outside or be in a good position in the low post, because he can do too much.
Jackson even praised Ji Guoqiu in an interview. "He is really too tall, his arm span is not inferior to Gasol’s, and his speed is too fast in the center position. He has incredible physical control and very strong offensive ability on the perimeter and low post, but he is still a very team player. You can see how much his teammates love him."
If I had to choose a team-building core, I would not hesitate to choose panda, even if Jordan was on the selection list.
Phil Jackson’s last remark is really incredible. Many quick-witted people immediately thought of a possibility-does this guy want to coach the best player in the league again? Don’t forget that the coach of the Nets season has not yet been determined. If Jackson applies, who can compete with him?
Ji Guoqiu was surprised when he saw the report. He didn’t expect Phil Jackson to comment on him in this way. Moreover, since he said this, Kiko can be sure that Jackson will not coach the Lakers any more. Phil Jackson’s remarks are equivalent to directly putting Kobe Bryant in the third place in the league. It can be seen that he doesn’t care about offending the core of the Lakers. There is one possibility that he has no intention to coach the Lakers any more.
"Mom, he didn’t put me in the eye? I didn’t even get a word. I can hang it all. "
Ji Guo was ashamed to turn over the newspaper for a long time and found that this bastard didn’t remember him a word. Isn’t that intentional?
"You stupid old Deng Liwei won two championships in the Clippers, and it’s very likely that the horse will win the third one. He is firmly in the Clippers’ position. Jackson knows how to replace old Deng Liwei and you won’t leave the Clippers. Of course he won’t be nice to you?"
"That can’t be without saying a word. This king’s egg is placed to hug your thigh boss. You mustn’t be soft-hearted and just ignore him."
Ji Guoqiu smiled and said with a scoffing expression, "Do you treat me like an idiot? Would it be strange for me to have such a good coach take the initiative to send the door? You are not afraid, are you? "
Ji Guo’s shame snorted and forced him to say, "What am I afraid of? Even with the help of this shameless Zen master, you are not my opponent. Who is the first in the league? We will wait and see."
Chapter sixty-four Demonstration of champion teams
On May 16th, the Magic and Cavaliers took the lead in the Eastern Conference finals after Jackson’s remarks aroused fans’ imagination.
The strength of these two teams in the East is close, they both have their own shortcomings, but they all have the right methods to deal with the strong points. This round of series will be a test of orientation. The factors such as luck, play and coach’s referee may become an important part in the final decision.