Chapter 995 995. The Unpreventable Warden (4000 words)

"They are not a run-and-gun team, nor are they a traditional team. They are suddenly no longer strong, but they are not weak either. They can't see hope and don't know where the future is. The Son of the Wind has entered an unprecedented confused stage in his career.

...Superstar Series Missions in Troubled Times: Four Unlike Triggers.”

"neither fish nor fowl:

Goal: Eliminate the Suns and advance to the second round.

Reward: The difference between winning and losing games multiplied by 2000 healing value; if promoted in 5 games, an additional random attribute point will be awarded; if promoted in 4 games, the talent fragment required for Son of the Wind (talent tendency) -1 (turn on talent, change talent,

Upgrading talents are -1), and the rewards are superimposed."

Co-author Nash is not depressed and disappointed now, but confused?

Liu Xiu thought about it, and it seemed that confusion was more suitable to describe Nash's current state.

At the beginning of his career, Nash was not taken seriously and was sold as a talent, but at that time he was young and fearless.

During the Mavericks stage, they were on the All-NBA team and All-Stars. I had a lot of fun playing and the requirements were not high. I was willing to stay with the team if I could earn tens of millions of dollars per year.

But now Nash, whose personal abilities have reached the peak of his career, encounters this terrible situation.

And he is no longer young, he is 34 years old, and it was already 10 years ago that he was fearless...

It worked this time!

Lu Wei took 6 shots in the third quarter and scored 8 points on 3-of-6 shooting, breaking the Trail Blazers' embarrassment of not having a second stable scoring point with the ball tonight.

O'Neal, who played 9 minutes in the third quarter, reappeared in the final quarter, without the excellent defense he had in the previous 27 minutes.

20 to 24, the Trail Blazers trailed the Suns by 6 points in the first quarter!

The Suns players were shocked, and light appeared in Nash and O'Neal's dim eyes!

The new coach’s style of play seems to work!

…

Something happened to the opponent before the start of the playoffs - D'Antoni took a leave of absence due to illness, and the famous Terry Porter jointly served as the interim coach.

…

He actually made good use of the phase when O'Neal's physical strength was at its strongest and suppressed the rhythm!

O'Neal's physical fitness is incredible. At his age, weight and sufficient physical strength, his speed at the center position is still top-notch.

Suns starting lineup: Nash, Raja Bell, Diaw, Shaquille O'Neal.

But Liu Xiu still couldn't understand that Steve Kerr could actually trade prime Marion for the 36-year-old O'Neal.

50 to 40, the Suns' lead expanded to 10 points!

In the transition between offense and defense, Liu Xiu received the serve and advanced quickly while paying attention to the opponent's defensive position.

Terry Porter, this name is very familiar to Liu Xiu. He is a star of the Trail Blazers. In March, his total points increased to second in team history, surpassed by Terry Porter. Terry Porter was in the Trail Blazers.

During this period, he scored a total of 11,330 points, and his current regular season total score is 11,809 points.

The Trail Blazers called two timeouts in the first quarter, and adjusted the official timeout a total of 3 times, but failed to reverse the situation.

Trail Blazers starting lineup: Liu Xiu, Ray Allen, Hill, Randolph, Kwame Brown.

After the start of the second quarter, the Suns' three major stars played even harder.

Just like in the first half, guard him, shrink the basket, and follow up with Korver... He advances to the top arc and immediately throws the ball to the right. Reed catches the ball and hits Gordon Kirisek in singles!

McDyess excitedly high-fived Kwame Brown to celebrate that the most difficult time was over!

O'Neal's turning speed was much slower just now!

The advantage against the Suns this season is even greater than last season, but Liu Xiu still dared not be careless.

Entering halftime, before Liu Xiu walked into the tunnel, he looked back at the big shark opposite who was bulging his biceps excitedly...

Although the Suns' style of play has changed, they still continue the eight-man rotation from the D'Antoni era. This time they sent a combination of Barbosa, Laja Bell, Kirisek, Brian Skinner, and O'Neal.

.

As early as the first time he played against the Suns after the All-Star Weekend, Liu Xiu had already regretted it. Now he doesn't have so many artificial emotions. After reading the task description, he is more motivated!

It doesn’t matter whether you can use it or not, just take the reward if you can.

This position, this style of play, Liu Xiu was stunned...

With their teammates combining to score 4 points on 2-for-7 shooting, Feng Zhizi and Xiaobawang both scored in double figures, leading the team to 25 points in a single quarter.

When he reached the top arc, Laga Bell returned to the top arc and extended a half-step from the three-point line to defend.

O'Neal played 7 minutes in the second quarter and made 2 of 4 shots. He actually made two free throws and scored 6 points, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks.

On the other side, the Trail Blazers, who had survived O'Neal's explosive period and the cold feeling period, broke out!

Liu Xiu made 3 of 3 shots, including 1 of 3 three-pointers and scored 7 points. They were all goals in the first 4 minutes. In the next 8 minutes, he did not score a point, but he got 4 assists in a single quarter.

Liu Xiu received the ball and advanced quickly. To his expectation, the Suns actively retreated, relying on the three-way defense of Laga Bell, Diaw, and O'Neal to block his opening fast break.

The Suns' biggest problem in the Western Conference Finals last season was their inability to protect the rim.

It's not a matter of defense. The Suns play like that. Although their offense is stable, their scoring is not high.

However, these two were really strong. Nash made 4 of 7 shots in the final quarter, plus 3 of 3 free throws. Liu Xiu defended with all his strength and could only restrict Nash from shooting three-pointers, but he still allowed Nash to win with a shooting percentage of over 50%.

to 11 minutes.

Even at this age, O'Neal plays a very strong defensive role in playoff position battles.

Now, looking at the division championship banner being raised again, he felt no emotion at all.

The Suns gave up running and gunning and switched to the Mavericks' unlimited isolation tactics!

O'Neal plays in singles first, then Nash, then Bully... Whoever is in better condition will play.

However, the fans at the scene were very happy and the atmosphere became more and more enthusiastic.

The two teams have returned to the same starting line. Although the Suns are still 3 points ahead, the Trail Blazers are chasing points with fierce momentum. The one with the upper hand has become the Trail Blazers.

Playing against O'Neal for the second time in the playoffs, Liu Xiu understood why Steve Kerr wanted to get O'Neal.

Unexpectedly, Terry Porter directly pressed the tempo and blocked the defense. Coupled with the strong singles ability of the Suns' three major stars, and a big center who stood under the basket with great containment, the Trail Blazers were caught off guard.

But unfortunately, the mid-range shooting from the wing in the first half was really bad, and Blake, Ray Allen, and Hill didn't do well when they tried to attack with the ball.

But it didn't really affect his playing style. When it was time to give the ball out, he still chose to give it out.

Ray Allen finally shot in the final quarter, scoring 9 points on 3 of 4 three-pointers in a single quarter. Kwame Brown scored 5 points on 2 of 3 shots and 1 of 1 free throws, plus Randolph's 2

Points, 3 points from Lu Wei, 2 points from the Outlaws... The Trail Blazers scored 28 points in the final quarter!

As Nash's single mid-range shot was slapped away by the lawless maniac, the final whistle sounded.

Easy as expected.

They implemented the tactics very seriously tonight, 8-man rotation, all strengths are on the line, they accepted the new tactics quickly, but it was just because the run-and-gun game was about to collapse after the All-Star weekend. With the new tactics, it was a dead horse.

Horse doctor.

After the break, the combination of Liu Xiu, Lou Williams, Korver, Randolph, and Chris Anderson came on the court.

Playing steadily and steadily was no longer enough, and the Trail Blazers began to change their formation.

At 8 o'clock in the evening, Kwame Brown easily beat O'Neal to win the jump ball, and the game began.

The reason why the Trail Blazers were at a disadvantage was that their rhythm was disrupted.

O'Neal, who has sufficient physical strength, is still very strong in singles, Nash has strong singles ability, and Xiaobawang has basically reached his peak in face-to-face singles. He performed very well in the slow-paced attack at the beginning and took the initiative.

The Suns are in good health. Some of the players outside the 8-man main rotation only played less than 10 games a season, playing for a few minutes. The better ones only played a dozen or 20 games. That’s top of the list.

The average playing time per game is just over 10 minutes. To put it bluntly, he is exhausted.

Maurice Cheeks experimented with many lineups before finally deciding to give reeds a try.

Liu Xiu beckoned for Kwame Brown to pick and roll, and used the screen to break through. A very fake move deceived the big bully to rush out in the opposite direction. He easily reached the free throw line and took off, making a mid-range shot!

They took a lot of shots in this quarter. Randolph, Birdman, Kwame Brown, and Liu Xiu grabbed 7 offensive rebounds in total, but only 1 offensive rebound turned into a score.

But the very familiar reason is not that the score exceeded, but the day before yesterday, Gou Dahu announced at a fan event that he will retire Terry Porter's No. 30 jersey next season. In his 17-year long career, the best 10 years have been

He spent time with the Trail Blazers and was selected to the All-Star twice.

In fact, the Suns' lineup, which can defend the basket, follow wing shooters, and limit Liu Xiu's shots through double-attacks, has reached its limit.

If there are uncertainties, they cannot be easily ignored.

Liu Xiu scored 6 points, Korver scored 4 points, Ray Allen, who came on the rotation, scored 3 points, and the insiders scored 4 points together. The Trail Blazers scored 25 points in the third quarter!

The Suns still did a good job in basic offense, scoring 20 points in positional battles, but in the first half, there were a few counterattack points in each quarter, not even one in this quarter!

So Liu Xiu deliberately got to know this famous player who was about to retire his jersey. After retiring, he served as the head coach of the Bucks. His coaching ability was average and his characteristics were very clear - he was good at positional warfare and liked defense. In the past two years, he served as a coach for the Pistons.

Phillip Sanders serves as assistant coach.

Is it true that as long as the offensive coordination is not good, everything can be fought alone?
To be continued...