Chapter 23: The Meaning of Teamwork
The little tiger's hidden strength was notarized because of the sudden steal.
Warriors fans in front of the TV couldn't help but be excited, and the Suns fans at the American Airlines Center arena were undoubtedly in a huge crisis of confidence.
D'Antoni's brows were tightly knit, and to be honest, he had palpitations in his heart in the face of a healthy little tiger.
But the game goes on.
Stephen Nash quickly stabilized the morale of the army: "Score this goal!"
He shouted.
The Suns quickly kicked off the offense.
At this time, the little tiger had already caught up with him personally.
Stephen Nash used to have the title of Son of the Wind, but the years have not forgived people, and his physical functions have weakened a lot!
This allowed the little tiger of the Seven Successes to catch up with his speed, and the two were probably between the two.
However, the body of the little tiger is a little stronger.
This made it a little difficult for Nash.
He had to call Stoudemire up in advance to block the pick-and-roll, and as soon as the defense was distracted, Darius Miles hurried in... Nash turned back to hand the ball to Stoudemire, and Mirisich quickly extended his arm...... Three Warriors defenders surrounded the Suns' best pick-and-roll duo.
Plunging their quick offensive into a swamp.
Although I couldn't make a direct steal.
But the run-and-gun will definitely not work.
Stoudemire could only hand the ball to Nash, who held his pace and pushed out the encirclement. Re-comb!
At this time, the Suns did not have a strong back-to-back attack point in the restricted area.
They can only make their shots open by constantly covering and cutting away.
However... Darius Myers and Mirisic have too many ranges of movement, both of them are the size of a big forward or even a center, and the agility of a small forward. In addition, the little tiger threaded the needle and led the layout everywhere, and the Suns could only use the defense of Stoudemire to single Kwame Brown to send the basketball away!
Bang!
Basketball hits iron.
"The Suns' offensive rhythm was disrupted. Kenny Smith said: "The team in the world that understands the nature of running and shooting is probably not Stephen Nash, but Tiger!"
As soon as his words fell, the little tiger made a long run and completed the assist.
He crossed the screen with Montaelis from beyond the three-point line, then handed the ball to Milicic, who took advantage of the situation and Darius Myers soared into the air and dunked with ease under the thick cover of Kwame Brown.
"That's the horror of the Warriors. They have formed a whole through the regular season, whether it is offensive or defensive, they have a very tacit understanding, which is why they were able to finish seventh in the West. Charles Barkley said: "And now, with the strong resurgence of the little tigers, their previously pent-up attacking talent has been unleashed. Phoenix's super trouble is coming. β
Phoenix is indeed in trouble.
Little Tiger and the two forwards locked up their best pick-and-roll combination.
This makes the effectiveness of the run-and-gun greatly reduced.
Although Grant Hill and Richardson were released, they scored some points.
But... What's the use of picking up sesame seeds if you lose a watermelon?
D'Antoni called two timeouts in a row as he tried to make adjustments.
But in the case that the Sharks can't play, all the changes can't change the structure, they are still tactically passive, and their running is dead in name!
The first half ended quickly.
The Warriors narrowed the deficit to four points.
The Suns are still ahead though.
But... Time is no longer on their side.
If they were to reconnect Stoudemire Stephen Nash in the second half.
Then they are in high probability of dropping their first home win of the playoffs.
There is even a possibility of being swept away!
"Tiger's strong comeback has changed the dynamics of the game. This year's Golden State Warriors are actually stronger than last year's Lakers. Johnson said frankly: "Last season, the Lakers team, except for Black Mamba and Kwame Brown, were basically NBDL players. β
"No, no, no. Charles shook his head: "It's still last year's Lakers who are stronger." You can't ignore the chemistry between the Black Mamba and the Little Tiger, and the two of them together can solve 99 percent of the problems on the court. And I don't think Tiger has returned to the level it was last season. β
Kenny Smith nodded: "He's at the top of 70 percent last season. However, it was enough for him to lead the team to the second round of the playoffs. β
Smith's attitude was resolute: "The Phoenix people can't stop them. The Suns without Marion can no longer play the most original running bomb, just imagine, if Sean is still there, the Golden State Warriors will not dare to be so unscrupulous to contain Stoudemire and Stephen Nash. β
"No offense to Grant here, but it's the truth, Grant Hill isn't a pure run-and-gun player. β
In terms of lineup, the Phoenix Suns are indeed a bit nondescript, and they have added sharks under the flute of running and shooting. The Sharks are the kings of positional offense, and in his limited playing time, he is still able to maintain an efficient output. However... D'Antoni is not good at attacking from a positional position.
Phoenix's entire team building logic is chaotic, and they are clearly trying to use lamb chops to make a steak effect.
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The Warriors' locker room was on a sophisticated topic, with MiriΕczy using his characteristic European country accent to interpret the differences in women's anatomies between five continents and four oceans. He confessed that he prefers the girls on the Nordic side, there is a sense of twisting and turning, and every time there is a vortex that seems to attract it and pull it.
He portrays it very artistically.
Stephen Jackson asked him if he was writing Shakespeare's sonnets!
He slapped his thigh and laughed.
He loved everyone here, and he finally found the joy of basketball here. Previously, he was a fringe guy in every team's locker room, no one cared about him, and he didn't want to fit in with anyone.
"It's better to be with the Warriors. Everyone here is talented, and they speak well, much better than Serbia. β
He always emphasized that.
While Mirisich was giving a speech on the construction of women, Darius Myers and Zach Randolph looked down at the stock information, they hadn't talked about flying leaves for a long time, and now the two guys were all interested in the NASDAQ. The few stocks they recommended to buy were all paying off handsomely, and the two recently planned to buy Apple shares in a joint venture, because Tiger said that Apple's stock would usher in explosive growth for at least a decade!
These two are addicted to making money and can't extricate themselves.
Over there, Monta Ellis and Matt Barnes are discussing their rap album, and they hope Tiger can help them get in touch with Death Row Records. They are die-hard fans of DR-E. Last week, DR-E and Eminem both sided with Tiger Cub and publicly got into a verbal altercation with JAY-Z on the East Coast.
This caused them to misunderstand, and they felt that Little Tiger must have a lot of personal friends with them.
However, in fact... Little Tiger didn't know them at all.
The Warriors' locker room atmosphere is fantastic, and everyone is at ease except for newcomer Ramanovic who hasn't fully settled into the atmosphere.
At the same time, the atmosphere in the home dressing room was a bit grim.
Ever since Stoudemire kicked over the trash can in the locker room and yelled, "It must be Sani McElhainey!"
The atmosphere in the locker room was frozen to the extreme.
Everybody knows that Sani McElhenie used to work in Phoenix, and she's now jumped to the Golden State Warriors.
Now that the Suns are tactically so passive, Stoudemire's suspicions are understandable.
Her suspicion is indeed the greatest.
As everyone was about to launch a verbal attack on Sani, Stephanash said calmly, "Tiger doesn't need to go through Sani to understand run-and-gun tactics. Moreover, there is a lot of circulation of coaches in the league, isn't it unfair to put the blame on her because of this?"
"Now, it's not the time to blame anyone. It's about how to solve the problem. β
Nash's remarks hit the nail on the head.
How do you solve this problem now?
In Sean Marion's absence, the Suns once ran a troika turned into a two-wheeled bike, and the chain was stuck by the Warriors.
"Give me the ball. Boris Dio stood up: "I'll sort out the attack." Stephen, you don't want to run more than you want!"
Boris Dior is known as the French magician, and although he is a small forward, he is actually better playmaker than most point guards.
D'Antoni frowned and thought for a while, and finally had to make this decision, letting Boris Dio share the responsibility of Stephanash's organization. At the same time, replace Ragabel to increase the defense against the little tiger.
The shark had been sitting on the bench, giggling and not telling those bad jokes today.
He's been in the league for nearly two decades, and he knows better than everyone in the locker room about Phoenix's predicament.
"If I'm three years younger, the Warriors won't be vulnerable at all!"
He muttered to himself.
Replacing Boris Dior on the field is just a stopgap measure, and it is not certain whether he can stabilize the score.
The real problem for the Suns right now is that they can't play a complete run-and-shoot and can't come up with a decent offensive position.
The lineup seems to be all-encompassing, but in fact, it can't fight hard.
It's no problem to be majestic in the regular season, but on the battlefield of the playoffs, the problem is immediately highlighted.
The shark calculated his physical strength, and he could probably play for about ten minutes in the second half, which was already his limit...... The three-hundred-pound body is not a joke, and running back and forth will make his body load to the extreme.
He's gotten enough championship rings, and he's gotten enough wages.
He just wants to stay fit now and then find a suitable time to announce his retirement.
He had no reason to burn himself like crazy for anything anymore.
So, he never spoke.
Drip!
The whistle blew.
The second half of the game begins.
The Suns made substitution adjustments. The Warriors also swapped Ra's Manovic to the court.
He replaces Montaellis.
The Warriors are clearly stepping up their outside firepower.
However, the effect is not too good.
Ra's Manovic acted as if he was in the locker room, and he was a bit out of touch with the Warriors as a whole, with the little tiger passing him three times in five minutes.
Three times he failed to grasp the attack.
And the problem he brings is not just the loss of three scoring opportunities. What's more, the Suns have been more reckless in shrinking their defense, focusing their defense on Darius Myers' assault...... Breakthrough and projection have always been a combination, one with glory and one with loss.
The Warriors, for their part, failed to solve the problem from beyond the three-point line.
The Suns, on their side, stabilized their advantage, and under the control of Boris Dior, the Suns gradually opened up the difference by a little bit.
Seeing that the rhythm is going back to the sun. Tiger Cub turns on Attack Mode.
He was defended by Ragabel and verified the huge improvement he had made in shooting some time ago with a step-back three-point jumper.
Subsequently, he hit back-to-back singles at the free throw line for three consecutive hits.
Rajabel's face was swollen like a pig's liver, and his face was red.
Being forcibly eaten four times in a row is undoubtedly a huge shame for him, a defensive master.
Such a shame was once tasted only in the Black Mamba.
And now, the little tiger also spits out the toxin of the black mamba in his teeth.
Although the attack intensity is still insufficient, in terms of comprehensiveness, at least he has no clear shortcomings.
"Tiger is now a bit of a fully weakened version of the Black Mamba. Although he lost the breakthrough of 'one move to defeat the enemy'. But there are no shortcomings in offensive skills, even if the mid-to-long-range jump shooting percentage is still a little worse. Charles Barkley said: "But you can't help but put him in the ranks of the top attacking players. I'm wondering if Tiger Cub had such a well-rounded offensive skill set when he was 100 percent healthy, would he be able to compete with the Black Mamba?"
Kenny Smith frowned and thought for a moment, then he said, "The Black Mamba will still be stronger." β
Drip!
In the seventh minute of the third quarter, D'Antoni called a timeout.
The score was 69:68.
The Suns lead by 1 point.
The score was bitten very tightly.
"Hurry up and pull your mind out of the NASDAQ. The little tiger patted Zach Randolph on the court: "Next, you have to greet Shak O'Neill." β
Then, the little tiger told Darius Miles: "You have to be more impactful than Stoudemire!"
"Stephen, Boris Dio is very difficult to entangle, but you have to limit his mid-range ball!"
"Pully Manovic, you keep playing with us. The tiger's final gaze locked on Ra's Manovic: "I will continue to pass the ball to you, you have to keep your confidence, you have to integrate into our system as soon as possible." β
Radmanovic was very surprised by the decision made by the little tiger, he thought he would be frozen on the bench, after all, his performance was so bad.
He turned his head to look around, and none of his teammates showed displeasure or disdain.
This took him by surprise.
It stands to reason that Little Tiger made this decision to continue to put a player who was slowing down the pace of the team on the field, or at such a critical moment, some people will definitely be unconvinced.
But... Here, not a single person has any objections.
Could it be the authority of the little tiger?
He muttered to himself.
The little tiger seemed to see through his thoughts, and he patted Radmanovic on the shoulder: "Everyone here has one or another shortcoming, even a scandal, we will not belittle any teammate because of this, we will only do our best to help our teammates cover up their shortcomings and make them better people." β
"That's what we are here as a team. β
"So, I'd love to see you integrate into our team as soon as possible. β
Little Tiger said seriously.
Ra's Manovich nodded vigorously: "Hmm." β
He found the pure upward motivation that he had when he was encouraged by his teachers in kindergarten.
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