No one understands this substitution.

You must know that since the playoffs, Zhu Fangyu has only played an average of 5 minutes per game.

It looks okay, but in fact, he has only played 5 games, and this is because he played the Warriors, and almost every game has garbage time.

He was a bit like Louis Williams, who was given a chance to stay in the playoffs at the end of the season but didn't play in the playoffs due to defensive issues.

"Maybe the Lakers want to try his three-pointers?"

Kenny Smith gave a reasonably reasonable explanation in the commentary booth.

Zhu Fangyu can stay in the league because he has a good three-point hand.

In the last two minutes of the first quarter, Thomas on the Suns' side threw two or three-pointers in a row, but on the Lakers' side, Horry and Walker missed back-to-back shots.

Respond with someone who can shoot three-pointers, and that's fine.

Back in the second quarter, the Lakers attacked first.

Finley and Mourning broke through the basket after the pick-and-roll, and after the pick-and-roll, he crossed Tim Thomas and scored for a layup.

However, on the Suns' side, Barbosa immediately blocked and broke through to make a foul, and hit both free throws to color.

In the Sixth Man of the Year award, Barbossa lost to Mike Miller.

But that has something to do with the Suns' multi-ball dispersion, and in terms of the sixth man's attributes, he is obviously stronger.

Finley continued to play with Mourning in the frontcourt.

This time, the Suns had a contraction to help defend, and Zhu Fangyu in the bottom corner was empty.

However, Finley did not pass, but forced a layup against Thomas, causing the latter's beater to foul.

Thomas's offense is good, but his defense is really poor.

But after these two rounds, Confucius couldn't understand it, Mencius couldn't understand it, and Lao Tzu didn't understand it.

Zhu Fangyu didn't seem to have any effect when she changed it, and she simply practiced turning back and running?

And soon, the fans found something interesting on the field.

Thomas, who was very active on the offensive end in the second half of the first quarter, ran twice and didn't shake off Zhu Fangyu, so he squatted on the outside and didn't move.

This time it's even more incomprehensible.

Thomas is the big forward, Zhu Fangyu is the small forward, and the two are absolutely physically crushed if they are opposed.

Thomas will do more than just throw two three-pointers from the outside!

Barbosa's breakaway was blocked, the Lakers fought back, and Christie assisted Finley for another two points.

34 to 30!

Finley had a good performance in this period, and the Lakers managed to close the gap.

In the next round, an even more interesting scene took place on the field.

Barbossa motioned for Tim Thomas to go to the low post singles, and Thomas was reluctant at first.

After Barbossa's second signal, he reluctantly went to the basket.

And after he received the ball and started to play back, the others noticed that his backplay was a little ...... Gentle.

That's right, it's gentleness.

Zhu Fangyu, who was defending behind him, sank his weight to the top, but Thomas just chose to turn around and hook out.

"Phew!"

The basketball smashed out of the frame, and Zhu Fangyu actually prevented it!

There was a stirring at the scene.

But at this moment, Phil Jackson on the sidelines showed a KFC grandpa-style smile.

If Artest is notorious for beating fans in the "Auburn Hills Palace Brawl", then Zhu Fangyu's boxing of Bogut made him famous among the players.

The combination punch with a strong shadow of "kung fu" is, to some extent, more feared than Ma Long's iron elbow.

Especially for a player like Thomas, who likes to "talk high".

Because, it will really be beaten.

And there are surprises in the next round.

Finley broke through again and was caught again, and this time he chose to split the ball.

The ball was sent to Zhu Fangyu in the bottom corner.

Zhu Fangyu took the ball and shot.

Thomas was obviously too late to defend, so he watched Zhu Fangyu shoot.

"Huh!"

With a crisp sound, three points should enter the net!

Zhu Fangyu got the first point of his career playoffs!

34 to 33!

And this three-point is still very crucial, the Lakers chased the score to only 1 point!

D'Antoni was also dissatisfied with Thomas's performance in the second quarter at this time, and directly replaced him with Stoudemire.

This scene amused both Barkley and Kenny Smith in the commentary seat.

Because in a sense, Jackson replaced Zhu Fangyu and directly knocked out Thomas who was in excellent condition!

You have Hua Xiong, I have Admiral Pan Feng!

And I'm going to kill you!

Or it can also be understood as killing chickens with a knife, why should Sun Hao fight Thomas!

Zhu Fangyu, that's enough!

Jackson's adjustment was eye-catching, and the Suns had a chance to pull away the score, but once again got into a tug-of-war with the Lakers.

This tug-of-war continued until the third quarter.

This time it was the Lakers' turn to explode, and they went on a 13-3 attack wave at the start of the third quarter.

Unlike the Suns, the Lakers didn't let that opportunity slip away.

They fought steadily and eventually won the game by beating the Suns 117-104.

On the Suns' side, Stoudemire had 22 points and 10 boards, Marion had 13 points and 11 boards, Nash had 9 points and 13 assists, Barbosa had 14 points, and Dio had 8 points and 4 boards.

On the Lakers' side, Sun Hao had 32 points and 7 assists, O'Neal had 21 points and 13 boards, Finley had 16 points, Walker had 11 points, 3 boards and 3 assists, and Zhu Fangyu had 3 points and 1 board.

At the press conference after the game, Sun Hao and O'Neill attended together.

"The Suns are a good opponent, he caused us some problems, but as in the past, the winner was us."

O'Neill was in a good mood.

Although the Suns' bag made him not as comfortable as when he played the Warriors, he still scored easily after playing blocking and dismantling with Sun Hao.

After all, this thing is a bag. It takes time to do anything.

The reporter threw the same question to Sun Hao, but Sun Hao was more cautious.

"The Suns are very strong, we were lucky to win this game, and the next game will be more intense."

Sun Hao's answer caused O'Neill to probe for a while, and the big guy obviously felt that Sun Hao was a little too cautious.

A day later, the second game of the Eastern Conference Finals resumed.

The Pistons had a relatively fixed lineup and didn't have much room for adjustment, but they put up a higher defensive intensity than they did in Game 1.

The game turned into a defensive battle.

This time, the Pistons played the game to the end.

Anthony hit the key shot, and Maddy's game-winning three-pointer went wide of the basket.

The Pistons eventually won 87-85 and tied the score at 1-1.

The next day, the second game between the Suns and Lakers continued in Phoenix.

D'Antoni made a tactical change, replacing Kurt Thomas with Christian Dior.

Dior was still a swingman at this time.

This adjustment means that Stoudemire will go to the center, and the Suns have sacrificed a lineup without a center!

Although their tactical philosophies are different, D'Antoni is a run-and-gun coach like Nelson Sr.

When a problem cannot be solved, the first thing that comes to mind is definitely to use offense to solve the problem.

This adjustment of D'Antoni proved to be effective.

Because whether it is Stoudemire or Thomas, a single defense can't prevent O'Neal, and it still has to rely more on help defense.

Or, to be more accurate, rely on Marion's defense.

Stoudemire playing center means Marion playing power forward, and he is significantly more efficient at helping to defend inside.

Of course, more importantly, this lineup is much better than before.

Dio, like Walker, is a thruster for the fast break.

122-115, the Suns finally pulled one back at home, rewriting the big score to a 1-1 draw!

"You're right to be worried, we're all a little too underestimated."

O'Neill said to Sun Hao in the locker room after the game.

Sun Hao didn't say anything.

Although the playoffs are not as long as the regular season, the intensity of the game is higher, round after round, which is a double test for the players, both mentally and physically.

Last season they played against opponents from weak to strong, there was a gradual process, and the players adapted very well.

If you look back at the year we won in Dallas three years ago, it was the same.

But there's something special about the Lakers this season.

After the Mavericks were unexpectedly blacked out by the Warriors, they played the Warriors in the semifinals, and the intensity of the game was obviously diving.

Until now, I have suddenly faced a high-intensity opponent like the sun, and it is normal that my body and mind have not adjusted all at once.

But just like that, they still won the first game, which shows that their hard power is still stronger than the Suns.

"Shaq, did you find out that this series is a battle for the rhythm?"

Sun Hao didn't continue the previous topic, but suddenly asked.

O'Neill thought for a moment and nodded.

The Lakers' triangle offense is positional warfare, while the Suns are run-and-gun.

The collision of two teams with different styles is to see if the Lakers can press down the tempo, or if the Suns can play the tempo faster.

"I'll press the tempo."

At this moment, Peyton, who was listening from the sidelines, suddenly interjected.

"I'm playing in the low back to slow down the tempo."

Peyton went on to explain.

That's his forte.

"If you have the chance, you can play a few more Steves, they have less space to help defend in the low post, and you can also consume more Steve's stamina."

Sun Hao nodded, Peyton's proposal was very useful.

"I know."

Peyton had apparently thought of it.

Two days later, the Lakers and Suns moved to Los Angeles for Game 3.

The Suns still have Dio as the starter, and the Lakers still have no lineup adjustments.

D'Antoni was glad to see the back.

With just one win on the road, the Suns can reclaim home-court advantage from the Lakers.

However, when the game started, he found that the Lakers' style of play had changed a lot.

In the first two games, the ball was in Sun Hao's hands most of the time, and Sun Hao and O'Neal blocked and attacked.

But in this game, the ball was in Payton's hands most of the time, and Payton was receiving the ball in the low post.

Because of Nash's poor defense, Payton in addition to the organization, even frequently singled Nash in the low post at that position!

The Suns had to make a pinch from time to time, but they were often mobilized by Payton's passing, and some of them were at the mercy of one or the other.

What's more, the pace on the field is clearly slowed down!

Even after tasting a certain sweetness, after Payton went down, Jackson asked Sun Hao to continue to play in that position!

The current Sun Hao is no longer the Sun Hao of last season, although the pass is a little worse than Payton, but his back is much more threatening than Payton.

The Suns are even more scrambling.

D'Antoni was also helpless off the pitch.

The Suns' overall defense is strong, but he's not a coach who is good at defense!

Most of the time the Suns' defense is enough, and now you ask him to adjust his defensive tactics on the spot, which is to catch the ducks on the shelf.

The assistant coach on the side didn't have a good way, watching the Lakers go from the opening advantage to the end of the game.

In the end, the Lakers defeated the Suns 104-86 at home, rewriting the score to 2-1.

Such a change also attracted the emotion of fans after the game, feeling that this is a return to the game scene between Popovich and Nelson Sr. three years ago.

One move from you, one move from me, and one move is fatal.

Suns fans are also looking forward to D'Antoni making another new move in the next game.

It's just that in Game 4 of the series, D'Antoni didn't make any major changes.

It's not that he doesn't want to, it's that ...... He didn't.

Compared to those two, D'Antoni still had less ink in his stomach.

He and Adelman should be the same type of coach.

When the most relied upon tactical system doesn't work, the rest is more of a passive beating.

This is also a big reason why he has not been able to lead the team to a championship in his entire career.

Players can eat all over the world with one move, but coaches, no.

The Lakers also made persistent efforts to win 107-96 and rewrite the score to 3-1!

This time, the wind direction of fans and media is the same: the Lakers advance to the Finals, and it is certain!

It's just that stories are so fascinating a lot of the time because their process is always twisty and bizarre.

In the fifth game, the two sides came to Phoenix, and the Suns suddenly "rose" again.

But this time the rise has nothing to do with D'Antoni, but ...... Suns players.

After playing two games in a row to determine that they couldn't play their best defensive counterattack, the Suns focused on playing positional battles with the Lakers!

It was also this game that refreshed many people's understanding of them.

Although, the one who knows Sun Hao already knows.

This Suns team can also play positional battles, and they play very well!

You must know that in the 2006~2007 season in history, this complete Suns, Popovich could only win the game by hitting Nash.

And that season the Spurs returned to a defensive style of play, focusing on positional warfare.

The fact that the Suns were able to push them to that point is telling.

Now that Xiao Si is not injured, this sun and that sun are actually the same.

Of course, the Lakers positional battle is not a fool.

The two teams went into the same tug-of-war as in the first game, and the tug-of-war lasted the whole game.

On Phoenix's home court, luck is on the Suns' side.

At the last moment, Sun Hao hit three points in a row before the last shot, but the last ball went in and bounced out.

The Suns also relied on a more exciting way than the Eastern Conference finals to pull back a city, chasing the big score to 2-3.

This time, the series between the two sides also came to the G6 that fans are familiar with.

For Lakers fans, this year is a little different from last year.

Because there is no home field advantage, losing G6 means going to Phoenix to play a tie-break.

In other words, this G6, they can't afford to lose.