Even in the face of strict defense, Guo Xu had a way to shoot, but the shooting rate dropped in the second half, and he only scored a three-pointer on 1-of-4 shooting, and he also misplaced Horry, who came off the bench, made a foul and hit both free throws.

Guo Xu scored 27 points, 4 assists and 2 steals in a single quarter, leading the Suns to a 40-29 lead over the Lakers.

O'Neal scored the most, with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist, and Kobe Bryant also scored 8 points and 2 assists, but their combined statistics were not as good as Guo Xu.

At this time, the old Buzz and the little Buzz began to feel uncomfortable.

Obviously, the Lakers have two superstars, and the Suns only have Guo Xu as an All-Star, so why can't they win? At the beginning, there was no salary space to stay for Guo Xu, and they really chose the wrong one.

Buss Sr. remembers well that after winning the championship in 2001, "Zen Master" Jackson and Kupchak visited him together and offered to trade Kobe Bryant for Gasol, DeMar Johnson and future draft picks.

Gasol was named Rookie of the Year in 2002, showing a well-rounded skill set, and although the Grizzlies didn't make the playoffs, his strength was recognized.

Looking at the Lakers' starting power forward Samaki Walker, they will definitely not renew his contract after this season. The all-round power forward, who was known as a shooting player when he first arrived, shot only 42% from the field this season, and couldn't shoot in the open position, averaging 4.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.

Medvedenko can shoot mid-range, has poor defense, has no speed in the No. 4 position, has no rebounds or blocks in the center, and can't do anything.

Madsen is a pure blue-collar player, playing about the same as less individual offense, and the perimeter can be emptied after blocking.

The veteran Horry's shooting percentage has also dropped sharply, and without Guo Xu to block and dismantle, it is difficult for him to get an easy shot.

In the second quarter, Bryant continued to play, and his teammates were Karim Rush, Horry, George, and Medvidenko.

The Suns five are Alstom, Joe Johnson, Jacobson, Marion, and Stoudamire.

The Lakers relied on Kobe Bryant to play alone, with no tactics, while the Suns focused on rapid counterattacks, supplemented by positional battles.

Alston was solid on the ball, Joe Johnson was both a solo and a playmaker, and Stodameyer started to play against the bench.

Bryant singled in to score the first goal of both sides, and then the Lakers fell into a scoring drought, Bryant was frequently caught near the penalty area, and his teammates took turns playing iron after passing. O'Neal doesn't play, and Kobe Bryant can't lead the Lakers alone.

The Suns players are fast and keep attacking fast, Brian Shaw can't prevent Alstom's breakthrough, Kobe Bryant can deal with Joe Johnson alone, and he can't help the defense.

Phil Jackson, who played 14-4 in a wave of Suns, called a timeout, trailing by 21 points before halftime, and the "Zen Master" couldn't meditate on the sidelines, thinking about the fate of the 76ers a few days ago, he was a little panicked.

The Lakers made substitutions and adjustments, Fisher, Fox, O'Neal and other main forces returned, and the Suns also replaced Guo Xu, Kirisek, Nene and replaced Joe Johnson, Jacobson, and Marion.

Zhang found something strange. "There is a problem with this substitution, Alstom didn't even get off the court, is the Sun going to play double guards? Who is responsible for guarding Kobe? ”

Xu Jicheng said: "Maybe the coach feels that he is too far ahead and doesn't want to defend anymore, so he has to speed up and counterattack." The 76ers like to let Iverson play shooting guard, and it seems that Guo Xu will try it today. ”

The commentator guessed the truth, D'Antoni really thought so, the two guards are responsible for advancing with the ball, the Suns' counterattack will be sharper, and he also sent two newcomers inside, ready to help Guo Xu create a mobile phone opportunity in the positional battle.

The Lakers attacked, O'Neal received the ball in the low post to attract a double bag, and the ball was out of the perimeter, Horry shot out of the three-point line in one step, and Xiao Si immediately pounced after wrapping O'Neal, the speed was too fast, and he couldn't cover it and scare Horry.

Nene grabbed the rebound in the backcourt and passed to Alston to launch a counterattack. Alston dribbled under the crotch and turned past Fisher, forming a 3-on-2 frontcourt. Horry defends Xiao Si, Kobe Bryant and Guo Xu, no one cares about Alston.

Alston opted to shoot a three-pointer and scored without defense. 57 to 33.

Alston wouldn't be blamed for not making it to the coaching staff, because it was the right choice, and if he didn't shoot at all, he wouldn't be able to help his teammates attract defense. He's been pretty good from beyond the three-point line this season, shooting 36.4 percent from the field.

"Chasing threes" is an important part of D'Antoni's offensive system, and players throw them when they have the chance, no matter what rebounds.

The Lakers attacked, Kobe Bryant and O'Neal played a block, attracting Xiao Si to switch defenses and giving the empty cut to O'Neal, and O'Neal scored a one-handed dunk. Guo Xu didn't care after being blocked, once O'Neill unexpectedly didn't score, he launched a fast attack, and the misplaced defense was meaningless. 57 to 35.

In the positional battle, Alston dribbled the ball to the left side, Guo Xu stood in the bottom corner from the side, ran back to the outside line at full speed, Xiao Si at the free throw line and Nene in the corner position covered him together, and came to a "close door" to block Kobe and Horry.

Guo Xu ran out of the three-point line, received a pass from Alston in the middle and was completely empty, half-turned and jumped, and the ball went into the net hollow!

60 to 35, Guo Xu's personal 30th point.

The Lakers attacked, O'Neal made a shaft in the low post, attracted the defense and passed to Fox, who cut to the baseline, who got rid of Kirisek and scored a layup. 60 to 37.

The Suns attacked, Guo Xu continued to play without the ball in the positional battle, first ran to the bottom corner of the left side, and then slipped to the bottom corner of the right side, and Kobe Bryant followed very closely. But he couldn't keep up with Kobe Bryant when he ran up the line, and Xiao Si and Nene came to a double cover to "close the door", blocking two people at once, even if O'Neal wanted to prevent it, he had to go around.

Kobe Bryant was a step slower to chase the block, Guo Xu received the ball on the right side at 70 degrees and made a three-point jumper, and hit again!

63-35, 33rd personal score.

Zhang Cheng said excitedly: "The Suns' two rookies inside not only cut and catch the ball, but also did a good job of covering, the Suns suddenly used double cover to help Guo Xu block two three-point opportunities, and he grasped them all." ”

Xu Jicheng said: "Guo Xu can attack with the ball or play without the ball, Kobe Bryant can't prevent it, and the Lakers are going to lose miserably today." ”

"Elevator tactics" Reggie Miller played with the Pacers in the 90s, but at that time, all teams were dominated by interior offense, and few teams played like this.

The essence of the tactic is that the pitcher on the offensive side should be good at running without the ball, "entering the goal" quickly, and then the two covering big men close like two elevator doors, blocking the defenders from the "door", thus creating opportunities for the pitcher to catch the ball, and once successful, it will greatly improve the shooting rate.

Although this tactic is very practical, it also has obvious drawbacks: first, there must be players who are good at running and shooting accurately; the second is to completely give up grabbing rebounds; Third, there is a possibility of being blown illegal cover.

In this era, the league has a relatively loose scale of blowing penalties for cover, and when players hit their backs, defenders put their hands on the opponent's back and waist. It is more common for players to move when covering, and it is more common to have physical contact, as long as you reserve a distance in advance and try not to move sideways suddenly, the referee will generally not blow.

The Sun practiced this trick during training, and suddenly used it to catch his opponent off guard. But once you use it too many times, you will definitely not be able to do it, because newcomers are especially prone to being blown for cover fouls.

When the Suns players used the gate to help Guo Xu block people for the third time, the referee blew an illegal cover and gave the ball to the Lakers.

However, Guo Xu scored two goals in a row, which was enough.