The Suns' top 13 roster for the playoffs was quickly decided, with two-way guard David Wesley left out.

"Mickey Mouse" is now slow to move at point guard, short on point guard, and can only rely on his muscles to find counterpoints. The most important thing is that his shooting percentage is gone, only 29.3% from beyond the three-point line, and he can't be a fixed-point shooter.

The coaching staff believes that it is enough to have two point guards Guo Xu and Lowry, Guo Xu will increase his playing time in the playoffs, and Lowry can also play a role if he comes off the bench for more than ten minutes.

Interior veteran Cleverd Robinson can bring some help to the team, as he is good at catching the ball after covering and shooting from beyond the three-point line, shooting 37.7 percent from three-point range in the regular season. He can also play the ball and is the same type as the retired Kukoc.

On the 20th, Guo Xu invited the whole team to have dinner together, and the atmosphere before the game was very relaxed.

Owner Brian Colangelo was also in attendance and thanked everyone for their dedication to the team. Everyone is very proud to have set a record of 78 wins and 45 consecutive wins in the regular season, and as long as there are no more perverted powerhouses in the future, their names will often be said by fans.

Talking about the first round of the playoffs, Guo Xu relieved the pressure on his teammates again, he said: "I will pass the ball to everyone, and then hand it over to me when you are not good at scoring, and practice tactics." It's not a light enemy, and the Nuggets really aren't that big of a deal. ”

D'Antoni's view is similar to Guo Xu's, he doesn't talk about football during dinner, but says: "Tomorrow we will be able to win if we practice four routines in the morning, and everyone will relax today." ”

The pressure was much greater on the Nuggets' side, who were swept by the Suns in the regular season and failed miserably every time, simply unable to organize an effective defense. After Kenyon Martin's injury, the Nuggets no longer expect to win, and losing a little less is a victory.

On the 21st, the first battle between the two sides started in Phoenix.

Suns starters: Guo Xu, Roy, Marion, Haslem, Stoudemire.

Nuggets starters: Iverson, Anthony Carter, Anthony, Nene and Camby.

Soon there was a one-sided situation on the court, and looking at the card lineup, you knew that the Nuggets were flawed, and the starting point guard was the 185CM tall "stupid bird" Carter.

In Guo Xu's previous life, Steve Blake also joined the Nuggets and started with Iverson, because Iverson is a shooting guard, Coach George Karl is used to arranging a two-guard formation in order to help him play his power.

That's the death, sacrificing outside defense to help Iverson score, Iverson averaged 42.4 minutes per game in the regular season, and spent more than half of the game partnering with another point guard.

The Nuggets are not without an orthodox shooting guard, and JR Smith is physically and much better offensively and defensively than Carter, but Carl insisted that he play off the bench simply because his playmaking skills are generally not suitable for Iverson.

Under Karl's arrangement, the Nuggets' "golden twin guns" are more like "golden twin pits", which can only attack, not defend.

The two small guards came on the court together, and the Suns really could play as much as they wanted. Guo Xu's pass to Roy to single-handedly pick up Carter is an opportunity, he can use his height advantage to shoot, strength advantage to eat, or to protect the basketball and other Guo Xu running positions to organize the offense.

Guo Xu's single-handedness to Iverson is also an opportunity, but there is no tactic to play like that, and he dangles a little space on the periphery to throw three points, which is not conducive to the overall coordination. Not every round of the No. 1 opponent is shorter than Guo Xu, he wants to help Roy increase his playoff experience as much as possible, and the later games will be better.

Guo Xu plays without the ball most of the time, attracting defenders in the bottom corner, and slipping to the bottom line to find a no-ball cover run. He got rid of Iverson and could shoot directly, misplaced against Camby to break through the ball, and couldn't get rid of the defender to catch the ball and also singled out Iverson.

Camby rarely changes guards, grabbing rebounds and blocks near the penalty area, waiting for the opponent to attack, and is called guarding the penalty area. In fact, his confrontation ability is average, Nene is more resistant than him, this product is good at brushing defensive data, and the Nuggets' overall defensive efficiency is the second lowest in the league.

The Suns' No. 4 position is all the type of pulling out to shoot, and after Nene was lured away, Camby didn't guard off Guo Xu and had a chance, at least an easy single. Camby went out and the defender passed the ball to Smalls.

It's easy for Smalls to hold the ball directly and single-handedly against Camby, but the Suns don't play that way and want to create easier scoring opportunities.

On the defensive end, the Suns arranged for role players to engage in a wheel battle with Anthony, constantly getting close. Anthony entered his peak this season, averaging 28.8 points, 6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 48% from the field.

He has been in great form all season, single-handedly beating Ariza, Roy, and Marion in the series, but it is a pity that he is alone.

Iverson was a lot worse, shooting a new 45.4 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from three-point range, averaging one shot per game. But his scoring efficiency was still not high, with 24.8 points, 3 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.8 steals in 42.4 minutes.

In the regular season, Iverson played 8 minutes more than Guo Xu, but scored less than Guo Xu, and the two could not compare.

Entering the playoffs, this gap has become more obvious, Iverson's physical fitness has begun to decline after multiple injuries, and the speed is still faster than ordinary guards, and Guo Xu is obviously at a disadvantage compared to him.

Iverson's change of direction can't break through Guo Xu, so he can only rely on shooting, even if there are teammates who can score, he has also gone back to the old path of the 76ers period, shooting a lot and playing iron crazy.

The Suns won one after another at home, and after arriving on the road, they easily won the third game, and the Nuggets players had lost their hearts in the fourth game, losing by 34 points at home.

The Suns swept 4-0 to advance, becoming the first team in the league to advance.

Guo Xu comprehensively suppressed Iverson, averaging only 30 minutes per game in the series, and the longest third game played 35 minutes. His series average of 23.7 points and 9 assists per game seems average, but his shooting percentage is as high as 64%, and his three-point shooting rate is also 50%.

Iverson played longer than him, averaging 20.8 points and 5.1 assists per game, shooting 36.8% from the field and 29.4% from three-point range.

Obviously unable to defend and attack, Coach Carl also chose to play the main force, mainly using only 8 people in rotation, the other three are swingman JR Smith, forward Nahura and Kreza.

In the regular season, Smith averaged 13 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 23.3 minutes per game, shooting 44.1% from the field and 39% from three-point range, and 2.4 three-pointers per game. In the playoffs, he only averaged 11.8 minutes per game, sitting on the bench and watching Iverson play iron.

After the game, Nuggets fans felt like they had been slapped in the face. At the beginning of the regular season, many people felt that the Nuggets could threaten the Suns, and in the end, they only finished eighth in the West and barely made the playoffs.

After Iverson left the 76ers, some Amy said that without the drag of his teammates, Iverson would definitely play better with the Nuggets. Now no one says this anymore, and Iverson has less than 30% of his shots against Guo Xu. Who can move him with this kind of hit rate?

Converted to true shooting percentage, the gap between the two is even greater, Iverson is only 44.7%, who is he a star in this series? It's clearly an undercover agent!

Anthony wasn't consistent enough to shoot from the field, playing three good games and just 40 percent in the fourth.

The Nene hit rate high enough and shot too little. Suns management will not regret giving up on Nene, and the coaching staff has tried to develop him, but his character is not destined to be as successful as Smalls, and he rarely uses his physical advantage to shoot endlessly.

In fact, he has the talent of the inside, and he can take on more tasks, he has feet in the low post, and the only thing worse than Xiao Si is shooting, and he has not been able to practice well in the Suns.

The Suns players entered the holiday season to wait for their opponents in the next round, and they had to rest for a long time because the Lakers vs. Timberwolves series was anxious and tied 2-2.