As Guo Xu expected, the Suns gradually gained the upper hand at the beginning of the third quarter, and the weaknesses of the Lakers appeared, the veteran Malone lacked physical strength, and there was no qualified substitute for the No. 4 position.

The Suns played a small-ball game, with Marion playing as the No. 4 and even Haslem as center for a while. Once the Lakers missed, they would be hit back immediately, and Malone followed and ran back, and his physical strength was quickly exhausted.

Of course, Haslem couldn't prevent O'Neal, D'Antoni arranged a "shark cutting tactic", O'Neal fouled him when he received the ball and sent him to the free throw, and the interior players took turns to foul, disrupting the Lakers' offensive rhythm.

If the Lakers players don't pass the ball to O'Neal, it will be better for the Suns, anyway, they are single-defense, focusing on other positions, forcing Payton, Kobe, and Malone into singles.

O'Neal played very depressed, and Guo Xu said the Suns' defensive tactics before the game, and he still couldn't crack it. He has been practicing free throws for many years, but he is not allowed, what should he do? Occasionally, he can be on target a few times, and most of the time he hits around 50%.

The Suns are highly mobile, and the small man who can shoot in the middle is misplaced on the inside, and he struggles on the defensive end.

Guo Xu had 9 points and 5 assists in a single quarter, and his hand was not as violent as in the last game, but no matter who he played against, he was small and big, and he had a speed advantage. Payton is not fast enough to chase and block, and Fisher Guo Xu can play directly alone, and the Lakers' offensive organization will also deteriorate.

Xiao Si, who has practiced a mid-range shot, will no longer be easily prevented by O'Neal, scoring 8 points in a single quarter, 6 of which are high-post jumpers.

O'Neal shot 2-of-3 from the field and 5-of-12 from the free-throw line for a team-high nine points, five rebounds and two blocks, but he was already being guarded, shooting less from the free-throw line than in the field, and the team's overall offense was fragmented.

Payton had 7 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, and his performance was not as good as Guo Xu.

Kobe Bryant made 1 of 3 shots and 2 of 2 free throws, scored 4 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist, and scored without a double-double after the third quarter.

The Suns' three swing man wheel battles, at the expense of physical strength to entangle Kobe, even the rookie Howard did a good job, his physical fitness is not much worse than Kobe, the arm span is still dominant, and the born calf is not afraid of tigers.

Bryant can get heads-up opportunities in the middle and long range, and once he gets the ball in the low post, the Suns' formation begins to shrink, forming a trap, and he separates teammates who are not good at shooting three-pointers, and his strong shots cannot guarantee the shooting percentage.

The Suns went into the final quarter with a 10-point lead 31-23.

During the break, Zhang Li said: "Some netizens left a message asking who is stronger Guo Xu or Kobe, I think there is no suspense about this, it must be Guo Xu." Last season, he won assists, regular season MVP, Kobe Bryant was only selected for the best second team, the two teams did not take advantage of Kobe, last season he only averaged more points per game than Guo Xu, the shooting rate was much lower, and he played longer. ”

Xu Jicheng said: "The difference between the two sides is not big, but it is difficult for the Lakers to catch up, and Malone is obviously bored." ”

"Zen Master" Jackson also saw the fatigue of the veteran, but in the last quarter, he still let Malone and Grant partner on the inside, and George, Fisher, and Kobe Bryant on the outside.

When the Lakers played a tough game, it was not surprising that Malone played 40 minutes.

It's hard to find a more unlucky person in NBA history than Malone, who has quietly dedicated himself to the Jazz team for many years without winning a championship, and in his last years, when he thought of the Lakers hugging his legs, he had more defensive work. The worst thing in his previous life was that he fought to the end with the basic salary of a veteran, and still failed to win the championship, which is better to play for the Jazz for a lifetime and retire, at least leaving a reputation of two old and one city.

The Lakers' No. 4 position is really unreplaceable, and the poor defense of Medvidenko and rookie Brian Cook played, facing the Suns' blocking and pick-and-roll, which is similar to the nature of "surrendering the gun". The Lakers also had Mark Madsen who was good at defense last season and now joined the Timberwolves.

Whether it is Madsen or the future Beverley, there are some "mad dogs" that people will only know how to cherish if they lose them.

The Suns sent the inside twin towers, the defensive end can prevent two veterans, the offensive end Xiao Si and Nene are pulled out to cover their teammates, Malone can only defend one side, the veteran Grant defense and dismantling can no longer keep up with the rhythm, no matter whether the guard breaks through or the inside air cut, he is very difficult to defend.

O'Neill sat on the sidelines and watched the game with a blank gaze, as if he had knocked over a five-flavor bottle in his heart, and he could now fully understand why Guo Xu was so popular as soon as he entered the league.

Because Guo Xu has a unique vision and is good at analyzing the team's lineup and tactical system, the game has not started, the team has a few chances of winning, and he knows how to play the best game. How could such a person choose the wrong team? His team is not weak.

played 7 minutes, Joe Johnson made 3 of 6 shots, 2 of 2 three-pointers, and got 8 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals; Guo Xu made 3 of 4 shots, 2 of 2 three-pointers, 2 of 2 free throws, scored 10 points and 2 assists, and the two locked up the victory in waves.

O'Neal's three-and-a-half-minute break back on the court didn't help, and the Lakers couldn't prevent outside shots.

In fact, if they want to strengthen the defense of blocking and pick-and-roll, the Lakers have a way, and that is to let George play a cameo as a power forward. This tactic was played by the Lakers when Guo Xu was there, and George was very fast, and he could be a weakened version of Kenyon Martin when he played the No. 4 position.

The shortcomings are also obvious, George's size gives his teammates cover, and opponents can easily bypass it. If the guard is not fast enough to quickly pass the opponent's interior or attract the interior to follow the defense, the point of blocking and dismantling is not much. George, whether defending Xiaosi or Nene, is at a height disadvantage.

Because Fox is out of the game with a serious injury, "Zen Master" Jackson also needs George to play small forward, otherwise he will have to use Rush or second-round rookie Luke Wharton, and at critical moments, Jackson can't trust those two people.

In the final quarter, George shot 0 of 2, Grant shot 0 of 1, Kobe Bryant was eager to chase the points and also shot at the bag, 1 of 4 shots, 4 of 6 free throws, and got 6 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.

The difference between the two sides widened to more than 20 points, and D'Antoni replaced Guo Xu in advance to start training the newcomer.

With constant proposals from assistant coach Larry Drew, D'Antoni gives rookies a chance to play every game, especially Howard and Blake, two rookies who are instant players and the team needs to play in the playoffs. James Jones wants to wait, he can't even make the 12-man squad, and if he wants to play and practice, he can only go to the development league.

O'Neal and Kobe Bryant played for a while, and Fisher shot a three-pointer from the outside, but the Lakers were too far behind to catch up, and they were also replaced 3 minutes before the end.

At 113-99, the Suns won three in a row at home.

Guo Xu played 38 minutes, shooting 11-of-24, 5-of-11 three-pointers, and 5-of-5 free throws, scoring 32 points, 2 rebounds, 16 assists and 1 steal.

The Suns had five players in double figures, with Joe Johnson scoring 20 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, Marion 15 points and 11 rebounds, Stadamire 18 points and 6 rebounds, and Bell also scoring 10 points.

Six Lakers scored double-doubles, O'Neal scored 24 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks, Payton 19 points, 4 rebounds and 9 assists, and Malone 18 points, 12 rebounds and 2 assists.

Bryant was out of sorts, shooting 4-of-15, 0-of-2 from three-point range and 7-of-10 from the free-throw line to finish with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. O'Neal can't attract the bag, and Kobe Bryant will have a lot more difficulty playing on the periphery.

At this time, Jazz veteran forward Brian Russell, who played 10 minutes and didn't score a point, faintly felt that something was wrong, he hugged his thigh as if he had chosen the wrong team, the Lakers played so hard, the two teams met in the playoffs, can the Lakers win?