At half-time, TNT commentators commented on the performance of the players on both sides, believing that the Suns had the lead in the stars, and that Marion's departure had a clear impact on the team as a whole.

In fact, even if Marion stays, it's not much use, if it's not good, it's just messing around with data, he joined the magic to play well, because he wants to prove that he can do it without the sun, and his mentality is completely different.

In the second half, the two sides fought a small-ball tactic, and the Lakers' "one big belt and four small" were eye-catching, and they overtook the score again.

Odom plays a cameo as a center forward and sits on the inside, and on the offensive end, he can pull out to cover, respond to passes, and completely withdraw the inside line to help his teammates create space for breakthroughs; On the defensive end, his mobility is not inferior to Xiao Si, only the confrontation is poor.

There was a lot of discussion about whether Odom could play as a center in a five-man lineup before the start of the season, and now that we have entered the era of small ball, the Lakers can consider playing like this.

There is an answer to this question. "Zen Master" Jackson will have Odom as a cameo center at some point, and he will always play well at the No. 5 position, as long as the opponent does not attack the basket with a power center.

In Guo Xu's previous life, Odom also played as a starting center forward in the national team in the 2010 World Championships. Coach K took a reckless step and also promoted Durant to the position of starting PF, and as a result, he beat the opponent.

The other four of the Lakers are Ellis, Joe Johnson, Battier, and Artest, who can play positional battles and counterattacks, and can keep up with the rhythm of the Suns.

Ellis was the one responsible for breaking through with the ball and playing the pick-and-roll, Joe Johnson organized, and the other two swingmen focused on the defensive end, opening up on the perimeter and waiting for opportunities to catch the ball and move the ball when there was no chance.

Atay did not suffer against Haslem, both of whom were short big forwards. Battier played well defending Roy, constantly interfering in front of him, sealing his eyes, and helping to contain Smalls when the formation shrank.

Xiao Si's passing awareness is not top-notch, he received Guo Xu's pass and rushed up with a high probability of shooting or killing to the basket, it is not good to observe the teammates behind him when the frame breaks, Battier retreats to assist in defense, Xiao Si is difficult to find Roy, and he forced his shot under interference several times.

In order to prevent Odom and Ellis from blocking and dismantling, the Suns' formation contracted, and Joe Johnson began to play alone again in the second half, and both Roy and Bale had the upper hand. He can change the direction of his face frame to break through the pull-up jump shot, and his back can rely on a turn to break through or hit hard, and his skills are very comprehensive.

Only with the wrong name, no wrong nickname, "Singles Joe" always has a way to create a mobile phone in the face of single defense, and the hit rate is not low. Guo Xuhui's skills are basically also available, and they practiced together back then, but the gap is only in physical fitness, reaction speed, etc.

Joe Johnson scored 13 points in a single quarter, and the Suns trailed 91-99 into the final quarter, and the atmosphere at the Lakers' home court was very hot, and the audience loved this kind of high-scoring game.

"Joe Johnson played fantastic, like Pierce who didn't jump, and he's going to be an All-Star this year, even though he's averaging less than 20 points per game, and that's because of the lack of shots," Barkley said. ”

Smith said: "Joe Johnson is really well-rounded, the Suns selected Roy to use him as a template to strengthen the roster, and he has a slight advantage against the two today. ”

Roy has potential, but this is only the second season of his career, and he struggles against All-Star-caliber opponents.

When fighting a weak team, Guo Xu is willing to help Roy grow, and Guo Xu still has to consider himself in a tough battle like today. He didn't shoot much in the second and third quarters, and at the end of the third quarter, he also recorded a double-double of 25 points and 13 assists.

This year, he has been playing like this, helping his teammates create opportunities in the first three quarters, and shooting more in the last quarter, and his teammates have no opinion. This is the best way to play for the Suns at the moment, otherwise the players will have ideas in their minds and the atmosphere in the locker room will be problematic in the contract year.

It's impossible to get a contract year player to voluntarily sacrifice stats by boosting morale and communication, and it's impossible for a star or coach to be so charismatic as to give up money altogether. 99% of professional players play to make money, which is why the word "professional" comes first in front of players.

It's been an unspoken rule in the NBA for many years that players on a contract year will maximize their own interests in key years, no matter how team they are.

Unless it's Marion's kind of voluntariness, the Suns management can't choose to trade some players out of the team just because the contract year is up, it would be too impersonal, who would dare to join this kind of team in the future?

Guo Xu's style of play with a fixed period of power is flawed, and it will make the opponent have traces to follow. During the break, "Zen Master" Jackson began to emphasize the defense of Guo Xu.

"Monta tries to follow him as closely as possible on the perimeter, and when he encounters a screen, he uses the fastest speed to get around the pursuit, and the inside line has to be quick to pack, keep someone in front of him, and can't let him throw the ball easily and force him to pass."

After Guo Xu averaged 40+ per game in a single season, the teams in the league reached a consensus that they would rather let the rest of the Suns shoot in empty positions than let Guo Xu easily go head-to-head.

D'Antoni's tactic is that his teammates defend seriously and hand over the ball to Guo Xu on the offensive end.

The Suns played five players: Guo Xu, Anthony Parker, Roy, Stoudamire, Vallejo.

Smalls moved to the power forward position, and Parker was in charge of dealing with Joe Johnson, who has the height and strength to interfere with shots closely. Bell defended Joe Johnson with a loss of height and weight, while Roy defended with little experience.

Roy has performed well on the offensive end since joining the team, and the defensive end has never shown the potential to become a defensive expert, that is, he is average, he is still active, and he is relatively average in interfering with shots and defending breakaways.

With Marion and Ariza gone, the Suns' defense has inevitably weakened, and those two have a much better individual defense.

Thankfully, the Suns' wing hasn't been as bad as it was in their previous lives, with the inexperienced Kerr as manager and making a series of stupid trades, and Marion left without the first round of the playoffs. Then Kerr actually sent away Bale and Dio, causing the veteran Hill to become the best defender on the outside of the Suns, and it was too normal not to make the playoffs in 2009.

The Lakers played five players: Ellis, Joe Johnson, Artest, Odom, Bogut.

Fisher and Battier went down to rest, and these five are the Lakers' strongest offensive lineup.

The Suns attacked first, Guo Xu took the ball to the front court and passed to Roy, ran to the left bottom corner and stood for a while, quickly ran to the right bottom corner, and got rid of Ellis under the cover of Vallejo.

The formation was stretched, Xiao Si was in the middle, Parker was on the left side, and Roy passed the ball to Guo Xu at 70 degrees on the right side, and this side became the strong side.

Guo Xu did not dangle the frame and directly held the ball to the left side and took a step, Ellis rushed too fast to brake the car, and Guo Xu passed it in one step, and Bogut also defended it and pinched Guo Xu according to the coach's arrangement.

But as soon as Guo Xu passed Easley, he couldn't wrap it, he collected the ball and quickly jumped to the middle to attract Bogut's defense, and gave the ball to the basket from his side, Vallejo caught the ball under the basket and jumped up, dunking with both hands to score.

93 to 99, Guo Xu's 14th assist.

The Lakers attacked, and Bogut was a threat on the inside, and in order to limit him, the Suns began to defend together, and at least three people shrank to near the restricted area. Guo Xu withdrew relatively far back, and put Ellis two steps away to defend against the attack.

Ellis played a block and dismantle with Odom in the middle, Xiao Si did not change the defense, Guo Xu bypassed the cover from the inside, and Easley made a one-step stop jump shot and missed the basket under Guo Xu's slight interference.

Guo Xu didn't even jump, but his defensive purpose had been achieved, that is, to put Ellis in a mid-to-long-range jumper, his shooting percentage was very inconsistent, and it was better for him to shoot like this than to let the rest of the Lakers single.