If you can pick your own opponent, the last thing the Trailblazers want to encounter is the Suns.

Not only them, but no team wanted to meet the Suns in the regular season opener, and it was very demoralizing to be abused in the first game.

The Suns are not something you can dodge if you want to, and the league has to arrange an opponent to play their opener PK every year to test the strength of the new lineup full of Suns and full physical strength.

The championship team's opener was broadcast live, and TNT Radio's Barkley chatted with Kenny Smith about the Suns' lineup as the Suns hosted last season's championship ring ceremony.

Barkley laughed: "It is not difficult to see from the summer Suns' signings that Jason is a very nostalgic person, and he will not forget his friends. If Cliffs hadn't retired from the NBA in 2006, I guess the rest of the spot would have been his. ”

Kenny Smith said: "Most people want their teammates to be as good as they are, and Jason is probably an exception. One statistic that is interesting is that since he joined the Suns as the star of the house, all the stars he has partnered with except Marion have been developed by the Suns in the draft, and most of them have a low pick. ”

Barkley smiled: "It doesn't matter if you join the Suns with a low pick, as long as you can catch and shoot, you will have a chance to perform, and they will not be bad when they leave, and they may get a high salary." It's really amazing, the Suns have all the rookies picked at the end of the first round. ”

Smith nodded: "It's undoubtedly good news for Whiteside, he's very physical, and he should have a future if he practices well, but he didn't make the 12-man squad today." ”

The two also said they don't like the Trail Blazers because their starting center today is an inexperienced newcomer, Cousins.

In order to develop Cousins, a high-pick rookie, veteran Marcus Camby was used as a substitute, and Poolsbilla was reimbursed for a serious injury after only 30 games last season and will not return until December after surgery.

The most important thing the Trail Blazers management wants to do right now is trade Pulzbilla, but unfortunately no team is willing to ask for an injured player and will have to wait for him to return for a while before seeking a trade.

Cousins swelled up without playing a regular season, smiled very happily during the warm-up, practiced a large mid-range shot, and hit iron continuously.

In the team's training, Camby one-on-one is not the opponent of rookie Cousins at all, and the weight gap between the two is very large, and Camby can't bear it.

With Camby being named to the NBA's All-Defensive Team multiple times, Cousins had the illusion that the NBA's interior defense was no more than that. He had a hunch that he would make a name for himself against the defending champions.

The starters stood in the middle of the court, and Smith quipped, "Chuck, if you're still a player, it's a good fit for the Trail Blazers, and it's a good fit for Yard." ”

"Why?"

"Because their starters are rounder one by one, and if you go there you will look more coordinated." Smith laughed.

Coordinate your sister, a team of round-faced monsters? Barkley's round face is often ridiculed, and his domineering attitude has been affected to a certain extent when he is a player.

Suns starters: Guo Xu, Roy, Richardson, Ibaka, Gasol Jr.

Trail Blazers starters: Andre Miller, Eric Gordon, Jeff Green, Aldridge, Cousins.

Cousins jumped the ball and the game began.

Guo Xu put Miller two steps away, preventing breakouts and not shooting. Miller has always been a bad three-point player and is an alternative guard who is good at back-to-back play.

Miller held the ball and forced a breakthrough, Guo Xu saw the opportunity to keep up with the close, and did not suffer a loss in the confrontation.

Miller leaned on him and gave the ball to Gordon on the left, who faced Roy's main defense and turned to break through and shoot the ball in a stop. 0 to 2.

As soon as Guo Xu crossed the half with the ball, he played with Gasol Jr. to get rid of Miller and block the opportunity. Cousins, who was inexperienced in the game, withdrew to the three-point line, and Aldridge followed the mobile Serge Ibaka to the three-point line.

Guo Xu got the vacancy, and a one-meter pull-up jump shot from outside the three-point line in the middle scored. 3 to 2.

The Trail Blazers attacked, with Miller passing to Green, who passed to Cousins, who pulled to the right side and aggressively asked for the ball.

Cousins couldn't wait to start showing his talent, changing direction after dribbling under the crotch, Gasol Jr. let him go more than a step away, had a good sense of position, and saw the right time to resist closely.

Cousins leaned on Gasol Jr. twice with his back to protect the ball, he didn't give up, turned to the middle and held the ball with both hands, Gasol Jr. only kept his body close to him, and raised his right arm to interfere.

Cousins didn't pass the ball yet, showing his low ball quotient, and on the premise that he didn't get rid of the defense and was in front of a center one size bigger than him, he chose to force a jump throw far from the basket and hit the iron to pop up.

Not to mention Cousins, even if Guo Xu can't guarantee a high hit rate, the rhythm of playing is not right, which can be called blindness.

In Guo Xu's previous life, Cousins' two-point shooting rate from close range has always been speechless, with a peak season of 42.3%, which is simply strange as a heavy center.

Gasol Jr. turned and jammed Cousins, helping Ibaka pick up the rebound easily.

In the Suns positional battle, Guo Xu played blocking and dismantling with Gasol Jr. outside the three-point line, and Aldridge defended himself after getting rid of Miller.

Guo Xu's center of gravity with the ball dropped very low, and it was impossible for Ade to bend down and reach out to steal. Guo Xu observed the running position of his teammates with the peripheral vision of his eyes, and quickly transferred the ball to the left side with a low right hand during the run.

Roy relied on Ibaka's off-ball cover to catch the ball and hit a 70-degree jumper for three points.

Cousins missed again, he didn't come out of the horn position, and Gordon was a step slow to chase the block. Roy already has a height advantage, his shot is in perfect rhythm, and the ball is hollow into the net. 6 to 2.

Barkley shouted, "Three-pointers! The Suns scored two three-pointers in a row in the opening game, and Cousins' defensive experience was clearly lacking. ”

"That's what the rookies have to pay for the tuition, and the mentality of the rookies going to the Suns in their first game is going to be put to the test," Smith said. I don't know what Cousins' mentality is, he has to withstand the pressure. ”

Cousins' mentality, that's really hehe.

If the two balls were not defended, he frowned and was a little anxious, wanting to return to the opponent fiercely. He pulled out of the box to ask for the ball, and Miller passed it.

Cousins threatened with three faces, Gasol Jr. kept his distance and interfered, Cousins faced Gasol Jr. with a mid-range shot, the ball bounced out of the frame, and Richardson grabbed the rebound in the backcourt.

When Cousins was in his rookie training camp, he was said to have shot 80 of 95 jumpers from inside the three-point line, which fascinated many scouts.

He's got a great foundation, he's got a great sense of passing, he's only 19 years old, he's just a kid!

Cousins isn't bad, but he's such a bear kid. As soon as he comes on the field, he likes to show desperately: "You see I will do this, you see I will do that, I will do it." ”

It doesn't really matter, no coach will ask a heavy center to do anything, play like a guard, a small forward. Cousins did a terrible job of scoring efficiency, often using inefficient offensive shots in order to show off his skills.

His high school coach, Otis Shockray, once said he had a very impatient personality before. "When he reads a book, he always likes to skip straight to his favorite paragraph. I told him to read books and tactics books patiently from beginning to end, page by page. ”

When he was in middle school, he had to take medicine to relieve his concentration symptoms, and he was severely impatient.

In this year's draft, he admitted that he had a hard time trusting people. "I don't want people to see who I really am. But whenever somebody understands me and says, 'This kid is actually very smart,' I don't show joy, I don't seem to care about that, well, I'm actually listening. ”

This person's character is destined to become a superstar.