On May 20, 8 days after Guo Xu's injury, the first battle of the Western Finals started in Phoenix.

The absence of the star did not dampen the enthusiasm of the Suns fans, and the home court was full, and many people wore Guo Xu's No. 1 jersey. Four consecutive championships mean no small thing, and all fans want the Suns to set a record this year.

TNT broadcast the game live, and Barkley predicted: "Bale, Haslem are suspended, Jason Guo is out, all three are very important, and I think the Suns will likely lose home-court advantage." ”

Kenny Smith said: "The Suns lost a lot of money because of a foul on Vujacic, Haslem won't play until Game 5 of the series, he's the Suns' best defensive player at the No. 4 position, and if Thomas comes in or Marion plays as a power forward, he can only fight offensively. ”

Barkley said: "I think Millsap can go up and play for a while, he's the same type of player as Haslem, he's physical, he's good at rebounding, he's very mobile, he just lacks experience. ”

Suns starters: Lowry, Roy, Ariza, Marion, Stoudamire.

Spurs starters: Tony Parker, Bowen, Granger, Oberto, Duncan.

Xiao Si jumped the ball and the game began.

Roy received the ball and played a pick-and-roll with Smalls outside the three-point line, attracting Duncan to switch defenses and pass the ball to Smalls who cut through the middle.

The Spurs' flank immediately shrank, and Granger and Oberto co-packed Smalls in the box, preventing him from taking advantage of the situation. Duncan also retreated, and the trio surrounded the box.

In Guo Xu's absence, the Suns will lose the strongest three-point shooting point, and Popovich dares to shrink the overall formation when arranging the lineup. Xiao Si split the ball to the bottom right corner, and Ariza shot from the empty position.

Ariza is nicknamed "Iron Ty" because he spends most of his time iron, especially in the playoffs. In Guo Xu's previous life, he had a total of two outstanding performances on the offensive end of the playoffs, most of the time as a blacksmith. His main role in the team is defense, and the offense is not as good as Bell's, and his current three-point shooting rate is only 33.3%, which is still an open shot.

If Ariza is willing to renew his contract at a low salary, the Suns management will welcome it, and the Suns will not match him if a team offers him a mid-level contract in the summer, and it is easier for this type of player to find a replacement.

In 2009, the Rockets signed a mid-level contract with Ariza, and traded him out after only one season.

The Spurs attacked, Parker and Duncan broke through with a pick-and-roll, and Lowry bypassed the cover to chase the defense in place.

Parker didn't force the ball and gave the ball to Duncan, who led Smalls out of the high post and gave the inside pass to Oberto, who was open to the baseline. Oberto was misplaced against Marion and took three steps to dunk the basketball with one hand. 0 to 2.

As long as the tactics are right, blue-collar workers can score, and the Suns don't defend the box well enough when playing small-ball tactics, and Popovich is attacking this weakness.

The Suns' offense has been unstoppable this season, with D'Antoni embracing offensive basketball and allowing Vallejo to start just four games in the regular season. Even if Guo Xu is not there, he tends to attack when he arranges his troops, and he has developed a habit.

The Suns attacked, Lowry and Xiaosi played blocking and dismantling, and the weak-side breakthrough was caught up by Parker, and he couldn't get into the basket and had to share the ball.

At the same speed, rookie Lowry is as uncomfortable against Parker as Parker is against Guo Xu, because he lacks range and can't get rid of entanglement. Lowry is not only unsure of three points, but also inaccurate mid-range shooting, relying on breakthrough play.

In the regular season, as long as Guo Xu rests, Lowry is a point guard on the court, controlling the ball and organizing the offense. The coaching staff has given him a lot of opportunities to perform and develop him, and he still needs years of training if he wants to play at a high level.

In Guo Xu's previous life, Lowry was a player with obvious strengths and weaknesses, and he only began to show his strength when the Rockets renewed his contract in 2010, and now he is too young, only 21 years old.

Smalls entered the box and was trapped, and the ball was distributed to Marion, who dribbled a shot past Oberto, who saved to interfere with the shot, and the layup was deflected wide under Duncan's interference.

Duncan landed on his reach and toe the ball out, and Granger got the rebound.

In the Spurs positional battle, Parker and Duncan played a block and split the ball to Duncan, who was in the air, and the Suns players also shrank into the restricted area, and Duncan distributed the ball. Granger wasted no chance and hit a three-pointer from the left. 0 to 5.

Granger averaged 32.4 minutes per game in the playoffs, chipped in 16.2 points, five rebounds and 1.3 assists while shooting 45 percent from the field and 56.3 percent from three-point range. He was often the target of the Spurs' loose defense, and he exploded, shooting more three-point percentage than two-point range, not taking many shots, and averaging 1.5 shots per game.

He is 202CM barefoot tall, 205CM tall with shoes, 102 kg in weight, 217CM in arm span, excellent in speed and reaction, and actively grabbing rebounds. He helped the team on both ends of the floor and secured a starting position, and Popovich likes that type of player.

The 76ers management regretted that they had almost given Granger away for nothing, because there were already three good swingmen on the team, and now everyone felt that Granger was stronger than Korver and Salmons.

The Suns attacked, and the team's familiar offensive routine couldn't be played.

Lowry blocked and split the ball to Roy, who ran without the ball to receive the ball, Oberto and Bowen wrapped it, Roy distributed the ball to Marion, Duncan did not go out near the penalty area, kept a distance from Marion and Xiaosi, defended the penalty area, and put it in the middle distance.

Marion's empty shot from the left baseline missed the basket again, which disappointed Suns fans, and Guo Xu in front of the TV was even more disappointed. Smalls made the All-Match team for a while after returning from injury, but Marion has become weaker than last season.

He was mainly weak in shooting, and he didn't practice during the injury period, and he averaged only two shots per game in the playoffs, with a shooting rate of only 37%. Against underdogs, he can score by attacking the basket, and against the Spurs, Duncan is responsible for the defense of the restricted area, and it is never a good idea to attack the basket.

Duncan grabbed the rebound and gave it to Parker, slowing down and landing on the ground.

Parker doesn't have many assists, and the rhythm of the game that has been scolded by Popovich in recent years is very good, and he knows how to cooperate with his teammates. The Suns' small-ball tactics are excellent at blocking and pick-and-roll, he is not strong, and he attracts the defense and hands it over to Duncan to attack.

Oberto couldn't cut into the air and didn't force the ball, and the ball was distributed again, and Bowen and Granger moved the ball very quickly, and the ball returned to Parker, who was running.

Parker cut from the side, shook off Lowry under Duncan's cover, and threw the ball in before Smalls could cover it. 0 to 7.

In the living room of Robert's house, a few friends watched the live broadcast together.

Britney said, "Jason, the sun seems to be a little bad. ”

Guo Xu sighed: "It's not good, it's terrible, you have to change people as soon as possible, otherwise you won't be able to withstand the first quarter." ”

In the next round, Xiao Si did not cut empty, stood in a high position to open up space, Roy burst into the inside line and was caught by Bowen and Oberto, separated from the periphery, and Ariza was empty again.

Ariza is very resolute in the empty position, and the iron pops up, and once he is iron, he will make the opponent cool and crooked, and often stage a good show of consecutive missed shots in the open position.

Marion rushed to grab the rebound in the front court, and there were people around the restricted area, and there was no chance to shoot and pass it out of the perimeter to find Lowry to organize again. After passing back and forth a few times, and almost running out of 24 seconds, Roy singled Bowen to make a pull-up jump shot and score the first two points of the Suns. 2 to 7.

Although the ball was scored, the players did not cooperate, and the pass was not available, and the Spurs defended the penalty area tightly.

Barkley said: "The Suns are playing like they were abusing their opponents when Jason was there, and they can't win if they go on like that. ”

Smith smiled: "There is only one person missing, it's like changing teams, Jason is really indispensable to the Suns." ”