Chapter 248: The Pride of a Super Point Guard
The Suns are playing bombardment tactics as always, and this game is their home opener, and the home crowd is still hot.
Steve Nash has begun to decline, and only Nash, Xiao Si and "Brazilian Lightning" Barbosa are still in the bombardment team that year, and the competitiveness is not as good as before. The Suns stumbled last season, and this summer they sent away Biedrins, who didn't fit the system, and management is likely to give up on their championship goals.
But regardless of the strength of the Suns, this game is still broadcast live in the United States, and both teams play fast offense, and this kind of offensive battle is what fans like.
CCTV5 Sports Channel also broadcast the game live, Yi Jianlian transferred to the Warriors, and the Warriors had two Chinese players, so the Warriors' games were broadcast live on CCTV almost every game.
Two-time MVP Nash signed another contract extension with Phoenix this summer, a surprise decision. Because before that, everyone thought that the Suns would trade the declining Nash to New York or the Warriors, or a peaceful breakup after the contract expired.
The biggest regret of the two-time regular season MVP winner's career is not being able to own a championship ring. Although you are the MVP, and at the same time the soul core of the running and bombing style of Nash's remarks to hug his thighs are a bit cruel, but realistically, if you still want to pursue the championship dream, Nash must leave Phoenix, and must find a younger and more dominant star like O'Neal's partner Wade back then, and Li Zhi is obviously this person, but Nash chose to stay in the Suns.
There is no doubt that money was the key factor that made Nash make this decision. Only three players in this summer's free agency market ended up with big contracts with an average annual salary of more than $10 million, and Nash became the oldest of the three, the others being Ben Gordon and Turkoglou.
The Warriors didn't expect the Solar to be so willing to offer such a contract, which was one of the reasons why they were out early in the Nash race. And compared to the contract that the Mavericks gave to Kidd this year, the price of this contract is indeed beyond everyone's imagination.
Mark Cuban gave Kidd nothing more than a three-year, $25 million contract, with an average annual salary of about a little more than the full middle class, while the Suns gave Nash a two-year, $22 million contract. Importantly, the Suns have given Nash this contract extension for the maximum number of years that the league has set for players over the age of 35.
In other words, the Suns are doing everything they can to keep Nash, at any cost. In the face of the temptation of such a high salary, it is a bit difficult for Nash and his agent, Bill Duffy, to refuse such a request.
Nash didn't think about asking to go to the Warriors, and with his merits with the Suns, the Suns management would not refuse his request. But Nash thinks that he can still play for a few years, and he can't let go of his proud dignity, or more precisely, the concept of huddle has not yet taken root in the hearts of the people. The story of the Celtics' Big Three doesn't make sense for Nash, who were only lottery teams before the Big Three huddled, while the Warriors were the defending champions.
In another sense, the Warriors won the championship and they lost the opportunity to get players such as Kidd and Nash, and if the Warriors did not win the championship this year, with the competitiveness they showed, there would definitely be many veterans who would choose here. All in all, super point guards have their own pride, but I don't know how long this pride will last after this season!
In the Suns locker room, Suns head coach Gentry said: "In this game, we have to cheer up. The Warriors and we faced four times in the regular season and were the main obstacle to our championship. Although they are the defending champions, their strength has not been dominant, and everyone has watched the game against the Lakers in the last game, the Warriors have lost O'Neal, and we can rest assured that we can wrap George Lee! ”
Grant Hill's expression was a little relaxed, he really didn't have much confidence in the single defense Li Zhi, if he could wrap it, his pressure would be much less.
Commentator Barkley analyzed: "Now they are saying that Curry's template is Nash, I want to see how the Warriors' rookie Stephen Curry can play against Nash, but I just hope that the Warriors' small guard will not be blown up by Nash." ”
Barkley naturally has a unique fetish for rookies, James, Yao Ming, and Li Zhi have all been scolded by him, and now it is Curry's turn, and Barkley has no mercy.
Smith said: "Hehe, Sir Charles said so, I think Curry's future is limitless." ”
Barkley's face turned black when he heard this, and he didn't think of how to go back for a long time. James, Yao Ming, and Li Zhi, the rookies who have been scolded by him, have all been beaten, is it possible that his mouth is really so evil?
The Chinese narrators are Yu Jia and Su Qun, both of whom are die-hard Warriors fans. Pre-game prediction, Su Qun said: "The Warriors' small guard Stephen Curry has the hope of growing into a super guard like Nash, everyone has seen it in the preseason and the last game, Curry's passing ability is amazing, and projection is his specialty, and when he adapts to the rhythm of the NBA, he has the opportunity to compete for the best rookie." ”
Yu Jia said: "The Warriors and the Suns are both fast-paced teams, and the Suns would definitely not have such a bad record if it wasn't for Xiao Si's injury in the second half of last season, and this game is not as simple as people think." ”
On the sidelines of the court, "Little Overlord" Stoudemire is practicing shooting, he is the main output of the Suns, David Lee is not in his eyes, maybe he will have a data explosion in this game.
Stats are important to Stoudemire, and at the end of the season, his contract expires, and when the time comes to test the waters of free agency and secure a bigger contract.
Working with a super point guard is the dream of most players in the league, but Stoudemire suffers from it. Many people believe that part of his strength comes from Nash, and in his prime, he did not become the absolute core of the team. It's always Nash who shines, the Suns played a league-leading bombardment frenzy in those years, the MVP is Nash's, but he is considered only an All-Star who can score, and this year the Suns wanted to renew his contract, but he refused.
On the issue of Xiao Si, the Suns management is obviously a little hesitant, facing a player who is obviously not in line with the team's forward path, a player whose personal attitude is obviously problematic, the management does not get rid of his determination and courage.
Before the trade deadline last season, there were a lot of transfer rumors about Smalls, but in the end, the Suns still didn't muster up the courage to send Smalls away. Less than a week after it was decided to stay, Xiao Si immediately announced that he would miss all the games after the rest of the game due to eye surgery, which is a great irony for the Suns.
Before the start of this year's draft, there were trade rumors of Smalls, but in the end, it was abandoned. Now, with Nash, the Suns have to reuse Xiao Si, who is held hostage by such a player with serious character problems, and it is hard to imagine how good the Suns will have this season.
After two years of reincarnation, the Suns are still the same team with running and bombing as the core, but this team is weaker, the average age is older, and it is less competitive. Nash and Hill were able to stay this year because of the salary, and there is no team that can bid more than the Suns. At an advanced age of over 35, staying with the Suns is a natural choice when going to other teams will suffer damage to their image and reputation.
Of course, the premise of all this is that the Sun boss is willing to spend money on the Sun. As long as Nash is kept, fans will want to watch the Suns play, and they are, as always, one of the most profitable teams in the league. As for the championship, Suns boss Savor has given up, and it would be nice to make money.