Rockets vs Suns.

When the strong and strong meet, they dare not have a trace of carelessness.

The Suns have won five in a row and the Rockets have won six in a row, ranking first in their respective regions. Both teams will want to keep their winning streak going and prove that they are the best in the West.

The Suns are fighting at home, waiting for work at leisure, and have the advantage of the right time, place and people. The Rockets just defeated the Timberwolves and encountered the toughest back-to-back of the month, which was a test of the team's strength and will.

Staying at a hotel in the evening and acclimatizing to the venue the next afternoon, time passed quickly, and the Rockets players could only try to adjust to the best condition.

That night, Phoenix's home stadium was packed.

Although the opponent was strong, with the example of the game against the Hornets, no one from the coaching staff to the players wanted to give up this game. They have to fight hard until the last minute.

In terms of player comparison, the Rockets and Suns have their own strengths.

The Suns have a clear advantage at the No. 1 position.

Nash is a two-time regular season MVP winner in a row, and he became the second player after "Magic" Johnson to do so. Nash, now recognized as the league's number one playmaking guard, won last week on a four-game winning streak to beat Yao Ming and Hayes to win the title of the best player in the West, averaging 15.5 points and 11.2 assists on a season, shooting 51 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from three-point range.

If compared to the data, the rocket is at an absolute disadvantage. Alston averaged 10.2 points and 4.3 assists per game while shooting just 37.5 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from three-point range.

At the No. 2 position, Suns starter Raja Bell, is an NBA player who lost the draft. He is a tough defender and an integral part of the Suns, scoring 16.5 points this season and shooting 45 percent from three-point range.

Due to Hayes' strong outburst and tactical set-up, Maddy began to deliberately transition to a pure shooting guard, reducing his breakaway offense and relying more on running shots to score. This season, his statistics dropped to 17.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.4 assists, but he shot a career-high 48.8% from the field and 36.7% from three-point range. Such a Maddie is more conducive to the Rockets winning.

Rockets all-rounder vs defensive finisher Bell, who had no temper to defend Kobe Bryant, will face Maddie who is in transition, and there will be a fierce fight.

In the No. 3 position, the Suns' Dior dazzled everyone with his performance last season, and he won the most improved award for his outstanding performance, known as the "French Magician". But after signing a big contract, his form has declined badly, and he has not been able to match the starting price of the deserving figure.

As we all know, Battier has never been a statistic player, and his defensive role is much greater than his statistic performance, compared to Battier's role.

The opposition at the No. 4 position is the most special, as both teams start with big forwards who don't look like big forwards.

"Hacker" Sean Marion is skinny, but he was one of the most well-rounded forward players in the league last season, and his important surname for the Suns is statistically enough, he was the team's leading scorer, rebounder, steal and block king last season, and this season's return of Stoudemire, Marion's stats dropped to 18.7 points and 8.8 rebounds. But his full surname is still unquestionable.

The most comprehensive list of strikers of the season has been added to the list of 198cm tall Chuck Hayes. His stats have easily declined due to the recent schedule, but he can still maintain a balanced stat of 20.2 points, 9.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists. Both assists and rebounds rank first among the Rockets.

It is worth mentioning that experts are generally not optimistic about Marion. If nothing else, it depends on the body type. How could Marion's ape-like stature resist Hayes's massive buttocks?

Finally, there is the center, the clash of old rivals.

"Little Overlord" Amare Stoudemire only played in three games last season due to a knee injury, after such a long rest, his knee is no longer in serious trouble, but his explosiveness is slightly affected, and his play will determine how far the Suns can go in the playoffs. He hit a quasi-star of 18.6 points and 8.2 rebounds in the new season, and it's getting better and better.

Yao Ming and Stoudemire have been competing with each other since they first entered the league, and they have taken completely different routes. Yao Ming's current stats are 22.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2 blocks, and he is the top scorer of the Rockets. Looking at the data, Yao Ming has the advantage, but the slow speed has always been Yao Ming's biggest criticism, and the Suns happen to be the fastest team. If the rocket gets caught in the rhythm of the sun's run-and-bomb, Yao Ming is likely to become the soft underbelly of the rocket.

In the visiting dressing room, Jeff Van Gundy smiled: "They are playing at home and they are in full swing. However, we didn't waste much energy when we beat the Timberwolves, so you shouldn't be short of energy, right? Except for Yao Ming and Chuck, I see that you went back to the hotel in the afternoon to play game consoles for a while, and your fingers must be tired, right? ”

Hayes stretched out his big rough hand and said, "It's okay. In fact, that's how we get our shooting touch. Playing games can make your fingers more flexible. ”

The atmosphere in the Rockets locker room was very relaxed and the players were in a good mood, which was a good sign. The mentality of the players is calm, they have won six in a row, and it is back-to-back games, even if they lose, they will not be condemned by the fans, and the pressure is on the side of the Suns who are playing at home.

Jeff Van Gundy said: "When we attack, we try to control the tempo, play positional battles, defend people to mark and prevent them from playing fast breaks. Drag them into the rhythm of the positional offense, and the Suns offense is greatly reduced. Chuck, you're going to have to guard against Marion, he's fast, he's been an All-Star in a row, he's proven to be a good guy, and you've got a lot of work to do. ”

"When he meets me, he doesn't have to say what kind of offense he is, but on the defensive end he can only prove Darwin's theory of evolution." Hayes laughed and said he couldn't wait to get on the pitch and use his body against Marion. Marion is fast, but he can even keep up with Gordon, so what are you afraid of? Hayes was strange about this, and he felt that he had become much faster.

On the other side, Suns head coach Mike Anthony has a serious demeanor and holds a tactical board to lay out his tactics. "Hit the speed, drag down the rocket with speed. As long as Yao Ming is present, our speed has an absolute advantage, and if we fall into a positional battle, Amare (Stodamaire) blocks Steve (Nash), pulls Yao Ming out, and then attacks the inside line by breaking through. Sean (Marion), you have to be careful, don't underestimate their Hayes, that guy exchanged blows with Garnett in the first few minutes of the last game, and then reduced the offense maybe deliberately to save energy. You definitely have the upper hand in his strength, you have to find a way to limit him, and Amare must pay attention to the defense. ”

"I'll guard him off." Marion said fiercely.

Marion is confident that he felt he should have been on the All-Defensive Team last season because the Suns' overall poor defense lowered his scores, and that was an honor owed to him by the league. Defending against Hayes, a recent dark horse player, is a good opportunity to prove his defensive skills.

"Raja (Bell), I'm sure you can kill Maddie. He's not the Magic's scoring champion anymore, his shooting percentage was low in the first two seasons, he made more pull-up jumpers than breakaways, and his speed was slow. Now he's more of a pitcher, and you just have to strangle that scoring point and we can make the Rockets look good. Steve, you follow Alston defensively, he's nothing special but with the ball. Mike Anthony again emphasised the defensive line at the back and outright despised Alstom.

Alstom's recent form has really been terrible. But the Rockets started unchanged, Alston, Maddy, Battier, Hayes, Yao Ming. Suns starting five: Nash, Raja Bell, Dio, Marion, Stoudeyer.

The Suns players were also relaxed when they got on the court. Nash also took the initiative to say hello to Hayes. He whispered: "You've been playing well lately, and you're going to work hard today, our fast break here is the most authentic, are you interested in joining the Suns next season?" ”

Hayes shook Nash's hand and smiled, "Hehe, thank you for your kindness." We can be friends off the court, but when it comes to earning the Sun, let's be honest, I'm not very interested. A good offense can only attract fans, and you have to defend to win a championship. ”

"Oh? Then let's see if we can break your defenses. Nash smiled, he's a very cheerful guy who likes to make friends and has good relationships with the likes of Nowitzki of the Mavericks, Byron Davis and Yao Ming of the Warriors.

"If you break our defense, it's hard for you to win, but we have both offense and defense, haha." Hayes's words were a little provocative, and Nash smiled and didn't reply.

The players took their positions, and as the referee threw the ball into the air, the game began.

Yao Ming jumped the ball and lost to Stodamaire, the Suns hit the edge of the three-second zone after a few passes, Nash took the ball with his back and suddenly hit the ground and passed to Stoudeyer who cut the basket after blocking and dismantling, Stoudeyer broke through on the right side and jumped up to dunk with one hand.

His movements are extremely stretched, like a phoenix with wings spread.

Yao Ming also jumped up and slapped the ball from the hands of Stadameyer, who lost his balance and sat on the ground when he landed, and the ball touched his calf and went out of the bottom line.

There was a neat exclamation at the scene, and the fans were afraid that Stadamire would be injured again, but fortunately Stodameyer was fine.

Yao Ming gave out a big hat at the beginning, which was very morale-boosting. Although Stadameyer was slapped, he immediately rolled over and got up.

This shows that Stadameyer lacks experience and should learn from the footballers.

If some football players encounter a blow of this magnitude, they have to lie on the ground for a minute, holding their knees and struggling in pain to gain the referee's sympathy, if you get up too early, you will be embarrassed to greet your teammates after the game; The stretcher team doctor must cover his face and be carried out of the field, he must moan in a low voice, especially his expression must pretend to be very painful, if he really doesn't pretend to be like it, don't say anything, and let the team doctor cover it with a white cloth; Carry it to the sidelines of the field to take medicine, with a box, the name of the product on the box must be large, and a close-up can be left on the lens when it is disassembled; Squirt all over your legs, squirt! Don't rush to the field after spraying, take a bottle and drink two sips of water to moisten your throat, and pour the rest of the water on your head, and the whole person will be more energetic! In this way, it is foolproof, and you can run wild as if you have eaten fairy beans!

Yao Ming received the ball on the right side and turned to the baseline to hit a hook shot, hitting Stoudeyer with his height.

The Suns immediately launched a fast break, and the ball was handed to the Nash organization. The Suns played a pick-and-roll match, and Yao Ming and Maddy switched defenses.

Stadamire received the pass and got up to get up with a tomahawk dunk, and Maddie followed, but didn't dare to block. His choice is correct, Stadamyer's explosiveness is not as good as before, and he is still a "little bully" compared to others, and Maddie will definitely be knocked away if he resists hard.

The two teams showed their strengths at the beginning and were evenly matched!

;