The Phoenix Suns, the league's most attacking power, met the Houston Rockets with an impregnable defense, and the media called it a "battle of contradictions"!

Can you win a championship by attacking?

Suns head coach Mike D'Antoni ponders this.

The Suns are also nominally a "powerhouse" in the NBA, but they drop the chain as soon as they reach the crucial playoffs. In '05 and '06, the Suns had a record of 62 wins and 54 wins, respectively, but were eliminated by the Spurs and Mavericks 1:4 and 2:4 in the playoffs to the Western Conference Finals.

If it was the first two seasons, the Suns would have been confident of winning against the Rockets. They have been playing the role of the Rockets' nemesis, they can use their speed to drag down the Rockets, can make Yao Ming get into foul trouble, and only scored 10 points in the game. But this year, that all changed, and the disgraced man who was beaten in the regular season became the Suns.

D'Antoni believes that the reason the Rockets have become stronger is not the success of the defensive system, but the rise of Chuck Hayes. This is a superplayer with a lot of potential, he can attack and defend, he is extremely quick to react, and he is far more capable of attacking with the ball than Marion. So, after the All-Star break, D'Antoni made a request to poach Hayes with a big contract.

As a result, his proposal was rejected in one fell swoop, which angered Suns owner Robert Sarver.

Last year, D'Antoni was promoted to the Suns' executive vice president of basketball and general manager, but he didn't make the mark.

Aside from welcoming Nash, none of the Suns' trades were very successful. In 2005, Stoudamire, D'Antoni's favorite player, announced that he needed a knee surgery eight days after he was offered a big contract worth $72 million. Last year, he renewed his contract with 10 million yuan, and the team's salary has been bolted. This also directly led to the team's lack of funding for reinforcements in the summer.

Three stars of Stoudayer, Marion, Nash, plus Raja Bale, Dio, Barbossa...... Savor thinks D'Antoni must be crazy. This is already a super lineup, so if you can't win the championship, you still want to buy another person? Now if Hayes is lured in with big contracts, how much luxury tax will the Suns have to pay? D'Antoni as a manager didn't want to make money for the boss at all, but took the boss's money and gave it away. Players earn more than their bosses, so what's the point of piling up champions with luxury tax? And if Hayes comes, salary aside, bench depth for the Suns will be an issue. The starting line is strong, but the level of the substitutes will be so bad that it will not be able to guarantee the rotation of the lineup. This will be a hidden danger in the future. When Marion's contract expires next year, he will definitely ask for a big contract, and the best way is to trade Marion out of the team next year in exchange for fresh blood and a guaranteed salary.

D'Antoni is not a boss, he just wants a championship. In addition to this, he and Savor have other differences. He believes that the Suns' losses in the past two seasons are because the offense is not strong enough, but Sarver feels that the Suns can't beat the Spurs and Mavericks, and it is obvious that the defense is not good. Aside from Marion and Bale, the Suns don't have anyone to defend at all. How can you not lose?

Savor was disappointed with D'Antoni. Not only him, but many teams in the league are beginning to feel that the Rockets' tactics are correct, focusing on defense and equipping them with a few stars to attack. If you play that kind of tactic, you have to change the coach, and D'Antoni doesn't understand positional warfare at all. Sarver's patience with D'Antoni is limited, and it's all up to this playoffs. If the Suns still can't win a championship, he'll have to rebuild the team next year.

On May 10, the second round of the NBA playoffs started!

The Rockets have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, which makes the road to a championship smoother. Against the Clippers, the Rockets, who used a quick counter-attack tactic, tasted the sweetness, and against the Suns, Jeff Van Gundy was ready to do it again. If Yao Ming only makes the first pass in the attack, he can make up for the disadvantage of slow defense. The Suns' defense has always been a weakness of the team.

"Derrick [Fisher], today you have to defend Nash with all your might. When attacking, you can also play alone if you have the opportunity, Nash is not strong defensively. The defense uses 122 joint defense. Van Gundy said: "As long as we limit Nash's assists, we're going to win." Positional attack, control the rhythm, first focus on Yao Ming, if the opponent is trapped, Chuck blocks and dismantled. Tracy came to fight. ”

Van Gundy already has a plan in his heart, if he can't prevent the Suns' running and bombing, he will soon replace Yao Ming off the court, the situation is already clear in the regular season, as long as Yao Ming plays, unless he is not involved in the attack, he will not be able to keep up with Stoudeyer's fast attack. But if Yao Ming doesn't attack, what will he do when he is allowed to play? David Lee's rebounding ability is not inferior to Yao Ming, and even better.

In the away dressing room, D'Antoni was unusual, saying: "Today we have to strengthen our defence. Against the Rockets, they have a strong defense, and it is very difficult to score more than 100 points in a game, and if they score more than 100 points, the game is basically lost. So today in defense, you have to brace yourself and concentrate. The outside world says that we are a team that can't defend, and we can't win against the Rockets if we can't defend, so we have to start the game today. Kort (Thomas) started today's stare at Yao Ming, and if Hayes attacks the inside, Amare guards him and doesn't let them score easily. You have to protect the backcourt rebounds. ”

The Rockets, who swept their opponents to advance to the second round, attracted more eyeballs, and the game was broadcast live in the United States. Ross Barkley and Kenny Smith commented on the game together.

"It's the right choice to broadcast this game live today, as you can see from the data, Chuck can often play star stats when he plays against the Suns, and if he plays 82 games against the Suns in a season, he will definitely be MVP!" Barkley laughed as the players entered the pitch.

"Why don't you say the Rockets played 82 Grizzlies? That way, Hayes can average 40 points per game. Smith laughed.

"Looks like you have a problem with Chuck, why don't we make a bet. Let's see how many points Hayes can score today. Hahaha. Barkley laughed.

Smith laughed too. "Resolutely don't gamble, I'm afraid."

Smith previously participated in a same-name love photo shoot in Los Angeles, although it was only a cameo, and it also made sports news headlines.

"Fisher is back in the starting lineup, and I think it's good to start David Lee like he did in the first two games of the Clippers, that kid has a strong rebound, a good offense, and if the Rockets give him a chance, he should be able to average a double-double per game. In the last series, Yao Ming and David Lee grabbed rebounds, and Maddie Hayes's fast-break style of play was impressive, and I think the effect of that fast-break was not inferior to the Suns' bombardment. It seems that today the rocket wants to fight a positional war. Barkley said.

"The best way to deal with the Sun's run-and-bomb tactics is to master the rhythm of positional warfare, so that the Suns can't play the offense they are accustomed to." Smith said: "How the Suns defend Yao Ming today is also a problem, in the last meeting between the two teams, Yao Ming scored 32 points, and his turnaround jump shot was amazing. ”

The players from both sides came out and several stars greeted each other, with only Stadamire ignoring Hayes. In the league, he annoys Hayes the most, holding on to his body, and it is very difficult to get inside. And when defending Hayes, he was hard and felt like a defender.

However, Hayes took the initiative to speak to Stadameyer this time. "Hi Amare, I heard you've been watching The Art of War lately? Any thoughts? ”

"You know that, too? I've learned a lot of ways to beat the enemy from the real book, and I can apply it on the pitch. Today you're just waiting for me to dunk on your head. Stadameyer said.

"Friendship first, competition second, don't be so murderous, we were teammates in the All-Star Game." Hayes laughed, "I think it's time for your nickname to change." The nickname 'stat' is too unremarkable. Just like me, I read the "Tao Te Ching" written by Lao Tzu in China, and gave myself the nickname "Lao Tzu" in the team. Since you are familiar with "The Art of War", you might as well change your name to "Sun Tzu." ”

"Don't talk nonsense, you stand and go." A smile appeared on Stadamyer's face, and he thought Hayes's offer was a good one. When the time comes, talk to your teammates, and simply change your nickname to "grandson" in the future.

Stadameyer also said that he had read "The Art of War". The two armies faced each other, and he dared to believe the words of the enemy...... Rockets starters: Fisher, Maddy, Battier, Hayes, Yao Ming.

Suns starters: Nash, Raja Bell, Marion, Stoudmire, Kurt Thomas.

The race is on.

Stoudamire won the jump ball, and Nash received the ball and immediately handed a through pass to Marion, who received the ball and rushed to the basket, squeezed Battier for a layup but didn't put it in, and Hayes took the rebound and handed it to Fisher.

Fisher dribbles the ball, and he is also a player who is good at using his back, always able to carry the ball steadily across the frontcourt. He did this no worse than Alstom. Several members of the Rockets pulled away. Fisher transferred the ball to Yao Ming.

Yao Ming singled Kurt Thomas, dribbled a few times with his back, turned to the baseline, and shot the ball steadily. 2 to 0.

After throwing the ball, Yao Ming immediately returned to defense, for fear of being counterattacked by the sun. After fighting hard, he finally ran back to his own penalty area before Stodameire. On the other side, Nash was wrapped tightly by Fisher and it took a few seconds to get the ball across half court.

The Rockets have been a one-man defense against Nash when they played the Suns this season. He dribbled the ball to the front court and handed it to Stadamire, who stood still, waited for Nash to come and hand it out. Nash bypassed Fisher with a pick-and-roll, and Hayes made up in time to block Nash's way, Nash wanted to return the ball to Stoudeyer, but Fisher interfered close in front of Stoudeyer, and it was easy to miss if the pass was made.

Nash chose to break through, his center of gravity was very low, his steps were very slow, and when he got close to Hayes, he accelerated the pace of the ball, suddenly accelerated, and Hayes opened up half a step away, and made a stop-and-go jump shot. 2 to 2.

"Pretty."

Nash listened to Hayes as he passed by. Nash smiled, he didn't understand why Hayes was praising his opponent.

For Hayes, being scored by an MVP-caliber defender after a change of defense is not a shame. He was also broken by Nash many times in the regular season, and now he has some understanding of Nash's dribbling.

(To be continued)