O'Neal was too arrogant in the first half, and Stoudemire was beaten so badly he almost cried.

Actually...

After O'Neal left the Western Conference, many players went from having to face him four times a season to only twice, which was a relief for Western Conference centers.

The fact that Dampier dared to call himself the second-best center in the West shows how scarce centers are in this league.

In the summer of 2002, Wei Guo dominated Shaquille O'Neal in the Finals and became the league's best center. After that, Wei Guo transferred to the Rockets and switched to the small forward position. If Wei Guo is not considered a center, then apart from O'Neal, the only other center in the league who can be considered good is Yao Ming. Players like Stoudemire and Jermaine O'Neal are said to play center but are more like power forwards.

Howard hasn't reached his peak yet...

Stoudemire, who had dominated the field for a year and was already capable of holding his own against O'Neal, was beaten so badly by O'Neal that he secretly wiped away tears in the locker room tonight.

Let's look at the first half statistics:

Wei Guo: 17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks

Wade: 11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks

Stoudemire: 7 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 0 steals, 1 block

O'Neal: 21 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 0 steals, 1 block

Nash: 9 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks

Kidd: 7 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

Wade was at a disadvantage when matched up against Wei Guo, but the statistical gap between them wasn't as large as the gap between Stoudemire and O'Neal.

so...

D'Antoni made some adjustments to the lineup in the second half.

The starting lineup remained the same, but Wei Guo returned to the center position to guard the Suns' basket, Marion guarded Wade, Nash helped defend the outside shooters, and Kidd was assigned to Johnson.

......

The second half begins, and the Heat are on offense.

Five players ran towards the frontcourt at the same time. Before they could even get into position, Kidd pointed east and shot west. The basketball bounced off the ground and landed in O'Neal's hands. O'Neal took a step to the basket, grabbed the basketball with both hands, and jumped.

If it were anyone else, they would have run away by now.

But...

Wei Guo was already waiting for O'Neal under the basket; his timing was precise down to the millisecond.

*Smack!!!*

Wei Guo slapped the basketball away.

In that instant...

The basketball disappeared from O'Neal's hands. O'Neal and Wei Guo's bodies were separated, but due to inertia, his hands were still hanging on the rim.

The referee didn't blow the whistle!

Miller grabbed the ball, took a step back to the three-point line, and pulled up for a three-pointer!

"Whoosh!!!"

The basketball went into the net.

Miller pumped his fist excitedly after scoring, yelling, "Nice!"

57:68!!

The Suns are down by 11 points.

This was Miller and Kidd's first game after joining the Heat. All five players on the court have extremely high basketball IQs. They didn't even need to work out and showed great chemistry in the first game. This is also what makes the Heat so formidable. Every position has strong offensive capabilities, and there can be no slackening on defense.

But...

The Suns are really bad at defense.

Suns on offense!

Haslem was in front of Wei Guo, and Nash broke through and passed the ball to Marion outside the three-point line, where Marion took a three-point shot.

The ball's trajectory was off...

Wei Guo realized it, but Haslem was in front of him. Based on his judgment, the ball was going to land right above O'Neal. Unless he pushed Haslem aside, Wei Guo wouldn't have time to get into position to fight for the rebound. If he rushed over directly, he might knock O'Neal away.

Since he couldn't get the offensive rebound, Wei Guo turned around and went back to defense!

"bang~~~"

The basketball bounced off the rim.

Just as Wei Guo predicted, O'Neal easily grabbed the defensive rebound.

The Suns' defensive transition was incredibly fast!

Kidd directed his teammates to make runs and passed the ball to Miller. Miller made a wide pass, and O'Neal used his massive body to block Wei Guo outside the three-second zone.

Wade receives the ball and drives to the basket for a layup!

Marion covers...

Marion is not Wei Guo. If it were Wei Guo, Wade would never dare to play like that. But facing Marion's defense, Wade scored with an aerial contest.

57:70!!

Trailing by 13 points.

The Suns have never had such a tough game, not even against the Spurs... They've never felt this way before.

Wei Guo can score 50 or even 60 points in a game, but relying solely on Wei Guo's scoring is not enough to win the game. The Suns not only need to play their own offense, but also need to defend against the Heat's offense.

......

Gentry had long since put down his copy of Sun Tzu's Art of War; his gaze never left the field.

It's obvious...

The Suns struggled, and the Heat's defense was very targeted.

Although the point difference remained within 15 points, the Suns' chances of winning were slim based on the situation in the first three quarters.

"Whoosh!!!"

Wade hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer from way beyond the arc, ending the third quarter.

......

Wei Guo wiped his sweat and glanced at the scoreboard.

79:93!!

The Suns are down by 14 points.

The team scored 79 points in three quarters, averaging 26 points per quarter. The Suns' offense was fine; the reason they were behind was their defense.

Coach Van Gundy is excellent...

He places great emphasis on defense, and if the team executes a successful defensive play, he receives recognition and encouragement from Van Gundy.

The addition of Wade and O'Neal had already put the Heat at the top of the Eastern Conference, and the addition of Kidd, Miller, and Collins has given the Heat a qualitative leap.

The game has entered the fourth quarter!

Despite Wei Guo's valiant efforts, he was unable to reverse the deficit. As the players' stamina began to decline, the Heat became even more ruthless in double-teaming Wei Guo. Whenever Wei Guo managed to pass the ball or score against two or three defenders, the Heat would easily respond with a basket of their own.

The point difference is still unbridgeable...

But with 1 minute and 1 second left in the fourth quarter, the Suns were still down by 11 points!

Wei Guo has the ball!

"If this ball doesn't go in, we'll give up the game."

Gentry thought to himself.

"Surround and defend the country!"

Van Gundy shouted, "Don't let Wei Guo shoot a three-pointer!"

Haslem immediately stepped forward and formed a half-circle with Wade on either side, blocking Wei Guo's path. Wei Guo then executed a crossover dribble and launched a three-pointer!

Wei Guo only rested for three minutes in the second quarter. The game had been going on for 43 minutes, and he was being targeted the whole time, so his stamina was almost at its limit.

He did not use the 'shooting rune'.

That shot wasn't powerful enough...

"bang~~~"

The ball hit the front edge of the rim.

Wei Guo had already rushed to the basket, but the rebound was still grabbed by O'Neal. The experienced Kidd started to run down the clock after getting the ball. As the seconds ticked away, the Suns were getting further and further away from victory.

"Beep!!!"

As the last note rang out, the match ended.

107:121!!

The Suns lost to the Heat by 14 points at home.