Is this trade between the Suns and the Heat a win-win or a lose-lose situation?
Let time do its work...
Looking at the regular season, O'Neal's arrival disrupted the Suns' offensive rhythm. The Suns are good at run-and-gun offense, but O'Neal is getting old and his legs aren't as agile. Marion also failed to make an impact when he joined the Heat, and his stats declined significantly after leaving.
This season... the Heat have the worst record in the Eastern Conference!
In response to O'Neal's question, D'Antoni called Gentry multiple times, and Gentry offered many constructive ideas.
Anyway...
The Suns' regular tactics are to play half-court offense when O'Neal is on the court and run-and-gun offense when O'Neal is off the court. They are a group of players with high basketball IQ, most of whom have played in the Finals, and their overall chemistry is better than expected.
The Suns also have their weaknesses.
The team relies too heavily on its key players, especially Nash. Nash is practically the barometer of the Suns' performance; the team plays exceptionally well when he's on the court, but disorganized and disorganized when he's off.
The Suns' key players are all old friends. Four of them were teammates with Wei Guo: Stoudemire and Nash during their time with the Suns, Hill during their time with the Nets, Bell during their time with the 76ers (Bell was also Cummings' best friend), and the other one partnered with Kobe for many years, namely Shaquille O'Neal.
......
The Lakers swept the Jazz, and the Suns are now tied with the Spurs 2-2.
The first game went to double overtime, and the Suns barely won thanks to Nash's game-winning three-pointer. They then lost two games in a row, but managed to win one game at home in the second game, tying the series 2-2.
Perhaps they were too eager to meet the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals...
Upon arriving in San Antonio, the Suns united to win Game 5, taking a 3-2 lead over the Spurs.
The sixth game will be played in Phoenix, and one more win will eliminate the Spurs.
Four celebrities came to the scene to cheer for the Suns...
These four big names are Wei Guo, Kobe, Gentry, and Cummings. Logically speaking, the Lakers are playing in the playoffs, so it would be a bit against the rules for them to come to watch the Suns vs. Spurs game. However, since the Suns' owner is a mysterious Chinese tycoon, this rule does not apply to Wei Guo and his friends.
Besides, the Lakers should be more relaxed!
They swept their opponents in the first two rounds of the playoffs, winning by a large margin in every game. They're practically unbeatable in this league. So what if they don't prepare or train? They can't possibly lose a game...
Wei Guo and his friends came to the stadium to watch the game.
Not only Popovich and Duncan, but even D'Antoni and Nash were somewhat surprised... Why were they so relaxed?
actually...
This is also Gentry's psychological warfare!
Is there anyone more knowledgeable about psychology than Gentry? They come to the game... to put psychological pressure on both teams, so that they can carry that pressure into the Western Conference Finals and make either team's momentum start three points lower!
The audience was thrilled!
After Wei Guo left the team, his number was retired, and no one on the Suns could use it anymore. They were just waiting to retire Wei Guo's jersey. They really wanted to take out Wei Guo's jersey and let him wear it on the court, thinking that they could easily defeat the Spurs.
......
Starting lineup for this match:
Suns: Nash, Bell, Hill, Stoudemire, O'Neal
Spurs: Parker, Finley, Bowen, Duncan, Oberto
......
"You need to watch out for him!"
Wei Guo pointed at Bell and said to Kobe, "He'll be guarding you in the Western Conference Finals, that kid's pretty rough..."
How ruthless?
Kobe didn't take Bell seriously.
Wei Guo grabbed Kobe by the neck and laughed, "If you anger him, I'll choke you and strangle you."
Kobe laughed, "I'll beat him so badly that even his great-grandmother wouldn't recognize him."
Wei Guo knew that Bale was a tough guy.
Limited by his natural talent, Bale doesn't have a strong offensive ability, so he focuses all his energy on defense, being ruthless to himself and even more ruthless to his opponents. His selection to the All-Defensive Second Team this season speaks for itself.
certainly...
All of this was inseparable from Wei Guo's guidance.
......
The game has started, and Duncan has scored twice in a row against O'Neal!
4-0!!!
The Spurs lead by 4 points.
This was a do-or-die game for the Spurs; if they lost, they'd be going home to fish, so they played very aggressively.
Duncan entered the league in 1997, and O'Neal entered the league in 1992. O'Neal is 4 years older than Duncan. We should compare Duncan this season with O'Neal in the 2002-03 season. O'Neal was still at the peak of his career in the 2002-03 season, averaging 27 points and 11 rebounds per game. Duncan is averaging 19 points and 11 rebounds per game this season.
Who was stronger, peak Shaquille O'Neal or peak Tim Duncan?
Let's not discuss this topic...
There's a saying circulating in the league: "If you have Jordan, pick Jordan; if you don't have Jordan, pick Shaq; if you have both Jordan and Shaq, you're the best team."
Duncan is a playoff player!
O'Neal's feeling was that there was a mischievous kid in the south village who was bullying him because he was old and weak.
First quarter...
The Suns played terribly!
......
After one quarter, the Suns trailed by 9 points.
The players returned to the bench, and D'Antoni patiently encouraged them. Having worked with Gentry for a year, D'Antoni had some experience in encouraging players... but the effect wasn't very good. Kobe finally couldn't sit still any longer, walked over to the Suns' bench, and questioned O'Neal, "Shaq, you're too weak!!!"
"What did you say?!"
O'Neal suddenly stood up!
Kobe continued, "He can't even put up any effort on defense, yet he dares to call himself the best center in the league?"
"that is..."
Cummings followed and said slyly, "If you can't play in the professional league, you can play in the U60 league. That kind of competition is perfect for you."
Where did this U60 league come from?
Cummings's statement was a sarcastic jab at O'Neal, implying that O'Neal could only compete against men over 60... It's one thing to be criticized by Kobe, but who is Cummings to dare to mock him?
Shaquille O'Neal is angry...
He recalled the game where he scored 60 points against the Clippers, and he knew he couldn't afford to provoke Shaq, not even the old Shaq!
......
Kobe and Cummings' words were very effective!
O'Neal was eager to get on the court to prove himself, but D'Antoni kept him on the bench. D'Antoni was really mean... not only did he make O'Neal rest, but he also made O'Neal build up his rage meter. O'Neal is a warrior, and a warrior who has built up his rage meter can unleash his ultimate move.
Four minutes into the second quarter!
33:27!!
The Suns are down by 6 points.
In those four minutes, the substitutes, led by Nash, managed to score four points, and it was O'Neal's turn to unleash his fury.
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