Chapter 138: Run and Bomb

Arizona, Phoenix.

Phoenix ushered in a new visitor. After the Warriors defeated the Rockets, they came to the city in the desert non-stop the next day to challenge the Suns away.

In the hotel where the Warriors stayed, Zhang Yu was studying the video of the Suns' game in the room, with a dignified expression.

Silas pushed the door and entered. He just went to inspect the players' room. The Warriors are all newcomers, so he was a little worried.

He came behind Zhang Yu and looked at the computer screen. Nash sent a free call to Stoudemire while walking in the courtyard, and comforted him:

"Ronan, go to rest early, don't think about it, we just need to play our own tactics."

Zhang Yu pressed the space bar a little irritably, the screen froze, he took off the earphones hanging around his neck, and said in a low voice:

"The Suns' defense is weak, but their offense is too strong, and it's hard for us to match our firepower."

He watched the video of the game all day, and his brain has been running rapidly, but he still can't find a way to beat the Suns.

Unlike the Rockets, which are short of major generals, the Suns have a complete lineup. Only Richardson is absent due to injury, and the rest of the core players are intact.

And Nash is the most capable point guard in the entire league. Although D'Antoni went to New York, Gentry implemented the run-and-gun tactics. Nash is like a duck to water in the Suns and is still the league's number one point guard.

Although he didn't average 20 points per game, Nash was the undisputed soul and engine of the Suns, driving this chariot and defeating opponents one after another with blitzkrieg.

Stoudemire is a heavy-duty battering ram that is almost unmatched in the league, Channing Frye is a rare space-type insider, Brazilian Lightning Barbosa has a strong impact, and the young Grant Hill , The Suns' bench is lackluster, but their starting lineup is also one of the best in the league.

Although the Suns have a lot of deficiencies on the defensive end that can be exploited, their offensive resources are extremely rich, and no matter what defense they face, they have a stable solution.

The Warriors are not good at defense. Players in all positions do not take advantage of the matchup, and their style is very similar to the opponent.

If the Warriors play running and bombing, it will be in the hands of the Suns. If they don't play running and bombing, the Warriors will not have a second tactical system.

Zhang Yu sighed, turned off the laptop, got up and went to wash.

No matter which opponent he meets, he has the confidence to fight hard. With the style of the Warriors, there is a possibility that the offensive end will explode. As long as the players are in good condition, any strong team can win.

But only the Suns, Zhang Yu can't do anything about it.

If the Warriors want to win against the Suns, they have to rely on offense, running and bombing, and the Suns are best at running and bombing. Under the fast pace, the Warriors cannot be the opponent of the Suns.

Looking at his bloodshot eyes in the mirror, Zhang Yu slowly flipped the toothbrush, feeling turbulent.

Try running and bombing first, if it doesn't work, you can only use this method.

...

At 10 pm the next day, the game between the Warriors and the Suns officially started at the American Airlines Center.

Because the US standard time is based on Washington time, and the distance between the west and the east is too far, spanning three time zones, the game time in the west is very late.

Generally, the games of the Warriors, Lakers, and Trail Blazers are the last game of the day.

After the start of the game, Zhang Yu still asked the Warriors to try to run and bomb, but after playing for 7 minutes in the first quarter, he decisively called a timeout to change his tactics.

Curry's game experience is still too lacking. When the two teams are playing fast-paced at the same time, his control over the game is obviously much worse than Nash.

In just 7 minutes, the two sides played fast, without fouling, each attack was completed within 10 seconds, and the transition between offense and defense was dazzling.

And Nash firmly controlled the situation in this unpredictable rhythm, organized the Suns offense in an orderly manner, and passed the ball smoothly, allowing the basketball to appear in the weak spots of the Warriors' defense every time, although he himself did not score much. , but the assists quickly rose to 7.

And he is still secretly fueling the flames, pushing the rhythm faster, further accelerating the already fast offensive and defensive transitions, which makes people feel dizzy.

Often Biedrins just successfully dunked in this half, and three seconds later, Channing Frye received a long pass from Nash's quarterback and hit a fast-break three-pointer.

The fans at the American Airlines Center were hooked. They had only seen the running and bombing of the Suns before, and they had never seen two teams consciously speeding up the pace of the game at the same time.

This made the game seem like a track and field competition. The players on both sides were running all the time and had to engage in physical confrontation. The three-pointers were like rain. No one fouled.

The Warriors' offense at the beginning was also smooth and smooth. Curry easily controlled the rhythm, and the offensive end bloomed more points. The scoring and the Suns rose alternately.

But as Nash continued to push the tempo up, Curry gradually became a little confused.

His vision is still not as good as Nash's, and his experience is far from Nash's.

In the faster and faster offensive and defensive transitions, Curry found it more and more difficult to find open teammates, and the Warriors' smooth offensive rhythm began to mess up.

Curry simply focused on his personal offense, and he was very good at finding opportunities in chaos.

But the Suns had already prepared for this. Gentry watched the video of the Warriors' opening game and was impressed by Curry's performance, so Barbosa followed Curry all the way.

The Brazilian didn't do anything, but relied on his speed to stop Curry in front of him, not giving him room to shoot.

This made Curry very uncomfortable. Although Barbosa often stuck to his body, allowing him to jump over with a change of direction, Barbosa's blocking made Curry unable to accelerate freely, and it was difficult to enter his own rhythm.

For Curry, it doesn't matter whether there is space, as long as he enters his own rhythm, even if someone is defending in front of him, he cannot interfere with his shooting.

However, under Gentry's arrangement, Barbosa would rather defend the shot than to prevent the rush, giving him a chance to rush to the inside line for a layup, rather than letting him shoot a fast-break three-pointer.

Curry had no choice but to choose to break through, and his score rose very quickly.

But the Suns turned around and made three-pointers, and the point increase was faster. The situation gradually evolved into the Suns under Nash's command, and the Warriors who were in a mess compared offense, and the score was gradually pulled apart.

But when the score came to 28:33 and the Suns led by 5 points, Zhang Yu made a decisive decision and called a timeout.

Although there are only 5 minutes to the end of the first quarter, he knows that if the game is allowed to continue, the Suns may even expand their lead to more than 15 points.

Since running and bombing cannot be played, the only option is to slow down the pace of the game. This is also the choice that all teams in the league will take when facing the Suns.

After the timeout, the two sides returned to the field and the Warriors had the ball.

According to Zhang Yu's instructions, Curry did not rush to push the fast break, but steadily dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, played a pick-and-roll with Biedrins, and replaced Stoudemire in front of him.

The Warriors don't have many options for positional warfare, and Curry's misplaced offense is the safest way to score.

And the Suns really inherited the excellent characteristics of the running and bombing team, that is, the defense is poor.

Stoudemire didn't take the defense seriously at all. A simple rhythm change by Curry gained enough space for his shot, and he raised his hand and hit a three-pointer.

Gentry immediately shouted from the sidelines:

"Amare, post it, he is a shooter at the same level as Steve, we can't give him any space to shoot three-pointers!"

Stoudemire shrugged and nodded, but he still didn't think so.

A shooter at the same level as Nash?

I've never seen anyone who can shoot better than Nash!

In Stoudemire's view, Nash's shooting is an art. If he is not limited by his physical fitness, he will definitely be able to average 30+10 per game.

The Suns attacked, Nash came to the front court with the ball, walked in slowly from Curry, circled around the penalty area under the escort of Curry, and came out slowly, but when he circled to the free throw line, his hands The ball suddenly disappeared.

Curry was shocked and turned his head quickly, only to see Nash dexterously shaking his wrist, and the basketball hit the ground from behind him to Stoudemire's hand in the penalty area.

And Biedrins' attention was just attracted by Nash passing by, and he was distracted for a moment. After receiving the ball, Stoudemire cut to the inside and succeeded in splitting and dunking.

"Nash threaded the needle, and the little bully smashed Huashan!"

The game was broadcasted by CCTV, and Yu Jialing's familiar voice rang out to fans.

It's a pity that this is not "Sports Express" or "Basketball Park", otherwise it would be more interesting.

Zhang Yu sighed softly, this is Nash, he doesn't need flashy dribbles or violent dunks, he just needs a precise wrist shake to create the easiest scoring opportunities.

Nash's passing vision and organizational skills have reached the peak. Now his speed is not extreme, his breakthrough is not sharp enough, he scores a lot every game, and the defensive end is even a black hole. But as long as there is this pass, Nash will always be Zonda.

Looking back, Curry still pressed his speed through the half, picking and rolling with Biedrins, and finding Stoudemire for a single.

Stoudemire's defense was a lot more serious this time, but Curry first dribbled the ball under his crotch, then took a back dribble, took a step back and retreated beyond the three-point line, instantly created a huge gap, and quickly shot a three-pointer!

Stoudemire can only watch the basketball fly overhead, and then straight into the basket.

Gentry was completely angry and shouted:

"Amare! Go out, understand? Don't give him any chance to shoot a three-pointer!"

Stoudemire nodded impatiently, indicating that he heard it.

He was annoyed that Gentry emphasized defense every day, but also had to protect the frame and defend the perimeter.

Not so with D'Antoni, who just asks to dunk the damn basketball into the hoop.

Although the season has just started, Stoudemire misses D'Antoni more and more.

The ensuing game played out at a pace all too familiar to Phoenix fans -- the Suns trying to pick up the pace, and the Warriors bent on slowing it down.

But this scene only lasted less than half a quarter, and the Warriors' offensive rhythm began to be chaotic. Their speed was brought up by the Suns, and they gradually developed to the situation in the first quarter.

"Steady the rhythm, keep it steady! Don't play too fast..." Zhang Yu could only keep shouting from the sidelines.

He didn't have a good way to deal with this situation.

Too many newcomers have been added to the team, most of them are rookies, and the running-in progress is very slow.

Before the start of the season, he barely built a more balanced offensive and defensive running and bombing system based on the legacy of old Nelson's tactics.

The Warriors' positional battle has only two tactics-singles and Curry's pick-and-roll.

As for complex positional battle coordination such as passing and cutting, high inside support, cross-running cover, etc., they can only be used without confrontation, and it will take a long time to train.

"...Hold on!"

Zhang Yu yelled again at the top of his lungs. Seeing that Curry had successfully found Channing Frye for singles, he stopped and took a breath.

When you go back, you must use the game as a substitute for training, practice tactics on the weak team, and you can no longer be led by the nose!

Zhang Yu decided to study the schedule carefully when he went back, and pick a few opponents to test tactics.

The Warriors' lineup is too young, and the time to cooperate with each other is too short, so they can only use more intense games to improve the training effect.

This confrontation lasted the entire first half, and the two sides have been in a state of mutual explosion, but the Suns' scoring efficiency is significantly higher.

Fast break is the offensive method with the highest scoring efficiency. Under the leadership of Nash, the Suns pushed the offensive rhythm very quickly, and the three-pointers were like rain.

Zhang Yu adjusted the lineup in time, replacing Varejao with Matthews to improve the defense and rotation speed.

But Nash then consciously passed the ball inside, and Stoudemire faced the Warriors' small lineup like a duck to water, wreaking havoc in the penalty area.

Zhang Yu frowned and thought for a long time, but still maintained a small lineup and did not continue to make adjustments.

The Suns' offensive resources are too rich. In addition to low-post behemoths, organizers, assaulters, inside finishers, shooters, and mid-range singles have everything that one expects to find, which makes the Warriors' defense unable to do everything.

Not only the Warriors, but no team in the league can defend the Suns.

If you want to win the Suns, you can only fight offensively.

And Curry is far from reaching his peak state. It is a bit difficult for him to play Stoudemire's high-mobility insider singles, and his organizational ability is far inferior to Nash, unable to cope with the firepower of the Suns.

At the end of the first half, on the big screen in mid-air, the score was 60:78, and the Warriors trailed by 18 points.

60 points is already a high score in a half, but the Suns' 78 points are some teams' full-court points in this era...

Zhang Yu withdrew his gaze towards the heights, and greeted the players who came down from the field with a normal face.

After returning to the locker room, the atmosphere was a little dull.

The players were a little depressed. They felt that they had done nothing wrong, and their shooting percentage was not low. They scored 60 points in the half, but why were they still nearly 20 points behind their opponents?

Several players sneaked a few glances at Zhang Yu. In their opinion, the team's performance in the first half was so poor, Zhang Yu would definitely be furious.