unfinished glory

Chapter 202 The playoffs start

The combination of MSN of the Suns and coach D'Antoni has been prosperous for several years. It has reached the Western Conference Finals for three consecutive years, but it has never broken out of the Western Conference.

This season, Nash is one year older, Stoudemire is frequently injured, and "Hacker" Marion is also gradually declining, resulting in the team's poor record.

In order to maintain the offensive firepower on the perimeter, they sent away Raja Bell and Boris Diaw in exchange for former slam dunk king Jason Richardson and shooter Dudley.

Although the Suns' record is not good, they are not depressed.As long as the lineup is neat, they are still a strong team.Facing a team like the Grizzlies with zero playoff winning experience, the Suns are full of confidence.

In the first quarter of the game, the Grizzlies encountered a fast-break whirlwind from the Suns.

On the road, the Suns played more proactively than the home team.They still held high the banner of "7-second offense" and rushed to the basket.

Although Carlisle has repeatedly emphasized the difference between the regular season and the playoffs, most of the team's players have not had this experience.Some rookies are very nervous, and their movements on the court are deformed; some are absolutely no different between the regular season and the playoffs, too relaxed, and are stunned by the speed of the Suns.

In the regular season, the Grizzlies won three games against the Suns, but the lineup they encountered either lacked Stoudemire or Marion, and there was another game that happened to be played during the Suns trade, and they only had 7 people to fight.

Now facing the complete lineup of the Suns, the Grizzlies were caught off guard, the formation was hit in pieces, and they fell behind by 10 points in the first quarter.

The audience at the scene started to cheer for the team enthusiastically, but this meeting stopped. I couldn't believe that the home team, which was so majestic in the regular season, was beaten so embarrassingly by the Suns, which barely squeezed into the playoffs.

Some pessimistic fans, thinking of the team's playoff record of 12 games and 0 wins, began to worry that the team would be "black eight".

In the second quarter, the offensive rhythm of the Grizzlies was completely skewed. Like a headless chicken, Conley rushed forward with the ball, and hurriedly passed or attacked before all his teammates were in position.

The teammates were also led astray. When they got the ball, they either made a quick shot or passed it out quickly. After a few rounds, there were many mistakes and very few goals.

Carlisle called a timeout, repeatedly emphasizing attention to control the rhythm and playing slower, but there was still no way to adjust.

The team's loss quickly reached 20 points. Li Chongxiao couldn't stand it anymore, and took the initiative to strengthen his personal offense, frequently playing singles.

The Suns didn't double-team Li Chongxiao, and they didn't need to double-team him. Facing the chaotic defense of the Grizzlies, they directly fought against each other.

Li Chongxiao scored a goal through personal efforts, and the Suns quickly scored a goal on a fast break.

This stalemate continued until the end of the first half. Li Chongxiao scored 31 points in the first half, and the Grizzlies still trailed by 47 points 64:17.

……

Back in the locker room, the other players drooped their heads and panted heavily.Running with the Suns was not only irritating and frustrating, but also exhausting.

During the halftime break of the last game of the regular season, Li Chongxiao reminded everyone of the cruelty of the playoffs. Carlisle also emphasized it many times, but it was a pity that everyone did not pay attention.In other words, everyone paid attention to it, but did not expect this situation.

Carlisle is still helpless at this time. No matter how well the tactics are arranged, everyone needs to be able to implement them. Now this group of players can't even run out of tactics.

What needs to be changed now is the mental state of the players. Carlisle is not a master of chicken soup. It just means that everyone should calm down and not be brought into the rhythm. After nagging for a long time, they can't explain why.

At this time Li Chongxiao stood up suddenly, and he walked to the tactical board.Everyone felt a "thud" in their hearts. The last time the fight was like this, Li Chongxiao scolded others. Today is the playoffs, the situation is more serious, and the scolding may be even worse.

Li Chongxiao took the mark sheet from Carlisle's hand, and before he could draw anything, he burst out laughing.He shook his head and said to everyone: "Since you don't know what to do, just leave it to me."

说着他拿起记号笔，写下了“1、2、3、4、5”五个数字，然后点点战术板：“我们就打这个战术吧！”

Seeing the familiar tactics, the teammates burst into laughter, and the tense atmosphere in the locker room thawed out, and everyone gradually regained their vitality.

"The Suns are old rivals. I wasn't afraid of them when they were at their peak, not to mention it's getting worse now." Li Chongxiao straightened his clothes and said to everyone: "Look at the second half, I'll teach you how to play!"

……

After playing, the Suns still maintained a fast offensive rhythm, serving to Nash to quickly lead the frontcourt, and Stoudemire stopped after a block, and then hit the ground, and Gasol was shaken away.

On the Grizzlies side, Li Chongxiao played singles with the ball. Richardson's single defense had little effect on him.

After a few rounds, the Grizzlies calmed down a bit and strengthened their defense a little bit, but they were misled in the offense again, and Conley still rushed forward with the ball.

Seeing that the momentum was not right, Li Chongxiao took the initiative to take over the rhythm of the ball, and when serving, he took the initiative to pass the ball.

He dawdled for more than 7 seconds before leading the half court. After his teammates were settled, he dribbled the ball slowly on the outside.Obviously there are many opportunities to pass Richardson, but he has to wait until the 24 seconds are approaching before making a shot.

The goal was missed, but the tempo was slowed down.

The Suns grabbed the rebound and were about to play a fast break. Li Chongxiao immediately stepped forward to interfere with Marion, just to prevent him from passing to Nash.

After a delay of one or two seconds, he waited for his teammates to run across the front court before he started to walk back.On the way, he also made an appearance of double-teaming, which made Richardson dare not pass the ball easily.

The Suns failed to make a quick attack this time, so they could only fall into positional warfare.The Grizzlies, who recovered slightly, made concerted efforts to defend against the attack.

In the next round, Li Chongxiao continued to control the ball, slowly came to the frontcourt, and cooperated at the top of the arc.After he passed to Conley, he immediately asked for the ball back, then dribbled and switched positions with Conley.

Then passed to Conley, and immediately asked for the ball back.This style of play made the Suns a little impatient, and they rushed in the wrong direction and double-teamed Conley.

Naturally, the Grizzlies couldn't let go of this opportunity. Conley quickly responded to Li Chongxiao.

Then Li Chongxiao played "inside-out" with Gasol again, hit in and then came back, and then let Gasol pick and roll and hit a shot.

This blatant way of delaying time really calmed down the anxious emotions of the Grizzlies players and calmed everyone down.

The Grizzlies, who had found their own rhythm, undoubtedly improved their defense to a new level, preventing the Suns from attacking several times and gradually narrowing the point difference.

As the team's offensive arrow, Li Chongxiao began to lead the team to counterattack.He only scored 12 points in this quarter, but he successfully led his teammates and narrowed the point difference to 4 points.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the substitute players of the two teams played evenly. When Li Chongxiao came on the court, the point difference remained unchanged.

Today is a home game, the referee is slightly inclined to the home team, and the scale of whistleblowing is relatively loose.After the main force of the Grizzlies came on the field, the intensity of the game suddenly increased, and there were more physical confrontations.

This change suddenly disrupted the offensive rhythm of the Suns. For most of the quarter, they changed from leading by 4 points to trailing by 11 points.

Li Chongxiao completed the task of extinguishing the flames at the last moment, scored 7 points in a row, and also completed a steal and a block, extinguishing the opponent's counterattack.

In the end, the Grizzlies made a good start to the playoffs at 117:102 at home.

(End of this chapter)