Legend of Tomorrow

The Lakers firmly had the upper hand, limiting the Suns' offense even without sending two wings who were good at defense.

The Suns' offensive routine is too simple. It only goes back and forth a few times. It can't break through and pass into space. In the end, it always hits people. They only ranked seventh in the regular season, and their winning rate was less than 50%.

Guo Xu was the key on the defensive end. He prevented Jeremy Lin from breaking through. Booker and Horford were not slow to switch defenses, limiting Thompson's three-pointers. With Nurkic sitting inside, the Suns can only choose mid-to-long-range shots, and it is difficult to get open shots.

Whiteside averaged 14.4 points, 11.8 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game this season, which is good data, but 50.3% of his shots were at the basket and 31.7% of his shots were in the low post. His offensive distance is very close, and his efficiency drops when he is resisted by Nurkic.

The Suns' starting lineup mainly relies on three people to score, and there are few breakthroughs. How can they compare with the Lakers' internal and external combination and more blossoming? Guo Xu can attract double-teams in every round, pass inside or outside, and his teammates can get easy shooting opportunities.

Nurkic turned into a powerful inside player and scored 13 points and 5 rebounds in a single quarter. He made 6 of 7 shots and 1 of 2 free throws, which was very efficient.

Booker hit two three-pointers and played 6 and a half minutes and made two fouls before going off to rest. His fouls were worthwhile. When Whiteside cut, he sent his opponent to free throws, making 2 of 4 free throws.

Many big men are inaccurate at free throws, and Whiteside is one of them, shooting 62.6% from the line during the regular season.

Carter made a three-pointer and only took one shot in 6 and a half minutes. It was not a perfect opportunity for him to take a shot. He moves the ball quickly and well and plays a linking role.

Guo Xu made 3 of 4 shots in the entire quarter and scored 7 points, 8 assists and 1 steal. Jeremy Lin, who was guarding him, made 0 of 2 shots and scored no points and only had two assists.

The second leader Horford scored 4 points and 4 assists, and his performance was better than Ibaka. He is the team's second organizational point, averaging 7.4 assists per game in the regular season, the most among all insiders.

Almost all of the Lakers' points were assisted, and the ball moved very smoothly, leading 40 to 23.

In the second quarter, both sides sent out rotating lineups. Booker came on to lead the bench, and Guo Xu rested. The backup point guard is Seth Curry, the forwards are Tucker and Robertson, and the center is Montrezl Harrell.

This is a real small lineup of five small players of death. The tallest Harrell is only 203cm. The advantage of this lineup is that it is highly mobile and all five players can attack quickly. Tucker and Harrell are strong enough to withstand the opponent's big man, and will not let the opponent's inside hit the basket at will.

Tyronn Lue intends to let Seth Curry develop into a point guard.

Let him coach ball handling and shooting, and personally coached him.

Tyronn Lue had a performance of 13.5 points and 5.4 assists in his peak season. He was good at controlling the rhythm and organizing offense. He is a point guard like Fisher, who can only provide assists during counterattacks. He usually dribbles the ball across half court and passes it to the person responsible for holding the ball. He draws the defense to prepare to catch the ball and shoot. His career three-point shooting rate is 39.1%.

Although Coach Lu has been criticized throughout his career for substituting Guo Xu, and he is a person who lives in jokes, he understands the game very well and plays in a team-like manner, otherwise Doc Rivers would not ask him to be an assistant coach.

Curry Jr. is known as a dual-purpose player. He used to be a shooting guard, but after practicing with the Lakers for a season, he became a point guard. He doesn't need to move, he just needs to stand still after half-court and attract the defense. During the counterattack, the team needs him to control the ball and advance and find fast-break teammates.

Little Curry is willing to try changes. He knows very well that he has no future as a shooting guard with his height of 188cm and weight of 84kg. Only by transformation can he have a place in the NBA and develop in the long run.

Booker is one of the most eye-catching rookies this year. He performed well in taking on the offensive task of holding the ball in the second quarter. He can score in singles and combines sudden points and shots. He learned from Guo Xu, he can hold the ball and run without the ball, and he has made rapid progress.

Booker has potential. In a parallel world, he became the team's leading outside scorer in his second season with the Suns. He averaged 22.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 35 minutes per game, but his shooting rate was a bit low at 42.3%, and he hit three-pointers. The rate is 36.3%.

Booker did not suffer against Roy, whose physical fitness was seriously declining. The two played similar styles, with their main methods being step-back jumpers and European-step breakthroughs.

The Lakers' bench wins because of their counterattack speed. Even if the Suns coach is D'Antoni, he can't launch a fast break with average outside speed. The Lakers' five players are more likely to get easy shots when they rush.

What made D'Antoni collapse the most was that after he sent Gortat and Haslem on, he had no advantage in rebounding. The two short men of the Lakers are particularly good at grabbing, especially Tucker, who is so powerful that he can rush and grab even if he is blocked.

The two sides are unable to break through when fighting in isolation. The Lakers also have this weakness. Most of Booker's shots with the ball are jump shots, and his breakthrough ability is average.

As soon as Guo Xu came back 5 minutes later, the sun couldn't stand it anymore. They have just adapted to the rhythm of guarding their opponents alone. If they don't double-team Guo Xu, they can't guard him. He can break through with just a pick-and-roll.

At halftime, the Lakers led by 24 points, and there was no suspense about the outcome.

In the second half, the Lakers still insisted on a style of play with Guo Xu as the core. Every team was frightened by him in the regular season. Knowing how terrifying it was for him to find a shooting rhythm, they did not dare to relax their defense for a moment and flanked him after halftime.

In the regular season, after Guo Xu passed the ball, his teammates often did not shoot, but only moved the ball to help him create opportunities to catch the ball and shoot. Now the role players take action themselves when they have the opportunity. The Lakers counterattacked quickly and played positional offense quickly. Few rounds took more than 15 seconds.

The Lakers' swingmen have been coaching three-point shooting all season. Tucker and Josh Richardson shot like crazy in the third quarter, scoring 3 and 4 goals respectively.

Guo Xu attracts double-teams from the wing to the bottom corner, and attracts double-teams from the bottom line to the wings. There is always someone to respond. Guo Xu did not shoot three-pointers in this quarter, but only scored suddenly, scoring 4 points and 10 assists.

He scored a huge double-double in the three quarters with 22 points, 2 rebounds, 21 assists and 2 steals, leading the team to a 111-75 lead. The game entered garbage time early.

Guo Xu did not play in the final quarter to save face for the Suns. The Lakers sent a lineup of pure marginal players, with veteran Mo Williams playing.

Zhang Lili commented: Guo Xu didn't pass the ball much in the second half of the regular season. Today he passed the ball for three quarters and then got off work. He didn't score 30 points.

Yu Jia smiled and said: It doesn't matter. Everyone knows how strong his scoring ability is. He has a historical record of 30+ in 82 games. He played well today and let the young teammates come up and exercise after locking the victory early.

Zhang Liyi nodded: Young players really need to gain experience in the playoffs. The first round is relatively easy, but they still need to perform against the Spurs and Warriors.

Yu Jia smiled and said: It may not be necessary, Guo Xu can solve it by opening it alone.

In the final quarter, the Suns had a slight advantage in the substitute competition. Gortat, Haslem and others all have rich playoff experience, but they were too far behind to catch up.

Richardson, Harrell, and Boozer became the protagonists on the court. Harrell and Mo Williams hit the basket in pick-and-roll cuts, and Boozer showed off his low-post ability.

At the end of the game, 136 to 95, the Lakers won by 41 points.

At the post-game press conference, D'Antoni, Thompson, Ibaka and others all said that the Lakers led by Guo Xu were terrible.

Thompson said: After Jason retired, I gradually became the core of the Suns. Many people compared me with him and said that I was not a qualified leader. I feel that I am not that weak, it is him who is too strong. Active players No one can compare with his personal ability, and I don’t think Jordan, who was earlier, can, and no one can guard him one-on-one.”