Chapter 677 The Sun Will Defeat Today

Li Ba made 6 of 6 shots and 2 of 3 free throws. He scored 14 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks. He beat the Knicks on both offense and defense.

But the Suns also showed a problem. The scoring ability of this lineup is very poor. With Li Ba scoring so many points, and relying on defense to grab so many possessions, he only scored 27 points.

In the 8th minute, Payton was replaced and David Wesley came on.

In the last 4 minutes, the defensive intensity of the Suns dropped, especially at the No. 1 position. Wesley's speed was even a little slower than Payton's, and his control over Nash declined, allowing the Knicks to play a run-and-bomb tactic and frequently fired shots from the outside. .

At the end of the first quarter, 33:25, the Suns still led by 8 points.

Li Ba scored 16 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 3 blocks, 0 turnovers and 0 fouls in a single quarter.

In the second quarter, Li Ba sat on the bench. In the first quarter, he exerted strength on both ends of the offense and defense. His physical energy was exhausted and he needed time to recover.

Kurt Thomas and David Lee formed the bench insider, with David Wesley in the first position, and Battier, Lagabel, and Tony Allen in the second and third positions in turn.

In order to restore his physical fitness as soon as possible, Nash lay directly in front of the bench, and Steve Francis came off the bench.

Without Nash, the Knicks would not be able to run and shoot, but without Li Ba, the Suns' defensive strength would drop further and further, and the two teams would be able to stalemate.

Stoudemire frequently attacked the inside, and the Suns' rookie David Lee was not to be outdone. With the help of Kurt Thomas' offensive cover, he continued to score at the basket.

Halfway through the second quarter, at 45:40, the Knicks pulled back 3 points and were still 5 points behind.

At this time, the two sides changed players, and Li Ba and Nash appeared on the stage.

For the Suns, they are Li Ba, Dazhi, Tony Allen, Lagabel, and David Wesley.

For the Knicks, Stoudemire, rookie Channing Frye, Quentin Richardson, Jamal Crawford, Nash.

"The sun's lineup is too low in scoring and defense is not good. It's going to be bad tonight!" Zhang Li shook his head and sighed.

"If the hammer hadn't exerted force on both offensive and defensive ends, the sun would have collapsed!" Yu Jia said.

Knicks attack.

David Wesley was thrown away by Nash, Crawford served, Nash received the ball and advanced quickly.

In the frontcourt, the Knicks' Stoudemire and Channing Frye moved on the left and right flanks.

This year's Knicks rookie Channing Frye is also a projection-type insider with poor confrontation ability. He is 211 cm long and only has a tonnage of 105 kg.

Li Ba faced Stoudemire, defended on the left waist in the paint, and put Stoudemire two steps away.

Dazhi followed Channing Frye on the right wing.

Nash saw Stoudemire's huge open opportunity, but he didn't dare to pass.

That's when Quentin Richardson was at the three-point line, moving quickly from left wing to right wing, trying to get past Tony Allen.

Tony Allen played the entire first quarter and only rested for two minutes in the second quarter. His physical fitness was not as good as that of Richardson, and he was left a little behind.

Nash saw this immediately and flicked the ball with one hand to Richardson who ran to the right wing.

But Li Ba also saw this. He judged that Nash was likely to pass the ball to Richardson, and immediately moved to a high position.

When he saw Nash passing the ball, he immediately accelerated with all his strength and threw himself outside the three-point line on the right wing.

Richardson catches the ball and immediately turns down, throwing Tony Allen away again.

But just as he reached beyond the three-point line with the ball and was about to shoot a jump shot, Li Ba had already caught up in front of him in time.

Then, Tony Allen followed up and formed a double team.

A second later, the roar of the Suns commentator sounded: "Steal! The hammer completed the steal! He passed the ball! Wesley is still in the frontcourt...he catches the ball and advances...layup...yeah!"

David Wesley carried Nash and hit a layup.

At 47:40, the Suns led by 7 points.

"According to our statistical records, the success rate of double-teaming, stealing or causing mistakes by the opponent is as high as 70%. Charles, do you know what this means?"

Kenny Smith said at this time.

"Representing Hammer is an angel of terror. As long as he appears in front of the double-teamed person, nothing good will happen." Barkley immediately replied.

"Haha!" The two laughed.

The Knicks attacked, and as soon as Nash quickly advanced to the frontcourt, he assisted Richardson and made a two-pointer.

With the current lineup of the Suns, it is no longer possible to double-team Nash, and the Knicks' running and bombing came out.

But after the ball reached the frontcourt, the Suns' defense was equally strong, preventing the Knicks' outside shooting percentage was not high, and there were many turnovers.

On the other hand, Li Ba sticks to the paint area, guarantees rebounds to the greatest extent, and adds timely help and supplementary defense, and uses more ball possessions to strive for more points.

After the second quarter, 59:49, the Suns led by 10 points.

In half a quarter, Li Ba grabbed 6 rebounds again, sent 2 steals and 1 block, and had 2 second offenses.

In the half, he made 9 of 9 shots and 2 of 3 free throws. He scored 20 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 steals, 4 blocks, 0 turnovers and 1 foul.

"Although the Suns are still leading, with the consumption of physical energy, the situation may be biased towards the Knicks." Zhang Lili explained during the halftime break.

"Hey, with two injuries, the Suns' bench lineup will be stretched." Yu Jia sighed.

Zhang Lili chuckled and said: "This is the injury of the two main players. There must be something wrong with the lineup. Especially in Barbosa's position, Payton and Wesley are old and fat, and their speed can't keep up with Nash. It might be more difficult in the second half."

At the scene, when Li Ba returned to the locker room, he was surrounded by a large number of reporters, but he still did not accept the interview and pushed the reporters away.

"Hammer, will you accept defeat today?" A reporter asked loudly from behind.

"Are you joking? How can the Knicks beat us with no defense? Did they get the rebounds? Remember, we're still leading, and we'll continue to lead until we win."

Li Ba said these words without looking back, and then disappeared at the entrance.

"He is talking big, the Suns will definitely lose today." The reporter said to the others.

"I like the Knicks."

"Not necessarily. It was too easy for the Hammers to score today. The Knicks simply couldn't defend him, not to mention they couldn't defend him."

"Yes, as long as the hammer is shot at the basket, the Suns score more easily than the Knicks."

"The Knicks suffered a lot in rebounding today. If it weren't for the Suns' poor outside scoring ability, the Knicks would have been blown away. I'm optimistic about the Suns."

Some nodded, others disagreed.

At the beginning of the second half, the two sides returned to the starting lineup of the first quarter.

Knicks attack.

The Suns did not choose to double-team Nash, because physical issues must be considered, especially Payton.

And the current Knicks not only have Jaylen Rose, the No. 2 engine, but also Odom, a guy who can play five positions. He is equivalent to the Knicks' No. 3 engine. Clamping, once the double-teaming fails, the consequences will be serious.

Nash catches the ball and advances quickly.

The rest of the Knicks are constantly on the move, looking for open opportunities.