69novels Chapter 39: Ruthless and Talkative
Chapter 39: Ruthless and Talkative
In the 21st century, with the Lakers' three-peat in the NBA, every team aiming for the championship began to stockpile tall interior players or rim protectors in the following years.
During this period, the business strategies of NBA teams were relatively conservative, and with the limited salary cap, few team owners were willing to pay large sums of luxury tax.
Take the Spurs, for example. Why do they only win championships in odd-numbered years? Because in the year after winning the championship, they have to give some championship players big contracts. Popovich, that old fox, has to comply with the team owner on salaries in order to maintain his control over the team. Therefore, the Spurs' roster is patched up and made do. Apart from the three members of the "Big Three" (Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili), the others are at most on mid-level contracts.
The Suns are a prime example. Their new owner, Robert Sarver, acquired the team in 2004, and D'Antoni gradually began using an eight-man rotation starting in 2004. Why did he do this? Because the owner was unwilling to spend money to trade for talented players.
Joe Smith left the Suns because the team was unwilling to match the high salary offered by the Hawks.
Stoudemire is still in his rookie season. When his rookie contract expires in 2006, the Suns' roster will have to be changed.
However, with such a seemingly good roster but actually lacking in bench depth, D'Antoni was still able to lead the Suns to the playoffs year after year, which is enough to prove his level: give me a good guard and I can change the whole team.
Nash truly deserves his MVP award. Even though he himself became the Warriors' offensive bottleneck, he still orchestrated the Suns' offense exceptionally well.
However, as the game entered its transition phase, the Suns' offense began to falter.
The Warriors didn't even field veteran Foyle in this game, but the 2.11-meter-tall Murphy still gave the Suns a lot of trouble after coming off the bench.
Fisher maintained his fast-paced style of play while controlling the ball, and Wang Kai moved to the power forward position to face Boris Diaw, who had just joined the Suns this season.
此时还名不见经传的鲍里斯·迪奥是03年第21顺位被老鹰队选中的，他在04-05赛季只有4.8分2.6篮板2.3助攻的数据，可以说是真正的平民球员。
Wang Kai was initially curious as to why Lao Ke had warned him to be careful of this Frenchman, but after Dior actually appeared, he realized how formidable this Frenchman, who wasn't even that fat yet, was.
The Frenchman, who is 2.03 meters tall, weighs almost 7 kilograms more than Wang Kai. He is not fast, but he is fierce in rebounding and his playing rhythm is different from many NBA players.
After Nash left the game, it was Diaw who repeatedly "dealt cards" on offense.
"Derrick, pass the ball in the low post."
Wang Kai planned to test the Frenchman's mettle at a lower level.
During the Warriors' offense, Wang Kai went straight to the low post, and Fisher quickly passed the ball to him. He was very familiar with this job, having done it for many years before, and probably for many more years to come.
Wang Kai was fouled by Diaw in the low post.
The Suns did not double-team Wang Kai at this point because the Warriors' three-point shooting had already gotten going, and they dared not gamble on the Warriors missing their three-pointers.
Wang Kai turned his back to test Diaw's defensive positioning, then pivoted on his left foot and swiftly turned towards the baseline.
Dior hadn't expected Wang Kai to be so agile with his back turned. He was momentarily stunned by Wang Kai's movements and couldn't keep up with him immediately.
After a spin move that bypassed Diaw's defense, Wang Kai slammed home a dunk for two points.
After backing down Dior, Wang Kai had a better grasp of the Frenchman's characteristics.
The Suns' offense remained fast, but Wang Kai immediately began close defense against Diaw after he received the ball, disrupting the Suns' offensive rhythm.
After Nash left the court, the combined threat of Diaw and Barbosa was not as great as Nash's.
At the end of the first quarter, the Warriors led the Suns 35-29 by 6 points.
Wang Kai played the entire first quarter, delivering a well-rounded performance with 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.
At the start of the second quarter, the Suns capitalized on two fast breaks by Marion and Barbosa, two players known for their low-flying style, narrowing the gap.
However, Baron Davis then stepped up his game, hitting two consecutive three-pointers to help the Warriors widen the gap again.
Baron Davis has terrible shot selection, but when he gets into a rhythm and plays well, he becomes unstoppable.
D'Antoni didn't hesitate to put Nash back on the court. He wasn't thinking about limiting the Warriors with defense at all; he was only thinking about defeating the opponent with offense.
Wang Kai returned to the court after a short rest of a few minutes, but Murphy's playing time in this game was definitely not much.
After Wang Kai entered the game, he continued to anchor the paint, while the Warriors continued their first-quarter tactics on the perimeter.
The Suns' offense remained efficient after Nash entered the game, but their defense was simply no match for the Warriors.
Once Nash is breached, the Suns have to immediately help defend and rotate, and no matter which Warriors player Nash rotates to, it will be a mismatch.
What frustrated the Suns players even more was that Boris Diaw and Shawn Marion couldn't out-rebound Wang Kai alone.
Diaw's positioning was indeed fierce. He was not valued by the Hawks and only saw hope after joining the Suns, so he played very hard. But Wang Kai was not fighting alone. He also had teammates to help him screen and position himself.
Marion's jumping ability is indeed impressive, but unfortunately he is slightly inferior to Wang Kai in both height and wingspan.
The Warriors maintained their lead over the Suns through chaotic play.
Towards the end of the second quarter, the most controversial moment of the entire game occurred.
During the offensive play, Wang Kai dribbled past Diaw's defense and drove into the paint from the left side of the court. Raja Bell, who came to help defend, was then beaten by Wang Kai with a crossover dribble.
Just as Wang Kai was about to break through Raja Bell's defense, Raja Bell, frustrated by Wang Kai's rebounding efforts, swung his arm to pull Wang Kai and the ball down together.
Moreover, Raja Bell's entire arm was aimed precisely at Wang Kai's neck.
"Watch out, this guy's back again."
Old Ke reminded Wang Kai immediately, but it was a little too late. He didn't expect Raja Bell to make such a move in advance. After all, it was just a regular season game, and even if he was angry, he didn't need to be so fierce.
Wang Kai had no time to dodge and was locked by Raja Bell's arm around his neck.
However, to Lao Ke's great surprise, Wang Kai did not hesitate at all. Following Raja Bell's movement, he leaned back, raised his right hand, and swung his bent elbow backward.