Both the Timberwolves and the Nuggets came close to defeating the Suns, only to find that they were still far from that goal.
The Suns won 60 wins, locked in the league No. 1, and how much more power they will have to play in the regular season after that is doubtful. The Timberwolves and Nuggets will try their best to avoid playoffs, so these two games are good touchstones before the playoffs, giving us a glimpse of how far the Second Gear team in the West is from the Suns.
The attacks of the Timberwolves and Nuggets are actually suitable for playing the Sun, and the thinking is similar:
The Suns took Crowder against Downs, and Towns had an absolute advantage over the position. When taking Ayton's defense, being left on the line by Downs, the Timberwolves can hit Ayton's uncovered back. Bridges' defense is strong, others have gaps, the Timberwolves spread the score points a little, and the sun may not be able to do everything;
Not to mention the Nuggets, Jokic's high-low connection with Gordon is a reserved project. Cousins also always stood on the three-point line, giving Cards to Hylander. Don't just stare at the Nuggets' dry three-pointers, the Nuggets have not killed less, won the rebound, and are very aggressive.
The Timberwolves and Nuggets actually caught the Suns' defensive underbelly, that is, to take Ayton and attack the others. In these two games, the Suns' defensive efficiency was 117.5 and 131.6 respectively, not looking at the other end, compared to the Suns' usual defensive efficiency (107.5), in fact, the Suns were beaten by wolves and Nuggets.
Of course, the sun may not be so desperate, back-to-back two hard battles, the victory or defeat is not related to the ranking, except for individual time periods and individual players, there is no need to do too much. The Suns can maintain the suspense of the game by attacking, and then divide the winners and losers in the fourth quarter, which is enough.
The fourth stanza of the sun is not as simple as "pulling full strength". From the look and feel, I think the intensity of the sun is not so different from beginning to end, more because the opponent can't stand it. It's also the most terrifying part of the sun, where they can maintain their strength for 48 minutes without too much ups and downs from falling behind or leading. The Timberwolves and Nuggets did the right thing in the first three quarters and were able to grasp the shots that needed to be hit, but it was too difficult to continue the execution and luck of a game, when Hyland could not hit the dry three-pointer, when Cousins lost a little calm, the two sides were on the high line.
The Nuggets made these mistakes in the fourth quarter:
Cousins was fouled offensively against Paul in an aerial confrontation;
Biyombo made a big move against Cousins, knocking out Cousins' headband. Cousins forced patience, and then forced an offensive foul to fail, and the action was obviously venting resentment;
Gordon committed an offensive foul against a position grab;
Morris gave Jokic a low-post ball error;
Jokic covered the foul.
Conversely, there is no need to say what the sun is doing, you must know that the sun must be doing the right thing.
It only takes the opponent to make a little mistake and the game loses suspense. The sun is like an emotionless machine, in the most intense fight stage, without any sense of humor, the Spanish block, the first minute of the game is lit up three choices, or four choices of one guess boxing topic, again and again in front of the opponent. Where does the opponent have the patience to solve the problem? Will the Nuggets remember their high-low advantage? Once there are 1 or 2 fixed-point three-pointers that can't respond, do they still shoot so decisively? When Jokic feels overwhelmed by the low position, what new changes do the Nuggets come up with to save the world?
Ostensibly, this is the Suns' biggest advantage over a second-in-the-west team, whose execution can be stretched out to the last second without wavering, and their opponents can't do it.
Fundamentally, this is the embodiment of the sun's rich means and comprehensive capabilities. Point guards, scorers, centers, and a three-way midfielder can hit the end of the universe, but it is definitely not monotonous, because the focus will continue to swing, changing for different opponents and different times, and it is the weakest link in the opponent's defense.
Who is the most active in fighting timber wolves?
Aton. Because the Timberwolves' defense is "head-wrenching," the point guard can give the ball out, and Ayton has a chance to go down. The Timberwolves took Vanderbilt to defend Ayton, Ayton had a significant advantage in size, and he took down the Downs defense, and the Towns defense and demolition were not able to take into account the ability. So the sun had been looking for Ayton to squeeze the advantage of this point completely dry.
Playing the Nuggets, who is the most active?
Booker. Paul and Booker, who hold the ball and shoot big gods, cooperate with a downward center like Ayton to complete the Nuggets. Paul has just returned, perfectly grasped the scale, retracted freely, no need to introduce, his own brain supplement. And Booker is obviously "too strong", and he wants to express some attitudes very fiercely.
What is Booker trying to say?
"Hey, judges, the 6th or 7th team in the West, someone is going to take the MVP?"
"So what am I TM?"
The sun has come to this position, but Booker is as brave as playing the Finals, you say he has no temper, no ambition, then how is it possible?
So Booker broke the Nuggets. Rivers, Morris, and Barton looked ridiculous in front of him, Aaron Gordon was beaten, and Booker went crazy. At the end of the third quarter, it was time to pull the race back to the same running line, and the sun was leaning on Booker. Booker scored a bunch of difficult jumpers or layups and, more importantly, he was furious after Jokic made a steal against him. He viciously snatched the ball from the Nuggets, and Payne didn't grasp his assist, so he grabbed it again and forced it into 2+1. This was the turning point in the momentum of the game.
Then he assisted in interfering with Green's high and low layups, stealing Jokic to complete a quick attack, shooting Rivers to make three free throws, and finally the Spanish block eliminated Gordon, ending the perfect performance in the third quarter - tearing, fighting, inyourface, completely pulling a personal offensive and defensive presence, reminiscent of Kobe Bryant's kind of existence.
It was a symbolic period of competition that Booker needed to repeat to the judges.
When a team that was incredibly balanced, a guy who scored more than 70 points, could step up and take over the game, the Sun hexagon expanded another circle. But Booker still can't represent the whole story, and the Suns are still an underrated fast-attacking team. The Timberwolves were playing fast, and the Nuggets watched the sun back to back and pushed the speed, and the sun took the shot. They don't have so many fast attacks, but they are so confident and accurate, there are three points to chase, there are baskets to finish, everyone's grasp is so outrageous, it is not bad to miss the opportunity, let the opponent despair.
So, Bridges is just a 3D?
Don't be funny. The sun is like lightning, the strength of the meteor-like side transfer ball, combined with the bridge breakthrough, empty cut, medium distance, the success rate is shocking. You go to observe the supporting roles of each station of the sun, they are like this, do not run randomly, but will always do 1 to 2 times to lift, sink, give a cover for the shooter around the bottom corner, and then cut in when necessary, steady, do not refuse the middle distance, and accurate.
I don't know why the sun can find so many good guys, they amplify each other, pushing the chemistry to the extreme. At the same time, they have stars, hard playing methods, and the core players each have 1 to 2 moves T1 or even T0 level stunts, and they are just compatible with each other. As a result, the sun can find the answer in many fields.
So, those second-tier teams that meet the Suns will find that maybe they have a trick to play the Suns, but can they guarantee that one move will always work? In turn, the sun can at least find a trick to hit you, and they can really guarantee that this trick will always work, and they will not only do it. The gap is there, so the sun collects you steadily.
The east is very strong and very rolled, and the west also has a big boss that guards the customs, and this year's top-level competition is still not simple.