After four games in the series, both sides have been "clear cards", the battle of Tianwangshan, first of all, to see the ability of the superstar to influence the game, the Pelicans have Ingram, the sun is less Booker, Paul is 37 years old after all, the physical strength is not supported, from this level, the Pelicans are at a disadvantage, so it is necessary to look at the second level, the coach adjusted the impact on the game, and this game confirmed that Timon is still a chess player, and the three "odd" words are evidence.
Paul led the Suns in the Battle of King's Mountain 22+6+11+3
First, Monty's "peculiar" use of Paul.
Over the past two seasons, including the past four series, fans are familiar with the way Monty has used Paul: in the first half Paul set up, in the second half Paul powered, and even the end of the harvest, the purpose, to ensure the physical fitness of the old cannon, and today's game:
Paul middle distance
At the beginning of the game, Paul tried his best to attack, contributing 8 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal in the first quarter of 5; 3 of 7 in the second quarter contributed 8 points, 3 assists and 1 steal, and throughout the first half, Paul contributed 16 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals in 6 of 12, as if he had everything he could to open the attack mode, which was an extremely rare strange phenomenon, Monty's purpose, to grab the start; the effect, the Suns 59-46 half set a 13-point advantage. And Monty's "strange move" in the first half is far more than that.
Second, Monty's strange formation, the twin tower lineup.
The Suns' interior line use strategy, Ayton started, bench time with McGee, the two basically lasted 48 minutes, the mid-season signing of Biyombo almost did not use, and today?
With three minutes left in the first quarter, Monty unexpectedly shot the twin tower lineups of Ayton and McGee, a combination that the Suns had hardly used throughout the season, with Bridges, Shamet and Payne on the perimeter. Although it is an hindsight, think of Monti's lineup for a general purpose:
Monty's Twin Towers Array
1. Although Ayton and McGee do not have the ability to do three points and block the space under the basket, they can at least protect the defense, Varan wants to eat and drink on the inside, and Ingram wants to continue to shoot in the middle distance, which is not easy! After all, there were two long-armed monsters covering their heads.
2. As for the offensive space, Shamet and Bridges have three-point threats, and the most important point is that the team has a Penn who can use the block to break through the moment, which is the master of the spoiler, so:
With three minutes left in the game, the Suns led by only three points 21-18, and three minutes later, Crowder made two fouls, Payne made two fouls, the right waist mid-range, the left arc top of the body chased three points, Paul came back to make two fouls, and the Suns' 11-2 climax fixed the first quarter at 32-20 to establish a 12-point advantage.
At this point, looking at Monty's adjustment, Paul attacked with all his strength in the first half, sacrificing the two towers, and Monty's purpose of "grabbing the opening" was achieved.
Third, double "strange" protectors.
Of course, Monty's above adjustment is a dangerous move, Paul's pouring of everything in the first half is destined to consume a lot of physical energy, what to do in the second half? Monti naturally had a countermeasure.
Payne contributed 12 points on the bench
Paul played 21 minutes in the first half, only played 7 minutes and 18 seconds in the third quarter, resting for nearly 5 minutes; in the last quarter, he rested for 1 minute and 30 seconds to play the whole game, and the whole second half rested for 6 minutes and 20 seconds, aiming to protect physical fitness; and during this period, Payne contributed 5 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals, at least to ensure that the team's defender line did not lose. Throughout the game, Payne had 12 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals, finally returning to last season's Wizards mode, one of the X factors for the Suns to win.
Bridges Big Hat CJ
Payne alone could not solve Paul's physical decline problem, and the second "odd", Bridges broke out. After only 3 of 5 in the first half contributed only 7 points, after contributing 11 points on 4 of 5 in the third quarter, 5 of 7 in the final quarter and 13 points, 12 of 17 in the whole game, 4 of 4 three-pointers, 4 of 3 points, a career playoff high of 31 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks, especially in the second half of 9 of 12 in response to the Pelicans' one counterattack after another, playing the role of superstar leader, the most important factor for the team to win.
Bridges buckled heavily
At this point, you look at the battle of The Sun King Mountain to defeat the Pelicans, Paul in the first half, the double tower odd formation, the second half Payne and Bridges double odd soldiers to protect the lord, this is not the usual model of the sun at all, and this is Monty's cleverness, Willie Green as the former assistant coach is too familiar with the sun, every move, every style, he can prepare in advance, and today, Montiseau broke the routine, completely did not play according to the routine, in order to achieve the purpose of "surprising victory", the result was as desired.