Doncic reached the second round for the first time in his career, and after crossing the Jazz, they had to face the Suns in the second round. The key to the Lone Ranger, of course, is still in Doncic.
As a man who once shot 35.7 points, 1.3 assists and 7.9 rebounds in a single round, Doncic proved that as long as he is in good form, the Lone Ranger has the possibility of breaking the wrist with any team.
Although the Jazz shot an incredible 27.4 percent three-point shooting in the first round, the Lone Rangers' adjustments to the rotation and their overall shooting performance proved that they were the ones who deserved to win.
But in the face of the sun, they have natural defects. Neither Powell nor Kléber is a tall and reliable frame protector, and if teammates invest more troops, they may lead to leakage of people on the outside, and if they do not invest troops, the basket may be exploded.
In fact, from the very beginning, the sun felt a completely different fresh air from pelicans. The Pelicans' physical talent and size are obviously far superior to those of the Lone Ranger, not to mention the Lone Ranger and Doncic and Brunson, two single-players who need to be protected.
The Lone Ranger made a mistake in the Sun's Spanish block in the first round and gave Paul the mid-range of the vacant position. Then in the first quarter the Suns pulled out a 15-point lead.
Doncic can't kill Bridges in place, he's facing a defender with a stronger ability to squeeze cover, and as long as Ayton and Bridges can solve the blocking two-on-two, it means that the Lone Ranger's outside line will not get too many opportunities.
But he was Doncic after all, although the opening situation was much worse for the better defenders. But his long-range three-pointer, and the misplaced spot paul attracted the clip to the point, or let the Lone Ranger catch up with the score.
Kléber continued his excellent shooting, shooting five three-pointers in the first half. Doncic's passing vision is naturally one of the best, so he can basically find teammates on the outside.
The Suns didn't seem to be too defensive against the Lone Ranger, but getting Doncic to end the round with a heads-up might have been Monty's strategy. If Bridges is blocked by cover, then Ayton will choose to change defenses, and it will not be easy for Doncic to completely pass Aden.
When it comes to the connection stage, when Ayton is off, Doncic's breakthrough will become easier, and when McGee is sometimes led to the outside line, Doncic's entry will be much easier.
In fact, Doncic's play in the middle of the game is not good enough, he is 1 of 6 out of 6 in the second quarter, and 2 of 7 in the third quarter, but it is difficult for the team to have other ways.
Because Brunson can't seem to find much of a way to do it at this level of confrontation. And when Doncic returns, Dinwiddie's role in holding the ball is also quite limited, and his basket is not accurate, and the sun can be too good at defending this kind of player.
And the sun actually put Booker and Paul resting at the same time, and Paul rested from the middle of the first verse to the middle of the second verse. The Suns hit a 71.4 percent shooting percentage in the second quarter, and the Lone Rangers really couldn't stop them.
So even though Doncic ended up with 45 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 14 free throws, and 50 percent of the shots. It doesn't seem to have had a drastic impact on the outcome of the game.
The Suns aren't afraid of a team that isn't aggressive on the defensive end, and today they won the Lone Ranger with 15 rebounds. Ayton continued his state of horror, and Booker had little effect except for the opening of the night.
If the Lone Ranger doesn't have a second possession point, Doncic's 45 points may not be enough to win.