Yang Yi Kanqiu: It's only been a week in the new season, and Durant can't laugh

What happened yesterday when there were 6.8 seconds left in the Suns vs. Spurs game? Everyone has a different story, and a new era of Rashomon is staged.

Keldon Johnson said he saw an opportunity: "I went and tried to steal the baseline serve, and when I looked back, I saw Trey [Jones] pushing KD into the bottom corner, and I thought, here's your chance." The worst is that they for a foul and then make a free throw, but I know I have to do something. Time is running out, I'm going to have to try it and get it all done. ”

He did get a big deal done. In the eyes of fans, it was to see him snatch the ball from Durant and complete a difficult layup against Okogie, helping the Spurs to overtake the score with 1.2 seconds left in the game and complete an incredible comeback. It's just that in the eyes of Suns coach Frank Vogel, these few seconds are completely different.

"They fouled KD and the referee didn't blow the whistle. It's as simple as that. With 6.8 seconds left, we passed the ball to our most trusted star who shot 90 per cent from the free-throw line, but they hit KD in the arm and snatched the ball from his hand and the referee turned a blind eye. ”

One Suns fan described the round: "It's crazy, Durant gets fouled four times in a round. ”

Vogel said the team didn't call a timeout because Okogie appeared "absolutely safe" when he sent the ball to Durant. It seems that this is indeed the case, Durant received the ball safely, and he thought this was the end, but he didn't expect this to be the beginning. Durant was an honest man after all, and not only did he not complain, jump, rage or kneel on the spot in that round, but he even seemed to regret it a little when he mentioned that moment after the game.

"I knew they were going to flank me, but it turned out more than I expected. I wanted to wait for them to foul me, but the change happened so quickly that I didn't react. I should have been holding the ball tightly. ”

It's frustrating to lose in the final leg, but it's clear that losing is not just a matter of the last leg. Even without Booker and Beal, the Suns are still significantly stronger than the Spurs. As a defensive coach, Vogel has seen the Suns' defense improve. With a large number of base-salary players in the Suns' rotation today, the Suns' defense is currently among the top five in the league. They shot opponents to 42.1 percent, the league's fourth-lowest three-point shooting percentage, and the league's second-lowest three-point shooting percentage of 28.1 percent, averaging 104.5 points per 100 possessions. Goodwin, Okogie, and Grayson Allen have caused a lot of problems for every opponent, and with Durant, they shouldn't lose to a team full of recruits.

The course of the game looked the same way at first. After shaking off the rust on his own with the season opener against the Warriors, the energetic Durant looked unstoppable in any other game this season. Yesterday he was 26 points on 12-of-19 shooting, 8-of-11 from 26 in the last game and 39 from 14-of-28 in the last game. In three games, the Suns scored 51 points while he was on the floor. As Wembanyama's idol, Durant also has the upper hand in the matchup with Wembanyama. Including the heads-up at the end of the first quarter. Amid the cheers in the arena at the Footprint Center, Durant rushed to the right side of the court, rose to the ground, and threw his signature step-back jumper from Wembanyama's 244-centimeter reach.

The game went on and on, and the Spurs didn't even put up a decent resistance. The Suns led the Spurs by 20 points in the third quarter and still held a 13-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter. But Durant just put his ass on the bench for 2 minutes and 32 seconds, and the Spurs were already only five points away.

You can't blame the rest of the Suns. The soon-to-be-35-year-old Gordon has proven that he's still a good firepower, averaging 16.5 points per game, shooting 45.0 percent from the field while shooting 8.3 three-pointers per game, and even dished out 14 assists in his last two games. Grayson Allen has scored 19 points in this game, and Watanabe, Okogie and Nurkic have also contributed, and they have already done their job, but without stars, it is too much of a burden for them.

With great power comes great responsibility. The burden that teammates can't carry can only be carried by Durant. But when his teammates also looked like the burden he had to carry, he was a little overwhelmed. After Durant returned to the court early, the Spurs began to put more pressure on him, pestering him with Keldon Johnson while someone was ready to pinch him and help defend him.

Durant tried to solve the problem with passing, but his teammates responded with a barrage of hits (2-of-9 from three-point range in the final quarter). The Suns' offense gradually came to a standstill, and the lineup of Jones, Vassell, Johnson, Sochan and Wembanyama began to let the Suns lose control on the defensive end, with the young Spurs gradually eating away at the Suns' advantage and Durant gradually acting as we are familiar with being alone.

Wembanyama, Johnson and Devin Vassell combined for 25 points in the fourth quarter. With 6.8 seconds left in the game, Vassell missed a strong shot, Wembanyama seized the opportunity to complete a dunk under the basket, and maybe tired, maybe relaxed, Durant, who was supposed to defend Wembanyama in this round, had no awareness of being stuck to protect the rebound.

Next, there is the scene we saw at the beginning of the article.

I don't want to argue about whether the final ball was fouled or not (I personally tend to foul but the referee didn't blow the whistle), what I want to say is that whether it is historical or logical, the Suns will not be able to bear it if they continue to play like this.

Just over a week into the season, the Suns now have a 2-2 record. The plots of the two defeats are strikingly similar. The Lakers also trailed the Suns by 12 points heading into the fourth quarter, but the aging Kings repeatedly started his train in the final quarter of the game, and the Suns immediately lost their armor. Durant, who was 10-of-17 in the first three quarters, slipped in physical strength, shooting just 4-of-11 in the final quarter and committing three turnovers. Aside from him, only Jordan Goodwin scored two points in the final quarter of the Suns. The Lakers beat the Suns 28-11 in the final quarter. In Durant's 39 minutes on the pitch, the Suns outscored the Lakers by 18 points. And in the nine minutes that Durant went off, the Suns lost to the Lakers by 23 points.

Durant is still strong, but this kind of individual, incapable of driving the team will not guarantee the team's victory. Every win counts for the Suns, especially in the West this year. With Harden coming to the Clippers, the competition in the West will be even more intense, and losing any game that shouldn't be lost could be the difference between whether the team can finally make it to the playoffs or have to play the playoffs.

Overall, I don't think the sun did anything wrong. Booker and Beal's injuries were force majeure, and they were okay. Most of the role players they signed this summer have played more than they are worth, but not enough to help Durant keep the team on the line. But now the objective fact is that there is no point in discussing the sun itself, and the sun will not be able to fight like this.

Booker only played the opener, while Beal didn't play a single game. Whether the Suns can succeed this year will largely depend on what kind of game they will play on the court with a healthy Durant. But if you keep Suns fans scared, get up every day to see if Booker's foot injury is good, then see if Beal's back injury is good, and finally see if the two of them will be injured if the two of them will be injured together, then there is a lesson from the Nets' past, and we can even doubt that this team can not wait for that day to come.

Come back soon, Durant can't take it alone.