The weapon is sharp, and the iron is cut like mud. The wind direction is sharp, and the small iron is as intended. I hope to use more discussions and share various opinions on watching the game.
In fact, this is a game that deserves attention from different angles.
On November 30th, U.S. time, on the last day of November, the Suns vs. Warriors became the focus of the NBA. This is the best and second best game in the NBA today. The league’s first Warriors are in a 7-game winning streak, but they It is not the hottest team in the NBA during the same period. The second Suns in the league are pulling out an unimaginable 16-game winning streak that is close to team history. From another point of view, it is the Warriors who have been at the peak since the beginning of the season, otherwise they would have long been. To be surpassed by the Suns, and the result of the two teams being devastated is that the 21st regular season of the two teams this season has become the only top match in NBA history where both teams have a win rate of more than 0.850.
Two seasons ago, whether due to injuries or various downturns, the Warriors who were originally dynasties directly fell to the bottom of the league. In the ten seasons before last season, the Suns experienced the tragedy of missing the playoffs for ten years until last season. Only after the star point guard Chris Paul returned to the playoffs, he returned to the championship game in exclamation. Many voices believe that the Warriors have entered the end of the crossbow. Last season, Curry almost burned the small universe and soared points and was still out of the play-offs. The Suns’ success last season, the Lakers in the first round, the Gold Nuggets in the second round, and the Clippers in the Western Championship were all injured, so they were labelled luck by some people. Strictly speaking, at the moment at the top of the league, both teams have some surprises.
In addition, the Warriors’ master control is Stephen Curry, the scoring champion in last season’s regular season, and the Suns’ master control is Chris Paul, who polished the top sign in the playoffs last season. The two have been in the Clippers from CP3. At the beginning of the period, it was a long-time opponent who had accumulated 32 regular matches in his career. How to operate the whole team system in this top confrontation is also a major attraction.
As a result, in this top confrontation, it was like a tilted balance. Stephen Curry took the worst game with more than 20 shots in his career. He only scored 4 goals in 21 shots. The Warriors’ ace was turned off, and it was 96:104. Lost, the first time this season did not score a hundred, the winning streak ended, allowing the Suns to win a team record of 17 consecutive victories. The Suns used Mikal Bridges to take care of Curry. Bridges’ discussion has greatly increased. Of course, we must say that Curry’s poor performance in this game is indeed related to his own poor touch and the Sun’s team defense, but as the first line against Curry, he must be here. The majority of the credit is also a reasonable evaluation.
As a result, this once again proves the importance of wings in contemporary basketball, but it also shows that if the Sun really wants to challenge the unfinished dream of the championship last season, what direction needs to be worked hard.
Mikal Jail
The lineup of the Suns is very simple, and the functionality of each person is very clear. The CP3 and Devin Booker dual cores are the main attackers who have absolute possession of the ball. The offense and defense in the penalty area is the responsibility of Deandre Ayton, who shined in the playoffs last season. Jae Crowder and Bridges are the defensive team. Crowder is responsible for countering the current increasingly diversified No. 4 player, and the opponent’s first ball-holding force in the backcourt is Bridges’ defensive range, which is just before the sun against the Warriors. , A sun race project that many people can imagine.
Throughout the game, it can be seen that the barefooted 6-foot-6 Bridges, leaning on the 7-foot-1 wingspan, as long as standing in front of Curry, it is to reach out to interfere with Curry’s always caught off guard, extremely fast one-motion shot. At the same time, as long as the Warriors take the pick and roll, the Suns will immediately switch defenses, and even the center will not shy away from being taken out of the penalty area by Curry, but Curry will find that no matter how he moves, the Suns will always regard Curry’s area as a “strong side.” Even if Ayton and JaVale McGee were taken out, even if they couldn’t jump, they would definitely stretch their arms to affect Curry’s shots. Even if Curry didn’t have the ball, Bridges almost used the box-one’s tight-to-man method to affect Curry’s catching range with his long arms. Although the magical Curry still scored a few goals, after being entangled throughout the game, his physical fitness may have declined. In the fourth quarter, even if he got a relatively good shot, he failed to make a hit and even made several turnovers.
Facing this kind of projection-based backcourt player is the main reason why Bridges has a “Mikal Jail” name. When he first joined the Suns, Bridges was in a delicate situation. At that time, the Suns lineup was full of holes and swayed. The front line has three worthy players, Booker, TJ Warren, and Josh Jackson. After signing Trevor Ariza on the free market, the wing is their only reliable position, but just as Bridges was recognized as an immediate combat skill before the election, Relying on the most solid defensive ability on the wing of the team, he started to stand firm in the second half of his career. Since then, he has never given up the starting position, even in other SF position competitors Warren, JJ, Kelly Oubre Jr. After being sent away one by one, Bridges still became the only SF candidate left in the original flanking sea formation. And this “Mikal Jail” is well-known because the Sun fans praised Bridges’ defensive performance against these face-frame projection players, which trapped these opponents like a prison.
