Chapter 236: Chapter 236: Defending the Suns
Before the game, Gentry pulled Curry aside.
Gentry said, "In this series, go beat Griffin and prove that you're the best player from the 2009 draft class."
"Coach..."
Curry looked up at Gentry, wondering why he was giving him a pep talk right before the game.
Curry and Griffin were both drafted in 2009, with Griffin going first overall and Curry eighth.
Wade Dong overheard Gentry's pep talk.
Wade Dong smiled to himself, thinking that if the 2009 draft class were redrafted today, Curry and Harden would both be picked before Griffin. However, Griffin still had a lot of popularity.
Starting Lineups:
Suns: Wade Dong, Curry, McGrady, Green, Gortat.
Clippers: Paul, Griffin, Jordan, Crawford, Butler.
Griffin's biggest confidence in the game was that Wade Dong was finally not playing the 4 position, so he wouldn't feel as uncomfortable as he did in last year's playoffs.
So, this year, Griffin was determined to showcase his best offensive skills and aim for a 4-2 series win over the Suns.
...
"Beep!!!
The game began.
Jordan and Gortat stood at the center circle for the tip-off.
When the referee tossed the ball into the air, Jordan tapped it to Paul.
Paul dribbled to the frontcourt, then signaled Griffin to set a screen. After getting past Curry, Green came to defend Paul.
Paul flicked his wrist and extended his left leg, faking Green and causing him to lose his defensive balance and almost stumble.
Then, Paul caught the ball and took a fadeaway jump shot.
"Swish!!!
The ball swished through the net.
This was a typical offensive move by Paul, using his dribbling and footwork to disrupt the defender's position and create a scoring opportunity.
After the Suns' 74-point blowout win at the end of the season, Paul had been holding in his frustration, so he came out with a strong desire to score at the beginning of the game.
"Take it easy, let's play our game!"
Wade Dong received the inbound pass and quickly dribbled to the frontcourt.
Facing Crawford's defense, Wade Dong started with a half-turn fake, paused, then quickly dribbled past Crawford. He dribbled twice and drove to the basket.
McGrady came from the side, and Wade Dong made a no-look pass behind his back, delivering the ball to McGrady.
McGrady went up for a powerful dunk!
"Clang!!!
McGrady slammed the ball through the hoop and grabbed the rim before landing. After landing, he smiled at Wade Dong, "Great pass!"
Paul was an elite point guard.
He had a diverse offensive arsenal and was an excellent passer, but compared to Wade Dong, Paul's passing and shooting were not as well-integrated. He often focused solely on playmaking or scoring.
Wade Dong, on the other hand, could make precise passes to his teammates, like McGrady, even while shooting.
Suns 2, Clippers 2!!!
"MVP! MVP! MVP!"
The US Airways Center erupted in cheers.
Then, Griffin scored in the paint against Green and drew a foul, making the free throw to give the Clippers a 3-point lead.
Wade Dong dribbled to the frontcourt, with Griffin defending him.
Tyronn Lue was well aware that Crawford couldn't defend Wade Dong on the perimeter, so he had Griffin move out to the perimeter, leaving Green, the weakest scorer, unguarded.
Griffin could disrupt Wade Dong's shots to some extent.
If Wade Dong drove to the basket, Jordan and Butler would quickly rotate to help... In Tyronn Lue's eyes, the player who would decide the outcome of the game was still Wade Dong.
Wade Dong dribbled, and Green set a screen for him.
After crossing over Griffin, Jordan and Butler rotated to help defend, leaving the paint open.
The Clippers' attention was on Wade Dong, Gortat, and McGrady, but no one noticed that Curry had slipped into the paint.
"Hmm..."
Wade Dong noticed Curry's positioning and hesitated for a moment before tossing the ball into the air.
Wade Dong actually had a better passing option, which was to bounce the ball between defenders to Curry for an easy reverse layup.
But...
This opportunity was too good to pass up, and Wade Dong couldn't resist the urge to set up an alley-oop with Curry.
"Ah?"
Curry was also surprised by Wade Dong's pass.
He had no choice but to jump and grab the ball, barely managing to put it in the basket.
A typical dunk would make a loud sound like "Clang!!!", "G!!!", or "Bang!!!", but Curry's dunk made almost no sound, and he barely touched the rim.
At least Curry managed to put the ball in the basket...
Gentry, sitting on the sidelines, smiled and said, "Dong Ge's pass was a bit difficult for Curry."
"Hahaha..."
This comment also elicited laughter from Thompson and the others.
Gentry turned to look at them and joked, "Don't laugh; Curry's dunking ability isn't much better than yours."
The Clippers were known as 'Lob City,' but the Suns had two excellent dunkers in Wade Dong and McGrady, although McGrady, being older, didn't have the same enthusiasm for dunking.
Gortat also had many dunks, mainly because he wasn't skilled in other scoring methods.
The Suns' real strength that made their opponents nervous was their three-point shooting.
...
Wade Dong faced intense defensive pressure on the court, so he focused more on playmaking.
In this playoff season, Wade Dong's desire to score hadn't been very strong.
With seven minutes left in the first quarter, the Suns made a substitution, bringing in their second unit.
When Nash entered the game, the score was 17-15.
The high-intensity defense from both teams resulted in low offensive efficiency, and aside from the initial two scores, each team's possession lasted over 18 seconds.
This was Tyronn Lue's strategy: to disrupt the Suns' offensive rhythm with aggressive defense.
Wade Dong played for seven minutes, contributing 5 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.
After Wade Dong went to the bench, Tyronn Lue also made lineup adjustments, bringing in Barnes for Crawford and Billups for Butler.
Barnes had joined the Clippers from the Lakers the previous summer and was facing Wade Dong in the playoffs again. This hot-tempered player had expressed his desire to defend Wade Dong before the game, but the coach hadn't given him the opportunity until Wade Dong was subbed out.
After the timeout, Nash dribbled, and Thompson set a screen. Nash drove past his defender and made a no-look pass to Thompson, who stepped back behind the three-point line and shot.
"Swish!!!
The ball swished through the net.
Suns 20, Clippers 15!!!
With the Suns' second unit on the court, they extended their lead to 5 points.
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