Chapter 308 I Can Do Whatever Uncle Melon Can Do!

　　Facing the Raptors' aggressive posture after the opening, Suns coach Skiles, seeing that the situation was not good, had to call a timeout.

　　However, after the timeout, what made Skiles feel desperate was that his strategy of relying on grinding positional warfare to determine the outcome was simply ineffective against the Raptors' fast-paced whirlwind tonight.

　　This season, the Suns' number one and number two scorers are Clifford Robinson at small forward and "Penny" Hardaway at shooting guard.

　　In previous games, when in a set offense, Kidd would use his excellent court vision to create comfortable isolation opportunities for these two.

　　In addition, Kidd could also use his positional advantage to connect the team's offense.

　　However, when facing the Raptors...

　　The Suns' "trident" now seemed to be left with only Kidd as the shaft of the trident.

　　First of all, Robinson, who is "208" centimeters tall, is stylistically very similar to a poor man's Durant.

　　With his long arms and legs, he can basically create a natural mismatch when matched up with other small forwards in the league.

　　But tonight, after encountering Su Feng, the king of torment, Robinson found that his current situation could only be described as "unable to move."

　　Compared to the future Durant, Robinson's ability to attack with the ball and his strong attacking ability are not unsolvable.

　　Therefore, when defending this guy, Su Feng adopted the most direct tactic of "not letting you receive the ball."

　　On the one hand, this can increase the difficulty for Robinson to receive the ball, and on the other hand, this strategy can also ensure that Robinson cannot immediately launch an offensive on the side guarded by Su Feng after receiving the ball.

　　In basketball games, the taller side does have an advantage, but Su Feng, with his amazing athletic ability, has a far superior understanding of the game than Robinson.

　　Secondly, although Francis once made McGrady unable to take care of himself during the game against the Nets, tonight, facing Kidd, that situation was reversed.

　　In regular games, Kidd can always use his solid build to bully small guards like Nash.

　　However, tonight, facing McGrady, many of Kidd's advantages have turned into disadvantages.

　　Admittedly, Kidd can still cause damage to the Raptors through his control of the rhythm.

　　But the question is...

　　With Kidd as the shaft of the trident but missing the tines, even if McGrady lets him score, can he score 30 or 40 points and defeat the Raptors?

　　The answer is naturally no.

　　In short, compared to the gap in strength, the Raptors' style of play and the relationship between the players are what Skiles cannot break, even if he racks his brains.

　　On the court, facing Carter, Hardaway's jump shot missed the basket again.

　　Often, people only know how to cherish when they lose something.

　　On this night that was destined to be heart-wrenching for Hardaway, you might not believe it, but what he missed most was not his wasted talent...

　　But that tall, mighty figure who could always shield him from the wind and rain at critical moments.

　　If that invincible shark was there, in Hardaway's opinion, how could he be beaten to the ground by Carter in front of him?

　　This season, in Phoenix, Hardaway has regained the second spring of his career.

　　Relying on Kidd's connection and the tactics Skiles designed for him, he not only averaged 16.9 points per game, but also achieved a career-high 47.4% field goal percentage since parting ways with O'Neal.

　　However, whenever Hardaway secretly turned on the TV and looked at that number 8 in Staples...

　　The 29-year-old's eyes were full of the 23-year-old version of himself.

　　It was the beautiful look back of the years, the moving music played by time.

　　The return to silence in Orlando, the noisy Staples Center, the rebirth in desperation in Phoenix, when time quietly turned, 29-year-old Hardaway stood here, but...

　　He could never catch up with that former self again.

　　Recently, Hardaway often heard people say that Su Feng and Carter are this era's Jordan and Pippen.

　　But in Hardaway's opinion, people who say this probably haven't even watched Jordan and Pippen's games.

　　But tonight, even the proud Hardaway had to admit...

　　The era has changed.

　　In the 96/97 season, when he first played against Su Feng, Hardaway felt that Su Feng looked very familiar.

　　And he had felt this way once before, when he first played against Kobe.

　　Later, it wasn't until Kobe revealed the story of that year in an interview that Hardaway realized...

　　Look...

　　In the past, he was the unattainable superstar in the eyes of two Lower Merion teenagers.

　　But now, those two teenagers who he had refused to sign autographs for have turned around and become the future legends that he can't catch up with no matter how hard he tries.

　　Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. (idiom: life is full of ups and downs)

　　Never bully an old man, and never underestimate a young man. (proverb)

　　Swish!

　　On the court, just as Hardaway was sighing about the passage of time, the Raptors' counterattack had already advanced to the Suns' half.

　　It's the Su-Carter connection again!

　　Carter's condition tonight was indeed as he said.

　　After receiving the easy pass from Su Feng, Carter pulled up and shot, and he made it!

　　0 to 9!

　　Back on the other end, the Suns were on offense, and Lang Li once again became an "inside saboteur."

　　This time, because Lang Li's screen was too slow, who did he block?

　　Kidd, whose only breakthrough route was blocked by Lang Li, had no choice but to pass the ball to Gugliotta.

　　However, under O'Neal's close marking, Gugliotta chose to pass the buck after observing for a while.

　　Robinson on the wing was crying.

　　No...

　　Brothers, even if you want to pass the ball to me, pass it earlier!

　　In these few seconds, you don't think I can really break through Su Feng's wall of sighs, do you?

　　Pa!

　　This time, Su Feng didn't even give Robinson a chance to shoot.

　　After reaching out and cutting off the basketball in Robinson's hand, Su Feng took advantage of the situation to launch a counterattack and assisted Carter in completing another dunk.

　　0 to 11!

　　At the Air Canada Centre, the nearly 20,000 fans in attendance were already intoxicated.

　　Good heavens, are we watching a dunk contest?

　　On the sidelines, Suns coach Skiles felt that if they continued to play like this, the Suns would definitely be slaughtered by the Raptors tonight.

　　So, with the idea of at least limiting the Raptors' fast break, Skiles hurriedly called up Marion, who was repairing the water cooler.

　　Taking advantage of a dead ball opportunity, Skiles replaced Lang Li with Marion and switched to using Gugliotta at center.

　　After Marion came on the court, the Suns were obviously much better than before, both offensively and defensively.

　　Marion, whose style of play doesn't occupy the ball, ran around with O'Neal like a mad dog during offense in order to show himself.

　　And back on defense, Marion also created opportunities for his teammates to slow down the Raptors' offensive rhythm through active help defense.

　　In Su Feng's previous life, Marion, nicknamed "The Matrix," even played center when Stoudemire was out for the season.

　　With his amazing athletic ability, he may seem unremarkable, but he is the kind of player who can improve the team's floor.

　　You know, in Su Feng's "Pippen Rankings," this guy can even rank in the top five.

　　However, the Suns' disadvantage tonight cannot be reversed by Marion alone.

　　In the first quarter, as the Raptors' main scorer tonight, Carter was completely on fire.

　　With Su Feng helping to create space, how comfortable was Carter's environment tonight?

　　In the first quarter, Carter made 8 of 12 shots and scored 22 points, including free throws.

　　Su Feng also contributed a career-high 7 assists in a single quarter.

　　With a score of 23 to 39, the Raptors entered the second quarter with a 16-point lead.

　　And in the second quarter, when he noticed that Su Feng and Carter were not resting on the Raptors' side...

　　Suns coach Skiles wanted to curse more than anything.

　　No...

　　John, we have no grudges against you, do you have to beat us to death like this?

　　Honestly, if Skiles had a knife in his hand now, he would definitely take Pat Riley's bounty on John Davis tonight!

　　On the court, in the second quarter, in order to stop Carter from going wild, the Suns had to shrink their defense inside.

　　However, as a new era perimeter star, Carter can do more than just drive to the basket.

　　This season, although Carter's shooting accuracy was terrible at the beginning of the season, under Grover's strict training, after March, Carter's season three-point percentage has rebounded to 39%.

　　In the second quarter, relying on the three-point tactics that Davis had carefully designed for him, Carter made 4 of 4 three-pointers, plus two mid-range shots, scoring another 16 points in the quarter.

　　On TNT, watching Carter score 38 points in the first half, Smith said bluntly: "This Raptors team is too strong, because even if you can defend Su, you may not be able to control Vince."

　　And Derek said next to him: "Vince's touch is very hot in this game. With his condition tonight, he may be able to score 60+."

　　I have to say, Carter's condition tonight was even better than Su Feng expected.

　　Of course, as a mature leader, Su Feng would not be jealous of his deputy.

　　"See, Seth, I told you a long time ago, as long as Uncle Vince has the opportunity, what 'Uncle Melon' can do, he can also do!"

　　On the Raptors' bench, Stephen Curry, who was sitting behind Dell Curry, said excitedly to his brother.

　　At this moment, Su Feng, who happened to be passing by, was immediately unhappy.

　　What do you mean, as long as Carter is given a chance, what I can do, he can also do?

　　No...

　　As the son of Dell Curry, what's in my memory...

　　In the end, with a score of 89 to 129, after defeating the Suns by 40 points at home, the Raptors were one step closer to making history.

　　After the game, on TNT, Smith said with emotion: "As long as Carter has enough possessions, he can also do whatever he wants on the court. The overall strength of this Raptors team is really unfathomable."

　　And Derek said next to him: "Su's performance in terms of organization in this game also shows us that he is becoming more and more comprehensive. To be honest, he is already the best perimeter star in this league."

　　At the press conference, Carter, who scored 50+, was in a good mood. During the interview, he not only expressed his gratitude to the coaches and teammates, but also specifically mentioned Su Feng's help as the team leader behind the scenes for this Raptors team.

　　"All the achievements we have made this season are inseparable from Su's support. Although he is still very young, he is very experienced.

　　Both on and off the court, he is the well-deserved absolute leader of this team."

　　It has to be said that after this night, some people's paths became narrower, but some people's paths became wider.

　　"Vince is too humble. In my opinion, his scoring ability is not below mine.

　　I think our opponents in the playoffs will have a headache, because they can't always use four people to defend me and Vince, right?" Su Feng joked in an interview after the game.

　　...