Carrying an old science teacher with him

Chapter 51 Byron's Redemption

Baron Davis began to calm down. He was originally a player who could both drive and pass. Except for his rookie season, when he didn't get many opportunities with the Charlotte Hornets, resulting in an average of only 3.8 assists per game, he averaged more than 7 assists per game in the following seasons.

In reality, Baron Davis only averaged 18.9 minutes per game in his rookie season. However, in the subsequent seasons, he averaged over 38 minutes per game. Therefore, based on the number of assists per minute of playing time, Baron Davis's assist numbers weren't actually that bad.

However, because Baron Davis's physical attributes are indeed outstanding among guards, people have overlooked his basketball IQ.

Players who can make a name for themselves in the world's top basketball league are not idiots. It's just that some players are obsessed with their physical talents and neglect the development of other aspects, which ultimately leads to their downfall.

Byron's poor performance of 2 out of 11 in the opening game, coupled with his teammates' selfless recognition, brought him to a complete wake-up call. He realized that if he continued to play like this, he would only fall into a desperate situation and eventually succumb to the ridicule of the media and his opponents.

So after returning to the court in the second quarter, Baron Davis began to change his playing style and stopped being so concerned about saving face.

Regarding Byron's sudden realization, Old Kobe only had two words for him: "Spineless!"

The Suns maintained their lead into the latter part of the second quarter.

The Warriors continued their chaotic play in the frontcourt, mirroring their previous game against the Suns, but unfortunately, the Suns maintained their lead this time.

The Suns and Warriors may seem to play very similarly, but their underlying philosophies are actually quite different.

The Suns emphasize quick finishes, completing their offense before the opposing team's defensive formation is fully established, playing a catching-the-opponent, agile style of play.

The Warriors rely heavily on their outside shooting. When they're hot, they can shoot even the Angels to death, but when they're cold, they're doomed.

When the two sides entered a stalemate, the Suns continued to launch fast breaks by taking advantage of the rebounds from the Warriors' missed three-pointers, while the Warriors maintained pressure on the Suns' flanks by utilizing Wang Kai's presence.

Wang Kai spent most of his time in the paint in this game. Both teams played without tall interior players. Kurt Tomás fought hard to box out Wang Kai, which did have some effect in the first quarter. However, when Baron Davis returned to the game, the Warriors forced Wang Kai into the low post on offense. Just like in their previous matchup, the Suns' wing defense was stretched thin. In the low post, Wang Kai could choose to attack himself or pass the ball to the perimeter when the Suns double-teamed him.

As the Warriors regained their form, Jason Richardson and Dunleavy both found their rhythm, while Monte Ellis's drives to the basket posed a threat to the Suns.

After Wang Kai successfully punished Boris Diaw repeatedly in the low post, the Suns found themselves in a dilemma.

D'Antoni needs to consider whether to strengthen his defense against Wang Kai in the low post or continue to block the Warriors' three-pointers.

If Boris Diaw continues to guard Wang Kai one-on-one, the Suns' fast break will almost come to a standstill. Utilizing the low post skills taught by Kobe Bryant, Wang Kai has a high success rate against Diaw.

However, if Wang Kai is double-teamed, the Warriors' three-pointers show signs of gaining momentum, and the Suns are afraid of being overwhelmed by the Warriors' three-point barrage.

Ultimately, D'Antoni chose to gamble that the Warriors' three-point shooting wouldn't be accurate all the time, and double-teamed Wang Kai.

Wang Kai repeatedly passed the ball to Baron Davis in the low post, and the composed Baron Davis began his redemption, hitting two consecutive three-pointers to help the Warriors tie the score before the end of the second quarter.

After returning to the locker room at halftime, Baron Davis did not express his gratitude to his teammates emotionally, but he stood at the locker room door and hugged and high-fived each of them.

After the start of the third quarter, the Suns, who had returned to the court, began to change their tactics. They assigned Marion to defend Wang Kai, freeing up Diaw to help on defense, while Raja Bell intensified his defense on Jason Richardson.

D'Antoni's strategy was to double-team Wang Kai when he was off the ball and have Nash continue to defend Baron Davis one-on-one when he had the ball, cutting off Wang Kai's connection with his teammates and forcing the inefficient Baron Davis to take more isolation plays.

At the start of the third quarter, the Suns' changes put the Warriors at a slight disadvantage. Baron Davis broke through Nash's defense and fell into the Suns' defensive trap again. The Warriors' offense failed, and the Suns scored three consecutive fast breaks, allowing the Suns to maintain their lead.

Baron Davis finally gave up trying to prove himself and voluntarily relinquished possession of the ball, allowing Wang Kai to take over the ball handling duties.

Once Wang Kai gained possession of the ball, the Suns' wing defense began to falter.

Marion is indeed very fast, but his defense is too aggressive, allowing Wang Kai to repeatedly shake off his defender and hit mid-range shots.

With the ball, Wang Kai is not afraid of the Suns' double-teams at all. His passing vision has improved greatly with the increase of game experience. Although he cannot be compared with top point guards like Nash, he has surpassed many starting point guards of the league.

Instead of waiting for Wang Kai to feed him the ball in the low post, Baron Davis, who had given up possession of the ball, began to actively screen for his teammates, and his own movement became faster and more proactive.

As the Warriors' offensive success rate improved and Byron's three-point shooting started to fall, the Suns' lead became less secure.

With five minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Warriors tied the game again with a three-pointer.

Nash knew he needed to step up; he felt it was too risky to continue focusing on assists and leading his teammates.

When Nash started to increase his outside shooting, the Suns' offense became more stable.

Although Nash's average score has hovered around 20 points per game for many years, his offensive ability is still outstanding, especially his three-point shooting percentage, which has remained above 40% for many years, and his number of attempts is also among the top in the league.

If Stoudemire were still playing at this point, the Warriors would definitely not be able to withstand the Suns' offense and Nash's scoring. Unfortunately, Stoudemire is out for the season, and the Suns are missing their most important finisher in their offense.

Stoudemire's drives to the basket are an essential part of the Suns' overall performance. It is thanks to Stoudemire's drives that the Suns' fast breaks can be executed with such fluidity.

When the score was tied at 83-83 going into the fourth quarter, the game officially entered a heated phase.