Who will be the role players now that everyone's been reborn?

July 5, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Coastal Center Arena.

The Phoenix Suns' first opponent in the 05/06 Summer League was the Golden State Warriors.

The Warriors' tradition is a run-and-gun offense.

As rivals in the Pacific Division, the Suns take this game very seriously.

In terms of overall strength, the Suns are a weak team, while the Warriors have the advantage.

To be honest, most playoff-caliber teams have no chance of winning the Summer League, except for the Rockets.

The Suns have low expectations; their main goal is to train their players, and they consider it a win if they lose by a small margin. They value participation above all else!

Unfortunately, in order to achieve good results, the Suns have been trading away or selling off their quality draft picks in recent years. They haven't had any high draft picks, or even the lowest-ranked first-round picks.

To put it another way, the leader of the Suns in this Summer League is Chen Dong, the 31st pick in the 05 draft.

The other players were all cobbled together from various sources.

The Suns' starting five was unremarkable: center Pat Burke, power forward Zach Hayes, small forward Chen Dong, shooting guard Kylena Azubuke, and point guard Jose Calderon.

A second-round pick and four undrafted players – this roster is, in a word, pathetic!

Of course, this lineup also has its advantages, namely that it is a United Nations starting lineup.

This is related to D'Antoni's experience. He once played in Italy and, while scouting for the Spurs, discovered Ginobili.

The Spurs' success is inseparable from their recruitment of European players, and D'Antoni certainly had no reason not to take advantage of that.

The team was led by Gentry and Dan D'Antoni, who are considered D'Antoni's right-hand men.

The Warriors' starting five are: center Krishnamurti, power forward Zako Kabakappa, small forward Ekdi Ogu, shooting guard Matt Barnes, and point guard Monta Ellis.

The Warriors, who later achieved the "Black Eight" miracle, had three players on their roster: the 17th overall pick in 2003 and the 9th overall pick in 2005. The comparison is stark; compared to the Suns' roster, the Warriors' lineup was an absolute elite team!

As the game began, Ellis made a sharp breakthrough on the first play, tearing apart Calderon, whose physical talent was average. He rushed into the penalty area like a tiger, leaped up from the ground, and, facing Hayes' block, shot a sharp arrow through the heart from the mid-range.

Although Ellis's current idol is Kobe and he learns and imitates Kobe's playing style, his fundamental skills are actually based on McGrady's playing style, because his older brother, who taught him to play basketball from a young age, idolized McGrady.

"Go back to Europe and play team basketball!"

North American style of basketball, you can't handle it.

Ellis arrogantly provoked them.

Calderon did not respond. As an undrafted player in 03, he was used to such trash talk. Instead of responding, he chose to let the ball do the talking. He dribbled to the frontcourt, immediately passed the ball to Chen Dong who was on the side, and then made an off-ball cut and a back-run to tear apart the defense.

As Chen Dong received the ball, he raised it to feign a three-point shot. Ekdiogu was fooled. In that instant, Chen Dong had already gathered the ball and broken into the paint. Diogu, who is 2.03 meters tall but weighs 113 kilograms, is a power forward with a disadvantage in speed. He was further fooled by Chen Dong's feint. He stared wide-eyed as Chen Dong swiftly broke into the paint, raised the ball to feign a shot, and knocked Biedrins under the basket, but passed the ball out from behind the latter.

Pat Burke cut to the basket, received the ball, and leaped up to deliver a powerful dunk.

boom!!!

"Well done!"

Don't bother with that next time!

Chen Dong said this.

Biedrins blushed. As the team's defensive linchpin and a shot-blocker, he could only remember this incident and promise to treat Chen Dong to hot pot next time.

"He truly is a versatile and exceptional player!"

"His drives, assists, and provocations were all executed beautifully. He's a good player who uses his brain," said D'Antoni on the sidelines, nodding in agreement. However, he still raised his doubts: "I just don't know if the 31st pick's three-point shooting is just bluffing or if he really has the skill?"

Gentry agreed, "Breakthrough assists are Nash's job. If Chen Dong wants to establish himself in the NBA, he needs to be able to shoot, especially three-pointers."

On the court, Ellis made another quick breakthrough. Calderon retreated in advance, and Chen Dong decisively opened up his defense against Matt Barnes and double-teamed Ellis in advance. The latter faced the double-team and pulled up for a jump shot. Chen Dong's block had already covered Ellis's face. The 1.91-meter height disadvantage still caused him some pain.

Clang!

The basketball bounced off the rim and flew out.

The moment Hayes got the basketball, Chen Dong, Azubuke, and Calderon had already started running.

7 seconds or less of a run-and-gun offense!!!

To maximize speed, the initial jump shot is essential. Calderon caught the ball, but his cautious and steady approach made him a bit slow in his run-and-gun rhythm. Fortunately, his final pass was very accurate, and the ball flew like a cannonball to Chen Dong, who had just positioned himself outside the three-point line on the wing.

Catch!

Leap!

Shot!

Chen Dong didn't need to adjust at all. He caught the ball, jumped up, and shot. With a beautiful shooting posture, he gracefully released the three-pointer. The basketball drew a beautiful arc in the air and then fell accurately into the white net.

Swish-!

"Well done!"

"A perfect shot!"

Chen Dong and Calderon gave each other a thumbs-up from a distance.

"His three-point shooting motion is very smooth, his shooting form is textbook perfect, and he is very confident in his shooting."

Chen Dong's three-pointers are truly impressive!

"It seems he has no problem adapting to the NBA three-point line distance," Gentry commented from the sidelines.

"That's why the Suns chose him."

The Spanish point guard, on the other hand, had virtually no problem organizing and passing the ball.

"But..." Dane Anthony paused for a moment, "...there's a lack of adventure and courage."

"Haha," Gentry chuckled, "maybe he just can't wrap his head around it!"

In European team basketball, they don't have an offensive feel unless they pass the ball around a couple of times.

On the court, Ellis broke through the double team's defense, turned and dribbled out, and tried to continue his breakthrough from other directions, but was yelled at by the team's assistant coach, Keith Smart, who had a livid face, "High school rookie, number 40, you better never pass the ball. Take the basketball back to your bed and go to sleep."

After being called upon by the coach, Ellis drove to the basket in a different direction, drawing the defense before passing the ball to Matt Barnes, who was completely open, and then launched a three-pointer.

Clang!

Barnes has been a nomadic player since his debut in 02, constantly missing shots. His lack of offensive ability is a weakness he cannot overcome. However, in order to get an NBA contract, he needs impressive statistics to convince the management. With no other choice, he can only use offensive methods that he is not good at to continue his losing streak.

"Counterattack!"

Chen Dong and Azubuke rushed forward at the same time.

Receiving a pass from Pat Burke, and tightly guarded by Matt Barnes who had missed a shot, Azubuke backed down and flicked the ball forward with his left hand. Azubuke, who was running, almost caught the ball out of bounds. Fortunately, he ran out of bounds and blocked the ball outside the sideline. Without lingering, he made a long pass to Calderon under the basket, who caught the ball and jumped up to lay it up.

Swish-!

The Suns' fast break and run-and-gun offense.

Then the music started playing, and then the carousel roared in.

The Warriors couldn't keep up with the Suns' offensive pace at all, and their defense was completely overwhelmed by the Suns' fast-paced offense.

Offensively, Ellis completely fell into a lone wolf-style one-on-one offensive mode. Under double-team defense, he couldn't capitalize on the situation at all and frequently missed jump shots.

Seeing this, his teammates also chose to go it alone. Matt Barnes' offense was too rough, and no one had high hopes for him. Unfortunately, he was also disappointing, and no matter how he shot, he missed.

Thus, led by the Warriors' "two iron men on the perimeter," the Suns went on a 58-37 run in the first half, completely killing any suspense in the game. Chen Dong scored 19 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds, shooting 6-for-9 from the field, 4-for-5 from three-point range, and 3-for-3 from the free-throw line, before leaving the court to rest without hesitation.

At that moment, he sat on the bench, enjoying the showdown between "Death" Parker and Ellis.

Despite having gained experience in Europe, Smush Parker still prefers flashy individual performances. As the team's commander and point guard, this style of play is simply mindless.

And you know what? His playing style is exactly the same as Ellis's.

The point guard's body and the shooting guard's soul made the game chaotic and inefficient!