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

Basketball is never about calculations!

The Princeton offense is all about calculation, each step meticulously planned, using intelligence to defeat physical players. The philosophy itself isn't flawed; the problem lies in its indiscriminate application of rules, situations, player willingness, or acceptance. It's as if the Princeton system is an inviolable golden rule, bordering on obsessive!

Moreover, the problem is that for the Kings, their current Summer League lineup of swing forwards is flawed from the very beginning.

Forwards who are 2.01m or 2.03m tall, when they mention high post playmaking, can't capitalize on the mismatch advantage of a center playing high post playmaking. The Suns don't even need to field their center. With perimeter guards, they can use defense to control the most important and core part of the Princeton offense. No player can play Chris Webber's role. No matter how skillfully other players execute off-ball cuts, pick-and-rolls, and spacing, it's like throwing a wink at a blind man.

Om-!

The Suns defeated the Kings 115-93, a 22-point advantage, and continued their winning streak in the Summer League, extending it to four games and displaying an invincible performance.

Kevin Martin shot only 6-for-18 from the field, 2-for-5 from three-point range, and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line, totaling 19 points, 3 assists, and 4 rebounds. Chen Dong, on the other hand, shot 10-for-15 from the field, 3-for-5 from three-point range, and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, delivering an efficient 27 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds even after playing only three quarters. When comparing the stats of these two leading players, Kevin Martin appears to be merely an off-ball shooter detached from the team's system, while Chen Dong is a true cornerstone, albeit only in the Summer League. However, the difference in their impact on the game is significant!

After this game, the Suns, whom everyone underestimated, defied expectations, winning all four of their games and dominating the Long Beach Summer League, stunning everyone. Chen Dong's 28 points, 7 assists, and 4.5 rebounds make him a top-tier player, worthy of being a number one draft pick in this Summer League.

Azubuke contributed 23 points, 4 assists, and 5 rebounds, delivering a performance befitting a first-round pick. Hayes added 12 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists. While his playing style may not be Jordan's, it could be Pippen's or Rodman's, also showing a performance befitting a first-round pick.

Calderon had already proven himself in the European leagues; his playing style simply wasn't suited to the NBA. As the Summer League progressed, he put on a second-round pick-level performance. Smush Parker, having matured after gaining experience in the European leagues, had toned down his streetball style considerably. Even as a substitute, he still delivered excellent second-round pick-level performances.

You call this a second-round pick leading a group of undrafted players?

This is clearly a group of exceptionally talented players. If we were to draft them again, based solely on physical talent, they would still be drafted in the second round, and those who were destined to go undrafted would still go undrafted. However, if we use immediate impact as the draft standard, we can only say that all the team managers and coaches have been mistaken. Apart from Chen Dong, whose potential is unfathomable, all of them have the immediate impact to serve as qualified starters in the NBA.

Of course, the Suns, whose main goal is to train their players and minimize losses, were able to put on such a stellar performance not only because of their own excellent performance, but also because of the contrast with their opponents. The opponents the Suns faced either had tactical burdens or drafted players who were too young, with potential for the future but terrible immediate combat ability.

For example, the Kings and the Jazz, one uses the Princeton offense, the other uses the pick-and-roll offense.

For example, the Warriors and Clippers, besides having chaotic tactics, also like to draft young rookies to develop, which only leads to them getting beaten.

In short, the Suns' 7-second run-and-gun offense, or even less, while demanding a high level of skill from their core point guard, actually weakens their perceived weaknesses because their players are more capable immediately. In other words, opponents are defeated before they even have a chance to exploit the Suns' weaknesses.

Therefore, the Suns won somewhat by cheating!

……

Two days passed in the blink of an eye. Long Beach, Los Angeles, Coast Center Arena.

The Suns faced their fifth opponent in the 05/06 Summer League – the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Lakers, who missed the playoffs last season, received two pieces of news during the offseason. One was good news: after nine years, they finally got a lottery pick. The last time was in 1996 when they traded for the 13th pick and used it to select Kobe Bryant. This time, in 2005, the Lakers used the 10th pick to select a high school player—Andrew Bynum.

Another piece of good news is that their championship-winning coach, Phil Jackson, has returned to the helm of the Lakers. This means that Rudy Tomjanovich's one-star-four-shooter system built around Kobe Bryant has been terminated, and the Lakers have essentially corrected their course at the core of their tactics.

Of course, these are good news for the Lakers, but bad news for the Lakers players. One is that the triangle offense is a difficult problem and not easy to implement. The other is that Bynum will need at least three years of training and cannot provide much immediate impact. Well, the future belongs to the Lakers.

The Lakers' starting five are: center Bynum, power forward Turiaf, small forward Vujacic, shooting guard Vaughn Weaver, and point guard Tony Bobbitt.

The Lakers have two first-round picks, two second-round picks, and one undrafted player, so in terms of roster strength, the Lakers have the advantage.

The Suns' starting five are: center Pat Burke, power forward Hayes, small forward Chen Dong, shooting guard Azubuke, and point guard Calderon.

Beep—!

The game began with the sounding of the whistle.

During the jump ball, Bynum showcased the top-tier physical talent of the 10th overall pick in high school, helping the Lakers gain possession of the ball on the first possession.

Tony Bobbitt dribbled the ball up the court, and like Fisher, passed it to Vujacic while simultaneously using outside passing and cutting to bring Calderon's defense in front of Vujacic.

Despite having a matchup advantage, Vujacic didn't force a shot. Instead, he lobbed the ball to Turiaf in the corner area, then made an off-ball cut. Turiaf then passed the ball to Vujacic, who received it, changed direction, and launched a powerful two-point jump shot over Hayes' help defense.

Swish!!!

Before he became known for being a kept man, Vujacic was famous for being both handsome and a skilled fighter.

Hayes was very active on defense, but his 1.98-meter height was too fatal.

The Lakers took the first game, leading 2-0.

In the second minute, Calderon dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and also became a utility player, passing the ball to Chen Dong and cutting to the wing. Chen Dong faced off against Tony Bobbitt, who was wearing number 15. The next owner of this jersey was Artest, who was not to be trifled with, but the current owner was mediocre. The advantage was in our hands!

Upon receiving the ball, Chen Dong raised it to feign a three-point shot. Taking advantage of the 1.93-meter Bobbitt being faked out, Chen Dong took his first step with lightning speed, his right foot moving like a whirlwind across a morning street, leaving Bobbitt behind. He then met Turiaf, who was coming to help block the shot, with a no-look pass. By the time Turiaf turned to block, Hayes had already completed the steal, receiving the ball, jumping up, and dunking with both hands, scoring two points.

Clang!

"Chen Dong, well done!"

"Well, just make sure you don't get butterflies."

"No, I'm very steady. I'm not afraid of you passing the ball to me; I can handle it."

Going back, Tony Bobbitt continued to play the role of a utility player. Vujacic's playing style is not selfish. When Bobbitt moved to the left wing outside the three-point line, the pass arrived as soon as he arrived. Bobbitt received the ball and raised his hand to shoot a three-pointer.

Clang!

Fisher is not an easy person to be.

Besides being a good utility player, he also had to be responsible for defense and three-pointers. Of the three things Bobby did as point guard for the Lakers, he only did one well: dribbling the ball across half-court and then passing it.

Off the field, Coach Frank Hamblen couldn't help but shake his head upon seeing this.

Everyone says that Fisher playing point guard is the Lakers' biggest weakness, so how come they can't even find a replacement player after Fisher left?

This is absolutely outrageous!!!

Under the basket, Bynum surprised the Lakers by stealing the ball that Bibott had missed and turning to dunk, but Hayes, who was helping on defense, blocked the dunk with a riding tackle.

Standing at the free-throw line, Bynum only made one of his two free throws. That's so Shaq!

O'Neal did it too.

"Judging from his free throw performance, this 10th pick certainly deserves the nickname 'Little Shaq'!" Gentry commented from the sidelines. "This Lakers team that's standing in our way will probably need three years to recover."

"Heh, three years from now, when Bynum has matured, he'll find that the Western Conference big men he'll face are Duncan, Nowitzki, Stoudemire, Garnett, oh, and Yao Ming, among other top-tier big men." D'Antoni chuckled. "Just thinking about it makes me feel sorry for Kobe!!!"

These three years are the best period for our Suns to contend for the championship.

"..."