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

After scoring, Nash quickly drove to the frontcourt with the ball. Using Marion's screen, Nash broke into the paint and then passed the ball behind his head. The ball bounced to Marion outside the three-point line, who caught it and made another three-pointer.

Swish!!!

On the court, Jim Jackson shrugged.

If an inside player doesn't go into the paint and always floats on the outside shooting three-pointers, is there no justice in this world?

They bullied him, an old man who was almost 36 years old, showing no martial ethics.

Seeing this, D'Antoni shook his head on the sidelines, "Marion's three-point barrage might be enough to host Jim Jackson's retirement game."

His footwork couldn't keep up with the offensive pace of seven seconds or less.

Back to the point, Barbosa continued to pass the ball to Diaw. He couldn't very well use his lightning speed to break through Nash head-on, could he?

There's no need for that. It's better to let the new recruits show their skills. They can fake a shot, copy Chen Dong's strategy, break into the paint, and Diaw can take a shot with a thud, missing the target.

Diaw, playing small forward, remained the same after joining the Suns, with a shooting percentage of only 42%. At 2.03 meters tall and 110 kilograms, he lacked both speed and shooting ability. No wonder he was only used as an add-on to Joe James!

"mine!"

Chen Dong flung his body into the paint, retrieved the basketball that Diaw had missed, dribbled out, and then suddenly made a back-to-the-basket pass, drawing Stoudemire's help defense. Diaw, having redeemed himself, cut in to receive the ball, jumped up, and drove to the basket for a layup.

Swish-!

One against zero chance, and it's another attack from the center position.

Dior can raise the hit rate to 53%.

"Chen Dong, well done!"

"Okay, just make sure it catches properly and doesn't tip over."

"At such close range, it's harder to miss than to make."

In the fourth minute, Nash made a pass and cut, passing the ball to Raja Bell, wanting to test his ability to organize and handle the ball, but his intention was misunderstood. Raja Bell caught the ball and immediately shot. Diaw, who is 2.03 meters tall, has a height advantage, while Raja Bell, who is 1.96 meters tall, seems to lack talent at this moment, not only in height but also in jumping ability. He chose to shoot a three-pointer under interference, and it went off with a thud.

He struck with a powerful iron strike!

In the 05/06 season, Raja Bell made 44% of his three-point attempts.

That's very high.

How tall is it?

Marion's three-point percentage is 33%, James Jones' is 38.6%, and Nash's is only 43.9%, which is almost the same as the Suns' three-point leader.

They are among the top teams in the entire league.

However, those were stats achieved from open shots; there's no way around it, Nash's passes were just too good.

His three-point shooting became mediocre under defensive pressure.

Jim Jackson swatted the rebound away. He couldn't compete with Marion in terms of jumping ability, so he could only rely on experience.

Chen Dong controlled the out-of-control basketball, but was entangled by James Jones. He backed the ball and bumped into him, then turned and dribbled past Jones. As Jones turned back to chase, Chen Dong made a crossover dribble to create distance, then sped off in a straight line, driving into the paint. He was double-teamed by Stoudemire and Marion, but with a flick of his left hand, he passed the ball to Barbosa on the right three-point wing. He caught the ball, raised his hand, and launched a three-pointer.

Swish-!

Off the court, the coaching staff applauded, not only because Chen Dong's pass was very beautiful, but also because Barbosa's three-point shots were clean and crisp.

Barbosa didn't explode in his first year, nor in his second. But in his third year as a rookie, he seemed to be improving, and he was even willing to take three-point shots.

It's worth noting that in the previous two seasons, Barbosa only relied on lightning-fast drives to score.

On the court, under Chen Dong's organization and leadership, the substitute team actually put up a 50/50 fight against the starting five team. Chen Dong's team scored 3 goals, and Nash's team also scored 3 goals.

Well, the difference is that Nash's team only made three-pointers, while Chen Dong's team made both two-pointers and three-pointers, not missing a single one.

The game continued, and Nash called for Stoudemire to set a pick and roll and drive into the paint. He intentionally looked towards James Jones, but found that although Chen Dong made a move to help defend, he cut off Nash's passing route to James Jones. Although Nash was capable of passing the ball, it would give Chen Dong time to respond defensively.

So, he broke into the paint, and Nash made a quick floater, which swished in easily.

Even if there's no opportunity to pass the ball, Nash can still orchestrate the Suns' offense and score himself.

Chen Dong didn't care, because the blame for the goal was Kurt Thomas's defensive switching.

The combination of Nash and Stoudemire, one tall and one fast, has always been a defensive challenge for the entire league.

It's not shameful to not know how to do something, because whoever thinks they can do it, should do it!

If Nash wanted to, two-point offense was a breeze.

In the 7th minute, Barbosa didn't continue looking for Diaw. Instead, he made a pass and cut on the outside, passing the ball to Chen Dong while also bringing Nash's defense in front of Chen Dong. He received the ball, raised his hand, and jumped up to shoot a three-pointer despite Nash's aggressive block. The shot went straight through Chen Dong's defense.

Swish-!

After scoring, Chen Dong wore a killer expression devoid of emotion.

One-on-one against Na is a chance to win zero points. Chen Dong has near-A-level three-point shooting skills (he hasn't broken through yet), so he naturally won't hold back.

Nash was shot by Yan Ye, tossed his flowing long hair, and then gave Chen Dong a thumbs up, "Chen, well done!"

"If you have the chance, seize it."

No matter what, Chen Dong came to assist him, and Nash was actually happy to be called out for a three-pointer.

So, turning around, he used a series of screens to bring Chen Dong's defense right in front of him. With a feint and a three-pointer, he momentarily lost Chen Dong's balance, then used an uncommon crossover dribble to get past Chen Dong like a morning street, into the paint. A scoring opportunity was just around the corner. Nash flicked the ball with his right hand, quickly sending it to the left three-point corner. James Jones caught the ball, jumped, and released an open three-point jumper...

Swish-!

"Great shot!"

"It's even better!"

After this offensive possession, Nash and James Jones started interacting, and with his playmaking, the starting five unleashed their full three-point offensive firepower.

In the battle of organizing and passing the ball, it's like a game of escalating tensions.

Chen Dong looked at it and shook his head.

It seems Nash still cares a lot about that three-pointer he just made.

In the 9th minute, after getting to know his new teammates, Nash noticeably started to pick up the pace.

Especially during fast breaks, Stoudemire grabs a rebound, passes the ball to Nash, and just as he steps out of the free-throw line, Nash makes a lightning-fast long pass to Marion, who is rushing to the frontcourt. Marion takes the ball, leaps up, and delivers a powerful one-handed dunk.

Clang!

Marion displayed terrifying physical talent, like a "hacker," while Nash squeezed every last drop of Marion's athletic talent out of him.

The extreme speed of offensive and defensive transitions could very well be less than 4 seconds. In other words, by the time Chen Dong's team had just returned to half-court, the offensive connection between Nash and Marion had already been completed.

This is a 7-second offense or less!

Of course, given Jim Jackson's current athleticism, it's only natural that Marion would outpace him with speed.

Gentry and Mark Yafaroni discussed it and decided to replace Jim Jackson with Azubuk, otherwise the game would be unplayable.

To avoid being bombarded, you first need to be able to run.

To defend against attacks on two levels, defensive players need to possess both technical skills and physical talent in order to be able to stop them.

Next, despite the substitutes constantly making substitutions, once Stoudemire and Marion got into full swing, and with Nash's quick and accurate passes and assists, the game quickly turned into a one-sided affair, like autumn leaves being swept away by the wind!

Chen Dong made 4 of 6 shots, including 2 of 2 three-pointers. Both of those shots were made in front of Nash. He scored 10 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block. At the same time, he also held James Jones to a mere 2 of 7 shots, finishing with 6 points, 1 rebound, 0 assists, 0 steals, and 0 blocks – a pure shooter performance. Comparing their stats side-by-side, Chen Dong is a high-level role player, while James Jones is just a fringe player.

With a score of 119 to 90, Chen Dong wasn't upset at all by the 29-point defeat. This was the fighting spirit of the Suns in 05, and he, Chen Dong, was one of them. The ones who should be upset were the Suns' opponents.

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, the two-week training camp has come to an end. Next up is the preseason games to test their skills in real combat. However, just as the Suns were overjoyed and dreaming of how to use their unparalleled offensive talent to challenge all the teams in the league.

On October 13, the day before the preseason started, Stoudemire made a surgical version of Decision 10: "I've decided to have minimally invasive surgery on my knee."

"I don't know what minimally invasive surgery is, and I don't want to know. All I know is that I'll be back in six months, fully recovered!"

"..."

Stoudemire's surgery decision caught the Suns completely off guard. The preseason game is tomorrow, and Stoudemire is expected to return in March, meaning all their previous training has been for nothing. The roster framework the Suns built over the summer will be rendered useless due to Stoudemire's long-term absence, potentially ending his season!