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

November 1, 2005, 8 PM, American Airlines Center Arena.

At this moment, the Mavericks' home court hosted the Suns for their opening game matchup. The entire arena was brightly lit and packed with people.

"Watch the Phoenix Suns in the regular season!"

Last season, they averaged 110 points per game with 7 seconds or less of offense, playing beautiful basketball!

Hello everyone, this is TNT Radio, and Charles Barkley is here to commentate on the game. Let's start by looking at the starting lineups for both sides.

"The Mavericks' starting five are led by Nowitzki, with forwards Dampier and Josh Howard, and guards Doug Christie and Jason Terry."

"This is a lineup with two big men in the paint, which doesn't fit the Mavericks' traditional run-and-gun offense at all. This was one of the reasons they were eliminated by the Suns in the Western Conference semifinals last season. After a season of refinement, it's hard to say what kind of performance they can deliver."

"Hello everyone, I'm Kenny Smith. Here are the Suns' starting five, led by point guard Nash, with forwards Kurt Thomas, Marion, and James Jones, and shooting guard newcomer Raja Bell anchoring the team."

With Stoudemire sidelined due to injury and second-round pick Chen Dong performing better in the preseason, D'Antoni, for the sake of stability, opted to start James Jones, to see if the Suns, with their incomplete roster, could replicate their amazing performance from last season.

Dampier beat Kurt Thomas in the jumper, securing the Mavericks' first possession without any doubt.

Nowitzki received the ball in the low post and challenged the 2.01-meter Marion one-on-one. After drawing James Jones' help defense, he decisively passed the ball out to Josh Howard, who took a three-pointer from the corner and released it before James Jones could get back.

Clang!!!

The three-pointer missed.

After grabbing the rebound, Nash reacted swiftly without hesitation, delivering a precise, full-court pass to Marion, who was speeding down the court. Nowitzki chased after him with all his might, but could only watch helplessly as Marion charged forward. With Nash's assist, Nowitzki completed a powerful one-handed dunk!

In the commentary booth, Barkley remarked, "That speed is definitely not 7 seconds, but less than 4 seconds."

Before we could even finish counting 1, 2, 3…4, our defense had already crumbled. That's so typical of the Suns.

The Mavericks fans in the stands were furious, booing loudly, expressing their dissatisfaction with Nash's recent counterattack.

This was clearly a line from the Mavericks, or rather, an offensive tactic, but Nash used it to turn the tables on them.

Off the field, Chen Dong also experienced the treatment of a player facing his former team.

Turning back, Nowitzki held the ball on the wing beyond the three-point line, drawing Marion out. Then, on the right wing, Terry and Douglas set a screen, and Terry made a back cut to the basket.

Seeing this, Nowitzki slammed a pass to the basket, assisting Terry to score two points in response.

When it was the Suns' turn to attack, they quickly brought the ball up the court. Nash called for a screen from Marion, who then drove to the basket and passed the ball behind him. Marion, whose shot bounced to the three-point line, pushed the ball out, sending it flying in a high arc.

On the sidelines, D'Antoni, arms crossed, frowned. With his offensive powerhouse, who averaged 26 points per game, absent, he was forced to accept the poorly offensive Marion in place of the unstoppable Stoudemire.

Soon, the Mavericks' offense came on. Marion closely guarded Nowitzki, not giving him any space to shoot or pass, but Nowitzki turned and drove past him into the comfortable shooting zone. Nowitzki raised his hand to shoot two points, but Marion blocked his shot from behind and slapped it off his hand, but he still completed the jump shot.

Swish-!

"andone!!"

Nowitzki's offense is too aggressive; Marion, playing power forward, is at a significant physical disadvantage.

"It's not his fault, it's the whole world's fault. How could anyone think of having a 2.01-meter forward guard a 2.13-meter big man, and that big man's name is Dirk."

After the cheers subsided, Nowitzki calmly converted the free throw, scoring 3 points!

In response, Terry's relentless defensive pressure forced the Suns into a half-court game.

Nash remained calm, calling for Marion to set a screen, then drove into the paint, drawing Josh Howard to help defend. With a flick of his left hand, the basketball was quickly delivered to James Jones, who immediately launched a three-pointer.

Clang!!!

James Jones missed a three-pointer.

Jones' 38.6% three-point shooting percentage seems high, but he only makes 1.5 three-pointers per game, which is high accuracy but low output.

No wonder the Pacers management dismissed James Jones, who has a similar playing style to Reggie Miller, with just a second-round pick.

During the transition between offense and defense, Nowitzki was closely marked by Marion, a strategy intended to prevent him from receiving the ball.

Nowitzki moved from left to right, setting a screen for Terry at the top of the arc. After shaking off the aggressive Nash, Terry saw Josh Howard cutting into the paint off the ball. He then pushed the ball with both hands, and the basketball flew precisely into Josh Howard's hands. Terry rushed into the paint and jumped up to dunk over Kurt Thomas with one hand.

Clang!

On the sidelines, D'Antoni's face grew increasingly grim. Marion had finally managed to stop Nowitzki from receiving the ball and leading the Mavericks' offense, but unexpectedly, Josh Howard, the second-in-command, unleashed his three offensive tricks.

James Jones was just a pure shooter with strong offense but weak defense and an unremarkable physique. Josh Howard took over the Mavericks' offensive possessions and easily overwhelmed James Jones' defense.

At this point, D'Antoni's inability to make adjustments during the game became glaringly obvious. Six minutes into the first quarter, he finally thought of substituting someone into the game.

During this period, Josh Howard made 3 of 5 shots, leading his team on a 14-5 run against the Suns.

Chen Dong and Jim Jackson entered the game, while Kurt Thomas and James Jones left the game.

At this point, the Suns' lineup consisted of Marion, Jim Jackson, Chen Dong, Raja Bell, and Nash. This was no longer a small-ball lineup, but a death lineup, with Chen Dong being the tallest player on the court.

"So, I'm going to play center?"

Before Chen Dong went on the court, D'Antoni asked him a question, and D'Antoni's negative answer made Chen Dong breathe a sigh of relief. However, before he could even feel happy, D'Antoni put him up against Nowitzki.

It's either Dampier or Nowitzki.

That's absolutely awful small ball tactics!

How can you match up Chen Dong, who earns $46, against Nowitzki, who earns $1384 million? Nowitzki earns a fraction of that.

When Chen Dong came onto the court, Dampier was the first to be confused. He was standing in the paint and didn't know who to defend. So, on the left side of the three-point corner, Chen Dong received a pass from Nash and had time to aim before raising his hand to shoot a three-pointer.

Dampier has lost his position.

The Suns' unclear positioning threw him into a panic, leaving him unsure of where to direct his defensive efforts. Even after his teammates pointed him in the right direction, he still couldn't keep up with Chen Dong's defense.

Chen Dong, with no one guarding him in the open, took a standard three-point jump shot. "In Kenny Smith's quick commentary, Chen Dong had already made his move, accurately sinking the three-pointer."

"Whoosh!!!"

"Three points, hit!"

"A casual pass from Nash, and a second-round rookie Chen Dong easily sinking a three-pointer!!"

I didn't expect the goal to come so quickly.

"This is Chen Dong, this is the Suns led by Nash."

His passing and assists made it as easy as practice for his teammates to shoot.

After scoring a three-pointer in his NBA debut, Chen Dong jumped up and pumped his fist in celebration, then went to give Nash a high-five.

"Steve, you delivered a fantastic message."

"You flatter me, it's just basic operation."

"The real test is about to begin!"

"Scoring just one basket is far from enough for the Suns."

Turning back, Terry dribbled between his legs, stepped back, and attempted a three-pointer, but missed. Dampier grabbed the offensive rebound, turned, and dunked, easily finishing the play.

8 to 16!!

On the commentary desk, Barkley shook his head repeatedly, "This is so Suns!"

Their defense concedes two points initially, then they engage in multiple offensive possessions, using three-pointers to decide the outcome.

"This offensive-only tactic is very effective in the regular season."

"Don't worry about defense at all. Now, let's watch the Suns' offense..."