Chapter 216 Duncan's smile, point guard Chen Yan is online!
After a winning streak, the Suns received good news and bad news.
The good news is that Barea and Azubuike are back from injury after a brief injury period!
The two players also participated in the Suns' team training today and seemed to be in good condition.
The bad news is that Nash only trained for 15 minutes today and exited the training session accompanied by the team doctor.
Nash's back injury has become more serious in recent games, which is also the sequelae of D'Antoni's frenzied 6-man rotation.
In the past week of games, Nash averaged an astonishing 40.8 minutes per game, and the oil in his fuel tank was almost drained...
When the amount of exercise exceeds the load on the body, injuries will naturally follow.
After training, Chen Yan returned to the locker room immediately. He was very concerned about Nash's injury.
In the locker room, after undergoing the examination, Nash was lying on his stomach receiving a back massage from Aaron Nelson, the team's physical trainer.
"Steve, are you feeling better?" Chen Yan stepped forward and asked.
"I don't feel good. My whole back is stiff. Now I can only lie on my stomach and lie down. The team doctor suggested that I rest for half a month." Nash's tone revealed helplessness and frustration. No one wanted to be in this critical moment of sprinting.
Drop the chain.
When Chen Yan heard the news, he didn't know how to comfort Nash.
Nash is the soul of the Suns and the engine of the fast break. Only he can truly revitalize the team.
A considerable proportion of Chen Yan's scoring comes from Nash's direct or indirect assists.
His truce is undoubtedly serious bad news for the sun.
"Chen, don't worry too much about me. My back injury has been bothering me for many years. I'm used to getting along with it. I will find a way to return to the team early. This is not a difficult thing for me." Nash said with a smile.
Chen Yan said.
Lao Na has a strong desire to play. This year can be said to be the year when the Suns have the best chance of winning the championship.
As the core of the team, Nash's condition has not declined due to his age, but has actually improved. This season, he leads the league in assists per game, reaching an astonishing 11.9.
This is also the season in which Nash averaged the highest number of assists per game in his career.
Under Nash's teamwork, the Suns' overall running and gunning rhythm is still smooth. The problem of positional offense has also been well solved with the arrival of Chen Yan. The atmosphere of the team is very harmonious, and the salary is absolutely healthy.
Nash has been waiting for this opportunity his entire career, and he doesn't want to waste it.
After hearing Nash's idea, Chen Yan quickly persuaded: "Steve, take good care of your injury and don't rush to come back. The playoffs are our main battlefield, and we need a truly healthy you!"
Ranking in the regular season is important, but if injuries worsen due to forced return and affect the playoffs, it will be worth the loss.
Nash nodded after hearing this. As a veteran who has been in the league for many years, he naturally understands this truth.
But if the team is really in trouble, he will definitely choose to play with injuries. This is the responsibility of the team leader.
As for whether Nash will come back early, everything depends on the team's performance in the next period of time.
...
...
On March 10, the Suns sat at home and faced the challenge of their old rivals, the San Antonio Spurs.
Nash appeared on the bench wearing a suit.
The Suns' starting point guard tonight is Barea, and this is also his first start since joining the Suns.
Barea cherished this opportunity and came to the American West Arena two hours early to warm up.
In the first quarter of the game, Barea performed well, scoring 6 points and 3 assists. It can be said that he showed his own characteristics.
By the second quarter, the gap between him and Spurs star point guard Parker became apparent.
Parker can control the court, shoot, assist, and break through. He is the first point guard in the league.
And Barea's technical characteristics destined him to only be a surprise player, unable to truly connect the team.
At the end of the third quarter, the Suns' main players collectively sat on the bench, declaring that the game had entered garbage time.
It's the familiar rhythm of three quarters again, but this time it's the Suns who are lagging behind.
Chen Yan sat on the bench, feeling very uncomfortable. He was in an isolated and helpless situation tonight. He scored 31 points in the third quarter but the team fell behind by 23 points.
In this game, the Suns played completely blindly. Whoever got the ball would throw it away. It can be said that there was no strategy at all.
Although Stoudemire also scored 20 points, his efficiency was obviously much lower without Nash's feeding.
Barea's shooting and breakthrough are good, but he can't send comfortable passes to Stoudemire. This is not what he is good at.
Barea did his best tonight. D'Antoni can't ask Barea to do more. He can't impose Nash's standards on him.
When the game entered the fourth quarter, there was an episode on the court.
After leaving the field with a big lead, Duncan smiled happily on the bench. When the referee saw this, he gave him a technical foul without saying a word, leaving him confused...
In the end, the Phoenix Suns lost the game 85-99 at home.
After the winning streak was ended, the Suns' locker room lost the joy and laughter of the past.
No one likes the feeling of losing.
For team coach D'Antoni, the bigger headache lies behind. The Suns will have to play without Nash for most of the next month.
After the game, D'Antoni found Chen Yan alone.
Through this game, Mustache realized that he had to make some adjustments in personnel positions.
D'Antoni went straight to the point: "Chen, I hope you will serve as the team's point guard during Steve's absence."
Nash is currently unable to play due to injury, and his substitute Barea is not yet capable of starting point guard. D'Antoni wants to temporarily move Chen Yan to the starting point guard position.
Mustache's idea was not a whim. Chen Yan had already shown good passing skills in previous games. D'Antoni believed that he had the ability to connect the entire team.
"No problem." Chen Yan replied directly.
D'Antoni was stunned after hearing this. Originally, he thought he was going to do some ideological work on Chen Yan, but he didn't expect to agree so simply?
In fact, it’s not Chen Yan’s fault, it’s that he really has no choice.
Chen Yan also wants to score as many points as he can in every game and play the game the way he likes, but the current team conditions do not allow it.
If Chen Yan does not assume the responsibility of connecting the team during this period, then the Suns will continue to have a scattered performance on the offensive end tonight.
