5 minutes and 30 seconds before the end of the first quarter of game 4 of the Pelicans and Suns series, Ingram faced Crowder's defense on the right, he lowered his body center of gravity, pedaled straight to the box, the Suns blocked the bottom line, Ingram fished for the moon sky pull bar, and scored with a limit dodge on the back basket.
This gap, this arm span, is full of the word "talent", and talent is the most effective pass for the playoffs.
In Game 4 of the series, the Pelicans beat the Suns with their talent. At 118-103, the series score came to 2-2 on aggregate.
At the end of the first three games of the series, the Suns had four interesting stats, averaging the bottom of 16 playoff teams, the second-to-last three-point shooting rate, rebounding only better than the Nets per game, and scoring first in the restricted area per game.
The Pelicans are a tall and thin team, their average time in the first round of the top nine players in the team is 2.01 meters tall, with a height and arm span, which is conducive to grabbing rebounds and interfering with shooting, plus some players in the Sun are incredibly hard, such as Crowder's first three-point shots of 14 shots, which is a bit outrageous.
The height was a loss, the three-pointer was crotched, and Booker was injured, but the Suns were able to lead the first three games on aggregate because they could effectively hit the ball under the basket and cause damage. The Suns attack the penalty area is different from the hard chisel of the Bucks and Grizzlies, they play the tactical basket controlled by Paul, the Suns have a number that directly affects the scoring efficiency of the penalty area in the first three games of the series, as a cover person to participate in the blocking and dismantling of the player, each round of blocking and dismantling can get 1.56 points, blocking and dismantling the ball shooting rate of 80%, both of which are unparalleled in the league.
In the fourth game, the Sun attacked the Pelicans, or the middle road to make a fuss, empty cut, block demolition, attack the basket, if the Pelicans will defend very tightly, find the outside shooting point, the projection feel is ultimately conserved, the Suns shot so badly in the first three games, the fourth game pullback can also be expected.
Paul controlled the field, the Suns' offensive tactics were executed steadily, no ball walked into the sneak attack, covered the basket down the air, McGee contributed 7 of the penalty area firepower, Ayton gave the second consecutive shot output. While the overall three-point shot was still bad, there were some small surprises at the point, Cameron Johnson responded with a good three-pointer on 3-of-7 shooting, and Crowder Iron Tree blossomed and scored.
The Suns basically followed their set plan, and if all went well, the Suns were slightly ahead of the first three quarters, and in the fourth quarter they turned on the mode of Paul taking over to take the victory away, and that's how they won in the first and third games, and this time they wanted to do the same.
The Sun played its cards according to the routine, waiting for a good result, but the Pelicans did not follow the routine as the Sun hoped, but gave a tough counter-suppression.
Willie Green only let Valanciunas play for less than two minutes in the fourth quarter of the third game, and the coach worried that Varan's defensive footsteps could not keep up with Paul's blocking and dismantling roll call, but the actual effect was to remove Varan for Nance Jr. or to be "trained" by Paul, so it was better to keep Varan, full of body advantages, and at least be able to match Ayton.
Varan played 33 minutes this time, the highest in the series, 26 points, 15 rebounds and 4 assists, compared with Ayton with 23 points, 8 rebounds and 1 assist, it was not a match, but a win, the Suns are Paul and Ayton dual core drive, Varan suppressed one of the cores.
Another change for the Pelicans was the decisive packing of Paul in the fourth quarter, not as hesitant as in the final quarter of the third, Paul's 7 assists and 1 turnover in the first three quarters or the play of the god of control, the Pelicans knew that if they gave the pinch, they might give Paul the opportunity to lead his teammates, but this was like two bottles of poison, one was Paul's fourth quarter explosion, the other was his teammates stepped forward, Willie Green decided to bet that the second situation would not happen.
The Pelicans won the gamble, and Paul, who gave a 19-point explosion in the fourth quarter in both the first game and the third game, failed to score on 0-of-2 shooting in the final quarter, and although he gave four assists in a single quarter, it was far from enough to kill the game. Paul scored just four points on 2-of-8 shooting, tying his playoff career single-game record. Paul's four points came from the first six minutes of the game, and he didn't score 0-of-six in the next 42 minutes, which made the 11 assists meaningless.
Locking paul's point is a manifestation of the Pelicans' defensive attitude in this game, Alvarado's defense of Paul, Jones struggling to save to block Gabridges's three-pointer, upper body confrontation, speed and bounce, the Pelicans with attitude and talent, forming a defensive chain that restrains the Suns.
The Pelicans give Pack Mode on the defensive end, with Ingram driving the offensive end. Ingram scored 30+ in his third straight game, and he ran out of breath with 16 points in the third quarter.
Ingram's dry pulling has always been an insoluble problem for the Sun, and his height combined with his arm span brings a counterpoint problem, which turns around and shakes off the defensive compartment, which is a demonstration of agility and explosiveness, and vaguely has the meaning of the peak Durant.
The "Death Scythe" in the east is rusting, and the "Death Scythe" in the west is sharp.
The game is a contest of brain and technology, but also a physical struggle, the Pelicans scored one less than the Suns, they also lost two points to the Suns in the penalty area, but the Pelicans rebounded 48-39 to win 9, rebounded 19-12 in frontcourt, 32 of 42 free throws, and the Suns made 10 of 15 free throws, and the aggression of the two teams was not on the same level.
The Pelicans fought defensively, pushed back, used their talent to tear the Suns' defense, and gave the Suns a choice in scoring and going up the free throw line, and the Suns failed to give the West the first response it should have.
The ball is a little more simplified, that is, in the comparison of the main attackers, Ingram exploded Paul, Varan beat Ayton, the other points of the Sun failed to give enough contributions to make up for the gap in the output of the main attackers, and the series was brought into the King Mountain by the Pelicans.
The Suns will miss Booker very much right now, but there's a good chance Booker won't play the rest of the series. When the Pelicans play a game of talent suppression, whether the Suns can find a solution to the problem will be a test for Monty Williams and Paul.
Now that the series has become a best-of-three set, if the Suns fail to hold on to game five, anything is possible.