The current prosperity of the Knicks has also opened his desire box and is ready to move.

Although he has always denied external trade rumors in front of the media, the actual situation is that he did not sign an early contract extension like before.

In addition, owner Sheen sold the team to the league last year, and West also revealed in an interview that he would opt out of his contract in the summer.

A team that was contending for a championship just a few years ago looks like it's about to disband.

But the strange thing is that before the All-Star break, they had a seven-game winning streak and suddenly rushed to the fourth position in the Western Conference, pushing the Suns one spot behind.

As a result, the Hornets management, which was originally planning to send West away at the trade deadline, had no choice but to sit still.

Moreover, the Suns' championship last season gave many teams fantasy.

Although it seems a bit unrealistic, if the Hornets can maintain this momentum and win the championship in one final effort, everything will change.

The NBA is like this. Many people were saying a few days ago that they would never leave the team, but they might apply for a trade a few days later.

In the same way, after achieving results, who would really want to leave?

This game is also important for the Suns.

Because of the team's poor condition and the extremely fierce competition in the Western Conference, it is unlikely that they will be able to rest and recuperate like last season.

Moreover, the opponents this season are obviously stronger than last season, and it is more important for them to strive for a higher playoff spot.

Different seasons require different strategies.

Especially against direct competitors like the Hornets, they must go all out to win.

After the warm-up, the scene entered the opening ceremony, and the lineups of both sides were announced one after another.

Hornets: Paul, Belinelli, James Posey, David West, Okafor

Suns: Nash, Allen, Lin Ying, Frye, Stoudemire

At the beginning of the game, the Hornets showed an extremely good competitive state, and Paul and West's pick-and-roll also showed considerable lethality.

However, the Suns were not to be outdone, and Lin Ying's performance was still eye-catching.

Because of Nash's continued slump and Stoudemire's adjustment to his playing style, Lin Ying has actually become the core of the Suns.

Moreover, Stoudemire's transformation state has gradually improved for most of the season.

The only problem is that the Suns' current interior combination defense is really not very good, especially when faced with a point guard like Paul who is very good at pressing the rhythm.

And Paul was really good at guarding against Nash's speed.

At this stage, Paul is already the number one point guard in the league in terms of strength.

It's a bit similar to Howard's position in the NBA. Although he is still at a disadvantage every time he meets Deron/Yao Ming, he is very capable at other times.

Gentry was forced to have no choice but to replace Frye with Lopez in advance.

Both sides entered the position.

But doing so allowed the Suns to slowly regain their momentum.

This is actually reasonable, because Nash is not in good condition and the Suns are not running well.

But falling into position is what Lin Ying is good at, and he is now the true core of the sun.

Nine minutes into the first quarter, the Suns led the Hornets 27-24.

Both sides began to rotate one after another.

It was at this moment that the cheers of Suns fans came to mind.

Oden was finally replaced!

At this time, the lineups on both sides are:

Hornets: Jarrett Jack, Marcus Thornton, Willie Green, West, Jason Smith

Suns: Barbosa, Tracy McGrady, Lin Ying, Landry, Oden

Come on the Hornets offense.

Jack used West's pick-and-roll to drive towards the basket. Oden saw it and quickly helped to block the shot.

The judgment of this ball was correct, but Jack was very smart and relied on Oden to take the shot.

"beep!"

The courtside whistle sounded, Oden's defensive foul!

This foul speed, confirmed by the eyes, is Oden himself!

Gentry reached out and rubbed his forehead.

Just as Lin Ying thought, the coaching staff did a lot of work to get Oden out of his previous foul problems.

The most important thing is the control of the defensive scale. In terms of defensive awareness alone, Oden was first-rate when he was in Naa, but the scale was not good.

Now it seems that the effect is still not ideal.

Jack's two free throw opportunities.

"Relax."

Lin Ying walked over and patted Oden's butt and said with a smile.

People's habits are not easy to change, especially since Oden has not played in a game for more than a week, so it will take time to adapt.

Auden nodded.

This past week, he felt more useful than he had in four years with the Trail Blazers.

Although there are many things that he needs to digest and absorb, he is sure that he is developing in a good direction.

Jack made two free throws, and the Hornets narrowed the point difference to 1 point.

During the Suns' offense, Lin Ying caught the ball in the high post on the right side and directly stretched out his hand to signal Oden to pull out for a pick-and-roll.

With his increased flexibility, he is now also very effective at hitting big men in mismatched singles.

However, he also relies on people to choose his dishes, and Smith, who is barely considered a second-rate insider, is his favorite dish.

The quality of Oden's pick-and-roll was not very good, but he still blocked Green solidly!

This body is really too wide!

And thanks to his partnership with Conley when he was a student, he has a very strong awareness of cutting to the basket.

Basically, it's ready to go as soon as you take it apart.

Lin Ying threw the ball directly into the sky.

Oden was led by the ball into the air, and his huge body directly made Green lose the urge to block the shot.

"Bang!"

With a huge muffled sound, Oden fell from the sky like Tarzan and smashed the ball directly into the basket.

The basket was knocked down several centimeters!

Just this dunk made the Suns fans at the scene climax on the spot.

Who knows who is pregnant with this physical talent!

After dunking, Oden's legs landed firmly on the ground.

Nelson on the bench nodded with satisfaction after seeing it.

Although not everything has met the expectations of the coaching staff, Oden's changes can still be seen.

Moreover, Oden was very calm, his expression basically showed no change after dunking, and he quickly returned to half court after high-fiving Lin Ying.

After a pick-and-roll in the frontcourt, West received Jack's back pass and missed.

The battle for rebounds under the basket.

"Crack!"

Oden rose from the ground and grabbed the defensive rebound hard.

Obviously he was just grabbing a defensive rebound, but that sense of power was reflected in every detail.

Many Suns fans are already in high spirits.

This is a center worth 7 million!
Chapter completed!