Chapter 178: The Lineup Is Very Unreasonable

Wade Dong didn't intend to definitely come back and win the game.

But the Curry Team became nervous. They had led for over 30 minutes, with the largest lead being 21 points. If they were to be overtaken in the last five minutes, it would be a huge embarrassment.

That would be worse than being behind the whole time.

So, when it was the Curry Team's turn to attack, seeing that Nash was defending him, Curry went for another three-pointer.

"Swish!!!"

He hit another three-pointer.

Curry breathed a sigh of relief. With less than two minutes left and no timeouts, the Wade Dong Team's chances of catching up were slim.

The final minute and a half flew by.

117:113!!!

The Curry Team won by 4 points.

If the Wade Dong Team was considered the starting lineup and the Curry Team the bench, this was another instance of the bench team winning against the starters in the Suns' internal scrimmage.

...

"Congratulations! Congratulations! Congratulations!"

As soon as the game ended, Coach Kidd went up to Curry to congratulate him, and then repeated, "Welcome to Phoenix."

Curry said, "I'm very happy to be teammates with everyone, but I feel like we won the scrimmage because East Brother and his team let us win."

"Don't say that, you won fair and square."

Wade Dong waved his hand modestly, "I already gave it my all."

Whether they let them win or not, this internal scrimmage was very enjoyable.

The Wade Dong Team didn't feel bad about losing the scrimmage, and the Curry Team was happy to win. As for Coach Kidd, he was happy that with the addition of Curry and Thompson, the Suns' offense had improved again.

...

The next day, the Suns flew to Los Angeles to face the Lakers on the road.

This season, the Suns had already played two games against the Lakers and won both, especially the first game where Wade Dong scored 82 points against Kobe. This was the highest score by a player this season and one of the highest in recent decades, second only to Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game.

Curry and Thompson were making their debut for the Suns.

"Boo~~~"

As soon as Wade Dong entered the court, he was greeted with a chorus of boos.

Wade Dong's fan base was growing, but his 82-point performance against the Lakers at the Staples Center was something many Lakers fans couldn't accept.

So, even though there were many Wade Dong fans in the arena, they didn't dare to cheer loudly, allowing the old Lakers fans to boo Wade Dong.

Both teams entered the court, and Curry stood next to Wade Dong, whispering with a smile, "East Brother, you don't seem to be very welcome among Lakers fans."

"That's normal."

Wade Dong replied expressionlessly, "When we face the Heat, you'll find that there are people who hate me even more than Lakers fans."

In China, there's a term called "Kobe haters."

In the US, Wade Dong also had haters, and they were even more fanatical than the "Kobe haters" in China. Wade Dong didn't have any social media accounts and rarely visited sports forums, so he didn't bother with these "Wade haters."

...

"Beep!!!"

With the referee's whistle, the game began.

Lakers starting lineup: Kobe, Gasol, Howard, Metta World Peace, Blake.

Suns starting lineup: Wade Dong, Nash, Curry, Thompson, Gortat.

The Suns' starting lineup had undergone significant changes, featuring their strongest players. However, the positions overlapped too much.

Curry and Nash were both point guards, while Thompson and Wade Dong were both shooting guards. Although the lineup looked strong on paper, it was somewhat unbalanced, which was the biggest drawback of trading away Bynum.

...

Chinese live broadcast room.

Yu Jia, "I don't quite understand Coach Kidd's choice of starting lineup."

Zhang Coach, "This is not reasonable~ The defensive gaps are too large."

Yu Jia, "It's also difficult for the Lakers to defend the Suns. Curry, Wade Dong, Nash, and Thompson all have strong scoring abilities."

Zhang Coach, "But both Curry and Nash need the ball."

Yu Jia, "If the ball distribution is not reasonable, the Suns could lose this game."

...

As the game started, Gortat lost the jump ball to Howard.

Kobe passed the ball to Gasol, who easily scored with a hook shot.

"Swish!!!"

Two points were scored effortlessly.

It was the Suns' turn to attack. Nash dribbled the ball, and Wade Dong and the others ran to the frontcourt, but the Suns were clearly not adapted to this pace.

Nash passed the ball to Curry, who then passed it to Thompson.

At this moment, Thompson had an open shot, but he chose not to shoot and instead looked for Wade Dong. Finding no opportunity to pass to Wade Dong, Thompson passed the ball back to Nash.

After a few passes, the shot clock was running out.

Nash hurriedly shot, and the ball hit the rim and bounced out. Howard grabbed the rebound.

Lakers on offense.

Kobe passed the ball to Gasol again, who easily scored another hook shot against Thompson's defense.

Five minutes into the first quarter.

17:6!!!

The Suns had only scored 6 points.

Coach Kidd quickly called a timeout. This poor start was rare for the Suns this season.

In just five minutes of the first quarter, many problems were exposed.

The Suns players on the court seemed to be sleepwalking.

They were indecisive in shooting!

The ball movement was not smooth!

The defensive issues were even more significant. Besides Wade Dong being able to limit Kobe, Gasol and Howard were almost unstoppable in the Suns' paint.

During the timeout.

The Suns players gathered around Coach Kidd, who said, "You must be decisive in shooting. If you have an opportunity to shoot, take it decisively."

"East Brother, you play the power forward position first and protect the rim."

"We're only down by 11 points. Don't be discouraged. A few three-pointers can bring us back. Come on, everyone!"

...

After the timeout.

The Suns inbounded the ball, and Nash dribbled to the frontcourt. Gortat set a pick, and Nash drove past Howard's defense. At this moment, both Curry and Thompson had open shots at the three-point line.

"Swish~~~"

Nash passed the ball to Thompson in the corner.

However, Thompson hesitated for a moment after receiving the ball and passed it back to Curry.

Curry received the ball, but Metta World Peace had already closed in on defense.

"Clank!!!"

This was not Curry's shooting rhythm. Although he shot over Metta World Peace, this three-pointer hit the rim.

"Rebound!!!"

Coach Kidd shouted anxiously from the sidelines.

The Lakers' Gasol and Howard both jumped to grab the rebound.

Wade Dong jumped a step later than Gasol, but his speed was too fast, and he still grabbed the rebound before Gasol.

"Slam!!!"

Wade Dong dunked the ball over Gasol.

This dunk was spectacular!

But after the successful dunk, Wade Dong didn't celebrate and quickly ran back on defense with a serious expression.