Therefore, Marion also wanted to first test Qin Yue's touch before deciding on his defensive strategy for the night.

At least in the first quarter, the defensive strategy Marion adopted was successful.

At the end of the first quarter, the scoreboard showed 29 to 35.

Although Qin Yue scored 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block for the Warriors, shooting 6 out of 9, including 1 out of 3 from three-point range and 2 out of 2 free throws.

But in the second half of the first quarter, Marion effectively limited Qin Yue's explosive impact on the Warriors with his defensive strategy.

Does effective defense necessarily mean stopping the opponent's offense?

The answer is obviously no.

Marion's success tonight lay in applying intense pressure on Qin Yue in every low-post confrontation and daringly betting on Qin Yue's consecutive three-point misses by giving him space to shoot.

In tonight's high-speed offense and defense transition, as long as Qin Yue can't drive the team through offense, the more he plays, the more exhausted he will become.

Clearly, exhausting Qin Yue is Marion's main goal.

Especially after noticing Qin Yue's mediocre three-point shooting in the first quarter...

Marion did not hesitate to don his "hacker" coat and repeatedly teamed up with teammates to block the Warriors' wing offensive tactics.

Even if the Suns conceded 29 points in a single quarter, which is far from excellent, as long as the Suns can score more through offense, they can definitely win this battle to defend Phoenix's honor and protect our Nash by outscoring the opponent.

In Qin Yue's past life, the fact that this Suns team could consistently rank in the top three in the West for multiple seasons is enough to prove their level of accomplishment.

Moreover, in the face of the Suns' "Quanlisi"...

Even if the Warriors choose to sacrifice Qin Yue's offense and fully commit Qin Yue to defense, Qin Yue still couldn't stop Stoudemire from scoring on the court.

Because ever since reaching his peak, Stoudemire has always delivered surprising and unexpected performances on the court.

If he were easy to defend against...

Then how could he have produced such high-efficiency stats during his career peak?

Moreover, last year, Qin Yue could "destroy" those super big men, not relying on the defense packaged by the "DPOY" trophy.

But rather by scoring higher than his opponents with those two despair-inducing poisons.

Qin Yue's "non-mainstream" scoring composition and his scoring method determine that he has a scoring explosiveness far beyond traditional super big men.

So even if Mike Malone is a fool, he wouldn't choose to sacrifice Qin Yue's offense just to test if Qin Yue can limit Stoudemire.

To win, the Warriors, who are lackluster in strength, must find a way to infinitely amplify Qin Yue's impact on the offensive end.

This is a test for Mike Malone and the entire Warriors team.

In the second quarter, Malone took out the tactical board to gesture to the main players who were substituted, "Tonight, the Suns need to speed up, not us.

Jarrett, you don't need to rush to get the ball across half-court. Because even if we fall into a set offense, the Suns' defense can't stop our offense.

Ron, Jason, I need more dribble penetration from you on the court in this game; we can't push all the burden on Messiah.

Moreover, if the Suns continue to voluntarily shrink their defense in the next game, then I'll keep Troy on the court.

This is a match of who has higher offensive quality, and we must seize those damn opportunities to have the last laugh tonight."

After more than half a season of honing, Mike Malone has noticeably grown.

And on the court, Murphy, returning from injury, also showed impressive form.

This three-point shooter, with some playmaking ability, scored 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists in the first half of the second quarter, shooting 2 out of 3.

This strengthened Malone's resolve to keep Murphy on the court.

In the second half of the second quarter, Warriors' lineup on the court included Qin Yue, Murphy, Artest, Richardson, and Jack.

At the American Airlines Center, Warriors' offensive possession.

Richardson cleverly drove past Bell, then passed the ball through a drive-and-dish to Murphy standing at the top of the arc.

Seeing this, Marion quickly switched to cover Murphy.

But Qin Yue, whom Marion had left open, quietly slipped to the right corner.

This is Qin Yue's most accurate shooting spot from all three-point areas since joining the NBA.②

(②: This was foreshadowed in Chapter 83, the right corner is Qin Yue's most accurate shooting spot.)

At the top of the arc, noticing Qin Yue's movement, Murphy, while making a shooting gesture, executed a precise pass to Qin Yue.

And then...

Swish——!

On the court, after Qin Yue hit the three-pointer, Marion's expression suddenly turned serious.

Because compared to those prior three-point shots that he intentionally allowed Qin Yue to try...

This was an easy score achieved by Qin Yue through active off-ball movement.

From last season to this moment, Murphy has always been that inconspicuous substitute in the Warriors lineup.

Even before Qin Yue joined the Warriors, Murphy's 6-year contract worth around 58 million US Dollars signed for early extension, tagged him this season as a "high-salary substitute."

But only the Warriors players and the past coaches know that Murphy is an indispensable member of this Warriors team.

Because only he...

Can enable Qin Yue to unleash the third poison on the court!

The poison called the combination of off-ball and on-ball play.

Who said Qin Yue could only play the role of the primary ball handler?

Now, it's time for the Warriors to start their offensive wave!

...

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