"The Clippers have 'The Blake Show' Griffin. The Wizards have last year's No. 1 overall pick, Wall. The Raptors have DeRozan, and the Kings have DeMarcus Cousins.
"Wall, DeRozan, and Cousins all played well on opening night.
"These young players are steadily turning their talent into results, so when we face them over the next few games, we can't afford to take any of them lightly."
Gentry finished his analysis.
"Got it."
"Don't worry, Coach."
The Suns players nodded. George and Curry did the same, though the confidence on their faces was impossible to miss.
They would take every opponent seriously, but George and Curry had been drafted around the same time as these other young players. Neither of them believed they were any less talented.
Besides, Phoenix still had Blake, the "Monster Rookie" and T0-level newcomer, leading the way.
No one on the Suns planned to relax, but everyone was extremely confident about winning.
The next day, Phoenix hosted the Clippers.
At 9:00 p.m., the game tipped off.
The Suns started Steve Nash at point guard, Stephen Curry at shooting guard, Paul George at small forward, Blake at power forward, and Yao Ming at center.
The Clippers countered with Randy Foye, Mo Williams, Caron Butler, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan.
This season's Clippers actually had a respectable roster outside of the point guard position.
The problem was that Chris Paul, "The Point God," was supposed to have joined them in the original timeline.
Without him, the Clippers were far weaker than they should have been.
With this roster, barring a surprise, they were probably going to miss the playoffs again.
"Jump ball!"
DeAndre Jordan went up against Blake at center court.
Just like last season, there was no suspense at all.
"Snap!"
Blake easily tipped the ball away. George collected it and handed it to Nash, who brought the ball up to begin Phoenix's first possession.
"Thump, thump, thump!"
Nash settled at the top of the key and spotted Blake on the right wing with only Griffin in front of him.
He immediately swung the ball over.
"Snap!"
"Whoosh!"
Blake caught it and fired a three right over Griffin.
"Swish!"
Nothing but net.
"What the...?!"
The shot was outrageous, yet brutally simple.
Griffin froze for a moment as the pressure hit him all at once.
"He's much stronger than last year."
Griffin stared at Blake, his expression turning serious.
On the very next possession, Blake attacked him off the dribble and drove straight into the paint, using the same kind of violent athleticism that had made "The Blake Show" famous.
"BOOM!"
He hammered down the dunk.
A contest of athleticism?
Even against Griffin, Blake had nothing to fear now.
"What happened to his strength?!"
After that one collision, Griffin was stunned again.
Before the game, he had planned to use his stronger body and greater power to go right at Blake.
Instead, he discovered that he no longer had much of an advantage in strength.
Once his disadvantages in height and wingspan were added to the equation, there was simply no way for him to keep Blake from attacking.
Suns 5, Clippers 0.
"Wow! Griffin is the Clippers' best player, and Blake just beat him one-on-one on consecutive possessions. If this keeps up, Los Angeles has no chance of beating Phoenix."
"They can't leave Griffin alone on him. They need to double Blake."
The commentators had barely finished saying it before the Clippers adjusted.
On the next possession, Griffin and Caron Butler immediately converged on Blake, ready to double-team him whenever he touched the ball.
That was exactly what Blake wanted.
With so much defensive attention focused on him, he started moving the ball.
"Whoosh!"
"Swish!"
Blake kicked it to Curry in the left corner.
Curry caught it and buried the open three.
On another possession, Blake attacked the right low post and drew Griffin and DeAndre Jordan toward him.
He turned his back to the basket and fed Yao Ming on the left side.
"BOOM!"
Yao caught the pass and finished with an easy dunk.
Then Blake fired a bounce pass toward George, who was cutting through the lane from the free-throw line.
George caught it in stride, took off with his explosive athleticism, and threw down a one-handed slam.
In only half a quarter, Blake had already collected four assists against the Clippers' pressure.
It looked effortless.
At the same time, Phoenix had opened up a nine-point lead.
"Beep, beep!"
The Clippers called timeout.
Phoenix used the break to take Curry out and bring Carter in.
When play resumed, Blake immediately attacked a mismatch against Mo Williams in the post and buried a turnaround fadeaway.
Then he came back down and hit a pull-up jumper over Griffin.
Four more points.
"Double him! Double him! Put some pressure on Blake!"
Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro roared from the sideline.
Los Angeles had no choice but to load even more defenders toward Blake.
But this Suns team was no longer the same one from last season.
Nash could punish them from mid-range.
Yao Ming could score with jumpers and hooks from the low post.
George's three-point shot was steadily becoming a legitimate weapon.
If the Clippers doubled Blake and gave those players easy or wide-open looks, Phoenix could score from everywhere.
By the end of the first quarter, the Suns were already ahead by 15.
Blake had 12 points, 3 rebounds, and 6 assists.
The second quarter began with the bench units.
The Curry and Thompson combination had made Phoenix's second unit even stronger.
Curry brought playmaking and three-point shooting.
Thompson brought defense and three-point shooting.
The Clippers' reserves simply could not match them.
In only 5 minutes and 13 seconds, Phoenix stretched its 15-point lead to 21.
"Beep!"
Del Negro was forced to call another timeout.
Unfortunately for him, when the timeout ended, Blake and the rest of the starters were waiting to check back in.
Phoenix's firepower only became more overwhelming.
George and Blake were both a little cold in the second quarter, but it hardly mattered.
By halftime, the Suns still led by 23, and the game was already beginning to look like a blowout.
During the stretch when his shot was not falling, Blake shifted his focus elsewhere.
He worked harder on defense, grabbed four more rebounds, and handed out another two assists.
At halftime, he had 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists.
Blake usually turned up the pressure in the third quarter, but tonight he barely needed to attack.
He took only five shots, made four three-pointers, and casually added 12 points.
On the other end, he completely shut down Griffin.
Blake also collected four rebounds, two assists, and two blocks in the quarter.
After three quarters, his line stood at 30 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, and 2 blocks.
Another triple-double.
Meanwhile, the Suns were ahead by 33 points. At one point, the margin had reached 39.
It was a three-quarter massacre.
Phoenix's entire starting lineup was done for the night.
In the broadcast studio, one commentator smiled.
"Griffin is an exceptional athlete, but whenever Blake guards him, he ends up completely on the defensive."
"That's right," the other commentator replied. "Griffin is extremely talented, but I don't think he's a particularly strong half-court scorer.
"You need to get him moving.
"Give him chances to cut into open space, attack the rim before the defense is set, or finish alley-oops. That's how you maximize his athleticism.
"It's just unfortunate for the Clippers that, right now, they don't seem to have a point guard capable of creating those opportunities for him."