In the broadcast studio, after Mike Breen finished speaking, a trace of concern appeared in Van Gundy's eyes.
The Suns were playing well.
The Heat were playing well too.
At worst, the two teams looked evenly matched.
So what was there to worry about?
On the surface, that was exactly how things seemed.
But the previous three games had unfolded the same way.
The Suns had played well, Miami had played well, and every one of those games had ended with Phoenix losing.
The margins hadn't been particularly large.
But basketball was ultimately decided by the result.
Even if you lost by only one point, you still lost.
There was no changing that.
And if Phoenix lost again tonight, the series would be over.
Miami would win the championship.
Suns fans didn't want it.
The entire Phoenix roster didn't want it.
Blake himself wanted no part of it either.
So...
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
Attack!
Following Gentry's plan, Blake continued with the same approach he had used in the previous game, relentlessly attacking Miami's weakest area.
The paint.
"Swish!"
A crossover sent his defender the wrong way, and Blake drove in for the layup.
"Swish!"
He used his speed to blow past Bosh, drew the help defender, then powered through two bodies and muscled a hard layup off the glass.
Good.
"BOOM!"
Blake posted up Wade.
A series of polished footwork flowed into a spin that left "The Flash" behind.
Blake cut into the paint, planted, exploded off the floor, and rose over Haslem.
He threw it down!
"Swish!"
From the left block, Blake took a bounce pass from Nash and cut underneath the basket.
LeBron and Haslem both rose to meet him.
Blake hung in the air, twisted around their double contest, and finished with a reverse bank shot.
Good.
"Swish!"
At the free-throw line, Blake attacked Bosh again and forced his way toward the rim.
He sought out the contact in midair.
"Beep! Beep!"
The whistle sounded.
Haslem was called for the foul.
Blake went to the line.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
Both free throws were good.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
Throughout the entire first quarter, Blake played like someone who simply refused to lose.
Floaters.
Acrobatic finishes.
Hook shots.
One-handed slams.
Two-handed power dunks.
He used everything he had.
Again and again, he attacked the rim.
Again and again, he forced Miami to foul him.
At the end of the first quarter...
Suns 31, Heat 32.
"Wow..."
Van Gundy looked over the numbers.
"Blake is 8-for-11 from the field and 4-for-5 at the line. Twenty-one points on 72 percent shooting.
"That's incredible efficiency.
"And somehow, Blake looks even better tonight than he has in the previous games."
Mike Breen sighed.
"Blake is playing extremely well, but Van Gundy, haven't you noticed something?
"The Suns are still behind.
"Only by one point, yes.
"But Blake has been this dominant, this efficient, and Phoenix is still trailing.
"That's a serious problem."
Van Gundy shook his head slowly.
"Unfortunately, it still looks like the same pattern we've seen before.
"Everyone is playing well, but the difference in overall strength keeps showing itself.
"There just doesn't seem to be a clean answer for it.
"Even with Blake becoming more efficient offensively tonight, all he's managed to do is keep the margin small.
"He still hasn't been able to put Phoenix in front."
"It's difficult."
Mike Breen tapped the desk helplessly.
"They're facing the Heat Big Three.
"Three players who stand among the very best in the league.
"Each one of them is already elite on his own.
"Put all three together, and you get something almost impossible to deal with.
"And Phoenix only has 'Monster Rookie' Blake at that level.
"They simply don't seem capable of stopping Miami.
"At least...
"Not this year."
The difference in overall talent between Phoenix and Miami left both commentators frustrated.
Suns fans felt exactly the same way.
More than anything, they felt for Blake.
On the Suns' bench...
"Damn it!"
George slammed his fist into the empty chair beside him.
He was furious with himself.
Furious that he couldn't play better.
Furious that he couldn't stop the Heat Big Three.
Curry remained silent.
But the frustration on his face said enough.
Blake was playing at an almost unbelievable level, and Phoenix was still behind.
Curry once again blamed himself.
As the team's second option, he felt he hadn't done enough to help Blake.
"Is this really as far as we can go?"
Nash and Carter sat beside each other.
The two veterans had watched their teammates push themselves almost to the limit, barely making mistakes, yet they still couldn't see a path to victory.
For the first time, even they looked lost.
Blake sat nearby with his brows tightly furrowed, deep in thought.
"Why?
"This doesn't make sense.
"We haven't lost any of these games by much, and my teammates haven't played that badly.
"So why...
"Even after I've improved my offensive efficiency again, are we still behind?
"Where is the problem?
"Is it because Curry and Nash keep getting shut down by Wade, LeBron, and the others, so even when they're playing normally, their actual efficiency is still too low?
"Or...
"Is George, still only a rookie, simply not ready to defend at this level?
"He can handle ordinary players.
"But in a Finals battle like this...
"He can't consistently hold up against the Heat Big Three.
"And offensively, there's even less to say.
"George is still a long way from becoming a top-level 3-and-D player.
"No.
"That's not it.
"I can't keep looking for problems in my teammates.
"I need to look at myself.
"And I need to look at the opponent.
"Something else is wrong."
Blake shook his head.
His thoughts cleared slightly as he changed his perspective and began working through the problem again.
"When any one of the Heat Big Three attacks me directly, things don't go smoothly for them.
"But there are three of them.
"They move the ball a few times, and eventually one of the stars I'm not guarding gets the matchup he wants.
"And my teammates can't stop him.
"Then on defense...
"Miami is excellent at turning stops into fast breaks.
"Their pressure defense causes us all kinds of problems.
"On offense, they hunt weaker defenders.
"On defense, they apply constant pressure.
"Then they use those stops to run, score in transition, stretch the lead, and take control of the game.
"For Miami...
"Almost everything seems to start with defense.
"Defense...?"
Blake's eyes suddenly lit up.
He had found something.
"Nash and Curry are trying hard defensively, but their limitations are obvious.
"Against the Heat Big Three, they simply can't stop them.
"George is a solid defender, but even he can't completely shut down those three.
"But me...
"I can guard any one of them one-on-one.
"And yet I'm not having enough impact.
"Because they move.
"They get away from me.
"No.
"That's not quite right.
"They aren't getting away from me.
"I'm not being aggressive enough.
"I need to defend with the same intensity I attack with.
"I need to chase every possession, rotate harder, switch harder, and do everything possible to shut down Miami every time down the floor.
"That's the only way to reduce their scoring.
"That's it.
"That's the answer!"
The more Blake thought about it, the clearer everything became.
He finally understood why Phoenix could never quite erase the deficit.
Why they could never take control of the scoreboard.
Yes.
The Suns had been playing extremely well.
Almost flawlessly.
But Blake...
Even though he had already been outstanding...
Could still do more.
...
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