After leading the team to dominate the Spurs, Zack, who thought he was already accustomed to big stages, found himself tossing and turning for two consecutive nights leading up to the Western Conference Finals.
And he wasn't the only one suffering from this. His teammates and the coaching staff were experiencing the same symptoms.
Although everyone usually motivated each other by saying, "Never underestimate a champion's heart," now that the Warriors had actually reached the Western Conference Finals, the Warriors players, who had felt lost, confused, and even a bit melancholic before Zack joined the team, could hear their hearts pounding with the beat of a liberation drum almost every moment.
"Being traded to the Golden State Warriors was a gift from God!" Ron Artest, who joined mid-season, was already prepared to escort their "King" (Zack) straight to the mountaintop.
"If we can eliminate the favored Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs and shatter the reigning champion Spurs in the semifinals, then why can't we tear the wings off that damned Phoenix in the Western Conference Finals?" Baron Davis, who had been frustrated throughout the semifinals, had already sharpened his big blade. In this upcoming Western Conference Finals, he was ready to personally bring it down on Steve Nash.
On the 22nd, the Warriors, led by Zack, set off for Phoenix.
Before the game, when asked by reporters if he would be the next to fall after Zack had successively taken down Nowitzki and Duncan, Stoudemire replied, "First, I have to take my hat off to the Warriors' performance. As for this upcoming Western Conference Finals? I believe that tactics are like water, ever-changing."
Stoudemire was fortunate in this life. He was supposed to suffer from accumulated fatigue during the 2004-05 season and undergo "repairs" in the summer of 2005. However, due to Zack's emergence, many NBA teams chose to tank during the 2004-05 season, which lowered the intensity of the games. Not only did Stoudemire escape injury, but with the careful care of the "Phoenix Repair Shop," he also completed the entire 2005-06 season, which he had originally only played three regular-season games in.
But Stoudemire was also unlucky. He didn't have Zack's iron knees, so he had been suffering from an old knee injury since the Suns entered the playoffs. Although the famous Phoenix Repair Shop was confident in helping Stoudemire make a full recovery this summer, in this upcoming Western Conference Finals, "Little Amare" was destined to be unable to play at his full strength.
Regarding this, Zack said in an interview, "I sympathize with his situation (playing with an injury), but I won't go easy on him, because in my opinion, playing at full strength is the greatest respect I can show him."
Go easy? In the NBA, countless players choose to play with injuries for their teams. For example, in the first round of the playoffs, did the Suns go easy on the Lakers because Kobe was playing injured? In fact, after setting aside their overconfidence, the Suns won Game 7 against the Lakers by a whopping 30 points (the original score was 90-121). And in the Western Conference Semifinals, did the Suns go easy on the Jazz because Paul had a sprained ankle? What a joke! If the Suns wanted to go easy on Paul, why would they unleash such a massacre, crushing the Jazz by a combined 60 points in Games 4 and 5? This is the NBA; if you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight. Injuries are a hardship that players must endure.
Before the Western Conference Finals began, all the Warriors players, including Zack, subtly felt that they were the team destined for greatness. Since entering the playoffs, the most severe injury in the Warriors' team had been Biedrins' flu two weeks prior. In competitive sports, this kind of "blessing from fate" is especially important for athletes. It also creates a strong psychological suggestion within athletes, further strengthening their belief in achieving good results. This isn't some mystical theory; it's an objectively existing principle of "Sports Psychology." In this year's playoff journey, with each victory, the Warriors players, gradually realizing they might be the protagonists, would bring their increasingly firm belief in winning the championship to their Western Conference Finals against the Suns.
On the evening of the 24th, the US Airways Center, soon to be renamed, officially welcomed the highly anticipated Western Conference Finals.
During the pre-game warm-up, several Suns players noticed the difference in this Warriors team compared to the regular season. Confidence was written all over their faces. This "mysterious confidence" even made the Suns players wonder if the Warriors were actually the team that finished second in the Western Conference during the regular season.
The two head coaches chatted happily before the game. Especially when discussing their respective rotation strategies in this year's playoffs, D'Antoni, feeling he had finally found a kindred spirit, said, "The media keeps attacking me for only using seven or eight players every night, saying the players are exhausted, but they don't understand that if I take out my starters, the team could collapse at any moment!"
Montgomery replied, "The Bay Area media also criticized me for having the Messiah (Zack) play almost every minute in the semifinals, but they simply don't know that with or without the Messiah, the Warriors are two completely different teams."
In that moment, D'Antoni and Montgomery regretted not meeting sooner. If they didn't have to coach in the Western Conference Finals, they might have even slaughtered pigs and oxen on the spot to become sworn brothers.
Salvatore, who had received high praise during the Warriors-Spurs crucial Game 5, was tasked with officiating Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. Since it was two offensive-minded teams meeting in the Western Conference Finals, David Stern naturally wanted this series to be fair, open, and just.
It's worth noting that even though Nash himself didn't intend to get involved in the "Trophy Theft Incident" controversy, before the game started, the local Phoenix fans still expressed their displeasure towards Zack, who was warming up, with boos and insults.
"Steve is the undisputed MVP, you disgraceful slanderer!"
"The Warriors are only fifth in the West, what makes you worthy of being compared to Steve?"
"You're just a product the league is intentionally promoting, Steve is the real artist on the court!"
Among these few "approved" insults, Zack, who had gradually forgotten about the regular season MVP award, immediately began to stir up his emotions.
Before the game, Zack had already expressed through the media that Nash fully deserved this year's MVP. But since the Phoenix fans were still chattering incessantly, given Zack's personality, he naturally didn't plan to let the team supported by these insulting fans off the hook.
Brown, who was always good at reading situations, keenly noticed Zack's pre-game change. In his future biography, he described it as such: "If you ask me what the most positive change Zack brought to the NBA was? I would definitely tell you, he raised the quality and manners of NBA fans, especially those in attendance."
At center court, the head referee Salvatore walked to the middle with the ball.
The Suns made a proactive change tonight, with Diaw partnering with Stoudemire in the paint. The other three players on the court were Marion, Bell, and Nash. D'Antoni's lineup change was primarily for offense. Because when necessary, both Marion and Diaw could rotate into the paint to compensate for the offensive vitality and athleticism Stoudemire had lost due to injury.
On the Warriors' side, Murphy, who had performed well in the semifinals, would return to the bench. Biedrins, who had only played in garbage time during the playoffs, would enter the team's rotation for this game. Against the Suns, the Warriors needed to constantly maintain their interior defensive presence. This was crucial. After all, the Suns' high-speed offense was not just a baseless boast.
At the US Airways Center, Brown won the tip-off for the Warriors. After Davis brought the ball across half-court, the Warriors left only Brown to set a screen for the "original bearded man" (Davis), while the other three players spread out. Since Stoudemire was also a defensive weakness for this Suns team, the Warriors' offense in the opening stages tonight would revolve around Davis.
At the top of the arc, Nash, defending diligently, and Stoudemire, who had never been taught defense, combined to create a memorable moment. The moment Nash went around the screen, Stoudemire and Brown indirectly executed a high pick-and-roll. Davis didn't miss the opportunity to accelerate, directly lowering his center of gravity and accelerating into the Suns' lane.
At this point, Shawn Marion, a player who the league also owed a "DPOY" award, stepped up. As the actual rim protector for this Suns team, Marion had astonishing lateral movement and an arm span of over 220 centimeters. In Zack's eyes, his timing for help defense and his ability to cut off passing lanes were absolutely impeccable.
But, since Zack had noticed Marion's help defense, that also meant... there was one passing lane Marion was destined to be unable to block. In a flash, Davis, who had driven deep into the Suns' territory, lofted the ball high. The next second, as he turned around, Marion saw the terrifying giant. There was no time to block, no time to dodge. The moment Zack violently slammed the ball into the rim with both hands, Marion, who had made body contact with him, instantly flew out of bounds!
This was a courageous turn. Because before turning around, Marion didn't even have time to adjust his center of gravity, and he almost instantly lost his balance. But this was also a beautiful, world-famous painting.
On TNT, Barkley offered praise for Zack: "The Messiah has slammed Shawn Marion!"
After the basket, Zack, who slowly landed, pointed his finger towards the stands where he had been most heavily insulted before the game and gave them a wag. This gesture was called:
—The finger wag.
As a privileged move, in the NBA, usually only Dikembe Mutombo was qualified to do this after completing a block (Mutombo would even get a technical foul for doing this early in his career). Therefore, the moment Zack wagged his finger at the stands, Salvatore, who was always impartial, immediately called him for a technical foul.
But at the same time, looking up at Zack, Salvatore also said, "My duty dictates that I must give you a technical foul, but I will write down the reason for your finger wag in tonight's referee report word for word."
Before the game, when the fans at the US Airways Center were insulting Zack, Salvatore was right there. Salvatore knew exactly what those words from the extreme fans meant, so he knew that Zack's finger wag at that moment was justified. However, as an on-court official, he had to call a technical foul on Zack.
Hearing this, after giving Salvatore a slight smile, Zack said, "I completely understand your call."
No wonder his colleagues spoke so highly of him, what a well-behaved and sensible child—Salvatore thought to himself at that moment.
At the US Airways Center, Nash, responsible for executing the technical foul free throw for the Suns, once again displayed his signature free throw ritual:
—Licking the sole of his shoe.
As Nash's iconic move, before each free throw, Nash would first touch the sole of his shoe with his hand, then lick it before shooting. In "Sports Psychology," many athletes do indeed use these characteristic actions to strengthen their psychological self-suggestion and gain confidence in achieving something. For example, Nash, who has used licking his shoe as a psychological cue before every free throw throughout his career, has a free throw percentage as high as 90.4%.
However, no matter how high Nash's free throw percentage was, this action was extremely nauseating in Zack's eyes. Because... no matter how clean an NBA court was, players from both teams would constantly be sweating. What if, during one of his shoe licks, he accidentally licked someone else's bodily fluid? How disgusting would that be?
Swish!
On the court, Nash made the technical foul free throw. Due to playing with an injury, the power of Stoudemire and Nash's pick-and-roll tonight was much less effective than before. So, Nash decisively accelerated, and after blowing past Davis, he sank the ball with a running one-handed floater.
As a two-time MVP winner, Nash wasn't just about assists. However, the beautiful Nash from a second ago instantly became a soft target, being forcefully pushed around by Davis. Tonight, the reason other Warriors players, including Zack, actively created space for Davis was to prevent the Suns' wing players from being able to provide help defense for Nash immediately. This was Nash's fatal flaw. On the playoff stage, it was destined to be infinitely magnified.
Davis drove aggressively with the ball, Nash pursued relentlessly from behind but was unable to regain defensive position. Then, seeing that the Suns' help defense was far from as timely as before, Davis directly leaped up, unleashing all the frustration he had previously endured from Parker in that moment!
Slam!
This was a powerful, guard-version of a one-handed tomahawk dunk! Nash, the NBA's famous "background king," unfortunately became the background once again.
On the court, the Warriors started with two powerful dunks, somewhat asserting themselves as the home team despite being on the road. If it were normally, Stoudemire might have set a pick-and-roll with Nash and then used his powerful dunk to appease the home crowd. But tonight, Brown observed that Stoudemire was merely a soulless shell. Without his athleticism, Stoudemire couldn't exert his offensive influence through pick-and-rolls, facilitating, or basketball IQ like Zack could. In fact, for a moment, Brown thought that Stoudemire, playing injured, had become a burden to this Suns team.
Because halfway through the first quarter, Brown noticed that Stoudemire chose to pop out on almost every pick-and-roll. Undoubtedly, Brown could single-handedly shut down this version of Stoudemire. However, when the Suns substituted him out for Tim Thomas, facing the Suns' re-energized high-speed offense, Brown started to struggle more and more.
Offensive genius D'Antoni fully showcased his imagination in the first quarter. In the latter half of this quarter, Marion, who was essentially playing center, constantly used his elusive movement to disrupt the Warriors' entire defense.
But while D'Antoni could solve the team's offensive problems, he couldn't solve this team's defensive issues. In Zack's previous life, the Mavericks, led by Johnson, could average over 100 points against this Suns team, let alone the Warriors, who could ruthlessly exploit this Suns team's weaknesses? The difference between the regular season and the playoffs was perfectly highlighted tonight.
It didn't matter if Davis got tired from driving. Zack would just keep driving. In the latter half of the first quarter, against Boris Diaw, who was primarily defending him, Zack emphasized that he was not only taller but also faster.
On the court, during a Warriors' offensive possession, Zack, performing a one-handed triple threat from the wing, faked a move before quickly accelerating. Although Diaw immediately cut off Zack's path forward, he couldn't interfere with Zack's subsequent jump shot.
Clang!
The rim, rejecting Zack's jump shot, became Diaw's only savior. But... before Diaw could even celebrate, Brown tipped the offensive rebound back to Zack.
Theoretically, Marion, who could perfectly play all forward positions, was strong, no doubt. But even the "Matrix" couldn't secure every defensive rebound for the Suns against the Warriors' incredibly talented relentless crashing.
On the right side, after grabbing the rebound tipped down by Brown, Zack dribbled, rose up, and scored forcefully over Thomas!
AND-ONE!
The ball went in, and the whistle blew—a powerful and imposing three-point play. If, in the first round of the playoffs, the Mavericks couldn't figure out why they lost, and in the Western Conference Semifinals, the Spurs couldn't understand why the Warriors could shoot so well and had so many shooters... then in this Western Conference Finals, Zack and Brown were the two towering mountains that made the Suns feel despair! When two 6'11" talented giants who could run, jump, and had long wingspans wreaked havoc in your paint, how could Marion compete with them? Marion himself was desperate, wasn't he?
"That was a good rebound just now," Zack praised Brown before the free throw.
Brown smiled and said, "As long as you like it, I can rebound for you for life."
At that moment, Zack didn't respond to Brown. And, influenced by his words...
Clang!
Zack even uncharacteristically missed the free throw.
On the Suns' bench, D'Antoni frowned, looking at Stoudemire, who was still receiving ice treatment. Because now, the Suns could only pin all their hopes on offense.
Fortunately, in the latter half of this quarter, Nash showed his brilliance as a two-time MVP, repeatedly breaking down the defense, whether with running floaters or underhand layups, single-handedly scoring 8 points for the Suns.
After the first quarter, the score was 36-30.
In the second quarter, Montgomery, who had been discussing with D'Antoni before the game how to extract every last bit from their star players, showed his cunning side. Unlike the previous Western Conference Semifinals, tonight in the first half of the second quarter, Montgomery gave Zack ample rest time.
With Stoudemire affected by injury, and Nash and Marion exhausted from the first quarter, the Suns could only rely on Barbosa for second-unit firepower. Therefore, the Warriors could completely send in Biedrins to strengthen their interior presence and, utilizing the Suns' excellent defense (referring to their offensive prowess, not their defense here), rely on Dunleavy Jr. and Murphy to get through the first half of the second quarter.
You should know, the Golden State "Waste Duo" (referring to their inconsistent play, but able to perform well in specific situations) were gods in such favorable situations. In the Suns' paint, now unprotected by Marion, during a Warriors' offensive possession, Murphy very aggressively drove through his defender in the low post and smoothly and effortlessly laid the ball in with his left hand.
"Is that seriously Troy Murphy?"
Yes, that was Troy Murphy, or you could also call him "Shaq" Murphy. Next, on the Warriors' subsequent offensive possession, Bell, who was completely being used as a "workhorse" by D'Antoni, wanted to take a moment to catch his breath, but... how could Dunleavy Jr. give him a chance to rest?
On the court, after running Bell in circles, Dunleavy Jr. caught the ball back at the top of the arc and made a jump shot. As the "King" of Golden State's staggered schedule, Mike Dunleavy never outsourced the task of beating up the opposing team's exhausted starters.
At the US Airways Center, this was the most frustrating period for D'Antoni. With no solution in sight, he had no choice but to bring Nash and Marion back in after only two and a half minutes of rest.
The combined effect of Nash and Marion entering the game was immediate. Because in their first possession back on the court together, the previously aggressive Murphy and Dunleavy Jr. both turned into obedient boys. Young Biedrins, also lacking experience, picked up three fouls in just five minutes of playing time. And he sent Nash to the free-throw line twice, essentially gifting Nash 4 points.
But... on the Warriors' bench, Montgomery, who seemed to be possessed by Phil Jackson's spirit tonight, didn't send Zack back onto the court until there were 6 minutes and 1 second left in the second quarter.
On CCTV, Zhang Weiping complained about this: "Wow, the Warriors coach finally decided to make a substitution. If he didn't, we would almost forget that the Warriors even have a head coach." Because he was used to Zack playing every game, the always knowledgeable Director Zhang evidently didn't realize why the Warriors dared to let Zack sit on the bench and rest for so long in this game.
In fact, even when Zack returned to the court, the scoreboard showed that the Warriors and Suns were only tied. But a Zack who had received six minutes of rest... the Suns fans in the arena would fully experience how terrifying he was in the next half-quarter.
On the right side of the court, after calling for an isolation play, Zack first used a one-handed dribble to gauge Tim Thomas's defensive range. Then, noticing that Thomas had intentionally backed off a step, Zack immediately gathered the ball and shot.
This was an appetizer Zack presented to the Suns fans at the US Airways Center. It was concise, efficient, elegant, and composed.
Swish!
"Give me the ball from now on, I'm going to turn this place into a library!" Zack said to Davis as he retreated on defense.
Hearing this, Davis smiled, looking at Zack's intense eyes, "As you wish."