Despite Irving's good play, the Nets still lost to the Timberwolves. However, today's Timberwolves offensive state is a bit abnormal, plus Russell, Edwards and Towns three people together to threaten, it is simply the embodiment of a super team. The Nets can see today's game as a rehearsal for a playoff against a potentially powerful opponent, using "Wolves" as a mirror to create the future.
Looking at the defensive end first, the Nets should come up with a way to deal with excellent interior shocks. Although Towns performed average in the first three quarters of this game, he played one accurate in the fourth quarter, making the Nets look helpless. If the Nets want to win the championship, they must withstand the internal test of potential opponents such as Embiid and Alphabet Brother, and today's Towns is equivalent to giving them a sample. On Aldridge, a single defense can not withstand the big center, but also easy to be targeted by the opponent's small block to break the misplaced attack; on james Johnson, the body is completely inferior. Aldridge's offense can be useful against opponents who are not strong on the inside, and James Johnson's infinite change of defense is also useful. But against teams with internal strengths, neither Ade nor James Johnson are good choices. Considering that Sharp is a rookie and cannot be entrusted with a heavy responsibility for a long time, the Nets can appropriately increase Griffin's playing time, after all, the top defense is there. In addition, due to Joe Harris' repeated injuries, the Nets can consider that his trade value is still there, to exchange for the "black hard thick" big one, in preparation for the playoffs.
Secondly, looking at the offensive end, the Nets should summarize a tactical system of how to better mobilize the whole team. Why can't Irving win when he plays well? Because it's hard to win a match on a singles basis. The horror of the Nets is that in addition to Durant and Harden, two players who have won MVP, there is also a super fire point like Irving. With Adu and Harden, Irving's additional 25-point firepower would be deadly; without Adu, and Harden's mute, Irving's singles would not kill the opponent. The Timberwolves did a very good job of restricting Harden today, always keeping physically strong forward players close to Harden and focusing on cutting off the connection between Harden and his teammates. Harden's offensive form this season is not as good as before, and his role in organizing tandems is particularly important. Today's game between the Timberwolves and the Nets also provides a reference for those potential opponents, that is, when defending Harden, it focuses on disrupting his offensive rhythm and focusing on cutting the connection between him and his teammates. Harden is the team's offensive engine, this engine stopped, the Nets' overall offense came to a standstill, at this time Irving's singles appeared very monotonous, in the face of the truth that "basketball is a sport of five people", became eclipsed.
The Nets' biggest capital is the Big Three, and even if Durant returns later, Irving won't be able to play at home. So today's loss to the Timberwolves, the significance of reflection is great, the opponent provided a rehearsal, and then it depends on the summary and coping ability of Nash and the Nets coaching staff.