"A lifetime of narrow roads to meet and can not be spared" About this year's regular season, what are your memorable moments, and what regrets and unwillingness. "Can't stay, can't count the flow of years" locked Tencent NBA, and played the playoffs again on April 17.
If you've seen today's Timberwolves game against the Clippers, you might be able to appreciate another meaning of the playoffs.
The playoffs are seventh- to tenth-place games in the East and West, although in the past two years, popular teams such as the Warriors and Nets have participated, which has filled the topic.
But at the end of the day, it's the stage for teams in the middle of the league.
Today's Timberwolves, for example, have only made the playoffs once in 18 years, and even if they win the Clippers today, the team's regular season record also indicates that they may not be able to win forever.
But when Beverly and Edwards step on the tech booth and cheer, as excited as if they were winning a championship, that's probably the point of the play-offs, a highlight for the midstream team.
As a fan, it is easy to see the glory of the championship team, whether it is the rotation of the lineup or the story of the stars, everyone is precious; and the team where the superstars are located is naturally no exception; as for the teams at the bottom of the league, I believe that the process is always a charming word.
On the contrary, it is a midstream team, which is difficult to appear in the vision of fans.
But today's timberwolves and Clippers game may make many people notice such a team as the Timberwolves.
The game is a conflict, because the data shows that the Timberwolves have averaged the first points per game in the league this season, and the Clippers, who have ushered in George's return, are the first in the league in defense.
Before the game began, many people thought that the Clippers would win, after all, Lu's name as the king of reversals had already begun, and the Clippers' performance in the playoffs of the season also gave them more support.
The game also started in a favorable direction for the Clippers, although Edwards started with 7 consecutive points, but his teammates were not strong enough, especially Towns, who suffered from the Clippers' targeted defense in the first quarter, a total of 5-of-0 did not score a point, and also lost two fouls.
Today's Towns, the state is really a mystery. Playing 14 minutes and 11 seconds in the first half, he shot 0-of-7 and scored 2 points from the free throws alone.
To make matters worse, he was plagued by fouls, and today the referee whistle was tight, and the two teams were blown a total of 13 fouls in the first quarter, including two technical offenders.
Seeing this game, Jamal Murray tweeted directly: "(Feeling) This game has been fouled every round. ”
Among them, Downs was the biggest victim of the game, four fouls in the half made it impossible for him to play well, and in the fourth quarter of the game, Towns knocked down George from behind when he grabbed the rebound, eating the sixth foul of the game.
In the end, Towns' stats were fixed in the 24 minutes of play, 11 points and 5 rebounds on 3-of-11 shooting, plus-minus -14, and the only player on the team with a plus-minus of -5 or less.
He had 7:34 left in the game when the Timberwolves trailed by seven points 86-93. Supposedly, the Timberwolves, who lack an interior core, should have been swept down by the Clippers, but the truth was embarrassing for Towns.
When Towns was sent off, the Timberwolves seemed to be super evolved, playing a wave of 23-11 scoring climaxes, directly reversing the game.
Both Edwards and Russell hit the crucial three-pointer, and Downs' bench Reid had the highest plus-minus of +17.
After the game, summing up the reasons for the loss, Clippers coach Tyrone Lue said: "They played better without Downs, which disrupted our rhythm. ”
In this game, the most important thing to praise should be Edwards. As a 20-year-old young man who fought a life-and-death battle for the first time, today Hanako played very tough in the case of Downs's inaccuracy.
Throughout the game, he played 37 minutes, shooting 10-of-21, including 5-of-11 three-pointers and 5-of-6 from the free throw line, scoring 30 points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal. There were frames, there were three-pointers, and there were key shots that were quite tough.
Hanako, get ready for the playoffs.
He was formed with a double gun by Russell, who scored 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the second quarter. By the end of the game, he and Edwards had repeatedly taken advantage of Zubac's weak movement speed to single and help the Timberwolves win the game, and russell and Edwards combined to score 59 points.
Of course, another key person is Beverley. Throughout the game, Beverley was the one with a high sense of presence. Not only beverly's performance in the last quarter, in the previous jumping session, Beverly and Xiao Mo were entangled, and the two had more and more small movements on their hands, and then the referee whistled.
At that time, Beverly thought that he was a small Mo technician, which could allow him to accumulate two Ts and directly expel him, so he waved to the latter in advance, but he did not expect that the referee gave Beverly a technical prisoner after looking back.
It's a bit of a comedy man, but if you look at Beverley's performance in the final minutes, you know that it's very difficult for any team to have such a player.
In critical moments, Beverley not only had a raw performance with Reggie, but also helped the Timberwolves only let the Clippers score 3 points in the last 4 minutes or so. In the final 5 seconds of the game, Beverley grabbed the key frontcourt rebound and killed the game.
He threw the ball into the sky, then jumped on the technical platform and roared in celebration in front of the fans, and at that moment the entire target center fell into a carnival. He threw his jersey to the audience and withdrew with tears in his face.
Hei Bei's personality is by no means pleasing, especially his big mouth makes many people feel unhappy. For example, back in the locker room, Beverly said in the live broadcast: "Weak Chicken Clippers, we hit it, let's roll!" ”
In the post-match press conference, he still did not spare, "Go home, the flight back to Los Angeles is a long way." I was dumped by them like that [last year] and they said I was 'easy to get hurt and old.'" 'It's so cool to be able to play against the Clippers in the playoffs and blow them up. ”
At the press conference, Beverley also brought two cans of beer to drink, and Edwards next to him was stunned.
But if you only talk about personal passion and competition attitude, Beverley is definitely a mental attribute.
In the 10 seasons of his career so far, except for the 17-18 season, in which he played only 11 games, he has never missed the playoffs.
So when he came to the Timberwolves, he also changed the temperament of the wolf cubs, and even Tyrone Lu Saihu said: "He doesn't care about the data, he only cares about winning." He's a big reason for the Timberwolves' success this season. ”
Of course, Beverly is not the only one standing on the technical stage, and under this atmosphere, the young and energetic Edwards also stands on the technical platform.
"I didn't want to lie, but when I learned we were going to play against the Clippers, I thought about doing it. When I go to sleep, I say the dream 'I'm going to hit those key balls and jump to the tech stage to celebrate'. Edwards explained.
'They're scared of defending me and I'm just making the most of that, adapting to the game and finding countermeasures.'
Of course, some say it's so exciting to make a playoff? For example, Kuzma tweeted: "Minnesota has just won the championship!" ”
Whether it's a joke or a mockery, or any other emotion, for the Timberwolves, the day is as happy as winning the championship.
After all, in the past 18 seasons, the Timberwolves have only made the playoffs once, and have set an embarrassing record of not making the playoffs for 13 consecutive years.
The Athletic reporter Zach Harper described it this way: "In the modern NBA era, the Timberwolves can compete with the Kings for the most failed team award. The game is really like winning the title for them, and they have the right to vent their emotions. ”
The only time they made the playoffs was known to everyone, and that was the year Jimmy Butler led the team, they entered the playoffs as the eighth whistle in the West. But in the playoffs, they faced the powerful Rockets without a fight back, and they were eliminated 1-4 in the first round.
This year, they advanced to the playoffs with seventh place in the West, the highest ranking in Timberwolves history since the 2003-04 season (first in the West). It is also the 10th time in Timberwolves history that they have reached the playoffs.
How unpopular are this year's Timberwolves? Prior to this game, none of the Timberwolves' games this season had been broadcast across the United States.
Not everyone can be a supergiant, and not every team has glorious glory. But the night of the playoffs is a moment for the Timberwolves, the highlight of an ordinary team, and the victory of the little people.
Last year, the Grizzlies also made it all the way to the playoffs and shined this season. Now, the Timberwolves will meet the Grizzlies in the first round, two teams with a strong sense of youth meet, and the game is naturally worth looking forward to.
Compared to the Clippers, the Grizzlies are a much stronger team, and the Timberwolves have a hard time completing the counterattack, but as Russell said after the game: "Before we are eliminated, I will run out of bullets." ”
Past reading: Doncic's indefinite truce, Simmons' first-round comeback?
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