Of the many confrontations that have come out of the NBA playoffs, the one I'm most looking forward to is the Grizzlies and Timberwolves.
Without him, the storm of youth is always fascinating.
This season, the two teams turned out, and the fresh air blew throughout the league, just like the young swordsman, who was not afraid of the old man and did not want to be idle.
The Timberwolves are in the playoffs again in four years, and the Grizzlies have taken a big step forward after breaking through the playoffs last year, and they have advanced strongly with the second-best record in the league — playing 20-5 in the absence of the only All-Star Morant.
Let's analyze the basic game of the two teams first, let's talk about the Timberwolves first. Edwards and Towns are both champions, Russell is the top spot, and when it comes to talent, the Timberwolves never instigate it.
Hanako got better and better, scoring a new career high of 49 points against the Spurs, which was previously 48 points, which he got against the Warriors this year. In the two years since entering the league, Hanako has shown her ability to cut points to the fullest.
This is already the fifth time Edwards has taken 40+, and the 20-year-old has taken five 40+ times after James's 8 times, one more than Doncic and Durant. There are still four months to reach the age of 21, and she ranks fourth among the most point-scoring people before the age of 21, the top three are James, Durant and Anthony.
The future is absolutely promising.
Also against the Spurs, Towns also exploded, and he blasted the NBA's highest single-game 60 points this season.
We know that since Zhang Dashuai retired, only three centers have scored 60 points in a single game: they are David Robinson, O'Neal and Downs.
Towns made the list with an explosion, which is definitely not to say that he can stand shoulder to shoulder with the top two - because the play-offs the day before yesterday were still very uncomfortable, but at least it can be said that when the Wolves center is full of firepower, it is really not easy to block. Because he has the position of center forward, a strong face frame and a top projection.
But what really gave the Timberwolves a new look this season was the addition of the Clippers' "abandonment" Beverley, and the "Devil's Man" Vanderbilt played the main force.
Beverly, who was abandoned by the Clippers because of "old" and "slow" reasons, became a mentor to the Timberwolves, and he used his madness to tighten the clockwork for downs and Hanako, who were gifted but sometimes slack and retreated.
At the same time, as the most experienced veteran in the playoffs in the team, he leads this group of young people with practical actions.
Vanderbilt, on the other hand, used his beastly agility and toughness to bring a qualitative change to the Timberwolves' offense and defense this season. Although he is only 2 meters 03 tall, he is full of explosive power and fast pace. While there are no good shots, the quick-cut and incisive cuts complement Downs, who prefers peripheral projections.
And, like Robert Williams of the Greens, they can all be able to change the outside line and sweep the half. In his first game against the Grizzlies this season, he contributed such a "flying cap in the air."
Extremely brutal.
On the Grizzlies side, the first thing that has to be mentioned is of course the genius Morant.
He became a top 10 scorer in his third year (averaging 27.6 points per game) and reached career-high shooting percentages (49.3 percent) and three-point range (34.0 percent). He also went from the league's top twenty to thirty best interior scorers and converted offensive players to the best player in the league in both areas.
Since the NBA had this record (starting in the 1996-97 season), Morant is the first guard in more than 25 years to rank first in the NBA in paint scoring (averaging 16.8 points per game). He's 6'3 tall and weighs 174 pounds, and the other top five players in the paint scores are at least a foot taller than him.
About a quarter of those paint scores come from conversion offense (4.4 fast-break points per game), which is second in the league after James (4.8 fast-breakers per game).
Moreover, like Rose as a young man, he came and went with a gust of wind and did not like to commit fouls, for the reason that he was arrogant: "Can't catch up!" ”
In addition to Morant, Jaran Jackson, Dillon Brooks, Bane, Melton and others are a group of hot young people, who use the ultimate strong fighting and momentum to consume most of their opponents helplessly. In this way, the Grizzlies shot the league first and hit the second, relying on the league's first frontcourt rebound, while they were first in steals and blocks.
In the regular season, the two teams played 2-2, with three games with a point difference of less than ten points, and one Timberwolves led by 43 points to win, and in terms of the record of the two teams against each other, the Timberwolves were obviously more dominant. So don't think it's a second-on-seventh crushing battle because of their record and ranking.
It may even be the most sparkly matchup in the first round of the playoffs. Imagine Russell vs Morant, Edwards vs Dillon, Towns vs. Jalan Jackson, and the fierce confrontation and rapid conversion offense that pervades every turn.
It should be the sixth game.
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