First published on the public account: Basketball Friends
The Timberwolves go to the next city first!
Can the Timberwolves Black 7?
If someone had asked this question three days ago, I would have answered him with three words: "Do shovels!" After watching G1, in the face of the big guy who raised this question, I could only shrink my hands and feet to answer; "Brother, there are many people outside just now..."
2nd in the league with average points per game, 1st in the league with rebounds per game, 1st in the league with steals per game, 1st in the league with blocks per game, 1st in the league with fast-break scores per game, 3rd in the league in offensive efficiency, and 5th in the defensive efficiency league, all of the above data come from the Grizzlies, yes, the Grizzlies who were picked up by the Timberwolves at home, and the Grizzlies that I once praised as having the strongest "death five small" lineup in the league. This young bear king returned to the court with a sick posture after a week of rest, thought that he could easily win the game, but did not expect that what awaited them was not the Timberwolves ranked 7th in the West, but more like the well-known team Thunderbolt Fire Wolves in "Basketball Fire", Edwards incarnated as Dongfang Xiang, how to vote how to have; Towns is like a very big eagle, almost used the blue butterfly to swim in the clouds, I have to say that watching the NBA is just a pleasure, learning technology that also has to watch "Basketball Fire"
Towns and Edwards blocked
Back to the point, what disease does the grizzly bear get? I would say that there are two kinds of diseases, one is cerebral hemorrhage and the other is heart disease
1. Defensive alignment of cerebral hemorrhage
Just as we don't know if Scarlett Johansson's bathwater is sweet, we also don't know if Grizzlies coach Jenkins watched the Timberwolves playoff against the Clippers. In the Timberwolves' playoff against the Clippers, Coach Lu came up with a textbook strategy to limit Downs: let a athletic, athletic, tough forward to defend Downs, when Towns and outside players blocked, Lue ordered all the defenders except the center to change defenses, and the center sat under the basket to prepare to defend down the breakthrough Towns. The move forced Towns to swallow four fouls on 0-of-7 shooting in the first half
Why would Coach Lu let a striker go to defend the Towns? One is because Towns doesn't have the traditional skill of centering — back-to-back singles. He can't do what Jokic did, his neck twisting, his ass twisting into the inside and putting the ball in, all his offensive means have to be framed to work. So use a forward line to defend him, and the speed of movement is not at all disadvantaged, which cuts off the possibility of Downs breaking through. In addition, as soon as Downs took the ball at 45° on the left and right sides, Lue's director immediately ordered someone to pinch the attack, not giving the newly promoted three-point king a chance to shoot from the outside; second, because Zubac's pace was moving slowly. If he is in charge of defending Downs, then for the Timberwolves, it is "the sky is high for birds to fly, the sea is wide to swim with fish", in other words, whether it is Towns's big play or the small play of outside players after the demolition, the Clippers cannot effectively limit it. Therefore, in order to let Zubac better protect the basket, Lu instructed him to use a "squat pit" defense - in the face of the blocking turtle can not shrink, the other four people to change the defense, which not only ensures that Downs always has a defender in front of him, can limit his shooting space; but also ensures the ability to protect the basket on the inside line, which can better protect the rebounds in the backcourt
I have to say that Director Lu took out an answer sheet close to full score, helpless Grizzlies head coach Jenkins is dishy and upright, he is not willing to eat the food that comes from him, it is such an iron, that is, to use "Sea King" Adams to oppose Downs. This time, it was exciting! Towns poured all his play-off gas on Adams. Seeing that this sick bear was going to lose his breath, in the first half of the second quarter and the second half of the third quarter, Jenkins immediately sent a small lineup, first let the "sledgehammer" Anderson go around the front to defend Downs, and then let Brandon Clark go to defend Downs, every time when the defense first saw success, Jenkins always waved a big hand, sent Adams to reward Towns, Towns also held a charming smile. In the decisive moment of the fourth quarter, Jenkins finally picked up the small copy that Lou had handed over from the West Coast, abandoned Adams, and left Downs completely to Brandon Clark to handle, leaving the basket to Jalan Jackson Jr. to guard, as long as Towns took the ball at 45° on the left and right sides, but it was too late
Not only is Downs possessed by god of war, but even Edwards has slashed 36 points, is it because Edwards is in good shape? I guess that's just part of the reason. The more important reason is that whenever Adams is on the floor, Towns can create a space for Edwards with a single block cover, and Edwards is sorry for the ticket money of the first row fans without shooting. Aside from Downs' defensive missteps, when I saw Bain defending Edwards and Dillon with limited arm span in the starting lineup, I really wanted to say to Jenkins: "Silly Spring, what are you going to do?" The wrong counterpoint allowed Edwards to cut 11 points in the first quarter, quickly developing a feel, and even though Jenkins reacted quickly enough, dillon was placed in front of Edwards in the second quarter, and Edwards was already awe-struck
Downs anti-block demolition
2. Morant this piece of heart disease
Morant is dangerous, not just for timber wolves, but also for grizzly bears
For the Timberwolves, Downs' blocking was Achilles' heel. Every time a defensive block was blocked, Towns chose to step forward to delay, and each time Morant used an acceleration to shake him off. Objectively speaking, Downs does not need to come forward to delay, because Morant's outside shooting rate this season is only 33.3% (career high).
Because Morant doesn't have a basket, he's dangerous for the Grizzlies. In G1, Morant has never shot a three-pointer, and even the number of shots in the middle and long range is 0! Because there is no shooting skill pack, every time he attacks, he must kill in the penalty area, throw himself away to attract the bag clip and pass the ball out or directly attack the basket, which leads to the Grizzlies often stage a situation where one person plays four people and waits for food. And Morant's backup Tyes Jones has shot 39% from the outside this season! So when the "No Mo Bear" version of the "Five Lives" came on the court, the Grizzlies' offensive space became more abundant, the ball was more fluid, and the scoring explosion was more powerful
Morant's "miserable" defense is a time bomb for the Grizzlies compared to no basket. In the fourth quarter of the decisive stage, because Morant was present, Towns repeatedly blocked russell and Beverley, and played Morant in the point list. In order to change this situation, Jenkins had to change from staring to joint defense, trying to minimize the weakness of Morant's defense, which was the move that sent the Timberwolves to the guillotine. In the time that followed, Bever used a three-pointer and Vanderbilt used another three-pointer to kill the game completely
The G2 battle is about to begin
As the Timberwolves won their first victory without bloodshed, the originally strong and weak duels instantly became interesting. Regarding whether the tide recedes and whether the Grizzlies are the ones swimming naked, I think G2 will definitely give us the answer