The Timberwolves played a rare good game. Although it almost made the Grizzlies turn over again, the overall progress outweighed the flaws. Finch made a small adjustment in the use of personnel, took McLaughlin back to the rotation, this time he also played well, worthy of the trust of the coach, the pros and cons will no longer be analyzed.
The Timberwolves are more tweaking in their offensive choices. G3 took out Beverly chased Morant, G4 started to use it again, it seems to repeat the trick, but it is just a false move. As G3 said, it is enough to achieve strategic goals, there is no need to use the old recruitment.
The Timberwolves' most important change was Towns, downs in G3 was a disaster, timber wolves had no idea how to use him on the offensive end, and the G4 Timberwolves seemed to wake up. Towns did three things on the offensive end:
First, when the Grizzlies confronted him with smaller players, he was able to catch the ball in the high position and forced him many times, and in this way, he repeatedly caused fouls on the inside of the Grizzlies, including Jarren Jr. This event was Downs's most important contribution and profoundly changed the course of the game.
Second, after the low position, Towns and the Timberwolves handled the ball more calmly, creating quality opportunities with patient passing of the ball and having a more stable way to open up the situation. It's also very important that the Timberwolves G2G3 presents a state where the Timberwolves won't play once the Grizzlies don't have Adams. Without a steady starter, it is difficult to win no matter how well other aspects are done. This Downs's low-level walking position and smooth handling when he was pinched were closer to everyone's expectations of him.
The third, in the fourth quarter, achieved a hard solution with a strong three-pointer and no ball to cover the three-pointer, helping the Timberwolves break the game at a critical moment. This is not to elaborate, the superstar should do, can come out, this is hard enough.
These three things correspond to Downs' basket ability, back body ability and outside projection ability, which is the three puzzles that make up the multi-faceted side of Downs' attack.
So why does Downes's basket break have a profound impact on the trend of the game?
There are also some contingencies to this. Downs' opening two breakthroughs were very fierce and very dangerous. If the Grizzlies were a little bit smaller than him, Downs wouldn't have waited for the G4 to come out. These players are very capable of confrontation, and the Grizzlies are one of the best teams in the league to swipe cards to help defend, and Downs must do a good job of protecting the ball when he breaks through, otherwise it may be a mistake to break through halfway.
In addition, due to the presence of little Jaran, even if Downs burst in, the possibility of being covered is not small. The coincidence is also here - is It Downs's strong kill that causes Jalan Jr. to foul first, or does Jalan Jr. block Downs? Or the Grizzlies made Downs offensive fouls?
A lot of times it's providential, and the blowing of the referee on the spot.
But the Timberwolves can bet that Towns is bigger and takes the initiative as an offensive side, and it is not easy for Jalen Jr. to cover the talent monster who is more than half a number of him. And, in terms of defensive choices, the Grizzlies are better at breaking the hat than at creating offensive fouls. At home, Towns could rush to see what was going on.
That led to two breakthroughs in the opening, both of which resulted in fouls for the Grizzlies. Towns made a good start, and the others followed suit. The Timberwolves are very resolute in this breakthrough, and they are not afraid of the Grizzlies' cover, that is, Bo you foul faster than me. In the first quarter, Jarren Jr. made 1 offense, Tillman 2, Bain 2, Morant 2 and Brooks 2. At the end of the first half, the Grizzlies made 13 fouls, starting at least 2 per person, including 3 fouls for professional Jaren Jr. and 3 for Dillon.
While Towns himself made two fouls in the first half, overall, the Grizzlies had a bigger problem with fouls. And this series is already slower than the foul crisis of the two sides who are in charge. In the first half, Jarren Jr. played only 11 minutes, while Towns played 20 minutes – these two people, who can stay on the field, which side is more active.
The Grizzlies' foul crisis has created a ripple effect. Probably because a few inside fouls were too fast, the original rich Grizzlies on the inside line, the internal line of the staff is also stretched, so that Jenkins once took out Adams to carry down the Downs, and this kind of use obviously will not have an effect, and it will not be able to stand it after a while. The Grizzlies' internal manpower is severely limited, which also causes the loss of body size advantages, the impact of Huazi, Towns and others is further amplified, the whole team is more crazy to make fouls, and the Grizzlies cannot establish enough rebounding advantages, as if they have been snowballed for a while.
In addition, the shortage of manpower has also led to the Grizzlies having to use some levels to rotate. Zaire Williams' level playoffs are too grudging, both offensive and defensive ends are targeted, Jenkins has limited significance in order to save his size, which is also a relatively weak link in the depth of the Grizzlies - the front line is not so rich.
It can be said that the tone of this game was set by Downs's aggressiveness, which not only solved the problem of offensive development of the Timberwolves' position, but also brought chain damage to the Grizzlies.
In addition, Towns' performance on the defensive end has improved again. G3 He took out some guards, and the anti-block demolition could occasionally catch people. G4 Towns can do most of the rounds without being blocked by Morant, preventing the other players from the Grizzlies from losing their positions, and the result is that Morant has to play a lot of balls to find teammates instead of directly blowing up the basket like G1G2. Morant's 15 assists, Bane's three-point explosion, but the Timberwolves can handle the first-line defense and dismantle it well, relying on rotations in other positions to make up for it, trying to defuse the Grizzlies' surprise attack on the basket, letting the Grizzlies shoot outside, or it will be better than the way they were directly hit inside the line before.
The blocking of the frontal block led Morant to seek other offensive changes, even including playing without the ball. But he did not project pulling power, limited value on the no-ball end, but the effect was not good.
There's another change for the Timberwolves — overall patience with the ball has increased. Although there are still a few rounds that are not calm, the Timberwolves must have studied the Grizzlies' videos very carefully and know the rotation habits of their opponents, so they are also a lot more cautious in their shooting choices, Russell has three times to point out the defender's fake shots, and finally gave the ball to teammates with better chances. And Beverley's breakthrough this time, he actually jumped straight up and looked back to find the top of the arc, which must have done special research to know where the Grizzlies' weaknesses are.
The Grizzlies' outside rotation to the Timberwolves' calmness has found many flaws, which is also related to the destruction of the rotation, Jenkins from G2 to emphasize the rotation of full defense. The interior couldn't stay on the floor for long, lost its size advantage, and hurt the Grizzlies on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends. In the fourth quarter, Jarren Jr. had been offloaded, the Grizzlies were not good, Jenkins used a big four-small lineup, and Jones used the final puzzle, which led to Morant having to play against Russell, who also scored a key mid-range. If the Grizzlies play in a lineup smaller than the Timberwolves for a long time, they won't be able to win.
So, what to do if you can't beat Little Buou?
Don't let little Buo exist.
The game between these two teams is a turn-based game, today your main will make two, tomorrow my main will be beaten, and the young teams will make some mistakes, depending on who makes less. The Grizzlies were previously the more mature side, the G4 Timberwolves suddenly matured, and now it's time for the Grizzlies to respond.