In the first round of this year's playoffs, there were 3 groups to hit Tenno Mountain, and yesterday the Lone Ranger beat the Jazz, all without the nervous excitement that Tenno Mountain should have, but today's Tenno Mountain made up for this gap. The Grizzlies reversed the Timberwolves' swings, and the end of the guess was not the end of the guess; in contrast, the Suns' victory over the Pelicans was more than tense but not alarming.
Grizzlies vs Timberwolves: Fewer mistakes than anyone
Before this game, the Suns have maintained a record of unbeaten in the first three quarters of this season, and this game will accumulate to the 50th game. This is a manifestation of the Sun's strong control over the game, and it is really the envy of the Timberwolves. If you can turn the advantage into a win like the Suns, it won't be the Grizzlies who are leading the series today, but the Timberwolves.
Let's take a look back at the Battle of the Bears and Wolves, known as the "Storm of Youth". G1 Timberwolves led by five points into the fourth quarter, ushering in the opening red; G2 for the Grizzlies with a 19-point lead into the fourth quarter, the first win to fall into the bag.
Everything changed from the G3 onwards. G3 Timberwolves led by 16 points into the fourth quarter, was overturned, in fact, the Timberwolves led by up to 26 points; G4 Timberwolves also led by 16 points and then entered the fourth quarter, still chased by the opponent to only 1 point, and finally won only 1 point; and in this game, the Timberwolves ushered in the final quarter with an 11-point lead, and even 7 minutes before the final game, they still led by 11 points, and the result was reversed.
So, before reviewing the rest, the First Thing the Timberwolves have to change is the problem of not playing after taking the lead, but how easy is this? Age is no excuse, the Grizzlies are just as young, but today they became the first team in NBA history to fall 10+ in the first three quarters of a single-round series multiple times but complete a turnover. Perhaps it is barely possible to find a reason from experience. Towns and Russell have been in the league for 7 years, but this is the second time they have played in the playoffs, and Edwards is a rookie.
Of course, to put it bluntly, this year is only the Grizzlies' second playoff trip, and the experience points are not necessarily much more than those of the Timberwolves. But putting Morant in the team's last 13 points and Timberwolves coach Finch sitting at G3 and watching opponents play 21-0 without calling a timeout, these two things may still be able to see some clues.
In fact, this game can also be regarded as a microcosm of the current trend of this series. The Grizzlies once played a perfect start of 13-2, but did not even finish a quarter, let the opponent complete the counterattack; Morant was 1 of 4 of 3-pointers, the only three points let the Grizzlies rebound 1 minute before the final; Edwards hit the iron continuously at key moments, thinking that the three-point tie of 3.7 seconds before the final game would atone for the credit, but he made a gambling-style steal Morant's big mistake.
Or that sentence: both teams are rough, and if they encounter a more delicate and stable opponent, I am afraid that they have already been awarded the head. This game played the tension and excitement that the Battle of Tianwangshan should have, the suspense was left, and there was a climax at the end, but it was difficult to say how high the gold content was.
Sun vs Pelicans: Calm and Change
In contrast, the Suns' big victory over the Pelicans today reflects the composure and control of the game at the number one in the West End this year, as well as the courage to make changes.
The suns from the first round of G4 are unbearable to look back on. Throughout the second half, the Suns were in a period of struggling to score points, but they never got close to their opponents. Paul's 8-of-2 was miserable, there were many bad criminals and technical offenders, the whole team only handed over 25.9% of the three-point shooting rate, and the huge gap in free throws (15-42) made coach Monty Williams angry, and then received a fine.
The Suns faced the biggest crisis since Booker's injury suspension, namely a shortage of manpower. With the exception of Paul and Ayton, the sun is hard to find help, especially the pitchers are hidden. But that's a different story. Bridges became the vanguard, making a great difference at both ends of the field, and substitute Payne also delivered 2-of-3 three-pointers. The Suns were also able to stretch their three-point shooting percentage to 37 percent in this game.
The rebounding problem has always been a difficult problem for the Suns this round. In the 5 games so far in this round, the Suns' rebounds have lagged behind their opponents in every game, and this game is no exception. But there is a noteworthy change in the sun field, that is, they sacrificed the "twin towers". At the end of the first quarter, Ayton and McGee played together; in the second quarter, the Suns played only 2 games in the first 4 games, totaling only 3 minutes of Byombo and Snow Hide McGee; in the third quarter, McGee and Biyombo played together at the end of the quarter; in the fourth quarter, the Suns returned to Ayton and McGee's combination.
In the course of the series, the most exciting thing is the tricks of the managers of both sides. Before the G4 game, Pelicans coach Willie Green said that he wanted to increase Valanciunas' offensive proportion under the basket, and the latter handed over the most brilliant game of the round, which Monty could not fail to take. In addition, Monty may also be looking at the gap in rebounding between the two sides, hoping that the twin towers can be slightly recovered.
Overall, the Sun did not suffer losses in the 3 sessions of the double tower, and the positive and negative values of the three internal lines were positive. It's also reminiscent of the Bucks who scored a "three-high" after Middleton's injury. In this year's playoffs, "exchanging height for space" has become a change of hands for multiple teams, and the Bucks and the Suns have the same destination.
So far in this year's playoffs, the first and second days of the West End have not been good, they have been overwhelmed by opponents, and "Black Seven" and "Black Eight" have been shouted loudly. The two teams were in trouble for different reasons, and the way they won Tenno Mountain today were also different, but they finally got the desired result. Without calculating the probabilities, you can understand how important the victory of Tennozan is after the series becomes a 3-inning 2-win series, and the two teams also use it to bring the series back into control. (Supine Braces/Hairy)