The final set of NBA playoffs first rounds was won and lost today: the Grizzlies defeated the Timberwolves 114-106 on the road to advance to the next round with an aggregate score of 4-2. In this campaign, the Grizzlies Morant contributed a quasi-triple-double of 17 points, 8 rebounds and 11 assists. On the Timberwolves side, Edwards, who scored 16 points in the first quarter, scored 30 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, and he bombed 151 points in this series, setting a record for the highest single-round series score in NBA history for a player under 21. The Grizzlies have made it through the first round for the first time since 2015, and they will play against the Warriors in the Western Conference Semifinals.
After the series with the Timberwolves, Morant and his teammates celebrated the victory at the Timberwolves home. After seven years, this is the first time the Grizzlies have reached the Western Conference semifinals.
As the team's top player, Morant's performance in the first round of the playoffs was not particularly good. Although he also scored 18 points in the final quarter of Game 5 of the series, and completed such a feat as a dead end. But overall, the performance of 21.5 points, 10.5 assists and 4.2 turnovers per game is not particularly good. What's more, his effective shooting percentage is only 40.6%. Morant's lack of projection ability has been amplified a lot in this series, and the Timberwolves have seized on this point to make a big fuss, forcing the Grizzlies to the edge of the cliff several times.
Fortunately, Morant's ability to adjust is stronger than expected. On the other hand, the Grizzlies' roster depth has once again become the key to this team's victory in the playoffs.
Especially in today's sixth game of the series, Morant only scored 17 points, and only scored his first athletic battle score in the middle of the second quarter. However, the other players except Morant have performed well. Dillon Brooks scored 23 points, Bane scored 23, and Jaren Jackson Jr. also contributed 18 points. And, of course, there's super-bench Brandon Clarke, who can't be forgotten. After 21 points and 15 rebounds (9 frontcourt rebounds) in the previous game, he contributed 17 points, 11 rebounds and three other blocks.
"Without his contribution, we wouldn't have won this series. He brings us tremendous energy as a substitute. Head coach Jenkins said of Clark.
In the regular season, the Grizzlies presented a very strange phenomenon. That is, when the top player Morant is not there, the team can play better. Statistics show that Morant's absent Grizzlies have achieved a record of 20 wins and 5 losses, and Morant's winning percentage against the Grizzlies is only 63.2%. To some extent, 25 games is not a small sample, and this data best reflects the depth of the Grizzlies' lineup.
Next against the Warriors, the depth of the lineup is still the key to the Grizzlies' victory. To be sure, Morant will still be targeted by opponents, but there are also Players such as Dillon, Jaren Jackson, and Bain around him. Bain, in particular, shot 66.6 percent from the field in the first round, and Morant called him the team's MVP in the first round. In the confrontation with the Warriors, Morant will be more determined when it comes to breaking through, and Bane will naturally get more opportunities. Once Bane can continue to maintain such a shooting rate, the probability of the Grizzlies eliminating the old enemy will naturally be greatly improved.
"I'm tired, physically and mentally, this series is a battle. It was ugly to win every win except G2, but we advanced. We'll enjoy the moments of celebration and it's time to turn the page. Next against the Warriors, we have to play better. Morant said.
It is worth mentioning that the last time the Grizzlies reached the Western Conference semifinals was against the Warriors. However, they were eliminated by their opponents in three consecutive wins under the situation of 2-1 lead. However, the Grizzlies and Warriors' feud is more than that. Last season's playoffs, the Grizzlies and Warriors met in a narrow path. With everyone not optimistic that the Grizzlies would qualify, they eliminated Curry and his team by a score of 117-112. In the regular season this season, the two sides have also met with Mars splashes. Because the Grizzlies have an absolute advantage in physical confrontation, they have won 3 of the 4 encounters, and are even called the Warriors' nemesis by many people.
But in those four games, the Warriors never arranged for Curry, Green, and Thompson to play together. After entering the playoffs, the Warriors have also had a significant upgrade compared to the regular season, and the struggle between the two sides must be like Mars hitting the earth. On the other hand, the Grizzlies will also "reunite" with Iguodala in this series. Iguodala was traded to the Grizzlies by the Warriors, but his refusal to play for the young team caused dissatisfaction among many young Grizzlies players.
After the big win over the Warriors in the regular season this season, Dillon Brooks once said in an interview: "We've grown a lot, we all have this vision, and he (Iguodala) doesn't, which is good, just send him back to the Warriors to let him do what he has to do, from the beginning we built the foundation, we have a [growing] foundation, and then we have been growing, growing, growing, more and more people come here, so that we can do things like this now." 」 Obviously, this expression further raises the level of enmity between the two sides.
New hatreds and old hatreds will now be intertwined in the Western Conference semifinals. Grizzlies head coach Jenkins said he can already imagine what the Grizzlies' home stadium would be like. According to the arrangement, this strong dialogue will start in Memphis in the early morning of May 2, Beijing time.
The final quarter collapsed +1, and the Timberwolves failed to extend the suspense of the series
Ahead of Game 6 of the series, Malik Beasley said in an interview: "We really feel like it should be 4-1 now and we should rest like the Warriors. ”
To some extent, Beasley's expression is not entirely without reason. In addition to the Second Game Timberwolves being suppressed by the Grizzlies in the whole game, they actually have good chances in the other games. In game three of the series, they twice led the Grizzlies by more than 20 points, only to be turned over. The fifth game of the series, the Grizzlies, entered the fourth quarter with an 11-point advantage, only to be eliminated by Morant. If the Timberwolves had been able to handle the details, perhaps they would have knocked on the door to the Western Conference semifinals.
However, the handling of details in the playoffs has always been the key to whether a team can go far enough. In game six of the series, which decided the life and death of the Timberwolves, they once again fell into the final stages of the game.
In the first three quarters, the Timberwolves led 84-74, and many of the opponent's main players were in a foul crisis, and it looked like the situation was very good. But then, the Grizzlies played a 40-22 wave in the final quarter, winning the final victory of the game in a reversal manner again. 'The first two legs of the fourth quarter set the tone for us, and during the timeout we exchanged a lot of pitching and then defending against the opponent when needed. Jenkins said in an interview.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies hit two three-pointers as soon as they came up, narrowing the point gap to just four points. Since then, they have continued to put pressure on the Timberwolves on the defensive end. Finch replaced the in-form Russell and looked forward to McLaughlin being on the court to control the rhythm of the game. But in this level of play, McLaughlin had a hard time playing his part, and the ball was basically out of his hands. In the second half of the fourth quarter, when the Grizzlies rebounded from the score, the Timberwolves' shooting choices were inexhaustible. In particular, Towns' three-point shot in the final moments was somewhat directly ruining the Timberwolves' hopes.
Finch said after the game: "Bad shooting choices are in our DNA, and then it's a question that has to change. ”
In fact, this game is like a microcosm of this series. In the last six games, the Grizzlies have only made the fourth quarter with a lead in Game TWO, and the remaining five games have been for the Timberwolves to go into the fourth quarter with a lead. Three of the four games lost were the Timberwolves with double-digit leads at the start of the fourth quarter, and the Grizzlies are the first team in NBA history to be able to win a series victory under such circumstances. Jenkins said after the game: "To overcome many of the crisis moments in this series, that's how tough we were, we never gave up and fought together for the whole 48 minutes. ”
But on another level, it also shows how bad the Timberwolves' performance in the fourth quarter of the game really was. Statistics show that the Timberwolves have lost a total of 62 points in the fourth quarter. In fact, in the regular season, their fourth quarter performance was very bad, with a net loss of 3.6 points per 100 rounds, which ranked 25th in the league.
Therefore, it is not difficult to understand that the Timberwolves have repeatedly collapsed in the final quarter of the series with the Grizzlies. They've played well defensively this season, but they still haven't really built up good defensive habits. On the offensive end, the team relies more on their talent, and the shooting choices at key moments are still not ideal. But more importantly, perhaps the Timberwolves' star players did not play as expected.
Russell was the team's commander in the regular season, but in this series with the Grizzlies, he was somewhat lost in the strong confrontation. Edwards ended more with a shot, so it was inevitable that the shooting rate would decline in the final quarter. Downs, the biggest player on the team, has a hard time creating too good scoring opportunities against a small squad, so he always seems particularly inefficient at key moments.
In contrast, the Grizzlies, even Morant's performance in key moments is not particularly stable. However, the team is better overall and the depth of the squad is better. In addition, the division of labor within the team is also clearer. In the final moments of the game, they were able to elevate the defense to another level and play more patiently on the offensive end. At the same time, the scramble for rebounds in the frontcourt is also the reason why the Grizzlies have been able to repeatedly reverse in the final quarter. In the last game, Clark saved the team in the final quarter, and this game is still the same. Throughout the game, the Timberwolves had only 6 frontcourt rebounds, while the Grizzlies had a total of 17 frontcourt rebounds, and the second offensive score between the two sides was 15-7, and the difference between the two teams in the end happened to be 8 points.
Judging from the results alone, being able to make it to the playoffs has been a success for the Timberwolves. Finch also said after the game: "It was a great season, especially in the second half, which laid the foundation for what we were going to do next. However, the Timberwolves have every chance of winning this series, but unfortunately they did not take advantage of the opportunity. As a young army, the Grizzlies are the best example for timber wolves at this stage. If they want to go any further, what happens in this series will require the Timberwolves to chew up and down, making this loss a wealth on the team's growth path.
Wen | Kong Yang
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