With McDaniels' 3-point miss, the Timberwolves lost to the Jazz by one point and suffered their second loss since the New Year. Against his old club Jazz, Gobert 200 million inside played only 4 minutes and scored 2 points before withdrawing from the game due to injury, and instead as part of the trade chip, first-year rookie Walker Kessler cut a double 20 and had to eat and drink in the Timberwolves' box. Faced with such a scenario, Barkley bluntly said after the game that the Timberwolves made the worst trade in NBA history.
The chemical reaction of DPOY and the three-point king Ming Cheng Twin Towers?
In the offseason, General Manager Connery, who has always been known for his love of gambling, made a deal that shocked the league with his new owner, the Timberwolves. He traded four first-round picks, one first-round swap pick, and five players, including Vanderbilt and Beverley, for Gobert.
Connery's intentions are clear, and since Towns is not good at guarding the frame, then I will make up for his shortcomings with the best defensive player in the league. Finch the head coach who has served as an offensive assistant coach on many teams also patted his chest and said: I will use to understand the twin towers. However, halfway through the season, things did not go as they expected.
Suffering from injuries, Towns have played just 21 games so far this season, with only nine of those games they have won when he played with Gobert. In addition, when they were on the court at the same time, the team shot only 30.1% from three-point range, which is staggering considering that they are two guards who are good at projection, Russell and Edwards.
As the season progressed, Fincher gradually adjusted the use of the twin towers, choosing to replace Gobert early in the rotation stage to release Towns back to the more familiar No. 5 position, but due to the impact of the deal, he still had to let both play at the same time.
It's just that from the current point of view, the plus-minus of -0.3 when the two are on the court at the same time proves that these two big men have not found the imaginary tacit understanding, on the contrary, when the two are on the field at the same time, the team's offensive space and ability to change defenses have been greatly tested.
However, as an effective tactical configuration that has been popular for many years, is the two-tower combination really going to be forgotten in the long river of time?
Tears and persistence of the times Multiple teams handed over the Twin Towers Workplace Survival Manual
Over the past 70 years, there have been several well-known twin-tower pairs that have left their names in the history of the NBA. Gasol and Bynum's purple-gold double, Ralph Thompson's and Olajuwon's ultimate experiment, and "Admirals" Robinson and Duncan's holy city guardians have all been prominent in their respective eras.
However, with the popularity of small-ball lineups, the influence of the twin-tower combination is indeed gradually decreasing. But in today's league, there are still teams that stick to the two-tower combination against the trend and play well.
The two young teams that have soared this season, the Cavaliers and Pelicans, are using such a combination. While the Cavaliers' offensive firepower skyrocketed with Mitchell's arrival, their two young big men, Allen and Mobley, took on the task of sweeping up the team's outside group. This season, the Cavaliers have the second highest defensive efficiency in the league at 109.2; on the other hand, in order to compensate for the lack of running ability of the two-tower combination, the Cavaliers have become the team with the lowest number of rounds in the league.
While the Fat Tigers shook the league with his attacks again and again this season, his good partner Valanciunas is also completing his transformation, when the two are partnered, the Pelicans can +1.2 points on the floor, and all this is inseparable from Varan's sacrifice, his playing time, points per game and rebounds have dropped significantly compared to last season, but it is precisely because he gave up the paint area that the Fat Tigers can get more impact opportunities.
But when it comes to the spokesperson of the two towers, it is the combination of Brother Alphabet and Big Lopez that is more appropriate. Fatigue and injuries to Middleton and Holloday have affected Alphabet's form this season after returning from the offseason, and he is currently averaging four turnovers per game, a career-high. Meanwhile, the ironman has missed nine races this season due to a knee injury.
In this case, in order to reduce the pressure on the alphabet brother, the hard-working Lopez picked up the team, and his average playing time, points, rebounds, and blocks per game were all new highs since the Bucks. On the defensive end, he shared the task of guarding the frame more for the alphabet brother; And on the offensive end, the 40% three-point shooting rate also opens up space for letters.
Returning to the protagonist of our article, the combination of Gobert and Downs, can it already be declared a failure?
In fact, before Towns was injured, he had a honeymoon period with Gobert, and the two led the team to a five-game winning streak, and at that time, Towns gradually found the feeling of passing for Gobert, and Gobert also showed DPOY style, erecting a barrier in the Timberwolves' penalty area.
In the cold ice of Mingcheng, Timberwolves fans have waited too long for this team's success. At the same time, Downs, who is criticized by fans day after day for playing too softly, and Gobert, who has a premium contract, are also waiting in hibernation for an opportunity, wanting to bring back a touch of passion to the city. More importantly, they're trying to give the big guys a chance to make a name.