The dark horse in the east overthrew the first place in the west, and the new signings broke out wildly, and the deal was really successful
This season, the Timberwolves have dominated the first place in the West for a long time, and no one expected that the Wolves, which do not have superstars, would actually become the leader in the West. The Timberwolves have beaten the Green and Nuggets this season, and the latter two teams are considered the best teams in the league. The twin-tower combination of Towns and Gobert is particularly useful for playing Jokic. The Timberwolves put Edwards as the first core, Towns became more and more fierce as a second-in-command, Gobert, Conley and others were reborn, and the strength of the Timberwolves' lineup burst out. The dark horse in the east overthrew the first place in the west, and the new signings broke out wildly, and the deal was really successful.
The Eastern Conference Knicks have a decent record this season, finishing seventh in the division, and they have been a dark horse as a team on the brink of the playoffs. The Knicks suffered four consecutive defeats, and then met the No. 1 Timberwolves in the West. Moreover, Brunson's shooting was inaccurate, 5 of 23 shots, and the Knicks were able to upset the Timberwolves, the No. 1 in the West, what is the mystery of this?
Edwards and Towns exploded together, blasting 64 points + 10 rebounds + 8 assists together, but no other player in the Wolves scored in double figures. The lack of offense has been the Timberwolves' biggest problem this season. The Timberwolves are first in the league in defensive efficiency (108.0), but only 18th in the league in offensive efficiency (113.7). The Timberwolves are actually missing a scoring superstar like Durant. With the strongest defense in the league and relatively average offensive scoring ability, the Timberwolves must find a way to do a good job of offense if they want to compete for the championship.
Why did the Knicks upset the No. 1 Timberwolves in the West in the dilemma of consecutive losses? Because Randle and new recruit Anunoby played too well. Randle has always been known as the "soft egg center", but he actually stood up to the Timberwolves' No. 1 defense in the league, blasting 39 points + 9 rebounds, which is amazing. The new signing that the Knicks just traded, Anunoby, he plugs and plays, and efficiently cut the data of 17 points + 6 rebounds + 1 assist + 2 steals + 1 block. Anunoby's plus/minus of +19 is a game-high, and his contribution on the defensive end is more important than scoring.
Previously, the Knicks traded Barrett + Quickley for Anunoby, and many Knicks management didn't understand the ball, and the deal was a bloody loss. As a result, the effect of Anunoby's joining is really good both offense and defense, his influence on defense is too great, and he specializes in defense to limit the core star of the opponent. According to the analysis of NBA experts in the American media, Anunoby is the strongest 3D master in the current league, his physical fitness is super strong, and his defensive intensity far exceeds that of ordinary players. It's no wonder that championship contenders across the league want to trade for a 3-and-D titan like Anunoby.
Now, the Knicks are also a team without superstars, Brunson + Randle + Anunoby are the three cores, Brunson is definitely the offensive core, and Anunoby is the defensive core. Brunson is averaging 25.6 points + 4.0 rebounds + 6.2 assists + 1.1 steals per game this season, and he is likely to be named to the All-Star team this year. The Green Army, Bucks and 76ers have dominated the top three in the East, and the Heat, Magic, Pacers and Knicks, can these teams challenge the top three teams? Can dark horse teams such as the Magic and Knicks be as dark as the Heat did in the playoffs last season?