1
Irving said two days ago that the superstars of history have always been both offensive and defensive.
Irving's statement is not comprehensive, he clearly needs some self-motivation and reminds the audience to abandon the old eyes of people. Since his time with the Nets, Irving has proven that he is an underrated defender, and after becoming a veritable veteran, he has more power on the defensive end. There are really not many guards in this league who have flashy offensive skills and are willing to do their best defensively. Owen wanted to be like that, and Edwards looked like he was.
Edwards understands storytelling and psychological suggestion. He's going to play a declaration game and give the defending champion a sense of his level. That's probably why, the Timberwolves made an interesting matchup selection, opening with Edwards leading the way to defend Jamal Murray.
If this alignment lasts until the end, it will be nothing special, Huazi and Jayden can both defend against Murray, and they can also defend against Porter, so defending, the height is smoother. If Huazi doesn't defend well or fouls too much, causing the Timberwolves to have to adjust the alignment, then there is nothing to say.
Interestingly, Huazi defended well, but this set of matchups still only existed at the beginning of the first half. Heading into the transition and the second half, the Timberwolves reverted back to their more customary regular-season option and let Jaden/Walker lead Murray.
So, it's hard not to think that this is a "manifesto" counterpoint. Edwards is going to give the Nuggets a kick-off at the start of this series. In the first 6 minutes of the first quarter, Huazi was the absolute ruler of the game, he locked up Murray, turned around and hit two bukkake three-pointers, a 2+1 and a counterattack breakthrough layup, and single-handedly let the Timberwolves take a 14-4 lead at the beginning.
The prologue is perfect.
Huazi scored 43 points and made 29 shots, and the value of carrying production is needless to say. But this is different from the Knicks' side, where Bronson used Iverson to help New York underpin. The Timberwolves have more methods, so Huazi's power point can also be more concentrated.
Hanako's second highlight comes from the third stanza.
In the first half, the Timberwolves were wiped out by the Nuggets in the corresponding transition period, burying a perfect start, and even trailed by 2 points after the first quarter.
Why did the Nuggets, who were obviously weaker on the bench, win the transition section again?
Reid and Walker's misplay in the first half was key. Walker made 3 mistakes in the first half, and the Wolves probably didn't want to use a second true point guard, and they didn't use Morris in the first half.
Wolves can't mess with themselves. This issue was also mentioned in the preview, and there is an ambiguity for the Nuggets to choose to be aggressive or conservative, after all, the Suns have not tried anything. In the fourth quarter of this game, Jokic began to keep signaling to speed up, in addition to falling behind the score, he also felt that it was difficult to play. But the Timberwolves' retreat defense is very good, and it is not easy for the Nuggets to play behind them like last year's Western Conference finals, and it is not easy to hit the Lakers with a quick baseline ball and catch the Lakers' attacker falling to the ground.
But on the other hand, if the Timberwolves make a mistake themselves, the Nuggets' punishment is real. With 12 turnovers from the G1 Nuggets and seven of Jokic himself, the Timberwolves put him under tremendous defensive pressure. In turn, the Timberwolves' 14 turnovers were inexplicably more inexplicable, and the Nuggets won by eight points in taking advantage of opponents' turnovers to score. The confusion after the Timberwolves entered the bridging section was also reflected in the fact that it was easier to displace the defense and give the Nuggets a way to solve the positional battle.
In the third quarter, the wolf learned his lesson, and the connection section stabilized a lot. At this time, the Timberwolves have no Conley and no Towns on the court, and it is not easy to play change. So the answer given by Huazi is a hard solution.
Huazi's third highlight came at the end of the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Timberwolves had more X-factors, Gobert's long-range throw-and-hit board, Reed's three-pointer, these were unexpected goals that the Nuggets couldn't afford. Towns/Reed's top-up defense against Jokic, Murray's stalking by Jaden, and Gobert's sweeping below the free-throw line to cut off Jokic's connection with Gordon were defensive efforts that allowed the Timberwolves to withstand the Nuggets' counterattack.
But Jokic still has a raging anger after all, and the Timberwolves have already learned how terrifying the all-out date erupts when the two teams last met in the regular season, and they can score those seemingly impossible difficult balls.
One more punch is needed for the crumbling Nuggets to fall.
Hanako: Then let's fall!
Eat Pop in the low position and pound Gordon in the basket.
God's monopoly is in hand, and I will take the data and the victory with me!
G1 summed it up in the simplest terms that the Timberwolves have enough resources to play against Jokic, and conversely, the Nuggets don't have the resources to match Edwards too well. Pop is not surprised that Edwards suffers, Huazi's confrontation and explosiveness are against the sky, and his movements are not deformed at all after opening people. Although Gordon is talented, he is unlikely to be able to keep up with Huazi's speed of change of direction, not to mention that he still has to go to Downs. The Nuggets brought in this two-player inside and outside, and the scenario envisioned was still the hardness of the opposite Brother Kazi and James, as well as the flexibility of chasing Curry. The imagination of the declining position of the shooting guard is not so rich.
It seems that Huazi is going to revive this position.
2
Of course, the content of the competition is very specific.
For the Timberwolves:
Goebel. Unsurprisingly, the Timberwolves used Towns to top Jokic first, and Gobert to Gordon. In some of the transitions, Gobert played directly against Jokic. Jokic scored 32 points in the game, but dished out nine assists and seven turnovers while shooting 56.1 percent from the field. Clearly inefficient by his standards, and his nine three-pointers are the most in the playoffs this year, showing that the Wolves have done as much as possible to keep Jokic out of the paint.
For Jokic's defense, most of the credit should be given to Towns and Reed, who are on the top line, but Gobert is undoubtedly the biggest credit for suppressing others and strictly guarding the basket and rebounding.
The Nuggets scored just three points on the second offense and 42 points in the paint, the lowest game in the playoffs so far. These numbers are hard and necessary for the Timberwolves to win this series;
Downs Reed. The two misplaced attacks had some effect, and Jokic was amazing at the top defense. They also tried to put pressure on Jokic in the backcourt, and even forced Jokic to walk in the fourth quarter. Towns had a great shot of Murray delayed, while Reed had a direct steal on Jokic. Towns had two consecutive highlight-reel offenses and one defense in front of Jokic, and Reed punished the Nuggets' defensive formation with three consecutive three-pointers and fixed-point breakaways in the fourth quarter. Towns did have five fouls, and Reed kept the Timberwolves strong after Towns' five fouls.
Holding two interior lines with range, ball handling, size and athleticism is still a unique competitive advantage for the Timberwolves;
Conley. In the third quarter, he hit consecutive shots to punish Jokic's ability to move and shoot three-pointers, repeatedly looked for opportunities for Towns to eat big and small mismatches, and because he established a scoring threat, he was able to attract Jokic's delay in the fourth quarter, so that the Nuggets had to enter the rotation, and Reed and Gobert benefited in the fourth quarter.
Conley is the stabilizer of the Timberwolves, with the highest plus/minus in the game, and with him, the Timberwolves will not mess up;
Jayden. Without scoring, facing the Nuggets' larger size, unable to show talent near the basket like they did against the Suns. However, the lead and defense still performed well, making it impossible for Murray to take over the game in the crucial stages.
For the Nuggets:
Pope Braun & Holiday & Reggie Watson. Watson was stunned by Gobert and did not work well, scoring just five minutes of the game. In addition to Pope, Ma Long's preset Huazi's second leader is Da Holiday . And from the actual effect, Braun seems to be a relatively good defender of Nuggets players. The overall performance of these five guys today (Watson rounded) was actually okay, with a total of 5-of-10 three-pointers, which is much better than when they played the Lakers. But for the Nuggets, the puzzle is not necessarily good news, because correspondingly, Jaden + Walker on the Timberwolves' side is 1 of 7 three-pointers. If this variable goes against the Timberwolves, the situation will be even more unfavorable for the Nuggets;
Porter. It's still accurate, and the defense also contributes. In the rounds of the three frontcourt melee on both sides, he + Jokic + Gordon > Gobert + Towns + Jaden. Without the introduction of backcourt variables and misalignment, the Nuggets are not afraid. However, Huazi is indeed more difficult than Hachimura in the previous round, interfering and blocking Porter. Porter can't treat the Timberwolves as Lakers, it's unrealistic to play Gobert with the ball, and there aren't many small ones who can be bullied under the basket;
Gordon. The outside strategy to take away Gobert has an effect but not much, and can be ignored. Staying at the dunk spot is harder to find an opportunity than in the previous round. The Nuggets need richer tactical design to make Gordon work;
Murray. There's not much to say, he needs to get up a little sooner. He doesn't play at a high level, and the Nuggets can't pass this round. It looks like injuries have an impact on the defense as well;
Jokic. Has enough been done?
Yes, but more is needed.
The two most important games in this series are Murray, Jokic, Gordon, Conley/Huazi, Towns/Reed, Gobert, and the three-man split on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends. In the fourth quarter, the high-level play of Conley/Huazi, Gobert, and Reed/Towns made the Timberwolves have the last laugh in blocking offense and defense and handling 4-on-3.
The Timberwolves' play will not be constant, and the Nuggets will need to be more accurate in the pick-and-roll, get more possession, and pray that Conley and Reed will be punished on the side of the ball and without the ball. And Jokic needs to get better in the details in an already difficult situation, for example, 4 to 3 at the end of the second quarter than at the end of the fourth quarter.
The Timberwolves have one of the best interference percentage in the league for near-rim shooting, while the Nuggets are the most accurate team in the region, with Jokic and Murray having soft throwing touches. This is the area where the real shield and spear go head-to-head, and the Nuggets can't afford to lose to the Timberwolves here.
In addition, Jokic is going to make a three-pointer. Because Murray is not easy to get rid of Jaden's entanglement, Jokic and Gordon's basket is also extremely difficult, and there will inevitably be a large number of Jokic to the three-point line to wait for Murray to return the ball to catch the pot. This is an inevitable situation against the Timberwolves, and the best way to deal with this situation is for Jokic to hit Gobert with a three-pointer as he has done in the past.
The defending champions lost the first game. Judging from the scene, they have realistic difficulties. But the series has only just begun, and the champions will launch the fiercest counterattacks.
Huazi wants to prove that this is not a one-time tribute to the classics.