Timberwolves vs Nuggets G4
If the Timberwolves G3 lost by a large score because they did not adapt to the blow scale and the Nuggets' drastic adjustments, then G4 has more factors of their own confusion. The Timberwolves don't seem to have summarized much content from the first three games, the methods that work have not been adhered to, the wrong content has not been discarded, G3 has made a mess of a lot of trial and error, and G4 is repeatedly jumping sideways, changing postures in many ways, and each one can't last a few minutes.
Although the person standing on the sidelines is still Norrie, Finch obviously has a bigger role in the development of the game plan, and judging from the continuation of the content of the G3G4 Timberwolves, many designs should not be made on the spot, but have been laid out early. Regardless of who decides on the strategy in the end, all in all, the Timberwolves coaching staff has played poorly in G4.
First of all, why did Gobert rest for too long in the first half?
Gobert G4 played a total of 35 and a half minutes, which is a lot more than the 27 minutes of G3, which is also the usual time for starting centers in the playoffs, but still 3 and a half minutes less than Jokic on the opposite side - this is after Jokic was trapped in a foul in the third quarter and rested half a quarter early. In turn, although Gobert committed 5 fouls in the game, they concentrated in the fourth quarter, and there was no foul trouble in the first three quarters.
Although Gobert's back-to-back footsteps were repeatedly ridiculed after the game by the footage of Jokic removing the bench, and his performance of handling 4 to 3 was also difficult to describe, the Timberwolves obviously did not lose in Gobert's presence, and the beginning of their opening was similar to G3, starting from two transitions in the first and second quarters, both of which Gobert was resting. The Nuggets have already told the Timberwolves in G3 what they will focus on in the first and second transitions (not to mention in the second half, because Jokic's foul problem changed the rotation method):
In the first quarter, the Nuggets will have four shooters next to Jokic;
In the second quarter, Murray led the team, waived Watson, Gordon played center, and Braun was the only half-shooter on the court who was not at the No. 5 position.
Malone filled up the space as his hand allowed, and correspondingly, there were flaws in the shape of the front line in both periods. There are two things that the Timberwolves can do, one is to give full play to the advantages that their rotation lineup can still be bigger, and the other is to defend the Nuggets, a lineup without Jokic but with Braun, in the second transition section.
But the answer the Timberwolves actually gave was that they played randomly + self-lowering their size, which perfectly avoided the weakness of the Nuggets' connection section. For example, this Towns couldn't beat Gordon's famous scene, and when there was plenty of time to attack, the Wolves chose a difficult set of matchups.
Reed failed to punish Big Holiday in G3 is a black spot, but judging from the basket breakthrough effect of G4 Reed's three-point line catch, he still has the ability to eat big and small, and he is very efficient this time, but the wolves didn't think about taking advantage of this point.
After the Wolves were fouled in the second quarter and Kicic was fouled in the third, the Wolves didn't make full use of it, but instead put on a lineup that didn't have either Gobert or Towns — Conley, Walker, Jaden, Lee Kyle, Reed. It is not easy for this lineup to attack the Nuggets without Jokic's lineup, and on the defensive end, Gordon was pressed to the basket with the ball several times, and it was an end, and it was a small space show pass, and it was a 0.8 Jokic effect.
Gordon is really awesome this time, but it has to be divided into two parts:
Falling back to the mid-range and three-pointers to punish Gobert, which belongs to the X-factor, appeared, and the Timberwolves recognized;
In the face of the Timberwolves' relatively weak interior defense, he played Jokic-like baskets and passes, which is not only the presentation of Gordon's increase in the past two years, but also the mistake of the Timberwolves' layout.
In addition to losing in the transition period, another important issue for the Timberwolves coaching staff is that they are vacillating and hesitating about how to defend Jokic. Towns/Reed go to the top of the line, Gobert sweeping Gordon, or Gobert defending Jokic directly (with another interior partner on the floor), the two strategies rotate. In the fourth quarter, there was also a play of taking Gobert and using Lee Kyle/Jaden to dismantle Jokic and Murray, but Jokic was seated through.
There are a lot of things that do happen in G3G4 that can easily shake the Timberwolves, and this includes:
The scale limits the strength of the single defense. This is evident at G3 and not at G4;
Murray started to get more difficult, including falling back in the face of Towns' pounce, hitting a three-pointer with the ball when Jayden almost caught up, and so on;
Gordon combined for 5-of-6 three-pointers in the two games, punished Gobert for his clearance, and even hit a back-to-back shot in the face of Gobert's defense. Braun hit three-pointers in both games;
The Nuggets have made their offense smoother by improving roster space, covering quality, team handling the ball, and breaking through the line without the ball.
However, these things still shouldn't change the two major principles of the Timberwolves' defense against the Nuggets:
First, Jokic can't be easily allowed to go to his most dominant near-basket area, especially not to allow time to think in this area. This means that when Towns/Reed defends Jokic from blocking and dismantling, the focus is still on not letting Jokic easily receive the ball in the down, Murray can make difficult ball-holding shots, let him score, and Murray can break through and let Gobert solve it. And the low post of defending Jokic, the strong side pinch, and the early rotation of the weak side should not be abandoned, at least not hesitate, and everyone has different ideas, so that the situation is in a kind of "opportunities appear randomly, Jokic is always one step ahead of me", rather than "I give Jokic a route that I can make up for and let the rest of the Nuggets decide".
Second, insist that Gobert block the paint area, even if Jokic can make throws and jumpers, he can prevent others from scoring in the paint. This decided that sticking to Gobert was still a better choice, and Gordon could make a jumper, just don't see it.
The Timberwolves clearly failed to stick to those two big principles. As a result, Jokic was given too many opportunities to show his first near-basket feel in history, and he formed a "wit" situation with Jokic and was miserably played.
Let's talk about the Timberwolves' offense.
Huazi scored 44 points this time. Except that the G3 production did not go up, basically, Huazi's score was online. The Nuggets don't have a systematic way to hold down Huazi, Pop can't match, and Gordon can't be pinched. Huazi faced Jokic's delay, and G3G4's ball performance was average, but Huazi could force a breakthrough of 1 to 2 and solve the problem violently. His offensive contribution is more about his form.
G3 mentioned after the game that the Timberwolves broke the Nuggets' blocking delay and strong side pile-up, and could not be directly given from the strong side to the weak side, so they could consider returning to the top of the arc and making a transfer and then launching from the weak side. This happened in G4, and the embarrassing thing is that because the quality of the first shot given by the Timberwolves from the strong side to the top of the arc cannot be guaranteed, the opportunity is gone when the top of the arc wants to give the weak side again. However, if the weak-side or top-of-arc attacker can try to launch again, they will still have a chance to score as they won't be delayed again.
This matter is very important - outside of Huazi (including the rounds that Huazi didn't play), where is the Timberwolves offense stuck?
Aside from some inexplicable selection issues, the biggest problem with the Timberwolves' steady start is that they're too obsessed with finding Jokic. Pulling Jokic to the upper line to block and dismantle was not handled very well in the face of Jokic's delay. But when Jokic is under the basket, he is stuck with bounce, Gobert's slot and rebounding threat, and he doesn't want to foul and doesn't provide much effective basket protection. With the athleticism and size of Huazi, Towns, and Reed, they can get rid of the upline defense and pose a threat to the Nuggets.
Conley and Goebel are trapped here. Conley's 9 assists in this game basically contributed to it, but there were some rounds where he had problems with the control of the game. In fact, the Timberwolves did not have Conley during this chaotic period. In this way, Murray's dislocation of defending Reed should be directly used, and the mechanical tactics have to become Murray's defense against Conley, Gordon's defense against Reed, and Braun's defense against Huazi, which is neat and tidy, and Conley, as a point guard, is not without responsibility.
Also, why didn't Conley and Gobert play a good pick-and-roll?
The two are caught in a dilemma. With Jokic delaying the ball handler, that would allow more opportunities for Gobert to get off here. However, Gobert's ability to deal with 4 to 3 is limited, which requires Gobert to try to be in a position deep into the hinterland when receiving the ball, and not give the Nuggets time to fill in and the advantage of positioning. So:
The higher the pick-and-roll, the faster Gobert descends, the more likely he is to go straight to the basket when he receives the ball — but then Conley has to pass over the top, which he can't pass with Jokic's interference;
The pick-and-roll position is lower, Gobert is a little slower, Conley can pass to the ground, but Gobert himself will play away.
This problem can be solved by two people playing better on their own, or by adding a third person to the tactics to increase the number of points available for the ball.
A more systematic solution to this problem may be to find less Gobert to block and make him responsible for dunking and basket slotting, that is, to keep Jokic off the line. Increasing the blocking and dismantling of Conley and Towns, and Conley and Huazi, makes it easier for Huazi and Towns to get rid of the upper line defense and accelerate to challenge Jokic, or gain an advantage to play mid-range.
Overall, the Timberwolves had a terrible game. The team did not absorb useful content from the successful G1G2 and the losing G3. While they have a big lead before G4 starts, G4 is clearly crucial on both sides and the Timberwolves don't have much room for trial and error. The Nuggets are out of tune and at the level of a championship, and the Timberwolves have to prove that they're not a fickle chaotic mass, and that they need to be firm enough and consistent enough when they're focused on something.