The NBA playoffs continued, and today the Nuggets hosted the Timberwolves, and finally they defeated the Timberwolves 112-97, winning three games in a row in the series, and currently leading 3-2. In this game, Jokic scored 40 points, 7 rebounds and 13 assists, almost single-handedly turning the tide and helping the Nuggets win. On the Timberwolves side, Edwards was frequently pinched by the Nuggets today, and he had a poor hand and scored 18 points, 4 rebounds and 9 assists.
Through this game, we can clearly feel that the Nuggets' style of play is more layered, and today's game against the Timberwolves without Conley their style of play is even more lacking in layers, and they will not get too good opportunities every time they pass the ball. On the other hand, the Nuggets have Jokic's domination at halftime, and they have better shots and seem to play more reasonably. And the Timberwolves' bench lineup today did not give full support, including Lee Kyle who played 16 minutes in this game and only scored 2 points, and he did not have a presence on the court.
Because Li Kaier does not have the ability to project on the court, he cannot play the role of opening up space on the court, and the opponent will let him go. And once he doesn't play too well on the defensive end, it's going to be a negative on the court. Lee Kyle liked to dig his back hand when defending Jokic in the first few games, and made a lot of Jokic mistakes, but now Jokic is also getting used to his defensive style, so Jokic's style of play is more intelligent when he encounters Lee Kyle's defense.
In fact, Li Kaier is a player with very distinctive characteristics. That is, he is a player who is good at defense and playmaking, but not at all good at shooting. This type of player is more suitable to play for a shooting team. And the Timberwolves don't have a particularly consistent pitcher on the outside at the moment. Unable to display the talent of Lee Kyle's passing ability. Lee Kyle is about to fully expire his contract this year, and he will become a free agent. Maybe the Timberwolves won't renew his contract, after all, he didn't perform so well in this year's playoffs.
If Li Kaier doesn't get a contract with another team this offseason, will he consider playing in China one day? This could be an option for him. After all, he has played for the Chinese men's basketball team before, and if he is willing to come to the CBA to play, many teams are willing to welcome him with open arms. In the NBA, his offense may not be so good, but after the CBA, his offense may be on a different level. And after he came to the CBA, he was completely a big killer at both offensive and defensive ends, and many teams must be willing to get such a player.