Unexpected 3 points of defeat, upset was reversed 19 points! The favourites have collapsed, and it's time for you to shuffle the cards

Lao Liang commented

2024-05-27 22:49Posted in Shandong Sports Creators

Of the four teams that can reach the Eastern and Western Conference finals this season, except for the Celtics, who have invested heavily to build a lineup, the Timberwolves + Mavericks + Pacers have not paid the luxury tax. And the Warriors, who have already spent $400 million this season ($220 million in salary + $180 million in luxury tax), can't even make the playoffs. One thing is for sure, with the aging of legendary superstars such as James + Durant + Curry, it is time for the league to reshuffle. The Celtics are next to Shuangtanhua, equipped with White + Boshen + Holiday these blue-collar workers who can be the second leader in other teams, and the lineup is guaranteed to be at the Finals level, but as for whether they can win the championship, it depends on whether Brown and Tatum can stand up at critical moments, after all, they have entered the Eastern Conference finals 5 times in the past 7 years, but they have only played 1 Finals and have not won the championship.

On the West side, the Mavericks eliminated the Clippers 4-2 in the first round, and the Thunder, who ranked first in the West in the regular season, 4-2 in the second round. According to statistics, in the history of the NBA playoffs, there have been a total of 154 3-0 leads, and the leading side has won all of them. Like the Celtics, the Mavericks also got their tickets to the Finals early. But why did the Timberwolves suddenly change teams? In the first round, they swept the Suns led by the strongest offensive triumvirate, and in the second round, they reversed and eliminated the defending champion Nuggets when they fell behind 2-3, but when it came to the Western Finals, whether they were leading or behind, they collapsed at a critical moment! This newly rising giant, it's time to shuffle the cards!

In the first game of the Western Finals, the Timberwolves, an interior offensive team, unexpectedly lost to the Mavericks by 3 points, and the surprise was that the Timberwolves made 12 more three-pointers than the Mavericks, but the Timberwolves, who were the first in the league in defense in the regular season, let the Mavericks score 62 points on the inside (they only had 38 points)! Gobert and Downs were really blown up, the speed couldn't keep up, and the confrontation was not as tough as expected. In the second game of the Western Finals, the Timberwolves once opened a huge lead of 18 points, but Doncic was counted by Doncic and faced Gobert's three-point shot, and finally lost by 1 point, and the upset was reversed by 19 points! With 10 more free throws than the Mavericks, the inside score lost another 12 points! The alliance can't help if they want to. As for the third game, the Timberwolves collapsed at another critical moment, losing by 9 points.

To tell the truth, the Timberwolves have a championship appearance, but they are not at the championship level! Just take an example: In the first three key games of the Western Conference finals, Doncic and Irving combined for 21 points, while the Timberwolves shot as low as 35%+20%! As the absolute core of the Timberwolves, Edwards naturally has to take responsibility, with 16 of 6 + 17 of 5 + 11 of 24, and the shooting rate is only 38.6% in three games. It's a very simple truth, the Timberwolves originally had an average offense in the regular season, relying on a defensive support system, and in the playoffs, as long as Edwards faced the bag, he passed the ball, without a posture of giving up anyone! Before the Western Final, he also talked about Owen, saying that he would see how he educated Owen, but he was beaten in the first game, and then he died down! In the words of the American media, Edwards has not yet reached the level of Irving.

To share a statistic, before the playoffs start, the Celtics have a nearly 60% chance of winning the championship, and the second place is the Timberwolves, with a probability of nearly 19%! When Edwards led the team to sweep the Suns + eliminated the Nuggets, the American media and fans named Jordan II the title, but the turning point was to steal the seven-game series with the Nuggets, although the Timberwolves won, but Edwards went down 6 of 24 in the game! In addition, as the second leader of the Timberwolves, Towns will not be able to leave this summer. Downs boasts that he is the best projection big man in history, but the three-point shooting rate in the West Finals is 13.6, in the past 5 games, Downs has averaged 15.6 points + 35% + 12.5% per game, and in the three games of the West Finals, Downs has 5 of 18 in a game, 4 of 16 in a game, and 6 of 20 in a game, with the highest shooting rate of 30% in a single game!

However, Downs' salary for the next four years is: $49.35 million + $53.3 million + $57.25 million + $61.19 million, with a player option! Gobert has two years left on his contract, which are $43.83 million + $46.66 million, and there is really no need to send him away, but the Timberwolves have a younger Reed + best defensive player Gobert, and Towns can't ask for it. On the stage of the Western Finals, Downs couldn't even carry Derrick Jones, who was one size younger than him, and was squeezed out of the basket by Washington, even if he hit a critical moment, he only floated outside the projection, which is not as good as Embiid, at least Embiid has more than ten free throws in a game, at least he can create damage and threaten the basket.

It is certain that the Timberwolves will remain in the top three in the West in the next few years, but it is enough for the team framework to retain Edwards + Madan + Gobert + Reed. They have found a replacement for veteran Conley and will go all out to pursue Garland, but Towns should also leave, and Alexander Walker and Lee Kyle on the bench should also get more opportunities. But to put it mildly, with Towns' huge cumbersome contract and poor performance in the West, if you want to send him away, do the Timberwolves still have high-quality assets?

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