At the point of 1997-2003, the Timberwolves were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for seven consecutive years, and although there were stars like Marbury, they still had to escape fate. For seven years, Garnett was left to lick his wounds alone.
In May 2003, when the Timberwolves were eliminated by the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs, Garnett sat depressed at the Staples Center and spat out a sentence: "There are eight free agents on the team, and we really have an uncertain future." It looks like Garnett has gone into the countdown when he left the Timberwolves. But that's when the Timberwolves made two player trades in quick succession, with Spreeville and Cassel coming together with Garnett. The "Wolf King", who received strong reinforcements, also renewed his contract with the team for five years. Three hearts that are also beating for the championship are linked.
Timberwolves' "three-headed monsters", one deep, one wild, one grotesque and eerie character lead to the pain of running-in. Everyone knows that the Timberwolves are Garnett's team, but Cassell and Prewell are not easy to serve personality players, and they are both veteran stars who have been the core of the team or even the boss, "Alien" wears two championship rings on his finger, and "Madman" also has Finals experience.
However, character determines destiny. On October 3, 2003, the Timberwolves' new season media meeting day, Sprewell's unexplained absence attracted a lot of media speculation. Having just arrived in Minneapolis, Spreeville was not afraid to offend Timberwolves fans, blatantly stating that New York was still his favorite. For Kassel, the NBA game seems to be a "speaking" game, and his big mouth is completely unobstructed.
Three people who don't know each other are getting acquainted, getting used to and accepting each other, plus Olovo Candi, Szebiak and Hudson are injured in succession, and the Timberwolves are just 4-4 in preseason and just 9-8 in the first 17 games of the regular season. But the run-in Timberwolves came menacingly, and with the help of successive wins, the Timberwolves rose to the throne of the boss of the Central and Western Regions in one fell swoop, and set a new record for the highest single-season win in the history of the team, and finally won the Western Regular Season Championship with a record of 58 wins and 24 losses.
Garnett, then 27, has spent nine seasons in the NBA. Over the past nine years, he has received huge salaries, leadership positions and business contracts large and small, and he has hardly had to worry about the human hardships off the pitch. But stopping the playoffs in the first round for seven years is like a nightmare that repeats every night tormenting Garnett's heart.
Kassel and Spreel, who had been wandering for many years, had also reached a most mature age. In their 30s, as the core of the team, leading the team to win the finals championship has become their noblest goal, and they have no intention of chasing after life as young people. Now Kassel and Spreeville just don't want to leave a gap in their careers. Sprewell, who brought the Knicks to the Finals, said with emotion: "I used to be so close to the championship, but since then it has been too far away, I hope to have such a chance again." 」 ”
The common direction makes the "three-headed monster" have more understanding and trust on the court, the purpose of the game is more "simple", the dream of the championship makes them more tolerant and generous, and the performance and record of the whole team have become the only goal of the brothers.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > super cohesive</h1>
The Timberwolves have always been one of the most strained teams in the league's locker room, but now there's a sense of big family. The team didn't become a mess with the addition of 8 new faces to the 12 players' roster, they quickly formed a centripetal force, and this center was Garnett. Substitute striker Trent said of his captain: "We were quite friendly with each other. He was the main reason. Kevin's heart is very good, he not only understands the game very thoroughly, but also understands the true meaning of life and is empathetic. ”
Garnett led by example, and his generosity and easy-going gave the whole team a good atmosphere. He treats everyone fairly and becomes more and more like a righteous big brother. After each victory, he always smiled and embraced Kassel and Sprewell with open arms, and then excitedly said, "I'm so glad you guys are here." In Garnett's eyes, all contradictions and discord can be unified under the common goal of "winning the championship".
The Timberwolves' goal that season was not just to break through the first round, their goal was already locked in the championship. But for a championship team, there are many other requirements beyond the talent and ability of the players: peace of mind, sacrifice and trust in each other. If the leader of the team sets such an example, the other teammates will naturally be infected. Galit naturally understands this, saying: "The boss of the team has a responsibility to set a tone, like at the top of the food chain, I know them very well, every night they look at me and want me to lead by example." As far as I'm concerned, it's not a problem. ”
Understanding brings trust, and now Garnett has fully trusted his teammates while pushing his energy to the extreme. He felt real pleasure. Cassell and Sprewell were also impressed by Garnett's dedication and leadership, and the brotherhood of the "Three-Headed Monster" deeply infected the rest of the Timberwolves, and the unprecedented unity in the locker room.
Szebíak
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > perfect combination</h1>
Garnett is one of the most well-rounded and best players in the league, rebounding, blocking, passing, scoring everything, and is recognized by the league as an all-round superman. Former legendary star Kevin McHale, then vice president of the Wolves, said of Garnett: "He was never satisfied with his performance, and always demanded that he be better. "In that season, Garnett's further leaps and bounds were not only reflected in technical statistics (averaging 24.2 points per game, 13.9 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, and all three major technical indicators were career highs), but also in his maturity, leadership and understanding of the game. His footsteps became more and more flexible, and his defensive and organizational formations became more and more excellent. Garnett has a better understanding of the game and a better understanding of what to do. At the end of the season, Garnett won the MVP and was selected for the Double Ones.
Although Kassel, who is a defender of the division organization, has ordinary physical fitness, does not jump high and runs fast, but an excellent overall view, a tough back-up and a stable mid-range jump shot are Kassel's "magic weapons". He averaged 19.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game that season, making him Wolves' number two scorer. In addition, Cassel was also selected for the All-NBA Team, the only time in his career to be selected as an All-Star.
Sprewell is a shooting guard who is physically energetic and defensive, averaging more than 20 points per game for four seasons in his career. He is probably best known for angrily pinching coach Calisimo's neck during training, causing him to almost be unable to breathe. But these off-field factors aside, Spreeville's performance on the pitch is nothing to say, and every time he plays, he tries his best to win for the team. That season, he averaged 16.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game.
Cassel and Spreeville shared the burden on Garnett, and now Garnett doesn't have to take the key shots every game. Both Kassel and Spreeville have abilities, and the Timberwolves add more attack points and offensive options. And the Timberwolves have greatly strengthened defensively that season, With Hassell and Spreeville both strong defensively on the perimeter, and Orovo Candy can help Garnett do the task of blocking the inside line most of the time. At that time, the Timberwolves used more regional defense, and in the mind of head coach Sanders, the best offense was defense.
Madmen are passionate
In the previous season, Garnett's free throws at key moments in the playoffs were not allowed to be a major loss to the Lakers, and this season Garnett scored key goals in key moments many times, showing excellent psychological quality. This season, the Timberwolves, led by the "Three-Headed Monster", have become more mentally strong, good at fighting hard battles, and have reversed two consecutive key moments, as evidenced by the Kings' home victory over the West End.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > a fallout playoff</h1>
Playoffs first round against the Nuggets, facing fledgling Anthony, the Timberwolves were not polite. The big score was 4-1 and easily eliminated the Nuggets. Garnett, Kassel and Spreeville averaged 50 percent and 56 percent from three-point range with 25.8 points, 20.6 points and 19.8 points per game, respectively.
The Timberwolves' second-round opponent is the king who is still at the top, and the king has a number of good players such as Weber, Peggy, Bibby, and Christie. Peja Stojakovic, in particular, played his career best that season, averaging 24.2 points per game, making him one of the league's best scorers. The Kings have made the playoffs for six consecutive years, losing seven games against the Lakers in the 01-02 season. In this round, both sides also played a steal of seven, and finally in the seventh game, Garnett cut down a crazy stat of 32 points, 21 rebounds, 4 steals and 5 blocks, leading the Timberwolves to a narrow victory over the Kings 83:80. The Wolf King's booming arms chanted to hide Weber's lost knees, and Garnett entered the second round for the first time in his career.
The opponent of the "Three-Headed Monster" West Final is the powerful Lakers, and the Lakers that season have a dazzling "F4" combination, although Malone and Payton have passed the peak, but they still have the strength to fight. Unfortunately, Kassel suffered an injury in the first game, which made this round of peak duels look out of balance. Cassel's role was enormous, contributing 16 points and eight assists in the 32 minutes before his injury, and still scoring 18 points and two assists in the 26 minutes of his brief appearance in game three. While Garnett excelled, the combination of Kobe Bryant and O'Neal was powerful. In the sixth game, Lakers youngster Rush came out and sounded the death knell with six three-pointers. In the end, the Timberwolves lost 2:4 to the Lakers and did not qualify for the Finals.
A spectacular season is over, and everyone thinks the Timberwolves will make a comeback next season. But it backfired, and since Spreeville has been asking for a new contract in the 0405 season training camp, the Timberwolves have been arguing this season, which has seriously damaged the strength of last year's regular season champions. Spreeville and Hudson's contract problems, Szelbiak's dissatisfaction with the bench, and Orovo Candi's off-court troubles are constantly killing the Timberwolves' championship and even playoff hopes.
< h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > combination of high open low walk</h1>
On the field, the downturn of the madman and the injury of Kassel have caused the team to be injured, and the poor performance has directly led to increased pressure on McHale and Sanders. In order to reverse the decline, McHale can only choose to fire his friend Sanders, but this practice can only cure the symptoms and not the root causes. In the end, the team won 14 fewer games than last season and did not make the playoffs. The 0405 Season's Western Conference regular season, which belongs only to the seven-second offensive Sun and the twin stars shine supersonic. (Spurs?) Has been very stable, let's not mention it first)
Since then, the Timberwolves have not made it to the Western Conference Finals (or even the semifinals), and the glamorous duo disbanded in the 0506 season.