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Chapter 159

Before the game, coach Philip Sanders used the word "experience" when he asked where the biggest gap between the two teams was.

Very concise and precise.

Because of the two teams, one is an experienced veteran team that reached the finals last year; while the other team is just a young guard.

Marbury, who is considered to be the future twin star in the team, is a rookie, and Garnett is a sophomore.

It would be a miracle for such a team to win even one victory against the Sonics.

Minnesota fans sometimes feel the same way.

Surprisingly, the Timberwolves even tied the Supersonics in the first quarter.

It is not easy for the youth army to perform like this, so many people began to have hope, maybe they can really get a black seven, after all, the opponent has been black eight before.

It turned out that it was beaten back to its original shape in the second quarter.

From the second half of the second quarter, the Sonics continued to defend against the Timberwolves' offense, and at the same time opened up the gap little by little through their own steady offense.

It doesn't matter if Sanders calls a timeout or not.

At halftime, the Timberwolves trailed the SuperSonics by 41 points 48 to 7.

7 points, in this era when the transition between offense and defense is not fast, it is already a relatively large gap. Garnett and Marbury both looked serious and walked back to the locker room.

If the front line can't do much, if the first team can't win, if the second team hasn't performed well, then this game will be directly cold.

So Sanders changed his mind and used a lot of chicken soup to boost the morale of the team at halftime.

Just when the two teams fought fiercely to halftime, the other three games on the second day were all over.

The Bulls won the Bullets, the Eagles won the Pistons, and the Trail Blazers lost to the Lakers. The teams in the upper half still won all.

In Houston, the Rockets players gathered together to watch the game.

According to the competition system, the Rockets will fight the winner of the two in the second round.

From the Rockets' point of view, they must support the Timberwolves to win.

If the Timberwolves win, they will wake up laughing when they fall asleep.

"The Timberwolves' bench is too weak. So far, they have scored 3 points in total." Barkley said so, thinking that the Rockets' bench is not very good, and the back line is too poor. It depends on Drexler. When they meet the Supersonics, they don't know what to do outside.

"It's too difficult for the Timberwolves to win, unless everyone feels particularly good."

"Stephen Marbury didn't play well either. It wasn't as good as when he first met the Sonics. He played at most [-]% of his strength in this game."

"To handle Payton's defense, you can only start from the inside. It is not easy to launch an offense from the outside."

Everyone was talking about it, and then the intermission ended, and the players from both sides returned to the field.

In the camera, the Timberwolves did not make any changes, but the Sonics, which were leading in the first half, took the initiative to change. "Brother Jordan" Sam Perkins replaced Jim in the starting lineup.

"The strongest team!"

Even the outsiders who watched the game knew that the Sonics were about to launch a fierce offensive in the third quarter, and they didn't know whether they could withstand it.

The camera language is very interesting, and each of the two coaches has a camera.

It happened that George Karl and Sanders looked at each other.

The two people's eyes met in the air, and sparks flickered in the void.

George Carr: You can't stand it.

Sanders: I can handle it

"Keep it up guys, it's done!"

Garnett's voice is not small, he saw the Sonics lineup and knew that the team was about to usher in the most difficult moment. His thick voice overwhelmed the noise of the stadium and passed to the ears of every player.

"Change, I'll defend the man with the ball."

Just after halftime, Payton stared at Marbury. He first gave Marbury enough confrontation, and then reached out to steal the ball.

Countless heroes have been taken away by this pair of great men, nicknamed "Gloves", and they are recognized by the league as the outside gate.

Marbury also felt extremely difficult.

"Pay attention to the inside, pay attention to the inside, let me defend the ball holder." Payton repeatedly emphasized chasing and defending the ball holder, so the Supersonics did not switch defenses, and without the help of high-quality pick-and-roll screens, Marbury could not pass Payton.

When moving to the elbow, Jose sprang out and Payton flanked Marbury.

In Marbury's panic, the ball was knocked off, and then Payton picked up the basketball and made a fast break.

"Duck rush!"

The fast break is one of the trump card tactics of the Sonics.

Payton made a fake fax in the frontcourt and succeeded in a crooked layup.

"Yeah, good shot, keep defending like this, let's send them back to their hometown!" Payton's voice was so loud that even Qin Fei on the sidelines could hear what he said.

Behind Qin Fei, fans felt that this court language was super cool, showing the demeanor of a team leader.

When Qin Fei was playing, he didn't talk that much, and he didn't know what to do with his teammates. That's what big bosses should do. At most, he just chatted with his defenders about life and ideals.

It's great to play in harmony.

After playing for a few minutes, I found that I couldn't stand it.

The Sonics lead 59 to 47 by 12 points, and the point difference is getting bigger and bigger. If this rhythm continues, the fourth quarter will become garbage time.

Sanders can only change, replacing Doug and replacing Mitchell.

What's the use of this, one role player is just another role player, commonly known as changing the soup without changing the medicine.

But there is no way, he can't move the main players like Garnett, Gugliotta or Marbury, he can't wait to let these main players play for 48 minutes.

This can be regarded as his evolution as a coach.

When Qin Fei saw that Mitchell was on it, he felt agitated. It doesn't make sense that the coach can't think of him as the "Mitchell killer" right now?

Cough

A few rounds later, Mitchell made a layup.

George Karl beckoned to Qin Fei who was sitting firmly on the bench.

Mitchell turned his head to see Qin Fei walking to the sidelines, and his heart trembled. Is this kid coming again?I just scored a goal, so tired

No matter in which era, defensive players are very popular with coaches and very annoying to opponents.

But it's limited to hating on the court, and it's basically understandable to recover calm after getting off the court. After all, people rely on this for a living, so what else?

Qin Fei leaned against Mitchell's body, and Mitchell's face turned dark.

Still a familiar confrontation.

The two pulled each other during the confrontation. The quality of the clothes was quite good, but it was not broken.

Mitchell is very strong, and it is inappropriate to defend Qin Fei closely. He is not a top scorer. His task should be to help defend Payton or Kemp and keep an eye on the opponent's arrow.

So in the middle of the run, Payton was suddenly flanked.

Payton got the racket in the thigh and got a fumble.

"Mine, good run, keep doing it, I'll pass you the ball later."

Peyton patted his chest, then hung up the clothes on his chest, covering his face, as if imparting a little secret.

"Roger that!"

Qin Fei retreated quickly, and stared at Mitchell after the center line.

The Timberwolves used a conventional high pick-and-roll offensively. Marbury didn't shake Payton away, but Garnett's speed was extremely fast. After receiving a pass from Marbury, he used it as a central axis to transfer the ball to the flank.

The flank is Qin Fei's defensive area, and the defensive transfer is completed between sliding back and forth, preventing the Timberwolves from attacking.

Mitchell returned the ball to Marbury, and with little time left, Marbury made a strong shot from the three-point line.

Actually hit the center of the basket!

The three-pointer at the buzzer eased the embarrassment of 24 seconds. The mentality of the Supersonic players has not changed. If the Timberwolves have always been this kind of attack, the point difference will only widen.

"Could it be possible to let Garnett go to the restricted area?"

Sanders would not think of letting the team speed up to cooperate with Garnett to hit the basket. The first solution he thought of was to work in the low post inside, like O'Neal, to destroy the Sonics' basket.

But that happened to be the trap set up by the Sonics. Once caught in the penalty area, the Supersonics' crazy strikers will really exert their power. This is also a way to deal with super centers in desperation.

Garnett is not a super center, and the Timberwolves don't have that many shooters to space the floor.

Sanders understood this, and the only way he could think of was rejected by himself. His mind was muddled, looking at the situation on the court, thinking.

"Snapped!"

Qin Fei's second steal came from assisting Garnett.

After stealing the ball, Qin Fei dribbled the ball behind his back and directly avoided Mitchell's counterattack. He advanced to the frontcourt and handed it to Payton at the top of the arc to organize the attack.

Payton arranged an air cut from the flank, Qin Fei made a feint, and Schramf who jumped out was the main attack.

The Timberwolves all went to mark Schrempf, Garnett was pushed outside by Kempla, Qin Fei was unmarked, and when Payton passed the ball, he directly knocked the opponent's center away.

The basketball hits the backboard into the frame.

Mitchell walked to Marbury's side and whispered: "Hey, Stephen, you can't pass the ball like this anymore, that guy's hand is too fast, do you want him to break it ten times?"

Although Marbury is a thorn in the street, he still respects Mitchell, a veteran who has fought for more than ten years, and nodded after hearing what Mitchell said.

"I didn't expect him to be so powerful in steals. I know it. From now on, try not to pass to the weak side."

(End of this chapter)