NBA: Duncan feels uneasy coaching Warriors

Chapter 132

The next day.

The game between the Thunder and the Timberwolves was also a preheating topic.

Both sides happened to have a day off, and the league also saw the topicality of this game, so it added fuel to the flames.

And temporarily transferred the resources of the national live broadcast.

This game is not only a battle for the second place in the Western Conference, but also the grievances between the players and the team management.

McCollum, in particular, has made no secret of his aggressiveness towards the team trading him.

"The battle for second place in the Western Conference, the first official match between the two teams after the trade. "

"McCollum: I will kick the Timberwolves out of the playoffs. "

"Who Lost in the Ibaka Trade?The battle of tomorrow may give the answer. "

"Brooks: Gobert has no problem, I have found a way to use him. "

"Preview of the Second Card Battle in the Western Conference: Westbrook will usher in a comeback! "

The game has not yet started, and there are already a lot of reports.

For this Western Conference card two game, in the voting initiated, most fans are still optimistic about the Thunder.

The Timberwolves' 21-game winning streak was ended by the Thunder themselves. Even if we don't talk about that game, the Thunder's team is also a team that has hit the finals.

Although it was difficult for Gobert, McCollum, Curry Jr. and others to integrate into the team at first.

But in the last game, just like Coach Brooks said, they have found a way to use the new players.

Both Gobert and McCollum played well in the last game, which also proves that the Thunder is looking for the right path.

The key is that Durant and Westbrook are too strong.

Especially Durant's consecutive scoring titles in the past season, as well as consecutive rounds.

This season's performance is also very strong. Durant has been far ahead of the MVP award until now.

Durant is likely to get the MVP this season.

In fact, Durant is indeed the MVP he won this season.

As for most fans who are not fans of the two teams, the Thunder is a veteran team after all, even though Ibaka is missing.

But looking at it for so many years, it's hard to say that Ibaka is a star at the same level as Durant and Westbrook.

Even, he is not a player of the same level as the Harden who has left the team.

In the past season, Ibaka looked like an ordinary blue-collar player, not the core of the team at all.

Even when he was a blue-collar player, the days of being educated by Duncan Nowitzki are still vivid for fans.

Although the Gobert he got had some problems in the past few games, when Coach Brooks found Gobert's instructions, his own talent can really fill the vacancy of the team's center.
Coupled with McCollum's performance in the last Super Sixth Man game, this Thunder team may not necessarily be weak.

The fans' impression of the Timberwolves is that after Garnett left the team, the Timberwolves have been bad all the year round.

Although the Timberwolves set a record of 20 consecutive victories a while ago, the Timberwolves immediately had a record of 1 win and 7 losses.

In short, this Timberwolves team feels quite unstable.

If Westbrook doesn't come back, maybe the two teams can fight a little bit, but Westbrook's comeback has greatly increased the Thunder's combat effectiveness.

However, some viewers are optimistic about the Timberwolves.

More people are more neutral, purely for fun.

Let's see if McCollum's boast will come true, and it will really hit the Timberwolves management in the face.

Minnesota.

Target Center Arena.

The attendance rate in the arena was very high, almost no empty seats were seen, and it ushered in a full one.

For a small ball market like Minnesota, the usual attendance rate is 60%, 70% or something is considered high.

Even the number of tickets actually bought has not yet reached the attendance rate.

In many cases, because the team has a large number of season tickets left, the team will also do some feedback activities to send tickets.

For example, invite some local college students or international students, and send emails to ask if they want to come to watch football for free.

The people invited are basically to serve as the atmosphere group, and to develop potential users.

But the tickets for today's match were all sold out.

There were so many people in such a scene when they hit the 16-game winning streak and broke the opening winning streak record.

Unexpectedly, it was engraved again not long after.

This time, it's not just a battle for the second place in the Western Conference. At the same time, many Timberwolves fans also want to see how the players who were previously traded are playing.

In fact, the temper of the Timberwolves is quite good in the league. This is not only the reason why fans of bad teams generally have a good temper.

When the Knicks are bad, the players, coaches and management will even be scolded by fans at home.

Most of the time, Timberwolves fans did not protest against Su Chen's actions.

It was only when Su Chen traded Love, Rubio, and second place Williams last time.

That's understandable, as soon as Su Chen came to the Timberwolves, he immediately took out the wealth saved by the Timberwolves and squandered it.

If you're not in a hurry, it's not a question of whether you have a good temper or not, and you don't care about the team at all.

This game is not just the attention of the fans.

At this moment, there are still many Thunder fans in front of the TV, and fans of other teams are paying attention.

After it was tuned to a national live broadcast, the gold medal commentary team also came to the Target Center.

"I think before talking about this game, we should first talk about the trade between the Thunder and the Timberwolves. What do you think of that trade?"

Johnson took the lead in asking the crowd.

"Actually, I think this deal is a lose-lose for both teams."

Kenny Smith spoke first.

According to the outside world about this deal, it is generally believed that the Thunder made more money, and a small number of people think that the Timberwolves made money.

But Kenny Smith's statement is relatively new.

"Oh, tell me why."

Barkley did not answer this question and asked Kenny Smith directly.

"The positioning of the two teams, the Timberwolves are a rebuilding team that needs a future, while the Thunder are a championship contending team."

"As a result of this trade, the Timberwolves lost three players who had shown obvious potential, and the Thunder lost their immediate power."

"With all due respect, in the past games, I don't think the players traded by the Timberwolves have reached the level of Ibaka today."

Kenny Smith talked eloquently and expressed his views.

Ibaka is a player whose standard strength is less than fame. People only know that the Thunder has two superstars Durant and Westbrook, but Ibaka's strength is very strong.

Ibaka's strong coverage ability, and although the offensive end is not top-notch, it is very versatile.

Garnett's peak is actually not based on top-level offense. Garnett's offensive ability at the peak can only be said to be barely at the first-class level, and he often has to rely on iron and blood to make big mid-range shots.

In the low position, Garnett's ability is not strong.

The same is true of the current Ibaka, who is everywhere on the defensive end, and at the same time, the offensive end can also rely on mid-range shots or even three-pointers to help the team.

It's just that Ibaka is still a notch behind Garnett in single defense and rebounding ability, but the advantage is that he can reach the three-point line with a longer range.

After hearing Kenny Smith's answer, everyone thought for a while.

They are all professionals. Even if they are usually joking and not serious, they still know the game relatively well.

For the shortcomings that Gobert exposed in the past, for the insiders, the ratings will drop a lot.

The problem of the basic disk is not a problem of running-in at all.

McCollum is also physically talented, but he is not tough enough on the defensive end.

"You're right, but Su Chen didn't think about rebuilding, and he's going to make it to the playoffs."

At this time, Barkley said something strangely.

"Yeah, that's the problem, he has to make the playoffs to get paid."

After hearing this, O'Neill said with a smile.

Even if Kenny Smith admired Su Chen, he had to admit that it was really selfish of Su Chen to do so.

Having reached this point, Su Chen can definitely discuss with the boss to cancel the betting agreement, and rebuild the Timberwolves with such a team.

A few years later, the Timberwolves will be able to complete the reconstruction with this lineup.

But when Su Chen did this, he obviously didn't think about discussing with the boss at all. He seemed to only care about his gambling agreement.

"Guys, what do you think of this game?"

At this time, Johnson has already started the next topic.

"If the Timberwolves want to win this game, they have to rely on the defense they have shown in the past, and at the same time they must seize the opportunity to push and switch offenses."

"But for the Thunder, their star level is higher, and there is no colander on defense."

Kenny - Smith is still the first to answer.

Obviously for this game, Kenny Smith did his homework.

These questions are well answered.

"Actually, the Timberwolves have done a good job defensively. Su Chen has brought a very strong defensive system to the Timberwolves. Ibaka has played well with the Timberwolves in the current two games."

"But the Thunder still have a lot of advantages. In the last game, Durant just scored 36 points."

O'Neill also nodded.

"Haha, Shaq, you forgot to mention McCollum, that guy scored 25 points in the game."

Barkley winked and said.

"By the way, I almost forgot about this. This kid has already said that he will kick the Timberwolves out of the playoffs."

"I think the Timberwolves should focus on defending him. He must be working hard to fight the Timberwolves now."

"Hahaha"

After O'Neill finished speaking, there was a burst of laughter from the commentary stand.

"However, the Timberwolves' chances of winning this game are really small. They not only need to consider how to limit Durant, but also pay attention to Westbrook's sudden attack."

After laughing for a while, Barkley said again.

No one else refuted Barkley's point, and basically agreed with Barkley's point of view.

After all, the Timberwolves are a rebuilding team, giving people a very unstable feeling.

In the stage of 1 win and 7 losses, it was even difficult to win against the tank team.

"The game is about to start."

At this time Kenny - Smith reminded.

Players from both sides are warming up on the field, and the coaches of both sides have already stood by and supervised the battle.

Su Chen quietly crossed his arms on the sidelines, looked at the field, and made some mouth movements from time to time.

On the other side, the coach of the Thunder, Scott Brooks, is communicating with the assistant coach next to him from time to time.

This game was broadcast live across the United States. Before the game started, the director also specially cut a shot of the two coaches on the same screen.

The comparison between the two coaches is also very interesting.

One has led the team to the finals, and the other has already won the championship.

Scott Brooks, wearing a pair of glasses, looks quite refined.

Although Su Chen also looks like a gentleman, their coaching styles are very different.

Scott Brooks is not a tactical player. The tactics he arranges are basically very common and common tactics.

He will basically not make any major adjustments to the team on the court.

His coaching philosophy focuses on first-hand belief.

Believe in Durant, believe in Westbrook, he believes that the talent of these players can solve the problem.

He belongs to the chicken soup coach, who can handle the team's player relationship well and make the team's locker room atmosphere very good.

And Su Chen is the opposite of Scott Brooks.

Su Chen likes to play tactics very much, and it is a tactic that some alliances have never heard of or seen before.

In a game, two completely different styles of tactical systems are often switched, as if players do not need to practice these systems to master them.

At the same time, Su Chen's methods are very iron-blooded, unlike Scott Brooks who is gentle with players.

Su Chen can directly dnp Jarrett Jack, and turn David Lee from a star player to a substitute at the tail end of the rotation.

During the Timberwolves period, Su Chen could also hold down all the disobedient ones.

Josh, Iguodala, and Luol Deng re-entered the team's starting lineup or rotation after giving up.

Even if he bought these players with chips, as long as they are disobedient, Su Chen can still use them.

Su Chen's coaching philosophy is even a bit like those old-school iron-blooded coaches, who have absolute requirements for players' execution ability.

So the comparison between the two is quite interesting.

At this time, the two also walked to the middle of the court.

Scott Brooks and Su Chen shook hands briefly, and they didn't have much communication.

Before the game, only Curry and Su Chen came to say hello. Although he was traded, Su Chen gave him a chance to play.

In addition, Su Chen has a good relationship with his brother, so he also wants to give Su Chen face.

But McCollum and Gobert didn't even look at Su Chen before the game, and they were obviously emotional.

McCollum, in particular, clamored to kick the Timberwolves out of the playoffs, and it was even more impossible for him to come to say hello.

Players from both sides also entered the field at this time.

Timberwolves starting lineup: Serge Ibaka (C), Giannis Antetokounmpo (PF), Luol Deng (SF), Andre Iguodala (SG), Jimmy Butt Le (PG).

Thunder starting lineup: Rudy Gobert (C), Kevin Durant (PF), Thabo Sefolosha (SF), Reggie Jackson (SG), Russell Westbrook PG ).

The Timberwolves lineup is a familiar set before.

However, the Thunder's starting lineup has been greatly adjusted.

In the past, the Thunder's inside line was a double inside line structure.

Perkins and Ibaka are the insiders of the Thunder.

After Ibaka left, Adams could have become the starting power forward, but Scott Brooks didn't think so.

The Timberwolves don't have a so-called traditional center, and a double center can't actually prevent the Timberwolves.

So just let Durant play power forward.

Durant's actual height is indeed enough to deal with the average power forward.

Although it is a disadvantage for Durant to defend the power forwards of other teams, the Timberwolves can play this way.

(End of this chapter)