NBA: Duncan feels uneasy coaching Warriors

Chapter 99 Timberwolves First Win of the Season

Terry Stotts rearranged a low play.

The Timberwolves have two rookies inside. If Aldridge really wants to sit still and play, it should be no problem.

The speed at which Covington and Butler attacked just now also made Terry Stotts feel a little different, as if they were indeed faster than other teams.

So just stop looking for outside opportunities, and teach the Timberwolves a lesson first.

At this point the pause is over.

The Blazers have the ball.

The Blazers pulled the ball away directly, giving Aldridge a chance to get a position.

Covington originally wanted to continue planning to assist in the defense, but seeing that Giannis Antetokounmpo was defending alone, Covington also remembered the tactical arrangement and did not come over.

Originally, Aldridge didn't use his full strength when playing back-up singles, because he had to observe the positions of other Timberwolves players.

Once someone double-teams, he is ready to pass the ball, and he can get the ball as fast as possible.

But the Timberwolves have no one to double-team at all.

Aldridge didn't use his full strength when he played, but Giannis Antetokounmpo used his full strength when he defended.

Taking advantage of Aldridge's lack of concentration, Giannis Antetokounmpo gave Aldridge a fight in the first two shots, and then suddenly withdrew the stool in the third shot.

Aldridge suddenly lost his center of gravity, and when he fell, the ball was also taken by Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Giannis Antetokounmpo's single-defense strength has improved very quickly after an offseason of targeted training.

And because the ability to increase the striker's bond by 10% also includes defensive ability, Giannis Antetokounmpo's current strength cannot be underestimated.

The rookie Giannis Antetokounmpo has not been cultivated so vigorously by the team, and the Bucks have not really treated Giannis Antetokounmpo as the No. [-] pick.

The strength of the team's training, and Su Chen has found a future position for Giannis Antetokounmpo, as well as bonuses such as the fetters of strikers.

Jean Giannis Antetokounmpo is already sprinting toward the top.

Giannis Antetokounmpo's strides are very large, and his speed is also very fast. When he is on the fast break, it is difficult for the Blazers to defend.

Especially Butler's follow-up is also very fast.

There is also Middleton running towards the bottom corner on the outside line, and now the Timberwolves also have fast break three-point options for fast break.

The Timberwolves have shooter-level players like Middleton, McCollum, and Curry Jr.

It is also reasonable to have a three-point option in the fast break.

With this ball, Giannis Antetokounmpo jumped up directly, facing the defense of Batum and Matthews, he seemed to be forced to hit.

But in the air, Giannis Antetokounmpo remembered Su Chen's arrangement, so he changed from a layup position to a pass in the air.

If this kind of action is not prepared in advance, it is very likely to make a mistake when it is used in actual combat.

However, the simulation glasses have increased the team's organizational ability by 20%, and there is also a bonus in the striker bond. The 30% organizational ability bonus has reduced the Timberwolves' pass error rate to a minimum.

The ball was passed to Middleton who was ambushing in the bottom corner.

Facing the empty shooting space, Middleton did not hesitate and shot decisively.

Middleton has also reached a striker of more than 2 meters, triggering the 10% ability bonus of the striker's fetters, and he himself is sure to develop into a shooter.

brush!
Timberwolves 18:18 Trail Blazers.

The rookies of the Timberwolves actually tied the score directly.

The two Timberwolves, Josh Smith and Luol Deng, who played the most with the ball in the first half, are a little embarrassed now.

Everyone on the court is very active defensively.

Even Gobert, a guy who often doesn't seem to be very tough on the court in the future, before he got his own big contract, Gobert was quite hardworking at this time.

Robin Lopez's talent is mediocre, and his biggest advantage is that he can fight hard.

But if Gobert, who is more talented than him, also fights together, it will be difficult for him to suppress the opponent on the rebound and defense.

The first quarter is over.

Timberwolves 29:26 Trail Blazers.

From trailing by 11 points to leading by 0 points, the Timberwolves' substitute came out with an [-]-[-] impact from the main force on the opposite side.

The performance of the Timberwolves rookies is moving.

Especially Giannis Antetokounmpo, a big man who doesn't look too strong, actually plays like a fish in water on the court.

Although there is no threat of three-point shooting, he was trained by Milosevic to throw a shot and the skills that Giannis Antetokounmpo is good at.

After a one-step squeeze, he can easily put the ball in with his height and wingspan.

Even if you can't get in, the opponent has to foul.

Now that the league has upped the whistle for offensive fouls, for Giannis Antetokounmpo, his version has arrived earlier.

And Butler is also a master at drawing fouls.

In the first two seasons, the Bulls didn't have much possession of the ball. At the same time, the league didn't have so many whistles for inside breakthroughs in the first two seasons.

Now that the version has been updated, the foul-making ability of both of them has been glowing.

Although Middleton's three-pointer is still being practiced, it has more or less shown some shooter potential.

Although McCollum's offensive power is stronger in terms of pure attack, Middleton wins in the balance of offense and defense, and McCollum's defense is really a bit hard to say.

The other is Gobert.

He scored two points in the first quarter, Butler rushed in and scored him one, and Giannis Antetokounmpo rushed in and scored him two.

Scored one, missed one for Butter, and missed one because of his poor core strength.

At the same time, when he was on the court, the breakthrough space was further compressed.

"Or just gobert and McCollum, raise them and sell them."

Su Chen was not very satisfied with the role of the two on the field.

Even though it's the first one.

But he also knows where the upper limit of the future of the two is.

Both are pretty good players, but just not bad, that's all.

The shortcomings of both of them are very obvious, and the upper limit is too low to think of them as the core.

The second quarter begins.

Minnesota lineup: Mike Muscala (C), Giannis Antetokounmpo (PF), Robert Covington (SF), Khris Middleton (SG), Patrick Beverley (PG).

Trail Blazers starting lineup: Thomas Robinson (C), LaMarcus Aldridge (PF), Nicolas Batum (SF), Will Barton (SG), Maurice Williams (PG) .

Both sides entered the rotation.

However, this Su Chen seems to be intentional, that is, he did not put the veteran trio of Luol Deng on the field, but let Beverly and Muscala play.

As for the Blazers' lineup, the offensive power is unabated.

Mo Williams and Button are both guards who play offensively with the ball, plus Aldridge inside.

The Blazers have the ball.

Mo Williams holds the ball.

Originally, Mo Williams liked to play singles. When he saw that he was being defended by a little-known rookie, he immediately became interested.

He showed off his skills, intending to educate this rookie by making an emergency stop after a dribble breakthrough.

But when Mo Williams first started to dribble, Beverly bit him like a mad dog.

Mo Williams just thought the rookie was in a hurry, and dribbled the ball behind his back, intending to pass Beverly in one step.

But when he just dribbled the ball to the other hand, Beverly had already judged it in place and rushed to steal it with all his strength.

Because of underestimating the enemy, Mo Williams didn't have to be vigilant all the time, and was thrown into chaos by Beverly's rush.

Both of them fell to the ground in order to grab the ball.

But Beverly hit harder and caught the ball.

Then he directly gave the ball to Covington who came over.

After Covington received the ball, he didn't dare to handle the ball rashly.

After all, he was an undrafted pick, and the task Su Chen gave him was to defend and shoot open three-pointers.

Running the fast break is not in his business.

As an undrafted Covington, he cherishes the opportunity to play on the court very much and dare not pass the ball rashly.

He didn't hand the ball to Middleton until Middleton came over to catch the ball.

After all, Middleton was given a certain right to dominate the ball.

The division of labor in the NBA is quite clear, who can play with the ball and who can't play with the ball.

A role player hastily handled the ball and made a mistake, and the coach who encountered a tough situation not only let you go down, but also scolded you.

On the contrary, for those players who are really given to handle the ball, even if they make mistakes, as long as they are not too outrageous, the coach will usually not blame them.

Su Chen stood on the sidelines, but didn't say anything.

This was originally the arrangement he made to let him focus on defense, but Covington was a little too restrained.

This is nothing, and the fast break opportunity itself is not too good.

This ball directly called Giannis Antetokounmpo a singles tactic.

Everyone clears one side, allowing Giannis Antetokounmpo to set up in the low post, but not post up but face up.

In the first quarter, Giannis Antetokounmpo showed his speed. Neither Aldridge nor Lopez Jr. could match Giannis Antetokounmpo's speed.

If it weren't for Giannis Antetokounmpo who is not strong enough now, he can already easily blow up the Blazers' defense.

But even so, because the Blazers' internal defensive strength is very average, if Lopez Jr. can't match up, basically no one can match up with the Blazers.

It was Thomas Robinson who guarded Giannis Antetokounmpo, but he wasn't sure he could guard Giannis Antetokounmpo either.

If he retreated directly to the defense, Giannis Antetokounmpo practiced a small throw, and he didn't dare to let him go directly.

As soon as Giannis Antetokounmpo accelerated, he squeezed past Robinson, but the Blazers had a defense for this ball.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is tall and has long arms and a very wide passing vision. In addition, he was originally a point forward when he played in the NCAA.

Muscala, who was open on the outside, was quickly found.

Giannis Antetokounmpo knows that Muscala has [-]s, because when he practices in the arena, he often sees Muscala practicing [-]s by himself.

The task that Su Chen assigned to Muscala was to focus on three-pointers, and assist in rebounding and defense.

When Muscala receives the ball, the space in front of him is very good.

Just like in training, Muscala didn't get too nervous and shot a three-pointer.

brush!
Timberwolves 32:26 Trail Blazers.

Muscala was also waving his fists. After so long training, it was finally not in vain.

He hit the first three-pointer of his NBA career.

Batum couldn't stand it.

Under Covington's single defense, Batum hit a mid-range shot.

Timberwolves 32:28 Trail Blazers.

The defensive interference given by Covington is not particularly strong, because single defense is not what Covington is best at, what he is best at is assisting defense.

Batum is stronger than Covington, and he is still at the peak of his career.

The Timberwolves will basically use Giannis Antetokounmpo as the core of the offense.

The Blazers had to make a lot of offers to defend Giannis Antetokounmpo, a rookie.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is not strong enough right now to break through double-teams.

However, with his background as a point forward, he still passed a lot of good shots.

But helpless teammates are too strong.

After Muscala hit that three-pointer, he made two consecutive irons.

Covington and Beverly's three-pointers are still unstable.

However, Middleton, who is in the second grade, has already begun to show some abilities at this time.

Giannis Antetokounmpo threw the ball, and Middleton seized many opportunities.

At the same time, after he felt the touch, he also took the initiative to call Giannis Antetokounmpo's pick-and-roll, and he completed some mid-range shots and three-pointers with the ball.

This was given the tactical position by Su Chen, so Middleton dared to make a move after he felt better.

The team score is getting bigger and bigger.

Lillard returned to the court late in the second quarter.

Lillard, who has not yet reached his peak, scored some goals but was also restricted in the face of Beverly, who was already prone to mad dogs.

Beverly, as if he wouldn't get tired, bit Lillard and didn't let go.

And with the rotation time.

Su Chen brought Butler back, asked Beverly to rest, and asked Butler to bite Lillard.

Lillard has just experienced Beverley's mad dog defense, and then fell into Butler's fierce defense.

Lillard is having a hard time.

Whether it's Butler or Beverly, they didn't skimp on their physical strength for the sake of being in the top position.

Halftime is over.

Timberwolves 58:50 Trail Blazers.

Lillard played extraordinary firepower, coupled with Aldridge's support, it can be regarded as biting the score.

But Lillard was extremely tired at this time.

Butler and Beverley took turns to defend him with high intensity, which quickly exhausted his physical strength.

Inside the Blazers locker room.

Terry Stotts arranged more team offensive tactics without letting the two cores of Aldridge and Lillard finish too much.

Originally, Terry Stotts wanted to give Su Chen some color and give him strength.

But on the contrary, the intensity shown by the Timberwolves now makes the Blazers a little overwhelmed.

Especially that Beverly, many defensive actions are very dangerous. If Lillard is exhausted, he may not be injured by Beverly.

"It's just a regular season, is it really a playoff?"

Terry Stotts murmured.

The second half of the game begins.

Since Giannis Antetokounmpo and Middleton are in good form tonight, Su Chen asked them to eat as much playing time as possible.

In addition, Butler, Beverly, and Covington are also very active on the defensive end.

The three of them, Su Chen, also allocated a long time to them.

The starters for this game were Luol Deng, Josh Smith and others, but they didn't have much playing time.

This can be regarded as a blow to them by Su Chen.

Don't think seniority rankings work for him. If he doesn't want to fight defense on the field, someone on the bench is willing to fight.

This kind of false starting lasts for a few games. If they still don't work hard on defense, then they can change from a false starting to a real substitute.

I don't know if it's because of the improvement of the team's defensive atmosphere. Even Iguodala, who is relatively swaying, played well in the few minutes he came up for the rotation.

Although it is not too hard, but there is no paddling.

The ball that should be defended by him is not lost, the ball that should be passed by him is passed, and the ball that should be passed by him is also passed by him.

But McCollum was still a little lost.

As soon as he came on the court, he became Lillard's cash machine, and Su Chen didn't let him continue to use it.

If you plan to sell McCollum, then try to hide your clumsiness.

Even if you don't sell McCollum, let him get used to it first, and don't be overwhelmed by Lillard's mentality.

Lillard was quite uncomfortable being guarded by Beverly and Butler tonight, so Lillard wanted to switch defenses through the pick-and-roll to hit the big man.

But he switched to Giannis Antetokounmpo, but he couldn't get Muscala.

Giannis Antetokounmpo completely covered Lillard's shooting space, and at the same time, Giannis Antetokounmpo's speed was not so easily thrown away.

The Blazers' offense was even blocked for two and a half minutes without scoring for a while.

Before the game, Terry Stotts only made targeted arrangements for starters such as Josh Smith and Luol Deng.

It really did work from the start.

Facing Luol Deng and Josh Smith's main attack, the Blazers once beat the Timberwolves to an 18:10 offensive wave.

But after replacing these rookies who had no research at all, Terry Stotts was suddenly stunned.

When Middleton, Muscala, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Covington, Butler stand on the court, he doesn't know any of them.

You can only judge what position these people play from their height.

Although the NBA's coaching staff will study opponents, they don't have to study all stinky fish and rotten shrimps. The main research is on rotation players.

Just like before, Lin Crazy took advantage of the fact that everyone didn't study him, and played crazy performances continuously, but after everyone started to study him, he slowly returned to normal performance.

For Terry Stotts, the Timberwolves are just five Linsane on the court.

I don't know any of them, but I don't want to talk about each of them.

The one who looks a little familiar is Butler, but Butler was also a blue-collar worker before.

It was a foul that Terry Stotts thought was a star player.

In fact, this is the referee's penalty for Butler's lack of a star whistle. There are a lot less whistles, otherwise there will be more points.

The score difference in the last quarter was almost [-] points.

The Timberwolves' defense is still so fierce, and Terry Stotts can't afford to provoke him to avoid Lillard being injured.

Players from the second and third teams were replaced in advance.

Su Chen also accepted as soon as it was good, and didn't let the players swipe the data on the court.

The whistle sounded for the end of the game.

The Timberwolves also won their first victory of the season.

Timberwolves 105:89 Trail Blazers.

The Blazers got their first defeat of the season.

But Terry Stotts didn't pay much attention to it. The next time he played the Timberwolves, the bottom line of these people on the field would basically be figured out by the league.

This time, it was considered a loss of lack of information.

Who would have thought that the person on the opposite side who looks like an insider is actually an outsider who can both burst and pass.

The undrafted pick named Covington also has a full sense of presence, and he can be seen everywhere in the audience to help defend.

In this game, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 20 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds, a quasi-triple double.

Middleton scored a game-high 25 points.

Butler's offensive performance was quite satisfactory, scoring 13 points and 5 assists, but the data did not reflect Butler's role on the court.

As for the three old players, Luol Deng, Josh Smith, and Iguodala, the data are all embarrassing single digits.

The point is that they can't say anything.

They lose points when they are on the court, they win points as soon as they go, and then the game is won.

Iguodala's defensive attitude improved behind him, and the plus-minus value was returned to positive.

And Josh Smith and Luol Deng became the only players in the team with a negative plus-minus value.

In the case of the team winning by a big score, the positive and negative values ​​of these two people are particularly conspicuous.

It can be called a headwind for two people.

In such a situation, even if they don't say anything, they are easy to be criticized by fans.

Where is the question of ball possession?

In fact, McCollum's performance in this game was also very bad, but he played for a while when the team was gaining momentum, and he scored his plus-minus value as 1.

Otherwise, like the two of them, he would have a positive and negative value.

Both players left the field after shaking hands.

Dissatisfaction was clearly seen on the faces of the Blazers players.

They have a feeling of being defeated without knowing who they are facing.

In short, the next time they figure out who the Timberwolves are, they will compete with the Timberwolves again.

The team won their first victory tonight, and Su Chen was in a good mood, so he attended the post-match press conference.

When Su Chen was in the Warriors, he also participated in post-game interviews based on his mood.

Anyway, he is now the general manager of the team, even if the league wants to fine him, it's nothing.

The general manager Su Chen announced that the coach Su Chen's fine will be paid by the team.

How cool it would be for both the management and the head coach to be himself.

"Su, congratulations on your first win for the Timberwolves. Why did you start this game and not play the whole game as a substitute?"

From the very beginning, the reporter asked straightforward questions about the situation in the field.

After hearing this question, Su Chen smiled.

"That's why I don't want to go to the post-match conference."

Su Chen first made a joke.

Remembering that Su Chen really missed the press conference before, there was laughter at the scene.

"I said to the players, you must work hard to defend, if you are not willing to defend then others will be willing to defend."

After laughing, Su Chen said seriously.

(End of this chapter)