Grab Curry at the start

Chapter 14 Offense and Defense

Zhang Sixin was glad that he didn't brag, because they were fucked at home next.

He had expected it, because it was a knight who was visiting.

The Cavaliers introduced O'Neal this season, and the media has touted the Tsar combination, which is very popular.

In fact, the 37-year-old O'Neal has long been unable to dominate the inside. James' best helper now should be Mo Williams, who is strong on the outside and weak on defense.

The Timberwolves couldn't guard against James, they had known for a long time, after all, Anthony arranged them clearly in the preseason.

However, the most uncomfortable thing about this game is not James' unparalleled performance, but the Cavaliers' defense.

Facing the Cavaliers, the Timberwolves' rookies realized how comfortable the Nets' defense is.

In these two games, it felt like they were against teams from different leagues.

On the inside, Jefferson stretched his hips again.

O'Neill, Ilgauskas, Varejao, including Hickson, are not easy to deal with.

Jefferson is so slow that even the old O'Neill can't bully him.

You can only pull out after the pick-and-roll to shoot, but you should practice your shooting well.

Of course, the outside line of the Timberwolves was the most injured. The Cavaliers' team defense made them very uncomfortable.

Zhang Sixin expected a miracle to be outstanding, but it turns out that it is not easy for a basketball game to have a miracle.

Curry performed well as a rookie, but he didn't score as much as the opposing Williams.

Williams' shooting is much better than Harris', and Curry's defensive problems are magnified.

As for the other rookies on the team, except for DeRozan who is quite satisfactory, the rest are not performing well.

There is a long way to go for the team to become stronger.

But you can still comfort yourself, Zhang Sixin remembers that the Cavaliers have the best regular season record in the Eastern Conference this season.

As a head coach, you have to pour some chicken soup to the players after losing.

"Why did we suffer so much against the Cavaliers? Is it because of James? No, it's because of their suffocating defense. If our defense can do as well, or even better, other teams will suffer when they meet us."

"When all the teams are unwilling to play us, it is not easy to improve the record."

Players just need to be guided, especially young players. If you don’t tell them the importance of defense, it will be difficult for them to do a good job of defense. After all, defense is not as conspicuous as offense, and it requires more concentrated attention and is tiring.

But when the players can defend well, the team's floor is preserved.

However, if talented players are developed, the team's upper limit will also increase.

Leading a team to become stronger, in the final analysis, is the way it is.

After the loss, Zhang Sixin's mood did not deteriorate, because Love finally activated the task again.

Related to the injury, Love hopes to return strongly.

According to the mission insider, Zhang Sixin gave Love a mission.

Before returning from injury, he waved a towel 40 times a game, applauded 20 times and cheered for his teammates 10 times per game, with Tyronn Lue overseeing.

"The cohesion of a team is very important. I hope you will participate in every game." Under Love's complicated eyes, Zhang Sixin said kindly.

The Timberwolves' start schedule was not good, and the first two games were normal.

But in November, the games became intensive, and there were many away games. They will play back-to-back away games next.

The team has many young players, and rookie players have never played so intensively before.

Zhang Sixin asked the team doctor to pay more attention to the physical condition of the players, so as not to get injured again.

The lineup he formed in the summer is actually not bad, but now there are only a few players who can exert their strength. If there are a few injuries, it will really be powerless.

Therefore, Zhang Sixin will give more people the opportunity to play, so as not to tire the main players.

For the current Timberwolves, there is actually not much difference between losing a few games more and losing a few games less.

The Timberwolves' first away game in the summer was to go to Phoenix to challenge the Suns, a powerhouse in the Western Conference. The Suns' record declined last season due to tactical confusion after the introduction of O'Neal.

But this season, they sent away O'Neill and resumed the whirlwind, starting very strongly.

Zhang Sixin still sent out the original starting lineup. Although he often changed lineups in the preseason, in the regular season, he focused on stability.

The lineup may change in the future, but not often.

Allowing players to adapt to a role first will allow them to integrate into the team faster.

The Suns are famous for only attacking but not defending. Their insiders Stoudemire and Amundson are not heavy insiders, so Jefferson finally rose in this game.

Of course, he and Stoudemire can only explode each other, because neither can prevent the other.

"Bold shots in offense, the defensive end must pay attention to the speed of returning to defense, and must not allow the opponent to make a good offensive and defensive transition." Zhang Sixin reminded the players.

He worried that young players would get confused on the court, and asked Ron Adams to shout from the sidelines.

Practice the tactics learned in actual combat, and you will become familiar with them faster.

At the beginning of the game, the two teams actually launched a confrontation.

The Timberwolves' defense is still somewhat stretched when encountering a top offensive team like the Suns.

The previous game was considered a relatively good defense, and it is possible to be found out when facing the Suns.

There is no way around this, after all, players have only a short period of time to practice high-intensity defense, and many teams with good defense are not so easy to play against the Suns.

The 35-year-old Nash is still the top No. [-] in the league, and his ability to drive the team is worth learning from Curry.

Curry was also a little nervous against the All-Star outside line, but he soon discovered that Nash's defense was not good, and the Suns' defense against pick-and-rolls was also relatively poor, so he could still shoot relatively easily.

So, Curry and Nash clashed.

To be precise, it is to lead the team to fight against each other, because Nash doesn't take many shots.

"As long as we limit the Sun's fast break, we can gain an advantage." Zhang Sixin said.

"Although the Suns' offense is strong, they are not good at almost every point of defense. Even if they maximize their offense, they will not be able to win the championship. We must learn from their strengths, but we cannot copy them mechanically."

Zhang Sixin is thinking about the ideal state, because the Suns have performed well in recent years, and it is difficult for them to achieve it easily.

Watching the game between the two teams, Zhang Sixin felt that the Suns could play well in the playoffs, and they could, too.

However, the current Suns are a bit worse than the original history, because Frye was brought over by the Timberwolves, and they lost a stable scoring point.

As for Frye, he performed very well in this game.

Big shooters need teams that don't defend well, and it's easy to hit numbers. Because of their height, it's easier for them to shoot from the perimeter than smaller players.

Because of the poor performance of the Suns' bench and Barbosa and other players were out of form, the Timberwolves actually turned to the guest during the rotation period and gained the lead.

But the Suns, as a strong team in the West, are not so easy to deal with.

(End of this chapter)