Grab Curry at the start

Chapter 70 Competitors
The Timberwolves and the Nuggets have similar records, both of which are hitting the top four teams in the West.

The gap between them and the Spurs and the Suns is very small, and the situation in the West is still chaotic. A few games can make a big change in the top eight rankings.

And whoever wins this game can be ranked in front of the opponent.

The Nuggets lineup is definitely not bad, that is to say, the defense is almost meaningless.

The Timberwolves are actually a team with no obvious weaknesses, that is, they are not top-notch offensively and defensively. In addition, the young players fluctuate a lot. Now that the season is almost halfway through, the outside world cannot be sure how they will play at the end of the season.

Both teams now have a complete lineup and can fight with all their strength.

"We have played against the Nuggets several times, and you should be familiar with them. Recall the feeling of breaking through their defense before, and then just play hard." Zhang Sixin said before the game.

Meeting the Timberwolves again, Nuggets coach Karl rarely emphasized defense.

The Nuggets have something to pursue this season. If even the Timberwolves can't do it, it will hurt the players' confidence.

As for Billups, Curry is so popular and sour.

He definitely has strength in the first position, but his popularity is really not very good.

The Nuggets want to beat the Timberwolves, both public and private, and Billups wants to teach the young Curry a lesson.

At the beginning of the game, Billups hit Curry twice, causing Curry to foul the second time.

There is really no way. Billups may be one of the best guards in the league who are good at using physical advantages. He plays very smartly. It is difficult for Curry to play against such experienced old players.

Zhang Sixin told Curry before the game that he should try not to make fouls on defense, and it doesn't matter if he gets eaten a few times.

Obviously, Curry still needs to understand the referee's scale when he first came up.

The Timberwolves' first goal was scored by Jefferson. In the first two games, Jefferson didn't play very well against the Nuggets.

But this time he felt good, and he made a half-block shot directly against Nene.

Jefferson's injury recovery is better than the original history, and his strength is naturally slightly stronger.

The team's record is getting better and better, but his tactical status in the team is gradually decreasing, and Jefferson also feels the pressure.

So when there is an opportunity, he will try his best to seize it.

He really wants to prove himself, he is still the strongest person on the team.

This time against the Nuggets, Jefferson played tough in the first quarter.

After all, Jefferson's strength is very good. Even if he is at a disadvantage in height, he still has good competitiveness in the paint.

The few insiders of the Nuggets can only be regarded as quite satisfactory, and his performance can be overshadowed if he performs better.

However, the Nuggets didn't waste any time inside, they attacked the perimeter decisively.

Both Anthony and Billups have advantages in matchups, and it is difficult to handle defense alone.

Zhang Sixin had no intention of probing, and Anthony directly flanked him.

For Billups, he once again told Curry that there is no need to force him, he just needs to guard against Billups' shots, Billups will kill inside, and let other players come over to help defend.

Facts have proved that their defense is still not a problem, Anthony and Billups did not explode immediately.

However, their offense did suffer.

The Nuggets' defense against Curry has improved this time, which is affected by the previous games and Curry's soaring reputation during this period.

Curry's strength is already at the All-Star level, so he will naturally receive All-Star-level defensive treatment.

But if he can't stabilize his strength, he will definitely be subject to certain restrictions.

Two attempts from beyond the three-point line failed to hit.

And Love's touch is also a bit slow, so the Timberwolves still focus on Jefferson in the first quarter.

The two points of DeRozan and Matthews will still be mainly auxiliary this season.

If the Timberwolves do not attack themselves, even if they do a good job defensively, they cannot be the opponents of the Nuggets.

The core players of the Nuggets can handle them in singles, which is the ability of powerful stars.

However, compared to when Anthony was in no one's land in the preseason, now the Timberwolves can try to make him play as uncomfortable as possible.

In just over two months, the team's progress has been very obvious.

Zhang Sixin is quite sure about the current performance of the team. He said: "Do a good job of defending first, and then find the feeling. It is doing well."

At the same time, he was a little worried, "Whether it can be adjusted well depends on the player's ability."

Entering the rotation time, the Timberwolves took the lead in making adjustments, but there was no immediate effect.

Fortunately, they don't need to worry, and the Nuggets can't open the score now.

However, at the beginning of the second quarter, the bench lineups of both sides began to explode.

The Nuggets are JR and Anderson, and the Timberwolves are Brewer's rare good touch and consecutive shots.

The style of painting of the two teams seems to have changed in an instant, from obsessed with defense to confrontation.

After the main players of both sides played, this performance continued.

The pick-and-roll of Curry and Love has regained its lethality with the return of their touch. The Nuggets are no longer singles, and their young guard Efflalo also has a touch.

"Continue to attack boldly...but also pay attention to defense." Zhang Sixin reminded the players.

Their offense is up, but so is the Nuggets. The Nuggets are a more offensive team, and the Timberwolves cannot compete with them purely on offense.

Zhang Sixin fine-tuned the team's lineup according to the player's status. When the outside touch is good, Jefferson can rest for a while to avoid wasting energy.

When the Nuggets start to speed up against the Timberwolves, Jefferson will play inside.

Zhang Sixin has become more and more proficient in this kind of operation now, and he can also pretend to be a master of tactics.

The Timberwolves once overtook the score in the second quarter, but 2 minutes before the end of the first half, Anthony suddenly broke out.

He scored 5 points in a row, and Billups misplaced Love to play a 2+1, and the Nuggets overtook the score at home.

"This is the ability of a star, it's impossible not to admit it." Zhang Sixin said helplessly.

He took the first-half record from Tyronn Lue, combined with his observations, analyzed the reasons why the team fell behind in the first half, and the details that need to be improved.

They still have the advantage in rebounding, mainly because of the outside shooting percentage and the number of fouls.

The Nuggets' role players like Afflalo and Nene got some chances because of Anthony's flanking.

This is difficult to balance, because Anthony can score without watching.

Flanking is a must, but defensive rotation can be done better.

As the head coach, he must remind the players.

In fact, players can do better in many cases, but they can't find the key in time on the court.

"Defense still has to focus on the key points, mainly the outside line..."

"In the second half, try not to give the opponent an open three-pointer."

"On the offensive end, there is a chance to consume Anthony."

(End of this chapter)