Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 29 29. Christmas War
On December 12th, the annual Christmas War officially comes.

And today, the Timberwolves, ranked first in the league, will be a guest in Sacramento and challenge the Kings away.

In fact, the Timberwolves played against the Kings once during the preseason, but because it was a preseason training contest, neither side showed their full strength, they just played tentatively.

As for the alliance arranging such a duel on the day of the Christmas War, there is naturally a reason.

As we all know, Stern is a president who likes to make trouble very much.

In last year's Western Conference semifinals, the Timberwolves and the Kings fought seven consecutive games before they could barely decide the winner, and the contest between Garnett and Webber was also very enjoyable.

That's why the league arranged a contest between the Timberwolves and the Kings on the day of the Christmas game.

The Kings have not changed much in the lineup this season, but the Kings have just completed a deal with the Magic not long ago.

In this transaction, the Kings sent "Scalpel" Christie in exchange for "Old Cat" Mobley, who can average about 17 points per game.

Looking at this deal alone, the Kings are definitely the winners. After all, Christie is 34 years old this year, and his competitive state has gradually begun to decline.

On the other hand, the 29-year-old Mobley is in the golden stage of a player. Whether it is the degree of physical development or the ability to read the game, around the age of 30 is the peak period of a player.

The most important thing is that although Mobley is not an excellent crazy scorer, except for his rookie season, Mobley has never averaged less than [-] points per game after entering the NBA.

And this season Mobley also shot more than 40% of his three-pointers, so Mobley's transaction value must be higher than Christie's.

In addition, according to Orlando local media reports, after the "Old Cat" Mobley was traded to the Kings, Francis, the current boss of the Magic, publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with the management.

Because the relationship between Mobley and Francis was very good in private, as a result, the Magic traded Mobley to the king on their own initiative without consulting Francis, which made Francis very dissatisfied.

At the same time, it also made Francis' attitude in the game negative, causing the Magic to suffer a losing streak in the recent period, and has now fallen out of the top eight in the Eastern Conference.

Speaking of which, the Magic are willing to exchange Mobley, who can average 17 points per game, in exchange for the 34-year-old Christie, mainly because of Christie's defense.

The Magic management hopes that Christie's defense can help the Magic's defense to complete the upgrade, so that they can not fall behind in the face of teams with top shooting guards like the Heat.

However, the management of the Magic never imagined that after Christie came to the Magic, his scoring average had dropped to six points, and the team boss Francis also became passive in the game because of this deal, making the Magic's situation even worse.

Now the Magic don't talk about competing with the top teams in the Eastern Conference like the Heat, even whether they can enter the playoffs has become a problem.

If you can go back on your word, then I believe the Magic management will definitely not make this foolish deal.

Before the start of the game, Luke stood on the sidelines and briefly exchanged a few words with Kings coach Rick Adelman, but this time the mentality after the two met was completely different from that in the preseason.

As early as the preseason period, Luke was just a rookie who had just stepped into the circle of NBA coaches. At that time, Adelman just casually congratulated Luke for entering the NBA.

As a result, they met again after two months, and Adelman's mentality has changed a lot.

I no longer dare to regard Luke as a rookie. After all, Luke has led the Timberwolves to the league's first record and is still the biggest favorite to win this season.

In addition, the various bad habits that Luke committed in the past two months also made Adelman feel thankful that he did not offend this lunatic at that time.

"Obviously only two months have passed since the last time we met, but I always feel that a long time has passed, because all this now really makes people feel dreamy."

"But I still want to congratulate you. Congratulations on your journey as a coach. I believe that your future will be limitless." Looking at the young Luke in front of him, Adelman has coached in the NBA for 15 seasons. Suddenly a little sour.

As Adelman said, Luke's coaching career was too smooth, and he could lead the Timberwolves to the league's first record as soon as he entered the league.

And along the way so many misfortunes, but in the end they get along well, this luck really makes Adelman feel envious.

"You too, I hope you can get the championship ring as soon as possible." With a light smile, Luke flicked his tie down casually.

In fact, Luke doesn't like to wear a suit, because a suit will make people feel restrained, but the NBA has regulations that coaches must wear a suit to enter the court.

In this regard, Europe is much better than the NBA. Although the European league also has regulations that coaches must wear formal attire, the requirements for this aspect are not so strict.

The NBA, on the other hand, seemed relatively rigid. People would even complain about trademarked fonts on clothes and crooked ties. This kind of rule really gave Luke a headache.

As the game is about to start, the two sides announced the starting lineup respectively.

Kings:
Bibby, Mobley, Peja, Webber, and Brad Miller.

Timberwolves:
Cassel, Madman, Szczerbiak, Garnett, and Malone.

Since Garnett has played against the Kings for many years, Luke didn't give any special orders before the game.

Just let the players perform normally and execute the tactics arranged by Luke on the defensive end.

After the game started, the ball was taken by the king first.

When Mike Bibby passed halftime with the ball, the Timberwolves put up a two-three defense directly on the court. This posture seems to be prepared.

When Adelman off the court saw the Timberwolves defending the two-three defense, he didn't have much expression on his face, because Adelman, who mainly played Princeton, had long been accustomed to the opponent's two-three defense for targeting.

But for so many years, there are only a handful of teams that can really pinch King Princeton with two or three defenses.

Princeton's set of tactics pays attention to people moving the ball. On the court, big players stand in high positions to support, and then others try to "open the back door" through non-stop off-ball pick-and-rolls and air cuts.

Even if Princeton's changes allow the Kings to make a more balanced trade-off between attacking the rim and shooting, the core of Princeton is attacking the rim.

So Luke directly arranged for the team to defend the second and third defenses before the game, making it clear that he wanted to block the penalty area and force the Kings to take a lot of shots from mid- to long-range positions.

The defect of the conventional two-three defense lies in the position of the free throw line, which is the vital goal of the two-three defense.

Garnett, whose defensive ability has reached historical levels, is born with a defensive system, and he is very restrained in Princeton's tactics that require a lot of movement and pick-and-roll.

In addition, Luke also prepared a surprise for the king, but I don't know if Chris Webber, who is the star of the game, will like this surprise.

Facing the second and third defenses put up by the Timberwolves, Webber didn't need coach Adelman's reminder at all, and he stood directly at the free throw line and prepared to catch the ball.

Weber, who has cooperated with Adelman in Princeton tactics since 1998, has seen too many 2-3 zone defenses. It is no exaggeration to say that Weber does not need to think at all when he sees the [-]-[-] zone defense. The body reacts subconsciously.

However, when Weber received the pass at the free throw line, Weber found that Cassell and Sprewell on the left and right did not respond at all.

Instead of moving closer to Weber immediately, he turned his head and looked at Weber jokingly, as if deliberately letting Weber shoot.

Seeing the scene in front of him, Chris Webber's brain was really a little dazed.

Because Webber really couldn't figure out what kind of wishful thinking the Timberwolves were playing, and dared to let his shot go empty at this position.

Webber, who hadn't figured it out, didn't bother to bother. The opportunity had already appeared, and Weber, who was half a step away from the free throw line, directly completed an open shot.

"boom!"

Weber's shot was slightly too strong for this ball, and the rebound was easily accepted by Garnett who returned to the basket in the first time.

On the offensive end, today's Timberwolves have cooperated very well, and they know each other very well where they should go.

Even if the Timberwolves can't get a perfect shot in the end, the three-headed monster can use his personal ability to complete the finish.

With the Timberwolves' many times of passing the ball on the offensive end, the ball finally hit Szczerbiak's hands, and Szczerbiak made a three-pointer from the bottom corner.

"Shu~"

This season, Szczerbiak's three-point shooting percentage reached 44.6%, and in the left corner this position reached an astonishing 56.7%.

Facing the slow-moving Peja, Szczerbiak has become the most advantageous matchup on the Timberwolves field.

After all, Peja didn't dare to stick to it completely when defending Szczerbiak, because once Peja's position is too high, Szczerbiak is fully capable of passing Peja in one step.

The Kings attacked, and the Timberwolves still put on a two-three defense position. When Webb received another pass at the free throw line, Cassell and Madman still had no intention of coming up to help defend.

This scene not only made Webber hesitate, but also surprised other players who were actively performing pick-and-rolls and air cuts off the ball.

If the Timberwolves don't step forward to help defend Webber's position, then other players' off-ball moves and pick-and-rolls will become meaningless.

After all, the second and third defenses are off-ball pick-and-rolls and air cuts. If Weber can't attract the defense at that position, then other players can't get a chance no matter how much they run, so Weber can only complete the shot at that position.

Looking up at the basket, Chris Webber, who shot only 42% this season, is still determined to complete the shot.

"boom!"

However, when Weber's second mid-range shot still missed the frame, Weber's mood finally changed, and he couldn't help but swear: "Fuck!"

"Sure enough, you didn't disappoint me. I haven't seen you for a year, and you're still trash like always." Looking at Chris Webber, who couldn't help but swear, Garnett mocked him with a face full of mischief.

In fact, the position of the free throw line was originally Weber's shooting hotspot. After all, most of Weber's points came from mid-range shots.

But the Timberwolves' shooting method really made Weber hesitate, and he became less decisive even when shooting.

Even with Webber's shooting percentages this season, he's maddened to miss open shots.

Especially when the Timberwolves took the initiative to make their own shots twice in a row, this made Weber feel ashamed.

"Shut up! You wolf cub!"

"I haven't seen my skills grow, but my temper has grown a lot."

"Shut up, you dirty bastard!"

"I think you should think about how you should spend today's game."

"Or let me show you what shooting is." After Garnett finished speaking, Garnett, who received the pass, pulled up directly above Weber's head to complete the shot.

"Shu~"

With this mid-range shot hit, Garnett immediately looked at Webber when he retreated, and couldn't help but smile on his face. "Have you learned it, you trash."

　Ask for a monthly ticket, ask for support, thanks to the third brother!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)