Jim Bass Ambition

Chapter 223
Strictly speaking, the Lakers were once the pride of Minneapolis, and the earliest five championships in team history were won in this bitterly cold land.Team history superstar George Mikan even refused to have his jersey retired in Los Angeles, and his statue still stands at Target Center today.

It's a pity that after the Lakers moved to Los Angeles, there were no decent teams in Minnesota. In 30 years, only two short-lived teams settled here, namely the Minnesota Barracudas and the Minnesota Plumbers. , the name doesn't sound like a very powerful one.

So when the Timberwolves face the Lakers, especially at home, there will always be a different feeling, similar to the children who used to run away from home and then come back to smash the field.

At the beginning of the game, he was beaten by the prepared Lakers. Sanders was obviously a little slow in the first quarter, but he didn't have many cards to play. Arenas' substitute Darrick Martin is only 1 meters tall and weighs 80 kilograms. He is one size smaller than Lupus, and he is not a player known for his defense.

In the second quarter, Sanders resorted to the simplest and most brutal method-the name card trusteeship. Except for Hassell who replaced Szczerbiak and Irving Johnson who replaced Trent, the other three main players All stay on the field.Prepare to rely on the main force to catch up with the score.

From sweeping the Nuggets in the first round to the third game of the second round, the Lakers basically abandoned Ostertag and Eldon Campbell. Instead, Haslem played more time. The lineup and Wade's cooperation is very skillful, and both offense and defense can bring sufficient vitality to the team.

After Wade came up, his shooting touch was a bit cold, but his sharp breakthrough messed up the Timberwolves' defense. Nene and Haslem grabbed offensive rebounds for 3 consecutive rounds and succeeded in the second attack. Not only did the Timberwolves fail to catch up with the score , but was beaten 6-0 as soon as the second quarter came up, and the point difference ran to 20 points.

Arenas and Sprewell tried to catch up with the score through three-pointers. Unfortunately, Phil Jackson had already done a targeted defense here. Battier and Raja Bell were responsible for one, but they were forced to use the hardest way of shooting.

Arenas' touch didn't continue the hotness of the previous game, and the Lakers turned them into counterattacks for several consecutive strong shots. With the Lakers replacing the main force, the suspense of this game is not much.

In the second half, except for Hudson's 8 points in a row, which made the game a little turbulent, the Lakers basically controlled the situation. It was taken back by the Lakers.

In this game, Lakers guard Billups performed well, scoring 12 points and 10 assists with an amazing efficiency of 26 of 7 shots, without a single turnover.

"Many times, the data does not reflect the value of Chauncey, but this does not mean that he can't show the data. On the court, Chauncey is a low-key leader; in the locker room, Chauncey is the glue that unites the team He can find his place in an excellent team and make his teammates better, so that he can reflect his own value in an excellent environment.”

"Of course, Gilbert is a good player. I never deny it. Don't forget who picked him. You don't need to question my vision, and you don't need to hear a word of disapproval from me. Gilbert's criticism, although he is no longer playing for the Lakers, and has become our opponent has caused us a series of troubles, but I have only blessings for him, and I hope he can have a brilliant career." Facing reporters Fishing question, Jim didn't flatter anyone.

The semifinals of the division gradually became fierce. In the East, the Pacers played against the Heat. Without Mourning, the Heat's inside line was almost vulnerable to O'Neal. Bosh's thin body was completely useless in front of the Sharks. In the first two games, the Heat lost two consecutive away games.

The desperate Stan Van Gundy resorted to his last weapon and sent former Blazers center Brian Grant to let him drag his half-disabled legs to the inside to fight desperately, barely holding back O'Neal's footsteps.Relying on Lamar Odom's outburst in the third game, the Heat pulled one back and fell behind 1-2 in total.

In another set of duels, the Pistons and the Nets played sparks in the first game. The Nets shot 27.1% and scored only 56 points. Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson The two main players combined made 25 of 4 shots and lost to the Pistons in the away game.

Kenyon Martin averaged 24 plus 15 per game against the Knicks. He was like a super beast power forward, but after facing the inside line of Brad Miller and Ben Wallace, the data instantly shrank by half .

In the second game, Cassell, Reid and Stackhouse showed their strength at the same time. The three teamed up and scored 70 points to help the Pistons win another victory 95 to 82.

The Nets only managed to pull back a game after returning home, relying on the outbursts of Jefferson and Kittles. It is worth mentioning that the core Kidd once again made only 14 of 2 shots.

In the duel in the West, the King turned away. As Bobby Jackson was injured and truce, Adelman resorted to a desperate 7-man rotation. Only Anthony Peeler and Tony Musenberg got playing time as substitutes.

Under the Spurs' iron barrel defense, Stojakovic and Webb felt average, only 16 of 6 shots and 15 of 5 shots respectively. Veteran Divac became the savior of the king, scoring 7 of 6 from 14 shots. Points, and the defensive effect on Duncan is not bad.Stone Buddha scored 23 points and 16 rebounds, but only made 19 of 8 shots.

Coupled with Bibby's hot touch from the outside, Parker's targeted attack on the Spurs' only defensive weakness was in place. He scored 33 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, helping the Kings win the first game away.

But the Spurs quickly made adjustments. Divac never got as many easy shots as in the first game, scoring only single digits in two consecutive games, and Duncan will not always feel bad, especially in the third game In the game, as a guest in Sacramento, the two sides fought hard and entered overtime. Duncan scored 8 points in a row and kicked the King into the coffin with his own strength. The data of 32 points, 19 rebounds and 7 blocks in the game made the opposite Webber pale in comparison.The disadvantage of the king's 7-man rotation is that it consumes a lot of energy and there are more veterans. Once it enters the tug-of-war, it will inevitably fall into a disadvantage.

All 4 duels are mutually exclusive. Compared with the large number of sweeps in the first round, it is obviously more interesting for the audience.

But for the participating teams, they would rather sell fewer tickets for two games, but also strive to end the series as soon as possible, so as not to have long nights and dreams.

(End of this chapter)