Junior Basketball says

Chapter 201 The Mystery of Losing Streak
What Xu Hao didn't expect was that the loss to the Nets in the opening game was just the beginning, and then they lost to the Cavaliers led by James and the Suns, who were already fading away. They temporarily ranked first in the West with a record of 0 wins and 3 losses.This is in stark contrast to their record of winning all preseason games. It seems that the Timberwolves are once again heading for the No. [-] pick next year.

The fans of the Timberwolves gradually became disappointed from their initial expectations. Although this was just the beginning of the season, the combat power displayed by the Timberwolves did not look like an enterprising team at all. The players looked very confused on the court. .

Of course, it's not that they haven't played beautiful data.As the core of the team, Love averaged 20.7 points and 11 rebounds per game, and has been considered one of the league's new generation of outstanding power forwards.And Xu Hao, a rookie who was appointed as the starting point guard when he first arrived, also did a good job. He averaged 14.1 points and 6.8 assists per game, among which the number of assists led the rookie list.

However, the excellent data did not allow them to help the team win.Xu Hao is relatively better. Although he is a high-ranking pick this year, not many people expect him to save the Timberwolves immediately. It is Love who is really under pressure.He has been ridiculed by the black fans as a stat brush and the leader of the empty hacking group, which is hard for anyone to accept.

McHale is also puzzled. In his opinion, the team's lineup is still very competitive, and the thickness of the bench is also good. It is indeed unexpected to lose three games in a row.Losing to the Cavaliers is fine, James itself is a BUG, ​​but losing to the Nets and the Suns should not be. They are no longer the team that shocked the league in the past. The Timberwolves have no reason to be beaten without fighting back. force.This kind of embarrassment made McHale worry. He locked himself in the office and analyzed the team's previous game videos, trying to find some clues, so as to correct the team's tactical system and get them back on track.

After watching the video over and over several times, McHale's eyes gradually became sharper, and his attention was all on Jefferson on the inside.His performance on the court is actually not bad. He has a good level of post-up singles with the ball and footwork at the basket, but McHale always feels that he is out of place with the team.When the ball was given to Jefferson, he was completely separated from others. Either the basketball was put into the basket by his personal skills, or the opponent interfered and hit the iron directly.

In fact, McHale's original intention was not to build the Timberwolves into an inside-oriented team, although Love, a young power forward, is regarded as the core of the team's new generation.But Love's shooting distance is far beyond the three-point line, and he has been practicing three-point shooting. More importantly, Love moves very fast. He is not a traditional insider like Jefferson.

But McHale is not sure whether his conclusion is correct, so he plans to do a small experiment in the next game against the Clippers to see if Jefferson is the culprit of the team's troubles, even if he himself is not Didn't realize it.If the conclusion is correct, then McHale will definitely recommend that the team management trade Jefferson.

In order to take care of Jefferson's emotions, McHale did not change the original starting lineup, but just 3 minutes after the first quarter, he replaced Jefferson with Ellington, partnered with Brewer on the wing, and Love was on top. Play center forward at the fifth position.

Ellington's appearance means that the team's perimeter has added a scoring point, and the wing combination of him and Brewer can also further improve the Timberwolves' perimeter defense.More importantly, the four small men lined up on the outside line created a huge space, and also shattered the Clippers' defense line. Love also got more room to move, which made him feel very happy. joy.

As the Timberwolves' field commander, Xu Hao's feelings were deeper. He suddenly found that his teammates' running positions became much smoother, and when he broke through with the ball, the environment became more relaxed. Play with more confidence.It's not that Xu Hao is unsuitable for positional warfare. After all, there is Love as a low-level killer in the team, but he still prefers to run.

Jefferson looked dignified off the court. He is not a fool with a negative IQ. Maybe he hadn't noticed the reason why the coach replaced him so early, but now he suddenly realized that he didn't seem to meet the coach's expectations. Require.It wasn't that the Timberwolves couldn't score before he was replaced, but it didn't look as smooth and pleasing as it is now.

The feelings of the Clippers players on the field are even deeper. Originally, they had a faint advantage. As long as the opponent is forced to give the ball to Jefferson inside, and then let Kaman top it, there will be no problem.What's more, the Timberwolves' game rhythm is ridiculously slow, and the ball transfer speed is not enough. The Clippers players can always quickly complete a new encirclement after the opponent passes the ball.

But now everything is different.It's true that the Timberwolves' inside height has dropped, but Kaman's offense and defense at the basket are more difficult than before, because he suddenly found that his speed can't keep up.The new rookie wearing the No. 19 jersey did not hold back, but played very fiercely. The impact of the rebound made Kaman, a pure center, miserable.And the opponent also likes to constantly move back and forth between the inside and outside, which is equivalent to strengthening the defense of the two areas at the same time.

The Clippers are not a team with a fast game pace, so the Timberwolves' rhythm was very suitable for them before, but the situation changed a lot after Ellington was replaced. After assisting the defense, the fast-break counterattack quickly tied the score and even completed the overtake. Such a huge change made the Clippers players at a loss on the court.

On the sidelines, McHale relaxed a lot. He looked at the situation on the court and nodded slightly. It seems that the previous conclusion is correct. If the Timberwolves want to achieve results, they must abandon Jefferson and let Le Fu became the sole core of the inside line.Of course, it would be great if there are other inside players who can run and jump to partner with him. Relying on the rebounds of small players is not a long-term solution after all. It is only possible to increase the average height of the inside while maintaining athletic ability. it's the best.

Milicic is of course one of the options, but McHale is not at ease to let him play the starter. It seems that Jefferson's days in the Timberwolves are not much left.McHale is a head coach who is willing to give young people opportunities, especially in a rebuilding team like the Timberwolves, but in order to achieve a better record this season, he can't care so much.

(End of this chapter)