After all, I am still old. Although my heart is still there, it is okay. I am obviously aware that I am not able to do what I want.
Garnett's starting performance tonight only limited to the first two quarters, but during these two quarters, Garnett seemed to be blooming like an old tree, showing some of the edge of his peak period.
Garnett played 19 minutes in the entire first half, making 6 of 9 shots and 4 of 4 free throws. He scored a game-high 16 points and grabbed 8 rebounds with amazing efficiency.
In the end, the Trail Blazers won the game and won two consecutive victories.
The score was 112:105, and the Timberwolves lost by 7 points.
However, in terms of shooting percentage, the Trail Blazers hit 51.7% and the Timberwolves 46.9%, and in terms of rebounds, the former has 17 more rebounds than the latter.
It shows how many shots the Timberwolves took tonight!
In this game, Lillard worked hard in the second half and started a crazy scoring mode. He scored 20 points in the half. In addition to the 11 points in the first half, he scored 31 points and 10 assists. He was named the best in the game.
Naturally, Wang Zelin did not attend the post-match press conference.
Tonight, he positioned himself not as the protagonist, but as an assistant, so he focused more on the defensive end and organizing the offense. He played for 27 minutes and scored 20 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks.
In contrast, Lillard is really working hard in order to have a chance to play in the All-Star Game. Wang Zelin and other teammates are all watching, and everyone is working hard for him tonight. .
Perhaps Garnett did not play in the second half. In addition to confirming that the Timberwolves had no hope of overtaking, there was also this consideration.
Therefore, for the Trail Blazers tonight, it was Lillard alone who could resist the post-game attacks.
…
…
Easily defeating the Timberwolves and winning two consecutive games, the Trail Blazers improved their record to 36 wins and 6 losses, continuing to lead the league!
However, their schedule at the beginning of January at the end of January is not over yet. Just one night later, the Trail Blazers will go to Oklahoma the next day for a back-to-back game with the Thunder.
The next day, the Blazers got off the chartered flight in a daze. After checking into the away hotel in Oklahoma, they couldn't wait to catch up on their sleep.
When I woke up, it was already past one in the afternoon.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, the coaching staff and management will hold a meeting to discuss the February schedule. Main players such as Wang Zelin and some important rotation players will also participate.
For the young Blazers, physical fitness has never been the biggest test of their long regular season. The stability of the players' condition is what Coach Terry and the others are most worried about.
Fortunately, both Wang Zelin and Lillard have made certain progress this season, especially the former, who has immediately become a hot topic of discussion for regular season MVP.
Of course, although Lillard's progress is not as great as Wang Zelin's, his energy on the defensive end and his ability to read the game have improved a lot compared to his rookie season.
At the same time, it is also inseparable from this summer's reinforcement plan.
The additions of Garnett and Mo Williams have made up for the Trail Blazers' bench thickness. Especially Garnett, both in terms of qualifications and strength, he is convinced by all the players. After becoming the new boss of the Trail Blazers' locker room, this experienced veteran can always provide support for the team's hot-headed young people at critical moments. People get a shot of tranquilizer.
Therefore, the coaching staff and management initiated this meeting mainly to serve as a warning to the team rather than to make major changes.
There are 4 people rotating inside and 5 people rotating outside. The Trail Blazers' lineup of role players has everything they need. They can have someone to attack on the outside and someone to defend inside. This has made many teams envious. In addition, the core players are so young and talented. With its super instant combat ability, it has gradually become the biggest imaginary enemy of other teams.
This year, they gradually abandoned the title of "second Thunder team" given by the outside world last season and became the feared Portland team in the league.
During the meeting, when Coach Terry was analyzing the opponents on the February schedule, Nel Orsi looked at Wang Zelin and other main players with eyes full of expectation.
Among the starting five, the oldest Aldridge is only 28 years old, followed by 27-year-old Matthews, 26-year-old Batum, and just second-year players Wang Zelin and Lillard. Post-90s.
For the first time since taking over as general manager of the Portland Trail Blazers, Nel Olsey sees hope that the team can finally reach the top.
While looking forward to it, he couldn't help but feel a little melancholy.
Aldridge only has the last year of his contract left. As the team's strongest player at the age of 29, he has just reached the peak age of an inside player. It is impossible for the Trail Blazers to win next season. Let him go easily.
Re-signing Aldridge will be the Blazers' top priority next season.
In addition, Batum and Matthews have the same contracts as Aldridge, with only the last year left.
Although the current team structure of the Trail Blazers is obviously built around Wang Zelin, Aldridge, and Lillard, all three of them can be said to be not for sale to the team. But if a team wants to go further in the playoffs and achieve the final summit, important winning puzzle pieces are indispensable.
Matthews and Batum, who are both good at offense and defense, are standard 3D players in the words of later generations, and are indispensable and important puzzle pieces for teams aiming to win the championship.
Therefore, the contract renewal work of the two of them will also become a major problem that will trouble Nel Orsi next season.
Although the current atmosphere in the team is excellent, Nel Orsi believes that no one is willing to struggle with money.
If the contract handed over next season is not satisfactory, no one can guarantee that Matthews and Batum will not choose contracts from other teams.
As the general manager, he is very clear about the current trading market conditions of his team's five starters.
Take Wang Zelin as an example, not long ago, the trading market. There is a rumor on the court: The Heat want to trade Bosh for Wang Zelin, or a one-for-one kind.
It can be seen that Wang Zelin is now very famous and seems to have unlimited future, but his potential cannot be used as a living. Compared with Bosh, an All-Star in his prime who has been tested for many years, the trading chips are really not necessarily higher than the opponent.
And this is not over yet. There was news about the Lakers not long ago: the Lakers management wants to trade Pau Gasol for Wang Zelin. If necessary, the two parties can also have private discussions in detail.
It was only then that many fans realized for the first time the extremely high transaction value of second-year Wang Zelin.
However, Nel Orr is certainly not stupid. He has not had enough time to train such a super rookie, so how could he be stupid enough to trade with the other party? I really thought he was the Kings management!
Thinking of the contract renewal issues for several of the team's main players next year, he felt a headache again.
