Flip Saunders has a complete defensive plan for tonight's game.
Before the game started, he saw this tactic and agreed with it.
The Clippers often use top arc pick-and-rolls to attack in the starting stage. They start with Dean Garrett and can replace Garnett to defend the pick-and-roll.
Garnett can defend O'Neal in the paint with ease.
Facing opponents with a strong offensive style inside, Garnett is not good at guarding Antonio McDyess, Antonio Davis, or even Marion.
But as a skill player, Webber will suffer when he meets Garnett. The two have played against each other 10 times in their careers. Webber has only shot over 50% once, three times below 40%, and once under 30%. %the following.
O'Neal's current offensive methods include catching the ball and making a mid-range shot, catching the ball in the three-second zone and retreating to a close jump shot, and hitting hard inside and then turning around and crossing to the sideline of the three-second zone to stay away from the defense. Basically, these three moves are all good. It's what Garnett is good at guarding.
O'Neal Jr. has this locked down, and Garnett can still stay in the three-second zone, defending the entire mid-range and short range, interfering with Li Ao's shooting in this area.
Szczerbiak confronts Li Ao in the mid-range on both wings. Let alone Li Ao, it would be difficult for insiders such as Duncan and Tianzun to stably shoot in Szczerbiak's mid-range confrontation. That is, Garnett and Webber. A good turnaround jump shot can deal with Szczerbiak.
If Li Ao runs towards the bottom line and the bottom corner, Szczerbiak can cut off the passing line on the wing.
As a result, the three frontcourts that the Clippers rely on for their offensive survival are only Odom, who has no one to play with. With the important inside contact points and the team's top scorer being restricted, It is also difficult for Odom to open up the situation.
With the Clippers' player ability and offensive tactics, Flip Saunders has no idea how the opponent can break the game. As long as the Timberwolves' offensive performance is normal at the beginning, they may defeat the opponent from the beginning and easily close the game. Win the next game.
After the game started, the Timberwolves executed their strategy very well tonight. Garnett felt good in the mid-range shot, and he also executed well on the defensive end. Everyone defended well.
When Flip Saunders saw him using the defensive black hole of Szczerbiak to block Li Ao's wing shot, the corners of his mouth raised.
As a result, Li Ao rushed into the paint and dunked Garnett twice in a row!
On the court, Garnett was buckled and sat on the ground again, and one can imagine the anger in his heart.
It was impossible to fight, he was still a high school student, a child.
He wants to dunk...throw it back!
When the Timberwolves attacked, Garnett was more active in asking for the ball. Faced with Li Ao's constant defensive interference, he turned around and shot another fadeaway jumper... The direction was accurate, but the force was too strong, and the ball bounced on the opposite side of the basket. come out.
O'Neal Jr. and Dean Garrett fought hand-to-hand to interfere with each other's takeoff, and Big Q moved in to protect the defensive rebound.
O'Neal Jr. was fortunate to have Spider-Man to remind him, and to have Big Q, a teammate with strong mobility and active rebounding, to help.
This veteran center, who looks exactly like Garnett from his body shape to his jersey number and even his last name, has a strong sense of rebounding and moves coquettishly. He has attached great importance to blocking position, but the rebounding spot is still occupied.
In the transition between offense and defense, the Clippers continued to attack with arc pick-and-rolls, but their purpose changed - to vacate the inside and create a chance for Li Ao to hit the basket!
Li Ao turned two points away from the right side, easily shook off Szczerbiak and entered the inside line. When the ball arrived, Greg Anthony released the ball in time.
Li Ao received the ball and dribbled to the sideline of the three-second zone. Garnett moved in advance to block the defense. Li Ao's second shot of the ball was not a dribble, but a ground pass...
Learn from Kidd and pass the ball without holding the ball during the breakthrough!
After the 'Transfer Expert' reaches level 3, the moving pass can still be triggered as long as it is received within two seconds after receiving the ball!
85's first-class pass, without any other interference, was accurately delivered to O'Neal who entered the three-second zone.
O'Neal Jr. took off after catching the ball and dunked with both hands!
6 to 4, the Clippers lead by two points!
Li Ao's two dunks successfully ripped open the 'perfect defense' designed by Philip Sanders.
On to the Timberwolves offense.
The Clippers completed the offense with three consecutive dunks, with great momentum!
The morale boost brought by the 'Shark' buckle is higher than the morale bonus provided by the 'Pumper'.
The Clippers' players' defensive actions became more and more rough, and the Timberwolves' players' movements were uncomfortable. In addition, they were dunked by the opponent for three consecutive rounds, making the game very impatient.
Except for one person - Kevin Garnett.
Logically speaking, he should be the most irritable when he was dunked, just like he couldn't control the strength of his shooting in the last round.
But he got angry for just one round, and now he has become the calmest person on the Timberwolves team. He took the initiative to catch the ball in the high post, made a transition, and passed the ball to Billups to catch and attack.
Terrill Brandon is a player from the 57-win Cavaliers team in the early 1990s. Although he is stronger than Billups, he is easy to get into trouble and will get angry once he gets impatient.
And Billups is currently the calmest player on the Timberwolves team besides Garnett.
Garnett himself is the strongest shrink defense expert in the league. He knows very well that the inside scoring ability of his two guard partners will only be bullied by Spider-Man and O'Neal when they rush in.
Billups lived up to Garnett's trust and chose to play outside singles.
But the long two-point shot that breaks through the emergency stop is awesome!
The Clippers protected the defensive rebounds and switched offense and defense. Greg Anthony and Odom used arc pick-and-rolls, and Li Ao reversed and cut in simultaneously.
Dean Garrett followed Odom to the free throw line and immediately turned around and went back to help Garnett protect the frame.
Greg Anthony's chance has come!
A three-point shot after a pick-and-roll...hit!
9 to 4, the Clippers' lead reached 5 points, Flip Saunders called a timeout!
When the whistle sounded, Greg Anthony excitedly rushed to Li Ao and hugged him in celebration.
This is the Timberwolves, and he actually has such an easy pick-and-roll three-point opportunity with the ball!
He shot 41.1% from three-point range this season, the second-highest rate of his career, and averaged 1.5 three-pointers per game, a career-high.
The three-pointer after pick-and-roll with or without the ball is Greg Anthony's strongest offensive method now. He averages 6.3 points and 3.3 assists per game, and more than 70% of his points are based on three-pointers.
But he doesn't have many chances to take shots, averaging 3.7 shots per game, which is not as many as Kidd. Opponents know that his only strength in scoring in positional battles is this one.
On the other side, Flip Saunders looked at the angry-looking players, and he felt numb.
The 'perfect' defense he designed against the Clippers actually turned into a breakthrough for the opponent to open up the situation!
…
After the timeout, the Clippers made no substitutions.
For the Timberwolves, Flip Saunders replaced two people, Billups and Dean Garrett were replaced, and replaced by Anthony Pillar and Nesterovich.
Flip Saunders likes Billups very much, saying he has the strongest court control ability.
Even Garnett trusts Billups the most when it comes to singles.
But unfortunately Billups is a pure ball-handling player and cannot get along with Garnett.
Flip Saunders did not accommodate Billups' style of play. With Garnett, no one would use Billups as the core, even if he is really good.
But Flip Saunders still gave Billups more than 20 minutes of playing time per game, because Billups has outstanding defensive ability and can form a meat grinder-level backcourt defense with Terrell Brandon. .
Iverson leads the scoring list this season, but he played against the Timberwolves twice in mid-November and early this month, shooting 35.3% and 33.3% respectively.
Baron Davis has emerged this year and together with Steve Francis is known as the 'new era point guard', but these two shot less than 40% against the Timberwolves.
Unless they are Mike Bibby, who shoots accurately in singles from the outside, or Kobe, who is tall, other top defenders will stop when they encounter the defense of these two people.
After the game restarted, the Timberwolves' offense had some more changes.
Anthony Pillar catches and shoots accurately, runs well, and has a beautiful setter. With Garnett as the core of the tactics, his offensive performance is better than Billups. From the two of them have hit the ball this season. You can see it in rate and playing time.
Although Nesterovich is not as threatening as Dean Garrett in terms of offensive rebounds, he has a better sense of regularity and has a certain mid-to-long range shooting, which makes him very suitable to partner with powerful inside players. Popovich was selected in the 1998 draft. He was the first choice with the 24th pick in the first round. McHale, who followed Flip Saunders' advice, intercepted him with the 17th pick in the first round.
With these two players on the court, the Timberwolves' offense went more smoothly. Trier Brandon cut in and received a back pass from Anthony Pillar and hit a throw-in.
But on the defensive end, the Timberwolves couldn't defend themselves.
Big Q fired from the flank and hit a three-pointer!
In terms of defense in the first stage, except for the unexpected situation where Li Ao cut in and dunked on Garnett, the Timberwolves actually defended very well.
But now Billups has become Anthony Peeler and can't keep up with Big Q.
Anthony Peeler was also considered a strong defensive player back then, with good physical fitness, tough style of play, fierce confrontation, and strong stealing ability. However, now that he is 31 years old, his athletic ability has declined rapidly, and he is no longer the crazy dog in the backcourt during the Lakers days.
In fact, even if Billups is replaced by Anthony Peeler, with Terrell Brandon and Garnett, the Timberwolves' defense will still be at the middle level of the league.
But facing the young Clippers, who have mostly young players and are playing impressively, their mid-level defense is completely inadequate!
Nesterovich could only squat under the basket. Greg Anthony just made a pick-and-roll three-pointer, and Garnett had to expand.
Although Garnett reached the top of the arc and was within his defensive coverage near the free throw line, Nesterovich was not able to defend Odom and O'Neal Jr.'s attacks from the wings well enough, which was beyond his capabilities.
Without Garnett's mid-range and short-range protection, Szczerbiak has become a pure black hole. Odom split the ball and cut the ball to Li Ao. O'Neal received the ball inside and passed it to Li Ao. Szczerbiak both Can't stop it.
Without Billups, not only can't he keep up with Big Q's movement, but the back line's ability to help defend is also gone. Trier Brandon is only good at single defense, and his size is there, 180 cm, Anthony Pi As defensive players of this type age, they degrade in all aspects.
It is equivalent to saying that the Timberwolves have two defensive black holes in their forward and defensive lines!
Facing the Clippers' increasingly fierce offense, the Timberwolves can only rely on their league's top-level offense and the Clippers' hard steel.
So far this season, the Timberwolves are averaging 98 points per game, ranking sixth in the league.
Faced with the Timberwolves' smooth and tacit tactical cooperation and excellent response shots, the Clippers couldn't defend them.
but!
The Clippers have no psychological burden, no fear, only an indomitable momentum!
Spider-Man said something that struck home in the hearts of his teammates - we are not afraid of losing, it is the opponent who is afraid of losing.
They think this is the truth and makes perfect sense.
Therefore, any Clippers player who has the ball in his hands and feels there is a chance will shoot decisively, even if it is not actually a good opportunity.
The Timberwolves, facing the Clippers' unstoppable momentum, played forward and backward. Obviously their star's personal abilities, peripheral shooting firepower, and tactical coordination fluency... are all better than the Clippers, but they played very hard. Being conservative, always thinking about the best opportunity to pass before shooting, the result is that the performance is no better than the Clippers.
In the first quarter, the score was 29 to 26, and the Clippers led by 3 points; in the second quarter, the score was 24 to 28, and the total score came to 53 to 54, and the Clippers were overtaken by 1 point; in the third quarter, the score was 27 to 22, and the Timberwolves had a single quarter. After 5 turnovers, the Clippers made many counterattacks and entered the final quarter with a 4-point lead over the Timberwolves 80-76...
At the last 10 minutes and 40 seconds of the game, the Clippers continued to maintain a slight lead at 103 to 101 and had the ball!
Current lineup: Timberwolves: Billups, Trier Brandon, Szczerbiak, Garnett, Nesterovich; Clippers: McGinnis, Big Q, Li Ao , Odom, O'Neal Jr.
As always, Billips was reused by Flip Saunders at critical moments, and Garnett handed over the offensive dominance at this time.
It's time for the Clippers offense again.
The Timberwolves defended quite well this time, and Li Ao was forced to come to the right side of the three-second zone to rely on Szczerbiak.
After McGinnis passed the ball to Li Ao, the Timberwolves immediately began to move forward frantically, preventing others from receiving Li Ao's pass.
There is not much time left to attack in this round, so Li Ao can only do it by himself.
Feeling the fierce confrontation behind him, Li Ao knew that the ball could not be thrown directly, because the difference in strength and weight was too big.
Then use that one!
Li Ao struggled with his back to Szczerbiak, protecting the ball with his left hand and dribbling with his right hand.
Szczerbiak held Li Ao firmly and continued to fight.
Li Ao turned right, and Szczerbiak immediately pushed forward... but missed!
Li Ao turned right and stopped halfway. The ball bounced with his right hand and he pulled it to the left. He turned his body sharply and turned 270 degrees to the left... He staggered and took a step toward the basket, but he stabilized his body. After the ball was pulled back, it bounced back and was held firmly!
But Szczerbiak, who tried his best to press and defend but failed to save, was not so lucky and fell to the ground like a handsome guy!
Li Ao, who stood firm and grabbed the ball, immediately took off, ignoring Garnett who rushed up from close range, and took action decisively...
'Abort Level 3' is triggered. Li Ao's 'Emergency Stop Jumper' is greatly weakened by the impact on his body balance due to the emergency stop. His core strength is supplemented and he feels very stable when shooting.
Garnett's defensive action was fierce and fast, but the distance was too far. When he jumped up and stretched out his hand to block Li Ao's shot, the ball had already flown to the back and top of Garnett's head.
Li Ao hit a back-up shot from mid-range, turned around and made a sudden jump shot!
The Timberwolves called a timeout!
Thunderous cheers erupted from the scene, 105 to 101, with 58 seconds left, and the lead expanded to 4 points!
The fans were desperate for this round of offense, and it was almost 24 seconds.
But their Spider-Man came up with a new trick and scored from behind!
Although there was almost a 'Jordan pounce'...
But the ball went in, and looking at Li Ao's handsome face on the big screen, the fans felt that the ball would still be handsome even if Li Ao saved it after passing like Jordan!
However, those who wanted to see "Jordan save" were not disappointed. Spider-Man didn't save, but Szczerbiak, the Timberwolves' ticket seller, did!
Clippers players were more excited than fans.
Li Ao returned to the bench and heard a series of "I buy Karma".
Teammates know that Li Ao has been developing post-up play in the past two days, but only how many days has it been developed? Use it at the critical moment!
Li Ao was also very excited. The combination of high post play and emergency stop jump shot, plus 'stop level 3', this offensive development idea is right!
…
After the timeout, the Timberwolves launched an attack from the center line.
The Timberwolves replaced Dean Garrett to strengthen offensive rebounding, and the other four players remained unchanged.
The Clippers made more substitutions, with the combination of Li Ao, Big Q, Odom, O'Neal Jr. and Chris Mihm coming on the field.
The Clippers couldn't attack with this lineup, but when the Timberwolves saw the opposing lineup, they felt a strong sense of oppression. It was too high! The shortest big Q is 198 centimeters!
Especially Billups, who advanced to the top arc, suddenly felt that Li Ao had become extremely tall, as if this big spider was the only one in his sight!
Billups shook his head quickly a few times before he restrained his desire to escape.
He couldn't believe the intimidation he felt from a rookie.
But he had to believe it, because the feeling of oppression was still there, but it was just his strong psychological quality that could hold it back.
Billups paid attention to the movement of his teammates and started playing singles.
When he saw Szczerbiak borrowing Garnett's cover and being unable to get rid of O'Neal, who was changing defense, he knew he was coming.
Billups changed direction and broke through, but it was okay not to break out. After contacting Li Ao, the feeling of Li Ao getting taller and taller came again!
Billups suddenly took a step away, exited the three-point line, took off, and shot a three-pointer...
He wants to use shooting to fight off this strong sense of oppression... "Pa"...
Li Ao slapped Billups' three-pointer away!
Li Ao did not lose his position. Billups stepped back and shot directly, which was equivalent to looking for a hat!
Following Trier Brandon's big Q at a 45-degree angle on the left, he quickly rushed forward to grab the ball. He went down quickly and scored two points with a one-handed dunk.
Key mid-range shot + block, Li Ao detonated the audience!
The fans at the scene cheered wildly, shouting 'Spider-Man' and 'Leo'.
107 to 101, the score difference came to 6 points, they sealed the victory!
This time the opponent is the Timberwolves, the Timberwolves with superstar Kevin Garnett averaging 22+10+5 per game!
The Timberwolves still had a short timeout that was useless, but Flip Saunders did not call another timeout. The offensive tactics just arranged had not yet been played, and there was no better tactic available when calling a timeout.
It's not that he can't come up with tactics, but that he lacks a key link in the tactics - attacking players.
The only one who can hit tough shots is Billups, but the three-pointers and long two-pointers that Billups is good at are just restrained by the opponent Spider-Man.
Garnett has top-level scoring ability. Scoring more than 20 points in each game is as easy as drinking water, but if he is allowed to play Odom or O'Neal alone at this time... it would be better to let Billups play Li Ao alone.
In the last 30 seconds, neither team scored.
At 10:27 pm, the final whistle sounded.
Li Ao scored 18 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal and 4 blocks, O'Neal Jr. 16 points, Big Q 17 points, Odom 14 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists, Maggette 14 points, Greg Anthony 11 points... Clippers Six players scored in double figures, defeating the Timberwolves 107-101 and winning three consecutive victories for the second time this season!
(End of chapter)
