Zhao Feiyang's successive goals narrowed the score gap, and the Thunder team, which was originally planning to replace Russell Westbrook, temporarily gave up the idea.
In order to ensure that the team stabilizes the situation and successfully wins the game, the "Thunder Young Masters" are still on the court and do not enter the bench to rest.
However, at the end of the last quarter, the Thunder also adopted a different defensive strategy.
For Zhao Feiyang, who has great breakthrough ability, the Thunder team specially adopted double-teaming measures, with Russell Westbrook and teammate Andre Robertson going up to restrict Zhao Feiyang.
There were only 2 minutes and 50 seconds left before the end of the game, and the score difference between the two sides remained at 8 points.
It was the Timberwolves' turn to attack.
Zhao Feiyang planned to hold the ball through halftime and look for opportunities to break through, but as soon as he passed the midline, Russell Westbrook and Andre Robertson double-teamed him.
The sudden double-team made Zhao Feiyang keep dodging. He originally planned to dribble past the opponent quickly, but the two people in front of him were very experienced in defense. They directly attacked him from left to right, leaving Zhao Feiyang with no loopholes to get past them. .
Generally speaking, in this case, teammates will come up to cover and respond.
At least that's the case with the Lakers and Warriors.
However, this time, Zhao Feiyang could not wait for the response from his teammates.
Snapped.
Finally, the basketball in his hand was slapped away by Russell Westbrook.
After the referee's whistle sounded, Zhao Feiyang cast doubtful eyes on his other teammates, but what was waiting for him was a group of people who looked careless.
His teammates on the court gave him the feeling of watching the fun. No one seemed to care about winning or losing. Not only did they not respond, they didn't even mark the Thunder players. Some even stood under the basket and told jokes to their opponents.
How does this look like a team?
Zhao Feiyang suddenly became a little disappointed. He played so hard just to win, but his teammates had no intention of fighting together.
This made him feel like what could he do if he wasted all this energy?
The ball is still in the hands of the Timberwolves.
Snapped.
Zhao Feiyang took the initiative to stand on the sideline and deliver the ball. After the basketball was given to his teammates, he never looked at the court again.
"Coach Phillip, I need to rest."
Zhao Feiyang shouted to the head coach on the sidelines.
Philip Sanders was a little surprised. He didn't expect Zhao Feiyang's attitude to change so much. However, he also saw that Zhao Feiyang was very unhappy.
"Zhao, hold on a little longer..."
"No, I need to rest, right now..."
Zhao Feiyang responded forcefully.
Coach Philip Sanders had no choice but to signal to the referee on the side to make a substitution.
At the same time, the ball rights on the court also changed several times. Without Zhao Feiyang's participation, the basketball was quickly thrown by the Timberwolves players.
boom.
As expected, the basketball hit the backboard and bounced out.
call out.
The Thunder just grabbed the rebound when the Timberwolves called a timeout.
Amidst the exclamations of all the fans, Zhao Feiyang took the initiative to walk off the court and sit on the bench. This scene also made many fans on the sidelines shake their heads and sigh, and even the Thunder didn't quite understand it.
Kevin Martin continued to replace him.
There was not much time left in the game, and the Timberwolves had no chance of turning defeat into victory.
Beep.
The timer stops and the game is over.
The two sides scored 113 to 123.
The Timberwolves lost by 10 points.
Immediately after the end, Zhao Feiyang got up and walked toward the players' tunnel alone. The reaction of the other teammates was similar to before. They were still talking and laughing and left in groups. The loss of the game did not seem to affect their mood at all.
Even head coach Philip Saunders is like this.
"Hey guys, let's go get a drink tonight!"
"This is a great idea, where do you want to go? Recently I found a nice place... We can go and relieve our tiredness all night long... Who wants to join us? of?"
"I go."
"Count me in......"
"And I......"
The players chatted away, and the atmosphere seemed extremely lively.
If someone who didn't know the inside story saw this scene, they would think it was a sign of team unity! One might also mistakenly think that this is a very cohesive team.
After entering the locker room, the players were still discussing how to relax tonight. Zhao Feiyang behaved very indifferently and left the locker room without talking to anyone.
Seeing this, the other players also saw something was wrong with him.
Some teammates also asked, "Should we call Zhao? He is new here and seems to need to integrate into the team. I think he should accept it..."
However, Kevin Martin and Maurice Williams disagree with this statement.
"Forget it! It's better not to call that guy... People just want to win, not people like us who give up on ourselves..."
"That's right. He is not from the same group as us. We just want to play well and treat it as a job... He is someone who strives for the championship..."
The two men's sarcastic remarks caused laughter in the locker room.
Of course, there were also players such as Zach LaVine and Ricky Rubio who did not smile. However, considering the harmonious atmosphere within the team, they did not speak out to make any rebuttal.
Zhao Feiyang lost his first game with the Timberwolves, which undoubtedly disappointed many Chinese fans who watched the live broadcast.
They all left messages on Zhao Feiyang's personal social account, hoping that he could find a way to leave the Timberwolves.
"Whether the Warriors can win the championship or not, at least they still look like a serious team on the surface...The Timberwolves are so far behind, bad management, bad teammates, I don't know Zhao Feiyang What are you doing to waste your career on a team like this?"
"Zhao Feiyang was also cheated! Who would have thought that the Warriors would encounter this situation halfway? If he had known this earlier, Zhao Feiyang would definitely not have been willing to go to the Warriors..."
"Scoring 30 points in the first game, this performance is really not bad...it was the Timberwolves that dragged him down..."
"Not to mention other things, Andrew Wiggins is so talented, how come he started playing basketball for the Timberwolves? This guy is the number one pick among the rookies. Although he himself is not very motivated, I don't believe him. There is no desire to win at all..."
Although Zhao Feiyang was very disappointed with the defeat in his first show, he still did not choose to give up on this team.
Starting from the next day, he entered the training hall early in the morning to practice hard. Not only that, he also personally found the head coach and general manager Philip Sanders after the training.
"Coach, I have something to say."
Zhao Feiyang opened the door of Philip Sanders' office, "I hope the team can adjust the lineup and try its best to win every game and hit the playoffs."
"If you or the management don't agree, then I have nothing to say. I hope to apply for a trade to leave the team...or a buyout..."
