The situation on the court was lagging behind, and the Minnesota Timberwolves were also very anxious.
The outside line can still maintain the situation under the leadership of Zhao Feiyang, but the loopholes on the inside line are too big. Starting centers like Gorgui Dieng are completely squeezed out, especially when substitute Gregg cannot perform well. At that time, firefighters like Gorgi were really powerless.
After the half-time break, the players' physical fitness recovered a little.
Adrian Ennis tried to apply to head coach Norman Thomas to play, but was still rejected by coach Norman.
"No! Adrian, please rest for a while! I will call you when needed..."
"Coach Norman, I..."
"Stop talking! If you want to play, you must obey the arrangements..."
Zhao Feiyang on the side also noticed the situation of the two people. After the head coach Norman returned to his seat, he hurriedly came to the other side.
"Coach Norman, do Adrian want to appear?"
Coach Norman did not answer, but asked Zhao Feiyang calmly, "Zhao, I know you want to persuade me to let Adrian play... but his condition..."
"Coach Norman, it's normal for him to be in bad shape. Even Yao Ming wasn't in good shape when he played in the NBA for the first time? But what happened later? Adrian has been burdened with many people's expectations before. In this case, who should he replace? The psychological pressure is huge..."
As Zhao Feiyang spoke, he also specifically asked head coach Norman, "Coach, I mean if...if you lead us to the finals now, the outside world expects us to make history and win the championship." Champion, are you nervous now?”
This question actually silenced Coach Norman.
After a while, he said, "Okay! I can give him a chance, but once he performs poorly, I will replace him... Zhao, I understand what you are thinking, and I also know Adrian He’s a hard-working guy…”
"The more this happens, the less I want him to be knocked down early...can you understand?"
Beep.
The sound started for the second half.
The lineups of both sides appear again.
Adrian was indeed replaced by coach Norman, who moved inside to take charge of the Timberwolves' No. 5 position.
New Orleans Pelicans ball possession.
Defender Eric Gordon advanced with the ball, and after reaching half court, he gave the ball to Tyreke Evans.
Evans is not an ordinary player. He was a super rookie in the same class as Stephen Curry.
Since entering the league, he has been one of the most watched young people among the rookies.
It can be said that Evans has well interpreted the saying "debut is the peak".
That year, the No. 1 pick in the draft, Blake Griffin, suffered a season-ending injury and failed to appear in the public eye. At that time, Curry did not have as much dominance as he later did. He was just a relatively eye-catching player in the rookie team. Even though James Harden didn't have a superstar performance, he was just playing as a substitute for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
But that year, Evans was already averaging 20.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Becoming the fourth rookie in NBA history to achieve "20+5+5" in the first season of his career after "Big O", Michael Jordan, and LeBron James.
Such a performance can be said to have aroused too many people's expectations for him.
Later, he got his wish and won the honors of "Best Rookie" and "All-Star Rookie Game MVP" that year. It can be said that his future is bright.
Unfortunately, since his rookie season, his injuries have become an extremely serious problem. Coupled with his own lack of self-discipline, he has gradually lost his star talent and gradually become an ordinary main player.
Evans was holding the ball on the wing and preparing to attack. The person who came up to mark him was Zhao Feiyang.
Zhao Feiyang has known this player for a long time and knows that the opponent's talent and strength are quite good, so he can't help but feel a little more sympathy and respect.
The two met each other, and Evans suddenly changed direction from the right to the left. He was so fast that Zhao Feiyang was half a step away from him.
But just when he was about to rush to the basket and lift the basketball for a layup, Zhao Feiyang, who was guarding him, leaped high and slapped him.
Snapped.
Evans' shot was intercepted by Zhao Feiyang before it was completely shot.
The whole place was in an uproar.
The basketball rolled out, and Zhao Feiyang quickly rushed forward and threw the ball back. Just as Adrian was standing under the basket, he reacted quickly and rushed forward to receive Zhao Feiyang's pass.
After winning the ball, Adrian threw a long pass to Zach LaVine outside the three-point line.
LaVine ran wildly with the ball and quickly rushed to the half court.
He wanted to force his way into the basket to break through, but was blocked by the opponent. LaVine had no choice but to hold on to the ball and wait for his teammates to get into position and start another positional attack.
Zhao Feiyang passed halftime quickly, and LaVine gave the ball to him.
Just when Zhao Feiyang was about to play singles, Adrian suddenly made a gesture and then suddenly raised his position.
Zhao Feiyang rushed to the basket, and Adrian fended off Evans, who was guarding Zhao Feiyang, and then ran into the penalty area from the right.
The Pelicans substitute center Alexi in the paint could only choose one of the two at this time. He hesitated for less than 1 second and chose to cover Zhao Feiyang.
Unexpectedly, the next second Zhao Feiyang threw the ball with a high throw.
Adrian, who followed up from the right, leaped high and caught the ball and made a back-up dunk.
boom.
The ball went in.
The perfect cooperation between the two drew applause from the audience.
Those fans who didn't like Adrian couldn't help but praise him when they saw that he could also dunk alley-oops.
"Although thanks to Zhao's pass, I have to say that Adrian doesn't seem to be useless..."
"Wonderful cooperation! At least that's what this goal looks like..."
In front of the team table on the sidelines, head coach Norman Thomas finally smiled a little when he saw this scene.
But it was only for a moment that he hid his smile and once again watched the game on the court with a serious face.
After scoring this goal, Adrian looked a little excited. Perhaps this goal inspired his confidence. Soon, 2 minutes and 16 seconds later, during a fast break of the Timberwolves, Zhao Feiyang threw the ball into Adrian's hands.
Adrian followed up with another dunk after catching the ball.
After the goal was scored, the head coach Norman on the sidelines couldn't help but stand up and applaud him.
Time passed by minute by minute.
Adrian's performance on the court was pretty good. Although he didn't score much, he could protect the team's rebounds. In this regard, his performance was passable.
However, with 3 minutes and 01 seconds left in the third quarter, the Pelicans once again replaced the main center Anthony Davis.
As soon as Davis comes on the court, the Timberwolves are under pressure!
They were behind because of Davis before, and whether they can hold on now will determine the outcome of this game!
