Zhao Feiyang's departure shocked the entire audience, but also made head coach Thibodeau's face extremely gloomy.
This incident happened in full view of the public, and Zhao Feiyang's actions undoubtedly brought disgrace to him. However, the game is not over yet. No matter what he thinks in his heart, he must lead the team to finish the game.
After returning to the coaching position, Thibodeau also rearranged his tactics with an angry face.
"Damn it! Derek, you have the ball to attack at the last moment. I need you to shoot a three-pointer... I believe in you. Everyone else gives the ball to Derek..."
Rose's physical energy was too much at this time. He played more than 37 minutes in this game. This is not good news for him who has just recovered from his injury.
Therefore, faced with the head coach's arrangements, Rose took the initiative to express his thoughts.
"Coach Tom, I'm sorry...I don't have the physical strength right now...I mean, I haven't fully recovered from my injury. I may not be able to do this kind of task of executing the winning goal. ..."
"I thought Zach had a good touch today, and it was good to give him the opportunity..."
Rose's words made Thibodeau even more angry.
"What? You said you can't do it?"
"Derek, do you know what you are talking about? Where has that arrogant young man gone? Has he retired? Man, since I have known you, today you have said the most stupid things... ..”
Rose was not angry, but frowned and responded to Thibodeau, "Coach, I am indeed not the same Derrick I used to be! And, I think the game is not for one person, but for a group of people... If others are in better condition, why can't we give the opportunity to others?"
Rose pointed at LaVine, Rubio and others and said, "They are all my teammates and guys I trust...Although I am usually not good at talking, it doesn't mean that I am not good at talking. Trust my partners..."
Rose's words surprised LaVine, Rubio and others.
Since Rose came to the Timberwolves, there has not been much communication between the two parties. Rose is not a loner on weekdays, but he rarely goes out to have fun with others. Most of the time he spends training and staying at home, and his personality does not seem to be that outgoing.
This caused many people to misunderstand that Rose did not like them. Especially LaVine, Howard and others, who are solid supporters of Zhao Feiyang, are naturally wary of Rose, who can threaten Zhao Feiyang's status and is not close to them.
But now, it seems that Ross is not as unkind as they imagined.
Taking this opportunity, LaVine also quickly chased after Thibodeau and said, "Coach, I can... give the ball to me!"
Thibodeau rolled his eyes at LaVine and ignored him at all.
Seeing this, Howard on the side also spoke out to support LaVine, "Coach Tom, I think LaVine can...Derrick played too long today and needs to rest. Give the ball to LaVine!"
"You all shut up!"
Thibodeau almost roared.
After calming the players, Thibodeau completely ignored them and directly gave his order, "Give the ball to Derek! Others will cover for him!"
"Serge, you and Dwight are ready to compete for rebounds in the paint!"
call out.
The referee whistle sounded.
The timeout ended and both sides returned to the court again.
Both Howard and LaVine were a little dissatisfied when they walked onto the court. They had already begun to resist the idea of resistance to head coach Thibodeau's arrangement and his move to not let Zhao Feiyang play.
"Zach, why don't we do it ourselves!"
Howard walked up to LaVine and said.
Raven glanced at Rose and finally shook his head, "Dwight, Derek is innocent. He didn't target us or Zhao... Let's do what the guy said! The game. The victory and defeat also belong to us. If he really loses the game, the worst he can do is not be the head coach and leave directly, but we can't..."
Howard thought about it and could only nod his head to give up the idea of going it alone.
On the court.
Brandon Knight walked to the free throw line, received the referee's pass, and took the first free throw amidst the boos of the fans.
boom.
The basketball bounced out of the basket.
Knight missed his first free throw and all the fans screamed.
Howard and Ibaka under the basket were also ready to get in position with the Suns' inside line, intending to compete for rebounds after the second missed free throw.
There are only the last 7 seconds left, and there are not many opportunities left for the Timberwolves!
boom.
boom.
Knight was under great pressure, patted the basketball and spun it a few times in his hands. When he raised it again, all eyes were on him.
Snapped.
Knight threw the ball out, and the basketball bounced out of the basket.
Howard reacted the fastest, leaping high and slapping the rebound directly. After getting the ball, he searched around the court with his eyes. He originally planned to give the ball to LaVine, but in the end he gritted his teeth and gave it to Rose.
Rose got the ball and quickly counterattacked with the ball.
Time flies. In order to tie the score, Rose had no intention of breaking through, but came to the three-point line to mark his Knight alone.
The two met each other, Rose picked up the basketball and shook it, followed by a step back and directly raised the basketball to shoot.
His movements are not too slow, but compared to his peak state back then, his speed is still down a notch now.
Despite this, Knight was unable to interfere with Rose's shot.
Unfortunately, a second later, the basketball thrown by Rose failed to score. It just hit the right side of the basket and bounced out.
Beep.
The moment the timer sounds, the live game ends.
110 to 107.
The Phoenix Suns narrowly defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves by 3 points.
Rose, who missed the buzzer-beating shot, shook his head helplessly and sighed. LaVine, Howard and other teammates did not blame him, but even stepped forward to give him a high-five to express their comfort.
But when Rose walked to the team bench, head coach Thibodeau scolded him with a look of resentment, "Derek, your performance today really disappointed me!"
"You wouldn't miss such a winning shot in the past! The person guarding you is not a superstar, just a role player..."
Thibodeau shook his head and left in disappointment.
The fans at the scene also witnessed with their own eyes the chaotic state within the Timberwolves. Regarding these things that happened, the fans temporarily became the fans. For the lost home game, the fans could only be disappointed even if they were unwilling to do so. Leave with loneliness.
This game was also mentioned in the ESPN news that night. Compared with the Timberwolves who lost the game, the outside world was obviously more concerned about what happened in the last moments of the team.
Many people are talking about the relationship between Zhao Feiyang and Thibodeau.
"Judging from the scene, I don't think Thibodeau and Zhao Feiyang can get along well. We don't know what happened, but there must be a gap between the two... In this case, it seems that the Timberwolves traded Thibodeau is not a good thing..."
"Thibedou's coaching ability is good, but sometimes he is too rigid. He is too rigid in training and too rigid in employment. If I were a role player, then I would definitely not like him... ...Because his existence can only improve the record, but it cannot help the team select or develop more potential players..."
"What on earth are the Timberwolves' management doing? Coach Thomas did a good job last season, why should he be fired? Zhao Feiyang is the core of the team, why don't they support him? Man, you can't bring it in because the Warriors Durant is showing off! This is not what you should do!"
Outside public opinion inevitably pushed Zhao Feiyang and Coach Thibodeau to the forefront, which also caused a headache for the Timberwolves management.
Fortunately, the general manager of the team, Sam Mitchell, had a good relationship with both of them, so on the third day after the game, Sam Mitchell personally invited the two of them together to discuss team matters. Talk to them and try to reconcile the two through such an opportunity.
