Big eyebrow brother Anthony Davis was replaced at the end of the second quarter.
After playing, he personally entered the paint, intending to interfere with Zhao Feiyang's breakthrough and at the same time take back the rebound that belonged to the New Orleans Pelicans.
call out.
The referee whistle sounded.
It was the Timberwolves' turn to attack.
This time, Zhao Feiyang personally held the ball through half the court, and it was Jrue Holiday who came to mark him.
As the main defender of the Pelicans, the latter was already resting off the court, but considering Zhao Feiyang's invincible performance on the court, the team's head coach Alvin Gentry had no choice but to replace Holiday with him as a guard.
Two people one on one.
Holiday didn't dare to get too close. Previously, Zhao Feiyang would easily move away and then get to the basket. In order to prevent Zhao Feiyang's breakthrough, Holiday had to open up a little defensive distance.
However, Zhao Feiyang's offensive methods were more than he expected.
The two faced each other. One second, Zhao Feiyang was still making tentative steps, and the next second, he suddenly pulled the ball back and took a step back. He just raised the basketball and shot before Holiday could react.
Uh-huh.
A crisp three-pointer fell firmly into the basket.
The ball went in.
It was the Pelicans' turn to fight back.
After half the fast break, Holiday took a shot from outside the three-point line, but was blocked by Zhao Feiyang. The basketball fell into the hands of teammate Wiggins. Wiggins made a long pass and threw the ball into Zhao Feiyang's hands. Zhao Feiyang took the ball and sprinted towards the half court.
Davis, the thick-browed brother, thought Zhao Feiyang was going to break to the basket quickly, so he accelerated across the half court and waited under the basket.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Feiyang had no intention of doing that at all, and directly found the most comfortable shooting spot outside the three-point line and took the shot.
Uh-huh.
Another three-pointer fell steadily into the basket.
The Pelicans' defensive strategy also went bankrupt from here! They tried to block Zhao Feiyang's breakthrough, but unfortunately Zhao Feiyang did not compete with them head-on and directly chose to end the battle with long shots.
However, his touch is very good, which makes the Pelicans open up more and more points.
Beep.
The first half came to an end.
The difference between the two sides reached 14 points.
Pelicans fans were extremely disappointed with their team's first half. I thought I could take down the Timberwolves with their strong inside team, but unfortunately they failed to pose a fatal threat to the opponent at all.
With the game playing like this, it's not easy to comeback in the second half!
Off the field.
Many Timberwolves fans are very satisfied with the team's performance, especially the smooth performance of the main bench after the mix, at least on the offensive end, it is much more stable than when Thibodeau was there.
"One thing to say, the defense trained by Coach Thibodeau is still good! It's a pity that he is not that good at the team's offensive tactics... and he relies too much on core players..."
"If it weren't for these problems, Thibodeau would be a good fit with the Timberwolves. A coach like him is not bad in terms of ability, but he is different from others. He has to wait for a team that fits him before he can perform well and achieve his coaching level. … Once he encounters someone who is not a good fit, his strategy will be ineffective…”
"Anyway, I like this Timberwolves team. The team is positive from top to bottom. Unlike the previous games, the team's bench was completely stagnant, and the main players on the field were also Looking tired..."
Thibodeau, who was watching the live TV broadcast at home, saw the anxious look on his face at the end of the second quarter than before.
He sat on the sofa and sighed several times, then couldn't help but take out a few bottles of red wine from the refrigerator, opened it and drank.
While drinking, he muttered, "How could it be like this? This is not what I want to see...The Timberwolves should go at my pace! How can this be possible?"
"The game is not over yet... Maybe they are just lucky. After all, the Pelicans are not a strong team! So I will wait! Maybe there will be a reversal..."
Soon, it turned out that there was no reversal at all.
The scene Thibodeau expected did not appear. In the second half, the Timberwolves, led by Zhao Feiyang, played their strongest performance since the regular season. Both the main players and the substitutes all felt stable and performed extremely well.
Even in the end, even the inside line that the Pelicans relied on for survival was forced into a defensive state.
Beep.
When the on-site timer rang again, the game finally came to an end. The score between the two sides was 96 to 126. The Timberwolves actually won by a full 30 points. Such a point difference scared many fans.
Especially the fans of the Timberwolves. They thought it would be enough to win, but they didn't expect to win so outrageously.
"Holy shit! 30 points? We didn't win so much when Thibodeau was here... Even if the Pelicans have an average record, they are only a few places behind. How could they lose to us so much?"
"Today's game was exactly like the team's performance in last season's finals! This is the super team in my mind! If we can keep playing like this, I think we will definitely be able to defeat the Warriors, even if they have Kevin .Durant…”
"Zhao was so awesome today! This guy scored 41 points! If he hadn't given more playing time to his substitute teammates at the last moment, I think he would have scored more points..."
At the same time, Thibodeau, who was watching the live broadcast at home, was also shocked.
"How? How could you win by 30 points?"
"That guy actually scored 41 points?"
"Damn Pelicans... You are so bad! You let a group of substitutes win so much? Oh! No! Now I can imagine how the outside world will react... .Farke!”
After the drunk Thibodeau finished cursing with a bit of drunkenness, he was already lying on the sofa and passed out drunk.
After winning the first game without coach Thibodeau, Zhao Feiyang flew back to Minneapolis with his teammates the next day.
Originally, the management planned to interview Zhao Feiyang and other core players, but seeing that the team not only won, but also won so much, they gave up the idea of interviewing for the time being and decided to wait and see what happens next before making any plans.
Shortly after returning home, the Timberwolves soon ushered in the next game.
This time it was the Brooklyn Nets who took the initiative to challenge them.
The Nets' record this season was quite poor. They started with a five-game losing streak. They finally managed to win a game, but the losing streak continued not long after.
Such a record naturally makes them the bottom team in the Eastern Conference. At this time, they are also ranked last in the Eastern Conference.
Opponents of this level are simply not a challenge for the Timberwolves.
The only difference is that after returning to the NBA, Jeremy Lin officially signed with the Brooklyn Nets. Perhaps it was his stay in the CBA during the offseason that ensured his condition, so his performance has been pretty good since the start of the season.
As of this time, he has been able to average 14.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.
This data can be ranked second among the Nets, and his average of 5.1 assists per game is even better, ranking first among the entire Nets.
This kind of efficiency is naturally favored by the Nets. Although they are a weak team, they also need a star to lead the team. When other players failed to produce results or lacked sufficient leadership, Jeremy Lin, who once played "Linsanity", became one of their best choices.
There has indeed been news from the outside world that the Nets will train Jeremy Lin to become their star player.
Jeremy Lin has basically secured his position as the Nets' starting number one, and can be said to be one of the most watched players in the team's main lineup.
The two only yellow-skinned players in the NBA meet. This kind of game may not be noticed by American fans, but it will definitely be taken seriously by Chinese fans.
CCTV Sports also took this special situation into consideration and specially broadcast the game between the two teams.
Many fans really want to see Jeremy Lin and Zhao Feiyang facing off, although everyone knows that the two have long distanced themselves and are no longer what they were when they first entered the league. But the showdown between the two top yellow-skinned basketball players on the planet is still full of expectations.
In this game, the Timberwolves still sent out a bench lineup to start.
This arrangement really encouraged the substitutes again. In the first quarter of the game, they played better than the previous game. Although there were some minor problems on the defensive end, the team made timely adjustments later. As a result, they actually led the Nets after the first quarter.
This is undoubtedly a major blow to the Nets.
So in the second quarter, the Nets still had not replaced some of their main players, including core players like Jeremy Lin, who were still organizing the team's offense on the court.
Zhao Feiyang also appeared in the second quarter.
He and Jeremy Lin finally had a chance to meet each other.
The two met at 3 minutes and 47 seconds of the second quarter. At this time, the Nets attacked, and Jeremy Lin personally held the ball across the half.
The two met at the top of the arc.
One on one.
"Zhao, long time no see! I didn't expect that we would be able to compete in the NBA again after saying goodbye to China..."
Jeremy Lin sighed while dribbling.
Zhao Feiyang and Jeremy Lin also have a very good relationship in private. Of course, Zhao Feiyang is also happy when the two meet again.
"Lin, this time is different! You have stronger teammates in the CBA, and I have stronger teammates here... Let's see if you can lead the team to turn the situation around in this game... I look forward to seeing miracles happen from you! But I will never give in..."
The two of them suddenly became interested.
Jeremy Lin dribbled the ball and started to shake. Faced with Zhao Feiyang's interference, he first dribbled to the right and then suddenly dribbled to the left. Just when he thought he was going to shake off Zhao Feiyang and raise the basketball to take action, Zhao Feiyang's ghostly figure pounced in front of him.
Snapped.
Jeremy Lin's shot was blocked by Zhao Feiyang.
The whole audience exclaimed.
Many fans were frightened by Zhao Feiyang's extremely fast defensive speed, and even Jeremy Lin was surprised by it.
"Zhao, why is your defense so much better than before?"
