Minneapolis.
Zhao Feiyang's home.
After Zhao Feiyang led the team to win the championship last year, he spent money to buy a luxury villa in Minneapolis worth more than $3 million.
It covers an area of more than 1,300 square meters, including an outdoor swimming pool, an outdoor barbecue stall, a home theater, a 6-car garage and a gym, as well as seven bedrooms and six bathrooms.
There is also an indoor basketball court and 8 oversized bedrooms with large bathrooms.
On weekdays, only he and Jiang Qiuyue lived here. Only during the offseason or holidays would their parents come here from China to vacation together.
Usually, he rarely invites his teammates to his home. This time was an exception. He not only called all his teammates and team coaching staff over for dinner, but also invited their families.
As a result, the usually deserted home seemed particularly lively.
Zhao Feiyang also specially invited several chefs from China and asked them to bring authentic Chinese ingredients for his teammates to try. The players were also celebrating while eating.
The Timberwolves have just concluded their regular season journey. The players' efforts in the final stage have finally paid off. With everyone's hard work, the Timberwolves have finally stabilized their ranking at fourth in the Western Conference.
This ranking is just right for the Timberwolves.
Not only do they avoid super strong teams in the first round, but they also allow players to seize the time to get into shape and even find opportunities to recuperate in the first round.
As long as less physical energy is consumed in the front, the players will generally be in better condition toward the back.
The three teams ahead of them are the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets.
There is no doubt that these three teams are the most likely to reach the Western Conference Finals. If you want to fight them at the last minute, you must ensure that there are no major injuries in the team's lineup after the first two rounds, and at the same time, the players' spirit The condition is not too bad.
"Guys, let's toast to the hard work of the season!"
Zhao Feiyang took the initiative to raise his glass, and other teammates also raised their glasses and cheered together.
"Our opponent in the first round of the playoffs is the Grizzlies. Guess how many games it will take us to eliminate them?"
Raven joked while drinking.
His words quickly drew cheers from his teammates.
"I guess we will definitely end the first round 4-2."
"No, I think it's 4 to 1."
"You are too conservative. I think it must be a sweep... But now I am curious, if we sweep the Grizzlies, will Coach Tom's face look ugly? Just like when he lost before The one given to us..."
The speaker was Adrian Ennis.
As someone who has always been opposed to Thibodeau, Adrian's dislike for the latter is almost overflowing. After all, as a substitute player, he was often ignored by the opponent, and he was even criticized in various ways during training.
If Adrian hadn't always had a good mentality, I'm afraid other players would have been crushed!
There are many people like him in the team. In short, no one dares to boast about the future of the team. But for the team led by Coach Thibodeau, it must be done no matter what.
This move is not only a victory over his opponent, but also a fierce counterattack against Coach Thibodeau.
Four days after this dinner, the NBA playoffs arrived as scheduled.
The Minnesota Timberwolves also welcomed their first-round series opponent, the Memphis Grizzlies, at Target Arena, their home stadium.
Because they beat the opponent by 20 points last time, the Timberwolves players are very confident this time. No one thinks that the team will lose to the Grizzlies, even if the latter relied on their own efforts to win the game in the final stage of the regular season. Spurred from eighth in the Western Conference to fifth in the Western Conference.
What winning brings is the team's self-confidence from top to bottom. It is undeniable that in terms of morale, the Timberwolves this night are definitely far superior to their opponent the Grizzlies.
At the same time, in the Grizzlies locker room, team coach Thibodeau was lecturing everyone.
Compared with the confidence of the Timberwolves, the Grizzlies, who lost by 20 points last time, are quite unconfident this time. Except for a few core players in the team who look relatively normal, other players have some signs of it on their faces. A worried look.
"Guys, listen, don't worry about losing the game... That was just a long time ago. The team wasn't really gelling at all then, so it's not surprising that we lost to them... Now we We’ve had enough grinding, think about what you have done all the way to fifth place in the Western Conference..."
"I need all of you to cheer up and remember not to show any fear or cowardice. I don't need such cowards in my team...Victory will only belong to the strong!"
Under Thibodeau's leadership, the team's morale has finally improved slightly.
Soon, the Grizzlies players entered the stadium under his leadership.
Beep.
The sound of the start of the timer sounded, and the starting lineups of both sides officially took to the court.
As before, the Timberwolves sent Zhao Feiyang and Derrick Rose to partner in the backcourt. Andrew Wiggins continued to be assigned to the third position, and Adrian Ennis and Game were assigned to the fourth and fifth positions. Serge Ibaka.
The starting number one position for the Grizzlies is Mike Conley.
The second and third positions are given to Tony Allen and JaMychal Green. The fourth and fifth positions are naturally the positions of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol.
call out.
The referee whistle sounded.
Players from both sides take their positions.
Snapped.
The referee threw the ball high, and Adrian was in the limelight this time. He took the lead in slapping Marc Gasol and slapped the ball away.
The ball fell into the hands of the Timberwolves.
Rose advanced with the ball.
He is actually in pretty good shape after returning from injury, but he has changed a lot from his previous open style of play. Rose, who had already performed well again, felt that he was still shrouded in injuries, so he did not dare to make too explosive moves easily.
boom.
Standing at the top of the arc, he hit the ground and passed the ball to Zhao Feiyang. Zhao Feiyang was playing singles with the ball. Facing Tony who was marking him, he lifted the basketball to test the opponent's center of gravity. The next second when the opponent thought he was really going to break through, Zhao Feiyang suddenly pulled the ball back and followed up with a shot. Take a decisive step back and take action.
Uh-huh.
The three-pointer fell firmly into the basket.
Zhao Feiyang scored the first goal of the game, and the Timberwolves fans on the sidelines screamed and cheered with joy.
It was the Grizzlies' turn to fight back.
Conley, who was holding the ball, rushed across the half court under Rose's interference. When he reached the half court, Marc Gasol in the post quickly moved up to the high post to help him cover.
The two of them started a pick-and-roll, and Conley rushed to the basket. Adrian, who was guarding the inside, quickly moved up to cover the defense. But Conley didn't plan to take action himself, and chose to throw it.
The next second, Randolph, who was standing under the basket, leaped high, caught the basketball on the right side of the basket and dunked the ball into the basket.
boom.
The ball went in.
There was not much difference in performance between the two sides in the first quarter. The Timberwolves were even better on the offensive end, especially the three-person outside team headed by Zhao Feiyang, Rose and LaVine. They could not only rotate up to beat the Grizzlies, but also Able to seize opportunities to cooperate.
This is indeed difficult for the Grizzlies to stop.
As for the Grizzlies, their advantage lies in several players on the front line, such as Gasol and Randolph. These two people make the Grizzlies' defensive area under the basket almost a "no-fly zone." If it weren't for the Timberwolves' outstanding outside advantage, it would be impossible to perform well without the interference of these two people.
call out.
End of first quarter.
29 to 28.
The Timberwolves lead by 1 point.
During the break, the Timberwolves also re-adjusted their lineup. Ricky Rubio paired with Zach LaVine, one playing the one position and the other playing the two position. Ibaka in the post was temporarily replaced to rest, and Gorgui Dieng came on as a substitute.
Striker Andrew Wiggins was also replaced, and substitute Shabazz Muhammad took his place.
"What do you think Coach Tom will do?"
When everyone was resting, Adrian suddenly said something.
As soon as he said this, the players couldn't help laughing.
"I guess it should be about the same as the previous one."
"It would be perfect... The last time they lost to us by so many points, it was largely because the core played on the court for too long! It's the playoffs now, and the offensive and defensive intensity will only be stronger than before. big......"
"There's no way! This is Coach Tom's style! I can't say it's wrong, but he really overestimates everyone's physical ability..."
Amid the teasing of the players, the whistle sounded in the second quarter.
However, when the Timberwolves players took to the court again, they were surprised to find that the Grizzlies lineup on the court was different from before.
Except for Gasol and Mike Conley who are still on the court, all players in other positions have been replaced. The forward position on the wing was replaced by substitute James Ennis, and the fourth position was handed over to Chandler Parsons. The most eye-catching thing is that the shooting guard position was handed over to a veteran.
The reason why one veteran will attract attention is because this veteran is none other than the former "Dunk God" Vince Carter.
Carter, who is already 39 years old at this time, can be called an old man in the league. There are only a handful of players older than him, and there are really not many seniors like him who have come through that era and have not yet retired.
Although he can't jump as high as he did in his peak years, nor can he run as fast as before, and his explosive power is far less than it was before, his appearance made many fans cheer. Even Zhao Feiyang, who was sitting on the team bench to rest, cheered. I couldn't help but be in awe.
"Carter is really old-hearted!"
"It's just that Coach Thibodeau actually learned how to make substitutions... It seems that he is still worried about the last defeat! I don't know what will happen this time..."
