Snapped.
Memphis Grizzlies serve.
Mike Conley advanced with the ball, and after halftime, he gave the ball to veteran Vince Carter. It can be seen that after Conley persisted in playing for one quarter, he planned to save energy and reduce singles in this quarter.
The ball fell to Carter.
The "old" Carter did not play singles after getting the ball, especially when the young Zach LaVine kept reaching out in front of him to interfere. Marc Gasol inside got stuck behind Gorgui Dieng, and Carter quickly gave the ball to him.
Gasol was playing one-on-one, turned around and pulled away before taking a fade away shot.
Uh-huh.
The basketball fell steadily into the basket.
It was the Minnesota Timberwolves' turn to fight back.
Ricky Rubio was holding the ball and encountered Conley's guard after halftime. Rubio did not force himself and decisively passed the ball to LaVine who was running towards him to receive the ball.
Snapped.
After getting the ball, LaVine played singles on the court. Facing Carter's marking, LaVine made continuous changes and directly shook the opponent away and rushed into the two zones.
Carter has already judged LaVine's dribbling trajectory, but his physical fitness can no longer keep up with LaVine, so he can only watch as LaVine rushes in with the ball.
LaVine, who entered the two zones, did not hesitate and took the ball and rushed directly towards the penalty area. However, just when he was about to enter the basket and take a shot, a surprising scene occurred.
First, Gasol suddenly came up to cover the defense, followed closely by James Ennis on the wing. The double-teaming of the two instantly locked up LaVine's shooting space.
At the critical moment, LaVine tried to throw the ball out to his teammates, but after he threw the basketball, Carter suddenly came out of the way behind him and directly intercepted his pass.
Snapped.
After the steal, Carter quickly advanced with the ball. Conley was faster than him. Conley rushed to the Timberwolves' basket with Rubio's defense. At the critical moment, Conley went two-on-one with Carter. Rubio had no choice but to mark himself. Behind him, Conley watched helplessly as Carter scored the ball with a layup.
Uh-huh.
The ball went in.
This wave of defensive counterattack really surprised many fans.
The Timberwolves players were somewhat surprised. As the core, Zhao Feiyang stood up and stared at the large electronic screen, trying to analyze the opponent's tactics from the replays above.
"Depend on!"
"Coach Tom is engaging in targeted defense! He has led us for a while and understands our respective playing styles, strengths and weaknesses..."
After watching the replay, Zhao Feiyang subconsciously looked at Thibodeau standing opposite. What's interesting is that at this time, the other party also cast a joking look at him. Although there was a long distance between him, Zhao Feiyang could clearly feel the pride in Thibodeau's eyes.
Although Zhao Feiyang also understands Thibodeau's coaching style, the other party is not static, especially after suffering losses, Thibodeau has changed a lot this time.
It can be seen from his willingness to change the lineup in the second quarter that he definitely hopes to avenge his shame.
On the field.
The Timberwolves continue to serve.
This time LaVine directly advanced with the ball. After reaching the half court, the Grizzlies players were still the same as before, first one-on-one marking. Seeing Carter approaching again, LaVine did not rush to break through, but saw the opportunity and shot a three-pointer.
Uh-huh.
The ball went in.
Always find a little bit of fun! Raven's heavy heart was much lighter than before.
The ball is in the hands of the Grizzlies again.
After halftime, the Grizzlies once again handed the ball to Gasol, who held the ball in singles outside the penalty area. Seeing that he was about to fend off Gorgi alone, Adrian on the side took the opportunity to help defend. Unexpectedly, Gasol was waiting for this opportunity and quickly threw the ball to the other side of the backboard.
The basketball bounced out, and Chandler Parsons, standing on the other side, jumped high and put the ball into the basket with a tip-in.
Snapped.
The ball went in again.
In the second quarter, the Timberwolves' offense gradually became too single-minded, and the ball mainly relied on core players like LaVine to score. But what's bad is that LaVine's breakthrough problems continue. The Grizzlies seem to have seen through his style of play on the defensive end, and will always take advantage of his carelessness to interfere with the double team.
Precisely because their offensive performance was not good enough, the Timberwolves actually fell behind the Grizzlies at the end of the second quarter.
Beep.
When the halftime sound sounded, the score between the two sides was 55-60.
The Timberwolves were actually pulled to 5 points.
Five points is not too much, but it is obviously far from what the Timberwolves expected. When the two sides started playing before the game, everyone thought that the team would definitely defeat the Grizzlies easily. After all, the team won so much last time.
But now, it seems that it can't be done.
During the halftime break, in the Timberwolves' locker room, the team's head coach Eric Stotts took his time to analyze the problems on the field.
Unlike Coach Thibodeau, he has a gentler temper and never spreads his anger on the players. Although this lacks some dignity, it also makes the Timberwolves united enough.
"Don't worry, we still have a chance in the second half!"
"I need to wait a moment to start the offense. This is where we made our mistakes before... As for the defensive end, we still follow the previous plan, but we must block the two guys inside... ."
"They are the biggest threat..."
the other side.
In the Grizzlies locker room, Thibodeau is still as strict as before, and he doesn't offer much encouragement during breaks. He just keeps analyzing the problems on the field and criticizes the players.
However, compared to when he was with the Timberwolves, he has finally restrained himself this time, at least not making personal attacks on players at every turn.
This also made the atmosphere in the Grizzlies locker room serious and depressing, but there was no further conflict.
Beep.
The second half comes.
The Timberwolves replaced their main players again, but Rubio took a break at No. 1 and became LaVine, who can assist and shoot.
Ibaka and Adrian also appeared again.
For the Grizzlies, Gasol went to rest, and Randolph, Tony Allen and other main players were replaced on the court.
call out.
Timberwolves offense.
LaVine advanced with the ball, and covered with Zhao Feiyang after halftime. After failing to break through, he gave the ball to Zhao Feiyang. Zhao Feiyang played Allen one-on-one, and the two faced each other. Zhao Feiyang easily shook the opponent away, but the moment he rushed into the basket with the ball, the scene that happened to LaVine happened again.
I saw two defensive players inside swooping up at the same time, blocking Zhao Feiyang's shooting space.
But unlike LaVine, Zhao Feiyang chose to throw at the critical moment, using an ultra-high arc throw to avoid the long-arm interference of the two and send the ball into the basket.
Uh-huh.
The ball went in.
Seeing that his players failed to guard Zhao Feiyang, Coach Thibodeau was a little angry off the court. He stood on the sidelines and shouted to the court, "Be decisive! It's too slow... Don't give him a chance." ..."
The game continues.
It was the Grizzlies' turn to fight back.
Defender Andrew Harrison held the ball on a fast break. After rushing all the way to the half court, he threw the ball to his teammate Allen. Allen caught the ball and threw the ball first. Zhao Feiyang, who followed, missed and missed. Block the opponent's ball.
The Timberwolves continued to fight back.
His teammates once again handed the ball to Zhao Feiyang, but this time, as soon as Zhao Feiyang broke through the two zones, the opponent immediately double-teamed him. Zhao Feiyang was blocked by the sudden double-team. He tried to throw the ball, but Allen, the defensive player behind him, also interfered.
In this way, three players surrounded Zhao Feiyang at the same time.
Although he finally threw the ball, the basketball he threw this time failed to score. Instead, the Grizzlies picked off the rebound and made another defensive counterattack.
As time goes by, the Grizzlies' advantage on the court becomes more and more obvious. Their reliance on defense, especially inside defense, makes it difficult for the Timberwolves to enter the two divisions. However, long-range shots rely too much on hit rate. Even if Zhao Feiyang's touch is okay, others have really average touch.
What makes the Timberwolves even more troublesome is that Conley on the Grizzlies began to output steadily after coming on the court. His three-point shooting condition is not very good, but he knows how to use mid-range shots to open up the situation, especially when Gasol chose to play with him. Frequent pick-and-roll situations make Conley's touch even hotter.
So, when the game came to the last quarter with 1 minute left, not only did the Timberwolves fail to catch up with the score they had lost before, but they were even pulled by the Grizzlies by 13 points.
At this moment, there is no suspense about the outcome. Even Zhao Feiyang cannot lead the team to turn defeat into victory in this situation.
Even though he has scored 30 points in this game, the team's overall performance is average, and the team's inside performance has not been ideal. This series of problems makes it difficult for the Timberwolves to win against such an opponent.
call out.
Before the end of the game, coach Eric of the Timberwolves chose to replace the main players such as Zhao Feiyang and LaVine. This change is undoubtedly a choice to give up.
Zhao Feiyang, LaVine and others sat back on the team bench lonely, and the other Timberwolves players also looked disappointed, which was completely different from the state before the game.
"Damn! Why do we lose a game like this?"
"Oh! God! Originally, I planned to go to the nightclub to relax after winning this game... These guys are stronger than we thought..."
"Coach Tom is completely different today! I feel that he knows our main players very well, and almost every one of them has been defended in a targeted manner... This is really unexpected... "
Beep.
The on-site timer rang quickly and the game was over. The final score between the two sides was 110 to 122, with 12 points being the final gap between the two sides.
The moment the Grizzlies won the game, all their players cheered excitedly, and head coach Thibodeau even rarely shook hands and high-fived with his assistant team.
He even gave the Timberwolves a condescending look.
