Basketball Terminal

Chapter 37 Defending the City
After the timeout, Timberwolves head coach Newman Baker adjusted the team's tactics, having to reduce Tyler Cook's role on offense and shift the offensive focus to the perimeter players.

Newman Baker wondered to himself, who was this Chinese-American player, number 26, from the Long Island Nets? He seemed to have heard someone mention him before, but he hadn't paid much attention to him; it seemed like a mistake.

In just a few rounds, Newman Baker realized that Levi was at least one level above everyone else on the defensive end, a level of defense that was beyond the reach of the G League.

It's not that Levi runs fast or jumps high; Levi's height and physical attributes are only adequate. Tyler Cook, who is about the same height as Levi, is clearly stronger in terms of explosiveness, jumping ability, and speed.

However, Cook just couldn't beat Levi because Levi's anticipation was too accurate, his defensive positioning and choices were excellent, and he was also strong enough. Cook lacked finesse, and his brute force approach was useless against Levi's defense.

After changing tactics, the Timberwolves' situation improved. They played their offense faster and more aggressively, aiming to score quickly before the Nets' half-court defense could establish a foothold.

This is a strategy used by most G League teams. For teams that have less than two weeks of training and integration on average, playing sophisticated offensive tactics is not as effective as playing fast transitions.

Wolves rallied to score 4 straight points, making it 19-14, and the situation looked a bit better.

However, the Nets then hit a three-pointer, and on the defensive end, Levi anchored the paint, setting up a 3-2 zone defense that the Timberwolves struggled to adapt to. After two consecutive failed drives, Levi grabbed the rebounds and immediately launched a fast break with a long pass.

The Nets have increased their offensive speed dramatically. The high-intensity training over the past ten days has paid off. The explosive cardio workouts during each training session have given the players plenty of energy and made them move like the wind during games.

A 12-0 run changed the score to 31-14, with the Nets extending their lead to 17 points. There were still more than 3 minutes left in the first quarter, and the pace of the game was indeed very fast.

The Wolves had to call another timeout. Back on the bench, Levi and his teammates were all drenched in sweat. In terms of running distance alone, the G League was indeed bigger than the NBA.

Li Wei said to Brett on the bench, "Coach, you're right, the opponent is indeed weaker." Brett glared at Li Wei and replied, "Don't relax, they can catch up quickly here."

On the other side of the bench, the team's large deficit put Newman Baker under immense pressure. An assistant coach reminded him, "We're playing too chaotically, which doesn't meet management's requirements..." Newman Baker replied, "I understand, I understand, but... I'll handle it."

Newman Baker hesitated for a few seconds, took out his clipboard, and decided to follow the Timberwolves' management's instructions to have the team play a dynamic offense, starting from the two 45-degree angles and using a lot of screens and picks to break through the opponent's defense.

Seeing the coach's instructions, Tyler Cook said, "Isn't this exactly what we did at the start? It's not working well, coach. We were just having a bad run of shooting..."

"This is the team's requirement. Are you trying to tell me that you just can't beat that number 26?"

Cook fell silent; he didn't want to admit he couldn't beat Levi. Indeed, the competition was far from over; his duel with Levi had only just begun. He was simply out of form in the first match; he needed to dominate Levi from now on.

After setting up the tactics, Newman Baker felt helpless. He didn't really want to play a dynamic offense. He knew that his days with the Timberwolves wouldn't be long.

Newman Baker spent a long time with the Minnesota Timberwolves, primarily working as a video editor, before rising to the position of assistant coach. He assisted several renowned coaches, including Flip Saunders, Rick Adelman, and Tom Thibodeau, learning different coaching experiences from them.

After a brief departure in 2017, Newman Baker returned to the Timberwolves in 2019 following Thibodeau's departure, taking on a coaching role in the G League. The management's requirement for him was to make the Iowa Timberwolves an extension of the Timberwolves' tactics and roster, to develop and train young players, and to build a young talent pool for the Timberwolves.

Simply put, the Iowa Wolves should play the same way the Timberwolves do, with the same roster configuration and tactics, and recruit players according to the Timberwolves' roster structure. The goal is to make the Iowa Wolves a "youth training camp" for the Timberwolves.

The Timberwolves and Houston Rockets have always had a good relationship. Former Timberwolves general manager Kevin McHale was the Rockets' head coach, and the two teams frequently traded players and resources. The Rockets' intense three-point experimentation with their affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, left a deep impression on the Timberwolves, leading to the Rockets' rapid rise and spreading the three-point trend throughout the league.

Therefore, after Thibodeau's failure to make the playoffs and Jimmy Butler's departure, the Timberwolves were determined to start over, emulate the Rockets' model, make full use of their G League affiliates, and innovate their tactics.

Of course, ideals are always beautiful, but reality is often cruel.

Last season, following the guidance of the management, Newman Baker integrated with the Timberwolves' tactical system, hoping to create a new, dynamic offense. The Timberwolves' head coach was Ryan Saunders, the son of former Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders.

After the death of Saunders Sr. in 2015, Saunders Jr. came to the Timberwolves to take over after Tom Thibodeau's departure, becoming the youngest head coach in NBA history.

But becoming an NBA coach is obviously not that easy. As a second-generation rich kid, you can rise to the top through connections, but if you want to stay in the long run, you must have outstanding results, otherwise you will be fired.

Sanders led the team for half a season, achieving a record of 17 wins and 25 losses, which was unsatisfactory. However, given that he took over mid-season, this result was forgivable. In the shortened 19-20 season, where he coached the full term, the team's regular season record was only 19 wins and 45 losses, failing to qualify for the playoffs.

The Iowa Timberwolves also had a record of 19 wins and 24 losses last season, ranking 11th in the Western Conference and missing the playoffs. Both the parent team and the subsidiary team had a failed season, and the so-called tactical synergy and roster cohesion seemed more like an empty concept.

Newman Baker knew that this season would be his and Saunders' last chance. In the NBA season that had already begun, the Timberwolves had only managed a poor record of 6 wins and 19 losses in the games they had played so far, including a seven-game losing streak.

The Timberwolves have once again fallen into a bottom-feeder position where everyone bullies them, and Saunders's job is in jeopardy. Newman Baker also doesn't have many good players at his disposal, and he already foresaw his own fate when Saunders is fired.

"Run! Pass the ball! Observe! Screen!"

Newman Baker removed his mask and shouted at the field, only to be warned by staff to put it back on. Regardless of his future fate, Newman Baker faithfully followed the management's instructions, urging the team to play a dynamic attacking style, rather than the simpler and more effective open-break counter-attacks.

However, the Wolves players quickly realized that dynamic attacking play didn't work well on this pitch. Each pass didn't create gaps in the opponent's defense, but rather reduced their own shooting opportunities. When players lacked sufficient understanding and tactical awareness, so-called dynamic play often turned into chaotic movement.

Conversely, the Nets' 3-2 zone defense was quite effective. Li Wei anchored the paint, directing his teammates while he acted as the last line of defense. Li Wei wasn't foolish; he knew he couldn't withstand the opponent's straight-line attacks from the perimeter alone and needed an outer buffer.

So on defense, he didn't hesitate to push his teammates to get them into the right positions; he always made accurate predictions. In his eyes, the players in the G League were too slow, everyone was easy to predict, and they were far inferior to NBA offensive players.

"They were all running desperately, but their movements weren't deceptive enough... but my eyes are really sore, I need to rest for a while."

After the first quarter, the Nets led the Timberwolves 41-23, a 18-point advantage. Li Wei scored 7 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, blocked 2 shots, and made 2 steals, and also defended Tyler Cook in a one-on-one contest.

To be honest, Li Wei is increasingly fond of defense, especially when he's standing under the basket. He has the air of a general commanding the entire army in the middle of the court, looking out for any opening. His keen observation allows him to spot every weakness, directing his teammates or personally patching it up, like a firefighter.

On offense, he becomes more relaxed and casual, favoring steals and surprise shots. However, if opponents underestimate him, assuming he only knows spot-up shooting and picking off weak spots under the basket, he will use his skillful dribbling and breakthroughs to teach them a lesson.

(End of this chapter)