Grab Curry at the start

Chapter 130
"Guys, haven't you all slept well? This is the Moda Center, this is our home court, cheer up, and we can no longer let them do whatever they want on the offensive end." Blazers coach McMillan said loudly.

After the team returned to the home court, it was unexpected that not only the offense had problems, but the defense was also in chaos.

The young people of the Timberwolves are obviously more energetic, which has caused problems with the mentality of the Blazers' players.

Because the Timberwolves' players are very young, many people have overlooked a problem, that is, there are a large number of young people in the main rotation of the Blazers.

Batum, Fernandez, and Bayless are all sophomores, and their core player Aldridge's rookie contract is not yet over, so the Blazers' ability to withstand pressure is not very strong.

The league is actually in a period of renewal, and a large number of young players have emerged.

Just because of Zhang Sixin's existence, the Timberwolves forced the outside world to focus more on them.

Now there are some problems with the mentality of the Blazers' players. The opponent can't do much, they can only make substitutions.

Whether the rotation can work depends on the performance of the players on the bench.

The head coach also came to fight based on his understanding of the players.

Because for the Blazers, they must be the stronger main force.

Fortunately, although the Timberwolves' substitute players are not weak, their style of play is relatively simple. The Blazers have carefully studied the targeting methods, and they can still stabilize.

The Timberwolves' main lineup is not afraid of the opponent's targeting methods, and in the final analysis is still stronger.

The pick-and-roll cooperation between Curry and Love is indeed a threat, especially Curry.

Many of these things, the players on the bench must not be able to do it.

But they strive for enough rest time for the core players, which is their biggest role.

The Timberwolves' bench players performed mediocre, but they didn't let the Blazers' rotation break down. They were still stable, especially Milicic, who was much more stable than expected.

The team that had been interested in Milicic also regretted it.

Unlike outside players, players who are easy to use inside are very rare. I didn't expect the Timberwolves to be cheaper.

When the inside line can be stabilized, as long as the Timberwolves can hit a few three-pointers from the outside line, the Blazers will feel very uncomfortable.

After all, they have only one three-pointer on the bench. It feels like it's a lot harder to play on the offensive end, and in the end it's not as good as the Timberwolves just throwing outside.

Now the three-point tactics have not been accepted by most, and many people really don't understand the strength of the Timberwolves.

The Trail Blazers players did not have the calmness of the regular season in the playoffs, and their performance declined.

You know, before the playoffs, Zhang Sixin didn't think the Blazers would be an easy team to deal with.

Now it seems that, except for some talented players, young players do have a lot of ups and downs in the playoffs. For example, Batum, who performed well in the regular season, has gradually been suppressed by Matthews in the playoffs.

In the second quarter, Aldridge's condition finally improved.

Although he did not enter the All-Star this season, he is basically at this level, and it is impossible for the Timberwolves to completely limit him.

If the Blazers shoot better, the Timberwolves may have more difficulty.

From this point of view, without Roy as the outside core, the strength of the Blazers in hard battles has dropped a lot.

The Trail Blazers team is really not very lucky.

In fact, Aldridge performed well in the second quarter and was very tough. He made consecutive fouls by Love and Jefferson.

It is a pity that the Blazers did not perform well in other points. Aldridge did not have the ability to drive his teammates. As a result, the score gap not only did not narrow, but tended to expand.

After all, Curry and Love can really drive their teammates, and DeRozan and Matthews are also up for it.

In fact, among the main players of the Timberwolves, only Love scored a little less, but Love's rebounds and support are still there. The overall performance of the team is much better than that of the Trail Blazers.

Moreover, the Blazers still have a problem now, that is, there is not enough organization.

Their offensive end is always unable to play, and it is also related to this.

Miller has been playing more minutes than in the regular season, but it still doesn't work.

Zhang Sixin discovered that the Timberwolves have some weaknesses, and the current Blazers are even weaker than them.

There is no other way, just pinch the opponent's weakness and kill them with all your strength.

At halftime, the Timberwolves took the lead again.

The current performance of the Timberwolves has completely changed the public opinion of the outside world.

Of course, it's not that they think they are strong, the main thing is that they despise the Blazers for being too weak.

There is a lot of attention in the playoffs. Whether players increase or lose their value, the effect is several times that of the regular season.

It's okay for the main players, but the words of the role players will really affect their future work.

Therefore, based on the attitude of being responsible to the team and players, even if the team is leading, the work of the coaching staff should be meticulous.

During the intermission, Zhang Sixin once again congratulated the players, but also put forward new requirements for them.

"In the away game, we got off to a good start. We were lucky. So we have to play better in the second half, and we must not waste a good start."

"Stephen, I believe you can control the mistakes better."

"Kevin, you need to be more decisive on the offensive end and play with more confidence."

"Even in the playoffs, we still pursue the victory of every game. The first round of the playoffs is not the goal, the journey of a strong team has just begun. Everyone, I like to win."

On the Trail Blazers side, their head coach McMillan is already losing his temper, and he is still suppressed by the Timberwolves at home, which he cannot accept.

"We just have to be like we were in training, the game won't be like that in the first half. Guys, what are you afraid of, this is not your real level."

McMillan also knows that talking about tactics at this time has little effect, and the players need confidence and determination.

The Blazers' players are not without spirit, but they are easily confused when they are suppressed by the Timberwolves on the court.

In the third quarter, the Blazers changed their starting lineup and replaced Fernandez with Webster.

Fernandez actually has strength, but he is not suitable for the role of the Blazers, and his confrontation ability is insufficient.

When European players come to the NBA, there are only a few who can fully adapt.

However, after the Blazers changed their starters, they did play better.

Webster's physical fitness is indeed better, the key is that his style of play is relatively suitable for the current Blazers.

The Timberwolves players could feel that the Trail Blazers gradually had the feeling of the regular season in the second half.

Defensively, they've gotten better.

The key is that Aldridge withstood the pressure and started to output steadily again.

(End of this chapter)