Grab Curry at the start

Chapter 144 Need to stand up
The Spurs have to work hard, but they still dare not let Duncan stay on the court.

Maybe it's Duncan's physical decline, maybe it's seeing that the team is leading the Spurs and feels safe.

In the last tens of seconds of the first quarter, the Spurs replaced Duncan to rest.

At this time, the Timberwolves can exert their strength on the offensive end.

And Love finally started to score. He couldn't score inside and didn't feel outside. As one of the core tactics, he didn't score.

Fortunately, when Duncan goes down, he can still bully the other insiders of the Spurs.

The Spurs' bench lineup is now mainly Hill and Bonner. When they have Duncan on the court, they can still play the role of a pitcher.

When Duncan went down, only Ginobili could play with the ball, and no one else could score.

The Spurs' offensive ability this season is actually stronger than before, but it's a pity that it's a bit of a prototype under the intensity of the playoffs.

Blair can actually score, but the defensive loopholes are too big.

The Timberwolves can hit him from the inside, and the Timberwolves can also hit him from the outside, or they can play fancy, outside shooting or killing.

Although Belinelli and Frye on the Timberwolves bench did not perform very well, they both hit three-pointers.

Spurs coach Popovich found out that they really couldn't stand Duncan going down, what should they do.

He was so angry that he couldn't help spit out the words starting with F, "What are you typing, F..."

It seems that it's really not good to be short inside, especially when you are short and your movements are average.

No way, after playing for a few minutes, the Spurs still had to replace Duncan.

Duncan is not so overwhelming on the court, but also has enough tactical effects.

When he is not on the court, the Timberwolves don't care much about the Spurs' inside line, they can lock all their outside shooting points.

After Duncan returned to the court, the Spurs did not immediately regain control of the court.

The state of the Timberwolves has gradually been brought up.

However, the combination of GDP again stabilized the situation. Although Parker also infected Duncan's free throw problem, they still did not allow the Timberwolves to overtake the score.

This is the strength of the Spurs. If the Timberwolves' strength has improved a lot compared to the regular season, and they have established confidence at home, it will be really difficult to withstand the Spurs in the away game.

"GDP is on the field for a long time, and I don't believe that a group of old men will have better physical strength than us." Zhang Sixin said angrily.

The Spurs have the ability to slow down to Duncan, so they will definitely be able to overtake the score.

As for physical strength, it's hard to say, the Timberwolves' rookie players don't know how to allocate physical strength like the old players, but Zhang Sixin let them save enough before, and they have a chance to win.

But I still have to say that, to strengthen everyone's confidence, it can be regarded as a little blessing.

In the second half of the second quarter, the game was relatively dull, and the two teams fouled a lot. It can be said that it was a hand-to-hand fight.

But it was just consuming each other, and no one was hurt.

In terms of fouls, both sides controlled well, and the most players had only two fouls.

Duncan hit a double-double in halftime, but fortunately, he didn't score a lot. The Timberwolves' three powerful and heavy insiders committed six fouls, which was somewhat effective.

Before the end of the first half, Manu Ginobili hit a difficult two-pointer at the buzzer, and the Timberwolves were still behind.

But compared to the first quarter, they have played their own rhythm in the second quarter and returned to normal.

So Zhang Sixin is quite satisfied, as long as the players are not fooled by the Spurs' desperate momentum, the game will be played.

"In fact, overall in the first half, our defense was relatively successful." Zhang Sixin said.

Duncan didn't explode on the offensive end, and the three-pointer was basically killed by the Timberwolves. Only Ginobili couldn't help it, and Bonner had a little accident.

"The key is to attack, Stephen and Kevin, don't feel pressured, it's all mine if you miss the shot." Zhang Sixin continued.

The performance of the role players in the first half was considered normal, mainly due to the two tactical cores of Curry and Love. Curry was watched to death, and Love's misplacement did not catch the game well.

Another point about Jefferson, when Duncan is not around, the low post is still full of threats. His role is relatively pure, that is, inside offense, which is much better than Jefferson's performance on the Spurs striker.

But Jefferson is not the core of tactics, and a simple combination of inside and outside is not very effective for the Spurs.

For the Timberwolves' offense to be completely smooth, Curry and Love must perform better, and at least one of them must fully attack.

Zhang Sixin still has some special three-point tactics in his hands, such as various double screens, elevator doors and other classic tactics of other world warriors. Of course, the team has also trained, but there is no need to play like this until the final chase.

Outside line, inside line, flank, Zhang Sixin hopes to be able to link up instead of betting on three-pointers.

In the second half, the two cores had to attack. Love's side was a little more complicated. After all, it needed a combination of inside and outside lines and misalignment, but Curry's side only needed him to feel it and make a bold shot.

Zhang Sixin gave Curry great trust. They couldn't really just fight the Spurs defensively and as a whole. Someone had to show an All-Star performance.

No one steps up, and as the Spurs get to know them better, it's going to be a tough game.

Inside the Spurs locker room, their coach Popovich was emphasizing stability and defense with the players.

"We all know when they're going to speed up, when they're going to shoot outside, we can't let them hit it. We can do it if we want to, and we've got two All-Stars in them, so don't tell me you can't do it."

In the third quarter, the defense was upgraded, and the Spurs let Duncan make a low shot, but Jefferson ruthlessly blocked it.

Jefferson's defensive awareness and movement are average, but his arms are still very long, and it is impossible for Duncan to play casually inside the Timberwolves.

But in turn, Duncan taught Love to be a man.

Zhang Sixin felt the horror of Duncan's defense on the sidelines, and it was very difficult for Love to attack today.

Fortunately, Love can support at a high position, and can also attract the attention of defensive players from the outside.

However, the Spurs locked Love, but they couldn't lock Curry.

The Spurs thought they could contain Curry, but it was just that Curry didn't feel up and didn't put all his thoughts on shooting.

Now with Zhang Sixin's encouragement, Curry has started some all-star operations.

Facing Parker's defense, or hitting a big pick-and-roll, he even hit Duncan directly.

Talented, that's all.

When the Spurs coach Popovich wanted his players to play better and seal the victory earlier, their troubles appeared again.

Relying on Duncan alone, the third quarter is already a bit uncertain.

Popovich can only set his sights on Ginobili, and the Spurs also need someone to score unreasonably from the outside.

(End of this chapter)