Grab Curry at the start

Chapter 190 The Difference Between Cows and Horses

"Terry didn't catch the ball well...Unfortunately, the time has run out, and the Timberwolves won the away game in a thrilling manner."

The Timberwolves' last defense was very successful again. Nowitzki didn't catch the ball, and Terry didn't have a chance to shoot immediately after receiving the ball. When he adjusted his shot, it was timed out.

The Timberwolves beat the Mavericks and moved further in the Western Conference rankings.

After the game, Zhang Sixin was naturally full of praise for Curry's performance. In fact, Curry only scored 20+ today and didn't have double figures in assists, but he was really handsome at the critical moment.

Zhang Sixin said: "You can always trust Stephen. He is that kind of player who can bring victory to the team at critical moments."

He also praised the team's defense, "The performance of the players on the defensive end is also critical. Everyone is very focused and keeps standing in front of their own defensive players. They deserve to win."

The Mavericks coach Carlisle could only shake his head and said: "Our offense didn't play out, and we made more mistakes. That's why we lost."

The Timberwolves' schedule in December is not easy to play, and there are also many away games and back-to-back games.

The Timberwolves actually had a better schedule in the second half of this season.

Zhang Sixin believes that when the time comes, the team will definitely come to the end of all hardships.

Of course, relying on the strength of the team, they will not be miserable in the early stage.

And the time is approaching for the All-Star voting. Zhang Sixin has been helping to promote the players before, and in December, he will definitely find a time for their media to promote them.

Curry and Love should be relatively stable now, after all, the team's performance and enthusiasm are not bad.

For others, it really depends on luck. The Timberwolves are still not good enough. It will take some time for everyone to accept that they are a strong team in the league.

Two days after they took the Mavericks, they came to San Antonio.

But now the Spurs, they really feel better than the Mavericks.

The Spurs started with the previous lineup. Although they knew that Blair was completely useless, the Spurs coach Popovich was not willing to break the team's rotation for the time being.

Anyway, it's normal for the team to have a false starter. Ginobili has officially started, so he can only choose from other positions.

The two teams sometimes play a bit similar, both inside and outside pick-and-rolls are initiated as tactics.

Today Parker and Duncan are also more generous, especially Duncan, whose physical condition is obviously better.

However, the Spurs still have an old problem. It is not enough for Duncan to be in good condition.

Spurs head coach Popovich couldn't help it before half a quarter. If the game continues like this, Love will explode again.

The opponent is fine this time, knowing that the inside line on the bench is fine.

So they directly became one big and four small. In order to win or lose the game, the old thief Bobo directly squeezed Duncan.

In fact, the Spurs have no choice. Popovich seldom squeezes the core members of the team in the regular season, and usually saves it for the playoffs to give opponents a big surprise. But when encountering strong opponents, there is direct competition. Sometimes the Spurs still can't help it.

After all, the Spurs also felt that their record in the regular season last season was a bit poor, which led to some passiveness in the playoffs.

This season, they should pay more attention to their regular season record, so if they lose to the Timberwolves in a row and then get squeezed out of the top three in the Western Conference, they will be very upset.

So the Spurs can only take out the strongest weapons, one big and four small, and let Duncan play for a while.

There's no way, their seniors and juniors can't support the other insiders at all.

And Duncan also played hard today, starting to exert strength on both ends of the offense and defense.

At Duncan's age, he has a lot of injuries, and there will definitely be times when his physical condition is not good, but after he has adjusted, he can still play the strength of an All-Star within a certain period of time.

So the strategy of the Timberwolves is, if you can't afford to provoke them, you can't afford to hide them. One big and four small, the defensive end has to be the top of the inside.

Wait until Duncan's physical strength is almost exhausted, and then fight him hard. Dealing with old comrades requires some strategies.

Under the Timberwolves' strategy, the Timberwolves and the Spurs are equally on the court.

Duncan's efforts have not yet helped the team lead, which is actually a good sign.

If a few years ago, Duncan could still break out and defeat strong opponents, but now he is not so strong.

It's roughly the difference between a superstar and a powerful All-Star, and when it doesn't explode, it may even be a little bit worse than an All-Star.

Injury is the greatest enemy of athletes, and time is their irreversible fate.

The era belonging to Duncan is almost over.

Only Hill performed well in the Spurs' rotation this time, and no one on the Timberwolves side can match it.

But the Timberwolves played better tactics, Bledsoe, Green, George and others all scored.

The addition of several substitutes did not suffer much.

It's really that the Spurs' bench defense is weaker. The Timberwolves have strong tactical execution and can always get some scoring opportunities.

Zhang Sixin once again lamented that the Spurs' role players are still far behind the Mavericks.

Spurs coach Popovich also knows the team's situation, and this time he took the initiative to reduce the rotation.

It's a pity that Ginobili didn't perform well when he was on the bench. Ginobili can bring big surprises, but also bring disappointment. It's not just because of his poor physical strength that he played on the bench for the Spurs for a long time.

So the Spurs can only wait for Duncan to play again before playing again.

Duncan is indeed very fierce, playing after a break is output again.

It's just that the teammates are a little weak, and there are always problems in defense.

As a result, looking at the data, Duncan's scoring and rebounding are not as good as Love.

Of course, Duncan must have been the best player in the half in terms of defense, but Love bullied the weak all the way, and it was almost 20+10 in the half. The Spurs' defense this season is really a bit stretched.

"This is a smart way of playing, just give full play to your own advantages." Zhang Sixin said calmly.

Compared to facing the Mavericks, playing against the Spurs, he feels that he just needs to sit on the court and watch the game with peace of mind.

In fact, it is still defensive. Although the Spurs are a bit difficult to stop when they go crazy, but the rest of the Spurs are well restrained. If the Timberwolves stabilize their defense, it will be difficult for the opponent to gain any advantage.

At the end of the first half, Curry and Love made another effort to help the team take the lead for the intermission.

The Spurs had no choice. When Duncan played five games and did not follow Love, the personal defense faced by Curry and Love was not very strong, and the two of them could calmly play the strength of the All-Star level.

Facts have proved that it is better for two people to exert force than the other party alone.

The Timberwolves have not been able to hold down at home, and Spurs coach Popovich is also sinking.

"In the second half, the Spurs must strengthen their outside attack. Now they can't rely on Duncan alone to turn things around. And... in the second half, Duncan should be almost exhausted." Zhang Sixin smiled.

(End of this chapter)