Grab Curry at the start

Chapter 199 Stability
"Grab the sun's three-pointer, and they won't have many options on the offensive end." Zhang Sixin stroked the stubble on his chin and said calmly.

"But our defense must be focused and not let the opponent run."

The Timberwolves now have an inside line and Curry is not there, so the team will definitely not play fast.

In this game, the Suns have been looking for opportunities to speed up, and Zhang Sixin sees it clearly.

Therefore, the Timberwolves must control the rhythm, protect the rebounds, and hold on.

During the intermission, the atmosphere in the Timberwolves locker room was also peaceful.

However, the Suns are also working hard to win, and they are not willing to let go of the opportunity at home.

Unlike some teams, it's okay to have poor results after hard work. The Suns have been the Western Conference powerhouses in the past few seasons, and they don't want to be left behind this season.

So as soon as the second half came up, the Suns played very crazy.

Just speed up and speed up, don't care about shooting percentage at all, anyway, they will fast break when they get rebounds, and they will rush for offensive rebounds, so they will not defend.

In this case, the Timberwolves have restricted Richardson, which is also their key defense object.

But Frye and Hill played well, and the Suns' offense suddenly started.

On the Timberwolves side, there are still more blooming points, but the explosive power of scoring is not as strong as the Suns.

Without Curry, they really couldn't seize some opportunities.

It may also be related to back-to-back away games. Although the players were full of confidence during the intermission, there were obviously some minor problems after running in the second half.

"Keep good defensive focus, this is not your normal level." Zhang Sixin loudly stimulated the players on the sidelines.

In fact, the Timberwolves' defensive three-pointer is not bad. The Suns only hit Frye, but they failed to prevent the opponent's offense and the rhythm did not keep up.

During the rotation period, Dragic and Dudley of the Suns also performed well.

Fortunately, someone from the Timberwolves also broke out.

Paul George showed his talent and potential, hitting consecutive hits after the second half.

There were a couple of times he had a Suns defender in front of him, but he made the shot hard with his height.

Zhang Sixin's mood also calmed down, and he said to the coaching staff around him: "This is Paul's talent. He has good physical condition, can attack and defend, and he is also very good with the ball."

If George is of average height, his skills are definitely not an advantage, but he is of good height, and he has his characteristics in combination.

In fact, Paul George and Love are a bit of a type, both of them are rich in means but not good at it, but George has one better thing, that is, he has excellent athletic ability, which Love cannot do.

So George can come with the ball and shoot better when he catches the ball. When he meets the Suns who are not good at defense, he played the most comfortable game since entering the league.

With George's outstanding performance, the Suns caught up with the score in the third quarter, but in the rotation period, the Timberwolves were in the lead again.

The Suns also have no stars with good physical strength, so they can only find a way in terms of team rhythm.

After Nash went down, Dragic couldn't lead the team's rhythm at all. In fact, he and Nash are not the same type, but because many people in the Suns would wishful thinking that he was Nash Jr.

So the Sun didn't start the final impact until the final quarter and Nash re-entered the game.

At this time, the Timberwolves' inside advantage became more and more obvious.

The Suns' current starting insider Jr. Lopez's style actually doesn't match the Suns' offensive basketball.

So when they were going to the final battle, they chose a small lineup.

Zhang Sixin's words did not change the Timberwolves to a smaller lineup.

When Curry was there, Zhang Sixin's principle was to use the advantage when he had an advantage. Not to mention that Curry was not there, it was impossible for the Timberwolves to compete with their opponents in a small lineup, and they had to use big men to crush them.

With two insiders, how to defend the Suns for five three-pointers.

It is certain to defend against going out, and the most important thing is rebounding.

Controlling the rebound, it is not so easy for the Suns to speed up at will.

In addition, there is no need to completely empty the inside line when defending. Milicic does not need to go out like that. He is tall and long and can actually put pressure on opposing players standing near the penalty area.

Then it's the defensive rotation, you don't have to go out like that, it's not watching the opponent shoot.

And with the overall defense, when the opponent may pass to that point, Milicic will follow the defense.

This involves defensive anticipation, but a good defense can guide the offense.

While the Timberwolves' defense jammed some passing lanes, the Suns' offense could only pass to spots without positional change.

If the Suns want to pass the open space that they couldn't pass, the player's position must be changed through screens or breakthroughs. During this process, the Timberwolves' defensive formation will also change accordingly. This is what the overall defense can do.

If it is really impossible to completely limit it, then it is okay to block three points and let the opponent break through.

Because the Timberwolves are the leading team, they don't need to defend against all the opponent's attacks. If the opponent hits in, they can return.

For a team like the Suns with poor defense and an extremely small lineup, it is not difficult for the Timberwolves to return.

It can be played inside, or DeRozan and Matthews can hit the basket.

This is the meaning of defense, not to completely lock the opponent, but to allow the team to gain some round advantages through defense and offense.

The performance of the Timberwolves is undoubtedly successful. Although they did not expand the score advantage all at once, they are also steadily increasing their advantage.

For example, after half a quarter, they went from a 4-point lead to 6 points.

Although playing against an offensive team, such an advantage is nothing, but they have been getting better enough to beat their opponents.

Anyway, in the last few minutes, the Suns can only gamble, and the Timberwolves have many options.

Their physical weakness in back-to-back away games will actually be gone by the end of the quarter. The Suns players have also consumed a lot now. The two sides can only see who can do better at the critical moment.

When the time came to the last 5 minutes, the Suns continued to shoot three-pointers, but it was difficult to hit them.

It was DeRozan who broke through again and made another kill.

Most of the Suns' shots are three-pointers, but it is not accurate that all offenses are three-pointers.

In fact, when Hill still went in, Hill was older than Nash, but he was basically the only player among the Suns who had this ability.

It is a pity that Hill has very few opportunities to get the ball at this time.

The soldiers of the Suns still stubbornly believe that three-pointers are necessary to win the game. Even if the Timberwolves are strictly guarded against three-pointers, they will not give up.

It can be said to be an attachment, or it can be said that there is no other way.

And as Love scored 2+1 against Frye inside, the suspense of the game became less and less.

(End of this chapter)