Grab Curry at the start

Chapter 206 The Epitome of Victory

The last game of Timberwolves in 2010 was at home, but for the whole season, this is just a very ordinary regular season.

Their opponent is the Nuggets. The Nuggets have been unlucky during this time. After Billups came back, Anthony truce again.

The point is, the team lacks the courageous spirit of previous seasons.

When the boss and the team coach are at odds, it is difficult for the team's fighting spirit to be strong.

Without Anthony, the Timberwolves will definitely take the opportunity to kill the game.

Injuries are also part of the game, and there is no saying that victory is invincible in competitive sports.

Against the Nuggets, a secondary strong team in the West, the Timberwolves still have the advantage inside.

Therefore, they started to attack from the inside when they came up. Love was very active, and DeRozan also went inside to kill.

The Nuggets felt a lot of pressure in the first quarter of the game.

Billups found that Anthony was not there, and other players were a bit unreliable, so he started to come by himself.

Not to mention, Billups feels very good today, he can pull up from outside the three-point line, and he feels more accurate than Curry.

Although Billups is older, he still has a physical advantage over Curry.

Curry also wanted to train his muscles hard in the summer, but Zhang Sixin still suggested that he take his time, so as not to affect his shooting feel.

Curry's talent is still in shooting after all. He is an outside line, and his physical advantage is not so urgent.

But you have to practice. Only with a strong body can you ensure the stability of shooting, and you have to do it step by step.

Although Billups scored in double figures in the first quarter, he still did not match the efforts of Timberwolves Curry, Love and DeRozan, and the Timberwolves took the lead smoothly.

However, the Nuggets still have some advantages in their current rotation, mainly Ty Lawson.

After more than a year of training, Ty Lawson actually has the strength to start, but it is only because of Billups that he is on the team's bench.

The Nuggets also felt that he was talented, so they traded Billups and Anthony later.

It's just that Ty Lawson was an alcoholic, and within a few years he had physical problems and died.

Therefore, athletes still have to be self-disciplined in life, otherwise no matter how good their talents are, they cannot withstand consumption.

During the rotation period, the Nuggets relied on Ty Lawson's performance to catch up with the score, but after the main force returned to the court in the second quarter, the Timberwolves still stabilized the situation.

Curry, Love, and DeRozan attacked too hard, mainly because the Nuggets didn't pay attention to defense, so it was difficult to limit them.

This season, the three of them have a trend of a small Big Three.

During the intermission, the Timberwolves' coaching staff analyzed the performance of the Nuggets in the first half, and agreed that there was no need to pinch Billups, and it was enough to stare at the opponent's three-pointers.

Without Anthony, the Nuggets can only shoot three-pointers if they want to come back.

Billups also shot cold arrows a few times in the first half. The defense must be adjusted in the second half, and he will be posted directly. His teammates will assist in the defense. Just don't let him shoot a three-pointer.

In the second half, Billups didn't have so many opportunities.

But the Nuggets still had a bit of luck, and Afflalo was in good shape in the third quarter.

Billups is still able to pass the ball, and is trying to activate his teammates after being limited.

A guard like Billups is still good, but he is not stable enough and needs a lot of firepower from his teammates.

The Timberwolves' defense has always been the team's guarantee. After they worked hard to do a good job in perimeter defense, the situation on the court began to be controlled by them again.

However, the rotation lineup of the Nuggets returned to blood again, and the outcome of the game was dragged to the final quarter.

In fact, neither the media nor the fans understand the issue of the bench lineup.

Unlike last season's rookies who showed good strength at the beginning, this season's rookies have not performed very well until now.

The outside world believes that even if these players have a chance to become useful, this season is useless.

The Timberwolves should change the rotation, or make a trade in the middle of the season to pursue reliable veterans.

Now many people are still angry about the operation of the Timberwolves in the summer. It's just that they are not so pessimistic at the beginning, but the Timberwolves have a good record.

Even the team's management reacted to these remarks, but Zhang Sixin was unmoved.

He is the most psychologically sound, and no matter whether he trains rookie players or not, Curry, Love and other major players must also get enough rest.

The Timberwolves are after the playoffs, and it really doesn't matter if they lose a few more games in the regular season.

It would be unacceptable if key players were injured and would not be competitive in the playoffs.

At the end of the quarter, Billups once again fell into a situation without help.

The dynasty team has Anthony, and other people don't need to worry about it at critical moments.

Now that Anthony is not here, some players dare not make shots.

JR-Smith dared to shoot, but it was a pity that Billups didn't dare to pass at will. This buddy has not yet counted his crazy strikes, and he always shoots indiscriminately.

In this situation of the team, Billups can only do it by himself.

The Timberwolves are much better. Love feels a little bad at the end of the quarter, but Curry and DeRozan are fine.

And Love can still grab rebounds without shooting, and the Timberwolves' rebounds continue to suppress their opponents.

Love actually relies on rebounds, so he doesn't have to worry about salary in the league.

It’s just that the constant injuries in the future still have an impact, but the biggest impact is weight loss. His athletic ability is mediocre, and after losing weight, his confrontation ability declines. No matter how good his rebounding awareness is, he still can’t grab so many rebounds.

In the future, as the league's offensive and defensive speeds become faster and faster, in fact, Love does not necessarily have to lose weight. Jokic is a good example. Love's focus on the quality of screens and support is the answer to the problem.

Of course, there are shortcomings and there is no way around it. His help defense can't hit [-], and he suffers from moving to [-], but there is no pressure to be an All-Star like that.

Billups caused Curry and Love to foul consecutively, relying on his personal ability to lead the players to the end.

But the Timberwolves have always maintained a lead of about 5 points. As Love took off the offensive rebound again, the Nuggets' players were also discouraged.

No way, really no way.

In the last game in 2010, the Timberwolves won at home like this.

"The opposing team is a very good defensive team, and that's exactly what we lacked," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "Those guys on the opposing team are always full of energy."

Zhang Sixin boasted about Billups, and then briefly summarized the Timberwolves' efforts for the next year.

"This is one of our victories throughout the year. The players played a very good game. There is nothing special about this victory, but this is the epitome of our hard work throughout the year. We keep moving forward and keep pursuing wins...Hopefully, in the next year, we will see the fruits of our hard work."

"I seem to see sweet fruits beckoning to us."

(End of this chapter)