Grab Curry at the start

Chapter 226 Before the All-Star Weekend

The Timberwolves' rotation lineup, Bledsoe, George and Pekovic all performed well.

Especially George, Zhang Sixin will feel a little special when he sees the players cut off by him perform well against their old clubs in history.

On the Pacers side, the young fourth position Hansbrough also played well.

The white big man is average in physical fitness, but he plays very smartly.

But overall, the Timberwolves performed better.

Fortunately, the main force of the Pacers withstood the pressure after playing, Granger finally played out.

A striker like Granger, who can hold the ball and shoot, is still in a bit of a state. It is not easy for him to feel restricted. On the contrary, a defense that is not that strong will also hit iron.

Before the end of the first half, Curry and Love hit one after another, and the Timberwolves also entered the intermission with a lead.

Back in the locker room, Zhang Sixin said to the players: "Pay attention to some of their pitchers..."

To be honest, the Pacers don't have exceptionally strong players.

Granger is also weaker than the All-Stars at best, and the Timberwolves can limit it well with a single defense.

But the Pacers have a lot of pitchers this season. If they are given a chance, the game may go wrong.

In fact, the Pacers' current configuration is different from coach Vogel's preferences, but this season they can basically only do so, so the style of play will not be too different from before.

From this perspective, Coach Vogel can be regarded as teaching students in accordance with their aptitude.

In the Pacers' locker room, Vogel was also talking about defense with the players.

"We need to limit their outside attacks. The Timberwolves have a lot of inside Love data, but they actually attack more from the outside. If we want to win, we must block their outside shots." Vogel said.

In the third quarter, the defensive strategies of both sides can be said to be successful.

The Timberwolves didn't let the Pacers hit a three-pointer, and the Timberwolves also encountered some troubles from the outside.

It's just that the two sides solve the problem differently.

The Pacers' shooters are limited, so they can only let Granger and other strong points play with the ball and shoot mid-range.

But the Timberwolves were restricted on the outside, so they attacked the inside.

Love and Milicic completely suppressed the Pacers' inside line, and after the outside line gained a huge advantage, the Timberwolves also made a three-pointer from the outside line.

Their outside attacks are limited, but they are not completely unable to score. With the inside three-pointers, Timberwolves players are also very experienced.

After Zhang Sixin accepted it, the players played in the correct way and gradually developed a habit.

Not to mention that the Timberwolves now have two tactics on both offensive and defensive ends, that is, there is no tactic for external support. With long-term habits, the young Timberwolves can execute them very well.

So even if Granger played well, the Timberwolves still gained more advantages.

The Pacers almost gave up by this time, but during the rotation period, Dengtai Jones, a fringe member of the team, suddenly broke out and helped the Pacers chase a lot of points.

This is also a change that the Timberwolves did not expect. The opponent made consecutive hits and almost overturned the Timberwolves.

It's just that when the two sides put on a stance again in the last half of the battle, the Pacers withered again.

Facts have shown that the previous incident was just an accident. They put Deng Tai-Jones and the main lineup together, but it did not have the previous effect.

It cannot be said that the Pacers' main lineup is worse. The key is that the Timberwolves' main lineup is too strong after returning.

After the game, Pacers coach Vogel also felt very regretful. He said: "Our substitute took over the game for a period of time, but unfortunately we didn't last until the end."

Zhang Sixin said: "The explosion of the opponent's substitute lineup also reminded us that we must stay focused at all times on the field."

The Timberwolves have been pretty strong during this time, but after leaving Indiana, they lost back to back to the 76ers.

The 76ers also changed their head coach this season and paid close attention to defense, and the team's strength has improved.

As far as the lineup is concerned, they only made minor repairs in the summer.

But their young guard, Jrue Holiday has grown.

The 76ers don't have a strong scoring point now, but Iguodala, Brand and Holiday are all okay, and there is Louis Williams on the bench.

Their weak link is outside shooting, but this time they also limited the Timberwolves' outside shooting.

The opponent's defense, and the Timberwolves' players themselves are in average condition, so it is more normal to lose.

After the loss, the Timberwolves are finally not back to back.

They have two more games at home before All-Star break.

After Zhang Sixin led the team back to Minnesota, he was planning how to make the players adjust during this period.

After all, the team needs players to stay healthy as they hit the playoffs after the All-Star weekend.

On February 2, the Timberwolves played against the Trail Blazers at home.

The situation of the Blazers is not very good now, and their record hovers around eighth in the Western Conference.

Because the team has another injury, Camby and Webster are temporarily unable to play.

Zhang Sixin found that the Timberwolves have now affected more and more teams.

This season, teams such as the Jazz and Trail Blazers have worse records than in their original history.

The Blazers directly put up a large and small lineup this time, feeling like they are going to bet their lives with the Timberwolves.

They don't have an inside line, so they want to abolish the Timberwolves' inside line.

They have used this trick before when they fought against each other, and the effect is not very good, but they have no choice now.

The Trail Blazers are not doing well now, and head coach McMillan also hopes to win the bet. After all, with a normal lineup, they really don't have the confidence to fight against the Timberwolves. The Timberwolves' internal strength is relatively strong in the league.

However, judging from the first quarter of the game, they really made the right bet, and Love's state was a bit sluggish.

Love may have been a little tired of fighting in the interior during this period of time, and there were some problems with his touch.

And Aldridge is obviously better at singles. He started cleanly with a few mid-ranges, helping the Blazers take the lead.

Then the opponent's young striker Dante Cunningham unexpectedly performed well, and Fernandez also performed very well on the bench.

When the Blazers were short of major generals, the remaining players showed strong combat effectiveness.

Zhang Sixin sighed: "Sometimes young players encounter opponents' targets and cannot respond calmly. They still lack experience in this area, or are confused about how to quickly adjust their status..."

Zhang Sixin did not get angry at the players, but put the lineup into rotation more quickly, and then communicated with the players who came off the field.

He tells the players what to do, how to use the team's advantage to stop the opponent's momentum.

Zhang Sixin may not have experience on the court, but as a head coach, he has a wealth of knowledge in this area.

Athletes are often a little confused when they just fight on the field. When they come down to rest and the coach wakes them up, they will suddenly understand.

Yeah, we can still fight like that.

(End of this chapter)