Grab Curry at the start

Chapter 236 Penalty Tactics
"This season, our insiders have been able to compete with the Lakers. If we meet again in the playoffs, we will only target Kobe." Zhang Sixin said.

Several assistant coaches agree with this point of view. The Lakers are indeed a strong opponent in the playoffs, but their dominance in the regular season has declined this season, and they are not invincible.

The Timberwolves are already stronger than last season, and if they meet in the playoffs, the results will be more likely.

In the last minute or so of the first half, the Lakers defended by the Timberwolves did not score, and their lead was steadily brought into the intermission.

"It can be expected that Kobe will play hard in the second half." Zhang Sixin said in the locker room.

Kobe's personality is too distinct. When the team is behind, he will definitely take more shots in the second half.

Because of his status in the world, the coach can't change this situation.

Therefore, what the Timberwolves have to do in the second half is to target Kobe in all directions.

They are actually very skilled in this kind of thing, after all, they have fought many games in the playoffs.

Sure enough, Kobe played all kinds of singles in the third quarter and rarely passed the ball.

On the Timberwolves side, the two core players were strictly guarded. Matthews had little defensive pressure and became the player with the most points in this quarter of the Timberwolves.

Because the Timberwolves have been prepared for a long time, the defense against Kobe was considered a success.

It's just that there is something wrong with their inside defense, because Milicic fouled four times earlier.

Kobe's relatively few passes were to the inside after breaking through. Milicic first went to help defend Kobe.

After Pekovic came up, there was no problem with top man, but the defense was poor.

Therefore, after Milicic went off the field, the Timberwolves' lead gradually disappeared.

The rotation period of the Lakers in the second half was also good. Odom's outstanding performances several times completely helped the Lakers catch up with the score.

So sometimes even if the opponent's reaction is expected, it is difficult to counter it completely.

The situation on the court is always changing rapidly, and if a little detail is not done well, it is easy to be targeted.

At the end, the battle begins.

Seeing that the score was still recovering, Kobe also calmed down a lot and began to play more reasonably.

In other words, the Timberwolves have to face more severe challenges.

"We are used to fighting against our opponents at critical moments. It is no different if this opponent is replaced by the Lakers." Zhang Sixin said.

The team's substitute pit is no longer once or twice, and they have come here this season.

Moreover, the current bench lineup is much better. Even against the Lakers, it depends on their respective abilities at the last moment. There is no need to chase points, and the Timberwolves don't need to have too much pressure.

In the decisive final quarter, Kobe chose to let the inside and Odom play first.

The Timberwolves are also optimized for team cooperation. Halfway through the final quarter, the two sides are still testing.

It's not the kind of temptation at the beginning, but to see who will break the loophole before the star duel.

Both teams have enough strength and will not be surprised like ordinary teams.

Zhang Sixin hopes that the team can take the lead in gaining an advantage, so that Kobe will fight hard against the defensive players.

But don't be afraid if you don't gain an advantage in advance, that is to see which team is tougher at the critical moment.

It is a very rare exercise to be able to play against the Lakers at the critical moment.

With this kind of experience, the team will have a bottom line when they encounter the same thing in the playoffs.

Because the Lakers went to Odom at the last moment, in fact, their internal strength has decreased slightly.

Therefore, Milicic, who was the first to break the silence, scored inside.

Milicic is tall and has long arms, so he must have no problem eating inside.

On the Lakers side, it was Odom who fought back, directly breaking through and hitting Love.

Odom really felt the touch in the second half, and he was a different person from the first half.

As a big man who plays outside, Odom is indeed a player who is more sensitive.

When there were only 3 minutes left in the game, Kobe was taking over the game.

The Timberwolves are still playing teamwork at this time. Curry and Love pick and roll. Curry has the opportunity to fight directly.

Love and DeRozan also scored successively. The Lakers' current lineup is indeed more flexible offensively, but the defense is honestly not as good as the starting lineup.

Odom's defense is really average, not as effective as Bynum.

Of course, if Bynum is on top, the Timberwolves will focus on the perimeter, and the Lakers can only make a choice.

In the last 2 minutes of time, Curry hit two points and the Timberwolves took the lead.

But then Kobe hit the shot and the Lakers went ahead.

At this time, Curry also became the main point of attack. He then made a mistake on Odom, causing Odom to foul, but Kobe then also caused Curry to foul when he was flanked.

The two scored against each other, and the game became extremely tense.

When the time entered the last minute, Matthews, who replaced DeRozan as the main defense against Kobe, committed six fouls.

But what the Lakers didn't expect was that in the next Timberwolves offense, when the Lakers' defensive players chased and intercepted Curry and Love, Danny Green, who had just played, hit a three-pointer with the ball.

In the last 15 seconds, the Timberwolves led by 2 points.

Danny Green seems to be forced to play, but he is actually the most accurate three-pointer off the bench when his scoring off the bench is not very conspicuous.

In terms of shooting percentage alone, he ranks second on the team, second only to Curry.

Green is unknown in the Timberwolves, mainly because his function is relatively single.

But if the team needs targeted arrangements, Zhang Sixin already has a place for him in his tactics.

After the Lakers suspended, they chose to let Kobe hold the ball.

Their first plan should be to play one quickly. Unexpectedly, the Timberwolves' flanking attack came up directly, and Kobe had no chance to directly attack with the ball.

Kobe discovered the problem just after stepping into the three-point line, so he asked Gasol to turn the ball before receiving the ball again and launching an attack.

Maybe Kobe was too confident. Seeing that time was running out, he directly pulled a three-pointer.

Kobe also has the experience of killing the game with a strong three-pointer at a critical moment, but this time he was short.

Love protected the rebound and the Lakers fouled quickly.

In fact, Kobe's choice of making a three-pointer is indeed a bit high, after all, there are still more than 3 seconds left.

After Love made one of two free throws, the Lakers once again requested a timeout to deploy tactics. This time, time was running out. The Timberwolves were strictly defensive, and Kobe did not receive the ball immediately.

The Lakers asked Gasol to make a transfer, but when Gasol used his long arm to catch the ball with his back, the Timberwolves directly chose to foul.

Hey, the Timberwolves are capable of using penalty kicks.

Gasol had no choice but to stand on the free throw line. Whether he made all free throws or deliberately missed offensive rebounds was a difficult problem.

(End of this chapter)