Grab Curry at the start

Chapter 315 The Gap
After the Timberwolves win the Lakers, they will immediately rush to Houston to play back-to-back.

The Rockets did it last time, so this time the Timberwolves did not take it lightly.

In terms of team strength, even if Curry does not return, the Timberwolves are much better than the Rockets. There were many unexpected factors in the last loss.

But there is no team that is too weak in the NBA, so if they want to get back, they must perform well on the court.

And the current Rockets also have certain competitiveness.

Players who can enter the NBA will not be useless. If the team really wants to win, it will be competitive.

Maybe they can't achieve too good results, but they deserve to be taken seriously by every opponent.

The Timberwolves who are serious, the first thing is to lock the Rockets' three-pointer.

Their defense can fully achieve this level, and the Rockets' inside line can't compete with the Timberwolves. The team can focus more on outside line defense.

Of course, the Rockets are not a team that relies on three-pointers, and the Timberwolves still have things to do.

In terms of their own offense, the Timberwolves combined inside and outside, and allowed DeRozan to keep hitting the Rockets inside with the ball.

The Rockets' inside line is actually not particularly weak. Scola can score and Dalembert can defend, but that's it. The two of them are not top-notch in what they are good at.

The Rockets players are actually full of confidence. They are the only team that has defeated the defending champion in the new season.

In the first half, the Rockets relied on the mid-range to bite the score abruptly.

But in the third quarter, Jeremy Lin, DeRozan and Love broke out at the same time, and the Rockets knelt down at once.

After all, the real level of the Rockets is a team that is a bit weak on both ends of the offense and defense, but they have fighting spirit and grasped many opportunities to win, and now they can compete with many strong teams in the West.

But facing the Timberwolves, who are stronger than many teams in the West, it is difficult for them to upset the second time in the same way.

The Timberwolves' game in January ended relatively neatly.

Their record is also the strongest in the league.

Behind them are the Thunder, the Heat, and the Bulls. Except for the Heat as the Big Three, the other two teams are actually the rise of young players just like the Timberwolves.

In places that have received less attention, some teams are quietly changing.

Timberwolves' February still starts at home.

They met the Pacers, who had a good start in the East, and the Pacers were considered a relatively active team in the summer.

After Paul left the Hornets, David West, the key player before the Hornets, joined the Pacers, and George Hill was still sent here by the Spurs.

Pacers coach Vogel finally built a satisfactory defense this season. Now the Pacers are still in Granger's era, plus West and Hibbert, even without George, they are still very strong.

At the beginning of the game, Love was still very strong, but facing West, his efficiency still dropped.

The two have also played against each other many times in the West. West is not afraid of Love, and he is also very strong, but Love's rebounds must not be limited.

The Pacers are also strong inside this season, but not good enough on the rebounds.

Driven by the rebound advantage, Love and DeRozan made the main attack, which also gave the team the lead.

On the Pacers side, the offensive power is still a bit lacking.

Now Granger is definitely better than Paul George, but against Paul George, his efficiency has also dropped.

After that, he will have to face Leonard, and the Pacers' strongest point under the wheel battle is estimated to be a little tired.

However, the efficiency of Love and DeRozan dropped in the second quarter, and the score was bitten by the Pacers again.

The main reason is that the Pacers have a good defense. Love and DeRozan are not the type that can ignore defense.

At this time, what the Timberwolves have to do is to play team basketball patiently, and to better seize offensive opportunities when competing defensively. This is actually what they are good at doing.

At the end of the second quarter, Paul George hit a three-pointer.

"This kid also has a big heart." Zhang Sixin laughed.

"Sometimes there are too many good young players in the team. It is also a problem. In the future, I don't know how to keep those players." Zhang Sixin looked at Versailles.

A group of old men in the coaching staff also laughed. After all, it is really impossible for them to keep all the young people.

Whether to trade in advance will also be a headache.

During the intermission, Zhang Sixin, as usual, made detailed requirements on the tactics of the second half, and then encouraged the players.

This has become part of his coaching habits. In fact, a certain habit is easier to establish than imagined.

In the third quarter, Granger broke out and succeeded in several singles against Paul George.

But the Timberwolves also performed well on the offensive end. Jeremy Lin and Love's pick-and-rolls were very successful.

Although the Timberwolves' pick-and-roll tactics are not as good as when Curry was there, it is still a relatively easy tactic to deal with many teams.

"When necessary, we can consider flanking Granger." Zhang Sixin suggested.

Granger's strength is actually not to the level of flanking, but flanking is just a tactic, and it is worth trying if it benefits.

Granger is the end point, and his organizational skills are not strong. This kind of striker attack can sometimes be very rewarding.

Of course, the main thing is to rely on his state. If he is still in such a good state at the end of the quarter, he will definitely attack.

For the Timberwolves, fine-tuning tactics is not difficult.

The Pacers have improved their defensive strength, and at the same time they don't pay so much attention to three-pointers. If they can limit their scoring strengths, they will definitely have problems on the offensive end.

In the second half, the Timberwolves' rotation played better.

Because the team's internal offensive power is getting stronger and stronger, Pekovic's efficiency is getting higher and higher, and Whiteside is also continuing to improve. When the inside is healthy, it seems a bit crowded.

By the end of the quarter, Granger was still in excellent form.

He is the kind of star who focuses on shooting. He has similar characteristics to Paul George. He feels more difficult to guard, so the Timberwolves flanked him.

To be honest, the effect was really immediate. Granger also slammed Paul George in front of him. After the flank attack, he scored 1 point only by free throws for most of the quarter.

As the team's top card, his strength is too ordinary, too easy to be targeted.

When Granger didn't have any shots, Pacers guard Collison was more involved in the offense, but his shooting in the final quarter was not good.

As for West and Hibbert, it is difficult to perform efficiently at critical moments.

But the Timberwolves' inside line began to exert force, West made five fouls, and the Pacers' defense couldn't stand it anymore.

As Milicic received a second pass from the inside and completed a dunk, the game was almost settled.

The Timberwolves only lead by 5 points, but the game time is almost over.

The Pacers and Timberwolves fought for three full quarters, but were restricted in the crucial final quarter.

This is the gap between the average strong team and the league's top strong team. The Timberwolves are getting closer and closer to the public enemy of citizens.

(End of this chapter)