Grab Curry at the start

Chapter 337 Plan ahead
The main force of the Blazers is not completely on the court, but they only rotate with eight players, and the core players must play more time than the Timberwolves.

The Blazers also thought that at the beginning of the last quarter, they would take advantage of the Timberwolves' ruthless role to take a break, so as to regain or take the lead.

However, the reality is crueler, including Aldridge, the Blazers players are not efficient.

The Blazers' acting coach Canales also understood one thing. The Timberwolves' rotation may not be that strong on the offensive end, but the defensive end is no worse than the main lineup.

When the Timberwolves' main lineup came back, the Blazers players inexplicably felt a lack of confidence.

So the last half of the quarter is still dominated by Curry and Love.

In fact, the Timberwolves' main lineup just took the lead after they came on the field, and the game was far from the end of the game, but the Blazers at home still showed low morale.

There is no way. The team's current record is in a sensitive period. They feel that they can't get the results they want even if they work hard, so they are frustrated.

In the last 2 minutes, DeRozan also hit a three-pointer.

And Matthews' three-pointer was a strike. This was his strike on the three-point line in the third quarter at the end of the third quarter, and it was also the fifth time he and Batum made it.

No miracle happened. The Timberwolves faced the aggressive and successful Trail Blazers in the first half, and won the victory with a stronger team in the second half.

The next day, Zhang Sixin let the players rest for the first time in an away game against the Kings. Neither Curry nor Love played, but the players still defeated the Kings.

Although he didn't win much, the performance of players who have been given opportunities is worthy of recognition.

For example, Thomas Jr., this one is trying to perform as soon as he gets a chance.

But also because of this, Zhang Sixin is more cautious in using him. Thomas Jr.'s specialty is offense. If he goes all out to attack, sometimes it will be a double-edged sword.

On April 4, the team played at home and Milicic returned.

The opponent in this game is the Warriors, and the Warriors are only theoretically hopeful for the playoffs now, after all, they have missed a few games.

But in practice, it may be difficult to turn the theory into reality.

Milicic came back and played 20 minutes, and the efficiency was not bad.

The Timberwolves also won the Warriors with the steady performance of several All-Star players.

After this game, the team had two days to adjust, and the coaching staff also took the opportunity to carefully determine the physical condition of the players again.

In the last month of the regular season, there must be no surprises.

The Timberwolves are in such a good state this season, they have to do a lot in the playoffs, because it is not good for players to be injured and affect their combat effectiveness.

Back to back, the coaching staff has already discussed, so the main players will take turns.

Anyway, in the last ten games, even if they lose a few games, it will not affect their ranking.

Next, the Timberwolves defeated the poor Hornets away.

But when they returned home, they lost to the Suns, who were going all out for the playoffs. They really didn't play as well as the Suns in this game, and it was also a game where the Suns didn't rely on Nash at all.

It's a bit of a surprise, because the Suns' rookie Morris played super during the rotation, and the Suns' backup guard Telfair also performed extremely efficiently.

This kind of game where role players explode is a common reason for strong teams to lose.

But losing a game has no effect on the Timberwolves' overall record, and they also focus more on preparing for the playoffs.

In the next back-to-back, the Timberwolves will try to take a full rotation.

But they will not take a vacation with Curry and Love like last time, but they will each lead a lineup.

The team's other two All-Stars are naturally matched internally and externally, with DeRozan and Love together, and Milicic and Curry together.

On April 4, when the Timberwolves played away against the Nuggets, Curry and Paul George took turns.

In fact, Curry will play more easily this time, but Zhang Sixin chose to let Curry go off the field to be tested. The main players are not taking turns to avoid strong enemies.

For the key matchups that may be encountered in the playoffs, we still have to adapt in advance.

Zhang Sixin did not let Jeremy Lin start this time. Now Jeremy Lin has to adapt to the position of sixth man. The first position is Bledsoe, and the third position is naturally Leonard.

For a superstar embryo like Leonard, of course he has to practice if he has the opportunity.

The Nuggets are not a hopeless team in the playoffs. In fact, their record has been stable.

The Timberwolves have a rest, and the Nuggets, who are also playoff contenders, will naturally feel a little uncomfortable, but this is their chance to win. Of course, the Nuggets must go all out to win the game and make the Timberwolves look good.

And this time Afflalo and Gallinari are both present, and the team traded to the Wizards center McGee for the playoffs, and the combat effectiveness is very good.

As soon as the game started, the Nuggets were on full fire.

With the support of two relatively strong teammates, Ty Lawson feels good today.

In fact, Bledsoe also performed well, but he broke through and scored more, and Ty Lawson still dominated the scoring.

The other thing is Gallinari. This quasi-All-Star player is actually not easy to defend.

And Love started poorly, causing the Timberwolves to fall behind.

In fact, it is also related to the cooperation between the players. Bledsoe's three-pointer is still a bit short, which caused Love to be subject to more defensive restrictions.

But Zhang Sixin's mentality is still very stable on the sidelines, just reminding the players to stabilize their defense.

If Bledsoe and DeRozan partner in the backcourt, there is still some overlap on the offensive end, but the defensive end is good. After Bledsoe adapts to the rhythm, he does a good job defensively.

"The Nuggets play well and still have good strength..." Zhang Sixin said.

The Nuggets' offense today is indeed a bit amazing, and Zhang Sixin also feels that they have underestimated them.

The situation on the Timberwolves field is not very good, because the Nuggets' rotation is also performing well.

What's more, the Nuggets' No. [-] position Faried collided with Love during an attack, and Love felt a little uncomfortable. Just in case, Zhang Sixin asked Love to rest and did not plan to let him play this time.

In this way, if only DeRozan is left on the offensive end of the team, it is impossible to suppress the Nuggets by offense alone.

The team's defense in the first half was not particularly effective.

On the contrary, the combination of McGee and Faried looks very explosive. The Timberwolves' inside movement speed can't keep up, and they are a bit powerful and useless.

Zhang Sixin kept some details of the team's performance in the first half in mind, and considered how to make adjustments.

The Nuggets played well today, but even the opponent's offense is not without weaknesses.

During the intermission, the Timberwolves have to sum up and come up with countermeasures.

The Timberwolves are number one in the league, not just relying on stars. The Nuggets don't have any stars, so the Timberwolves can also rely on a relatively ordinary lineup to defeat their opponents.

(End of this chapter)