Grab Curry at the start

Chapter 354 Welcome Newcomers
The Timberwolves' opponents in the Western Conference Finals came six games after the Thunder and Spurs battled.

There is no special story, and the two teams have also played out their strengths, and neither can target each other.

Therefore, the end of the story is because the Thunder's three young masters have already surpassed the Spurs' GDP.

The Thunder's inability to kill the Spurs against the inside of the Spurs also made the outside world lament that the West has changed.

The emergence of Timberwolves and Thunder has completely changed the pattern of the West.

In fact, if it weren't for the Thunder's aggressive operations and injuries in the original history, the Thunder would definitely replace the aging Spurs and become the leader of the West in the next few years.

However, the Thunder sent Harden away, and Westbrook was injured again, giving the old Spurs a chance to rejuvenate.

Of course, the Spurs also got Leonard at that time, which is another story now.

Now that Leonard is snatched by the Timberwolves, if the Spurs cannot get potential stars, they will definitely decline slowly.

In the East, the two Big Three teams have entered the Eastern Conference finals, but the process is still a little different.

The Heat are actually much better than the Pacers. Even if the Pacers have a defensive inside line, defending against the style of Wade and James can only bring a little more trouble to the Heat.

It's just that Bosh's injury in the first game made the series a little more twists and turns.

The Heat were originally weak on the inside, and the inside was even worse after Bosh was injured.

The Pacers seized the opportunity to win two games, but then James and Wade played unparalleled and directly defeated the Pacers with their personal abilities, showing fans what stars can do in the playoffs.

In fact, the Pacers barely have an All-Star, but the difference between the All-Stars is too great.

A peak superstar like James, a team of average strength can't compete at all.

After the Eastern Bulls were eliminated due to Rose's injury, it is impossible for any team to compete with the Heat. Even the Heat with Bosh's injury will find it difficult to find an opponent.

So to deal with the Heat's Big Three, we still have to take action from the strong teams in the West.

Judging from the regular season record, there are Timberwolves and Thunder in the West, but now the Timberwolves are the defending champions, and the mighty Heat can only be challengers.

Before challenging the Timberwolves, they had to overcome injuries and get rid of the Celtics.

Compared with the Big Three of the Heat, the Big Three of the Celtics are a bit old and ordinary.

And the Celtics coach Rivers is just like that. When the Celtics first formed the Big Three and the team was extremely powerful, he led the team to tie the seventh playoffs with the weak Eastern team. It was a shame, but he was lucky enough to meet a good player.

The opponents of the Eastern Conference semifinals this time, the 76ers, could not make the playoffs in the Western Conference. They also suffered from Rose's injury in the first round, and now they can play back and forth with the Celtics.

The offensive power of the two teams is insufficient, and every game is a defensive battle.

They have been entangled until the tiebreaker, and the Celtics have entered the Eastern Conference Finals relying on player experience and a little luck.

Compared with James and Wade's killing all directions, the aging Celtics' Big Three are really not star-studded. They were able to enter the Eastern Conference finals only because there were too many accidents in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Either way, the four remaining teams are confirmed.

The big showdown between the new forces of the Western Conference and the direct dialogue between the old and new giants in the East are also full of gimmicks.

The Thunder and the Spurs played two more games, and the Timberwolves' players were fully recovered again.

For them, playing the playoffs has much more rest time than the regular season, and it feels easier.

As for the Thunder, not only did they have less rest, but even though they had substitutes, they didn't play much, and their main players consumed a lot in the Western Conference Finals.

The Thunder is still the regular season lineup, and the Timberwolves have seen it several times.

After they acquired Fisher in the second half of the season, the Timberwolves also played against them.

Fisher is also one of the eight main rotation players in the Thunder, but before that, he was often beaten by Curry in the Lakers. If the Thunder wants to use Fisher's experience to help deal with the Timberwolves, it will only have the opposite effect.

The Thunder currently have only three players who can really pose a threat to the Timberwolves, and at most Ibaka can be added.

Even Perkins has only so much effect on the Timberwolves, of course it doesn't work, Perkins can still be used as a meat shield.

The rest of the Thunder players can't play a big role in the Western Conference Finals.

Timberwolves home target center, ushered in a new battle.

Their main lineup has not changed, Curry, DeRozan, Paul George, Love and Milicic.

At the beginning of the game, the Timberwolves had a normal rhythm, using Curry and Love's pick-and-roll cooperation to start the offense.

The Thunder may be because of the first Western Conference finals, Westbrook and Durant are relatively slow to play on the offensive end, which means that the defense has almost kept up.

The playoff teams in the West, except for the Nuggets, have good defense, and there is no poor defense in the East. There is really a big difference between the current league and the future.

Zhang Sixin noticed the opponent's state and also signaled the players to gain an advantage as soon as possible.

"It's very polite to welcome the newcomers on the highest stage in the West." Zhang Sixin laughed.

Several members of the Timberwolves coaching staff laughed. The Thunder really didn't play their strengths when they first came up. This is something that many teams will experience on the NBA stage. They are not maliciously ridiculing.

Several coaches who were former players recalled the beginning.

The nervous behavior of the Thunder's rookies did not ease after Harden came up, and the shots of the Thunder's three young players also became stronger.

The Timberwolves took the opportunity to take the lead, and the Thunder did not return to normal until the second quarter.

In fact, this is already considered very good. It only takes one quarter to adapt to the atmosphere of the Western Conference Finals, which is very powerful.

It's just that, against the Timberwolves, falling behind at the beginning is a terrible thing.

Thunder coach Brooks looked like a dog in a straight suit, but in fact it was his first time standing on this stage.

Fortunately, the previous opponents said that the Thunder only need to rely on their talents to dominate.

When they met the Timberwolves, their talent was not inferior to the Thunder's or even stronger, so they were a little timid.

"We have to step up our attack," Brooks told the players during the timeout.

So the Thunder added attempts from beyond the three-point line, but it didn't work.

They briefly tried an attacking lineup, then gave up after a few minutes.

The Thunder felt that such a serious stage had to be well defended.

But relying on the recovery of Durant and Westbrook, the score gap between the two teams has not widened, and the Timberwolves are only leading in general.

"In the second half, the Thunder will definitely make a fuss on the offensive end. We must first lock Durant, and then have role players with three-point ability." Zhang Sixin said.

The Timberwolves still deal with the Thunder's old method, flanking Durant, while Westbrook takes more shots from the outside.

(End of this chapter)