Grab Curry at the start

Chapter 416 Forced

The performance of the Timberwolves at critical moments is nothing special.

It is rhythm control, excellent defense, the Spurs made consecutive three-pointers, and finally had no choice but to admit defeat.

The Spurs are indeed different now. They are completely gambling in the final stage.

But when they meet the Timberwolves, what other options do they have?

"Love's offensive rebounds, putbacks ... the game is basically settled."

In the Western Conference semifinals between the Timberwolves and the Spurs, the Timberwolves beat the Spurs strongly.

Zhang Sixin was not afraid of the Spurs when he first coached the Timberwolves, and now he has the strength to completely suppress his opponents.

After the game, Spurs coach Popovich was also a little unhappy. He said: "Sometimes we don't realize that we are playing in the playoffs, and we don't express this awareness in action."

"It's a tough loss and we have to find the key to the game."

Zhang Sixin must be happy when the Timberwolves won the ball. He said: "There is no doubt that Curry has this kind of lethality. When the Spurs give him space to shoot, I know the game is over."

"We know the Spurs too well, but they probably don't know us enough because we've been improving and that's our biggest strength."

Curry, who scored 40 flies, also told reporters: "This is not due to me alone. My teammates attracted the opponent's defensive attention, and I had enough good shots."

"Each of us has the ability to be a key man in a game, but we are a team, we don't pursue individual statistics, what we care about is victory."

In order to play against the Timberwolves, the Spurs also dared to try changes.

In the second game, they changed the starting lineup and put Bonner, who had no chance before, on the field, as if they were going to fight the Timberwolves to the end.

Although Bonner is a big man, he is completely the kind who squats outside.

The Spurs' lineup is actually the one they are more used to, one big and four small, but in the past this kind of lineup was only sacrificed at critical moments, and the Spurs are really in a hurry now.

What's more, can Duncan still stand alone against the inside line now?
The Spurs' two insiders can't match the Timberwolves. Now they only use Duncan alone, which is also a slant.

Duncan is indeed very powerful. At the age of 37, he still broke out forcefully in the first quarter.

But it is also true that other Spurs players pull their hips. GDP is actually not a pick-and-roll at all.

Other Spurs players can't keep up with the Spurs, but their defense really has problems.

For Love, Duncan can still help defend. Curry, DeRozan, and Paul George are strong outsiders, and the Spurs have little options.

It just so happened that Curry and Paul George had a good start this time, which led to Duncan's performance on both ends of the offense and defense, and the Spurs were still simply behind.

When the Timberwolves were not that strong, the Spurs could temporarily take the lead with Duncan's forceful explosion, but now no matter how hard Duncan works, the overall impact will not be great.

In the second quarter, Parker felt better, but his state was always jumping like this, and it was an obvious weak link when he met a strong team.

As the first scoring point of the Spurs in the regular season, Parker is really mediocre in the playoffs.

Although Duncan is still supporting with all his strength, their scoring efficiency is really much worse than that of the Timberwolves.

The Spurs wanted to fight against the Timberwolves, but they found that they were more than one stop behind the Timberwolves on the offensive end.

Under the indiscriminate bombardment of the Timberwolves, the Spurs couldn't stand it in the first half.

In the third quarter, the Spurs changed their starting lineup and used the real big and four small to improve the defensive strength of the Timberwolves' perimeter while working hard to attack.

The Spurs still have solid foundation in defense. After improving the defensive strength, the Timberwolves encountered a little trouble scoring outside.

However, the Timberwolves are also very strong inside.

Love started to freak out, and then the Spurs realized they couldn't do anything.

The lead of the Timberwolves was almost 20 points. The Spurs worked hard for a while at the end of the quarter, but chose to admit defeat after finding no effect.

Duncan also said helplessly after the game: "We do play well sometimes, but this is obviously not enough. They can always hit key shots."

Their head coach Popovich said: "We have to perform at home, otherwise our season will end. I don't think the old guys on the team want to go home so early."

Zhang Sixin said proudly in an interview with reporters after the game: "Our coaching staff is great. We anticipated the possible reactions of the Spurs and carried out tactical targets one by one. So we can take it easy no matter what happens on the field. We have all the plans."

Paul George, who performed very well in this game, said excitedly after the game: "Our team is superb, we support each other, and no defense can limit us."

The Timberwolves really feel this way now. In a competitive game where offense is cheap, when they are good enough in every position, they are indeed unstoppable.

Zhang Sixin also said to the players during training: "Gentlemen, cheer up. This year is our strongest time. It may be difficult for us to form such a team in the future. We must not let others take away the championship."

"Let's keep working hard until the three-peat, and then we can play for the rest of our lives."

The current atmosphere of the team is very good, it can be said that it is united as one.

It's exciting to be a part of Dynasty Players.

After this season, players in the contract year will also have the opportunity to earn a lot of dollars.

Under the indoctrination of Zhang Sixin, everyone knows how much this opportunity should be cherished.

After the Spurs returned home, the starting lineup changed again.

This is really a relatively rare thing, and it is clear that the Spurs are cornered.

Splitter became the starter, and the Spurs finally didn't let Duncan fight alone.

Perhaps returning to the home court, the Spurs finally played an ideal offense in the first quarter.

Parker has hit a three-pointer, can this be okay?

If Parker can keep doing this, the Timberwolves' defense will definitely change, but they will still let Parker shoot three-pointers, mainly defending his breakthrough and mid-range.

On Duncan's side, try to consume as much as possible.

Without Duncan's cover, Parker was half as threatening.

As for Ginobili, this game is still not very good, the Timberwolves just limit his three-pointers.

When it came to the rotation period, the Timberwolves began to fight back.

Jeremy Lin and Leonard performed well, as well as Pekovic, the Timberwolves just bullied the Spurs and had no one inside.

As long as Duncan goes down, no matter who is on top, the Timberwolves will play inside and outside.

The slight advantage that the Spurs had previously gained by relying on the duo of Parker and Duncan has gradually disappeared.

The Spurs have to fight against the Timberwolves, unless they maintain the super high efficiency of the first quarter throughout the game.

But with their current state, it is not easy to maintain a section.

(End of this chapter)