one-handed ball

Chapter 358 First Battle

From the perspective of strength, the Grizzlies are much worse than the Timberwolves.

Coupled with the disadvantages of the away game, tactical suppression, general touch and other effects, the Grizzlies want to beat the Timberwolves, and the difficulty is as great as the Bobcats winning the championship.

Before halftime, the Timberwolves led the Grizzlies by 49 points 39 to 10.

The gap in strength makes the Grizzlies players feel suffocated. Everyone in the Timberwolves is talented, and the defense is so tight and powerful that it is unimaginable.The players of the Grizzlies walked into the locker room silently. They all felt the huge pressure from the Timberwolves. On both offense and defense, the Timberwolves surpassed the Grizzlies.

Randolph was the Grizzlies' lone star in the first half, scoring 12 points and grabbing seven rebounds.One of them played two plus one very beautifully, supporting the Grizzlies and Timberwolves to play on par for a period of time.But after that, the Timberwolves began to suppress the Grizzlies again.

Such a process should not be beyond people's expectations. After all, the Timberwolves are the team that won 76 wins in the regular season.

The audience at the Target Center, Minnesota area fans and Timberwolves loyal fans all have reason to believe that the Timberwolves can easily win the first game.

Zheng Ke also believed it.

Zheng Ke made a 15-pointer at the buzzer just before halftime to take his tally to 20.He didn't get [-] points like Tony Allen said, but it doesn't matter anymore. After all, Tony Allen didn't respond to Zheng Ke's provocation at the time.

After answering the two questions interviewed by the ESPN reporter, Zheng Ke also walked into the locker room with the team.

In the second half—

The third quarter was a section of great hope reported by Grizzlies coach Hollins.During the intermission, he urged the Grizzlies to play aggressively. Although the Timberwolves are defending the zone, we still have to start with Randolph and Gasol, from the inside out, to carve out space and life. The chance to score comes.

Hollins was also forced to do nothing. The Grizzlies made 11 of 2 three-pointers in the first half, one of which was made by Randolph.If you want to defeat the Timberwolves, you must have no hope of shooting three-pointers. You can only win a victory through your own style, that kind of straight-forward.

So in the third quarter when he was more physically strong, Hollins made such a tactical arrangement.

This set of tactics is not unfamiliar. Teams with super low-post offensive players like the Rockets and Spurs will use such straightforward offensive tactics.Including the Timberwolves who owned Jefferson before, when there is no other way, they will let Jefferson play low singles indefinitely, using the inside to drive the outside.

The Grizzlies lob the ball to Gasol Jr. in the low post.

Gasol, who took the ball, turned around almost as soon as he took the ball, passing Jordan behind him.

"I wipe."

Little Jordan rolled his eyes, and his body was completely immobilized by the burly Gasol Jr., watching as Jr. Gasol pouted his buttocks, jumped slightly, and dunked the dunk with both hands.

Thibodeau next to him frowned.

"DeAndre's stature is relatively thin, and Gasol, who is amazing in defensive tonnage, is still struggling. His specialty is assisting defense and blocking shots, which is a good complement to Love. Right now, the Grizzlies have the intention of attacking the inside , the effect of using Pekovic should be much better than that of Jordan."

Thibodeau considered forming a formation, and the two teams on the court were fighting hard.

Zheng Ke skillfully dribbled the ball under the crotch, and the basketball flew around him like a living elf.Dazzling the ball in front of Tony Allen, his shoulders kept shaking.

Seeing Zheng Ke's rare fancy dribbling, some people who were particularly happy in this aspect immediately became agitated.

"Shake him, pass him, play him"

Sweat dripped from Tony Allen's forehead, and Zheng Ke paused.

"It's coming!" Tony Allen narrowed his eyes, and his center of gravity dropped even lower.

Zheng Ke held the basketball, and his left foot drove his whole body to exert strength, and his body jumped into the sky tensely.He played the ball like a textbook with both hands, and before Tony Allen jumped up, he had already pushed the ball hard
The power of the ball was great, and the speed became very fast. When the goal was scored, the basketball hit the inner edge of the hoop, and there was a crisp "boom".

Zheng Ke spread his scissors feet away, avoiding Tony Allen's black feet stretching out quietly.

"See, it's coming in again!"

Zheng Ke was irritated by Tony Allen's black feet, spread his hands, shrugged his shoulders, and blurted out another extremely lethal trash talk.

With a dark face, Tony Allen turned his head and ran past Zheng Ke at a faster speed.

The interior storm tactics implemented by the Grizzlies are still somewhat effective, although the physical exertion is a bit heavy.Jordan received consecutive fouls in the next 2 minutes.

At this time, Thibodeau began to dispatch troops, replacing Afflalo and Lowry; replacing Jr. Jordan and replacing Pekovic.

This is a two-guard lineup, with Billups serving as the second position and handing over the heavy responsibility of defending Conley to the young and strong small steel gun Lowry.

Thibodeau's adjustment immediately achieved results on the offensive end. Lowry broke through Conley when he came up, and then passed the ball to Billups on the outside. Billups raised his hand and scored a three-pointer.

After the hit, the Timberwolves' lead extended to 11 points.

As the game progressed, the strength of the black and white bears gradually declined, and the speed of the entire Grizzlies chasing the Timberwolves also began to decline, and the score difference gradually widened in this quarter of the game.

At the end of the third quarter, the Timberwolves led 76 to 62 points by 14 points. It felt that the Grizzlies were being opened up by the Timberwolves in every quarter, and the gap in strength was too obvious.

Before the break in the fourth quarter, Thomas told Zheng Ke about the outcome of the third game held today.

The Eagles defeated the Magic 103 to 93!
"What's going on here? The Magic's home game, how could it be won by the Eagles? How many points and rebounds for Howard? Tell me about it." Zheng Ke became interested. This is the first upset game of the day. It is basically the only upset team.

"Howard is amazing!" Thomas attracted a group of Timberwolves players around him. He cleared his throat and said with some admiration: "Howard scored 46 points and 19 rebounds!"

"Wow" everyone was in an uproar.

Thomas smiled and continued: "However, Howard also contributed 8 turnovers at the same time. The Magic team made a total of 18 turnovers, which is twice as many as the Eagles. So even Howard's big turnover in this game Showing off his power, he made 22 of 14 free throws, but he still couldn't save the Magic."

"It's a pity for Howard's good data." Love shook his head and sighed. Hearing Howard's data, his eyes lit up just now.

"Howard scored 31 points in the halftime, breaking the record of 28 points in the halftime of the Magic team's playoffs held by McGrady. At the same time, he tied the record of scoring in a single game of the Magic team's playoffs held by McGrady. Unfortunately, In the end, the team failed to win." Thomas said with a smile.

Zheng Ke couldn't believe that the Eagles were so strong. You must know that the Magic had reached the finals two years ago. At that time, the Timberwolves won the championship for the first time in history.

The Timberwolves players talked about the game between the Magic and the Eagles, and the referee on the field also blew the last quarter of the game between the Timberwolves and the Grizzlies.

The Timberwolves led by 14 points, but Thibodeau continued to keep Zheng Ke on the court.

Thibodeau thought very clearly, Zheng Ke stayed on the court for a few minutes, and waited for the Timberwolves to expand the point difference to more than 20 points, or continue to maintain a point difference of about 15 points. In the last 3 minutes, 4 minutes, it will be fine. Replacing Zheng Ke early is actually letting him rest. Resting at the beginning is not as good as resting in garbage time.

Therefore, Zheng Ke continued to stay on the court to fight at the beginning of the fourth quarter, which was rare.

Zheng Ke's presence on the field not only attracted the attention of the Grizzlies, but also gave the Timberwolves' substitute players a shot in the arm.Feeling that there is a sea-fixing needle there, no matter how I stir it up, there will be Zheng Kelai to stabilize the situation, and my heart suddenly becomes clear, and I play more confidently.

A few minutes later, the Timberwolves widened the point difference to more than 20 points, and Zheng Ke was replaced.

Although the Grizzlies did not replace the main players, the game has actually entered garbage time. With Billups apprentice Lowry controlling the rhythm, the Timberwolves are as stable as Mount Tai.

In the end, the Timberwolves won the first game with a score of 105 to 84.

Compared with Zheng Ke's average of 34.7 points per game in the regular season, Zheng Ke's performance is slightly lower.The whole game only scored 29 points, but he also scored 9 rebounds and 9 assists, as well as 3 steals and 2 blocks on the defensive end. A comprehensive and extreme statistic, it cannot be said that it can't beat Tony Len, but at least still looks unstoppable.

After the game, some media reporters interviewed about Tony Allen's defensive issues.

Zheng Ke changed his aggression on the field and laughed loudly: "He is really a fighter! I admire his spirit. Every time I can feel the blood and fighting spirit in him, no matter what kind of setbacks he encounters , the next second will definitely rush forward bravely and actively, giving me defensive pressure."

The reporters were stunned. On the stage of the playoffs, players who praised their opponents vigorously may not be able to find a few in the history of the NBA.

But fortunately, it wasn't the first time that Zheng Ke complimented his opponents. In the past, he would often applaud some of his opponents in the media. In short, there were many good words, and it was fundamentally different from when he was on the court.

Zheng Ke's doing this is purely out of politeness. Anyway, he won't suffer from saying a few nice words, and at the same time he can show his generous side.Sometimes when the court is about to die or live, some people who have played tricks and made small moves will feel a little ashamed when they are treated like this by Zheng Ke off the court.

(End of this chapter)