i have a coaching book

Chapter 42 Fighting the Timberwolves
November 2003, 11 at 21 p.m., Quicken Loans Center, Cleveland.

As soon as Philip Sanchez entered the locker room of the away game, he couldn't wait to announce the starting lineup for tonight's game, "Point guard Sam Cassell, shooting guard Latrell Sprewell, Trenton Hassel at small forward, Kevin Garnett at power forward and Mark Madsen at center."

Among the Timberwolves players, except for the three core players Kevin Garnett, Latrell Sprewell, and Sam Cassell, the other players listened carefully to the head coach's announcement.

This season, the Timberwolves' lineup has undergone a major change. Since the beginning of the regular season, their starting lineup has already made four or five sets of starting lists. They have been constantly debugging and trying to find out the winning team. starting lineup.

"Sam Cassell organizes the offense and creates one-on-one isolations for Kevin Garnett and Latrell Sprewell. If you attract a double-team, pass the ball immediately Players looking for open spots, Trenton Hassel and Mark Madsen have the opportunity to shoot basketball with open spots, just give me a firm shot, I don’t hit, I don’t blame you.

We take a long-term view. The regular season is where we train. Only by constantly trying and running in can we find out the team's strongest energy. We don't really care about the temporary victory or defeat. Our The stage is in the playoffs.

Of course, having a good ranking in the regular season is also very good for the promotion of the playoffs, it can make us go further! "

Finally, Felipe Sanchez clapped his hands vigorously, and said in a loud voice: "Okay, guys! It's time for us to play, let's enjoy basketball to the fullest, and beat the Cleveland Cavaliers!!"

……

On the commentary stand, McBrin and groom Albert are two partners, responsible for the commentary of the game.

"At present, the Cavaliers and Timberwolves, the two teams are in good condition recently. The Cavaliers have been winning, and the Timberwolves lineup is slowly getting better, and they are starting to find the rhythm of winning.

The Cavaliers are playing at home, and Carlos Boozer is on the roster due to injury. What kind of starting lineup do they have for tonight?Point guard LeBron James, shooting guard Ricky Davis, small forward Darius Myers, power forward Desagana Diop, center Zajunas Ilgauskas. "

Groom Albert looks over the Cavaliers' starting roster and starts the introduction.

McBrin also took over the topic and began to introduce the Timberwolves' starting roster, "Hey, the Timberwolves are more pragmatic, and they actually made a starting roster that focuses on defense. It seems that they have a long-term vision. Blame" point guard Sam Cassell, shooting guard Latrell Sprewell and power forward Kevin Garnett, in addition to two defensive champions, small forward Renton Hassel and center Mark Madsen. "

Groom Albert shook his head and expressed his disapproval: "It's not that the Timberwolves are pragmatic, but that the All-Star pitcher Wally Szczerbiak is injured, and Troy Hudson trusts his touch more, and his hand is smooth." When he is playing, he behaves like a superstar, and when things are not going well, he becomes an undercover agent. With the 'three-headed monster', I think the Timberwolves want to use offense to defeat their opponents!"

McBrin nodded, "Okay, whether they want to win defensively or offensively, let us wait and see the real game!"

After a simple warm-up, players from both sides stood in the middle circle of the court, and the game preparations began.

Whoa!
With a whistle,

With the basketball in the hands of the referee, it was thrown high, and the two sides jumped the ball to start.

Zajunas Ilgauskas vs Kevin Garnett!
Ilgauskas is 221cm tall. Except for facing Yao Ming or Bradley, he can be said to be the king of the scrimmage world. Unexpectedly, just at the beginning of the game, Kevin Garnett, who was 211cm in the player's physical test report But it was surprising.

Facing the absolute height of Ilgauskas, Kevin Garnett unexpectedly touched the basketball first and pulled it into Sam Cassell's hands.

Kevin Garnett's apparent height is 211cm, but in fact he underestimated, at least 213cm.After all, he was a high school draft pick, and his height didn't stop growing. It's just that he didn't want to play the center position, and he didn't want to fight people in the paint. So, he grew taller, but he still falsely reported the height of a power forward.

I don't know how many centimeters he is tall, but his wingspan is 232 centimeters in length. Yao Ming once called Kevin Garnett a spider, not without a reason.

His physical quality is extremely attitude, and it is said that he can easily touch the top of the basket.When he just entered the NBA league, he was praised by fans for his passion and dunks. His bullet speed is extremely fast, which is unmatched. The sky is his limit.

On the jump ball, although he suffers from height, he is not afraid of any players.

Kevin Garnett scrambled for the win, and the Timberwolves got the ball to attack first. Sam Cassell had a very wide field of vision. Knife balls with chances for both players and defenders.

Ricky has a body, he's in his prime, and he's doing everything he can to reach out and touch the basketball.

However, the opponent he faced was Latrell Sprewell, nicknamed "Madman". His style of play was extremely wild, his physical fitness was violent, and his explosive power was amazing. Although he was 33 years old However, his explosive power of sudden acceleration has not diminished in the slightest, and he is still at the top level in the NBA.

Ricky used all his breastfeeding strength, but still could only watch Latrell Sprewell overtake the car visibly to the naked eye. Long break.

bang bang bang...

Two or three dribbles, drive straight in, drive inside, take a step to the free throw line, hold the ball up, step up and take off, hold the basketball in both hands, and pull it to the back of the head.

Vigorously exhausting all his strength, he dunked in the air with both hands, and smashed the basketball into the basket heavily.

Tomahawk aerial slam dunk! !
In the exclamation of the fans at the scene, Kevin Garnett, who jumped the ball, Sam Cassell, who assisted, and Latrell Sprewell, who dunked, just opened, "The three-headed monster 'Only one connection was achieved, and the madman Sprewell gave the Cavaliers a blow with his wild style of play and his own special skills!

2 to 0, the Timberwolves took the lead.

McBrin exclaimed: "A madman is indeed a madman. His physical fitness is really abnormal. He is in his 30s. He is so old, but he can still show off. The tomahawk-style aerial slam dunk that made him famous in his rookie season is truly immortal. ah!"

The groom Albert nodded, and added: "This is not just Sprewell's performance alone, but the wonderful cooperation of the entire group of 'Three-Headed Monster', which can definitely be among the top five goals in this issue.

You must know that Ilgauskas is 221cm tall, and Garnett actually grabbed the ball from him, my God!What kind of picture is this?I can't believe it!The fact is happening right in front of your eyes.There is also Kassel's imaginative pass, and in the end, it is Sprewell's tomahawk slam dunk! "

McBrin also praised: "The 'Three-Headed Monster' showed extraordinary cooperation and tacit understanding from the beginning. It really makes people look forward to their performance? How will the Cavaliers counterattack?"

The offensive and defensive transition, James dribbled to the frontcourt, and hoisted the basketball to Ilgauskas who wanted the ball inside.

Ilgauskas singled out Kevin Garnett with the ball!
Garnett did not defend close, but used flexible steps and extremely long arms to block and interfere with Ilgauskas' shots.

Facing Garnett, who is extremely strong in single defense, Ilgauskas suddenly felt helpless in his face-up attack. Although he was 10cm taller, since the face-up attack was blocked, Ilgauskas Skas leaned on Garnett with a back dribble and squeezed twice, but couldn't move.

The jittering fake move was also predicted by Garnett in advance. At this time, Ilgauskas's weakness of light weight and lack of low post singles was infinitely magnified.

Ilgauskas was defenseless and didn't have the confidence to hit the basketball into the basket, so he passed the ball to Miles on the outside.

Miles catches the face frame,
Facing the unknown small forward Trenton Hassell, who was shorter than himself, the excited Miles felt that he could physically bully him.

Trenton Hassell posted it directly, Miles made a big stride to break through,

Trenton Hassell, on the other hand, used his defensive skills like jellybeans, moved a step sideways, and continued to cling to Miles, locking his breakthrough route and shooting angle.

Miles felt the pressure instantly. The opponent was taller than him, but his flexibility was not inferior to his physical fitness, and his aura was so strong that he actually clinged to him and kept fighting him physically .

Miles tried to break through again, took a big stride, feinted, and shot a mid-range jumper.

Trenton Hassell, however, predicted Myers' shot choice in advance, quickly pushed forward, jumped up and stretched out his hand, sealing Myers' eyes.

bang,
The basketball hit the rim and hit the iron.

"Myers shot a jumper! Bang... Myers missed the shot. Known as the 'KG II', Myers wanted to prove himself with a mid-range shot, but he chose the wrong opponent. Wrong way, his mid-range shot is not stable." McBrin said shaking his head.

The groom Albert directly pointed out his shortcomings, "Myers has been in the NBA for almost three years, and he has not seen any improvement. He has a good body. The Cavaliers can consider trading him out for someone who can Mid-range shooting, preferably an outside player who can shoot three-pointers and can hold the ball. This lineup will be hundreds of times better than the current one. I really don’t see how Miles is like Garnett. High school drafts that."

McBrin nodded and said in agreement: "Look, apart from not looking like a mid-range shot, Garnett can also grab rebounds. Garnett's pace is too dexterous. The other insiders are like a wooden board in front of him." pile!!"

On the field, Kevin Garnett used dexterous steps to rush into the inside line in an instant, blocked Ilgauskas, jumped high, and easily took off the rebound.

Kevin Garnett's rebounds have the ability to predict in advance, and his pace is very flexible, coupled with abnormal wingspan, extremely fast jumping ability, and his height is not very low, so a rebounder The king is out.

This season, Garnett is currently averaging 14.3 rebounds per game, ranking first in the league's rebounding rankings.

Moreover, in Lin Bai's previous life, from the 03-04 season, Kevin Garnett will become the rebounding champion of the year, and he didn't even give up the title of rebounding champion for four consecutive years until he went to the Celtics, Forming the Big Three, chasing the NBA championship, and underestimating the statistics, they lost this title.

Taking off the rebound, Garnett immediately passed the ball to Sam Cassell to organize the offense.

Sam Cassell dribbles the ball slowly through the half court, not anxious to attack.

James was close to the press, but Sam Cassell was able to easily protect the ball and firmly control the basketball in his hands. His ball protection was as calm and comfortable as Payton, who was nicknamed 'The Glove'.

Sam Cassell observed the situation for a while and knew that the Cavaliers were man-to-man defense, passing the ball directly to Kevin Garnett in the low post on the left to single out the opponent.

Ilgauskas, who was facing Garnett in singles after receiving the ball, dribbled twice to the bottom corner, turned over and shot a jumper, adding a little back,

swish
The basketball fell into the basket accurately, 4 to 0, and the Timberwolves started very smoothly.

The Cavaliers attacked, James dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, and Sam Cassell was the main defender. James held the ball in the middle and directly chose a personal breakthrough.

Sam Cassell followed closely to shrink the defense. After breaking into the inside, James felt a little uncomfortable.
Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell intercepted directly on the flanks, and Kevin Garnett guarded the penalty area, and the area was very large.
James couldn't find space in the middle distance. Facing Garnett, he didn't dare to go deep, and the three-pointer was unstable.
Can only distribute the ball to Ricky on the right side, catch the ball and face the frame, Ricky is facing the main defense of Latrell Sprewell, he holds the ball and breaks through from the right again, but, he faces Facing the zone defense of Latrell Sprewell and Mark Madsen, the inside Kevin Garnett moved to the right and faced the same dilemma as James.

The styles of the two are similar. After all, Ricky has been in the league for a long time now, and James is just a rookie season. The talent potential of the two is dwarfed by each other.

Ricky broke into the inside, although it was uncomfortable, but he didn't think too much like James. He took a big step to the left, swayed out of the angle, stepped on the horn area, and directly stopped the jump shot.

bang
The basketball bounced out of the hoop and missed.

Garnett grabbed the rebound and saw Latrell Sprewell counterattack at lightning speed. It was about to pass halftime. He didn't hesitate and made a long pass directly.

Latrell Sprewell received the ball and rushed to the frontcourt like a cheetah. James returned to the defense quickly and retreated to the penalty area.

Latrell Sprewell went straight to the inside, kicked up the basket with one step, and it was a slam dunk in the air.

When James jumped up to block the block, Sprewell dodged in the air, retracted and stretched, evaded James' block, and then hooked, the basketball seemed to have eyes, wiped the backboard, and got into the basket.

6 to 0! !
The commentator McBrin said loudly: "The Timberwolves' defensive counterattack at the beginning was too sharp. Give Sprewell a fast break and give him a wild chance. The Cavaliers can't defend like this!!"

Groom Albert went on to say: "In addition to offense, the Timberwolves did a good job defensively. They used the zone defense to freeze the Cavaliers' breakthrough, and their individual defense blocked the Cavaliers' star singles. The situation of the Cavaliers is very bad. They are about to face It is a 'Three-Headed Monster' with sharp teeth!!"

With excellent defense and sharp offense, the Timberwolves finally showed their sharp teeth, showing the demeanor of a championship-level team.

(End of this chapter)