The older superstars of the NBA

After a battle with the New Orleans Pelicans, Adrian Ennis' condition finally gradually improved.

In the next two consecutive games, Adrian's performance was pretty good.

The scoring average is in double digits, rebounding and defense are also doing well, which can be regarded as reaching the passing line of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

However, the team management seems not at ease, and is not in a hurry to convert Adrian's contract into a fully guaranteed one.

Not only that, the team management also signed a non-fully guaranteed temporary contract with the second backup center Greg.

This move is not a regularization for the backup center Greg, but an act made by the team to make up for the vacancy inside.

In this way, the pressure naturally came to Adrian's shoulders.

If he can't play stably and perform better, I'm afraid he may not be able to keep his backup center position. Even if he is still in the team by then, he may just sit on the bench and not officially play.

At that time, there will be no chance of a substitute!

Therefore, Adrian performed harder than before, and specially trained himself for a long time, and every time he was reluctant to leave when the training hall was closed at night.

As the season continues, the league teams have basically completed one-third of the schedule.

After Zhao Feiyang returned, the team's performance continued to climb. With more wins and fewer losses, the Minnesota Timberwolves finally reached the second place in the Western Conference.

The only thing that can threaten them is the Golden State Warriors, who have been winning continuously since the beginning of the season.

The Warriors started this season with a bang, winning streak all the way down, although they lost a few in the middle, but generally the results are very good.

Their performance has also made the outside world look forward to them. Many people in the industry are speculating that the Warriors are very likely to reach the finals again this season, and there is also a high probability that they may win the championship again.

Such a strong state of the Warriors also made the Timberwolves regard them as the most threatening opponent in the playoffs from the beginning.

And when the records of both sides seemed to be very good, they once again ushered in the opportunity to play against each other.

This time the Minnesota Timberwolves traveled to Oakland to challenge the Golden State Warriors.

Compared with the previous duel, this time it was the opponent's home court.When the opponent has the home court advantage, how to defeat the opponent has become a problem for the Timberwolves to consider.

The matchup between No. [-] and No. [-] in the Western Conference also attracted the attention of many people early before the game started.

The other teams in the West are also watching the situation of this game, and everyone wants to know which of these two teams is better.

The day before the game, the Timberwolves players set off for the airport. Not long after they boarded the plane, they did not expect a long-lost figure to appear in front of them.

The person who came was none other than Dwight Howard, who hadn't been to the team for a long time.

As soon as he appeared, he immediately attracted everyone's attention.

"Hey guys, how's everything going?"

"In order to give you a surprise, I just greeted Manager Sam in advance... Hahaha you didn't expect it! I'm officially back now..."

"I'm going to be with you this time against the Warriors. There is no doubt that we will beat them..."

Howard is still as familiar as before, and he started talking non-stop after seeing his teammates.

It's just that this time, Zhao Feiyang, the team leader, ignored him at all. Seeing Howard coming, Zhao Feiyang didn't even have the slightest joy.

He found a blindfold and lay down on the chair to rest, deliberately pretending not to notice Howard's arrival when he was about to sleep.

It wasn't just Zhao Feiyang who made this gesture, Zach LaVine and Kevin Martin did the same.

Like Zhao Feiyang, they are all people who work hard for the game. They don't have any extra thoughts about Howard, who has the highest annual salary of the team but is extremely lazy.

Ignoring it is their attitude.

It was Andrew Wiggins who took the initiative to say hello to Howard, "Hey, Dwight, I'm finally waiting for you..."

Seeing someone talking to him, the embarrassed Howard hurried up to talk to cover up his embarrassment.

"Andrew, I watched that game on Friday night! Dude, your dunk is stronger than before, I suspect you are secretly training..."

"What? You didn't? Oh! No way! Is your talent still continuing to be fulfilled? Dude, I have never seen a player as talented as you..."

Master Huo's words made Wiggins very happy.

The two people who are not very keen on training and competition quickly chatted happily.

After the plane took off, the other players chose to do their own thing, and there were still Howard and Wiggins chatting in the cabin of the plane.

Of course, only the two of them.

Most of the other players remained silent. They didn't have the resolute attitude of LaVine and others, but they didn't want to talk to Howard that much.

The plane arrived at its destination quickly.

The Timberwolves players stayed at the biggest hotel in Oakland that night. After everyone entered their assigned rooms, Howard also took the opportunity to find Zhao Feiyang.

He stopped Zhao Feiyang, who was about to go back to the room, "Hey, Zhao, I have something to tell you... Dude, I'm back, and our game will be smoother next... .”

For Howard's words, Zhao Feiyang nodded very calmly, and did not respond with a single extra word.

"Anything else?"

"um, I......"

"If it's okay, I'll go back and rest first!"

After Zhao Feiyang finished speaking, he turned around and left, leaving the hesitant Howard standing there with a look of bewilderment.

In the evening of the second day, the game between the Timberwolves and the Warriors officially arrived.

Half an hour before the start of the game, Timberwolves players appeared in the locker room.After head coach Norman Thomas entered the locker room, he also began to arrange the team's starting lineup.

"Kevin, you're playing number two today!"

"Zhao, I need you to organize the team's offense, and at the same time give you the task of marking Stephen, you must restrain that guy..."

"Andrew, the third position is still up to you! Your opponent today is not easy, I don't want you to continue paddling, cheer up young man..."

"Gorgui, you go play the [-]...I need you to protect the team's rebounds and wings..."

When it was assigned to the fifth position, which was the center position, the head coach Norman Thomas did not continue immediately, but glanced over to the three players sitting in front of the locker.

These three people are the team's three insiders, the main center Howard who has just returned, Adrian who has played steadily recently, and the second backup center Greg who has just signed a temporary contract.