Grab Curry at the start

Chapter 38
The trick Zhang Sixin proposed to deal with Paul is actually not new, because many teams have dealt with Nash in this way.

It's just that the Suns have a faster offensive and defensive rhythm. Sometimes when their speed increases, it is difficult to lock up other Suns players and force Nash to attack by himself.

To deal with the Suns, you must first solve their rhythm, but it is not necessary to deal with the Hornets.

The Hornets' pace is not fast, Paul is not a fast organizer, and Nash's style is actually not traditional.

The traditional style of play must wait for the big man to be in position before launching tactics.

No matter how the Hornets plan, they have several players who can't run fast, so they can't get up the rhythm.

It is relatively simple for Zhang Sixin to lock other people first.

As for the other four main players of the Hornets, except for West, who is a little more difficult, it is not difficult to lock the others.

And West is just a little bit more difficult. When he cooperates with Paul in the pick-and-roll, he first stares at him, and he can't play too many tricks.

West has the power to hold the ball, and the half-stop is a unique skill, but his height and athletic ability are average. The Timberwolves have good inside strength and will not suffer much.

Let Paul vote, Paul can really score.

In the final quarter, Paul scored consecutively, and the defensive end restricted Curry well.

However, the momentum of the Hornets has indeed stopped, and Paul's main attack on the Hornets can't bloom more.

For the Timberwolves, Love's condition is getting better and better, with consecutive hits from the outside, Matthews also performed, and the scores of the two teams are also very close.

With the last five minutes of the game, Jefferson hit the low post and the Timberwolves led by four.

But soon, Paul hit a three-pointer, and the gap between the two teams became 1 point again.

After Paul returned to the court in the final quarter, the scores on both sides have always been like this.

Now it depends on whether Zhang Sixin's strategy will succeed at the last moment.

Zhang Sixin is quite satisfied with the Timberwolves' current offense.

Curry has fewer shooting opportunities, but his assists have also increased.

When the game time was approaching the last 3 minutes, Love hit another three-pointer, and the Timberwolves once again made their opponents feel the pressure.

The three-pointer at the critical moment is really murderous, and the opponent will feel powerless.

Love did not play well in the first half, and now he has scored 20+, and the Hornets' defense has also fallen into difficulty in choosing.

At this time, the Timberwolves have begun to put pressure on Paul.

The original plan was the last 2 minutes, but according to the situation on the court, Zhang Sixin felt that it could be 1 minute earlier.

After increasing the defensive intensity against Paul, Paul, who had scored consecutively before, stopped.

One is that his height makes it difficult to force shots. In addition, he is not used to force. Once the Timberwolves' defensive strength comes up, he will mainly pass the ball.

The performance of the other Hornets players at this time is not too bad. After all, they just didn't have a chance to shoot for most of the quarter, which is not very long, but they missed their three-pointers.

West hit a mid-range shot, Okafor grabbed an offensive rebound and scored 2 points under the basket.

But at this level, the Hornets failed to turn the score over.

When the game time reached the last 48 seconds, Matthews hit a three-pointer on the weak side.

The Timberwolves led by 6 points, and this goal almost broke the opponent's confidence.

Although Paul then hit a two-point retreat, time was running out, and they could only use foul tactics.

The Timberwolves' players are still good at free throws. After the Hornets tried twice and failed to make a three-pointer, they could only admit defeat honestly.

After the game, Paul was also quite regretful. He told reporters that he was still suffering from injuries, his ankle was a little sore, and he was still in the process of receiving treatment, but he was already able to play. He hoped to lead the team back to the ranks of the playoffs.

Zhang Sixin also praised Paul. He said: "He is a very good point guard. Stephen was uncomfortable playing against him throughout the second half, but fortunately we still defeated our opponent with the strength of the team."

When the reporter asked who was better between Curry and Paul, Zhang Sixin said without hesitation: "If you want me to answer, it must be Stephen. If other people have different opinions, then everyone should look at the record. The team's results will never lie, and I will not accept rebuttals."

Zhang Sixin also talked about the team's goal, "My plan with the team is to return to the playoffs in two seasons, but now I find that the young people on the team are very good, and they adapt to the league faster, so we may try to speed up this process."

After the away game, the Timberwolves also returned to the home court non-stop, preparing for back-to-back.

During this process, Zhang Sixin also ordered the team's editors to cut some detailed clips of Curry.

He plans to take Curry to watch the video together, digging out the details a little bit.

Curry's strength has improved rapidly, and Zhang Sixin thinks he will become better.

Next, the Timberwolves will play back-to-back against the Jazz, and Curry will also meet another young and outstanding guard in the league, Deron Williams.

Jazz head coach Sloan likes Deron very much. At the beginning, the Jazz also traded to the high pick to win Deron, even if there was Paul in that session.

No one has expected that Deron will have conflicts with his mentor when he comes in soon, and then both of them will leave the Jazz.

The result was a lose-lose. The Jazz struggled in the West and chose to rebuild again, while Deron quickly fell from the peak.

Now, the Jazz are still a strong contender in the West.

But they also have some problems, Deron and Boozer this pair of inside and outside combination is a bit uneven.

In the summer, the Jazz thought that Boozer would leave. They had already planned to strengthen the power forward Millsap who played well on the bench, and matched the $3200 million contract provided by the Blazers to Millsap.

Unexpectedly, Boozer chose to stay without testing the waters of the free market, and now the Jazz's salary is relatively tight.

Correspondingly, their record is still at the same level.

How to go further in the playoffs is the question they are thinking about most now.

How to say the Jazz, although they are not the top offensive and defensive ends, they can also be said to have both offense and defense, and the main force and rotation lineup have no obvious shortcomings.

However, they lack a top scorer, so they cannot be regarded as a strong team, but can only be a spoiler.

Both Deron and Boozer have obvious shortcomings. It is unrealistic for Sloan to replicate the original black and white double evil.

Besides, the Jazz failed to win the championship with Malone and Stockton.

Sloan is respectable, but his routine has also been figured out by coaches in the league.

It is easy for the Jazz to abuse food now, but it is difficult to go further in the playoffs.

Of course, for the young Timberwolves, the first thing they have to do is not to become a dish.

The Jazz are not easy to play, especially back to back, but fortunately they are back at home this time.

(End of this chapter)