Grab Curry at the start

Chapter 78 Two All-Star Starters

The Timberwolves have two back-to-backs in a row, and the next three games are all away games in the East.

After beating the Hornets, they lost to the Bucks the next day.

Although Curry overwhelmed Jennings and scored the highest score in the game, the inside line without Love was completely exploded.

The Bucks' style of play is indeed somewhat restrained. There are defensive types inside and types that can pull out to shoot. It is not the first time the Timberwolves have lost.

Of course, back-to-backs and player absences have a big impact.

After this game, the All-Star starting lineup has been selected.

Wade, Iverson, James, Garnett and Howard received the most votes for each position in the East, while Curry, Kobe, Anthony, Love and Stoudemire in the West.

Jefferson still did not surpass Stoudemire in the end, but the Timberwolves already had two starters.

There were doubts from the outside world, and Zhang Sixin asked the provocative reporter without fear, saying: "The Timberwolves are the top four in the Western Conference, why can't they have two All-Stars starting?"

Now the West is in chaos, because the Suns and Spurs have lost consecutive games, and the top four in the West have become the Lakers, Mavericks, Nuggets and Timberwolves.

In fact, the top four in the Western Conference are not stable at all, and the Spurs, Trail Blazers, Jazz and other teams are all next to each other.

Five or six teams such as the Suns are not far behind. There are still more than a dozen teams competing in the West, and only the Warriors and Kings are completely dead.

But at this time, the fourth in the West is the fourth in the West. It is precisely because of the fierce competition in the West that the Timberwolves' current record has no water.

Just said big words, the Timberwolves lost to the Knicks again.

This is completely a small probability event. A group of big pitchers from the Knicks broke out, and they didn't restrain themselves from staring outside the three-point line. No one could do anything about it.

Curry's performance was mediocre this time, and Zhang Sixin didn't put pressure on him. He didn't talk to someone, but let the players adjust themselves.

On January 1, the Timberwolves played back-to-back against the Eastern powerhouse Cavaliers. The outside world believed that they might suffer a three-game losing streak.

Love chose to come back. His injury is no longer a problem. The team originally planned for him to come back against the Knicks, so the pressure would be less.

But he just came back and definitely couldn't play back-to-back. As a result, Love chose to come back against the Cavaliers.

He also received great doubts as the All-Star starter, and young players wanted to prove themselves.

Zhang Sixin worried that he would have psychological pressure if he did not play well when he came back, but in the end he agreed to Love's request.

Because he coached the Timberwolves and did not intend to recover slowly, they will go to the playoffs this season.

Therefore, both the team and the players need to be under positive pressure. Love has this determination. What Zhang Sixin has to do is to help him persevere and find a way to lead the team to win.

Even if you can't win, you can't let the Cavaliers win easily.

This season's Cavaliers abuse is relatively stable, but the arrival of O'Neal has not had the expected effect. The 38-year-old O'Neal really doesn't have much strength left, and his style doesn't match James very well.

James hits the inside more, what he needs is an inside that can help him open up space.

If O'Neal is still at the peak, there is no problem. He can make any teammates including James a lot easier in singles in the interior, but now O'Neal is not deterrent enough in the interior, but he cannot integrate into the Cavaliers' other tactical systems, which is a bit embarrassing.

The Timberwolves were abused by the Cavaliers at the beginning of the season, but at that time their strength was much worse, and Love was not there.

The point is, even in that game, O'Neal didn't show much. The Cavaliers still used their old routines, Varejao and Big Z to get it done.

Of course, even a Cavalier with some problems is still the enemy of the Timberwolves.

The Timberwolves don't like to play two kinds of teams. There are superstars and teams with good defense. The Cavaliers happen to be satisfied in both aspects. If they have no problems themselves, the Timberwolves will not have any hope.

Now, you can still try it.

Compared with the beginning of the season, the Cavaliers' starting lineup has been adjusted. They put the young No. [-] Hickson on the starting lineup.The second-year Hickson is young and dynamic, a finisher who can steal chicken in the starting lineup.

In fact, he is not the best choice. If O'Neal can't open up space, the fourth position must have this ability. Unfortunately, the Cavaliers have no one.

Big Z's words are too slow now, and the twin towers can't play well.

Zhang Sixin still didn't let Love start directly this time, and still needs to observe a game, mainly because the game against the Cavaliers will be relatively intense.

He intends to let Love increase the rotation time and directly speed up with the team.

From the beginning of the game, Zhang Sixin knew that today's inside line would not be easy.

O'Neal occupies a large area, and it is not convenient for Jefferson to attack in the fourth position.

Moreover, Hickson succeeded in stealing chickens from the beginning.

Jefferson's athletic ability is still a bit poor, and Hickson suddenly cuts to the basket and he can't keep up.

The Cavaliers' truce this time, in fact, James can be said to be playing the first position, but the time of defense is different, and James' passing is indeed good.

Tall organizers are more likely to pass the ball with direct damage because of their better vision.

However, the Cavaliers lack an organization point, and James needs to hold the ball more, which has advantages and disadvantages for them.

Both sides got off to a slow start. James organized well, but he failed in several shots attempts. To be precise, the Cavaliers didn't get into the state much from outside.

As for the Timberwolves, Curry is also slow to warm up, but fortunately DeRozan and Matthews performed well.

"The Cavaliers' slow-paced defense is really harmful to others and themselves." Zhang Sixin complained.

In fact, James can play fast, but the Cavaliers have always had a big inside and are used to this rhythm.

However, their shooters still assigned some to James, not too stupid, but they didn't pay enough attention.

So when Howard is already playing one-star shooting, James has not yet fully played.

James' inaccurate shooting is a major benefit, and the Timberwolves can use the trick to deal with Paul, lock up the rest of the Cavaliers, and force James to shoot himself.

Of course, James is still more difficult to limit. Even if he is allowed to shoot, he must have wheel battles and inside defense. Fortunately, the Timberwolves can use these.

The two teams played rather tangled, and the score did not draw at all.

Halfway through the first quarter, the Timberwolves took the initiative to change, and Zhang Sixin replaced Love.

With Jefferson down, they could try to pick up a little speed.

Milicic can stay for a while, otherwise it will be very difficult to limit James' breakthrough.

Zhang Sixin was delighted that Love seemed to be in good shape, and he cooperated with Curry to score when he went up.

Now in the Timberwolves' high-position pick-and-roll cooperation, Curry and Love are still the most efficient partners.

The Timberwolves only sped up a little bit, but O'Neal couldn't keep up with the Cavaliers.

The fat man who has weakened in singles is honestly a drag when he meets a strong team. Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown also reacted quickly and replaced Varejao.

It can be said that the real contest between the two teams began at this time.

(End of this chapter)