Grab Curry at the start

Chapter 80
The Timberwolves need momentum on the offensive end. The Cavaliers can only switch to a small lineup, leaving only one insider. James briefly came to the fourth position.

When he was in the Cavaliers, James rarely played the fourth position because they had insiders.

Now they are forced to do nothing by the Timberwolves, because the score gap has already caught up.

However, how could the Timberwolves let James play with three shooters and a flexible inside.

They immediately put on Jefferson and started playing inside and out.

Only Hickson is left inside the Cavaliers, and Jefferson can show his power.

After Jefferson hit, the Cavaliers adjusted again and replaced Varejao.

At this time, the Timberwolves did not continue to follow the substitutions. Frye feels average today, so there is no need to be so aggressive.

Moreover, Jefferson's inside line, which needs touch, may last for a while after hitting.

After James came up, the Cavaliers' situation did not improve.

Because James didn't feel good today, he also lost confidence in his own shooting.

At this time, Love made another three-pointer and the Timberwolves took the lead.

This ball is a problem with the Cavaliers' defense. They underestimated Love a little bit.

Love performed very well this time, but the opponent's defense did not deliberately target.

When Love and Curry cooperated in the pick-and-roll, James subconsciously delayed Curry, and as a result, Love took the ball and shot.

Of course, Love didn't hit a three-pointer in the first half, but the two three-pointers at the critical moment were extremely lethal.

On the sidelines, Cavaliers coach Brown was also a little dissatisfied.

On the court, James continued to communicate with his teammates, and seemed dissatisfied.

Turning back, the Cavaliers still missed.

Brown chose to make a substitution again, and replaced O'Neal again. The Cavaliers played the twin towers at a critical moment.

When O'Neal and Varejao are both on the court, the Cavaliers do have an advantage inside, but Zhang Sixin hasn't changed yet, so he plans to take a look.

The combination of Love and Jefferson is also the team's first combination. The Timberwolves have already overtaken, so there is no need to play faster at this time, unless O'Neal can still go crazy.

After the opponent's two big men stayed inside, Jefferson didn't force himself to go in and fight, but he had a mid-range distance.

And he felt pretty good, and he really hit one against Varejao in the next Timberwolves attack.

In this way, the situation of the Cavaliers became more and more tense.

But the Timberwolves can't kill their opponents all at once, and the Cavaliers are not a weak team. They rotated the opponent's offensive rounds, and James still passed Gibson and hit a goal in seconds.

When Jefferson feels good, Curry will still pass him the ball.

As a senior in the team, although Jefferson does not have the absolute tactical core position of last season, but only when he can score, there is definitely no shortage of opportunities.

He can also hit Varejao with his half-shot.

It's a pity that he didn't make a hit this time, and a player like him is still not stable enough.

But Love grabbed the offensive rebound and turned around to score.

Love's rebound awareness is still not there. He doesn't rely on jumping and long arms to grab rebounds, but judgment.

Now there are a bunch of big men in the penalty area, the ball just bounced a little farther, and Love was the first to judge the spot and got the rebound.

O'Neal may have made a judgment, but his body is too slow now, and he can only control the rebound not far from his body.

The Timberwolves' lead expanded, and now James became ruthless and directly pushed Matthews away for a layup.

Love has also come to help defend, but his threat is still not as good as Milicic.

Zhang Sixin looked at the time, and when the game came to the last 2 minutes, he began to operate, using Jefferson in offense and Milicic in defense, otherwise James could not handle it with strength.

The key is that he is not easy to pinch, James plays the ball very well.

Now the Cavaliers' two outside players, Gibson and Parker, are not easy to play.

The quality of the ball in the flank is actually very important. Many players can play the ball when they are flanked, but if the quality is not that good, the defender will have time to react, and naturally they can attack without restraint.

To deal with James, it is better to prevent breakthroughs or prevent shots.

Flanking can also be used, but only at certain times.

In this game, James himself didn't want to shoot, so Zhang Sixin naturally wouldn't arrange a flanking attack.

However, James still showed the strength of his superstar.

In the last minute of the game, James rushed inside, causing a foul by Milicic, and then made two free throws, reducing the gap between the two sides to 1 point.

Facing a strong striker, Zhang Sixin would let Brewer and Matthews play together in the end, but he still didn't resist.

Fortunately, this style of play is extremely exhausting, and the young James can't always play like this.

But in the last minute, the Timberwolves must be mentally prepared.

Zhang Sixin originally prepared a tactic, which was to chop the shark.

But the Cavaliers replaced O'Neal in the last 2 minutes, and the lineup became one big and four small, leaving only Varejao on the court.

Varejao's free throws are also average, but it's not worth cutting.

The Timberwolves' offense still allowed Love and Curry to pick and roll. This time, Curry suddenly moved the ball in a wide range, and Brewer received the ball on the other side and hit the basket directly.

The Cavaliers walked inside, and the penalty area was still a little empty. Varejao didn't have time to make up, Brewer directly made a layup, and the Timberwolves led by another 3 points.

Now that the Cavaliers can shoot three-pointers with four points, the Timberwolves must take strict precautions.

James can't let this go, he can only rely on the inside to help defend if he is broken.

The foul is a foul, just let James go to the free throw line.

Unexpectedly, the Timberwolves paid too much attention to the three-point line and the opponent found a gap. James suddenly hoisted the ball to the inside.

It was too late for Milicic to stop, so he fouled directly.

But Varejao's two balls were very stable, and they all made free throws.

With less than 30 seconds left and the Timberwolves leading by 1 point, they must control the time.

Curry didn't move forward after halftime with the ball, and the Cavaliers didn't come over to force them. Even if the Timberwolves ran out of time, the opponent would have one attack left.

When there were only 10 seconds left in the game, the Timberwolves started.

Love came to cover Curry from outside the three-point line, and Curry rushed in with the ball.

However, at this time the referee's whistle sounded and Love was given a screen violation.

Zhang Sixin went directly to spread his hands, what do you mean, less than 10 seconds later, the referee is so aggressive.

However, the referee insisted that this was a mobile screen. Fortunately, the Timberwolves did not get a free throw and just exchanged the ball.

Love's ball cannot be said to be a complete standard cover, but even if it is not the last moment, the referee will not blow it most of the time. Now that the whistle is blown, it can only be said that it is not the home court.

"Hey, gentlemen, the matter is over." Zhang Sixin snapped his fingers to draw back the players' attention, "Now we are leading, calm down and do a good job of defending this time."

(End of this chapter)