Zhiba NBA

Chapter 45 (44) The Evolved Wolf
On December 12, the Rockets went to Minnesota.Before the opening game, Olajuwon hugged Sam Cassell, an old teammate of the Rockets in the Wolves.

During the Rockets' two consecutive championships, Olajuwon was the absolute core superstar of the Rockets, and "Alien" Cassel was an older rookie in the team. In the 93-94 season, he had just joined the NBA, but he was already 24 years old.After the team completed two championships, he was traded to the Suns, and then played at a star level.In the blink of an eye, 10 years have passed. The 34-year-old Cassel has been in the Rockets, Suns, Mavericks, Nets, and Bucks until he joined the Timberwolves and became a veteran in the league.He is very clear that he wants to support Garnett, the wolf king who is at his peak, and help him reach the top of the league!

The starting five of the Wolves are center Ervin. Johnson (Ervin. Johnson, not the same as the same transliteration as the legendary Lakers superstar Earvin. Johnson), power forward Kevin Garnett, small forward Latrell Sprewell, shooting guard Trenton Hassell and point guard Sam Cassell.Compared with last season, the lineup has been completely reborn.For several starts last season, Peeler went to the Kings, Nesterovic went to the Spurs, and Hudson, who was useless, sat on the bench.

The Rockets lined up a small lineup. Yao Mai joined hands with Billups, Reed and Wallace to start the game.

"The Wolves have been in good shape recently after running in at the beginning of the season. The record in the past half month is 5 wins and 1 loss." Old Curry reported to Tang Shuai.

"What's the difference between them and last season?" Tang Shuai asked.

"The defensive end has improved a lot. Last season, their defense was at a mediocre level, but this season is completely different. In the six games in December, they only lost 12 points in one game, and that was the game against the powerful Kings. The Wolves narrowly won by 6 points."

"Sitting on a defensive superman like Garnett, it's strange to have poor defense. Garnett's height and wingspan are top in the league, but he moves as fast as a small player. Seeing him defending reminds me of Hakim when I was young. And he can dribble and jump shoot like a small player, and his skills are very comprehensive." Tang Shuai not only remembers the past.

"So there was a saying back then that between Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (seven 80s superstars) and O'Neal for almost 20 years, no center could dominate the finals. Hakeem? He's just a small forward with a center forward." Smith also laughed out loud.

These few were talking and laughing, but Tang Shuai's complexion gradually turned serious.

The score was 10 to 6, and the Rockets were still leading, but Billups was really out of shape.

Garnett suddenly stepped forward to press the ball holder, and Billups failed to distribute the ball in time and was intercepted.Cassell assisted "Madman" Sprewell to make a successful mid-range shot.

Billups once again played singles with the ball and hit the iron with a jumper.The crazy man who was so excited got the ball and ran into Longtan alone, breaking through and making a layup. 10 to 10 tie.

Chauncey assisted McGrady for a three-pointer, but Cassell immediately assisted Sprewell for another mid-range shot, 13:12.Tang Shuai called a timeout and replaced him with Dameng.

Unexpectedly, this move completely fell into the opponent's trap.In the next few rounds, Garnett took the initiative to switch to McGrady. Under his interference, McGrady could hardly touch the ball, and the Rockets missed consecutive attacks.Tang Shuai began to secretly regret substituting Yao Ming too early. Now McGrady has difficulty catching the ball. Without Yao Ming, the Rockets have no point in singles.

Wallace made a strong shot, and the ball was slapped by Garnett, who came from the defense, and Cassel got the ball and advanced at a high speed.He went to the basket and passed Garnett back. The latter scored two points and the Wolves overtook the score 17 to 19.

In the last 2 minutes, the Rockets only succeeded once in an inefficient single by Wallace, while the Timberwolves created many scoring opportunities although their shooting percentage was not high.With Kassel's three-pointer, the Wolves slightly widened the point difference at 19:26 in the first quarter.

***
(Interlude here: These days the incident of cracking down on pirated books is raging. Poison Tongue has also read pirated books, but after registering the Qidian account, he has voted for the original author, at least as a small effort. Readers read my pirated books. I have no objection, but the new book is not easy to start. Please log in to Qidian to help me collect hits. If you have votes, you can also share your views on the book and basketball through Weibo. Vicious Tongue is very grateful here.)
"Chauncey, you are completely out of shape today." Tang Shuai criticized Billups by name.

Billups was sullen and silent, and he was secretly angry with himself.He was unpopular in the Timberwolves back then, and he was calm on the surface, but he cared very much in his heart.He is eager to beat the Timberwolves and prove his strength.He did this last season, but against a fourth-rate player like Hudson, he has no sense of accomplishment at all.Now that the Wolves have replaced the star point guard Cassell, the results are getting better and better. It seems that the old scar in Chauncey's heart has been uncovered again, and it is aching.

"You take a break first, and Parker is on in the second quarter."

"Yes, Coach." Chauncey replied feebly.

In the locker room of the home team, the wolves were fighting high.

"We have been silent for several seasons, and it's time to reap the rewards. We are only 3 and a half games away from the top of the Western Conference by sinking the Houston Rockets. Our goal is the regular season championship!" Coach Sanders yelled.

"We want the champion!" The roar of the wolves resounded throughout the stadium.

***
Parker also lost his defense in the face of the old fritter Kassel. The fast break couldn't push the speed, and the shooting didn't feel good.

Reid, who is the most accurate three-pointer in the team, couldn't shoot a goal today, and Wallace was not good at shooting, let alone.

It was also difficult for Yao Ming to catch the ball when facing the opponent's defense around the front. He had to drag his huge body back and forth to consume his energy.

Tracy McGrady faced perhaps the strongest one-defense one-mark player in the league-Garnett.At this time, Garnett stretched out his slender limbs, like a huge octopus spreading in front of him, blocking all possible breakthrough routes for McGrady.

森林狼进攻也不很好，这一节只有卡塞尔4投3中高效得了8分。但整个上半场打完，比分已经是35：50了。

The experienced Tang Shuai can only scratch his head in the face of the collective downturn of the starting players.In the third quarter, he gave it his all and replaced Wang Zhizhi with the Okugao Fort Twin Towers combination.

The score at the end of this quarter was 65:84. The Rockets went up on offense and down on defense.On the contrary, the difference is getting bigger and bigger.

"Let me play, coach, I've adjusted." Billups, who had been silent for half the time, finally said, "I'm sure I won't be overheated this time."

Anyway, it's almost time to enter garbage time. Instead of seriously fighting for the outcome of this game, it's better to let the players adjust their status.Lao Tang has always been adhering to the "people-oriented" basketball philosophy and will not refuse such requests from players.Billups came off the bench with Battelle, Bosh, Turkoglu and Johnson.

The Wolves also retained two starters, Cassell and Garnett. Seeing the Rockets lineup, Cassell burst out laughing.

"Kevin, it seems that we made too much of a fuss, the Rockets have already given up."

Billups was expressionless, staring at Cassel again and again, and said, "But I haven't given up yet."

"Oh? Then I want to take a look." Cassel looked contemptuous.

***
At the end of the game, Billups was not in a hurry to return to the locker room, but stepped forward to shake hands with his opponent.

"Old-timers of the Rockets, I am grateful to you for your guidance. This year's Wolves are very strong. I hope we can meet again in the playoffs." Chauncey said respectfully.

Cassell also smiled, "You are very good. It is the team's loss that the Timberwolves let you go before. Come on."

全场昌西8投2中，仅仅得到了4分，但他在最后一节送出了5次助攻。波什在他的带动下6投4中单节得到10分。

Contrary to the imagination of most fans, the Rockets lost 94:100, but the loss was not too ugly.

(End of this chapter)