Basketball K God

Chapter 186 Opportunity is here!

The Kings won 4 consecutive victories, they are not willing to stop here, they hope to get more consecutive victories.This is the case with young teams. After the momentum comes up, they feel that they can beat any opponent.

Their next opponent is the Phoenix Suns.

The Suns had 46 wins and 36 losses last season, and regrettably failed to enter the playoffs (9th).

This game is called "a test of the true strength of the Kings" by the outside world. If they can beat the Suns with 14 wins and 5 losses in the away game, at least they can't be regarded as pure fish belly like last season.

In this game, even though the Kings played tenaciously, Xie Kai and Evans also played, and jointly contributed 45 points, but they still lost to the Suns led by Nash and missed their 5-game winning streak.

After losing this game, the Kings lost back-to-back at home to the Miami Heat on the second day, ushering in a two-game losing streak.

After the two-game losing streak, the bad luck of the Kings was not over yet. Two days later, they narrowly lost to the New Orleans Hornets in an away game, ushering in a three-game losing streak.

A day later, the Kings were defeated by the Spurs in back-to-back away games in San Antonio, ushering in a 4-game losing streak...

From 4 consecutive victories to 4 consecutive losses, the Kings have experienced these again this season.In these 4 games, the opponents were relatively strong, and they also met back-to-back twice, and there were some physical problems.

Fortunately, the performance of the Kings' backcourt twin stars in this 4-game losing streak was remarkable, which gave the fans some comfort, otherwise it would be really disturbing.

The 4-game losing streak made those who were not optimistic about them start to move again.Victory can cover up many problems, and defeat can easily change the direction of the wind.

The Kings need a win to put those rumors to rest.Xie Kai performed well during the 4-game losing streak, but just being good can't help the current Kings beat the Suns, Spurs and other strong teams away from home.

The opportunity is coming!

The next opponent of the Kings, the Minnesota Timberwolves, is currently the last team in the Western Conference.Their current record is 3 wins and 20 losses, which is simply miserable.

On December 12, the Kings played at home against the Timberwolves.

The attendance rate of the Sleep Train Arena is still good. Although here, the home team lost to the Heat on the 7th of this month, the enthusiasm of the fans has not been extinguished. Many of them wear the jerseys of their favorite players to watch the game.

Since Xie Kai started this season, his number of fans has increased.Of course, this is also inseparable from his outstanding performance.

The current record of the Kings is 9 wins and 12 losses, ranking 10th in the Western Conference.They are only 8 games away from the 3th team in the Western Conference. The season is still very long. It is still too early to say that they have no chance to enter the playoffs.

In this game, the starting lineup of the Kings at home is: center - Spencer Hawes, power forward - Jason Thompson, small forward - Andy Nocioni, shooting guard - Xie Kai, organization Linebacker - Tyreke Evans.

The starting lineup of the Timberwolves in the away game is: center - Al Jefferson, power forward - Kevin Love, small forward - Corey Brewer, shooting guard - Ryan Gomez, point guard - — Joni Flynn.

The commentators for this game are Kevin Harlan and Mike Fratello.

"Mike, this game is a contest between two teams with poor records. Do you think Sacramento can end its 4-game losing streak?" Kevin Harlan asked.

Mike Fratello replied: "I think it is very likely. The Sacramento team has a home win rate of more than 60%. Their away performance is not good, but at home, they have been playing very well. And Minnesota's The road was terrible and I don't think they can easily beat Sacramento on the road when they need a win."

Kevin Harlan said with a smile: "After your analysis, it seems to be the case. Okay, let's watch the game!"

The game started quickly, with Jason Thompson and Al Jefferson preparing for a jump ball near the middle circle.

Jason Thompson relied on his height and bounce speed to easily defeat the opponent in the jump ball, and the Kings got the first wave of offensive possession.

Tyreke Evans dribbled the ball and gave it to Jason Thompson at the top of the arc.

Xie Kai and Jason Thompson handed over, and then divided Nocioni in the bottom corner.

Nocioni failed to break through and passed to Hawes in the high position.

Hawes makes a pass fake, takes a shot -- no!
Kevin Love took the rebound and gave it to Jonny Flynn to dribble over.

Jonny Flynn is the 6th pick in the first round of this year. His previous performance was quite satisfactory, but it was because Evans and Jennings were too popular, and their team record was poor, so Not many people follow him.

Kevin Love received the ball from the left waist, hit Jason Thompson with his back, then turned around and made a fallback jumper-no!
Hawes grabbed the backcourt rebound and handed it to Evans to advance.

Love, like Xie Kai, is also a sophomore. At UCLA, he and Westbrook were very strong, but they lost to the University of Memphis led by Rose in the NCAA Final Four and stopped in the semifinals.

Therefore, the pre-match focus of this game is not only Evans VS Flynn, but also Xie Kai VS Love.

Xie Kai and Love do not play in the same position, but because they are players of the same level, they will be used as a comparison.

Xie Kai moved without the ball, and defending him was Corey Brewer, a light cavalry player.

Hawes supported in a high position, Xie Kai used an off-ball screen from Jason Thompson, and suddenly cut inside!

Hawes passed the ball in a timely manner. After Xie Kai received the ball, he jumped to avoid Love and hit the board with an easy jumper!
The Kings lead 2:0 in the opening game!The Timberwolves attacked, and Al Jefferson made use of his footwork at the basket!

The two sides started a draw!

It's just that after a small cooperation between Evans and Jason Thompson here, the latter received the pass from the former and succeeded in the alley-oop!
The Kings lead 4:2!

Kevin Harlan sighed: "Minnesota's two insiders have really poor frame protection ability. They don't have the advantage of height and jumping. Al is slow, and Kevin doesn't jump at all."

Mike Fratello said: "Kevin rebounds well, but the protection of the rim is really poor. If Minnesota wants to use him as the core of the inside, it needs to equip him with a big man who can protect the frame, otherwise it will be difficult to have a good inside defense Performance."

At the beginning of the first quarter, the Kings' offensive efficiency was very high. They continued to attack the frame through the inside, combined with outside shots, they suppressed the opponent very well.

The Timberwolves' offense was also good, but they just couldn't defend, so they couldn't counterattack and were always passive.

(End of this chapter)