Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 149 149. "The Bull-Wolf War": Scorching, the Confrontation of the Spear and the Shield; (two chapters in one)

As the Mavericks eliminated the Nuggets 4:1 in the first round and entered the semifinals, the first semifinal match between the Timberwolves and the Mavericks will officially start on May 5.

Compared with the first-round match against the Lakers, this group of semifinals is equally eye-catching, and the overall quality will rise to a higher level.

As one of the few teams in the league to break through 60 wins this season, the Mavericks are already favorites to win the championship. Coupled with the headlines of double-killing the Timberwolves in the regular season, fans are becoming more and more optimistic about the Mavericks' upset.

Although the Mavericks are slightly worse than the Timberwolves in terms of overall strength, if you pick a team that is most likely to beat the Timberwolves in today's league, the Mavericks will definitely bear the brunt of the name.

It is even more likely than the Pistons and Heat in the East.

Even if the Mavericks are finally defeated by the match, the fans will not be disappointed, at most it is regret, it is a pity that the Mavericks failed to become the "alliance retrograde".

After all, the Timberwolves have a historical record of 74 wins and 8 losses this season. The Mavericks can still be favored by outside fans under such circumstances, which is a strength in itself.

In addition, Mavericks head coach Johnson is also a newcomer to the industry. At the age of 40, he is definitely young in the coaching industry.

And he was able to lead the Mavericks to such a performance in the first full season of his coaching career. It can only be said that "Little General" Johnson really has talent and the talent to become a head coach.

Therefore, at the tactical level, the duel between "Little General" Johnson and the "Little Marshal" Luke of the alliance is also eye-catching.

As the youngest head coach in the active league, Luke is not only talented, but also one of the youngest champion coaches in NBA history, only one year older than the "Ancient Godfather" Kudal.

But Kudal led the Lakers to win the championship that year back in 1949. In that era, the basketball rules were not perfect, and there were not many NBA teams, and the gold content must be far inferior to modern times.

If you really want to say that the youngest champion coach recognized by the fans is the Heat coach Riley, Riley was 37 years old that year and started his legendary coaching career with a championship trophy.

However, when Luke led the Timberwolves to win the championship last year, he was only 35 years old. At this age, he can single-handedly build the Timberwolves into a dynasty.

Although the best coach of this year has not been announced yet, everyone knows that the best coach of this year has been booked in advance from the moment Luke led the Timberwolves to 74 wins and 8 losses.

No matter how many games other people lead the team to improve, the best coach this year must be Luke!
…………

On May 5, local time in the United States, the first game of the Western Conference semifinals officially kicked off.

The entire Target Center arena was packed for this game. According to gossip, the tickets for the Timberwolves-Mavericks series have been sold at sky-high prices.

Even if the last few rows are five times the normal ticket price, as for the first few rows, there is basically no market. Except for the Timberwolves who will come up with some connections, there is no circulation on the market at all.

After all, people who can afford the first three rows of seats are not short of money, and there is no need to sell tickets for a little profit. This kind of thing is a self-depreciation.

That is to say, Minnesota is not as expensive as New York and Los Angeles, otherwise the ticket price of the Timberwolves will double, to the point of staggering.

Before the start of the game, Everly Johnson walked towards Luke with a smile on his face, and stretched out his hands to show his kindness to Luke.

Although "Little General" Johnson, who picked old Nelson's peaches, was lucky enough to lead the team to a perfect season, Johnson knew very well that Luke was someone he could never mess with.

Although Luke has restrained a lot this season in order to help the Timberwolves build a dynasty, those head coaches who are against Luke have no good end.

Popovich of the Spurs is a good example. No one believes that Popovich's injury was really an accident.

That injury caused Popovich to be absent for more than two months, and he also did not dare to stand for a long time after his comeback. Whether it was physical trauma or psychological trauma, Popovich's end was very miserable.

The most important thing is that during the period when Popovich was absent due to injury, the Spurs assistant coach led the team well and finally led the team to break through the 60 mark. Management questioned.

Popovich was absent due to injury, and the assistant coach led the team to achieve such good results, so the Spurs can have today. Is it Popovich who made the Spurs, or the Spurs who made Popovich, which made the Spurs management fall into a trap. meditation.

Popovich has the highest salary of an active coach. As a result, the Spurs played so hard even in the first round of the playoffs this year. Combined with Popovich’s absence during the regular season, Popovich’s reputation has dropped to freezing point.

If it weren't for Popovich who has coached the Spurs for many years and has formed some fate with the city of San Antonio, I am afraid that the Spurs boss would have fired this guy long ago.

But even if the Spurs can't bear to fire Popovich, Popovich's current situation is also a bit bad.

It is foreseeable that if the Spurs have been in this state in the past two years and have been unable to break through, it is only a matter of time before Popovich is dismissed from get out of class.

"I have known you for a long time, Lu, you are really a genius. It took only two years to build the Timberwolves into what they are today. Apart from you, I really can't think of anyone else who has this ability."

"Until now, I can't believe it. Next, I will lead the team to compete with you. This is really an incredible thing." Everly Johnson said with emotion.

Seeing that Johnson in front of him didn't look like he was acting on the occasion, Luke couldn't help giving Johnson a high look.

To be honest, "Little General" Johnson is still half a Spurs star, and he was also considered a titan under Popovich back then.

Although the master-student relationship with Popovich is not deep, it is definitely much better than Luke, an outsider.

At present, the entire league is aware of the personal grievances between Luke and Popovich. In this case, Johnson can calm down and treat it objectively. It seems that the success of "Little General" Johnson is not accidental. thing.

"The Mavericks have become very strong under your hands. You are already a successful basketball coach. I believe that the best coach next season will definitely fall into your hands."

As the saying goes, don't hit smiling people, "Little General" Johnson's attitude made Luke uncertain, so he could only force a smile.

Timberwolves' starting lineup for this game is still: "Glove" Payton, Madman, Gerald Wallace, Garnett, and Bynum.

Mavericks here are: Devin Harris, Stackhouse, Josh Howard, Nowitzki, and Eric Dampier.

Both sides sent regular starters, and there was no change in the lineup.

The Mavericks' No. [-] scorer is Jason Terry, but Terry has been playing as a sixth man this season.

However, Terry has been kept on the court at critical moments, and his average playing time is second only to the head star Dirk Nowitzki. Rather than saying that Terry is the best sixth man, it is better to say that Terry is wearing the identity of the sixth man The second head of the team.

As for the reason, Popovich often puts Ginobili on the bench for the same reason.

The Mavericks' starting offensive points are abundant. Instead of letting Terry run back and forth on both ends of the offense and defense, it is better to let Terry lead the second team to shoot at will and become the absolute main attack point on the field.

After the game started, the ball was taken by the explosive "Little Shark" Bynum first.

As soon as the game came up, the offensive focus of the Timberwolves was obvious, mainly targeting the Mavericks' backcourt.

The Mavericks' two backcourt players, Devin Harris and Stackhouse, both have poor defensive capabilities.

Devin Harris is thin and inexperienced, and will always be a loophole against a good offensive point guard.

As for why "Little General" Johnson also put Devin Harris in the starting lineup, it is really that these players in the Mavericks' backcourt are very poor defensively. .

The only "scalpel" Christie with excellent perimeter defense was seriously degraded due to age. He played only seven games in the regular season before being abandoned by "Little General" Johnson.

After all, in the case of averaging 27 minutes per game, but can only average 34 points per game with 3.7% shooting, Christie's performance is really terrible, which makes people completely untrustworthy.

Needless to say, Stackhouse has had a hard time defending since entering the league. If it weren't for his good offensive ability, he would often perform some miracles. Stackhouse in the playoffs has long been held down by the coach. on the bench.

Facing Stackhouse's defense, Madman played very aggressively from the beginning, using his teammates' pick-and-rolls to hit consecutive mid-range shots.

Sprewell is like an old wine, the game has become more and more stable, and even the unreasonable shots on the offensive end have obviously decreased a lot.

When teammates can attract enough defensive attention for Madman, Madman's offensive firepower is definitely the top shooting guard in the league.

Regardless of physical factors, a madman with full firepower can fight the "Black Mamba" Kobe head-on.

In addition, "Glove" Payton also has obvious advantages over German Harris. Harris is 1.9 meters tall and weighs 83 kilograms. According to the data, Harris is not as thin as a bamboo pole.

But Devon Harris has a small skeleton, which makes Harris' body look a bit thin, and the confrontation in strength is Harris' weakness.

When Payton played Devin Harris with a back single, the continuous physical confrontation caused Harris to quickly lose his balance. He could only watch Payton complete his turn and fall back. The defensive pressure of Stanley has nothing to do with it in the slightest.

Johnson is not too surprised that the backcourt defense was targeted by the Timberwolves. After all, the Timberwolves are the team that is most capable of catching defensive flaws in the league today.

As we all know, the Timberwolves have always relied on defense to win, and the offensive end only needs to find defensive loopholes and slowly grind points.

But the real lethal weapon of the Mavericks is the offense. There is no way to make up for the deficiencies on the defensive end, but as long as the offense plays smoothly, the Mavericks can still beat any team. The double-killing Timberwolves in the regular season is the best example.

So this situation on the court did not make Johnson feel impatient, because the Mavericks have experienced this scene twice in the regular season, and they are very aware of each other's hole cards.

Who will have the last laugh depends on whether the Mavericks have a stronger offense or the Timberwolves have a tougher defense.

"boom!"

With Garnett once again interfering with Nowitzki's turn back, the Mavericks have failed to score in three consecutive offensive rounds, and the Timberwolves took the opportunity to open the score.

The matchup between Garnett and Nowitzki is the biggest highlight of this round of the series. The two are the strongest spear and the hardest shield at the power forward position.

Even though Nowitzki's outside style of play has been discriminated against, not only fans, but even industry commentators regard Nowitzki as a softie.

But what I have to say is that Nowitzki is definitely the player with the best offensive ability at the power forward position in the league today, and there is no need to add one after that.

Whether it is Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Chris Webber, Jermaine O'Neal or Rasheed Wallace, these are the ceilings of active power forwards, but in terms of offensive ability alone, no one is Novus base opponent.

Diversified offensive methods, ultra-long shooting range and unsolvable turnaround jumper, these are the hallmarks of Nowitzki.

At present, Nowitzki is only one championship away from proving himself. From the moment Nowitzki won the championship trophy, no one dared to call Nowitzki a softie.

It's just a pity that although Nowitzki has regarded the turnaround jumper as his main offensive method, there is still a certain gap compared with his peak period.

In particular, the skill of Golden Rooster Independence has not been developed to the extreme. It is only slightly receding at present, and it is far from reaching the point where it cannot be disturbed.

At least Garnett defended well in these two rounds, compressing Nowitzki's shooting environment to a very bad level.

Throughout the first quarter, the Timberwolves had a slight upper hand in the situation, but as Nowitzki's touch recovered, the Mavericks also quickly closed the score, keeping the point difference within five points.

In the second quarter, the two sides rotated the lineup. In fact, the Mavericks' rotation was not good, and it could even be said to be a bit bad.

Except for Jason Terry, who has unlimited shooting rights, no Mavericks averaged more than four points per game off the bench.

Because of this, Terry's average playing time in the first round of the playoffs will be as high as 41 minutes, and Nowitzki's is as high as 43 minutes.

The two of them had very little time to rest, and they had to return to the court after sitting for two or three minutes at most.

At this stage, the Timberwolves have certain advantages both offensively and defensively. The excellent depth of the lineup allows Luke to have more choices. It also makes the main Timberwolves less tired. The average playing time is below 37 minutes per game.

Even Garnett, who has the highest playing time, only averaged 36.8 minutes per game. In the high-intensity competition of the playoffs, Garnett's playing environment is absolutely enviable.

I heard that LeBron James cried and passed out in the toilet overnight after learning about this incident.

Throughout the first half, the Mavericks kept the score tight with the joint performance of Jason Terry, Nowitzki and Josh Howard.

At the worst time, it was only 7 points behind the Timberwolves, and at the most advantage, it was 5 points ahead of the Timberwolves.

Except for Stackhouse's sluggish performance in the first half, the Mavericks have basically unleashed their offensive firepower, especially Jason Terry, who scored 17 points in the first half and made great contributions. Visky is even more eye-catching.

Even if Luke once asked Ariza to mark Jason Terry, Terry, who was hot in the hand, was able to go every day, and even reminded Luke of the guy named Stephen Curry.

Both of them shot flawlessly from beyond the three-point line, and they shot all kinds of ultra-long three-pointers confidently, which abruptly tore a hole in the Timberwolves' defense.

If it weren't for the outstanding performance of "Madman" Sprewell and Szczerbiak who came off the bench, the Timberwolves might really be at a disadvantage.

Madman faced Terry in the first half and also scored 16 points, 3 rebounds and 1 steal. As for Szczerbiak, who came off the bench, he made 5 of 5 shots and contributed 12 points and 3 rebounds efficiently. unexpected surprise.

The two teamed up to score about half of the Timberwolves' total points, and their offensive efficiency was impressive.

But under such circumstances, the Timberwolves only led the Mavericks by two points at the end of the half, and the point difference with the Mavericks was very anxious, only one goal behind.

The anxious game situation made the fans hooked, but at the same time, it also made the Timberwolves fans a little worried. The threat of the Mavericks has reached the point where the naked eye can see it, and the Timberwolves will capsize if they are not careful.

Compared with the first round of the series against the Lakers, this "Bullwolf War" can be described as unpredictable, which has whetted the appetite of fans.

　Ask for a monthly ticket, ask for a recommendation ticket, thank you, third child!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)