Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 156. Chapter 156.
The Clippers played very aggressively on the offensive end throughout the game. The Clippers are not a team with too strong offensive firepower, but the overall aura of the Clippers is very strong.

In this round of the series, the Clippers are already at a disadvantage. Even if they lose the game in the end, the Clippers have no pressure at all.

On the other hand, although the Timberwolves have the upper hand in terms of strength, the external pressure they encounter is much greater than that of the Clippers.

74 wins and 8 losses was a season that changed history, but it also made the Timberwolves in the playoffs cautious and did not dare to make the slightest mistake.

On the field, Luke's defensive strategy for the Clippers is still the same as in the regular season. Even if "Captain" Brand wants the ball in the low post for singles, he resolutely cuts off the offensive firepower of the rest of the Clippers.

Although the Clippers' main scorers are "Captain" Brand and Corey Maggette, players like "Old Cat" Mobley, Kaman, and Livingston can also contribute good offensive firepower.

Luke chose this style of play during the regular season, and it hasn't changed in the playoffs.

Gerald Wallace was selected to the All-Defensive Second Team this year and is one of the strongest forward defense players in the league today.

With Gerald Wallace defending all the way, Corey Maggette can't make too much trouble at this point, at least he can't beat Gerald Wallace's matchup.

The Timberwolves only need to pay attention to the performance of "Old Cat" Mobley. Don't let "Old Cat" Mobley play convulsively, and Brand can only fall into a state of isolation and helplessness.

Throughout the first half, fans can see that the Clippers are trying their best to win the game, but there is indeed a gap between Naihe and the Timberwolves. With the Timberwolves fully defending and coping, the Clippers played very hard on the offensive end.

"Captain" Brand is the undoubted core of the offense in the first half. Brand has a tonnage advantage against Garnett in the low post. As long as Brand squeezes into the three-second zone, Brand's finishing rate at the basket extremely high.

However, Garnett's ability to win the best defensive player for two consecutive years is also due to Garnett's excellent basketball IQ.

In the first half, although Garnett failed to completely lock up "Captain" Brand's performance in one-on-one, he caused Brand's offensive fouls twice in a row, causing Brand to get into foul trouble. gradually began to converge.

Tim Duncan's defensive ability is not inferior to Garnett, but the reason why Garnett's ability overwhelms Duncan is because Garnett is smart enough.

Garnett's defensive weapons, trash talk, small moves, and field performances can make offensive players get into trouble and make Garnett look tough enough.

It can be said that Brand has experienced Garnett's defense in this game. The never-ending trash talk in his ears, the secret and vicious little moves in his hands, and Garnett's already excellent height and wingspan, this Let Brand play very depressed, which is much more difficult than when he played against Tim Duncan in the first round.

Relying on Garnett's excellent personal defense in the first half, the Clippers played intermittently on the offensive end and have never been able to continue a wave of touch.

On the contrary, the Timberwolves, who played the ultimate defense, played more and more smoothly on the offensive end. Whether it was the defensive counterattack after defending the attack, or the overall cooperation on the offensive end, the Timberwolves clearly had the upper hand.

At the end of the half game, the Timberwolves at home lived up to expectations, leading the Clippers by 12 points and entering the second half.

Back in the second half of the game, the Timberwolves suddenly opened up from beyond the three-point line, and Payton and Sprewell fired consecutive shots from the outside.

Even Gerald Wallace, who was not good at shooting three-pointers this season, scored two three-pointers in a row, breaking the Clippers to collapse in one fell swoop.

The situation on the court forced the Clippers coach old Dunleavy to call a timeout, but under the absolute strength of the crush, the timeout can only delay the time for the Clippers to lose.

After returning from the timeout, the Clippers still couldn't break through the Timberwolves' defense on the offensive end.

When "Captain" Brand is alone and helpless at this point, and second-in-command Corey Maggette is also struggling, the Clippers are like strayed into the vortex in a rainstorm, and can only be tortured by God.

Throughout the second half, the Timberwolves' fiery outside touch seemed to be contagious. Whether it was Sczerbiak, Nehbar or Eddie Griffin on the bench, they all came up and hit three-pointers decisively. Misfiring in situ.

In the end, the game ended. While the fans were expecting the Clippers to continue to create miracles, the Timberwolves woke everyone up with facts at home.

Use a 28-point victory to tell the fans the gap between the Clippers and the Timberwolves.

Fans are not surprised that the Timberwolves can beat the Clippers in the first game of the Western Conference Finals, but the Timberwolves can beat the Clippers by 28 points, which is a result that fans did not expect before the game.

Even the Timberwolves fans can't imagine, can't believe that the Timberwolves played so easily in this round of the series, far easier than the semifinal against the Mavericks.

Of course, the Timberwolves felt hot from the outside in this game. The team hit a total of 18 three-pointers, setting a record in the history of the playoffs.

The Timberwolves have never been a team that relies on outside shooting. Even if Luke has a sufficient small ball concept, before the league changes the rules, "pure shooting teams" can only be swept away. Last season, the Sonics are a good example. .

Today's Timberwolves win mainly on defense. The defensive counterattack after defending against the opponent's attack, and the off-ball running in positional warfare are the killer features of the Timberwolves.

In addition, the Timberwolves players have good outside containment ability, so the Timberwolves stars can have such a good environment on the offensive end.

The Timberwolves' overall style of play is somewhat similar to the Bucks led by Budenholzer later, but in a sense it is different from that Bucks.

That Bucks team is stronger offensively, and this Timberwolves team is stronger defensively, but both sides are a team that plays extremely aggressive defensive counterattacks.

As long as the opponent shows a little flaw on the court, the Timberwolves' counterattack threat is not inferior to the Suns.

Although "Captain" Brand contributed 21 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists under Garnett's defense throughout the game, Brand's scoring not only did not bring the team an advantage, but also dragged down the ball. team rhythm.

Especially when Corey Maggette and "Old Cat" Mobley both played mediocrely, it is not a strange thing for the Clippers to lose by a big score.

As for the Timberwolves, the best performer is not the "Wolf King" Garnett, but Gerald Wallace, who has been low-key in the playoffs.

全场比赛杰拉德华莱士仅仅登场28分钟，就高效砍下22分7篮板5助攻3抢断以及1次封盖，外线4投3中的投篮命中率犹如斯泽比亚克附体，简直令快船感到绝望。

In addition, the Timberwolves' offensive touch is also very good. Coupled with Kevin Garnett's defensive contribution, the total score of the Western Conference Finals was rewritten to 1:0 without much effort.

Completely lift the Los Angeles Clippers to fight!

(End of this chapter)