Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 174. 174. Frozen Garnett

In the second quarter of the game, the two sides replaced the substitute lineup to start a contest. The Timberwolves' substitute lineup this season is also terrifying.

Compared with last season, it has achieved a true offensive and defensive balance.

Luke is one of the most favorite head coaches in the entire league to use five-up and five-down. This rotation method does not mean that Luke underestimates the enemy, but the depth of the Timberwolves lineup allows Luke to make any choice of personnel.

In the second quarter, when all five starters were resting, the Timberwolves still had: Rondo, Madman, Gerald Wallace, Millsap, and Eddie Griffin.

Among them, Millsap and Eddie Griffin, one is full of tonnage and strength, the other is agile, they can exchange positions with each other, and adjust who will play the fourth position according to the arrangement made by the opponent.

Compared with the luxurious employment on the Timberwolves side, the Mavericks side seems to be a lot more down-and-out.

When Nowitzki and Terry's core players rested, only Stackhouse on the bench could lead the team.

In addition to Stackhouse, I am afraid that only blue-collar center Diop and former Lakers player Devin George are barely reliable.

But facing the oppressive defensive strength of the Timberwolves, the Mavericks' current lineup can only put all the offensive burden on Stackhouse alone.

上个赛季斯塔克豪斯在小牛队场均可以贡献13分2.6篮板以及2.8次助攻，其中投篮命中率为40%，三分球命中率只有27%。

This offensive efficiency is obviously a bit low, but it seems so normal if it is placed on Stackhouse.

After all, Stackhouse, who has made two All-Star appearances in his career, has never been an efficient offensive finisher. The season with the highest offensive efficiency was only 45%, while the lowest season was 37.1%.

The 32-year-old Stackhouse is still in this state this season. His offensive efficiency is not high, but he maintains his personal confidence in every shot.

However, when Luke arranged for Gerald Wallace on the bench to defend Stackhouse alone, Stackhouse's self-confidence turned into suicide.

As Stackhouse missed four consecutive rounds of offensive shots, the Timberwolves used the Mavericks' missed shots to play defensive counterattacks one after another.

The offensive fluency was even smoother than that of the starters. The angry "little general" Johnson was gnashing his teeth off the court and had to decisively call a timeout to gradually bring the starters back to the court.

The change in the Mavericks' lineup did not make Luke feel flustered, and he still employed people in an orderly manner, observing the state of the players on the court and their cooperation in the new season.

The Timberwolves, who gradually entered the state throughout the second quarter, played very well. Whether it was the presence of the substitute lineup or Luke brought back the starting lineup in the second half, the Timberwolves played much more than the first quarter.

Even though Garnett's offensive state is still very bad, at the end of the halftime, the offense in the sports game only made [-] of [-] shots, and only [-] points with free throws.

However, the performances of Artest and Iguodala were more eye-catching. Artest showed a strong performance from the beginning, while Iguodala scored seven points in a row in the second half of the second quarter.

A three-pointer, a defensive counterattack dunk, and a mid-range pull-up after using the pick-and-roll can be described as murderous.

Iguodala has never been an excellent backcourt scorer. Iguodala can play so confidently on the offensive end, but also thanks to the Timberwolves' invincible defense.

The Mavericks' offense has always been unable to break through the Timberwolves' defense, and while they can basically defend against the Mavericks' offense in every round, the Timberwolves no longer hesitate on the offensive end. Too much stress.

When Iguodala can open fire on the offensive end, this Timberwolves is close to invincible.

At the end of the halftime game, the Timberwolves led the Mavericks by 11 points at home by virtue of their increasingly smooth cooperation on both ends of the offense and defense.

"Kevin, you sat on the sidelines to rest in the second half. There are some problems with your current state. Blindly looking for the touch will only let yourself get into the horns."

"Not only can you not help the team in this state, but it will also drag down the rhythm of the team on both ends of the offense and defense."

"Whenever you think you can regain your form, I will let you appear on the stage again, provided that you can make me feel bright after playing."

During the intermission, Luke said to Garnett mercilessly.

Luke's words made Garnett's heart tense, and in front of so many teammates, Garnett was a little uncomfortable: "Today I just didn't feel good. I think I can continue in the second half..."

"That's it. In the second half, you sit on the sidelines and watch the game." Luke interrupted Garnett's request with a wave of his hand, and his words were full of indifference and majesty.

Luke's serious face made Garnett swallow what he wanted to say. If Luke dared to treat him like this when he first took office and hide himself for the second half, Garnett would definitely tell the management to change hands. Luke quit.

But now Garnett has no confidence in the face of Luke, and even this matter has reached the management side. Garnett seriously doubts that the management may stand on Luke's side.

The arrival of Luke changed the Timberwolves team, and Garnett also benefited from it. Even if Garnett was dissatisfied, he did not dare to show off his star status at this juncture.

Back in the second half of the game, fans found that the Timberwolves had made some adjustments in their starting lineup.

In the second half, head coach Luke actually took Garnett out of the starting lineup and replaced him with Gerald Wallace. In this way, Artest will come to the fourth position to face Nowitzki. De Wallace will play at the three.

After all, Gerald Wallace and Artest are about the same height, but their weight is much different. Artest, who is full of power at the power forward position, undoubtedly has an advantage.

This change made the fans feel a little worried, especially as the game time became less and less, Garnett sat on the court but did not appear again for a long time. This scene made the Timberwolves fans very surprised.

Many fans began to speculate whether Garnett had a physical problem, and he did not appear on the stage because of physical discomfort. Even the commentator Flake looked puzzled: "It's strange that Kevin sat off the field in the second half and did not appear on the stage. It's not a physical problem."

"But there is no news from the team doctor. It seems that this matter can only be answered by Lu himself after the game."

Throughout the second half, Garnett sat off the court and did not appear again, while the Timberwolves used Payton, Iguodala, Gerald Wallace, Artest, and Ben Wallace. The cow was unable to turn over for a long time.

"Dududu~"

As the whistle sounded for the end of the game, the Timberwolves finally defended their home court with their excellent lineup depth and indestructible defensive efficiency.

16 points home victory over the Dallas Mavericks, won the team's first victory into the new season.

(End of this chapter)