Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 189 189. Repacking: Set sail!
Garnett's season reimbursement seemed to have caused a chain reaction within the Timberwolves, and the Timberwolves suffered frequent injuries for a while.

Luke had to expand the regular rotation and increase the number of rotations for veteran players, so as to ensure that the Timberwolves in the playoffs can come up with a healthy and powerful lineup.

In the second half of January, the Timberwolves played intermittently when Garnett was reimbursed for the season, and Iverson and Ben Wallace suffered injuries successively.

If Garnett's season reimbursement revealed a flaw in the Timberwolves' invincible defense, then Iverson's rest made the Timberwolves' entire offensive system face a reshuffle.

Gerald Wallace, who was selected to the All-Defensive Second Team last year, is sitting on the Timberwolves bench. Even if Garnett cannot play due to injury, the Timberwolves' defensive ability is enough to cause headaches for any team in the league.

However, Iverson's rest is a huge blow to the Timberwolves. There is no strong scorer who can replace Iverson on the team's bench.

Whether it is Iguodala or "Penny" Hardaway, the two are far behind Iverson in terms of scoring.

Especially since "Penny" Hardaway is not at his peak, the team's offensive burden has to fall on Artest again.

It is also a helpless move to frequently arrange Iverson's rotation.

As early as the 76ers, Iverson had a lot of injuries. Now the Timberwolves put all the offensive burden on Iverson alone. With Garnett's reimbursement for the season, Luke had to use Iverson. become more cautious.

After all, it is impossible for Iverson to play 82 regular season games at this age. During the long regular season, the 31-year-old Iverson also needs to rest, even though Iverson is a fighter on the court.

Iverson has only had full attendance once in his entire career, and it has been four full years since Iverson played 80 games in a single season last time.

Iverson is still the backcourt player with the strongest offensive firepower in the league, but it has to be admitted that time has left many marks on Iverson.

Iverson played 72 games last season and only rested for [-] games throughout the season.

Even at the end of the season, in order to lead the 76ers to hit the playoffs, Iverson once played with injuries, averaging 43.1 minutes per game, ranking first in the league.

Garnett's accidental injury sounded the alarm for head coach Luke, which made Luke realize for the first time that Iverson was no longer the chasing boy who was at his peak, but a player who had been in the league for ten seasons. A long time veteran of the field.

Iverson's cool hip-hop style and handsome dreadlocks always make people forget his age, but before he knows it, Iverson has reached the stage where he needs to maintain his health.

Even after Garnett is injured, the Timberwolves need Iverson to play on the offensive end, but Luke still arranges rotations for Iverson in an orderly manner.

While preventing Iverson from playing in all back-to-back games, Iverson is also allowed not to participate in long-distance cross-district competitions to avoid injuries on the field due to fatigue.

Luke's rotation arrangement can take care of Iverson's health to the greatest extent, but as a drawback, the Timberwolves struggled very much in the second half of January.

Ben Wallace needed to rest for two to three games due to his wrist injury, and Iverson was also unable to play during this period. The absence of several main players at the same time caused the Timberwolves to get into trouble.

With all the games played in January, the Timberwolves' record came to 40 wins and 10 losses.

The Timberwolves lost five games throughout January. Except for the two-point loss to the Nuggets when Garnett was injured, the Timberwolves regretted losing the next game in which both Iverson and Ben Wallace were absent.

The Timberwolves had a record of 11 wins and 5 losses in January. The winning rate of nearly 70% in a single month is good enough, but if it is placed on the Timberwolves, it seems so insignificant.

According to the data, when Ben Wallace missed the game due to injury, the Timberwolves' defensive efficiency dropped severely.

The inside line can only be supported by Hayes and Artest, which is completely incomparable with the inside twin towers composed of Garnett and Ben Wallace.

As for the Timberwolves' offensive efficiency when Iverson was absent from the game, it was even worse, with an average of nearly 12 points less per [-] rounds.

The contributions of Iverson and Ben Wallace to the Timberwolves can be seen with the naked eye, especially when Garnett is injured and unable to play, these two are almost the core of the Timberwolves' offense and defense.

Fortunately, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. Although the Timberwolves seemed to be stumbling along the way throughout January, their record of 40 wins and 10 losses still made the Timberwolves rank first in the league.

There is still a gap visible to the naked eye with the other 28 teams in the league.

As for why there are 28 teams instead of 29, because the Dallas Mavericks are currently tied with the Timberwolves in terms of record. Both teams are at the top of the list with 40 wins and 10 losses.

However, the last time the two teams played against the Timberwolves beat the Mavericks by 5 points, so by the end of January, the Timberwolves were lucky not to lose their No. [-] position in the league.

…………

In early February, the return of Iverson and Ben Wallace was a reassurance for the team.

In the first two games in February, the Timberwolves defeated the Raptors and the Nets, two Eastern powerhouses, and continued to lead the Mavericks by a small margin, sitting on the throne of the league's No. [-] for a while.

In the game against the Nets, Iverson scored 51 points and sieved Eddie House, who was facing him. His eyes were full of fear when looking at Iverson.

This is also the third time Iverson has hit 50+ in a single game this season, tied with Kobe Bryant and tied for first in the league.

In addition, facing his old club, the Nets, Eric Williams got a lot of playing time.

And Eric Williams also lived up to Luke's trust. He personally threw four three-pointers from the outside and became Iverson's helper after being added by the Nets in the second half.

Eric Williams' defensive efficiency ranks in the lower middle at power forward.

However, after joining the Timberwolves, Eric Williams only needs to play to his strengths, acting as a perimeter turret on the offensive end, while opening up space for his teammates, try to hit those damn open three-pointers.

Eric Williams has hit 46.1 percent of his [-]-pointers so far.

Even if he doesn't play much on weekdays, once Luke takes the field, this old guy who has been in the league for 11 years can always make a contribution.

After more than half a month of running-in, the Timberwolves have gradually begun to get used to the game without Garnett.

Gerald Wallace fills in well for the Timberwolves defensively.

Even if Gerrard's defensive ability is not as good as Garnett's, the defending champion is still packing his bags and preparing to set sail for the rest of the season!
　Ask for a monthly ticket, ask for a recommendation ticket, thank you!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)