Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 208 208. Garnett is expected to come back?Terrible finals!Exhausted, ammunition and food exhausted (two chapters in one)

After eliminating the Warriors 4-1 in the Western Conference Finals, the Timberwolves set their sights on the upcoming Finals.

What is different from the past is that this year's playoffs have always been the Timberwolves taking the lead in advancing and waiting for their opponents in advance in the next round.

But now the Eastern Conference finals have already been decided. The Miami Heat swept the Cavaliers 4:0 and will meet the Timberwolves for the second time in the finals in three years.

This year's Eastern Conference pattern is too clear, and the Heat basically broke out of the Eastern Conference with little effort.

Even the Cleveland Cavaliers, who made it all the way to the finals last year, could not escape the fate of being swept by the Heat.

In fact, the Cavaliers' lineup for this year's playoffs has not changed much compared with last season, and even some reinforcements have been made in the corners.

It's a pity that the Heat this season are too strong, and they can be said to be overwhelming in the East. If they are as strong as LeBron James, they can only be out of the game, and once again fall on the road to the championship.

James has done well enough in the entire series. Facing the Heat's comprehensive and powerful lineup, James averaged 25 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

However, two fists are hard to beat four hands. Before Mo Williams joined the Cavaliers, James had never had teammates who could provide him with more than 15 points per game in the playoffs.

This year's Cavaliers' second scorer "Big Z" Ilgauskas can only average 12.6 points per game, and the opponent "Shark" O'Neal almost got hammered out of shit.

The gap between the lineups of the two sides is too huge, which also makes it easy for the Heat to sweep the Cavaliers and wait for the arrival of the Timberwolves on the stage of the finals in advance.

Due to Luke's sudden birth, the championship that originally belonged to the Heat in the 05-06 season was cut off by the Timberwolves. This has also led to the fact that the Heat have not tasted the championship until now.

For Miami fans, the Timberwolves are simply a stumbling block on the team's way to win the championship, and people can't help but lick the wolf's skin and drink blood.

The "magic operator" Riley is ready to avenge the Timberwolves. This year will be the closest year for the Miami Heat to the championship, and it will also be the most proud year for the depth of the lineup!
...............

As the Timberwolves will compete with the Heat in the finals, the outside world is full of expectations for this year's finals, and ESPN even evaluates it as the most exciting finals confrontation in recent years.

After all, the lineups of the two teams are very good, and the number of stars they have is also not a small number.

When these two teams are about to face off in the finals, no fan will not look forward to it.

During the regular season, the two teams had played against each other twice. It was difficult to distinguish between the two sides winning one game, and all the losses were within five points.

In the Christmas game, Artest's corner three-point lore was selected as one of the most exciting lore of the season.

The Heat are one of the few teams in the league that can compete head-on with the Timberwolves this season, and in order to create such a lineup, Riley, the "magic fortune teller", can be said to have spent a lot of money.

If the Heat can't win the championship this year, at least it will be difficult for the Heat to have much room to operate in the next few seasons.

In other words, the Heat chose to overdraw the future, wanting to seize the tail of the "Shark" O'Neal's last peak and snatch the championship trophy from the Timberwolves.

It is very difficult for wolves to seize food, but now Riley has no way to retreat, and all he can do is to fight to the death with the Timberwolves in the upcoming finals.

Once the Heat face failure, the "magic operator" Riley will inevitably retreat to the second line, and even disappear from the list of the Heat's management!

.........

According to a report by the famous Minnesota reporter Jamie Smith, the "Wolf King" Garnett, who has been away from the game for more than half a year due to injury and has been reimbursed for the season, is likely to return in the finals.

At present, the Timberwolves are making strict plans for Garnett's comeback. If necessary, Garnett is likely to appear on the stage of the finals.

As early as a month ago, Garnett had already undergone systematic training with the team. Now Garnett has not only passed a complete full-court confrontation, but the cruciate ligament of his left knee has recovered well, and he can play games within a controlled time at any time.

The only bad thing is that after returning from injury, Garnett's lateral movement speed has dropped significantly, and his competitive state in the team's group confrontation is relatively average, which makes the team's training group feel a headache.

A torn cruciate ligament is a devastating injury for athletes. Coupled with the limited medical level today, once an athlete has such an injury, it is likely to affect the next career.

However, the Timberwolves did a good job of protecting Garnett. Garnett, who was supposed to come back in May, continued to truce until the finals.

As for what kind of competitive state Garnett will have after his comeback, it depends on Garnett's personal adjustments.

After all, in addition to overcoming physical injuries, athletes returning from injury must also overcome psychological fear.

This is the disaster that all basketball players must go through after returning from injury.

Garnett's comeback at any time is bound to be a thunderbolt news for the Heat. Even if Garnett can't adjust his personal state to the peak in a short time after his comeback, a lean camel is bigger than a horse.

As No.1 in the league before the injury, Garnett's comeback will only make the Timberwolves stronger inside. Even if Garnett can only play 70% of his peak state, it is enough to push Chris Webber to the ground and rub wildly.

Eat, sleep, and beat Webber, these three things have long been Garnett's habit...

…………

On June 6, local time in the United States, the NBA2-06 season finals officially kicked off.

Since the Timberwolves' record in the regular season is slightly better than that of the Heat, the first two games will be played at the Target Center.

Before the start of the game, the Timberwolves have released the news in advance that Garnett will not appear in the G1 game, and whether he will play in the future is yet to be determined.

It seems that the Timberwolves are measuring the gap with the Heat. If the Timberwolves can gain the upper hand in this round of the series, then Garnett can sit on the court to recuperate with peace of mind.

Once the Timberwolves are in trouble in the series, Garnett can come back at any time to help the team in limited playing time.

After all, everything is floating clouds in front of the three consecutive championships, and it is difficult for even Garnett to sit on the court and watch the game smoothly.

It is foreseeable that if the Timberwolves are really at a disadvantage in the finals, Garnett himself will be the first to apply for a comeback!

Before the start of the game, the players of the two teams were warming up in their respective halfs, and Luke didn't even bother to meet Riley.

Although the Timberwolves have not had a large-scale conflict with the Heat in the past two years, small frictions between the two teams have continued.

The hypocritical Riley is even more of a superficial friend, secretly plotting against the Timberwolves crazily.

Compared with Dwyane Wade, who directly yelled at social media, Riley, an old fox, annoys Luke even more.

However, as one of the few thousand-win coaches in NBA history, Riley has coached in the NBA for 23 years.

Four championship rings, the three best coaches tied for first in history, these are the capital that Riley can do whatever he wants.

Even if Luke looks down on Riley, he has to admit that Riley is indeed a capable coach.

Different from the old "basketball lunatic" Nelson, the old Nelson has a crazy coaching style and dares to try new things that people can't understand.

But the "magic operator" Riley is like a poisonous snake. The precise calculations on the field and the devil's training off the field are the reasons why Riley was able to win the best coach three times in his career.

If Luke wants to reach the position of the best coach in history, Riley must be a mountain that needs to be overcome on the road of coaching.

Fortunately, Luke is still very young, and it is not a problem to surpass Riley in terms of probability, but the problem is that Luke's goal has never been as simple as surpassing Riley.

This year, the Heat have a well-organized lineup, with a group of outstanding league stars on both offensive and defensive ends. It is the first time that Riley has the confidence to compete head-on with Luke.

It's a pity that even so, Riley found that Luke still looked at him with contempt and disdain in his eyes.

This made the ruthless Riley very angry, and just wanted to give Luke an unforgettable memory on the field.

In this game, the Heat's starting lineup: Marbury, Wade, Salmons, Chris Webber, and "Shark" O'Neal.

The Timberwolves are still: "Glove" Payton, Iverson, Gerald Wallace, Artest, and Big Ben.

The two teams continued their regular starts respectively, and did not make any changes in the starting lineup.

Since Garnett will definitely not come back in this game, Riley is not worried that Webber will be blown up.

Not long ago, I heard that Garnett is likely to return to the game in this round of the series. Weber was once a little depressed.

And before the game, when he heard that Garnett would not come back in this game, Chris Webber instantly regained his spirits and felt like he was standing up again!

The two sides can be called old rivals, and they are very familiar with each other.

And as early as during the regular season, they began to study each other's offensive and defensive systems, and it seems tacit understanding to play against each other at this moment.

In the first quarter, the Heat mainly revolved around Marbury, Wade and O'Neal on the offensive end.

Both Salmons and Chris Webber have the ability to shoot from the outside. Once O'Neal successfully catches the ball inside, the space that the Heat can open up is still very impressive.

Even though the Timberwolves' defense against O'Neal has always been that Ben used his strength behind him to resist, Artest and Gerald Wallace helped defend on the flanks, trying to limit O'Neal on the receiving route.

But without Garnett, the Timberwolves have never been able to achieve the ultimate defensive end. It is impossible for O'Neal not to receive the ball every round.

And both Marbury and Wade have a huge breakthrough threat. When the two use the pick-and-roll to break into the inside, the Timberwolves' defensive formation can easily be torn apart.

Especially this season, Wade has put in a lot of effort from outside the three-point line. Although his shooting percentage with the ball is still not high, only about 30%, facing open opportunities, Wade is no longer as helpless as he was in the previous two seasons. help.

But even so, the core purpose of the Timberwolves to defend Wade is to let Wade shoot from outside the three-point line.

If Wade can hit these three-pointers throughout the game, the Timberwolves will pinch their noses and admit it.

On the contrary, the Timberwolves are very concerned about the shooting of Marbury and Salmons. Basically, the defensive players are close to the defense, and they are determined not to give them any chance to shoot easily.

In this year's playoffs, Marbury and Salmons made 35% and 41% of their three-pointers, respectively.

As long as Payton and Gerald Wallace can compress their shooting space as much as possible, the Heat can only rely on breakthroughs on the offensive end.

When O'Neal can only sit in the penalty area to pose a threat, the Heat's offensive environment will become very narrow, and it will be easier for the Timberwolves to defend.

The backbone of the Timberwolves on the offensive end is still none other than Allen Iverson. With Ben Wallace's offensive presence almost zero, the other four Timberwolves need to take on more offensive responsibilities.

Fortunately, "The Glove" Payton's ability to read the game is top-notch. Even if Iverson encounters heavy attacks from the Heat, Payton can reorganize the offense very well and seek opportunities from another angle.

In the first quarter of the game, the two sides played back and forth, and the score has been leading each other, and the gap has not been able to widen the gap.

In the second quarter, the two sides replaced the substitute lineup to start a contest. The Heat's lineup this season is very deep.

"Fat Toutuo" Walker, James Posey, Kapono, Haslem, White Chocolate, Eddie Jones, Mourning, plus Wade, who basically plays for more than 40 minutes in every game, allows the Heat to guarantee Competitive at any stage.

On the other hand, the Timberwolves are equally true in the competition of the second team. Although the arrival of Iverson has further weakened the overall rotation of the Timberwolves, the second team still has Iguodala, Spanoulis, Ariza and "Penny" Many outstanding players such as Hardaway are available.

The point difference on the field throughout the second quarter remained very small, and even Luke had to take the main force early to avoid being opened up by the Heat.

With Iguodala hitting the mid-range buzzer on the right side of the half, the half-time game ended, and the Timberwolves trailed the Heat by one point.

Back in the second half of the game, fierce physical confrontation made the game more and more intense, and at the same time the players' defensive actions gradually increased.

At the end of the three quarters, Artest and Ben Wallace received five fouls respectively, while Gerald Wallace received four fouls.

On the Heat's side, Wade and Salmons also carried five criminals, and the whole process was extremely tragic.

With less and less game time in the fourth quarter, the point difference on the field has been controlled within five points.

And each offensive and defensive round of the two sides has become more and more cautious, and it basically takes until 24 seconds are approaching before reluctantly making a shot.

Until the last two minutes of the game, the two teams combined had four players leave the field with six fouls.

The Timberwolves are the two defensive cores of Ben Wallace and Artest, and the Heat are Wade and Salmons.

After Artest's six fouls left the field, Luke chose to put Iguodala on the starting lineup, while Ben Wallace's six fouls left the field seemed a bit troublesome.

After Big Ben left the field, the Timberwolves' defense against O'Neal instantly dropped a notch. In desperation, Luke could only reactivate Hayes, who was on the verge of being abandoned in the playoffs.

Although Hayes is only two meters tall, and there is also a gap with O'Neill in terms of tonnage, Hayes has a solid base. Facing the "big shark" with severe physical exertion, Hayes can still withstand a few rounds on the court .

In the last 2 minutes, every attack of the Timberwolves was initiated by Iverson. As for the Heat, it was shared equally by Marbury and O'Neal. Role players had very few shots.

"duo~"

As Hayes couldn't stand O'Neal's savage collision, he had no choice but to choose to foul and send O'Neal to the free throw line.

Standing on the free throw line, O'Neal took a deep breath and made two free throws under great pressure in the away game, allowing the Heat to break the stalemate scoring drought with a two-point lead.

At this time, there are only 24.8 seconds left, and the Timberwolves are at a disadvantage behind by two points.

In this round, the Timberwolves must score the ball while suppressing the time as much as possible, otherwise the balance of this game has begun to lean towards the Heat.

"du~du~"

Standing on the sidelines and decisively calling a timeout, Luke loosened the tie on his Adam's apple due to sweating, and frowned while holding the tactical board.

In this game, the Timberwolves' outside efficiency was very low, which also caused the teammates not only to fail to fight for a better offensive environment for Iverson, but also made Iverson play more difficult.

Artest, who made six fouls, only made [-] of [-] outside shots, and "Glove" Payton also only made [-] of [-] outside shots. It is a bit risky to shoot three-pointers, but two-pointers can only make Iverson stand up and execute.

Although Iverson has never been soft on key shots, the Heat's defensive focus will inevitably be on Iverson at this time, and the Timberwolves' final attack is still difficult.

Taking a look at Gerald Wallace, who only made 13 of 2 shots in the game, Luke turned his head to the veteran Eric Williams, who made 42.5% of his three-pointers this season. play."

(End of this chapter)