Wang Tu Baye

Chapter 319
Following the Warriors' away game to Minnesota, this is a tough battle. They and the Timberwolves are currently competing for the fifth place in the West. In any case, the Warriors will not give up, and the opponent Wolf King Garnett will not be willing to lose at home. .

If they fall to sixth in the Western Conference, the Warriors will basically face the OK combination of the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs, then the old-fashioned Spurs in the second round, and then the Western Conference Finals against the peak Kings who were hot this season.

The team played in this way can really be called a dynasty team. It defeated the Lakers and Spurs kings in a row. It felt like Lu Bu fought three times during the Three Kingdoms period. It was as difficult to kill Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Liu Bei, not to mention that the king was much stronger than Liu Bei. up.

In the eyes of NBA fans and the media, Wolf King Garnett had more negative images than positive reports. Except for the loyal Minnesota fans, too many other neutral fans didn’t like him. It was really the first official NBA job given to him by the Timberwolves. Big contracts are too big.

The six-year contract of 1.26 million U.S. dollars seemed extremely dazzling back then. Even the retired Fliggy Barkley gritted his teeth with soreness. After more than ten years, no one would think it was worthless. Low energy players are much stronger.

Wolf King Kevin Garnett has a total career salary of 4000 million US dollars. In his 21 years of NBA experience, he can earn an average of more than 1500 million US dollars per season. This has to be said to be a miracle .

Moreover, Garnett is not like some NBA players. After getting a big contract, he has no intention of playing and spends too much time and energy off the court. You can hardly see all kinds of lace news about Garnett going to nightclubs and casinos. As for showing off his wealth There is nothing more to take a photo with a beautiful woman in a swimsuit.

Timberwolves starting lineup with power forward Garnett as the core, center Rasu Nesterovic, small forward Gary Trent, shooting guard Wally Szczerbiak, point guard Robert Pike, the entire team The Timberwolves rely entirely on Garnett to play alone.

As a rookie, Szczerbiak can help Garnett share the scoring pressure on the offensive end, but he is a bit stretched on the defensive end. He is not afraid of opposing small forwards who move laterally very slowly and opposing shooting guards who cannot keep up. Physically strong opponents compete, but it is very depressing to meet a breakthrough player like Kobe McGrady.

There is no room for loss for the Warriors. Lenny sent the strongest lineup, center No. 11 Yao Ming, power forward No. 7 Jermaine O'Neal, small forward No. 1 McGrady, shooting guard No. 33 Grant Hill, point guard No. 4 Chauncey Billups.

All NBA teams know that defending Garnett is equivalent to defending the entire Timberwolves. Szczerbiak's scoring ability is quite good, but he is not a super scorer after all, and cannot determine the outcome of a game.

The Timberwolves management is not stupid. They gave Garnett a shocking super contract. Over ten years later, they proved that their vision was completely correct. No one raised any objections to Garnett’s high salary. Special, so far it is still widely questioned, just like Jordan made his debut with the Bulls back then.

Jermaine O'Neal, Pau Gasol, and Dennis Rodman took turns marking Garnett. After all, Garnett is not good at scoring. His addition to the team is reflected in various aspects. Can't fully explain his strength.

The current nba still uses data to measure players, so players like Battier and Bruce Bowen are not to be seen. Until everyone finds that these players can help the team achieve a better record, excellent 3D players can begin to be able to Get big contracts like scorers.

Even though Garnett tried his best, played a full 42 minutes, scored a game-high 18 points, 10 rebounds and 31 assists on 7 of 2 shots, but he alone could not win the entire game. Where bricks and commentators criticized him, who told you to get such a high annual salary.

At 115:106 at the end, the Warriors led the way and beat the Timberwolves in an away game without any risk, so that they had a considerable advantage in the playoffs, at least they didn't have to touch Shaquille O'Neal's Lakers in the first round. Playing against the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs last season has severely damaged the Warriors, and they can't go on to the second round.

To be honest, after all, the Lakers once won three consecutive championships in another time and space. The peak Shaquille O'Neal is too perverted. Coupled with Peter Pan Kobe who is constantly improving and becoming stronger, although the Lakers are average in other players, the OK combination can definitely be included. One of the strongest combinations in NBA history, many fans feel that one of them can be removed.

The Warriors still have no outstanding players. Everyone can play and everyone can score. The Warriors play overall basketball. This kind of team is like the Spurs. There are superstars, but they rely more on overall victory. opponent.

McGrady played 33 minutes, made 18 of 10 shots, scored 25 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists. As the critical moment of the playoffs approached, Lenny asked him to choose more shots by himself. Being able to score key goals at all times, the performance of superstars often determines whether a whole year's efforts are in vain.

Next, the Warriors lost back-to-back away games to the Celtics. Lenny directly told Dayao and Grant Hill not to go to the Eastern Conference, so he took 9 players to the Eastern Conference. However, the progress of the Celtics' home games was not easy. .

最终比分99:102，凯尔特人保罗·皮尔斯21投11中，砍下33分10个篮板4助攻，安托尼·沃克25投9中，拿下22分2个篮板7助攻，他们整场比赛打得非常艰苦，勇士的防守做得非常扎实。

Lenny let Big Ben Wallace and Uncle Mu take turns playing, power forwards let Paul Gasol and O'Neal share, Rodman was also allowed not to come to the East, and the Warriors have begun to make arrangements for the playoffs.

Lenny led the remnants of the Warriors to continue the Eastern Conference. They lost to the Detroit Pistons 103:110 in the away game. However, the Warriors are currently in a very stable position. It is not easy for the Timberwolves to overtake the position.

After all, the Warriors won the Timberwolves in an away game. Once they enter and exit, there is a gap of 2 games. In addition, the Warriors also have an advantage in mutual record calculations, so Lenny is quite confident. However, it is still publicized that Dayao and Grant Hill will be absent for two weeks due to leg injuries. .

Next, the Warriors won and lost away games until they returned home in April. This time their opponent was the Portland Trail Blazers. There were only a few games left in the regular season, and the Warriors began their final sprint.

After winning the Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets consecutively at home, the Warriors have firmly occupied the fifth place in the regular season in the Western Conference. Although the Warriors encountered continuous blocking from the Kings and Timberwolves at home at the last moment, the Warriors are not discouraged , Then won the victory against the Jazz at home and the Nuggets away.

(End of this chapter)