NBA: Duncan feels uneasy coaching Warriors

Chapter 138 Is the Timberwolves a real strong team or a fake strong team?

In this game, Giannis Antetokounmpo performed brilliantly, scoring a large triple-double of 33 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists.

Butler also contributed 27 points and 8 rebounds in this game.

Just judging from the data, this is the game led by the Timberwolves double star.

On the bench, Josh scored 10 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists, scoring a mini triple-double.

Josh, who was in the Hawks last season, could often score more than 20 points, but he rarely scored 20+ points in the Timberwolves.

However, it cannot be said that the current Josh is weaker, because the current Josh is more comprehensive, and the team also won the game and came to the second record in the Western Conference.

At the beginning of the small ball era, there was no such position as Josh.

But Su Chen came from a more advanced small ball era, and a player like Josh still has value.

Become the organization point of the second team, and also have a strong defensive ability, and can rely on his height and wingspan to grab rebounds on the offensive end.

Such a player is actually very fragrant.

The era of small ball is not blindly shooting according to three-pointers. Although three-pointers are very important, as the proportion of three-pointers with the ball is getting higher and higher, other players do not necessarily need three-pointers.

Needless to say, Antetokounmpo, his three-pointers are unstable, but he can also win the honor of MVP.

Simmons, who has no three-pointers at all, also has three All-Stars, two First Teams and the honor of steals king, so I won't talk about it later.

But when Simmons wants to play, you can't deny that there's no place for him in the league.

The low-profile version of this player, Kyle Anderson, is also an extremely important playmaker in the rotation.

Although it's not that Anderson doesn't have three-pointers, but his three-pointer speed, others can take a hamburger and a Coke for him.

If such a player wants to have a place, that is to be able to attack the inside and then distribute the ball.

Can fight hard on rebounds, and can defend against the No. [-] and No. [-] players on the opposite side.

To achieve this level, there is no three-point ability, but it is enough.

Josh is very satisfied with this positioning.

Josh's breakthrough ability is at the star level, and his defensive ability is also excellent. He is competent in various systems such as single defense, assist defense and switch defense.

The ability to rush and grab rebounds is online, and he can also shoot a wide-open three-pointer from the baseline, which is already quite good among this type of players.

It's just that in the original timeline, there was no such player. At the beginning of the small ball era, everyone blindly imitated the Warriors.

The importance of such players is overlooked.

Regarding the performance of the Timberwolves players today, Su Chen felt qualified.

As for the Thunder.

Although Durant still scored 28 points based on the data, he took 27 shots in the game, which is very inefficient.

Westbrook, who also scored 28 points, only used 15 shots.

However, this was also Su Chen's deliberate effort to target Durant vigorously, and did not use too many defensive resources to match Westbrook.

As for McCollum, Su Chen actually didn't have any specific plans at all.

Beverly found himself before the game and said that he would treat Beverly well, so Su Chen let Beverly play by himself.

The rookie McCollum doesn't need to use too much energy to target.

Su Chen even had the opportunity to use roll call tactics against McCollum, but it was useless.

No need.

Unless you can meet the Thunder in the playoffs, then you can consider using a roll call tactic against the Thunder, at least to beat McCollum out of the game.

As for pointing Gobert, the Thunder has already taken the initiative to let Gobert defend Giannis Antetokounmpo, so there is no need to point it.

Others are not so easy to beat Gobert.

Because there is no shooter, Gobert likes to shrink his defense. Whether it is Iguodala or Butler's three-pointers, it is not easy to use three-point singles to name Gobert.

When shaking hands after the game.

Scott Brooks took a deep look at Su Chen, but turned around and left without saying anything.

This made Su Chen a little stunned.

He is not familiar with Scott Brooks, how do you see his eyes?
What did you do to him?

Post-match press conference.

"May I ask if the Timberwolves are second in the West, will this state continue?"

The reporter asked Su Chen a question.

"I can't decide things like player status, but we are always improving."

Su Chen thought for a while and replied.

"After the Gobert trade, he exposed a lot of weaknesses that the Timberwolves did not show. Is this intentionally hidden?"

Then there were reporters who asked more sensitive questions.

Su Chen originally didn't want to attend tonight's press conference because he was afraid of being caught by reporters asking this question.

If the answer is not good, who will trade with him later.

"Gobert is very good. His talent is very good. When he is on the court, he is a natural barrier. Whether it is offense or defense, I have to consider how to bypass this big guy."

"As for his offensive catch, he is still a rookie and will continue to grow. We should be more tolerant of him, right?"

"Besides, when I was in the Timberwolves, I felt that Gobert was very solid every time he caught the ball and there was no problem."

Su Chen answered the reporter's question.

The subtext is that Gobert's talent is there, and it is not simple to practice catching the ball as a rookie.

And he has no problem with Gobert, but he has problems with the Thunder. Does it mean that the Thunder coach has no problem with his level?
This answer made the reporter who was trying to make trouble stop asking any more questions.

Indeed, for a rookie, everything is just the beginning.

In fact, even the Thunder management still feels that the problem of Gobert being a rookie player can be solved slowly.

Buttery hands like Kwame Brown can't be solved because his palms are too small, and Gobert's palm width is no problem, and the Thunder also think that Gobert can solve the problem of Gobert's buttery hands.

But of course Su Chen would not say that even though Gobert is over 30 years old, he still hasn't solved the problem of butter hands.

His essential problem is that his core strength is poor, but his weight gain cannot keep up with the small ball era. Gobert's problem is basically to let the passer take care of him.

The next day.

"Timberwolves 125:108 Thunder, the Timberwolves won five consecutive victories and returned to the second place in the Western Conference! "

"Recovery!The Timberwolves, once the number one in the league, once again became the number one chaser. "

"McCollum's performance was sluggish, and he only scored 6 points in the game. Kicking the Timberwolves out is a joke! "

"Ibaka quickly integrated into the Timberwolves, the Timberwolves trade or reinforcement? "

"Have the Timberwolves escaped reconstruction and become the league's first echelon team?" "

"Su Chen: Gobert is very strong, but he is still a rookie and needs to grow. "

The news that the Timberwolves defeated the Thunder and returned to the second place in the Western Conference has attracted widespread attention.

Moreover, the match between the two teams was broadcast live across the United States, and there were still quite a few people watching it.

The performance of the Timberwolves since the start of the game has also attracted the attention of some fans and became fans of the team.

"Before the losing streak, I thought that the Timberwolves would fall out of the playoffs all the way. After 1 win and 7 losses, they directly chased back with 5 consecutive victories."

"When it was traded, it was said that the Timberwolves were taken advantage of, but looking at Ibaka's help to the Timberwolves' defense, it was simply strengthening the weakest link."

"Gobert's guarding the basket is indeed effective, but he still needs to improve a lot. Ibaka, as a defensive lineup in a row and won consecutive blocks, as well as his defensive performance in the finals, have proved Ibaka's cooperation. Defense ability is the strongest existence in this league."

"The scene where Ibaka blocked James from the front in the finals, I still remember it. It is really rare to see James being blocked from the front like that."

"What echelon is the Timberwolves now?"

"It feels like it's below the first echelon in the West, but above the second echelon, 1.5 echelon."

"The Timberwolves actually have no shortage of experienced players. Josh, Iguodala, and Luol Deng are all experienced players, including Ibaka, a regular player in the playoffs, but Giannis and Butler are too much core players. young."

"To be precise, it should be that Giannis is too young. It takes three years for a rookie, but Butler has already reached the peak grade, but Giannis is still the team's first core position."

"If this lineup matures and Giannis grows up, maybe the Timberwolves will really become a strong team in the first echelon of the Western Conference."

"Don't be ridiculous, buddy. I just played more than 20 good games. Let's think about competing with teams like the Mavericks and Suns for the playoffs."

The discussion about the Timberwolves has also caused many people to quarrel.

Some people believe that the Timberwolves, who are now second in the West, are gradually on their way to becoming a strong team in the West.

But there are still many people who feel that the Timberwolves have not really entered the ranks of strong teams.

The Timberwolves do not lack experienced veterans, but the core players are too young. It is difficult for such a team to make people optimistic about their playoff performance.

After all, to judge whether a team is really a strong team, the playoffs are the stage to test the quality of a strong team.

It's just a good result in the regular season, that's just a pseudo-strong team.

And players who can only collect data in the regular season and only promise in the playoffs are just fake stars.

Regarding the quarrel with the Timberwolves team, I am afraid that the quarrel will continue until the Timberwolves prove themselves this season.

San Antonio.

The Spurs just returned to the arena after playing an away game.

Popovich did not arrange for everyone to do too complicated training today, but only arranged for some recovery training. The atmosphere in the entire arena is very relaxed.

Even if the players are chatting while training, Popovich doesn't care.

Strict when it should be strict, but when it is time to let the players relax, Popovich will not force the team to tense their nerves.

The degree of slack has allowed the Spurs to flow smoothly over the years.

"The Timberwolves are in pretty good shape this season, and their record is not far behind us."

Danny Green chatted and said.

"Haha, they are rushing like this now, and they will be bored in the playoffs."

Boris Dior said with a laugh.

Boris Diaw is a veteran. He has made the playoffs with the team many times in his career, which can be said to be rich in experience.

As a veteran, even if you don't have frequent rotations like GDP, you won't be too tired even if you play.

Although he has very few rotations this season, he only plays about [-] minutes on the court and is not tired.

When he took the time to watch the Timberwolves game, he saw the defensive strength of the Timberwolves, and everyone was on the strength.

It's cool to play in the regular season, but his rich experience tells him that these guys will become soft in the playoffs.

"It turns out that's the case. I said why their record is so good."

Danny Green nodded suddenly.

Danny Green is not able to find time to watch the game like Boris Diaw. He is much more tired every day.

As a young man, even if he didn't play 10 minutes, the training task is relatively heavy.

"What are you talking about?"

At this time, Parker took a break from training and passed by them with a towel to wipe his sweat.

Boris Dior talked about the topic just now.

"Oh, Timberwolves, just take a look. They don't even have an orthodox point guard, so they are talking about a strong team."

Parker said with some disdain.

The Timberwolves really don't have any orthodox point guards.

Giannis has the ball, Butler has the ball, and Iguodala has the ball. These people are not point guards. Even when they are on the bench, they will let Josh have the ball, and Middleton will play the ball directly.

The entire Timberwolves look like a mess.

When these people control the ball, they basically run to the frame.

Although Giannis scores a lot of points, a 2-meter big man has such a high center of gravity when dribbling.

You don't really think you can dribble like this for him in the playoffs, do you?
Although Parker is not a particularly traditional point guard and tends to be more offensive, his basic point guard skills are online.

For these guys who don't have the soul of a point guard, Parker feels that the lineup is randomly matched.

That Beverly is the point guard.

But the offensive organization didn't pass the test. Except for defense, it was a three-pointer. What kind of point guard is this?

Parker is a core member of the team, even Boris Diaw has nothing to refute him, hehe.

In fact, Boris Diaw would organize it himself, but he couldn't refute Parker's face face to face.

Parker walked towards the rest area.

Seeing Duncan and Popovich chatting, Parker also leaned over.

"Hey, I heard them talking about the Timberwolves just now."

Anyway, it was just chatting, and Parker also said the content of the chat just now.

"Isn't it ridiculous, they still rebuild first, and it's more reliable to find a point guard."

After Parker spoke, he also expressed his opinion to the two of them.

Duncan and Popovich looked at each other.

"Why, why don't you guys talk?"

Parker looked at the two suspiciously after taking a sip of Gatorade.

"Actually, Duncan and I were also talking about the Timberwolves just now."

Popovich said.

"Oh? You think so too, don't you?"

Parker asked with a smile.

But Popovich shook his head.

Parker looked confused.

"The Minnesota's defensive system is very complete. If you are older in another year or two, these young people will cause us a lot of trouble."

Popovich said.

"Ah? Great defense?"

"Can any of them guard against Duncan? That Ibaka blows a lot, but every time he sees Duncan, he is blown up, and that rookie Giannis, he can't match Duncan either."

Parker looked at Popovich in disbelief.

He didn't expect that his coach valued the Timberwolves so much.

"But I'm not at my peak, and they don't rely on single defense. They double-team quickly and return to their defensive positions very quickly."

Duncan also said at this time.

Even Duncan said it himself, which surprised Parker.

But Popovich didn't want to convey any fear or hypocrisy.

"However, that will be a matter of one or two seasons later. Their defensive strength this season has not yet matched."

Popovich waved his hand and said.

Hearing the coach's answer, Parker also breathed a sigh of relief.

Expectations are great for them this season.

If the coach thinks that the Timberwolves will restrain the Spurs this season, it may really be a strong enemy.

Now that the coach said this, Parker was relieved.

(End of this chapter)