NBA: Duncan feels uneasy coaching Warriors

Chapter 105 The Timberwolves vs. Heat Contest

With the Spurs losing, who will break the winning streak first between the Timberwolves and the Heat has also become a hot topic.

ESNP also launched a vote among professionals in the industry.

Among the 15 professionals who participated in the voting, 15 people are optimistic about the Heat, and 0 people are optimistic about the Timberwolves.

The result of this vote is quite normal.

The Heat and the Spurs are not the same. Although the strength of the Spurs and the Heat are both among the favorites to win the championship, the Spurs' GDP is too old to have to take turns.

The Spurs need to rest their core and train young people, so it's okay for the Spurs to end their winning streak first.

But the Heat are different.

The Big Three of the Heat are all at their peak age, and James is a well-known iron man in the league. Now his peak year has no good rest at all.

Even if a rotation is required, there will not be a situation like the three-person rotation of the Spurs GDP.

The Heat's Big Three rotation will also maintain the situation where the two giants lead the team.

The Heat don't have any young people who need to exercise. Except for the Big Three, all of them are role players.

On the contrary, these role players are more veterans, let alone training.

The Heat's next schedule does not have any strong enemies, and they are all relatively easy for the Heat to deal with.

In contrast, the Timberwolves.

Many of the games the Timberwolves won were based on their good touch from the outside. When the outside touch was poor, the opponent's poor team could still win.

At the same time, the experts invited by ESPN also analyzed the current Timberwolves.

In the past five games, the Timberwolves have determined the two cores of the team.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jimmy Butler.

Among them, Giannis Antetokounmpo is a rookie this year. In terms of draft predictions, he is around fifteenth.

However, he was selected by Su Chen with the eighth pick.

When Giannis Antetokounmpo was selected, many people were not optimistic. Everyone doubted that this thin bamboo pole could really play in the NBA?
But after an offseason of hard work, Giannis Antetokounmpo has visibly become stronger.

The tall and long-armed Giannis Antetokounmpo also began to show his talent after putting on the meat.

He has a height and wingspan comparable to that of the inside, but his style of play is outside. The low-post offense accounts for a small proportion and many of them are breakthroughs with the ball.

But Giannis Antetokounmpo is not strong enough yet. Gaining muscle is not a problem from the offseason, but whether Giannis Antetokounmpo can maintain his current speed after gaining muscle is another question mark.

For Giannis Antetokounmpo, a rookie, he has certain strengths, but experts are cautious about his future.

No one is saying that Giannis Antetokounmpo will be a star or even a foothold in the league in the future.

And another Jimmy Butler.

This was an addition to Love's deal. At that time, the outside world thought that Su Chen was looking for Luol Deng.

But from the start of the season to now, everyone has seen that Su Chen's request for Luol Deng is fake.

It is true that I have taken a fancy to Butler and want to train him!
During the offseason, the league revised some rules, including the rules on defense against breakthroughs.

Butler has studied the new rules carefully this summer. His ability to draw fouls is particularly strong.

If Butler is an All-Star and a familiar face in the league, there may be more whistles than there are now.

But Butler's shortcomings are also obvious.

As a second-round pick, Butler's lack of talent is his problem.

Although the third-year Butler has shown mature combat power, a team with Butler at its core naturally has a limited upper limit.

This is why none of the 15 experts invited by espn is optimistic about the Timberwolves.

Of course, the most important thing is the Timberwolves' next schedule.

The next Timberwolves have to face the Mavericks, the Lakers, and the Clippers one after another.

Among them, except for the Lakers, which are bad teams, the Mavericks and Clippers are both playoff-level teams.

In the 2011 season, the Mavericks won the championship. People like Trikid Chandler in the original team, although they are no longer in the team.

But there are also new aids, Monta Ellis, Calderon, Vince Carter, these people joined.

The most important thing is that Dirk Nowitzki, the core of the Mavericks' championship, is still there.

This season, Nowitzki can still contribute an average of 21 points per game, and his offensive ability remains the same as before. What has declined is his defensive ability.

But at least the Mavericks still have playoff-level competitiveness.

If the Timberwolves can pass the Mavericks, it will be difficult for the Timberwolves to continue their winning streak for the Clippers.

The Clippers have a starting lineup that no team in the entire league dares to underestimate. Paul and Griffin Jordan have built this place into a city of lobs.

On the bench, they also have the league's best sixth man, Crawford.

And many experts believe that the Timberwolves' winning streak now relies on a momentum, as long as the momentum stops once they lose, they will lose streak.

So don't look at the Timberwolves' five-game winning streak, temporarily ranking first in the Western Conference, and only occupy a small part of the long regular season.

The strength of the Timberwolves is still not recognized by the public.

Miami.

The Heat flew back to Miami after their road trip.

On the team bus, everyone was chatting.

We chatted and talked about the latest hot topics.

"Guys, what's going on? The media is already comparing us to the Timberwolves?"

Bosh held the phone and laughed loudly.

"It's not like those weak teams had a winning streak at the beginning of the season, but they returned to their original shape in the middle of the season. I don't know if there is any good news to report."

Chalmers said with some disdain.

"But I heard that their rookie is very good. He has the height and wingspan inside, but he can play outside."

Wade did not ridicule, but found the bright spot in it.

"What's the big deal, let him 1V1 with me, and I can beat him back home to find his mother."

Bosh said with a laugh.

Hearing Bosh's words, the other Heat players burst into laughter.

The whole bus was full of joyful atmosphere.

James heard everyone laughing, curiously took off the earphones and listened, only to find that they were discussing the Timberwolves.

This made James shake his head secretly.

He didn't participate in everyone's topic, but he didn't spoil everyone's interest either, and continued to listen to music with earphones on.

Last year's defeat has been lingering in James' mind.

At present, the biggest opponent in his eyes is the Warriors.

Although the opponent Timberwolves they discussed is the former head coach of the Warriors, James has watched the Warriors' games this season.

He has played against the Warriors, and he can tell that the new coach has almost learned Su Chen's tricks.

The basic system of the Warriors is working fine, and it is estimated that they will still be able to make it out of the West.

In James' view, the role of the coach is nothing more than to develop a suitable system for the team, and the most important thing is to look at the player's ability.

Su Chen has already formulated the Warriors' system, and the new coach Cole is also capable of continuing to play this system, so that's enough.

James thinks that the guy named Curry is really powerful.

Whenever Curry makes a shot, it makes him feel a little uneasy.

With a little neutral, Curry can complete the shot, but such a shot still has a very impressive hit rate.

As long as the Warriors continue this system and let Curry make shots, the Warriors will not be much weaker than last season.

At the same time, there was the guy named Thompson, who managed to guard Curry, and he opened again.

The level of complexity for the Warriors to handle is just too high.

Although the Warriors lost to the Timberwolves in the last game, this does not affect the threat of the Warriors in James' heart.

What a normal thing to lose a game in the regular season.

There is no team that does not lose a game in the regular season.

There is no strong team that dares to say that it will not lose a game to a weak team.

But in the playoffs, it goes without saying that strong teams can suppress weak teams.

Otherwise, the number of black eights in history is only a few times.

"These people don't pay attention to the Warriors, but pay attention to the Timberwolves, who are difficult to make the playoffs."

Thinking of this, James is also a little helpless.

But he didn't bother to say it.

Anyway, if they don't win the championship this season, the team will be disbanded, and there is nothing to say.

Minnesota.

Back at the Target Center, the Timberwolves ushered in their rival Dallas Mavericks at home.

In this era, the Mavericks have not changed their name to the Lone Ranger.

For many domestic fans, the team name Mavericks carries the memory of youth.

The most classic battle between cows and horses is a topic that old fans can talk about.

Even after officially changing the name to Lone Ranger, many fans still maintain the habit of calling Mavericks. When it comes to this name, it will occasionally cause debates between old and new fans.

When Su Chen used to analyze Mavericks tactics, he conveniently typed the title as Mavericks, and as a result, many people commented.

"But no matter what, looking at such a calf is more familiar."

Su Chen looked at the opposite bench player and couldn't help but smile.

If the calf is a memory of youth, then Nowitzki is the symbol that caused this memory. When it comes to the calf, he will think of Nowitzki.

When talking about the Lone Ranger, it is easier to think of Doncic.

It seems that the Mavericks and Nowitzki have been far apart.

But even in this era, Nowitzki is not at his peak.

Of course, the attention of this game is still not low.

Because the Timberwolves are hitting the opening six-game winning streak, although the Mavericks are not a very strong team, they are still at the playoff level.

However, the resources for live broadcast across the United States were not given.

After all, the Timberwolves have been a bit of a topic recently, and the team doesn't have any star players, and the coach is the most famous.

At the same time, in a small ball market like Minnesota, the league has little interest in it.

Especially after Taylor rejected the relocation proposal, the Timberwolves directly became the team with the worst whistle in the league.

For the Timberwolves, playing away is better than playing at home.

Because at home in Minnesota, the referee usually catches the Timberwolves to blow.

On the contrary, in the away game, the league seems to be trying to balance it out, at least it will not be targeted too much.

This gives fans of other home teams an illusion that the Timberwolves are a whistle team.

Because they sometimes feel that they don't have a home whistle, and sometimes they even give the Timberwolves a little bit.

Many fans who don't pay attention to the Timberwolves and only pay attention to their home team feel unbalanced.

But in fact, if they watch the Timberwolves' home games more, they will know why the Timberwolves have not been blown too badly in the away game.

There are no whistles at home, and if he goes to an away game and is targeted, the league's No. [-] pick will be booked by the Timberwolves.

This is also what the league does not want to see.

The No. [-] pick is a relatively precious resource for each team. Most of the No. [-] picks will be star players in the future. How can we leave all these future star players in a small place like Minnesota?

Even if they are not the No. [-] pick, the Timberwolves will occupy the top spots for a long time if their record is not good.

In fact, the Timberwolves team is also something that Xiao Hua finds it difficult to deal with.

For the Timberwolves, the Timberwolves are hob meat. If you don't give the record, then go for the champion.

Draw all the talented players from ncaa for you!

You have to give him a whistle to let him get some records. A place like Minnesota won't help the league make much money.

The boss is unwilling to move, and it is useless for him to warn with a whistle. He can't directly vote to kick the Timberwolves out of the league.

At this time, the warm-up of the players on both sides is over.

Rick Carlisle and Su Chen walked to the middle and shook hands.

Carlisle is similar to Popovich and Larry Brown. They are all standard academic coaches.

His leadership performance is still very good.

If it weren't for the incident at the Palace of Auburn Hills, the Pacers he led might have really made it to the finals.

However, the Mavericks also won the championship trophy as they wished.

Old academic coaches like these are usually very stubborn, but Carlisle, like Popovich, has accepted the changes in the small ball era.

There is still some difference in personality from a coach like Larry Brown.

Carlisle is undoubtedly a very good coach.

But for Su Chen, there is no need to worry too much.

The Mavericks have not belonged to the first echelon team in recent years. No matter how good Carlisle is, there is not much to do against such a team.

At this time, the starting players of both sides also entered the field.

Timberwolves starting lineup: Mike Muscala (C), Giannis Antetokounmpo (PF), Luol Deng (SF), Andre Iguodala (SG), Jimmy Butler ( PG).

Mavericks starting lineup: Samuel Dalembert (C), Dirk Nowitzki (PF), Shawn Marion (SF), Monta Ellis (SG), Ho Ce Calderon (PG).

Since the Mavericks have a pure blue-collar insider like Samuel Dalembert and no offensive insider, Su Chen went directly to Muscala.

For Nowitzki, in fact, Gobert will not add much defensive ability.

Gobert has a good ability to restrict those outside lines that punch the frame, or those who go straight up and down like Jordan Capela, also have the ability to restrict.

In addition, Gobert's defense is not so good in the face of technical flow inside.

Especially the seasoned Nowitzki will definitely teach Gobert a lesson.

Su Chen also didn't want Nowitzki to help Gobert in class, Gobert didn't have that ability, and teaching Gobert was better than teaching Antetokounmpo.

(End of this chapter)