The Whip of the God of Basketball

Of course, Kevin Garnett didn't know that this sneak shot and the news report of "eating inside and outside" was a trick behind Fox Leon's back. In his impression, Leon was always a decent and serious person, maybe he didn't It is too clear who Leon inherited the mantle, and what kind of methods the former head of the Celtics used.

These incidents before the game undoubtedly affected Garnett's performance on the court. He appeared with some small emotions in the game against the Celtics at the Target Center on the night of the 9th. This caused the Timberwolves to be dominated by the Celtics who came from afar in the first quarter, and they were beaten 10:2 in the opening game.

It can be said that after the start of the new season, any team that has just met the Celtics will be somewhat uncomfortable with the Celtics' style of play, their speed is too fast. It's not that the players run fast, but that the tactics are completed quickly. Their tactics are extremely simple and efficient. There are no overly complicated moves or screens. Moreover, the Celtics have a very high hit rate of mid-range and long-range jump shots. The outside guns are more confident than the other, and they will never hesitate to give a chance.

Such a quick whirlwind caught the well-regulated Timberwolves by surprise, and soon Philip Sanders called a timeout to adjust the team's state. Undoubtedly, their preparations were not particularly sufficient, and they did not learn from the Celtics in the previous few games. The clues can be seen in the performance of the game.

Garnett also quickly adjusted his mentality, no longer affected by the sneak shooting incident, and devoted his energy to the game.

Leon is sitting off the court, and he is still very confident in this game, because from the perspective of lineup and style of play, the Timberwolves are not dominant. The biggest weakness of the Celtics is inside defense and low-post offense, while the Timberwolves are not good at inside offense. Although Garnett is a top power forward with 20+10, his attack power in the low post is not strong at the beginning, and he is more likely to turn around. The jump shot and the peripheral mid-range end offense are more than efficient but not lethal.

So although Walker is a big colander, Leon is also relieved to let him face Garnett, anyway, Kevin can't easily kill anyone.

Another insider of the Timberwolves is Slovenian Nesterovic, a tall center with good low-post defense. A qualified low-post defender and rebounder. Unfortunately, facing the Celtics' almost non-existent inside offense, his meaning is nothing more than running back and picking up rebounds.

And his speed is too slow. After returning to the field after the timeout in the first quarter, the Timberwolves improved their offense. Hudson and Garnett on the outside began to cooperate continuously, using breakthroughs and mid-range to pull Kyle away. The Specialist's defense scored and caught up. However, Nesterovic couldn't keep up with the speed of the Celtics in the defense. Often he hadn't had time to find his defensive position near the three-second zone before the Celtics shot. The consecutive victories have given the young Celtics full of confidence in their style of play and jump shots. Shooting is a technique that requires a lot of confidence, and the Celtics are people who do not lack self-confidence.

Philip Sanders didn't realize until the second quarter that if Nesterovic was put on the field, it would be useless except for him to run back and forth to lose weight and consume energy. Sanders finally replaced the inner man. Strovic, replaced forward Trent, so that Garnett topped the center position. Although Garnett doesn't like playing center the most, the Celtics are also considered a centerless lineup, and a big kite like Tony Batty can only be regarded as a half center.

In this way, the situation of the Timberwolves was a little better. When the Celtics were in the rotation at the beginning of the second quarter, they relied on Garnett's two jump shots and Steckleland's three-pointer to narrow the point difference to 5 points. But Leon didn't seem to be in a hurry. He didn't replace the main force early, but continued to let the second team headed by Eric Williams, Cole, and Johnson support him on the field. He was waiting, waiting for Philip Sang Des replaced Garnett.

Garnett came off the court at the back end of the first quarter, then played at the beginning of the second quarter, went down for a short rest in the middle, and then played until the end of the second quarter. This is how Sanders used Garnett. The purpose is to allow Garnett to lead the second team to play against the opponent's second team. Let's have a horse race. After all, the Timberwolves' bench lineup is really bad. , Kendall Gill, Greer Trent, and Rod Steckleland are all players who have played well in the league, but now they have entered the end of their careers and are about to be eliminated by the league.

Seeing Garnett with a broken second team, the defensive end actively supplementing defenses to protect the backcourt rebounds, and the offensive end constantly covering for his teammates, making the ball and sending assists, Leon felt a little sad for this All-Star power forward. What teammates, what kind of lineup. Leon is convinced that if the Timberwolves team eliminates Kevin Garnett, it may be at the same level as the NBDL championship, and it is estimated that it will still win by a narrow margin. They are all old, weak, sick and disabled. The extremely poor player operation and draft operation of the Timberwolves management in recent years have caused this team in a small ball market in the north of the United States to sink. Including the multi-year first-round pick lost to Joe Smith's secret deal, it was a fatal blow to a rebuilding team.

Leon watched Garnett do everything he could on the court, just like he has done for the team for the past seven years, struggling to maintain the team at the level of the fringe playoffs, and then in the playoffs. He was eliminated by a strong team in the first round, went home to fish, and waited for the arrival of the next year. For six full years, this story has been going on for six full years, and this year is the seventh year. Judging from the current situation of the Timberwolves, their fate will not change much. There will be no big trades, no superstars coming back, no genetic mutations, and they might make it to the playoffs again, and then come back in the first round, seven years, the seven-year itch.

"Beep!" The referee's whistle interrupted Leon's thinking. Chris Anderson fouled Garnett. Garnett walked to the free throw line and made two free throws to help the Timberwolves catch up to only 3 points. point. But at this time, Sanders can no longer let Garnett stay on the court. He needs to let Garnett rest for a while, just one and a half minutes.

At this time, Leon also made the decision to substitute, and he immediately took Paul Pierce and Arenas, the two most explosive scorers in the team. Leon whispered a few words in Pierce's ear, telling him to strengthen his personal offense after playing, to stabilize the situation for a period of time, and provoke a new round of offensive storm for the team.

Sure enough, Pierce received the ball for the first time since he came on the court. At the 45-degree three-point line he was familiar with, he received a pass from Tony Batty and made a direct three-pointer. However, the ball was slightly deflected and hit the left side of the basket. Chris Anderson struggled to grab the offensive rebound. After Garnett went off the court, no one could block him and prevent him from grabbing the offensive rebound. After grabbing the ball, Anderson has no intention of attacking at all. Unless there is no one three meters in front of him, he must pass the ball out immediately. Pierce did not leave his original position after missing the ball. He still made a catch and shoot posture. Anderson threw the ball into his hands. This time Pierce made another three-pointer!

Pierce, who had adjusted his aim, let the ball go into the net hollow this time, and made a three-pointer. The Timberwolves, who had just approached the score, were hit.

"Without Garnett, this team is nothing." Leon saw Pierce score and sat back on his bench. A round of offense, the Timberwolves with Garnett and the Timberwolves without him are two teams. If Garnett is on the court, he will first put pressure on Batty and will not let him pass the ball to Pierce so comfortably , Secondly, he will not let Anderson grab the offensive rebound so easily, even if he grabs it, he will actively fight to delay Anderson's outward pass, and provide time for outside players to make up for the leak.

But without Garnett, the Timberwolves' defense was full of holes. At the same time, the Timberwolves' offense also lacked a selfless sharer and organizer. The situation was chaotic for a while, Arenas succeeded in stealing the old Steckleland, and then succeeded in a single-handed fast break, scoring two more points, and the difference between the two sides widened to 8 points. Garnett's previous efforts were ruined in a few tens of seconds, and Sanders had to complain to the players helplessly, then spread his hands and shook his head. Knowing how to train this group of rotten leaves and rotten vegetables, it's hard for a clever woman to cook without rice.

Sanders still gritted his teeth and persisted for a minute. With the opportunity of a short timeout, he replaced Garnett again, and the situation of the Timberwolves stabilized again. It's just that Garnett's biggest flaw is that his scoring ability is slightly insufficient compared to other super insiders, his scoring explosiveness is poor, his scoring methods are single, and his offensive ability has not reached the historical level. Just this level. Even so, Garnett also sent 4 assists in the first half and 6 assists in the audience. His passing level inside is undoubtedly the top in the league.

In the third quarter, when the Celtics played a 19:6 super attack wave, Leon knew that the game was over. There is never a lack of miracles in the NBA arena, but miracles also have prerequisites. The Timberwolves team currently does not seem to have the conditions to create miracles. While the Celtics made 14 of their 30 3-pointers, the Timberwolves made eight 3-pointers. They are so mediocre, mediocre players, mediocre tactics, mediocre style of play, only the fans here are passionate and loyal enough, coach Philip Saunders is a good mentor, the only outstanding bright spot left, the only one of Timberwolves Only Kevin Garnett is the symbol.

When the Celtics defeated the Timberwolves with a score of 114:99, Leon first stepped forward to shake hands with Sanders, and then immediately walked up to Garnett to stop him. Leon didn't speak, he watched the loss After the ball, Garnett, who looked a little lonely, shook his hand tightly, gave him a strong hug, patted his butt and left, and went to celebrate the victory with the players.

There are several seven years in the player's career.