Chapter 486 [Core 1 Misfires, the Home Game Starts Badly]

When the Timberwolves attacked, Cassel slowly dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, protecting the basketball with his back to observe the movements of his teammates.

Guo Xu hates Cassel. This guy’s butt is very thick. When his back is turned, it is difficult for his opponent to reach out and steal. If you give up half of your body to gamble and steal, he will immediately turn around and break through, blocking the defense with his hands. If you take three slow steps for a layup or a step-back shot, the hit rate is not low.

Cassel is not a vegetarian when it comes to attacking from the frame. Defenders will easily get flustered when they see his face and unconsciously try to get out of the way, because the way he looks at you, it seems as if you will be sprayed with concentrated sulfuric acid at any time.

Since entering the league, Guo Xu has suffered several losses against Cassel. Now that he has matchup experience, he can only follow the rhythm of this kind of hard-hitting player on defense.

Garnett provided a screen for Sprewell from the side. The "Madman" received a pass from Cassel and broke through with the ball, attracting Haslem to switch defense and pass the ball to Garnett. Bell followed Garnett closely.

Garnett held the ball and forced a breakthrough. Stoudemire retreated and formed a double-team under the basket, forcing Garnett to pass the ball out again. He failed to pass to the empty center Johnson on the other side. The two passed the ball forward. The ball route is blocked.

Fans all know that the defensive intensity in the playoffs is very strong. The team's main scorer will be taken care of by the opponent. Double-teaming is commonplace, so it is difficult to score high. Anyone who can score 50 points in the playoffs is a super player. Scorer.

The defensive tactics arranged by Suns assistant Larry Drew were to double-team Garnett near the penalty area, cutting off his connection with his teammates inside, and forcing him to pass the ball to others for singles. If Garnett plays alone far away from the basket, the player defends alone.

The Suns attacked and the players spread out. Guo Xu directly singled out Cassel.

He held the ball with his left hand and took a step toward Cassel and passed it to his right hand. When the two were about to collide, he dribbled the ball under his right hand to his left hand, turned sideways to the left and succeeded with his speed.

Cassel turned around and was too late to catch up. He turned around and saw Guo Xu attracting Garnett on the left to cover the ball. Haslem scored an open mid-range shot from the bottom line. 2 to 0.

The Timberwolves attacked, Cassel passed the ball to the wing again, Sprewell received the ball and forced a breakthrough. He changed direction and passed Haslem for a layup. 2 to 2.

When the Suns were attacking, Guo Xu played Cassel in isolation. He played in a similar way to before. He held the ball with his right hand and took a step to his left hand. When he was about to hit Cassel, he dribbled the ball under the crotch of his left hand to his right hand and changed direction to the right to successfully break through.

On this side, Johnson defended Stoudemire and failed to come out to cover up. Guo Xu made a 50-degree emergency stop jumper. 4 to 2.

Timberwolves offense,

Cassell singled out Guo Xu, brought him into the three-point line, leaned back, turned around to the left and stepped back to shoot, and hit the mid-range shot against the opponent. 4 to 4.

As long as you often watch NBA games, you will find that stars almost always use basic movements in singles, trying to use their physical advantages to pass or shoot, rather than playing tricks. Only pseudo-fans would think that having more tricks means playing well. Even stars who are called "offensive kaleidoscopes" decide what tricks to use to attack the opponent's weaknesses based on who the opponent is.

There is a person in China who is known as the "King of Streetball". He has a lot of tricks, such as spinning top in place, crotch in place, pretending to be B in place, and getting beaten in place. He can't even play in CBA.

Both sides defended tightly near the penalty area and focused on one-on-one attacks. After 5 minutes, the Suns led 13-8. Guo Xu scored 7 points and sent 2 assists. The Timberwolves switched to Sprewell as the main defender, and Cassel went to follow Bell, the simplest task on the court.

Coach Sanders realized that he couldn't let Cassel take the lead in defense. He couldn't keep up with the speed in one-on-one. It was better to defend against the "madman" who broke through the frame. His body is still strong now.

In the last round, Cassel did quite well against Parker. He relied on allowing Parker to break through the defense two steps away and help from his teammates. Parker shot 39.5% from three-point range in the series and averaged 1.7 goals per game. This cannot be done against Guo Xu.

After a few more rounds, Guo Xu let Cassel two steps away while defending. Cassel missed a three-pointer and the rebound was knocked out of the baseline by Garnett.

Zhang Lijia laughed and said: "Before the game, Cassel said he was not afraid of Guo Xu, but just after the game started he guarded the shooting guard. Guo Xu has been guarding him. Isn't this called not afraid?"

Xu Jicheng said: "Cassell is almost 35 years old. His playing style is similar to that of Payton. He is also a tall point guard who is good at posting up. Guo Xu bullied the slow veteran in these two rounds."

The Suns led 30 to 23 in the first quarter and had a slight advantage.

Entering the second quarter, the Timberwolves proved that veterans are not so easy to bully. Substitute shooting guard Fred Hoiberg had hot hands today and came off the bench to hit two three-pointers.

Garnett and Sprewell continued to play to lead the bench to ensure defense, and Szczerbiak also ensured offense.

During this period, the Timberwolves did not have a point guard. "Madman" came as a point guard to carry the ball across the half court, and then Garnett supported and organized the attack from the high post. After playing "Madman" for a while, Cassel came on the court to ensure that there was someone on the field who could carry the ball through half the court.

Joe Johnson misfired under the "Madman" defense, Garnett also defended Marion, who was on the bench, and the Timberwolves quickly overtook the score.

After Guo Xu returned, the Timberwolves began to double-team frequently, forcing him to pass the ball, and defense in other positions relied on rotation. In the second half, Joe Johnson and Bell also failed to find their shooting targets, and the Suns trailed 51 to 56 at halftime.

In the second half, the Timberwolves let 33-year-old point guard Darrick Martin, who is 180cm tall and weighs 77kg, play for a while.

Martin entered the NBA as a non-draft player. He mainly relied on speed to play. He was better than others in guarding Guo Xu. His disadvantage was that he was not good at interfering with shooting. Guo Xu changed to the outside style of step-back jumpers, but the result was not good. In this quarter, he made 1 of 6 long-range shots.

Guo Xu chooses to break through, and Garnett will help the defender defend against double teams. Guo Xu, as the core, failed, and the other players' offense was not smooth. Only Stoudemire performed well and scored 10 points in this quarter, helping the Suns to hold on to the score.

After Garnett was lured away by Guo Xu, both Johnson and Olawokandi suffered against Stoudemire. Stoudemire is no longer just a cake-eating king. He has a strong offensive ability in front of the frame. He can change direction quickly with the ball in his first step. He can force a layup or dunk. If the opponent is slower, he will not be able to stop it.

Entering the final quarter, Guo Xu reduced his singles play, and was often double-teamed. He had to actively cooperate with his teammates to help them perform.

As a result, Marion and Joe Johnson failed to live up to expectations in this quarter, and failed to score in many duel opportunities where they had obvious physical advantages. Especially when playing small-ball tactics, Marion faced off against Olavokandi many times, hitting three-pointers and mid-range shots, and failed to make a layup despite interference. He wasted many opportunities on 0-for-5 shots.

The Timberwolves' offense is better than that of the Suns. Cassel can single out Guo Xu and turn around to shoot. Garnett can provide "Madman" with off-ball cover from the side, creating mismatch opportunities for him. He can hold the ball in singles and give it to Garnett to face. Guard jump shot. The Suns players are in place to pursue and defend, and Garnett can also hold the ball and play alone at the power forward.

At his peak, Garnett was not very explosive in scoring, but his swinging back jump shot was a stunt. Although he was nicknamed the "iron-blooded jump shot" by many fans because he avoided hitting, it was almost impossible for one-on-one opponents. Blocking the shot, the release point is too high.

Whether facing Haslem, Stoudemire, Nene, or facing Duncan in the last round of the series, Garnett can quietly contribute 20-10 and help the team.

Garnett can not only score points on the offensive end, but also organize the team's offense in an orderly manner and help his teammates perform. As long as there is a pivot, they won't mess around on the court.

At the end of the game, 93-100, the Suns lost at home and got off to a bad start. legends of tomorrow