one-handed ball

Chapter 225 When the Western Conference Finals are in progress

"Zheng Kezhun's triple-double, the Timberwolves lost to the Rockets"

"Chinese Derby, Yao Ming Goes First"

"Hidden dangers inside, how far can the Timberwolves go?" "

The media used a variety of headlines to report the game, praising the Rockets for their concerted efforts to beat the Timberwolves at home by a big score.Of course, they also mentioned in the article that the Timberwolves were suppressed, and the insider who was blown up by Yao Ming became the target of their unanimous criticism.

And looking at the whole game, the Timberwolves are not without shining points.In the second half of the third quarter, Zheng Ke led a group of young players to a 13-2 spurt, bringing the score within 5 points in one fell swoop.But immediately, Yao Ming shook Anderson with a false move under the basket, and went up to meet him, scoring a two plus one.Since then, the Rockets have slowed down the pace, using positional warfare for every attack, and each attack took almost 24 seconds. The rhythm was dragged down very slowly, and the Timberwolves couldn't play their own style at all.

This actually realizes the collision of the two tactical styles in the NBA today.

The Rockets represent the ancient positional offense, big ball tactics, while the Timberwolves represent the popular small ball tactics.The Timberwolves have achieved great success in a season, and their commonly used tactics are often analyzed by experts.

ESPN columnist Tom Hubbles once wrote an article analyzing some of the Timberwolves' tactics. He wrote in the article: "In the Timberwolves' small ball tactical style, they prefer offensive strategies such as defensive counterattacks, and defensive counterattacks are the best. The core is the two keywords of "defense" and "counterattack". Zheng Ke's almost abnormal stealing ability and Anderson's outstanding blocking ability have become important guarantees in the Timberwolves' defense, and the entire Timberwolves team is dedicated to defending with passion. It has become the core content of the Timberwolves' defense.

As we all know, the Timberwolves are a young team, they are full of vitality.Therefore, whenever there is an excellent counterattack opportunity, the Timberwolves players will switch the offensive and defensive rotations as quickly as possible. On the field, you can often see two, three or even more Timberwolves players making fast breaks.And when the Timberwolves fall into a positional battle, they prefer to hand the ball to the core of the team—Zheng Ke to solve the problem. Generally, Zheng Ke’s offensive methods are divided into three types, one is to open up space and play singles with the ball, and the other is to play without Ball running, catch-and-shoot, three-way down low, post-ups.

The Timberwolves are a representative of a new type of team in the new era. The game style is a bit similar to bombardment, but it does not have the madness of D'Antoni's "7-second offense".Although the Timberwolves often score high points, the pursuit of high shooting percentage and excellent defense is actually the essence of the Timberwolves' tactical style. "

Facing the Rockets, the biggest problem for the Timberwolves is that it is difficult to contain Yao Ming's performance.Yao Ming's ability to use footsteps is very powerful. It is a very scary thing for a 2-meter-high man to make a movement similar to a guard. Whenever he turns around the basket flexibly, Anderson basically can only watch him wreak havoc on the basket. basket.

Whitman greyed his hair.

He didn't know how to deal with the Rockets. In the last game, he almost used up all the tactics he could think of, including the bombardment tactics of one big and four small ones.It's a pity that even if the Timberwolves can score a goal, the Rockets can score points in an easier way.Moreover, Zheng Ke's misfire in the fourth quarter was also an important reason for the Timberwolves' failure in the last game, which made Whitman even more worried.

Although Zheng Ke scored a quasi triple-double of 29 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists, he only made 25 of 10 shots in the game. Compared with his previous performance, his shooting percentage is definitely a very low value.In the fourth quarter, he lost his touch in the wrestling with Artest, and only made 7 of 1 shots.This has also become the focus of media attention after the game. Could it be that Zheng Ke met his nemesis?The previous playoffs averaging 30+ per game will be ended in the hands of Artest?

In the midst of this hustle and bustle, the game between the Magic and the Cavaliers ended the next night.What is surprising is that the unpopular Magic turned away and won the Cavaliers' home game. The Cavaliers' first playoffs loss came here inadvertently, which made the little emperor's 49 points in this game a phantom bubble.

Two big men in the East and West led the team to victory over the best small forwards in the East and West. This seems to be luck, but it may also be a sign of something happening.

A day later, Zheng Ke led the team to continue their crusade against the Rockets at the Toyota Center.

In the end, with McGrady's key three-pointer before the end, the Timberwolves lost to the Rockets 105 to 106.This script is unacceptable. After all, Zheng Ke, who scored 45 points, has proved his hard work, but he missed the lore opportunity and made everything a cloud.

The Timberwolves launched a bombardment tactic, and Zheng Ke didn't feel good, so he determined to break through to the inside and make a kill. He beat Yao Ming to the sixth offense and the backup center Hayes to the sixth offense.He won 21 free throws and hit all of them, creating the Timberwolves' single-game free throw record and free throw record in the playoffs, but he couldn't save the game.

The Rockets lead the Timberwolves 2-0 in the series.

Zheng Ke and the others almost left Houston by way of escape. This huge city was like a steel monster, icy so cold that the Timberwolves players could not breathe.This is the first time the Timberwolves have suffered a losing streak in the playoffs this year. The Timberwolves players who haven't tasted this kind of taste for a long time feel extremely frustrated.

Zheng Ke didn't notice all of this. He looked at the big white clouds outside the window, and his thoughts flew thousands of miles away.

The one-handed ball system is helping him less and less, and it has basically existed as an auxiliary tool until now.Anderson's ability value is very low. In the one-handed ball system, he only has an ability value of 68. Although his defensive score is 76, it does not represent his true ball-holding defensive ability.He is really too easy to shake. Yao Ming lightly touches him, and he flies into the air like someone kicked his ass. In the two games, he only played for about 25 minutes and left the field with six fouls. .

Zheng Ke has a bad premonition in his heart, maybe he will stop here this year.Of course, this thought flashed through his mind, and then he shook his head vigorously, telling himself not to think wildly.

In the East, James completed an incredible lore, leading the Cavaliers to pull back a game 96 to 95 seconds before the game, Turkoglu made a hit to give the Magic a 0.1-95 lead over the Cavaliers by 93 points. At the critical moment, James made a shot against Turkoglu's defense and hit a three-pointer at the buzzer!
When the news reached Minnesota, Zheng Ke's face became a little unsightly. After all, he just missed the chance of lore in Houston. Compared with the two, the gap in his heart made him feel very uncomfortable.
The third matchup went on as scheduled, and the Timberwolves returned to the home court looking forward to a victory.

At the beginning of the game, Zheng Ke showed a different side of him. Not only did he hit consecutive pull-up jumpers, but he also gave Yao Ming a solid cap on the defensive end.The Timberwolves started with a 12-2 lead, forcing Adelman to request the first timeout of the game.

Amidst the cheers from the home fans, Timberwolves players gradually regained their confidence. Zheng Ke was in a state of madness and could always perform incredible performances.

At the end of the first quarter, the Timberwolves led 31 to 20 by 11 points.

The Rockets kept making mistakes, and the Timberwolves' substitutes were bloody. Even Brewer didn't back down in the face of Artest, and even blocked an offensive dribble from Artest.The Timberwolves culled the Rockets "Aww", and the point difference continued to expand. At the end of the half, the Timberwolves had a 58-43 lead by 15 points.

"Crazy, really crazy." Artest shook his head with an expression of disbelief.After returning to the home court, the Timberwolves wanted to be a different person, with dangerous gleams in their eyes, and their enthusiasm and aggression far exceeded their performance in Houston.

In the second half, Scola made a mid-range shot and scored first blood in the second half.Immediately afterwards, Yao Ming contributed a block on the defensive end, and the Rockets counterattacked successfully, scoring 4 points in a row.The Rockets players gradually got used to the tsunami-like cheers at the center of the target, and the two teams meant to return to the same starting line.At the end of the three quarters, the Timberwolves led by 84 points 73 to 9.

The game against the Rockets really can't be careless for a minute. They have too many outside shooters, just like the Orlando Magic. Once the outside shots are opened, no one can stop them.So Zheng Ke still didn't rest for 1 minute. He existed as a "nuclear weapon" on the court. Even if he didn't attack, he could still attract a lot of defensive attention from the Rockets.

In the end, the Timberwolves defeated the Rockets 109 to 101 at home. Zheng Ke played 46 minutes, scored 32 points, and sent 5 steals. Amid the applause and cheers of the fans, he finally won a game.

(End of this chapter)