Basketball boy, starting to shine from the slam dunk

"Shh!"

The ball went in, a hollow hit.

The score was 3:2, and Zhuang Yu returned one.

"nice shot."

"I said Zhuang Yu would definitely fight back, and I was right, and it was a three-pointer, with an extra point."

"Haha, don't forget, Zhuang Yu was the regular season scoring champion last season. Butler can't compare to him in terms of scoring ability."

The home fans cheered excitedly.

This is not bragging. Butler averaged 23.9 points per game last season, which was the highest scoring season in his career. Last season, Zhuang Yu averaged 31.7 points per game, which was 8 points higher than Butler.

What's more, one is 20+ and the other is 30+.

To be honest, the gap is not as simple as 8 points.

For example, last season there were more than 20 players in the league who averaged over 30 points per game, but only Zhuang Yu and Westbrook averaged over 30 points per game.

It is not difficult to see from this data that for a player to average 20 points or 30 points per game in a season is completely different concepts.

There are many players with strong scoring abilities in the league, but once a certain point is reached, it becomes very difficult to improve it by a certain amount.

30 points is a critical point.

So in terms of scoring ability, Butler really can't compare with Zhuang Yu.

In fact, not only in scoring ability, but also in defensive ability, Butler cannot compare with Zhuang Yu.

In the next round, the Timberwolves once again gave the ball to Butler. This time, Butler did not call for a pick-and-roll, but wanted to directly single out Zhuang Yu.

He still actively sought confrontation, because he knew it would be difficult to fool Zhuang Yu with fake moves. The best way to play against Zhuang Yu was to actively seek confrontation and create physical contact.

However, when the two bodies collided, Butler couldn't help but be surprised. A huge force came from Zhuang Yu, and he was unable to knock Zhuang Yu away.

How could this be?

Butler was a little puzzled. This was not the first time he had fought against Zhuang Yu. Past experience with Zhuang Yu told him that he had an advantage in physical confrontation. However, in that moment just now, he did not gain any advantage in the physical confrontation with Zhuang Yu.

"Oh, you still want to use this trick to defeat me alone?" Zhuang Yu sneered in his heart. This off-season of his was not wasted.

Especially during the one month of training in New York, he conducted targeted physical training every day. The Eight-Shape Health Exercises plus the Medicinal Wine Massage allowed him to support high-intensity physical training. After a month, his physical fitness improved a lot.

Especially the confrontation ability, explosive power and endurance have been improved most significantly.

These aspects were not his strong points before, but now he is no worse than any guard player, and he will not suffer even against a small forward like Butler.

This time, Butler was unable to push Zhuang Yu away, so he could only force his move.

boom!

The basketball bounced out of the basket, Lopez blocked Towns and grabbed the rebound, then quickly passed it to Holiday, and the Lakers launched a quick counterattack.

Holiday, Zhuang Yu, Korver, and Anderson all ran to the frontcourt. As soon as Holiday crossed the center line, he pushed the ball to Zhuang Yu with both hands.

Zhuang Yu got the ball without delay, and rushed to the basket. The Timberwolves were caught off guard. They had no time to think, and all the players who retreated rushed to Zhuang Yu. In the end, Zhuang Yu did not shoot himself, but passed the ball behind his head without looking at anyone, and gave it to Anderson who was following behind him.

Bang!

Anderson grabbed the basketball, jumped up, and made a two-handed dunk.

In the past, Anderson would always try to make a layup but would never dunk. But now he has changed that habit and will never miss a chance to dunk.

The score is 5:2.

Butler was a little depressed, and he noticed that his teammates looked at him with some dissatisfaction, especially Towns. Apparently, it was because he had been directly single-handed in both attacks and hardly let Towns touch the ball. The young No. 1 pick was unhappy.

In fact, Towns was already a little unhappy about Butler's arrival.

As the No. 2015 pick in 1, Towns averaged a double-double of 18.3 points and 10.5 rebounds per game in his first season and won the Rookie of the Year Award.

And last season, which was the second season of his career, he averaged 2 points and 25.1 rebounds per game. It's just that he has little experience and the Timberwolves' record is too bad, otherwise his data would be enough to be selected as an All-Star.

Originally, Towns thought Butler came to the Timberwolves to assist him, but as soon as Butler arrived, he said, "I will lead you to the playoffs." It didn't look like he was here to assist him at all. He just regarded himself as the boss.

So the relationship between the two of them in private cannot be said to be good.

Butler played alone in the last two attacks, and the ball never reached Towns' hands, which made Towns a little unhappy.

Teague also noticed Towns' mood change.

So this time after pushing the ball to the frontcourt, he did not pass it to Butler again, but called a pick-and-roll. After Towns went to the line for the pick-and-roll, Teague moved to the left, pretended to break through, and then passed the ball back to Towns at the top of the arc.

Now that he finally got the basketball, Towns had no intention of passing the ball, even though Lopez was standing in front of him.

Towns first glanced at the basket, pretending to shoot directly, and Lopez took a small step forward, raising his right hand high. Seizing this opportunity, Towns slapped the ball forward, broke through, and rushed past Lopez's side.

Anderson immediately came to defend, but Towns had already grabbed the ball and took three big steps.

Swish!

Towns made a layup.

It is not easy for a center to dribble and layup like a guard, but Towns did a great job.

When the ball was scored, teammates cheered.

Butler just shook his head and muttered, "Go ahead, dunk the damn basketball."

......

The score is 5:4.

Although Towns scored two points, the Lakers immediately fought back.

This time the Lakers played a tactical coordination. After Holiday came to the frontcourt, he first called a pick-and-roll, and then passed the ball back to Lopez. Lopez passed the ball to Zhuang Yu with his hand, and then turned sideways to provide a screen for Zhuang Yu, blocking Butler.

After getting the ball, Zhuang Yu took a step forward and pretended to shoot a three-pointer. At this time, Butler was blocked, and Towns could only switch defense and subconsciously pounced on Zhuang Yu.

However, Zhuang Yu did not shoot, but made a ground pass. The basketball bounced off Towns' feet and fell into the hands of Lopez who turned back and cut into the inside.

In this ball, Butler and Towns were attracted by Zhuang Yu, leaving Lopez open, and in the end they could only watch Lopez dunk with both hands.

In the next few rounds, as long as the Timberwolves scored, the Lakers would always be able to fight back, and it was the answerball between the opposing players.

For example, if Butler scores a goal, Zhuang Yu will immediately react.

If Towns scores one, Lopez will immediately score one on the offensive end...

And when the Timberwolves couldn't score, the Lakers were still able to score, which made the Timberwolves even more depressed.

Not long into the first quarter, the score had become 1:13, with the Lakers leading by 7 points.

"Requesting a timeout."

The Timberwolves called a timeout.

When several players came off the court, coach Tom Thibodeau frowned and said, "We have to defend better and let the opponent score too easily. We have to score the ball, but we also have to defend the opponent's offense, understand?"

"Yes."

"clear."

Several people responded in unison.

......

The pause ended quickly.

When both sides returned to the court, the Timberwolves made a personnel rotation, replacing Gibson with Nemanja Bjelica.

The Lakers also made substitutions, replacing Anderson, Holiday, and Lopez, replacing three players at once, with Clarkson, Gerald Green, and Nance Jr.

Seeing the Lakers' substitution, Coach Thibodeau frowned and looked a little unhappy.

After only playing for a few minutes, the Lakers replaced three starters at once. Are they looking down on us Timberwolves?

Several Timberwolves players were also unhappy.

When Towns arrived at the frontcourt, he stretched out his hand to ask for the ball on the left side, then signaled others to move away, and he played against Nance Jr. with his back to the basket.

This was equivalent to a mismatch opportunity. Towns first half turned around, leaned on Nance Jr. with his back and pushed step by step to the basket. Nance Jr. was still a little short in height and weight, and was pushed back step by step. Gerald Green wanted to go over to help him defend.

However, before he could help defend Towns, he made a turnaround jump shot.

Swish!

Also enter.

"This lineup is a lot weaker defensively," said assistant coach Madsen.

"Yeah." Coach Scott just hummed, with no change in expression. This was also expected.

At this time, the five people on the court are Zhuang Yu, Clarkson, Korver, Gerald Green, and Nance Jr., which can barely be considered a "one against four small" team, but there are definitely flaws in defense. However, defense is a disadvantage, but offense is not.

On the court, Towns passed the ball to the Lakers as soon as he scored. Zhuang Yu took the ball and advanced in the backcourt, while Clarkson, Korver and Gerald Green all ran to the frontcourt.

After reaching the frontcourt, Zhuang Yu did not call for a pick-and-roll. He dribbled the ball between his legs and then changed direction in front of him, passing Teague by most of his body length.

The Timberwolves players subconsciously tightened their defense, while Zhuang Yu passed the ball to Clarkson. Clarkson also broke through and passed the ball, further compressing the Timberwolves' defense and leaving space outside the three-point line.

With a whoosh, the basketball flew outside the three-point line and landed in Korver's hands. The former Hawks sharpshooter made a quick three-point shot and made it steadily.

"Too fast." Coach Thibodeau shook his head and shouted to the court: "Be careful of their three-pointers, defend them better."

He was keenly aware that the focus of the Lakers' offense at this moment must be quick counterattacks and three-pointers.

Just understanding it is one thing, being able to defend against it is another.

In the next round, when the Lakers attacked, the speed was still very fast. Korver and Gerald Green were lying in ambush outside the three-point line, tying down the Timberwolves' defense and creating space for Zhuang Yu and Clarkson. Zhuang Yu and Clarkson broke through and passed the ball in succession, disrupting the Timberwolves' defense.

Everyone thought it was creating an opportunity for Korver or Gerald Green, but after going around in a circle, the ball actually returned to Zhuang Yu's hands.

At this time, the person defending him was no longer Butler, but Towns.

As a center, it was too difficult for Towns to block Zhuang Yu's three-point shot.

Tangs couldn't pounce on him at all. He was still at least one meter away from Zhuang Yu. He could only raise his hands and try to interfere.

However, this interference had no effect on Zhuang Yu. He knew that Towns could not get to him, so he shot calmly.