The energy-filled Downs are not to be underestimated.

He jumped high and snatched the ball thrown by the referee back into his own half. And Lakers center Roy Hibbert, as can be seen from the gesture of the jump ball, is half a beat slower than Towns.

Downs, who won the jump ball and won the first wave of offensive ball for the team, glared angrily at Yi Feng who retreated, and there was smugness in anger.

On the sideline commentary bench, Mike Brin praised: "Downs's physical fitness is really good, and agility and flexibility are rare among big men, and the reaction time is very short!" It is worthy of being the successor of KG. ”

Jeff Van Gundy is rare this time without rebutting, "Judging from this jump, he is still good." ”

Ricky Rubio controls possession and directs the Timberwolves' offense.

The Timberwolves were coached by Philip Sanders last season, however, he passed away from cancer just two days ago. The NBA briefly descended into an atmosphere of grief, which was quickly diluted by the showdown between Yi Feng and Towns.

Back in September, Timberwolves assistant coach Sam Mitchell replaced the seriously ill Sanders as the team's interim head coach.

Sam Mitchell's achievements as a coach do not seem to be recognized by the industry. However, the new season is about to begin, and the Timberwolves don't have time to look for other good coaches. can only be a dead horse as a live horse doctor, and the ducks are on the shelves.

Sam Mitchell also knows his own pounds and tries not to change the tactics that Sanders set as head coach.

On the court, the Timberwolves attacked.

Rubio passed the ball to Garnett, who was defending Garnett, and Julius Randle, who was defending Garnett, immediately raised his guard. KG is a legendary power forward in the NBA, and despite his advanced age, it is not impossible for him to grow old.

At the same time, Andrew Wiggins, who was in the bottom left corner, started to run. Towns made a horizontal screen for Wiggins in the low post, and Wiggins used the screen to cut to the basket.

It was Yi Feng who defended Wiggins, and after Downs covered Wiggins, he collided directly with Yi Feng who was following the defense. After the two collided, their bodies leaned back a little, but the difference in tonnage and strength made Yi Feng lean back even more.

But neither of them was paying attention to this, and Yi Feng kept paying attention to Wiggins, who cut to the basket. If he receives a pass at this time, he can go straight to the basket or dunk!

Tang Si stared at Yi Feng with burning eyes, and there was a substantial battle intent surging in his eyes.

Yi Feng ignored him, and after stabilizing his body and starting again, he bypassed Downs with better speed and agility and chased Wiggins.

Downs, who didn't completely block Yi Feng, also began to move out, and Roy Hibbert, who was defending him, followed him despite some hesitation. However, Hibbert was quickly blocked.

It turned out that Rubio, who gave the ball out, didn't stand still either. After giving the ball, he went to the low post to provide a cover for the moving Downs.

Hibbert was thus blocked.

Although Rubio has never been able to develop his shooting ability, he has somewhat failed to live up to his reputation as a "golden boy", and many trade messages have surrounded him. But his playmaking skills are in the top 10 in the NBA, he has a good rebounding ability in the No. 1 position, and he has a lot of defensive skills.

Coupled with Hibbert's slowness and thinness, Rubio, the little man, actually made a very strong cover.

Downs cut to the top and was completely unguarded!

Garnett didn't lose the ball with one hand, and he distributed the ball neatly. KG at his peak, as an insider, was able to average 5 assists per game in a season! It shows its omnipotence.

Near the free throw line on the left, Downs catches the ball and shoots a jumper!

Towns opened the scoring for the Timberwolves, temporarily leading the home team Lakers 2:0!

This is a tactic specially designed for former Timberwolves coach Philip Saunders after he picked Towns in the draft, according to his technical characteristics.

In fact, this tactic is very similar to the usual tactics of the Dallas Mavericks, and the end point of the Mavericks' tactic is Dirk Nowitzki. In other words, in Sanders' view, Towns is now almost a weakened version of Nowitzki in terms of shooting ability.

Downs, who hit the mid-range shot, roared with the domineering appearance of a wolf king.

For some passionate players, Yi Feng has seen a lot, and he will not have any objection. But if he becomes the object of other people's roaring and roaring, then his mood will not be good.

While secretly wondering if this guy was sick in the brain, Yi Feng gradually raised his attention to the game.

Clarkson took the ball across half court and handed it to Bryant.

The current Kobe Bryant is playing the role of an organizational striker. Defending him was Tyshawn Prince, known as the "Little Prince" and one of the Pistons Five.

Today's "Little Prince" is no longer young, he is a 35-year-old veteran who has passed his prime. Although the outstanding blocking and stealing abilities at their peak have long since degraded mostly, the defensive awareness is still there. Overall, his defensive ability is still in the middle of the league.

Kobe, who took on more organizational tasks, did not choose to attack.

He hit the ball to the ground and gave two screens in a row by Randle and Clarkson, shaking off the defender's Yi Feng.

Immediately after receiving the ball, the basketball pierces the net!

The way of scoring is similar to that of Downs before, they are all shots after covering, but Yi Feng's goal is a three-point shot!

With Yi Feng's three-pointer, the Lakers came from behind 2:3.

"Wow~~"

On the sideline commentary bench, Mike Brin screamed, "Bangyan hit a mid-range shot, and the champion immediately returned a three-pointer!" Perfect answer-ball! ”

Mike Brin looked at Jeff Van Gundy, "Jeff, it looks like things are going in the direction I predicted so far." As soon as Downs and Yi came up, they started a showdown, just like what was written in the script of a Hollywood blockbuster! ”

Jeff Van Gundy was unmoved, "Winning first is not winning, there are 48 minutes in a game, you are too anxious, young man!" ”

'From those two goals, it's not so much about the people who score the goal as I am about the attacking tactics of both sides.

Van Gundy began to analyze the tactics, "Basketball is a team sport of five people, and two teams of 10 people gather on this 94-foot (28.65-meter) long and 50-foot (15.24-meter) wide basketball court to fight against each other and fight for victory. On the face of it, the team that can score more has a better chance of winning. ”

"But if you think about it, how can a team score more easily?"

"If you want to get an easy shot, you need to know how to compete and use the space on the court. At the end of the day, basketball is also a space-grabbing sport. ”

"If you get stuck in a good position under the basket, you have a better chance of being in control of the rebound; Defending in advance can cause the opponent to foul the attack, but if you don't have your hands and feet fast enough, it's a blocking foul. ”

"And these are just simple use of space, and if you include all five people on the field of a team, it becomes an extremely complex science......

Jeff Van Gundy is worthy of being the head of the academy, and when it comes to theory, he talks endlessly.

As the commentator spoke, the two teams attacked twice. They all made multiple pick-and-roll screens to give the ball carrier more space to shoot.

Although they are all pick-and-roll covers, the way they do it is very different.

Just like boxing and kicking are the most basic martial arts movements, but these basic movements are connected in different ways to form a variety of martial arts schools.

The Timberwolves' first three shots were all given to Towns, who was also very competitive, scoring four points on 2-of-3 shooting for the team; However, the Lakers' three chances from Yi Feng were all seized more efficiently.

After using a three-pointer as the first score of the regular season in his NBA career, Yi Feng continued to maintain a good hand, hitting all the next shots and a layup, scoring 7 points on 3-of-3 shooting, helping the ball temporarily lead the visiting Timberwolves 4-7.

Seeing that Yi Feng still scored the ball with his own defense, Downs couldn't help but be confused.

Is this the difference between me and him?

I could only hit two goals in a row, and he could hit three goals in a row or more! And the three-pointers!

Is this the gap between the champion and the leader?

Downs couldn't help but be a little stunned.

Garnett next to him glanced at Downs and probably knew what was in his heart, because he also walked over like this.

"Carl! Don't worry about that! ”

"Defenders are always on the back foot, and it's not your responsibility for us to concede this goal!"

"Just hit the ball in the opponent's basket next time!"

"Cheer up!"

Downs walked through the half-court with some distraction, and when the ball reached him, he was still a little stunned. But fortunately, Prince was next to him in time, so that the vicious-eyed Kobe Bryant did not have a chance.

Seeing that Towns was not in good shape, the Timberwolves did not let him attack again.

Wiggins was in the low post on the right, and Rubio hoisted the ball to him.

"Oh no-"

Mike Brin in the commentary box let out another strange scream, "Now it's Wiggins' turn!" Are the Timberwolves ready to have a wheel battle against our top pick? ”

"It's exciting, last year's champion against this year's champion!"

"Okay, Wiggins is going to be backstruck! Let's see if his backbody technique improves! ”

Wiggins and Yi Feng are of similar stature, and the confrontation is also between the two of them, so Wiggins did not take advantage of the two hits. Seeing that there was not much time left for the offense, Wiggins leaned back again, then stepped back and turned to shoot.

Yi Feng failed to steal the defense in time because of Wiggins' last support, and finally barely relied on speed, bounce and height to cover the defense.

Maybe the defense worked, or maybe Wiggins didn't feel it yet, and the basketball rolled out after a lap in the basket. But Garnett relied on super rebounding awareness under the basket and made the basket.

The score was 6:7, and the visiting Timberwolves were still one point behind.