The rise of the Minnesota Timberwolves this season is inseparable from the credit of one person, and that is their head coach Philip Saunders. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

As the coach of the Timberwolves, Sanders was strenuously opposed to trading Garnett in the summer, because he knew that as long as Garnett was there, the Timberwolves would not lose the opportunity to be promoted to the top team in the NBA. Especially in the upcoming 2004 season, after the addition of strong reinforcements, the Timberwolves with Garnett as the core have a chance to get rid of the embarrassing situation of losing in the first round in a row in the past.

However, a number of factors made Garnett's departure inevitable, and Sanses had to accept this fact and focus on developing new players and putting together a new squad.

Sanders isn't a particularly good coach at tweaking rookies, and while he single-handedly brought out Kevin Garnett, that's the only one he's created because Garnett is a genius for the ages. On top of that, young players who aren't particularly talented have not shone under Saunders, who is still relatively good at communicating with veterans.

This has something to do with the start of his coaching career, unlike some coaches who started in the NCAA in college or went straight to the NBA, Sanders first worked as an assistant coach in the NCAA, and then entered the CBA Continental League coaching, where he did it for seven years. In a league like the CBA, there is no such thing as cultivating newcomers, and the record is the only indicator, so this has also led to Sanders' utilitarian and harsh coaching style.

But obviously, Duck Milicic is a talented young man, and his height, feel, footwork, and strong body have all made Sanders see Garnett's shadow. So from the first game of the new season, Saunders assigned Milicic to start and gave him a considerable degree of freedom. It is very important for a young foreign person under the age of 20 to build confidence.

In addition to Milicic, the other main players of the Timberwolves are all veterans that Sanders loves, the point guard is the old ball Picassell, and the small forward madman Sprewell, the two are 34 and 33 years old respectively, but they are still in good shape. Antoine Walker, who was traded from the Celtics, is in his prime, and although his form declined last season, he recovered well this summer, and he focused more on basketball in Minnesota, and he became the Timberwolves' scoring champion in the first 20 games.

And tonight against his old boss Celtic, Sanders' strategy is quite clear, allowing Antoine Walker to attack. It stands to reason that Garnett will not suffer against Walker, but tonight Walker is full of strength and does not float outside to shoot four-pointers, but sinks to the low post to chisel Garnett. Instead, it was Milicic who repeatedly wandered around the perimeter and shot three-pointers, forcing PJ Brown to often follow the perimeter, giving Walker more opportunities to attack.

Walker scored 21 points in the half, helping the Timberwolves lead by two points at halftime 62-60. At the start of the third quarter, Walker hit two three-pointers from the outside, plus Kassel's signature turnaround jumper on the counterattack, and the Timberwolves stretched the gap to 10 points just two minutes into the third quarter.

Carlisle had to call a timeout, the Celtics were actually in good shape tonight, the offense was very fluid, and Pierce had the advantage against Sprewell, his height, weight, and age were significantly better than the madmen who were already declining. He was also unceremonious in the face of his old friend Walker, and the two continued to stage a good show of scoring points with each other. It also makes up for Kevin Garnett's average form on the offensive end tonight.

However, the team's defense has never been able to lift its spirits, and for the defense, morale and determination are very important, but the number one core of the team's defense is not the momentum that bites the opponent in the past, but is a little silent. Even if he played some good shots, he stopped beating his chest and yelling, just silently touched his head and continued to devote himself to the game.

In terms of responsibilities, Carlisle is an offensive assistant coach, and the team's offense has no problems, and he doesn't need to make any adjustments to the team; But now that the team's defense is wrong, Carlisle suddenly has no score, and he wants to call a timeout to boost the morale of the players, emphasize the concentration of the players, increase the intensity, and chase the score back as soon as possible.

"Look at our defense, we're outside the three-point line, we're showing a lot of holes. Here, here, here, our formation is a mess, and we have to close these holes. Trouble them attacking, now the opponent's shot is too easy! We can't bet on them missing the three points, it would be a mistake. Expand our defensive circle, press them, and then create as many counter-attacking chances as possible to get the score back as quickly as possible! "Carlisle is a manager after all, and whether he is right or not in his judgment of the situation on the pitch, at least he can give orders so that the players don't mess around the pitch like headless flies.

But deep down, Carlisle was still wondering if Leon would come tonight, and if he did, how he would deal with the situation on the field.

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Just as the third quarter began, Leon and Ayatollah Khomeenez arrived at the target center together, but the security guard at the door stopped him because neither he nor Khomeenez had tickets.

"I'm the head coach of the Celtics, let me in." Leon made his identity clear, he was also a celebrity in basketball circles, and the court security must have known him.

The security guard looked at Leon and recognized him, he hesitated for a moment and said, "I'm sorry, if you are a team member, you should enter through the players' tunnel, but it is temporarily closed." ”

Leon's face was very ugly, he knew that the security guard was doing his duty, but he was obviously also suspected of delaying time. Now that he has been identified, he should have called his colleagues in the infield as soon as possible and informed the league or Celtic staff to deal with it, instead of stopping him here without doing anything.

At this time, Khamenez made a quick decision, she calmed Leon, and then borrowed a mobile phone from the staff and asked Leon to call the Celtics or the league staff. Thankfully, Leon has an amazing memory, and he immediately dialed the team's logistics Mick Harris and asked him to pick him up in the arena lobby.

After only three minutes, Harris hurried into the hall with a court staff member, and without saying a word, he pulled Leon and ran inside, regardless of whether Khomemenis could get in or not.

"Oh my God, you're really here, the Timberwolves are not easy to deal with, we were two points behind at halftime, and I heard that we were all 10 points behind at the beginning of the third quarter. The players need you, Fox! "Harris is a fat guy with a lively and cheerful personality, who just joined the Celtics this year, and he is a passionate worker and a basketball enthusiast.

Leon nodded, and he asked to add his name to the squad before the game started, because he knew that tonight's Celtic game would not be easy, and more importantly, he couldn't let Celtic lose in this game, and he couldn't let Garnett leave any shadow in the center of the target.

Leon followed Harris from the audience tunnel into the players' tunnel, and then strode forward along the exit channel, the closer to the exit, the clearer the deafening sound in the center of the arena, it seems that the Timberwolves are playing a climax, Leon has seen that Garnett missed, the Timberwolves quickly counterattacked, and Sprewell received a pass from Cassel in the counterattack and scored a backhand layup!

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Carlisle's timeout did not get the Celtics out of the predicament immediately, scoring was still the number one priority when the score was down, but the Celtics suddenly fell into a small scoring drought, which was undoubtedly fatal for the Celtics in the chasing points.

When Kevin Garnett missed a mid-range jumper at the point where he was best positioned to step inside the three-point line, Carlisle's heart quickly sank to the bottom, and then Cassel counterattacked with the ball, the old guy was not fast, but no one dared to let him go. Sprewell rushed to the front like a bloodthirsty lone wolf, and Kassel made a very tricky ground-hitting pass through the defense of the two Celtic players and passed the ball to the madman. Sprewell dodged Garnett's defense and scored on a backhand layup!

At 75:59, the Timberwolves launched a 14-0 attack wave to stretch the difference to 16 points! So far, the Celtics haven't scored a point in the third quarter!

The target center was in a frenzy, and the audience stood up and waved glow sticks and placards in their hands, proud of such a team, and perhaps with a hint of ridicule in it. Laugh at youGarnett left the Timberwolves, but the Timberwolves got stronger.

With Sprewell waving his arms vigorously after scoring, the 33-year-old maniac rediscovered his passion for basketball here, enjoying the cheers and being a hero again.

However, from the crowd near the players' tunnel, the cheers began to subside, and some chaotic, noisy chirps began to replace the previous uniform shouts. The TV station director quickly noticed the anomaly, and the camera quickly switched to the vicinity of the tunnel, where Fox Leon appeared.

He was dressed in a gray suit without a tie, his hair was a little unkempt, and his face was a little haggard. But he's moving quickly to the Celtic bench with a determined and powerful pace. The player tunnel at the center of the target was in the corner of the court, and as soon as Leon came out, he first went to the Timberwolves' bench, and he squinted at the Timberwolves players walking past them.

He walked past the technical table, past the referee with the whistle on the sidelines, past all eyes and walked to the Celtic bench.

Leon took the tactics board from Cowens, glanced at Carlisle, who was a little sluggish, and then turned to the referee and said, "Give me a timeout!" (To be continued.) )