Chapter 63: The Wolf Is Coming
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"Oh my God, a beautiful driving layup, it's Steve Nash again, the Canadian is on a hot sheet after beating the Lakers in the final minute of the home game against the Lakers on Feb. 11"
"And in the last game when the Timberwolves went to Los Angeles, the guard led the team to slaughter the Clippers 125-90 on the Clippers' home court to 35 points, and Nash contributed 28 points and 17 assists in that game, and also became the first player in Timberwolves history to complete two consecutive games with 25 points + 15 assists or more, he had 32 points and 18 assists against the Lakers, and now no one can stop this guard"
"Here it is again, Tony Decker was broken through again, I think this is the most depressing day for the former Kentucky ace guard, as the No. 16 pick in 1996, he was blown up by the same No. 15 pick in 1996, although the two are only one pick apart, but the strength shown in this game is very different"
"Good shot, Jackson received the split ball after Nash's breakthrough without making any adjustments, raising his hand is a three-pointer, hit"
Jackson shot three points after the excitement came to Nash to hug the Canadian, this fight Warriors, he felt that no matter where he ran, Nash could divide the ball in time, as long as he ran out of the opportunity, the ball will definitely arrive, not only he has this feeling, the Timberwolves are the same as the rest of the Timberwolves, these three games are the three highest games played by these young people of the Timberwolves, they all consciously handed the ball to Nash, let Nash distribute the team's offense, Pierce and Garnett, the two former big ball-handlers, have also begun to stop holding the ball, and Garnett even thinks that he is about to become a trapeze artist in these games, and Pierce also thinks so.
"Nash has now established himself at the heart of the matter, and I didn't expect that what the last month or so of rigorous training has not done, Nash has done in just three games," D'Antoni lamented.
Zhuang Fei looked at the Timberwolves players, each of them excitedly patted Nash's head, and saw the smile on Nash's face, he couldn't help nodding, agreeing with D'Antoni's opinion, indeed, there are some things that cannot be obtained in training, such as the trust and cohesion between players, these things need to be slowly found in the game.
Or that's what NBA practitioners often call chemistry, where the magicianized Nash did bring chemistry to the Timberwolves.
"Although this is Nash's last performance after the ability bonus, maybe Nash will return to ordinary in the future, but one day, Nash will really have these" Nash on the field showed a happy smile, and Zhuang Fei also nodded and smiled secretly off the court.
The Timberwolves played very smoothly in this game, and even in Zhuang Fei's opinion, the Timberwolves have surpassed the Suns at the peak of the later generations, and the opponent Warriors are not a very strong team, especially after the departure of the old Nelson, the Warriors have changed three head coaches in the past three years, from Lannier to Adelman and now Callesimo, which is a turbulent team.
However, although the strength of this team is not good, there are many acquaintances of Zhuang Fei in the players, Tony Deck, in 1996 Zhuang Fei led Wake Forest to defeat Kentucky in the quarterfinals, Deck and Anthony Walker are the stars of Kentucky, Wallis Zebiak, this year's No. 5 rookie, one of the top three giants of Wake Forest, has shown sè after coming to the NBA, and now has begun to compete with Carter Pierce for the rookie of the year, Zhuang Fei heard that the Warriors have begun to focus on cultivating him, His performance in this game was very good, and his shooting and touch caused Zhuang Fei a lot of trouble.
It can be said that meeting Szebiak is the first time Zhuang Fei has encountered an opponent he has cultivated with his own hands, and Duncan is not completely cultivated by Zhuang Fei, because when Zhuang Fei came to Wake Forest, Duncan was almost finalized, and Zhuang Fei could not teach Duncan much, but Carter and Szebiak were brought to the top by Zhuang Fei.
So Szzerbiak also worked extra hard in this game.
At the end of the game, 127-109, the Timberwolves finally won the battle against the attack, Nash won the single-game best player in three consecutive games with 26 points and 19 assists, and it seems that the best player in the league in the West next week may also be him, and the Warriors' Szzebiak 32 points in this game is the highest in the game.
"Coach, this is the jersey I wore in my first NBA regular season game, give it to you, if I can enter the playoffs in the future, I will give you the first playoff jersey" Szzebiak specially came to the Timberwolves' bench to find Zhuang Fei, and also gave Zhuang Fei a jersey
"This clothes haven't been washed" Zhuang Fei smelled it slightly, felt a faint smell of sweat, and then said with a smile. However, Zhuang Fei did not dislike it, athletes' commemorative jerseys are generally not washed, and then Zhuang Fei then asked: "How does the NBA feel?"
Szzambiak was stunned for a moment, then shook his head with a wry smile, and said helplessly: "I don't know how to describe it, I don't have that feeling in Wake Forest here, I can't find that kind of pure basketball here, I don't find teammates like Vince and James here, in the past month or so here, I have lost more games than I have lost in three years in Wake Forest, no friends, no wins, only constant scoring, to be honest, I miss Wake Forest, I miss NCAA very much"
"Coach, I still want to follow you"
After speaking, Wallis Zebiak actually choked up.
Zhuang Fei looked at Szebiak who was already in tears in surprise, and then gently hugged him and patted him on the back, he didn't know how to comfort one of his most proud disciples, many people will slowly get lost in a strange environment and unfamiliar interpersonal relationships after entering the NBA from the NCAA, this is not a campus, this is a competitive battlefield, and the interpersonal relationships here are not pure, but Szebiak is luckier than others He is from Wake Forest, he is the fifth pick in the league, He's the core of the Warriors' rebuild, and the Warriors will slowly help him adapt to that in the future.
Now all Zhuang Fei can do is to give Szczebiak a reassuring hug, no need to speak, just use the hug to tell Szczebiak that he can be his backing at any time.
"Thank you, coach, I'm much better" After a long time, Szzambiak pushed Zhuang Fei away and wiped his snot, now Szzambiak looks funny, but the smile on his face is much brighter, he did untie some troubles and knots, and Zhuang Fei was a little relieved. He hopes that those disciples of his will find their own stage in the NBA
For future generations of Chinese basketball fans, the Houston Rockets are a very special team, whether you like Jordan, Kobe or Iverson, when they are put together with the Houston Rockets, the balance in your heart will always unconsciously favor the red and white team, the Great Wall of China.
Houston and Yao Ming are the people or things that really connect the NBA with China, and in later generations, Houston was the home team of Chinese fans.
The Houston Rockets are the seventh opponent of the Timberwolves, the Timberwolves won three games in a row after two consecutive losses by the Spurs in the first six games, and are currently ranked fourth in the West with a 4-2 record, while the Rockets are 5-1 and ranked first in the West, and the Rockets have started very well.
The Houston Rockets can be said to be one of the most successful teams in this shutdown, signing Scott Pippen, the second leader of the Bulls dynasty, with an annual salary of 10 million, and then retaining Barkley with a veteran base salary of 1 million.
"Scott Pippen, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, the Houston Rockets have three of the 50 greatest players in NBA history, and I think a lot of you are still fans of all three, they've only lost once this season, they're currently number one in the West, they're the favorites right now, and we're just coming out of the losing streak, however, they have one biggest weakness, they're too old, they're one of the oldest teams in the league, and you're the youngest team in the league, more than experience, You can't, but you have the speed, you have the physique, you can run to the death of these old guys, and our tactics are to run and shoot, we are their nemesis, and we will win this game. ”
"Guys, let's see Houston our offensive firepower"
Zhuang Fei waved his fists fiercely at these players of the Timberwolves in the locker room, and these young players of the Timberwolves were also excited by Zhuang Fei's actions and words.
At the beginning of the game, the Houston Rockets took the lead with a wealth of experience at the beginning, although the team is old, but it is indeed strong, and it can still suppress the Timberwolves under the crazy rush of the Timberwolves without any physical problems in the first half. Houston scored 58 points in the first half, while the Timberwolves scored only 52.
"Nash made a lot more mistakes in this game," D'Antoni said worriedly, how Nash suddenly made a lot more mediocrity in this game, and there were some inexplicable passing errors.
Only Zhuang Fei knows that this is Nash's real level, without the ability of the magician, the Timberwolves' attack power immediately dropped by more than one notch, which is also the main reason why the Timberwolves failed to suppress the Rockets in the confrontation in this game.
However, Zhuang Fei was not very worried about the result of the team's game, although he was suppressed in the first half, he was not suppressed much. As long as the old guys of the Rockets are physically fit, the Timberwolves' chance will come.
Sure enough, as Zhuang Fei expected, after the start of the fourth quarter, the Timberwolves took the initiative on the court, and the rhythm of the game was caught by the Timberwolves.
"As long as we can keep holding the nose of the rocket, we will win this game," Zhuang Fei said with a smile.
Tang Shuai naturally saw the problem of the rocket, but because the score of this game has been entangled by the Timberwolves, this group of old guys did not get enough rest, so they could only keep these old guys on the court, and in the end, these old guys were dragged down by this group of young people.
"Congratulations" After the game, Tang Shuai congratulated Zhuang Fei very graciously. This made Zhuang Fei a little flattered, and Tang Shuai can be said to be one of the coaches he admires the most. Tang Shuai's famous quote "Don't underestimate the heart of a champion" has always been Zhuang Fei's most admired golden sentence.
"Thank you, Rudy, I'm your fan" Zhuang Fei held Tang Shuai's hand with some excitement, which made Tang Shuai very surprised, in fact, Zhuang Fei's status in the American basketball world is not much lower than him. The two can be said to be of equal status, and both have been assistant coaches of the dream team.
Winning this game, the Timberwolves' record came to 5-2, and the Rockets were immediately trampled under their feet on the rankings, and the Western ranking also rose to third, and the Rockets became fourth, and now the Jazz, the second, the Spurs, the third, the Timberwolves, and the fourth-place Rockets are all 5-2.
When the media found out that the Timberwolves led by Zhuang Fei quietly ranked in the top three in the West, these people were shocked again.
"Coach Z is coming, the wolf is coming"
That's the sports headline in today's Rì America.
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