"Zheng Kezhun triple-double, Timberwolves lose to Rockets"

"Chinese Derby, Yao Ming Goes First in the City"

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

The media covered the game with a variety of headlines, praising the Rockets for coming together to win a big home win over the Timberwolves. Of course, they will also mention in the article that the Timberwolves were suppressed all over the court, and the inside line that was blown up by Yao Ming became the target of their unanimous verbal criticism.

And throughout the game, the Timberwolves were not without shining points. In the second half of the third quarter, Zheng Ke led a group of young players to play a small climax of 13-2, bringing the score closer to within 5 points in one fell swoop. But then, Yao Ming used a feint under the basket to shake Anderson, leaned up, and played two plus one. After that, the Rockets slowed down the tempo, using positional battles for every offense, and each offense took almost 24 seconds, and the tempo was very slow, and the Timberwolves simply couldn't play their own style.

This is the result of the collision of two tactical styles in the NBA today.

The Rockets represent the age-old positional offense, big-ball tactics, while the Timberwolves represent the popular small-ball tactics. The Timberwolves have had a season of major success, and their usual tactics are often analyzed by experts.

ESPN columnist Tom Hubs once wrote an article analyzing some of the Timberwolves' tactics, and he wrote in the article: "In the Timberwolves' small-ball tactical style, they prefer offensive strategies such as defensive counterattacks, and the core of defensive counterattacks is the two keywords "defense" and "counterattack". Zheng Ke's almost perverted interception ability and Anderson's outstanding blocking ability have become an important guarantee in the Timberwolves' defense, and the Timberwolves' defensive passion has become the core content of the Timberwolves' defense.

As everyone knows. The Timberwolves are a young team and they are full of energy. So whenever there is a great opportunity to counterattack, the Timberwolves players will switch the offensive and defensive rotation as quickly as possible. Off the court, it's not uncommon to see two, three, or even more Timberwolves players on the fast break. And when the Timberwolves fall into a positional battle, they prefer to give the ball to the core of the team - Zheng Ke to solve the problem, and generally Zheng Ke's offensive methods are divided into three ways, one is to open up space, play alone with the ball, and the other is to run without the ball. Catch and shoot, three for falling to the low post, back singles.

The Timberwolves are the embodiment of a new type of team in the new era. The style of play is somewhat similar to the bombardment, but without the madness of D'Antoni's "7-second attack". Although the Timberwolves often soar to high scores, the pursuit of high shooting percentage and excellent defense is actually the essence of the Timberwolves' tactical style. ”

In the face of the Rockets, the Timberwolves' biggest problem is that it is difficult to contain Yao Ming's play. Yao Ming's ability to use his feet is very powerful. It's a terrifying thing for a 2.26 meter person to make a move similar to that of a defender. And whenever he nimbly turns around under the basket, Anderson basically has to watch him wreak havoc on the basket.

Whitman's hair turned gray.

He didn't know what to do with the Rockets, and he used up almost every tactic he could think of in the last game, including one big and four small bombardment tactics. Unfortunately, even if the Timberwolves were able to score a goal, the Rockets were able to score points in a much easier way. And Zheng Ke's dumb fire in the fourth quarter was also an important reason for the Timberwolves' defeat 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 10 of 25 shots from the field. The shooting percentage is definitely a very low number compared to his previous performances. In the fourth quarter, he lost his touch in the tussle with Artest, shooting only 1 of 7. This has also become the focus of media attention after the game. Could it be that Zheng Ke met his nemesis? The previous playoffs with an average of 30+ per game were about to be ended in the hands of Artay?

In the midst of all the hustle and bustle, the game between the Magic and the Cavaliers ended the next night. What is surprising is that the unfavored Magic team won at the home court of the Cavaliers, and the Cavaliers' first loss in the playoffs came inadvertently, which made the 49 points of the little emperor in this game a phantom bubble.

The two big men in the East and West led the team to victory over the best small forwards in the East and West, which may seem like a stroke of luck, but it could also be a sign of something to come.

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

In the end, with a key three-pointer from Maddy before the end, the Timberwolves lost to the Rockets 105-106. This script is unacceptable, after all, Zheng Ke with 45 points has proved his hard work enough, but he missed the chance to kill and let everything become a cloud.

The Timberwolves carried out bombardment tactics all over the court, and Zheng Ke did not feel good, so he was determined to break through to the inside line to make kills, beating Yao Ming to six fouls and substitute center Hayes to six fouls. He made 21 free throws and hit all of them, setting the Timberwolves' record for individual free throws and the number of free throws made in a single playoff game, but he couldn't save the game.

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

Zheng Ke and the others almost escaped from Houston, a huge city that was like a steel monster that was so cold that the Timberwolves players couldn't breathe. This is the first time the Timberwolves have suffered consecutive losses in this year's playoffs, and the Timberwolves players who have not tasted this taste for a long time are extremely frustrated.

Zheng Ke didn't notice all this, he looked at the large white clouds outside the window, and his thoughts flew out of 108,000 miles.

The one-handed ball system is helping him less and less, and now it is basically an auxiliary tool. Anderson's ability value is very low, in the one-handed system, he only has 68 ability, although the defensive rating is 76, but it does not represent his real defensive ability with the ball. He was really too easy to shake, Yao Ming lightly, he flew into the air like someone kicked his buttocks, and in both games, he only played for about 25 minutes, and then left the field with six fouls.

Zheng Ke had a bad premonition in his heart, maybe he would stop here this year. Of course, the thought flashed through his mind, and then he shook his head vigorously, admonishing himself not to be cranky.

In the East, James completed an incredible stunner and led the Cavaliers to a 96-95 game. 0.1 seconds before the game, Turkoglu hit a shot to give the Magic a 3-point lead over the Cavaliers 95-93, and at the critical moment, James shot directly against Turkoglou's defense and hit a three-pointer at the whistle!

When the news reached Minnesota, Zheng Ke's face became a little unpleasant, after all, he had just missed the opportunity to kill in Houston, and the difference between the two made him very uncomfortable

Game 3 went ahead as scheduled, and the Timberwolves were back at home looking for a win.

At the beginning of the game, Zheng Ke showed a different side of him, not only hitting consecutive pull-up jump shots, but also rewarding Yao Ming with a sturdy hat on the defensive end. The Timberwolves opened the game with a 12-2 lead, forcing Adelman to request the first timeout of the game.

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

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

The Rockets made continuous mistakes, and the Timberwolves bench played bloody, even Brewer did not flinch in the face of Artest, and even cut off one of Artay's offensive dribbles. The Timberwolves "roared" to kill the Rockets, and the point difference continued to widen, and by halftime, the Timberwolves had a 15-point lead of 58-43.

"Crazy, really crazy." Artest shook his head, his expression incredulous. The Timberwolves returned to their home court as if they were like a different person, with a dangerous glint in their eyes, both positivity and aggression far more than they did in Houston.

In the second half, Scola hit a mid-range shot to win the second half. Immediately afterwards, Yao Ming contributed a block on the defensive end, and the Rockets counterattacked and scored 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 were back on the same line. At the end of the third quarter, the Timberwolves led by nine points, 84-73.

The game against the Rockets really can't be careless for a minute, they have too many shooters on the outside, just like the Orlando Magic, once the outside is shot, no one can stop it. So Zheng Ke still didn't take a minute off, he was like 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 109-101 at home, Zheng Ke played 46 minutes, scored 32 points, delivered 5 steals, and finally won the game amid the applause and cheers of the fans. (To be continued......)