Marbury made a simple attempt to attack but was stopped by Stockton, and after just a split second of the encounter, Marbury noticed that Stockton seemed to be a little different from before.

Of course, Marbury thinks his opponent is different, but in fact, Stockton has always been the same Stockton, it's just that he didn't have the same desire to win when he played against the Timberwolves before.

As the regular season draws to a close, the intensity of the game is obviously much higher than it was at the beginning of the regular season.

The predictions of some media teams that have qualified for the playoffs have gradually become a hot topic of discussion among fans during this time. When fans get together, they will not only discuss which players are better this season, but also discuss which teams are stronger, and also have an outlook for the playoffs.

Therefore, as the regular season draws to a close, those so-called "predictions" can often bring good sales to sports media.

This is still the case with fans, and the professional players in the NBA league are of course starting to pay attention to their own games against their competitors.

The Jazz and Timberwolves are both playoff teams based on their current records.

Now that it's certain that the two sides will likely meet each other in the playoffs, it's worth knowing a little bit in advance.

This game can be said to be a simulation before the playoffs, whether it is the Timberwolves or the Jazz, they have shown their "skills" in order to be able to better observe the opponent's ability in the game.

Stockton, this game is naturally full play.

"There are a lot of small movements, and you have to pay attention to them."

Marbury took the ball and slowly pulled back, trying to distance himself from Stockton, intending to try again while he still had plenty of time.

While retreating, Marbury also secretly admonished himself in his heart.

Players like Stockton are the type that most NBA players don't want to face.

If it's simply that the skills are inferior, then there is really nothing to say, but winning the game with these tricks is shameful by many players who think they are upright.

This mentality is like the short track speed skating that Chinese people watch sticks.

This is a direct clash of values.

Stockton didn't care about how much of the rich expression on Marbury's face was now, he stood in front of Marbury with his eyes fixed on the basketball in Marbury's hand, ready to attack at any time.

Stockton's position when defending Marbury can be said to be the same as when defending Chris Kyle, mainly because of the anti-pass, anti-shooting, and relatively low defensive strength against breakouts.

This is also to pull Marbury to take the initiative to break through to Stockton's own right side.

The Jazz are actually not afraid of the Timberwolves' guard line at all, and once Marbury tries to break through, the defensive pressure he will have to suffer is quite huge.

In the eyes of the Jazz players, shooting that kind of defense is not enough to help the team win.

This was deliberately placed in Marbury's pocket array.

"Stephen!"

Just as Marbury was about to drop the ball and accelerate his advance, Garnett, who was standing on the side of the paint area at this time, reminded him loudly.

Raising his eyes and looking in the direction of Garnett, Marbury saw that Garnett was still holding the basket against Malone one second ago, and the next second he took the initiative to lift it up after noticing Marbury's sight and actively asked for the ball.

After a moment's hesitation, Marbury raised his arm and flicked the ball in Garnett's direction.

He's a good point guard, and in this situation, he won't ignore Garnett.

Garnett stepped forward and took the ball in his hand, and at this time, Garnett's position also happened to be on the right extension of the free throw line.

Seeing Garnett in that position, Wu Dao in the elbow area outside the three-point line did not continue to stay here, but quickly sank to the bottom corner of the same side as Garnett, giving Garnett an optional passing option.

Of course, it was impossible for the Jazz to look at Wu stupidly

The lane runs out of the empty seats.

Martial Arts' position at this time is in the bottom corner, the area is narrow, as long as Kife is a little more active, it is difficult for Martial Arts to even get the ball.

Kifei knows about this, and the martial arts of the party who is running the position is naturally clear. At the same time as the martial arts were in place, Garnett, who got the basketball, also made quick moves. I saw Garnett grab the ball with both hands and raise it above his head, hold it high, and turn the ball to the frame.

After a tentative step to the right, he quickly dropped the ball, turned his back, and instantly brushed off Malone, then grabbed the ball with both hands, raised it above his head again, and pretended to shoot.

Garnett's shooting action aroused Malone's alarm, and he saw Malone reach out to cover the top of Garnett's head with a straight waist and try to block it.

Just when the attention of the players in the court was focused on Garnett, Wu Dao, who was in the bottom corner, quickly rose to the waist outside the three-point line, and Garnett, who held the ball in the frame, seemed to have eyes on his back, and the basketball he held high quickly fell back and hooked back to give the ball directly to Wu Dao's hands.

Martial arts, who started with basketball, was chased by Kife and shot a quick 3-pointer.

Immediately after, the basketball fell into the hoop under the gaze of everyone, making a crisp sound.

"Wow—"

The spectators in the stands immediately burst into cheers when they saw the basketball enter the net.

Garnett turned around and quickly ran to Martial Dao's side, smiling and high-five Martial Dao in celebration.

The tacit understanding between him and Wu Dao is no longer necessary to have a verbal exchange, and he can play such a cooperation.

Garnett is an extremely good player, not only in terms of his defensive ability, but also in his ability to assist.

If the current Timberwolves have introduced a triangle offensive system, then Garnett is a well-deserved axis of the team. Even if the Timberwolves are not coached by a Zen master now, some simple triangular offensive coordination can still be played.

The Timberwolves' players began to retreat quickly, and between the offensive and defensive transitions, the Jazz's Stockton also received a pass from his teammates in the backcourt, and quickly reversed the relationship between the front and the goal.

Perhaps because of the martial arts goals, the Jazz's offensive rhythm began to involuntarily speed up. After Stockton got the ball into the frontcourt, he quickly called a block, and Malone on the inside sensed his intentions after Stockton dribbled into the frontcourt.

He didn't go inside at all, but made a pick-and-roll for Stockton as soon as he approached a three-pointer.

With Malone's blocking, Stockton quickly dropped the ball and broke through, and his breakthrough also attracted Garnett's help defense.

There was no first change of defense between Marbury and Garnett, giving Malone an open opportunity in the high position. Stockton, who cut inside, learned from Garnett's appearance of the ball before, and gave the ball to Malone with a back pass.

Ma Long, who took the ball, did not make any adjustments, and shot directly, and the basketball hit the basket with a crisp sound.

In today's game, Malone felt very good. This can be seen in his previous attacks.

The Jazz have all revolved around Stockton and Malone, and the game has been going on so far, and the combination of the two has always been very good.

"Bag Clip!"

"Martial arts, at this time, you have to go to the bag!"

"Let go of the opponent's three points!"

It is also the same type of cooperation, and it is not the first time it has appeared. Coach Philip saw that Jazz had scored the ball smoothly again, and he couldn't help but get anxious for a while, shouting towards the court.

In the same way, it is not the first time that Coach Philip has said to Wu Dao, but several Jazz attacks in a row, Wu Dao did not give Ma Long a pinch attack as Coach Philip expected.

Malone's skills are very comprehensive, and he not only has excellent ability to go to the basket, but also has strong shooting ability. And in this game, Malone's shooting percentage was very high, which has aroused the alarm of Coach Philip.

In Coach Philip's opinion, the person who needs the most attention in this team is Ma Long.

Cut off the Utah twin evils in conjunction with each other

The way to do this is to completely lock down one of the two.

It will be very difficult for Stockton, who is the nine-time assist leader, to be blocked on the back line. But to put it another way, if it's to ban Karl Malone, it's relatively simple.

The team may not be able to do it. Ban off Malone, but if it's them Timberwolves, there's still hope. Because they have a strong interior defender, Garnett, and an excellent outside defender.

If Garnett and Takemi, the two players inside and outside, can work closely together defensively. The Jazz's most powerful scorer will be limited by the Timberwolves.

Without Malone, a powerful scorer, the Jazz is no match for the Timberwolves.

In Coach Philip's view, as long as Malone can be restricted, even if all the other Jazz players are opened, it is impossible to hammer the Timberwolves to death.

Coach Philip's successive reminders were clearly a sign of loss of patience.

If the player who made the mistake on the court was not Wu Dao, any other player who replaced the Timberwolves would have been taken off the court by him.

At this time, the martial arts on the court were reminded by Coach Philip one after another, and they finally realized the threat posed by Ma Long.

Sometimes Budo overcomplicates the NBA game, thinking that in order to win, you need to defend every player on the opposing side.

But in reality, it is often only necessary to limit the opponent's core scoring points to win the game easily.

This kind of defense seems to be only useful in high school level games, because high school games are of low standard and players are uneven. Sometimes, even if you put a role player in a big space, the opponent may not be able to score.

But in reality, even in the NBA, it is possible to use this type of defense that focuses on scorers.

You may not believe it, even in the NBA, the highest temple of basketball. Role players often don't have the means to step up when the team needs them.

On the court, the Timberwolves have launched an offense, and Marbury has been very cautious under Criston's defense. But caution against a player like Criston doesn't help.

Because if you don't take the initiative to come up, he will take the initiative to pass...

When Marbury dribbled the ball two or three meters from the top of the arc, Criston came up to the defense.

The one-on-one close defense made Marbury very uncomfortable, not because of how powerful Criston was, but because the opponent's hand movements were really unclean during athletic warfare.

This greatly affected Marbury's dribbling rhythm.

In order to deal with a defense like Stockton, Marbury can only use his physical confrontation to create enough comfortable dribble space for himself.

From the audience's point of view, the offense and defense of Marbury and Stockton became extremely intense.

The intensity of the game also gets stronger as the game progresses. Marbury struggled a bit on the offensive end, which was seen by the rest of the Timberwolves.

Martial Arts on the flanks couldn't stay in the elbow area at such a time, waiting for the ball to fly over on its own.

He needs to use his actions to relieve some offensive pressure on his teammates.

As Takeshi left the elbow zone, he also quickly came to Stockton's side and made a pick-and-roll for Marbury.

With the help of Wudao's blocking, Marbury rushed forward with the ball. At the same time, Stockton and Kife's attention was also focused on Takeshi, and they did not pursue Marbury at the first time.

Marbury, who got the gap, also quickly held the ball to the basket, and after attracting Malone's defense, he gave the ball to Garnett, who shot and scored.

With just a simple pick-and-roll, Marbury used his speed to tear apart the Jazz's defense.

The Jazz players have really been able to bring out their own characteristics under the leadership of Stockton and Malone. But the Jazz are not as talented as the Timberwolves after all, and on the defensive end, it is not easy to compete with the young talents of the Timberwolves.

With the running position of the martial arts

began to be active, and the Timberwolves' offensive changes also increased, and the Jazz struggled to deal with it.

On the defensive end, after Wu Dao recognized Ma Long's threat, he also focused more on Ma Long.

Under the assistance of martial arts, Ma Long's projection pressure has increased greatly, and the hit rate has also declined to a certain extent.

The change in the defensive environment around Malone was also noticed by Stockton. Instead of obsessing with handing the ball to Malone to finish, he reduced the number of shots he gave to Malone and added some individual singles and passes to other teammates.

Stockton is an extremely sensible player who treats every teammate as equally as possible, and in his eyes, the environment in which his teammates shoot is more important than their individual ability.

And under the tandem of Stockton, the mediocre Jazz and the talented Timberwolves actually fought back and forth. The Timberwolves' defensive decisions are fine, it's just that they're facing a team that's used to working as a team.

The Jazz's role players have also become accustomed to playing as a team, and every player is ready to catch the ball when he's on the court.

Because Stoker's pass could come at any moment.

The Jazz and Timberwolves are chasing each other, and the scores are very close, and it is difficult to open the gap.

29:27。

As the whistle blew at the end of the first quarter, the numbers on the scoreboards of both teams were frozen.

"How?" In the Jazz rest area, head coach Jerry Longs looked at Stockton who walked off the court and asked thoughtlessly.

Hearing the coach's inquiry, a faint smile appeared on Stockton's face:

"It's all amazing."

"It's not easy to win by beating one or two players."

"This Timberwolves are very different from before."

"I think it's better to seal the conduction between them first."

"Find a way to get them to play as many singles as possible."

Against the tough Timberwolves, Stockton was very calm. The Timberwolves' talented players didn't put much pressure on him.

They were used to playing against geniuses.

.........................

Free to read.