After the Timberwolves beat the Spurs, the pressure of this month's game is much, much less.

Because the opponents they will have to face next are not the top teams in the league.

The Timberwolves beat the Nuggets 102-76 at home, followed by back-to-back 94-72 wins over the Grizzlies the next day.

The playing time of martial arts in these two games was slightly compressed by Coach Philip, and he basically clocked out in two quarters or two and a half quarters.

The turmoil over the game between the Timberwolves and the Jazz did not completely subside, and after that game, the management of the teams in the league seemed to be wary and became extremely cautious in the use of their own stars.

Especially those teams that are aiming for the playoffs, when facing some teams that are not very strong, or those teams that are very good and more stretched, those strong teams in the league tend to strike hard, and when facing strong teams of similar standards, the game will be more restrained.

Will hide his own stars and use them.

Stars have less playing time, which naturally affects the league's ticket sales. Such a situation quickly attracted the attention of the NBA league.

After several rounds of discussion, the league did not sit idly by and let this situation continue to develop, and then at the end of the month, the NBA league raised the existing penalty standards for malicious fouls to a certain extent.

Fines have increased, bans have increased.

At the same time, the league also instructed the referees to step up some blowing penalties for foul actions by the team's leading stars.

The referees of the league have been given a small list sorted out by the league, and all the players on the list need to be taken care of by the referees.

What is the list?

Actually, it's not the "big villains" in those alliances.

Rather, he is the star player of some of the more famous teams in the league today. These star players are important assets of the league and need to be well protected.

This small list is given to the referees in the hope that the referees can take care of it.

To put it simply, it's a star whistle.

Of course, in order not to reduce the intensity of the game, the bias of the star whistle will not be too obvious, mainly for some big moves that are obviously aimed at people.

And after a few days of training, the referees also learned a new blowing scale....

When star players compete with each other, they can blow as much as they want, and for the sake of ornamentation, the scale of blowing penalties can even be appropriately relaxed.

But when a team's role players compete against another team's star players, it is necessary to "appropriately" protect the "safety" of the star players, especially during the regular season.

In the past, when they blew penalties, they actually favored more star players, and when some players started walking or their steps were not clean, the referees would turn a blind eye.

Now, the league has only slightly extended the scope of the star whistle.

For these "battle-hardened" referees in the league, grasping the scale is not a problem at all.

The Alliance's reforms and new regulations were officially released at the end of March.

But in fact, before the end of the month, the referees had already made some changes when blowing penalties.

One of the most obvious feelings is actually Wallace, a type of player like them. During the game, Wallace even had the illusion that the "leaders" of the teams that played against their Timberwolves were not touchable at all?!

However, Wallace is a player in the professional arena after all, and after a period of adaptation to the game, he quickly found the referee's penalty scale, and his state also recovered quickly.

In the last few days of March, the Timberwolves defeated a series of teams such as the Mavericks, Suns, and Clippers, and played a wave of winning streaks, and then with a rainbow of anger

It is April, which is the final stage of the regular season.

Earlier this month, the Timberwolves players boarded a plane to Indiana, where they will play the 50-22 Pacers on the road on April 2.

This is a strong team led by Reggie Miller, and it is playing on the road, which is a big challenge for the Timberwolves.

On the plane, as the Timberwolves players closed their eyes to prepare for tomorrow's game, Coach Philip emptied the cabin crew and brought the players together for a small meeting.

"We had a lot of pressure on the schedule at the beginning of the month."

"After tomorrow's game against the Pacers, it's next up against the Bulls."

"The two games in a row were against teams of this calibre, and my idea was that we could have a choice but to give up one of them."

"We've played a total of 73 games, 60 wins, and we're currently number one in the West."

"We just need to secure the first place in the West and we will automatically get seeded in the playoffs."

"In the playoffs, the first round will be against the bottom team in the Upper West."

"Judging from this stage, as long as we can stabilize the first place in the west, there will be no pressure at all to pass the first round."

"Judging by the record, against the Pacers and the Bulls, we can secure our current position with the least cost if we concede a game and compete for a win."

"This way we can keep our form as much as possible, and at the same time reduce the risk of injury."

"I'm bringing you together to ask, which game do you want to try to win?"

Coach Philip stood in front of the players and analyzed the current situation in the league for the players.

As the regular season draws to a close, it's time for him to think about the playoffs.

"Do you choose to give up a game?"

"Why? Wouldn't it be good for us to play both games, and try to win?"

"Coach Philip, every time we win a game now, we are making team history!"

Garnett asked with a puzzled expression, he was a straight intestine with twists and turns in his head, but not much. And he's an energetic guy, psychologically, whether it's a game against the Pacers or a game against the Bulls.

Win both of these balls, he wants!

"The reason, I've made it clear to you."

"Kevin, this is for the longer term."

"Team history stuff is, it doesn't matter at all."

"Years from now, when fans talk about the Timberwolves we are today, they won't care about what a great team history we've made."

"They'll just remember if we won the championship!"

"Giving up a game strategically, that's the premise I've discussed with you

。」

"All you have to think about is which team you want to win."

Coach Philip's words made the Timberwolves players can't help but talk about each other.

"Can't you fight for them all? Coach, you know, we're players and for us it's the win that's all about it."

"Didn't you tell us to play match-fixing?"

"Whether it's against the Pacers or against the Bulls, we're going to be able to play 100% in order to win!"

Philip's more resolute words did not shake the players' desire to win.

However, Coach Philip simply ignored the opinions of the rest of the Timberwolves players, waved his hand, and interrupted:

"I tend to give up back-to-back games against the Bulls."

"We're a little bit more sure of winning the game against the Pacers."

"Martial arts, what do you think? Tell me about it."

With Filly

Pu's words fell, and the players' eyes fell on Wu Dao. The cabin also fell silent.

They are all young people with strong blood, and the thoughts of their teammates are certainly understandable. Of course, Coach Philip's plan cannot be wrong, it can only be said that it is the idea of a shrewd coach who has thought it out.

But... Not what the players think.

Feeling the sight of his teammates around him, Wu Dao's face showed a gentle smile, and he spread his hands seemingly casually, and replied with a smile:

"Coach, isn't it too early for us to talk about this?"

"Of course, in principle, I don't think there's anything wrong with what you're saying."

"But are you underestimating the Walkers?"

"I think it would be better for us to focus on getting the Pacers first."

"Although we have defeated them, their strength is definitely not to be ignored by us, and they can bring a huge threat to our Timberwolves."

Wu Dao did not firmly express his agreement or disagreement, and ambiguously diverted the topic, not wanting to talk about anything more on this matter.

As for what he thinks in his heart....

In a nutshell, Wu Dao doesn't feel that he will lose to others now!

"Hmm......." Hearing Martial Dao's words, Coach Philip actually had a rough idea of Martial Dao's thoughts, but Martial Dao's words had already reached this level, so there was no need for him to force Martial Dao to express his position.

Following the topic of martial arts, Philip nodded and said, "What you said makes sense, even if you have to choose one of the two to give up a game, the game against the Pacers always starts first."

"In that case, I'll tell you about the game against the Pacers."

Coach Philip took advantage of the rush to give the players a brief explanation of how to play tomorrow's game against the Pacers.

In fact, he didn't talk much about the tactics in detail, but more to emphasize the way the players played tomorrow's game.

Against the Pacers, Coach Philip decided to use Garnett's interior offense as the team's first offensive option.

In addition to Garnett, Cherokee Parks and Stanley Roberts were also entrusted with important responsibilities by Coach Philip.

The team supply system around the interior is their decision to play the Pacers.

The reason is actually quite simple, because the Pacers are not excellent on the inside, and they are a team characterized by a fast-paced offensive and defensive transition.

There is no such thing as a big center in the true sense of the word.

Coach Philip's strategy is actually very targeted.

The players' attention is starting to focus on tomorrow's game, and no one is talking about the previous topic.

On the evening of April 2.

At the Conceco Arena, the home of the Pacers, players from the Timberwolves and Pacers entered the court amid the enthusiastic cheers of the audience.

Although it was an away game, when the Timberwolves players entered the court, the cheers from the stands were no lighter than when the Pacers players entered the stadium before.

Before you know it, the Timberwolves have amassed a huge fan base.

Standing in the middle of the stadium and looking out at the stands, you can see a lot of fans wearing Timberwolves jerseys and holding banners and slogans.

Such a scene made Martial Dao a little fascinated.

"From student players to NBA star players."

"This part of the road seems so short!"

Wu Dao slowly retracted his gaze, said secretly in his heart, gathered his mind, and focused on the game.

"Beep-"

As the players of both teams entered the pitch to complete their positions, the buzzer sounded at the start of the game.

...

As Reggie Miller's three-point shot was blocked from the air by a slap from the air by the fast pursuit of Martial Arts, the cheers of the fans at the scene suddenly broke through the dome.

Timing on a basketball hoop

The countdown to zero, and the game between the Timberwolves and the Pacers came to an end.

111:108。

The Timberwolves narrowly beat the Pacers by three points.

In the middle of the court, Martial Arts, who fell back to the ground, was covered in sweat, and his jersey was completely soaked with sweat. Looking at Reggie Miller, who had a little confusion in his eyes in front of him, Wu Dao gasped, clenched his fist slightly with one hand, and raised his arm towards the spectators above the stands.

The cheers were deafening, but they had nothing to do with Reggie Miller.

These cheers were given to the completion of the lore ball and the martial arts that sealed Reggie Miller's counterattack.

"It's all now, and you're still able to jump that high?!"

The cheers from the sidelines brought Reggie Miller back to reality, and he turned his head to look at the scoreboard, and he couldn't help but let out a question.

The Timberwolves and Pacers played very intensely, knowing that at the end of the game, there was really no suspense.

Martial Arts stared at Reggie Miller for the entire game, and the off-ball master slipped Martial Arts enough of this ball.

But in the end, it was Takemichi and his Timberwolves who won!

At the end of the game, Martial Arts was able to chase after Reggie Miller, and was even able to block his three points from a meter away.

"That's all you need?"

"It's not even close!"

Wu Dao gasped and chuckled back, and then was surrounded by the rushing Timberwolves players, celebrating the victory.

Reggie Miller looked at the martial arts surrounded by the players, and walked to the lounge lonely.

"I seem to be really old."

Reggie Miller felt his sore legs and walked into the dark tunnel of players, disappearing from the fans' view.

"Good, as planned, gnawed the Pacers!"

"I didn't have any serious opponents at the beginning of this month."

"Those opponents in the month should make some trade-offs."

"I'm going to be able to play the playoffs at the end of the month!!

Philip is planning the next game in his mind and is very optimistic about the prospect of the Timberwolves.

It's just that the martial arts, which are surrounded by teammates in the center at this time, and Coach Philip are not of the same mind.

"I heard that Pippen has already recovered from injury."

"For me, it's worth beating a full-fledged bull!!"

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

Free to read.