I'm really strong in basketball

Chapter 87

7pm that night.

Both teams play through the player tunnel.

The Lakers' starting lineup is:
Fifth position: "Shaq" Shaquille O'Neal.

Number four: "The Postman" Karl Malone.

Position three: Liu He, the "three-point devil".

Number two: "Peter Pan" Kobe Bryant.

Number one: Gary "The Glove" Payton.

After nearly half a season, the Lakers finally appeared in front of the fans again in full form.

What greeted them was naturally boos like a mountain roar and a tsunami.

And amidst the overwhelming boos, Liu He showed a satisfied smile: "Guys, everyone in Minnesota is very enthusiastic!"

Kobe also smiled: "This is to welcome Carl's return."

It seems that the conflict between Kobe and Malone has been completely resolved. In fact, it was not a big conflict.

Ma Long has a calm face. After playing for 19 seasons, he has never seen any scenes: "Then we have to perform well, otherwise we will live up to their enthusiasm."

Payton and O'Neill immediately laughed too.

The Lakers started the Big Five, and they are also ready to roll up their sleeves and do a big job.

Then, the Timberwolves played, and the Minnesota fans immediately sent wild cheers.

Fifth position: Michael Olowokandi, the "parallel import champion".

Number four: "Wolf King" Kevin Garnett.

The third spot: Trenton Hassell.

Second position: "Madman" Latrell Sprewell.

Number one: "Alien" Sam Cassell.

Olowokandi was the No. 1998 pick in [-] and a well-known parallel import No. [-] pick in the NBA.

However, like Kwame Brown, he is actually very talented. He is famous for being black and tough, but he didn't play it.

From the perspective of champions, they are indeed parallel imports.But if you only regard them as blue-collar centers, they are absolutely qualified.

Last season, Olowokandi scored 12.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 2.2 blocks in the Clippers. Unfortunately, he was reimbursed for the season due to injuries and was abandoned by the Clippers.

Until not long ago, Olowokandi had just returned.

After his comeback, the Timberwolves' record soared.Bite the Kings and Spurs tightly.

Olowokandi's comeback has also strengthened the Timberwolves' fifth position, with more personnel and improved overall strength.

Therefore, the Lakers have become stronger, but the Timberwolves are not the previous Timberwolves.

This is also one of the reasons why Garnett called "the last battle".

When the Timberwolves walked onto the court, their eyes showed firm gazes, and they looked straight at the opposite Lakers.

The game has not yet started, but sparks are already flying on the court.

Soon, the game begins.

Jump ball stage.

Olowokandi beat O'Neal and dialed the basketball back to the Timberwolves' half court.

There was an instant burst of cheers at the target center.

The morale of the Timberwolves is high, and the Minnesota fans are also enthusiastic.

This is the effect of Garnett's "last battle".

In terms of boosting team morale, Garnett is really good.

Cassel advanced to the frontcourt and asked Olowokandi to come out and play pick-and-roll tactics.

This is knowing that O'Neal's ability to defend against pick-and-rolls is poor, and he wants to grab O'Neal to play.

Coach Philip Sanders is not a bad name.

It's a pity that Phil Jackson had a calm expression on his face, sitting on his seat with his arms folded, without any reaction.

He was already prepared for this.

Sure enough, it was not O'Neill who came out with Olowokandi, but Malone.

Olowokandi hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should continue his original tactics.

At this moment, Cassel threw a glance at Olowokandi...continue.

Cassel is fine with a sudden change in tactics, but Olowokandi's black and rough tactics may not be able to keep up, and it is very easy to make mistakes.

So simply stick to the original tactics, and fight first to see if it works.

This is the ability of a top number one position, who can make the right choice in a short period of time according to the situation of his teammates.

Therefore, the No. [-] position is also called the head coach on the field, which is a test of IQ and experience.

Other positions generally start to decline at the age of 32 or 33, but the number one position is at its peak at this age.

Olowokandi pulled to the outside, blocked Payton, and forced the Lakers to switch defenses.

Malone switched defense Kassel.

Cassel immediately launched a breakthrough.

Malone is very experienced, and he took the initiative to fight with his body, forcing Cassel out, and did not give him a chance to make a move.

Cassel saw that he had no chance, and then passed the ball to Olowokandi who was running down.

Olowokandi received the ball, squeezed Payton away, and rushed to the basket.

But Liu He on one side quickly shrank and helped O'Neill pinch Olowokandi together.

Olowokandi was one against two. He didn't have a good ability to distribute the ball, so he could only make a forced shot and missed the shot under the interference of O'Neal and Liu He.

Liu He turned around and received the rebound.

After receiving the rebound, Liu He's first reaction was to play a fast break.

But the Timberwolves retreated quickly, and Garnett rushed forward to force Liu He, delaying Liu He's advance.

Seeing that the fast break could not be played, Liu He simply passed the ball to Payton and asked Payton to organize an attack.

Lakers offense.

Payton still hangs the ball low first.

O'Neal jams Olowokandi and catches the ball.

But as soon as O'Neal received the ball, Olowokandi exerted force behind him, desperately defending against O'Neal.

Garnett also leaned in, using his extra-long arms to interfere with O'Neal.

Seeing that the opportunity was not good, O'Neal gave the ball to Malone.

Malone had just received the ball, but found that Garnett had rushed over.

"Eight-legged Spider" is really too flexible and fast, and the entire three-second zone is his defense area.

Malone's mid-range shot missed under the interference of Garnett.

Olowokandi struggled to protect the rebound.

Timberwolves attack again.

Cassel did not give up the pick-and-roll tactics because of a failure in one round, and continued to call Olowokandi to play tactics.

But when Olowokandi caught the ball and went down, he immediately encountered Liu He's help defense.

Under the attack of Liu He and O'Neal, Olowokandi couldn't find a chance to make a call at all, so he had to find other teammates to pass the ball.

Garnett ran over to meet him, but as soon as he got the ball, he found himself surrounded by Malone, O'Neal, and Liu He.

Garnett forced a shot and missed the shot under the siege of the Lakers.

The Lakers once again protected the rebound.

Then came the Lakers offense.

O'Neal got the ball in the low post and was flanked by the Timberwolves.

O'Neal sent the ball to the outside, and Kobe shook Sprewell and accelerated to break through.

It was Garnett's quick help defense again, cooperating with his teammates to block Kobe.

Bryant jumped up, found Malone in the air, and threw the ball over.

Malone made a mid-range shot.

Bang!

Did not enter.

It's a pity that the opportunity is a good opportunity, but Ma Long has been absent for too long and his competitive state is average, which wastes a good opportunity.

However, O'Neal grabbed the offensive rebound and prepared for the second attack.

But Garnett jumped again, and cooperated with Olowokandi to limit O'Neal, and O'Neal's shot also missed.

In the continuous offense and defense at the beginning, both sides failed to score, which shows the strong defense of this game.

Eight-legged spiders are everywhere.

Garnett also took advantage of the situation to protect the rebound, and his wonderful defense won the applause and cheers of the entire target center.

This also confirmed his pre-match declaration "I will regard this game as the last battle of my career!".

The atmosphere at the Target Center became more and more enthusiastic, and the fans on the scene continued to cheer for the home team, and they became more and more desperate.

Garnett received the rebound and launched a fast break himself.

Although he has seen it many times, every time he sees Garnett's size dribble and advance quickly, Liu He still feels that the gap between people is greater than the gap between humans and dogs.

What is talent, this horse riding is called talent.

Garnett advanced to the free throw line, and a ground pass was passed to Sprewell on the wing. Sprewell held the ball and rushed inside, facing Kobe and scoring the ball.

Swish!
0: 2.

Lakers offense.

Kobe broke through to attract double-teams, and then distributed the ball to Malone.

Malone's mid-range shot still missed.

This feeling is not something you can get back with just one or two strokes.

Timberwolves offense.

Cassell changed tactics and started playing pick-and-rolls with Garnett.

On the Lakers side, Malone still followed and then switched defenses.

Malone watched Cassell, and Cassell passed the ball to Garnett.

As soon as Garnett got the ball, Liu He had already rushed forward and cooperated with Payton to pinch Garnett.

But Garnett is not Olowokandi. Counting the big men in NBA history, Garnett's passing ability is also countable.

Garnett held the basketball high, avoided the pressure of Liu He and Payton, overlooked the entire court with a high vision, and quickly found Cassel who made an air cut.

Cassell catches the ball and makes a jump shot.

Swish!
0: 4.

The Timberwolves scored consecutively, and they all relied on Garnett's passes.

Minnesota fans roared loudly, releasing their enthusiasm to their heart's content.

"Minnesota, must win!"

"The Timberwolves Championship!"

"This is the last battle. We will fight to the end and we will definitely beat the Lakers."

"Kevin Garnett, you are the best player on the planet!"

……

Amidst the overwhelming noise, Garnett's old problems began to commit again.

He found Liu He, opened his mouth and sprayed: "Little Biqi, I will beat you out tonight!"

This guy still remembers the lore of being killed by Liu He, and the shame of being a substitute for Liu He.

Liu He smiled: "Who gave you the courage, your Papa Cassel and Papa Sprewell?"

Garnett was about to fight back, but suddenly his whole body was knocked away.

Garnett immediately became angry... who?Are you courting death?

When he saw it, it turned out to be Karl Malone.

That's fine!

The angry Garnett calmed down instantly, gave Liu He a hard look, turned around and ran away.

No one knows the prestige of "Iron Elbow" Malone.Even villains like Barkley, Oakley, and Mourning have to weigh it when they meet Malone, let alone Garnett.

The ferocious Ma Long looked back at Liu He, and it had turned into a smiling face.

"Play well, leave this kind of thing to me!"

A real man keeps his word.

Ma Long said before that he would help Liu He solve these matters, and he did what he said.

Lakers offense.

Ma Long pulled out to cover Liu He. His thick body was a perfect match for the pick-and-roll, firmly blocking Hassel.

Liu He took the opportunity to get rid of the defense.

But Garnett's reaction was extremely fast, and he immediately switched defenses to keep up with Liu He.

After receiving the ball, Liu He realized that he had no chance, so he quickly handed the ball to Ma Long.

Malone received the ball and squeezed in against Hassell.

How could Hassel be able to hold a muscular stick like Malone, and he was losing ground.

Garnett immediately caught up and helped Hassel defend Malone.

Ma Long didn't rush, and passed the ball back to Liu He, and blocked Garnett with his body by the way, preventing Garnett from returning to defend Liu He.

Liu He has a wide open space outside the three-point line, so such an excellent opportunity will naturally not be missed.Liu He adjusted calmly, took off, and shot.

Swish!
3: 4.

After scoring the goal, Liu He did not celebrate, but took the initiative to high-five Ma Long: "Carl, the block is beautiful!"

Ma Long's face was calm, as if to say: "Basic exercise, don't 6."

As we all know, the Jazz have only one tactic, the pick-and-roll tactic.

As far as the pick and roll is concerned, Malone has been doing it for 18 years, and no one is better than him, not even the 300-pound O'Neal.

Timberwolves offense.

Cassell continued to play pick-and-rolls with Garnett.

But Payton showed top defense this time, resolutely squeezed past Garnett, and followed Cassel.

In this way, the Lakers don't have to switch defenses, and Malone continues to follow Garnett.

Others can also keep an eye on their defenders.

Seeing that his teammates had no chance, Garnett could only fight by himself, and squeezed Malone twice with his back, but Malone remained motionless.

Garnett simply turned over and made a jumper.

As a result, Malone was experienced and gave enough confrontation, preventing Garnett from fully taking off. After jumping, he felt very awkward and missed the shot.

Bang!

O'Neal protected the rebound.

Lakers offense.

Ma Long continued to cover Liu He.

Hassell also wanted to squeeze through, but Malone's body was too thick and too hard.

Hassel failed to mark the man, and Garnett had to switch to Liu He.

Liu He took his time and gave the ball to Ma Long.

Relying on his absolute physical advantage, Malone rushed in against Hassel.

Garnett continued to choose to help defend Malone.

Ma Long gave the ball to Liu He, and Liu He pulled up and shot.

Garnett tried to jump back to defend, but was still a step too late.

Swish!
6: 4.

Liu He smiled and said to Garnett: "King of dogs, if you have the ability, continue to let me go!"

Garnett was furious, but when he saw Malone following him, he swallowed his anger back.

Liu He became even more arrogant, and said to Garnett's back: "It seems that he is not the king of dogs, but the king of rats. Cowardly as a mouse!"

But facing Liu He's humiliation, Garnett didn't even look back.

Can bend and stretch a man?
Liu He can't care about these things, it's cool to be covered by someone, and Liu He also experienced the thrill of a fox pretending to be a tiger.

If you dare to spam me, don't blame me for responding.

Timberwolves offense.

Payton forced his way past Garnett again, following Cassell.

Cassell passes to Garnett.

Garnett looked all over the court from the free throw line and found that his teammates were all marked to death, so he still had to do it himself.

So Garnett forced Malone to make a shot, but unfortunately he still didn't make it.

(End of this chapter)