Healing Basketball

   Chapter 172 172. The situation changes!

   is discussing how to deal with the Timberwolves, thinking that if the Spurs lose to the Pistons the day after tomorrow, it won't matter if the Spurs lose the day after tomorrow...

  As a result, both the Timberwolves and the Spurs lost!

  The Trail Blazers secured the second half of the Western Conference one game ahead of schedule!

   After listening to the chatter of his teammates, Liu Xiu said: "I really want to enjoy the feeling of fighting with them until the last moment. It's a pity. Well, let's just accept this fact helplessly."

  “…”

  The teammates were speechless. Although they didn't know the sentence of being a good boy when they got cheap, they felt the meaning.

   Of course accept!

  Although everyone is a strong fighter, with endless fighting spirit, never afraid of life and death on the court, just to fight for a breath and face... But more troublesome things are worse than less things.

   Momonga has a question: "Warden, shall we go and congratulate the head coach for his election to the All-Star coach?"

   Teammates just remembered this, what should I do? Everyone's attention was focused on Liu Xiu.

   This is called status.

  Liu Xiu thought for a while, then shook his head: "Forget it, we didn't want to listen to his praise. What we enjoyed was the process, hiding our merits and fame."

   "Hid your credit and fame in places that others don't know? Cool!" Tianzun's eyes lit up!

The warden    said so, so let's put it aside for now.

   They have the same idea as Tianzun - it's cool to do this!

   On the other side, the head coach's office.

  The coaching staff is also discussing this.

  Kevin Plitcha said: "Morris, I didn't expect this group of boys to really rush to the second place. It's incredible."

   "Yeah, in fact, after we won the Jazz today, I was a little afraid that we would lose to the Timberwolves the day after tomorrow, and I was very nervous..." Maurice Cheeks said with a wry smile.

  It's not the same as the usual manager, but Kevin Plitcha understands it.

  There are only two All-Star coaches every year, and this position is generally controlled by those coaches, who take turns to be the team. Most of the head coaches have nothing to do with that position.

   Coaches of non-top teams like them would not think about it at all.

  This position, the media and fans are not so concerned about it.

   But this position is really right in front of you, of course you want to win it!

   Kevin Plitcha asked: "The boys haven't left yet, so thank them? They've worked really hard these days."

  Maurice-Cheeks shook his head: "No need, with their characters, they don't like that kind of hypocritical scenes."

  …

   The two No. 21s lost in a row so tacit understanding, and at the same time lost the second half of the Western Conference opportunity, the Western All-Star coach was confirmed.

  The head coach of the Eastern All-Star team has long been determined. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle has locked the Eastern All-Star head coach before the game in January is over.

  The All-Star head coach confirmed that there were news reports on the night of the 6th, but no one paid attention.

   The two things that continue to be hot are still 'the warden slaps sharks' and 'the warden runs spit KB8'.

  The league has worked hard to create the topic of the All-Star Weekend, and all kinds of things are warming up.

   The result is not as big as Liu Xiu's one-time buckle and Kobe's tired vomiting.

   In fact, Liu Xiu is dipped in the light of the OK group.

   "Dunk, start with the OK combination"

   If you change the deduction object, you may score the top five goals of the day at most, and there will be no more.

   Hit the OK combination?

  OK! Liu Xiu has attracted a wave of fans among non-Lakers fans.

   On February 8th, the Blazers, who had relaxed their minds and prepared for the game, ushered in the last game of the first half of the season at home.

   Fighting for a goal at the last moment, it is a very cool thing to decide whether to complete the goal or not in a game.

   But there is no extra pressure, and it is a joy to go to the court to play games and enjoy the purest basketball, which is also a very enjoyable thing.

   At 7:40 p.m., the Rose Garden Arena, the Timberwolves and the Trail Blazers entered the field one after another.

   After Liu Xiu led his teammates out of the tunnel, the lights came on.

   came to the bench and saw the coach, Liu Xiu said in surprise: "Coach, you shaved!"

   "I cut my hair too!"

   "Also got a new suit? This...was custom made at my house? Did it cost a lot of money?"

  Liu Xiu looked around next to Maurice Cheeks and was amazed.

  The teammates also noticed the difference between Maurice Cheeks. The hair seemed to be ready when he was warming up, and the beard was shaved, but he actually changed into the same suit of "Rose Bay Seven"!

   As the saying goes, people rely on clothes and horses rely on saddles.

   Only then did the players discover that their coach can also dress up like a dog.

   "Yeah, your custom-made clothes are too expensive, and there are still a lot of custom-made people, but the production capacity can't keep up. If I'm not your head coach, I have to wait until the second half of the year."

  Maurice Cheeks complained for a while, then motioned the players to look at the other side: "Look, I'm not bad compared to that guy who likes to pretend!"

   Beside the visiting team's bench, a delicate middle-aged man stood.

  Bespoke suits, meticulously ironed, handkerchiefs around the neckline, exquisite brooches, and meticulous hairstyles.

   There is no expression on his face, but when he looks at him, he feels fierce, as if he opened his mouth to command people to do bad things.

   In the movie, it is definitely the kind of BOSS.

  The only head coach in the league with the godfather temperament after the South Coast Oil Head ceded the head coach position to the students was Philip Saunders.

  The players glanced at the other side, then looked at their coaches, and praised their coaches one after another.

  It is not a matter of a day or two for the head coach of his own to be indecent.

  Maurice-Cheeks is satisfied, vanity is satisfied...except for a rookie!

   "Warden, what do you think?"

  Morris-Cheeks asked questions by name.

   Liu Xiu looked at the opposite coach again, and then looked at his own coach.

   The kind of temperament that is revealed from the bones, and the hard concave shape, is not as good as no feeling, compared with... "Coach, you are more like an excellent NBA head coach than the opposite coach."

   "What I want you to praise is your dress and your temperament! Who looks more handsome between me and him?"

   "Coach, are you so superficial?"

  “…”

  Maurice-Cheeks is so angry!

   This brat is telling the truth again!

   Can’t you pick up something nice to say at such a time?

   Well, this kid has picked up something nice to say.

   Sadness…

   Well, he just wanted to compete with Philip Saunders on a whim.

  Maurice Cheeks saw a not-so-popular news a few days ago - Timberwolves coach Philip Saunders' gangster godfather temperament is very suitable for controlling the prison team.

   So he changed his look on a whim…

  …

   After Liu Xiu successfully healed the coach, he happily went to discuss with his teammates the details of the game in the opening stage.

   At 7:58 in the evening, the two teams started to play.

The starting lineup of the Trail Blazers remains unchanged. The Timberwolves sent the starting lineup of Cassell, Trenton Hassell, Sprewell, Garnett and Erwin Johnson.

  Tianzun and the wolf king came to the middle circle, and they roared each other when they disagreed.

  The top talents of the same class and position have never been able to deal with them since they entered the NBA, and they are getting worse and worse.

  At 8 p.m., the Blazers vs. the Timberwolves kicked off.

  Wolf King beat Tianzun to win the jump ball, and the Timberwolves took the lead!

   Come up, Sprewell missed two points in the singles.

   Garnett interfered with Tianzun and stopped quickly, preventing Ruben Patterson and Tianzun from pushing back.

   Garnett usually looks down on Olowokandi, the most famous player in the past, and cursed the opponent a lot of times.

   But when Sugar Man was injured, he discovered the importance of this teammate again.

   The last time he played against the Lakers, Olowokandi scored 8 points in a row against O'Neal at the start, and exchanged blows with O'Neal, withstanding O'Neal's initial onslaught, laying the foundation for the Timberwolves' final victory.

  Although Olowokandi had only 8 points and 3 rebounds that night.

   turned his head and fell into a positional battle. Randolph hit Erwin Johnson with a low face frame and made a strong layup.

It's enough to beat most of the opponents Erwin Johnson, so he will start the game for a few minutes, but Erwin Johnson can't stand the beast-level insider like Randolph, and can't play the role of 123kg Olowokandi , unable to create defensive opportunities for Garnett.

   Just played the Jazz the day before yesterday, and the Blazers are still in their defensive state.

   It can be said that the Blazers and the Jazz are thinking about strengthening their defense, which seems like nonsense, just to prepare for tonight's game.

   At the beginning, the Timberwolves' offensive firepower started slowly, and they only scored 5 points in 6 minutes in the first half!

  Although the score was 12-11 in the second half of the first quarter, because of the score of 5-13 in the first half of the first quarter, after the first quarter, the Timberwolves still trailed the Blazers 17-24 by 7 points!

   During the break, the Trail Blazers made adjustments--enhancing perimeter shooting!

  Last summer, the Timberwolves let go Rasu Nesterovic in order to take Olowokandi.

   Last season, the Sugar Man averaged 12 points, 9 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game, and the agent asked for a 3-year mid-level start.

   Nesterovic averaged 11.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, and the Spurs offered a poison-style price of $42 million for 6 years.

   Signing someone was a very simple matter at the time.

but now…

   The first year of Olowokandi's new contract, the overall performance was slightly better than last season's Nesterovic.

   But the latter is healthy, active, and has not missed a game.

  Olowokandi missed 20 games on and off.

  Tonight, without Olowokandi, Randolph smashed the Quartet, making the Timberwolves more shrinking, and the Trail Blazers have a lot of long shot opportunities!

  The Timberwolves tried to replace Oliver Miller, but they couldn't keep up with Randolph.

  Olowokandi's ability to become the No. 1 overall pick is really not blind to the Clippers. The Lakers' famous candidates have good vision. That physical quality was compared to Duncan and Olajuwon in college.

   If it wasn't for Momonga and Liu Xiu's three three-pointers in the second half of the first quarter, the three-pointers might be more than double digits. The time when Liu Xiu made three-pointers, Garnett scored a counterattack.

  …

   The inter-season break is almost over, and the lineups of both teams have been adjusted.

  The Timberwolves sent a combination of Fred Hoiberg, Sprewell, Gary Trent, Mark Madsen and Garnett.

The Trail Blazers sent a combination of Liu Xiu, Ruben Patterson, Wesley Johnson, Randolph, and Dale Davis.

   Liu Xiu took a look, good guy, let Garnett go to the basket to protect the frame!

   The pressure on Randolph's side is great.

   And Liu Xiu himself, facing the adjustment of the other party, is thinking calmly...

   "The Great Mage:

  …

Opponent: Sam Cassell, characteristic transformation talent: alien thinking, bonus effect: 1. When attacking in positional warfare, the host will always be calmer and have clearer thinking; Minimize the psychological impact of malicious speech. "

   The match between Liu Xiu and Kassel is quite high, but the talent and strength copied have nothing to do with Kassel's strong psychological quality after tasting the world.

   After the start of the second quarter, the Timberwolves stepped up their offense.

Gary Trent, who was also in the 1995's, was a talented striker trained by the Blazers back then. He had a large tonnage and a fast speed... Just played, it was used by the Blazers as a bargaining chip for trading the Momo. The team has always held a high level of resentment.

   Gary Trent did a great job cutting the rim tonight.

   At the same time, the Timberwolves' defensive efficiency suddenly improved in the second quarter, Tianzun was replaced and rested, Randolph's singles against Garnett was more difficult... However, the unexpected situation came!

  Wesley Persson scored 3 consecutive three-pointers in less than 90 seconds from 4:45 to 6:07 in the second quarter and beat the Timberwolves 9-2 alone!

   Originally, the Timberwolves led the Blazers 12-7 by 5 points less than 5 minutes before the second quarter, but when the official timeout came, they trailed the Blazers 14-16 by two points!

  The score was 40-31, and the Trail Blazers extended their lead to 9 points!

Just like Liu Xiu calmly commanded the team after playing in the second half of the first quarter, creating more chances for Randolph in tactics, and now, he is also determined to help Wesley Persson at the first time. Create opportunities.

   Make the decision the commander should make more calmly and with a clearer mind!

  Wesley Persson scored consecutive points in this wave, which severely hit the morale of the Timberwolves.

   In the second half of the second quarter, the Timberwolves' scoring efficiency dropped a lot, only scoring 12 points, while the Trail Blazers scored 13 points.

   After halftime, the Trail Blazers led the Timberwolves 53-43 by 10 points!

  Randolph scored 14 points at halftime and Wesley Persson scored 13 points at halftime, which became the backbone of the team in the first and second quarters respectively!

  …

   Played 17 minutes at halftime and scored 6 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. Liu Xiu was moved by herself - assists are not the lowest among the three main data!

   By the third quarter, the situation changed suddenly!

   Randolph scored 10 points in a single quarter in the first quarter, and Wesley Person scored 13 points in 9 minutes in the second quarter.

   By the third quarter, it was finally the Timberwolves star's turn to go crazy.

   Garnett made 4 of 5 shots in a single quarter, plus 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 10 points in a single quarter. In addition, he had 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks!

  Insane performance of 10+5+5+2+2 in a single quarter, and only 1 turnover.

  What is MVP, the wolf king showed everyone his super strength.

   With his 5 assists, the Timberwolves players all scored, and the Timberwolves scored 31 points in a single quarter!

   At the same time, the Timberwolves did a better defensive end than the first half, limiting the Trail Blazers to only 22 points in a single quarter!

   After three quarters, the Timberwolves chased the score to 74-75, with only 1 point left!

   The 10-point difference is reduced to 1 point, and you may panic if you change someone.

   But Liu Xiu didn't, he was always thinking of a way during the game.

   just means that if you are not calm and clear, you can immediately think of a solution.

   After thinking + being replaced more than 3 minutes after the third quarter, sitting on the sidelines and thinking from the perspective of an 'outsider', Liu Xiu once again put forward his immature suggestion...

  Immature on-field commanders, coupled with bold head coaches, and prudent chief assistant coaches can’t stop him.

   In the last quarter, Liu Xiu and Randolph took turns to attack with low singles and fight against each other!

   Need outsiders to be able to throw in!

  Tianzun and Wesley Persson completed the task very well.

  Tianzun made 3 of 5 shots in a single quarter, plus 2 of 2 free throws to score 8 points, Persson scored two more three-pointers in the final quarter, plus a baseline mid-range shot, also scored 8 points.

   The two led the Blazers to 26 points in a single quarter.

   The Timberwolves, who made 12 of 20 shots in the third quarter and scored 31 points, scored only 18 points in the final quarter.

   The problem with the Timberwolves is that they didn’t make a shot. The Timberwolves made only 7 of 25 shots in the final quarter and grabbed a lot of offensive rebounds, but they couldn’t make the shot.

Relying on Liu Xiu's 12 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists, Randolph's 22 points and 8 rebounds, Tianzun's 15 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists, Wesley Person scored a season-high 30 points in a single game with 12 of 17 shots. …The Blazers beat the Timberwolves 101-92 to improve their record to 37-13!

  …

  After the game, veteran Wesley Persson participated in a live interview on behalf of the Blazers.

Time Warner Cable sports commentator Bill Walton asked: "Wesley, you became the savior of the team tonight, you stood up whenever the team was in danger, and your previous playing time had been taken by two. A young talent is divided, what prompted you to play such a good performance tonight?"

Wesley Persson replied: "People always have an old day, I was also called a shooting genius, but I am now in my tenth year of my career, and I will be 33 years old. A player who shoots five or six times from beyond the arc and has the ball is a very happy thing for me.

I'm in good shape tonight, but I have to thank our warden, the general, who found out I was in good shape even earlier than me, and has been trying to find a way to create open space for me, pass the ball to me or comb The offense commanded his teammates to pass the ball to me, he had full confidence in his teammates, and when I made the third three-pointer in a row, I realized, oh, tonight is my show time. "

   This answer, Bill Wharton praised in his heart, and was about to continue to ask questions, a voice came from his headset...

   quickly told Wesley Person that the interview was over, and ran to the Blazers bench with the cameraman.

   Those people haven't left yet, and... obviously, they don't know what happened!

Liu Xiuzheng and Tianzun, the butcher, the little flying squirrel, the extrajudicial fanatic, the unscrupulous coach... are discussing going to the seaside cruise tomorrow afternoon, taking the sea route from the northwest coast of the United States to the west coast, and seeing the famous commentator with the cameraman rushing over... are you trying to rub off on a cruise ship?

   If the team legend has this request, his warden will agree.

  Unexpectedly, Bill Walton snorted in front of Tianzun with a microphone: "Rashid, the league has just approved your trade application, and you have been traded to the Pacers. Do you know about this?"

The few people who were chatting and laughing, their expressions were either confused or unbelievable... I didn't know what to say. At this time, the chief assistant Kevin Plitcha, who went to the technical desk and the league officials to verify the data and confirm the results of the game, was also in a hurry. ran over.

   No need to ask, the answer is obvious.

   The expressions of several major players and coaching staff of the Blazers were sent to thousands of households through the live broadcast.

   At 10:30 pm on February 8, 2004, after the game between the Trail Blazers and the Timberwolves, the league approved the trade applications submitted by the three teams in the middle of the game.

The Pacers sent Jonathan Bender, Al Harrington, Scott Pollard, three first-round picks in 2004, 2006, and 2008, all unprotected, and traded to the Blazers Rasheed Wallace.

The Hawks sent Sharif Raheem to the Blazers' Matt Carroll, the Pacers' Jonathan Bender, Scott Pollard, two unprotected first-rounders in 2004 and 2006 pick.

The Trail Blazers sent Rasheed Wallace and Matt Carroll to the Hawks' Sheriff Raheem, the Pacers' Al Harrington and an unprotected 2008 first-round pick.

   (end of this chapter)