Chapter 135. 135. Ultimate Defense
Chapter 135. 135. Ultimate Defense
Chapter 135. 135. Ultimate Defense
The joining of Gerald Wallace made the Timberwolves more oppressive.
The Timberwolves are already the best defensive team in the league today, and now they have added a defensive champion, which makes other teams feel very headache, and even Heat star Dwyane Wade has a sour mouth.
Before that, Gerald Wallace was far from being a star, let alone a popular star in the league.
However, when Gerald Wallace joined the Timberwolves, the outside reports on Gerald became more and more outrageous, and Gerald was almost praised as Pippen.
Even though Gerald Wallace's comprehensiveness is indeed somewhat similar to Pippen, Gerald is, after all, a quasi-star player who has not yet grown up.
The reason why it has received a lot of popularity and attention in a short period of time is because of joining the defending champion Timberwolves.
As the best team in the league today, the Timberwolves have received far more attention than people imagined. Gerald Wallace stood in the spotlight overnight and experienced the taste of being sought after for the first time in his career .
But behind the excessive touting, Gerald Wallace is also under tremendous pressure. Minnesota is a place where Gerald Wallace can leap into the dragon's gate, and where Gerald Wallace can achieve his dream.
Similarly, the pressure brought by the outside world to Wallace will far exceed that of the Bobcats. Next, Wallace will not only hone his skills, but also hone his ability to resist pressure step by step.
Otherwise, once the performance is abnormal in the game one day, all the words that praise Gerrard now will become slander to Gerrard Wallace.
This is the benefits and disadvantages of the market effect!
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Fortunately, Wallace performed well in his debut game after joining the Timberwolves.
In this game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Gerald Wallace didn't run in at all, and was directly placed in the starting lineup by head coach Luke.
首发出场的杰拉德华莱士一共登场了27分钟,在这27分钟时间里华莱士贡献11分8篮板2助攻3抢断以及2次封盖。
Wallace's performance was far from explosive, but Wallace gave full play to his advantages.
The defensive end cooperated with "Glove" Payton and Garnett to create the ultimate defense, limiting the Clippers' total points to 78 points.
Especially Quinton Rose, who was facing off against Gerald Wallace, was limited to only 7 of 1 shots in the game, becoming the undercover loser next to "Captain" Brand.
The only player in the entire Clippers who performed well is "Captain" Brand.
Although facing Brand is Kevin Garnett, the best defensive player in the league today, but Garnett's strength lies in his help defense. In terms of single defense ability, Garnett's low-post defense is not too much outstanding.
Brand is only [-] meters tall, but his outstanding tonnage makes Brand look as strong as a gas tank.
Luke's defensive strategy against Brand in this game was to let Garnett stick to a single defense, which allowed Brand to hit a double-double of 23 points and 11 rebounds.
Otherwise, if Luke wants to focus on "Captain" Brand's low-post offense, he only needs to let Gerald Wallace and "Glove" Payton keep coming forward to pinch. Totally uncrackable.
However, the Clippers have good outside shooters like Mobley and Rose on the outside, and Chris Kaman, who has gradually risen in the center position in the past two years, so Luke would rather let Brand play hard all by himself. It is necessary to fundamentally cut off the performance of others.
Brand's offensive ability is good, but he is far from winning the game alone. The joining of Gerald Wallace gives Luke more defensive options.
Even if Garnett and Brand trade each other at this point, there is no need to worry about the help defense on the field as before, because Gerald Wallace will naturally do everything and replace Garnett to take over the defensive system again .
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After defeating the Clippers, the Timberwolves are gaining momentum, and Wallace's excellent personal debut also reassured Timberwolves fans.
After all, the bargaining chip for trading Gerald Wallace is Monta Ellis, the bench gangster. If Gerrard does not perform well, the fans will inevitably feel a little disappointed.
But Wallace dispelled the concerns of the fans with a debut.
Hardworking, comprehensive, and focused, this is the first impression of Timberwolves fans on Gerald Wallace.
In addition, Eddie Griffin, who was suspended by the league for 25 games, is about to usher in a comeback. In two more games, Griffin will be able to reappear on the court.
Griffin can shoot suddenly and has an agile body. He can be used as a three-pointer when he pulls it out, and he can become an air catcher when he cuts down.
Griffin's diversity will allow head coach Luke to have more options for employing people, thus completely solving the problem of the Timberwolves' internal rotation difficulties.
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As time enters January, the All-Star voting is currently in full swing.
So far, Garnett has won the second highest vote in the league, leaving behind Kobe Bryant, who averaged 35 points per game, O'Neal and others.
The "Chinese giant" Yao Ming ranked first in the All-Star voting, surpassing Garnett.
Yao Ming's vote popularity is a bit exaggerated. The power of Chinese fans' votes alone is enough to make the American basketball world tremble.
Even if Garnett played such an amazing season, he still couldn't overwhelm Yao Ming in the All-Star voting.
Judging from the first round of voting, if nothing else happens, Yao Ming will secure the position of the All-Star vote leader, and Garnett will most likely come in second.
Apart from Yao Ming, only Kobe and "Shark" O'Neal can threaten Garnett's popularity in today's league.
However, as long as the Timberwolves' record does not drop sharply and Garnett is not accidentally injured in the game, Kobe and O'Neal can only target Garnett as challengers, and it will be difficult to gain an advantage in the All-Star voting.
After all, Garnett's status in the American basketball world has continued to rise in the past two years, and now he vaguely has the meaning of becoming No. 1 in the league. If only the votes of local fans in the United States are counted, Garnett will definitely be crowned the top voter without any surprises.
Garnett's super-high votes are not surprising. In addition to Garnett, the Timberwolves have two other players who rank high.
At present, Madman is second only to Kobe, Tracy McGrady and Nash in the backcourt votes in the West, and a spot has been booked in advance.
As for former All-Star player Magloire, the votes are very similar to those of Brand, Pau Gasol and Marion.
Leaving aside Garnett, Yao Ming, Duncan, and Nowitzki, who are sure to be selected as All-Stars, Magloire will compete for the final spot in the frontcourt.
Compared with the others, Magloire's advantage is that the Timberwolves have an excellent record, so he can still have the same number of votes as Pau Gasol and others even though his personal data is slightly inferior.
Otherwise, in terms of personal data alone, Gasol's averages of 20.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game can completely lift Magloire to play.
Magloire's averages this season are only 12.1 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks. There must be a gap.
However, the advantage brought by the Timberwolves to Magloire is too obvious. As for whether Magloire can return to the All-Star Game after two years, it depends on Magloire and others in the voting. Recent performance before closing.
In addition, since Luke has served as the All-Star coach of the Western Conference last year, even if the Timberwolves still occupy the top spot in the Western Conference this year, Luke will not be able to coach the Western Conference for two consecutive years.
So Luke doesn't have much enthusiasm for this year's All-Star weekend, and he doesn't even plan to go to Houston to participate in person.
Judging from the record in the Western Conference, it will be Popovich's old dog who originally replaced Luke to coach the All-Stars.
But because Popovich suffered a rib fracture not long ago, it is very likely that the guy "Little General" Johnson will be cheap in the end, allowing Johnson to be elected as an All-Star coach for the first time in his career.
(End of this chapter)
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