On May 23, Beijing time, the NBA West Match officially kicked off. The Timberwolves, who had better performance in the regular season, held the home court to welcome the fight with the Lone Ranger Series G1. Because the semi-final defeated the strong defending champion and had the home court advantage, the outside world was generally optimistic about the Timberwolves before the game. As a result, in the crucial G1 game, the Timberwolves lost at home and fell behind by a big score of 0-1.
So why is the West defeated by the lone ranger when it can defeat the defending champion Denver in the Western semifinals? Five major causes of failure lost G1, and Edwards was completely destroyed by Donkey Owen.
Cause 1: lack of experience and insufficient strength
As a defensive oriented team, the Timberwolves have achieved the first defensive efficiency in the league this season. The key to their success is fierce physical confrontation, excellent stretching internal and external defense system and strong pressure on the ball holder.
As a result, the Minnesota Timberwolves in G1 home game did not continue the level of physical confrontation strength when they played against Denver in the Western Conference semi-finals, especially the difficulty of receiving and the pressure of holding the ball for Owen and Doncic.
The Timberwolves did not actively consume the physical strength of the two men, which led to their skillful attack and revitalized the whole team of the Lone Ranger.
Reason 2: Failure to play offensive and defensive characteristics
As mentioned above, the foundation of the Timberwolves is defense. Only when the defense can prevent and control the backcourt rebounds, can they push fast counter attacks to maximize the physical talent of the team.
As a result, the Timberwolves were at a disadvantage in rebounding in this game. They lost 8 rebounds in 40-48, allowing the lone ranger to grab 11 rebounds in the front court, which made the Timberwolves unable to play fast conversion and counter attack.
If not for the first half, the situation would have been dominated by the lone ranger. With the loss of feel in the second half, the forest wolf who lost his foundation naturally lost quickly.
Reason 3: Defensive strategy was dismantled by Eastern Europe
While the intensity of physical confrontation was not enough to consume Doncic and Owen early, the defense strategy of the Timberwolves was too rigid, which was not adjusted because of the fierceness of Owen and Doncic.
Almost the whole court exposed Gobel's weakness in exchange to Owen and Doncic. As a result, it is conceivable that the two men not only opened up the situation by means of inside line, middle distance and three-point attack.
After successfully attracting defense, Leffley (4 out of 4) and Garford (5 out of 9) in the interior line were activated through assists.
In addition, the big strategy of the Timberwolves this game is not to double up, but to put Doncic and Owen in individual singles. With the problem of pick and roll, the overall defense strategy of the Timberwolves is difficult to look at the beginning and end.
In the first half, when this strategy was torn apart by Owen, Timberwolves coach Finch insisted on this strategy, which eventually led to the end of Dongqi's rule and a complete defeat.
Reason 4: Better configuration around Eastern Europe
The reason why Finch insisted on this defensive strategy in the second half was that Doncic was much better equipped than Jokic.
Not only Owen, the reliable second in command, but also PJ Washington, Little Jones, Garford, Leffley, Green and other helpers.
Finch was obviously afraid that after Eastern Europe had found the rhythm in the first half, the situation was completely out of control when he sandwiched the two players in the second half to reinvigorate the lone ranger role players. From some details of the decisive moment, it can be seen that when the Timberwolves sandwiched Dongqi and Owen, Green and PJ Washington actually hit two golden three points against the pressure.
Reason 5: Edwards' star level was completely destroyed by Donkey Owen
Even if the overall strategy is torn apart, the Timberwolves still rely on a strong lineup configuration and absolute lineup talent to drag the game into the decisive stage.
Edwards and Dongqi fought each other, and finally Dongqi killed the game directly with a three point, a steal and the symbolic middle distance. In the last quarter, he scored 15 points, hitting the highest 33 points in the game.
Edwards also gave everything he had, giving up 19 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists in the quasi triple double data, but the overall efficiency was poor, only 6 of 16 shots. In the face of the one-man targeted defense, Edwards revealed that there was no reliable middle distance end. It can only be said that young Edwards still needs to enrich his offensive means and experience in this top match.
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