The Basketball Court Swordsman

What is it like for Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love to give full play? I believe all Timberwolves fans are full of expectations for this duo, especially when they played a near-perfect first quarter.

"Kevin Love has 12 points in a single quarter and Ricky Rubio has 8 assists in a single quarter. The Timberwolves have a strong momentum, and Love has taken another step towards the Western Conference Player of the Month that he has never known before. Coach Henson has to face a crisis that cannot be justified. According to Coach Henson, if the Pacers are to win 70+ games, then any loss of the game will be fatal to him. !"

Seeing the Pacers trailed so much in the first quarter, even Mike Brin couldn't help worrying about Henson. The Timberwolves continued their good form before the All-Star Game, and Love's touch is diametrically opposite to the temperature in Minneapolis. A single quarter can score 30 points in front of the Pacers defense, enough to show how fierce the Timberwolves offensive firepower.

Adelman is quite proud. In the past few seasons, he has been unable to come up with a lineup that can compete with Henson. But now, when the Timberwolves lineup stabilizes, Adelman has left the legendary magical coach at a loss.

Facts have proved that Henson is not invincible. No matter how great he is, he is just a rookie who has been in this business for less than five years. Adelman believes that he understands basketball and offense better than the Chinese. Today, it is also time for Henson to fall to the altar!

But after the start of the second quarter, Henson still maintained a calm and composed image. He stood on the sidelines with his arms around his chest, but he didn't yell.

If you want to say where Henson has changed the most in these three months, it is undoubtedly that Henson has become quieter than before he fell ill.

"Cut, the same virtue as Phil Jackson!" Adelman curled his lips in disdain. He didn't think Henson was self-confidence, but like Phil Jackson to pretend to be calm. To put it bluntly, isn't it just pretending to be forced.

When the Timberwolves' offensive firepower completely swallows the defending champion, Adelman will have to see how Henson still pretends.

"At the beginning of the second quarter of the game, Coach Henson did not make any adjustments, and he still sent the starting lineup to play. The Timberwolves led the offensive. Ricky Rubio is steadily controlling the basketball. He has helped the Timberwolves with subtle passes The team created too many opportunities to score easily."

As soon as Mike Brin finished speaking, Paul violently posted it. In the first quarter, Paul's defense against Rubio was not very tight, because Henson believed that Rubio did not have much offensive threat. After all, this guy is notoriously not scoring, averaging only 9.5 points per game this season.

But it turns out that when your defense against Rubio is too loose, he can always send the ball wherever he wants to. Therefore, in the second quarter of the game, Henson specifically asked Paul to take care of Rubio.

"Even passing the ball can't make him pass comfortably!" These are the original words of Henson.

Therefore, for the first time today, the Spaniard felt the threat posed by the league's best defensive point guard. Now, let alone passing the ball, it is very difficult for him to keep the ball steady. Paul's defense is very aggressive and will be intercepted if he is not careful.

In desperation, Love offered to set up a cover for Rubio. However, Paul did not entangle with Love at all, but went around directly behind Love!

Choosing to go around the front or back has always been a dilemma when defending the pick and roll. However, with Rubio, this is not difficult at all. Because Rubio is not a high percentage of three-pointers, Paul can boldly let him take a few shots.

Seeing that the pick-and-roll failed, Rubio immediately passed the ball to Brewer. Although Brewer can occasionally score high points in a few games, he is still not a star player. Let this guy hold the ball against George one-on-one, he has no chance of winning!

Sure enough, Brewer's breakthrough layup directly ate George a block. When it comes to wing singles, Brewer and George are not at the same level.

"Nice defense, it seems that Coach Henson deliberately strengthened the defensive arrangement during the intermission. They had a stronger physical confrontation, and the whole defensive formation was no longer led by Love."

As long as Rubio is strangled and he is not allowed to control the basketball as he wants, the offense of the Timberwolves will no longer be smooth. Henson proved his conjecture in just one round!

Al Horford accepted the defensive rebound, but unlike the past, the Pacers did not launch a long backcourt pass. The players rushed to the front court unhurriedly, seeming to want to play a positional attack.

In the first quarter of the game, there was a figure that was not noticed much-the ratio of turnovers between the two sides.

The Pacers made 8 turnovers in the first quarter, while the Timberwolves made only 3 turnovers. Using turnovers, the Timberwolves did not know how many easy scoring opportunities they had.

The reason for the turnover is simple. Henson puts too much emphasis on fast offense, and the Pacers’ offense is chaotic and impatient. But now, Henson is no longer fighting the Timberwolves. Therefore, his requirement for offensive speed is no longer so fast.

Let Paul control the ball in a stable situation, he is naturally no worse than Rubio.

After halftime, Paul directed his teammates to move like a commander, and the Pacers' offense immediately began to run in an orderly manner.

After several conductions, the basketball was finally hit by Horford. Appropriately, it is clear that the Timberwolves' biggest weakness on the defensive end is precisely at the fifth position. As a short center forward, Turiaf has no advantage in height and his defensive ability is really average.

It's just that most teams don't have a center that can play in the low position, so the problem of the Timberwolves' weakness at the fifth position is not obvious. But the center of the Pacers is an All-Star!

Horford sat inside, and West moved Love from the penalty area. As for CP3, George and Jimmy Butler, the Timberwolves players are even more afraid to let go. Therefore, Horford did not encounter double teams.

With a swift back, he passed Turiaf and moved inside. Turiaf is a typical pure blue-collar with more than toughness but insufficient skills. He failed to get Horford's position, and after being easily overtaken by the opponent, he tried to make up for his mistakes with enthusiasm.

As a result, Horford easily walked to the basket to complete the layup, and Turiaf's so-called "active and tough", instead applied for a foul for himself.

"Basketball hits, plus a penalty! Al Horford's turn is really beautiful, the Pacers have a chance to play 2+1!"

Once the rhythm stabilizes, the Timberwolves defense is actually not that scary. Love and Turiaf are not excellent frame-protecting insiders, and both of them are prone to fouls.

Therefore, Henson's plan just now is to let the players hit the basket more. As always, in just one round, the players confirmed that Henson's plan was successful!

Although Timberwolves fans did their best to boo, Al Horford turned a deaf ear to these sounds. He steadily increased the penalty and reduced the point difference to only 9 points in one fell swoop.

It's just an offense and one defense, but Adelman's face no longer has the kind of triumph that it was a few minutes ago. As an experienced old man, he is very sensitive to danger. But now that the game has just begun, it is impossible for Adelman to stop the game immediately. Therefore, the only thing he can do is to continue to wait and see.

Adelman naturally hopes that the players can solve the dilemma by themselves, but unfortunately, the situation has not improved.

Rubio tried to use the space Paul left for himself to shoot, but unfortunately, Rubio's performance outside the three-point line today is as unstable as ever. "Spain Golden Boy" hit the iron three-pointer, the Timberwolves missed consecutive offenses! In the first quarter of the game, this kind of situation will almost never happen!

George personally picked off the rebound, and then forced Brewer. Under the double interference of Brewer and Love, George was roughly knocked out of the bottom line.

Although George didn't score directly, the referee decisively stopped the game. The Timberwolves fouled again, George got to the free throw line and made two free throws!

23 to 30, the score is still approaching!

"Rubio is in big trouble. It would be great if his shot is half magical. But Rubio is like that. He is considered a serious ‘skewed’ player when he enters the league."

Mike Brin shook his head. Once the Pacers started to gain momentum, the Timberwolves, a team that has always been known for defense, couldn't stand it!

Will the defending champion lose to the Timberwolves who are hovering eighth in the West? Do not make jokes!

"Give the ball to Kevin, give it to him!" Adelman was a little angry, he couldn't bear the team's offense becoming as uncomfortable as constipation.

Rubio also obeyed Adelman's orders and hurriedly passed the ball.

However, David West will not sit still. Experienced, he stretched out his long arm at the moment Rubio played the ball and broke the pass!

"Fuck!" Adelman covered his head with his hands, Rubio's rhythm has been completely disrupted by Paul!

Facing the Timberwolves' mistakes, the Pacers were no longer humble. Paul launched a beautiful fast break, and he and Jimmy Butler completed an explosive relay.

25 to 30, Adelman was anxious.

"Stabilize the situation, don't worry! Share the ball more, they are behind!"

Adelman should have called a timeout long ago, but he didn't, he was not reconciled!

With a short break, can Henson bring the Pacers back to life? Adelman didn't want to admit that Henson had such an ability, he was a little angry.

Unfortunately, the young Rubio is obviously not Paul's opponent. It can be said that at the beginning of the second quarter, Rubio was completely destroyed by Paul's defense.

This time, Rubio still failed to organize the offense. When he gave the ball to Love, Paul also doubled up.

Rubio was completely left aside, and the most shameful thing was that even so, Love didn't seem to plan to pass the ball to his Spanish teammate.

Anyone who has played knows how uncomfortable a person can be when he is completely ignored on the court.

However, the NBA is such a cruel league. On the court, your shortcomings will be unreservedly displayed in front of the fans.

Love faced the double team, ready to lift the ball high to avoid mistakes. However, dying, his elbow touched Paul's face.

Is this okay? Paul immediately covered his mouth and nose and turned 360° on the spot before falling to the ground. The hurried whistle sounded again, Love's offensive foul!

"What!?" Adelman couldn't help it, and he yelled at the referee.

"Coach, please return to your activity area."

"Retreat, will you blow the game!? That's an offensive foul? Then it was a **** flop!" Adelman was pissed, and now he was blown off by an offensive foul, and the old man broke out completely. Up.

It seemed that Adelman looked like a hairy boy, while Henson showed a level of stability that did not match his age.

Adelman's scolding did not make the referee change his mind, but also applied for a technical foul for himself. Of course, this also gave the Pacers a free throw opportunity.

Henson sent George to the free throw line. The super scorer who shined this season did not live up to Henson's expectations and made a free throw.

26 to 30.

After the free throw, the Pacers still have the right to offense. They showed the steadiness that the defending champion should have. Paul's precise passing and George's patient running without the ball finally allowed the two to complete the connection.

CP3 assisted George and hit a three-pointer, which is already a reserved item for the Pacers this season.

29 to 30, at the beginning of the second quarter, the Pacers played a wave of offensive climax of 11 to 0!

Adelman called out the game with a black face, and now he has to deny that Henson does have the magical ability to bring the team back to life!

Across the entire court, Henson could hear Adelman's cursing. Looking at Adelman, who was flushed, Henson shook his head.

Now just the score is forced to close, Adelman is so angry. He was really worried. When the old man realized that he could not end his magic at all, would Adelman burst his blood vessels?

The health of the head coach is really a big problem...