The opening three-pointer in basketball

At 7 pm on April 12, 2012, the much-anticipated game was held at the Minnesota Target Center.

The two teams in the game are currently the top of the Eastern and Western Conferences - the Timberwolves and the Bulls.

The fans are very awesome. Not only is the stadium full, but there are also 30,000 fans watching the game in the square outside the Target Center.

It was very lively both inside and outside the venue.

At this time, the starting players of both teams have arrived on the court.

Timberwolves starting lineup: Bai Yi, Tucker, Reggie, Pekovic, and Morris Jr.

Bulls starting lineup: Rose, Noah, Boozer, Brewer, and Luol Deng.

In terms of team lineup, the Bulls are one of the most reasonable teams in the league.

They have Noah and Boozer on the inside, both of whom are All-Star players, and Rose, a top player on the outside.

It can be said that there are people inside and outside.

And they don't have anyone who is particularly bad at defense. Their overall defensive strength is very balanced, and they are basically all average-to-upper level players.

In addition, although Boozer and Noah are slow, Rose is fast.

In other words, they can be fast or slow.

Pass the ball to Rose on a fast break, but play slowly and let Boozer go ball after ball.

This is the excellence of the Bulls lineup and one of the reasons why the Bulls are so good this season.

Head coach Thibodeau is a well-known defensive coach in the league and is unique in defense.

Thibodeau has studied several of the Timberwolves' losses against the Spurs this season.

He felt that the Spurs did a good job by restricting Reggie from passing the ball to Bai Yi, forcing Bai Yi to fall into a consumption mode and find it difficult to catch a ball.

In the face of Bai Yi's crazy movement, the Spurs players also arranged very well. The players covered up and changed positions in a very orderly manner. No matter what time, they tried to keep a defensive player in front of Bai Yi.

For this game between the Timberwolves and the Bulls, Thibodeau and his disciples have been preparing for a full month.

And now is the time for him to accept the results of his training.

The whistle sounded and Noah and Pekovic jumped the ball.

Noah jumped up and then bumped into Pekovic.

He took the lead in the physical confrontation, and with his excellent and strong body, he pushed Pekovic away.

Noah hugged the basketball, and then threw the ball to Rose in front of him. The latter quickly came down with the ball. Bai Yi came over. Rose took a big step and broke through easily from the side. Then he took a big step and raised his hand to score a layup.

Nice breakthrough, nice layup.

In the first round of the Timberwolves' attack, as soon as Bai Yi caught the ball, Rose and Brewer rushed over.

And the person who was shorted was little Morris.

Reggie was defended by Luol Deng.

Luol Deng's defense is okay, but not to the point where he can lock Reggie.

At the same time, Morris Jr. also stepped forward to pick and roll.

Bai Yi started running, relying on Morris Jr.'s pick-and-roll, and easily got rid of Brewer. He was only followed by Rose.

Bai Yi raised his hand to ask for the ball, and Reggie immediately passed the ball over.

Bai Yi caught the ball, then dribbled sideways, got out of the shooting space, and raised his hand for a three-pointer.

The basketball flew up, crossed an arc, and flew into the net.

Even if he doesn't use any skills, he still has a three-point shooting rate of about 42%. Such open shots are relatively reliable.

The DJ at the scene shouted, "Oh, Bai, what a beautiful shot. We will definitely win the game today. The top spot in the league must belong to the Timberwolves."

Thibodeau frowned slightly on the sidelines. It could be seen that Bai Yi's physical condition and hand feel were very good.

If we want to win the game today, I'm afraid it won't be that easy. We must improve our scoring efficiency.

Once again it was the Bulls' turn to attack. This time Rose did not choose to rush the frame, but directly lobbed the ball to Boozer. The latter caught the ball, hit the board, and easily scored two points.

The two teams then started competing.

The Timberwolves mainly shoot three-pointers intentionally. After he attracts the defense, if Reggie or Tucker is open, he will pass the ball out and let his teammates shoot three-pointers.

As for interior offense, it's almost zero.

Pekovic is a good player, and based on his salary, it is completely cost-effective for the Timberwolves to own him.

But Pekovic is not an All-Star player after all. Noah and Boozer are staring at him, and they are too tired to beat him.

In fact, Tucker, as a power forward, should have fought against the two All-Stars together with Pekovic.

But the effect is not good, it is better to pull it out and shoot a three-pointer.

Tucker's open three-pointer from the bottom corner is pretty good, currently 38%.

Bai Yi felt good today. Several three-pointers were ordinary shots, but he was able to score consecutively.

Mainly because he is supporting me.

The Bulls, on the other hand, focused on the inside, with Noah and Boozer playing like crazy at the basket and scoring like crazy.

Coupled with Rose and Luol Deng occasionally crossing the frame, their scoring is still guaranteed.

At the beginning of the first quarter, the Bulls had a slight lead. After all, the two inside men shot almost 100% at the basket.

However, there were subsequent substitutions, and the Timberwolves gradually overtook them.

Because once one of Noah and Boozer goes off the court, Pekovic can be much more active.

The Bulls' advantage is much smaller.

Rose needs to stand up more at this time.

Bai Yi stared at Rose. Although he could not completely restrict Rose, he still made Rose feel uncomfortable.

So at the end of the first quarter, the Bulls were 28:30 to the Timberwolves, and the Bulls were two points behind.

O'Neal said in the TNT studio: "It seems that the Bulls are still not as rich in scoring methods as the Timberwolves."

"The Bulls focus more on scoring at the basket and rushing around the frame. The shooting is much weaker. They must let Noah and Boozer play together to ensure the scoring advantage."

"But Boozer is older, and Noah is also a big center. Continuous attacks to the basket will consume a lot of physical energy."

"Bulls players must have stronger mental strength and grit their teeth to persevere."

Barkley nodded, "Now that the game has reached, I am more optimistic about the Bulls, because the Bulls can see at a glance that they are very stable, they have been preparing for a long time, and the players have already had various plans. Generally speaking, the Bulls look prepared

More abundant.”

O'Neal smiled and said, "You have been called a crow's mouth by the fans this season. Whoever you favor will lose. What about this time? Do you think you can make the right decision?"

"Of course, fat man, don't be complacent, I will definitely be very accurate this time."

After Barkley finished speaking, he looked at Kenny Smith and said, "Old man, you also support me, right?"

Kenny Smith shook his head, "Both Bai and Rose are actually restraining their strength now. They haven't fully exploded yet."

"But in terms of scoring, Bai's points per game are twice as much as Rose's. I'm still more optimistic about Bai."

Bai Yi now averages 46 points per game, while Rose averages 21.8 points.