Now in San Antonio, Popovich is really paying attention to the Lakers and Timberwolves in the United States, and the Timberwolves have shown a surprising strength in this game, which is extremely amazing that this team has used its interior twin towers to suppress the Lakers both inside and outside from the beginning of the game.

You know, so long after the start of this season, no team has ever been able to cause such trouble for the Lakers, even the Grizzlies, who are extremely balanced, and the Grizzlies and Lakers only led the Lakers by 1 point in the first three quarters, and what about the Timberwolves? Winning the Lakers by 11 points in half a game, it can be said that this team completely controlled the initiative of the game.

And the Lakers also lost such initiative for the first time since the beginning of this season, so when the game ended at halftime, many fans in front of the TV were worried about whether the Laker would have some problems.

Of course, unlike many other fans in front of the TV, Popovich didn't have much schadenfreude in his heart at this time because the Lakers were behind, because the strength of the Timberwolves also exceeded his estimates, and in this case, it is really not so easy to say who the Lakers and the Timberwolves are their biggest opponents this season.

At this time, Popovich was very entangled when he watched TV, and the Lakers bench at the game scene was also very entangled, especially at the end of the first half, after the start of the second half, the Timberwolves still fiercely suppressed the Lakers, which made it difficult for the assistant coach Green in front of the Lakers bench to adapt.

Especially at the beginning of the third quarter, in the face of the Lakers' full-court pressing and extremely aggressive defense, the Timberwolves still played extremely calmly, which was even more surprising to him, after all, although this Timberwolves are considered by many to have the best team configuration. Both the inside and outside lines are top-notch. But there is no doubt about it. After the departure of Nash, the playmaker, the Timberwolves no longer have first-class strength.

It's just that Green is a little surprised that the ordinary Redno game played in the previous two seasons seems to be enlightened, although his current performance is not as flashy as Nash, but he is also extremely old-fashioned, with a very low turnover rate, whether it is dribbling or ball control. Passing, or the overall picture is not bad, although each item is not very strong, but every one is not bad, from this point of view, the Timberwolves' playmaker is still not first-class, but it is definitely quasi-first-class.

"Coach, the Timberwolves' point guard has a really good view of the overall situation, and it's very stable, it's a problem," and finally Stephen Green also looked at the Timberwolves' playmaker on the court and Peel said helplessly after stabilizing the situation in the face of the Lakers' pressing.

"yes, a very good player indeed. Ordinary but not mediocre, George Carr trained him well "when he was at the Boston Celtics. Zhuang Fei was interested in the 2002 rookie, but in the end, Zhuang Fei did not have a high enough draft pick, and finally had to choose Prince.

For Ridno, Zhuang Fei knows more than Green, with average talent, but extremely solid. It is extremely unrealistic for the Lakers to use the team's high-pressure defense to force this team to make a lot of mistakes, especially at this time when Bowen is off the court and Ginobili is on the court, the Timberwolves' basketball ability is no worse than any team in the league, plus the Twin Towers with absolute superiority in height, after the Lakers increased their defensive oppression, they did not create too much trouble for this team, but the Lakers were almost pulled away again.

"It seems that this guy has really been preparing for this game for a long time," Zhuang Fei looked at the Timberwolves head coach George Karl who was standing on the sidelines with some surprise.

The Lakers were suppressed in this game, not only because the Timberwolves players were determined and intense, but these were just the basics, and on this basis, George Carr's arrangement so far in this game did not make the efforts of these Timberwolves players useless.

Whether it is player rotation or game layout, George Karl has done a good job, and it is also extremely sufficient, it is obvious that this is prepared in advance, perhaps for the head coach of the Timberwolves, he may be the most supportive of what the Minnesota media said, removing the influence of Zhuang Fei from the Timberwolves, and letting the Timberwolves start a new era, a new era that belongs to him George Karl.

And to do that, then he must beat this Chinese, especially in this year's playoffs to beat this Chinese and then win the championship, as long as this is done, Zhuang Fei's almost rock-solid position in Minnesota will be shaken, so for him, this game is his most important test of Zhuang Fei's team, and after the test in the first half of this game, he found that his idea was feasible.

"Kobe, are you alright?"

The Lakers encountered an unprecedented block in this game, a team's state is constant for a certain period of time, after all, it is difficult for players to really adjust their state at any time, and it is clear that the current state of Timberwolves players is much better than that of Lakers players.

That is to say, they have been adjusting their state for this game a long time ago, and the Lakers are in a bit of a decline when they beat the Grizzlies not long ago, in this case, they are almost everywhere in this game, although their strength is not weaker than the Timberwolves even now, but there is still this feeling, even in the usual game, Kobe, who has always been extremely scrappy, is a little low in this game until now.

Especially after being entangled by Bowen for a period of time in the first half, at this time, even if Bowen was not on the court, he felt that his whole body was uncomfortable, and this feeling was terrible for him.

"I'm fine, I just feel a little uncomfortable" In the face of Hardaway's happiness, Kobe Bryant also said a little helplessly, and at this time, they who had already passed half time also quickly began to attack again, and now the Timberwolves are gaining momentum, if they can't push this wave down, the Lakers will have to explain here at the end of the third quarter, especially now that the Lakers team seems to be feeling very bad.

"Coach, now our team looks awkward, coach. Why don't we rush to the inside? Green said with a frown as he watched Webb, who had been forced to the free throw line, still handling the ball with difficulty under Garnett's defensive interference. Even at the beginning of the third quarter. Zhuang Fei replaced Hill and replaced Paul to attract defensive attention to Webber inside.

But in the end, he still couldn't free Weber, and even Paul himself was in trouble, Garnett's defensive area was too wide, and the Lakers were now playing awkwardly, and this game was like the first time to play the Spurs, when Duncan almost covered the entire area above the three-point line.

"Well, Kevin has put a lot of pressure on the Lakers. But now there is no need to risk the impact on the inside, we have a safer way" In the face of the situation that seemed to be getting more and more festering, Zhuang Fei didn't seem to have Green's kind of worry, but showed a meaningful smile.

And just after Zhuang Fei finished speaking, Green saw what Zhuang Fei said about the safer way, in the face of Kobe Bryant, who was a little sluggish in shooting in this game, this time Webb threw the ball to the left 45-degree three-point line with extremely difficult sideways passes under Garnett's pressure, and at this time Pierce was on this passing line.

"Webb's pass is too risky," Green said worriedly after seeing the pass, only to see that the ball thrown by Webber had just crossed Pierce, who jumped up. In the astonishment of Pierce and the Timberwolves fans in the court, the basketball that had just crossed Pierce fell rapidly. In the end, it naturally appeared in Szebiak's hand, and Szebiak, who received Webb's pass, barely made any adjustments, got up and shot directly, and sent the basketball out of his hand in the most standard shooting posture.

brushed, hit a three-point shot, and at this time, he was still shouting that Webb's pass was too risky, and Green, who needed to impact the basket, was also a little sluggish on his face.

And this is what Zhuang Fei said the Lakers are more safe, Szzebiak's three-pointer, the All-Star who has been quiet this season but has steadily occupied a starting spot on the team. In terms of hitting, Zhuang Fei's trust in him is no worse than Kobe Bryant or the Lakers' three elders.

"Beautiful shot," Zhuang Fei said with a smile after Szczebiak hit the three-pointer.

Szczebiak, who shot this three-pointer, didn't celebrate much, but quickly went back, obviously, he was worried that the Timberwolves would quickly counterattack, almost all teams coached by Zhuang Fei would have this hand, but in the eyes of others, Szzambiak didn't have arrogance after shooting the key three points, no celebration, not even a happy expression, compared to Kobe's kind of arrogance is a different style, but this style is very reassuring, especially the other players of the Lakers.

Now the Timberwolves are very oppressive to the Lakers, and the team began to replace Bowen in the third quarter, and the replacement of Ginobili was to suppress the Lakers on the offensive end, which also made the Lakers who played extremely awkward in this game a little difficult to parry, but what many people didn't expect was that in the face of the continuous oppression of the Timberwolves, although the Lakers were a little shaky, the Timberwolves still did not open the difference.

"Three-pointer, three-pointer, this is Szczebiak's fourth three-pointer in a row in this quarter, Pierce has been sealed in the face, but the shooting posture of this Lakers player has not changed, as if Pierce does not exist, it is too powerful, maybe he is the best three-point shooter in NBA history"

As the TV commentator in the stands shouted after Szczebiak hit another three-point shot, Pierce also looked at Szczebiak with some horror, who was almost defended by himself and had no space, this guy actually hit again. And it still seemed to be insignificant after the shot, and turned away.

"This guy" Pierce was also a little angry in his heart, and he was also helpless, it was really too difficult to meet such an opponent.

"He's our last few insurances" Looking at Pierce, who was a little helpless by Szzerbiak on the court, Zhuang Fei also smiled on the sidelines.

Of course, this time is very helpless for Pierce, and for Szzebiak, this is indeed a very insignificant thing, at this time, no matter what is good, Webber or Paul or Kobe Hardaway can not open the situation, at this time, it also shows that the Lakers' conventional weapons are not of much use in this game, and he needs to play this unconventional weapon, he knows very well what he can do, and he knows very well what he should do.

Just like many people said this season that his status has declined after the Lakers three elders came to the Lakers, his number of shots is not more than a few times compared to the Lakers' previous seasons when Kobe Bryant and O'Neal fought, and even in the recent All-Star voting, he was covered by his teammates and almost forgotten by the fans, but even so, he did not feel that he was as helpless in the Lakers as in previous seasons, on the contrary, he played happily in the Lakers this season, because this is the basketball he wants, That's the way he plays.

Shooting threes, hitting threes, opening up one obstacle after another for the team, that's what he's doing now, even if it's not as dazzling as Kobe Bryant's crazy scoring, Hardaway's and Hill's shooting or Webb's crazy triple-double, but he still knows that he's one of the most important players on this team, because that's what he does at Wake Forest, and the head coach who is generally standing on the court is also his head coach at Wake Forest.

"I can kill the game with my shot" Szzambiak also looked at his hands with some excitement on his face at this time, this is the feeling when he was in Wake Forest, at that time, he could feel that his shot could control the world, and now he feels the same.

Of course, in the face of Szebiak's sudden outburst, George Karl on the sidelines was a little surprised, and he was also a little anxious, he studied almost all the important players of the Lakers, the Lakers three elders, Kobe, Paul and even Jackson, but the only thing that missed this league three-point king, because this guy is not only shooting three-pointers or shooting three-pointers this season, how do such players need to be studied?

Even in the current NBA, the three-point shot can change the general trend of the game, but in the eyes of many people, the three-point shot is still an offense that relies on luck, and Szebiak is naturally a player who relies on luck, and no player in the world can control his own destiny outside the three-point line, at least in Karl's heart.

It's just clear that even the world's three-pointers rely on luck, and neither is Szzerbiak, who is the only player in the world who can take control of his own destiny beyond the three-point line.

It's just that George Karl doesn't believe this, but whether he believes it or not, this quarter of the game ended up being a situation where Szzebiak singled out the Timberwolves.

With Szczebiak's crazy performance of hitting 8 three-pointers in a single quarter, the Lakers actually kept the score under the pressure of the Timberwolves, but at the end of the third quarter, the Lakers still trailed by 11 points. The situation is not rosy. (To be continued.) )