Chapter 186 The Birth of an Actor

In mid-April, the Jazz have their final five games remaining.

The regular season has entered its final stage, and the rankings of the Eastern and Western Conferences have been basically determined, but...it's hard to say who can seize the bottom position and compete for the lottery pick.

Just look at the West...

The current bottom is the Dallas Mavericks with 10 wins and 67 losses, followed by the Minnesota Timberwolves with 11 wins and 66 losses, while the bottom of the Eastern Conference is the Washington Bullets with 21 wins and 56 losses.

Obviously, other teams cannot compete with the Mavericks and Timberwolves, and the Mavericks and Timberwolves will definitely compete for the bottom spot in the league and use this year's draft opportunities to prepare for next season.

But there is a good thing for the Timberwolves, that is, in the final stage of the regular season, their opponents are all strong teams, and they don't have to overdo it to lose easily, and their latest opponent is the Utah Jazz!

…

Because it was the final stage, the schedule was a bit rushed. The Jazz, who were playing away games, arrived in Minnesota in the morning of the game, and the game followed in the evening.

But no matter how tight the schedule is, there is not much pressure on the Jazz. After all, everyone knows... Although this game is between the Jazz and the Timberwolves, it is actually a competition between the Timberwolves and the Mavericks to dive for the bottom of the league.

Can't win!

Absolutely no way to win!

The Timberwolves were resolute.

Speaking of which, this season they gained the No. 3 pick in the draft and rookie center Alonzo Mourning. Mourning also showed his dominance in the penalty area at the beginning of the season, but it was difficult to achieve success alone... The Timberwolves survived until the first two months of the season and found out I really couldn't hold it in anymore, so I simply let go.

However, in order to save face and prevent their team from breaking the NBA's losing streak record, the Timberwolves have to fight hard every time the losing streak becomes too big. It’s not too ugly to accompany him.

Just doing this...it was really hard for Mourning to lead the team to achieve such results. Although it was not his turn to take the blame, he still felt angry and worked hard to prepare for next season.

…

That night.

Utah Jazz VS Minnesota Timberwolves, the game officially started at the Target Center Arena.

However, for the Timberwolves, the new team in the NBA...the original market is not big, the fan base is poor, and the record this season is poor, the home attendance is a bit embarrassing. In an arena that can accommodate 20,000 people, it is estimated that only 20,000 people can sit there. Less than half.

After the warm-up, the game between the two sides began immediately.

The Timberwolves' starting lineup includes center Alonzo Mourning, power forward Marlon Maxey, small forward Chuck Person, shooting guard Doug West, and point guard Mitchell Williams.

Facing the surging Jazz, Timberwolves head coach Sidney Lowe is very relaxed, because he feels at ease that he will lose this game. He does not need to endure the attacks and abuses from the media and fans. This is a requirement for his players. ... Don’t worry, let’s fight, we won’t win!

The Timberwolves are easy, and the Jazz are even easier.

The starting lineup is center Li Shengli, power forward Karl Malone, small forward Tyrone Corbin, point guard John Stockton, and shooting guard John Crotty.

Needless to say about the others, it is worth mentioning that Crotty successfully entered the starting lineup.

Against the Hornets, he made 7 of 10 three-pointers; against the Spurs, he scored 12 points in 9 minutes. His performance was too eye-catching, but that was his most extraordinary performance. Jerry Sloan gave him several points in the subsequent games. After the first opportunity to appear, the performance stabilized.

He averages 30 minutes of playing time per game, and his averages in recent games have reached 13 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 2.7 steals.

This data is really not good enough. After all, Jerry Sloan gave him 30 minutes of playing time, but... Jerry Sloan saw much more than that. He saw an average of 2.7 steals per game. This The data is really good.

A team's defense generally focuses on the inside. It is difficult to digitize defenders' defense, and defenders who can make the best defensive team are too rare.

The rebounding data is random. Among the few benign data, steals are still an indicator, and Crotty's defensive performance was noticed by Jerry Sloan.

Take action?

The Jazz have too much firepower, and there is no shortage of Crotty, but Crotty can use defense to drive the opponent into the inside, leaving it to Li Shengli and Malone to deal with it, blocking the opponent's offensive efficiency.

Of course, Crotty is not without offensive ability, but this guy is keen on three-pointers, which will be a counterattack weapon for the Jazz at critical moments.

Compared with the original Jeff Malone, Crotty is slightly behind in terms of offense, but his defense is better. Generally speaking... Crotty is more suitable for today's Jazz, and his defense does not take up too much. Many possessions.

…

Game start.

The Jazz don't have any special arrangements. After all, if they play against the Timberwolves, even if they use the substitutes in the second team, they won't lose. The Timberwolves... also don't have many arrangements. After putting in the five main starting players, Sidney Lowe will let the sheep go.

Although he was yelling on the sidelines and seemed to care about the outcome, this was acting after all, and as a head coach, he naturally had to cooperate with the players' performances.

Life is like a play, who is not an actor?

In the first quarter, the two sides exchanged tentative attacks.

The Jazz's touch was not good, and their outside shots were often hit hard. Malone also made a few shots, but the hit rate was not high, so Li Shengli's scoring at the basket was more stable.

As for the Timberwolves…

Shooting guard Doug West is a veteran of the team with superb acting skills. He is also the most important actor in this game. He just throws the ball blindly when receiving the pass from his teammates.

It's a bit too much to do nothing. Doug West, as a veteran actor, naturally can't do such stupid things. He still needs to be beautiful in his superficial skills.

However, what happened was counterproductive. The strange thing was...he could throw whatever he wanted. The more blindly he threw, the more accurate he was. And he made 5 consecutive shots, 5 of 5, and scored 10 points.

Do not believe in evil!

Doug West went crazy and slipped outside the three-point line and took a three-pointer. He really rarely shoots three-pointers. This is the least confident shot. After all, his three-point shooting rate of 8.7% is no joke. , although such a low shooting rate is due to the fact that he takes few three-pointers, it also proves from the side that... his shots are not accurate.

Uh-huh!

Another three-pointer.

13 points, Doug West, 100% shooting!

…

Until the end of the first quarter.

The score between the two sides was 15:30, and the Timberwolves took an unprecedented 15-point lead. Damn it, Doug West also tried his best. He didn't believe it was so evil, and he shot two more mid-range shots and a three-pointer.

One hundred percent hit!

7 of 7 two-pointers, 2 of 2 three-pointers, and one foul free throw, 2 of 2, with a total score of 22 points. The Timberwolves scored a total of 30 points, and this guy scored 22 points alone.

…

The fans in the Target Center were a little stunned, and then burst into a burst of joyful and excited shouts. Although the attendance was not high, the roar of all the fans was still deafening.

What is rhythm?

They beat the Jazz in the first quarter, they really want to win!

For a moment, the audience stood up and applauded the miracle created by Doug West, and even a small group of die-hard fans shouted that he was...the Timberwolves' belated pride!

At the same time, the Timberwolves players are all going crazy, and head coach Sidney Lowe is even more furious... I ask you to play well, and your fucking shooting percentage is like shit, and if you make blind shots, you fucking give I moved back with a 100% hit rate? !

Oh shit!

I'll let you play jazz!

You fucking bastard, you even act like me? !