Duan Ran: Stars and super giants! Great and outstanding!

The Thunder narrowly defeated the Timberwolves and led 3-1 in the series.

Before this game, the Thunder had just experienced a 42-point defeat. After the third game, Chet said two words in the interview -

We are not without the strength of our opponents, we are not matching at all.

We were too easy for Edwards to score with the ball. The players on the court feel the most sensitive.

Chate knows, and Coach Dagnott knows it too.

The Thunder turned into defense at the beginning -

Jaylen Williams and Caruso collaborated to tighten the space at the top of the arc.

Dort squeezed through every cover, and put Edwards in death.

can shoot, but cannot easily shoot with the ball.

can break through, but more energy must be put into it.

can move and pass the ball, but it cannot easily catch the ball.

This is the defensive strategy that the Thunder customized for Huazi today. In the post-match interview, he believed that -

cannot be struggling, but the opponent's strategy is good enough.

The parties involved personally affirmed it.

But - this is not the whole story of the Thunder's changes in this game.

The first attack at the beginning, Alexander assisted Jaylen Williams to score a three-pointer.

Timberwolves have excessive defense and can be restrained but not released.

8 minutes and 45 seconds before the end of the first quarter, Alexander forced the Timberwolves to replace the defense and passed the ball.

Jaylen Williams made the second three-pointer without hesitation.

Timberwolves' rotation begins to loosen.

Just 67 seconds later, Alexander attracted double teams and sent a flat and fast pass.

Dort scored a long-range shot.

So far, Xinke MVP read out the Timberwolves' defensive flaws, with three assists in five minutes.

Simple, clear, calm - and add a little cleverness. In addition to the

strategy, Thunder also has hardness.

They struggled to grab every frontcourt rebound.

Alexander continued to attack the Frenchman, and the team transferred the ball steadily, with 37 points in the first quarter.

Timberwolves, Edwards and Randall each scored only one sports goal in the first quarter.

Thunder strategy was successful.

such confrontation, such counter-arrangement choice, such intensity of the game.

will kill the opponent's core with all your strength, put pressure on one side, and catch the ball is strictly prohibited.

At first glance, this is the most reasonable defensive strategy.

However--

is really a serious gambling nature when choosing a counter position. The role players of the Timberwolves were moved.

McDaniels' three-pointers and breakthroughs, Walker's best shooting performance in his career.

Shannon has a strong sense of offensive presence.

The Timberwolves team scored 30 assists, 18 three-pointers, and 126 points.

A large number of punishments for the Thunder's defense to continuously transfer the ball.

But-

Thunder still won.

Because their core players are much higher than those of the Timberwolves.

Alexander scored 40 points and 10 assists, Jewe had 34 points and 6 three-pointers, and Chet had 21 points.

Correspondingly, Edwards scored 16 points, Randall scored 5 points and made 5 turnovers.

can still play to the last moment of the game, and I can only say that the role players of the Timberwolves are indeed burned out.

But wait a moment - how did the word

burn out come from?

It refers to the process of the team's core without any retreat, playing to a high level without reservation in absolute adversity. Keywords like

were actually placed on the two role players of the Timberwolves today -

helpless, confused, intriguing, and abstract.

Of course - it also reflects the Thunder's great success on the defensive end.

Edwards is certainly a good player.

He has strong physical fitness and he has extremely high athletic talent.

His style is gorgeous and unrestrained, and he can always play very impressive offensive rounds.

Randall is certainly a good player.

He has strong physical fitness and is very good at handling misalignment.

If the opponent's rotation is not so detailed and tight, he can fight like a god of war.

Then what? After these two players became the core, they essentially ignored the following traits -

ball control, dribble, on-the-spot judgment, offensive round reading, and no-ball options, integrating the game details during offense.

As early as the regular season stage, I had deeply worried about the Timberwolves' on-the-spot details.

At this moment—

Facing the top defensive resources in the entire league, their basic skills and football maker are facing severe challenges.

The Timberwolves we see now are a team with serious physical talent and serious on-the-spot reactions.

The players who best provide defensive strength in the entire team do not have the ability to attack independently.

The players who provide the best offensive explosiveness in the entire team are rough and are only 23 years old.

The team has the highest player and is best at dominating the offensive rounds at the age of 38.

In the 1995-96 season, Phil Jackson talked about why the Bulls won 72 times in an interview.

Many years ago I told the players--

What we pursue is not excellence, or even greatness, but excellence.

How to play excellent basketball?

When you really need to win, you don’t rely on role players to make up for the stage.

The one who should stand up and do the best is our superstar.

At the end of the regular season, more than one friend around me asked me - how valuable is this 68-win Thunder?

You see -

A team scored a very high net score and contributed a defensive level far beyond their imagination.

What followed was the media and fans.

Just because you have to prove yourself in the critical playoffs.

Today's Alexander proves why he is the MVP this season.

In such a fight that just takes a step back and leans against the cliff—the man opposite the court failed to match.

You all know who I am talking about.