On November 7, local time in the United States, the Timberwolves announced that the team has officially completed the signing of the famous star Carl Malone.

The two sides signed a one-year minimum guaranteed veteran salary.

There weren't many surprises about the signing of other teams in the league, because people had already thought of this result when Timberwolves general manager McHale went to Arkansas to meet Carl Malone several times.

However, Carl Malone, who is already over 40 years old this year, is not taken seriously by anyone, or other teams have no sense of crisis about the Timberwolves signing Carl Malone.

Even though Malone averaged nearly double-double per game last season, the current "postman" is no longer the "postman" of the past, and the tough guy today is also not the tough guy that he was back then.

If you really want to say something that makes people feel afraid, it is Carl Malone's "iron elbow" to open the way.

Originally, this Timberwolves was like a "thorn-headed retention center". The players on the team were more or less violent. Now Carl Malone is joining the Timberwolves, which is indeed not a good thing for other teams.

Although Carl Malone's joining may not cause a qualitative change in this Timberwolves, if it is a fight and fighting level, then this Timberwolves can take off directly on the spot.

After all, the Timberwolves' new head coach is Luke, although most NBA fans are unfamiliar with the name Luke.

But as the Timberwolves once played first in the league in the new season and had an unparalleled explosive performance, the matter about Luke has become well-known to more and more fans.

This also made Luke's various bad habits in the European basketball world spread in the NBA. Even when some young fans learned about these things, they couldn't believe them at all.

Because it is difficult for people to associate a notorious devil with the Timberwolves, a young man who is only in his 30s and looks very handsome.

However, when photos and facts are placed in front of fans one after another, people have to believe that the new head coach of the Timberwolves is not only very capable, but also a complete bastard!!

In addition, Carl Malone's joining has also brought the Timberwolves' roster to 14 in the new season.

Malone will wear the No. 32 jersey he is most familiar with this season, which is the "No. 32 jersey" that he had accompanied him for 18 seasons with the Jazz.

……………………

On November 8, the Timberwolves welcomed their strongest opponent since the start of the new season.

In this game, the Timberwolves will be at home to meet the challenge of the Seattle Supersonics.

And new player Carl Malone will also make his debut in the game and play in the Timberwolves jersey for the first time in his career.

This season, the Supersonics' record has suddenly improved sharply, second only to the Timberwolves, the Suns and Spurs, ranking fourth in the West.

The Supersonics are also the strongest team that the Timberwolves meet. In a sense, it is very suitable to act as a whetstone.

Let Luke more accurately analyze whether there is still a gap between the Timberwolves and the league's top combat power.

Although the Timberwolves currently rank first in the league with a record of six wins and zero losses, the Timberwolves faced an average overall opponent in these six games.

So Luke had already started to be impatient for the arrival of this game.

In the new season, this supersonic team is still based on the Gemini stars Ray Allen and Lewis. The Supersonics' record of leaps and bounds this season is largely due to Lewis' personal outbreak this season.

So far, Lewis' average data has increased to 22.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals, plus a 40% three-point shooting percentage, Lewis has become the best helper around Ray Allen.

In addition, the growth of sophomore rookie Ridno is also an important factor in the ability of this supersonic to take off.

Playing next to two top scorers in the league, Ray Allen and Lewis, Ridno's average of 10 points and 7 assists per game is enough to keep his feet on the ground.

At least for a sophomore rookie who was selected to be ranked 14th in the first round, Ridno's performance has received recognition from the Supersonics management.

Before the game started, Luke gathered the players together and kept explaining what he had with the tactical board.

If you look from a distance, people will definitely think that Luke is explaining tactics to the players and what to pay attention to after the game begins.

But when the camera was closer, people heard it: "The Supersonics' inside strength is average. Apart from Jerome, only Nick can barely protect the frame, so we must hit more balls to the basket in this game."

"Karl, this is your first game since you came to the team. I will let you start in this game. I hope you can teach Jerome the opponent a lesson that will last forever."

"After all, this season is Jerome's contract year. If you want to lose his fat contract in one game, I believe you can integrate into the team." After a pause, Luke continued: "We can make a bet. If your score is three times or more than him, then I will have a rest this weekend, and I will arrange for it."

As Spreville and others smirked, Ma Long, whose stubble had already begun to turn white, chuckled: "That's so sorry, but you must have to spend money this weekend."

"Why take me one, coach, I raise Carl." "Madman" Spreville continued to cheer.

"You'd better get out and play your game well. I hope you won't be beaten by thunder in this game."

"No, I think it's Ray's dog head that should be blown up." Putting down the drink, Spreville walked towards the field in a good mood.

As the game is about to begin, both sides announced their starting lineups respectively.

Timberwolves: Kassel, Madman, Szebiak, Garnett, and Karl Malone.

Supersonics: Reedno, Ray Allen, Lewis, Reggie Evans, and Jerome James.

In this game, Luke chose to put Carl Malone in the center position as the starting lineup. Although Malone is only 2.06 meters tall, his strong muscles are enough to make him reach the No. 5 position.

As for the two inside players on the Supersonics, they are even more bizarre. Whether it is Reggie Evans, Jerome James, neither of them basically have no scoring ability.

Jerome James averaged 4.9 points this season, while Reggie Evans had 4.7 points.

So this supersonic relies entirely on the offensive end of the game by Ray Allen and Lewis, and most of the endings are at medium and long distances.

The Supersonics are also the second most three-pointers per game this season.

After the game started, the ball was first obtained by the Supersonics.

The offensive supersonics mainly rely on Ray Allen, as well as the projection space after pick-and-roll by Reedno and Lewis.

Since Evans and James both have very average finishing skills at the basket, they are just typical rough players to put it simply.

This also led to Supersonics head coach McMillan having to arrange for Ridno and Lewis to play pick-and-roll.

In this way, Lewis is within his offensive range whether he is down or up, and Ridno can also choose to pass the ball to Ray Allen who runs without the ball according to the situation, or to end up with his own layup.

In Luke's opinion, this team is relatively simple, after all, this supersonic mainly relies on the Gemini to score.

Therefore, the strategy given by Luke is to "change whenever you block", change defense when you encounter pick-and-roll, and resolutely not shoot from the outside. He would rather hit the supersonics to the basket than to fundamentally eliminate Thunder Allen's offensive methods.

Except for Carl Malone, others will switch defenses as soon as they encounter pick-and-roll, which can interfere with the supersonic shooting to the greatest extent.

Even if Garnett switches to lightning protection, Allen, Ray Allen, it will be difficult for Garnett to ensure efficiency in one-on-one. It is precisely because of this that Luke has sufficient confidence to take away the game.

As the Supersonics used multiple pick-and-rolls on the offensive end, but failed to create an offensive opportunity, Ray Allen had to complete an emergency stop at the middle distance.

"Bang!"

With Ray Allen's emergency stop and the midfield shot went out, Garnett immediately protected the backcourt rebound, and then took the ball to advance to the frontcourt.

When he came to the frontcourt, Garnett, who failed to create a chance to defend and counterattack, handed over the ball to Kassel for organization, and then all the Timberwolves players were placed according to tactics.

It is also a familiar horn position, but this time after the pick-and-split split, the player who lifted up became Carl Malone, and the player who lifted downward became Garnett.

Since Malone played the No. 5 position, while Malone lifted upwards, James had to stand even more outside.

This way, Garnett, who cuts downward, can create an open scoring area near the penalty area.

Even if Reggie Evans did not lose his position on the defensive end, Garnett could easily score because Reggie Evans averaged 0.1 shots per game in his career. As an inside player, he could say that he had no ability to protect the frame at all.

After the pick-and-roll, it is mentioned that mid-range shooting near the free throw line is made. This is the way Carl Malone has been performing all his life.

Coupled with Carl Malone's stable shooting efficiency, Luke made adjustments to the positioning of both.

In addition, if Jerome James chooses to double-team or assist in defense after defending the pick-and-roll, Garnett, who has an excellent passing vision, can also pass the ball to Malone, who is in the open position as soon as possible, so that Malone can complete the shooting more easily.

In short, Garnett's comprehensiveness allows him to take on different identities, and at the same time, it also makes the Timberwolves more flexible and makes Carl Malone more comfortable to play.

In the whole first quarter, thanks to head coach Luke's targeted defensive arrangement, the Supersonics, which averaged the second most three-point shots per game this season, was pinched by the Timberwolves, and the three-point shot in the first quarter directly hit a new season low.

And he also fell into a stagnation on the offensive end, and was scored 27:14 in the first quarter by the Timberwolves. It didn't look like a battle between the Western Conference strong teams, but rather a unilateral massacre.

It was no different from the Timberwolves when they slaughtered the Warriors and the Trail Blazers before.

It is worth mentioning that Luke's defensive strategy of changing defense as soon as he encounters a pick-and-roll has basically become popular in the later small ball era.

However, although this defense method sounds relatively simple, it is a very big test for the inside player's lateral movement speed.

Otherwise, once the big player is replaced and defends to the small player, it is very likely that the latter will pass it in one step and complete a wonderful personal single.

Fortunately, Garnett is now at the peak of his career, and his dominance on the defensive end is even at the top of the league. Even if he switches to a small player, Garnett can still resist it.

That's why Luke can safely target the supersonics.

Similarly, it is precisely because of Garnett's impeccable comprehensive performance on both offense and defense that the Timberwolves spent the game in just one quarter.

In the end, Carl Malone made a total of 7 minutes and 21 seconds in the first quarter. He made 2 of 4 shots on the offensive end, contributing 4 points, 3 rebounds and 1 block.

Four of the shots came from mid-range shooting. This semi-healthy style can definitely help Carl Malone avoid injuries and also facilitate Carl Malone to focus more on the defensive end.

As for whether Carl Malone, who is over 40 years old this year, can still snatch young people at the basket, Luke is not worried at all.

Because Luke knew very well that even if Ma Long couldn't grab the peak, he would be "elbowman", let alone Ma Long in his twilight years...
Chapter completed!