The first round of the playoffs officially started on April 24, and the Timberwolves made history this season with a record of 74 wins and 8 losses.

So no matter which team the Timberwolves meet in the playoffs, they will have a home advantage.

The Lakers will face huge pressure to visit Minnesota in the first two games, and become more passive when they are already at a disadvantage.

This season can be called Kobe's Gods level. If Garnett hadn't both Garnett's personal data and the team's record, I believe Kobe had booked the regular season MVP in advance.

Unfortunately, Garnett averaged 23.4 points, 17.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 2.3 steals and 2.7 blocks in the regular season. Although Garnett averaged 35 points per game, he was far ahead in both personal efficiency and team record.

The regular season MVP selection is not just personal data, and the team's record bonus points are far beyond people's imagination. This is to avoid stars from scrambling data in a bottom team to enhance their historical status.

At present, Garnett's re-election for the regular season MVP seems to have become a foregone conclusion, with a comprehensive personal data that makes people feel irritated and a team record of 74 wins and 8 losses.

From any perspective, Garnett has no chance of losing the election.

It is worth mentioning that Garnett has won two consecutive regular season MVPs. If Garnett wins MVP again this season, he will become the fourth player in NBA history to have three consecutive MVPs!

Since the establishment of the NBA, only three players have accomplished this feat in the entire history.

These three players are Russell, the "Lord of the Rings" of ancient times, Chamberlain, and the "Big Bird" Larry Bird.

In addition, even the "God of Basketball" Michael Jordan failed to win the regular season MVP for three consecutive years.

After all, in addition to strength, such things also require some luck.

It is no exaggeration to say that if Garnett is really elected as the regular season MVP and complete the feat of three consecutive banks, Garnett will firmly be the first player in the league.

And they beat Carl Malone and Tim Duncan in the power forward position, and became the well-deserved number one in history. Even though Garnett's career was still long, the three consecutive MVPs were enough to make Garnett beat the heroes.

Before the game started, Lakers star Kobe said in an interview with the media: "This will be a difficult series duel. There is a big gap in strength between the Lakers and the Timberwolves, but before the series really ends, the Lakers still have hope of advancing."

From Kobe, you can see a lot of desire to win. Even if the Lakers' lineup is so deep that they must use Kwame Brown to play the starting lineup, Kobe still doesn't want to give up easily.

In addition to the star Kobe Bryant, the Lakers head coach "Zen Master" seems much calmer, and even doesn't take Luke seriously in his words.

"The Timberwolves' lineup is much better than the Lakers. Although only three Timberwolves were selected for the All-Star lineup this year, there are far more than three players in the Timberwolves who have All-Star strength."

"This will be a huge round of strength, but it is not only the lineup that determines the final victory or defeat on the court, there are many other factors."

"The Lakers have excellent playoff experience in this regard. I believe that the Lakers' chances of advancing are much higher than fans imagine."

"Zen Master" Jackson kept silent about Luke's excellent coaching ability, and also did not comment on the deal between "Little Shark" Bynum and Gotat.

After all, this transaction has already embarrassed the Zen master who is determined to step into the management, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that it is a trauma in his heart.

Although Jackson does not hate Luke as much as Popovich and Larry Brown, he really can't feel good about Luke, Jackson.

In particular, Luke personally led the team to break the best record he achieved when he led the Bulls that year, which made Jackson feel very uncomfortable and even had many crises.

………

Before the game, the players of both sides warmed up their own shots in the half. Jackson stood on the sidelines with a tactical board as if explaining something to the players. Kobe frowned and stared at the tactical board. The entire team revealed a sense of seriousness from top to bottom.

As for the Timberwolves, it seems much easier. The players warm up. Even if the players occasionally have solemn expressions, they will soon be attracted by the appearance of head coach Luke.

Before the game, Luke not only did not explain the precautions to the players, but he also didn't seem nervous. Instead, he talked and laughed to the assistant coach Raymond.

Only Ranbir looked a little nervous, and sat aside and rubbed his hands subconsciously. These actions all showed that Ranbir's heart was not as relaxed as Luke.

In fact, the first round of the playoffs is approaching, and Luke really doesn't have much urgency now. All this comes from his familiarity with Lakers head coach "Zen Master" Jackson.

Luke knew very well that Jackson would definitely play a triangle offense. At most, he would pull out two triangles at the same time on the left and right sides, and make some improvements based on the triangle offense.

It is inevitable that Jackson will not give up playing triangular offense, especially when Kobe is in a hot state this season, the Zen master who does not play triangular offense is useless, and he only has the effect of instilling the spiritual chicken soup into the players.

The most feared defense of triangular offense is the three-and-two joint defense.

Even if Jackson can pull out two sets of triangles at the same time, it is difficult for the Lakers to play in a regular three-and-two joint defense.

But as long as Luke puts Gerald Wallace and Garnett on the left and right sides, with the two of them's coordinated defense capabilities, the Lakers' triangular offense will be halfway.

Unless, like the game in which the Lakers narrowly defeated the Timberwolves at the end of the regular season, Kobe was able to cut melons and vegetables while double-teaming, helping the team continue to maintain offensive firepower, Luke will let Jackson know what cruelty is.

Tell the "Zen Master" with facts that although the era of triangular attack is not over yet, in front of the Timberwolves, triangular attack is a joke.

The Timberwolves' starting lineup in this game are: "Gloves" Payton, Madman, Gerald Wallace, Garnett, and Bynum.

The Lakers are: "Death" Smarsh Parker, Kobe, Odom, Kwame Brown, and Gottate.

Both teams sent out regular starters, and the Zen master still insisted on using the double towers. Even if Kwame Brown's personal strength was hard to describe, the Zen master could only choose to believe this guy.

Although Kwame Brown often has a butter hand and cannot catch the passes of his teammates in the air, Kwame Brown's efficiency in the penalty area is pretty good, and his 53% shooting percentage is not as bad as people think.

However, in this round of the series, Kwame Brown needs to play against the "Wolf King" Garnett, one of the best inside players in the league today.

Fans can only pray that Kwame? Brown will not be hit with a psychological shadow. Just like he just entered the league, he was frightened by Jordan's scolding of the ball.

………

As soon as the game started, Kobe was attacked by the Timberwolves on the offensive end. As long as Kobe entered the shooting range, the Timberwolves would definitely double-team Kobe. Even if Kobe transferred the ball to an open position, he would never give Kobe a mobile phone.

Kobe's personal offense will be the biggest threat to the Timberwolves' series in this round. Once the Timberwolves can control Kobe's point, it will be difficult for the second in commander led by Odom to make a comeback.

On the offensive end, Garnett and "Gloves" Payton took the lead in making efforts. After all, these two sets of matchups are the Timberwolves' most advantageous points.

As a blue-collar insider, Kwame Brown's defensive ability is pretty good, but his reaction speed seems to be really slow to Garnett.

Taking advantage of his footwork, Garnett continued to play Kwame Brown on the offensive end, and at the beginning of the game, he played the personal level that the regular season MVP should have.

Although Garnett's performance was excellent, Kwame Brown was at a disadvantage at all, but the Lakers did not dare to attack like the Timberwolves at will. They could only let the outside players try to interfere and try to help Kwame Brown share the defensive pressure.

The five-man offensive ability on the Timberwolves is pretty good. Once the Lakers attack Garnett, other players will have a very good opportunity, which makes "Zen Master" Jackson dare not bet at all.

As for the "gloves" Payton, he also has obvious advantages when facing the "God of Death" Parker. Parker is 1.93 meters tall and weighs 86 kilograms. He can't be considered thin just by looking at his body shape.

But Smarsh Parker is a real dirt-like background. His offense is not stable enough and his defensive ability is average. In addition to working hard enough, people like Parker can get it in the NBA.

If it weren't for participating in this summer league, the Lakers, who were seriously short of people on the back, were given a non-guaranteed contract, and Parker had almost left the league.

Smart Parker is very famous in the streets of New York. The title of "Death" is the best awe of him, but the NBA league is different from street basketball, especially when entering the playoff stage, a little bit of flaw will be infinitely magnified by the opponent.

Smart Parker, who was born in a dirt path, is already very bad at core strength, but now it is extremely painful to meet Payton, who is very good at playing singles on his back.

"Gloves" Payton is also 1.93 meters tall, and weighs 82 kilograms a little lighter than "Death" Parker, but the core strength of "Gloves" Payton can surpass Parker more than two streets.

As soon as the two of them fought against each other, Parker almost got knocked out several times, and his stumbled looked a little funny.

The Lakers played in the first quarter without any smooth play. The Timberwolves found their flaws on the defensive end and were targeted endlessly. The most important thing was the offensive end. "Zen Master" Jackson found that he could not crack the Timberwolves' ultimate defense.

When Kobe was targeted by the opponent's two, the other people's offensive ability was completely unable to break through the Timberwolves' defense.

In more cases, Kobe can only use difficult moves to complete the attack. Several times, because Kobe broke too deeply into the inside, the Timberwolves had double-teamed Kobe by three, completely blocking Kobe's passing vision, forcing Kobe to end the attack with more difficult moves.

Kobe's poor offensive environment puts the Lakers at a disadvantage in all respects, and even the second leader, Odom, will find it difficult to stand up and take on the big task at this time.

The person who defended Odom in this game was Gerald Wallace. Whether it was one-on-one defense or running without the ball, it was difficult for Odom to come up with a chance.

As for the "God of Death" Parker, who performed well in the regular season, suffered a lot under Payton. His shot with only one of five shots in the first quarter made Parker less and less confident, which was quite like being beaten back to his original form in the playoffs.

If it weren't for Luke who was replaced later, Walton felt quite hot and hit a three-pointer on both sides, the Lakers would have been defeated long ago.

At the end of the first quarter, with Luke Walton making two consecutive three-pointers in the last two minutes, the Lakers narrowed the gap to 4 points.

In the second quarter, the two sides changed into rotational lineups to compete. Only at this time can fans see the gap between the Lakers and the Timberwolves.

During the rotation stage, the Lakers sent some small fish and shrimps, and even several players, Timberwolves fans couldn't name them, but when they saw the rotation lineup of Timberwolves, they almost blinded the fans' eyes.

"Alien" Kassel, Nehbar, Szebiak, Eddie Griffin, Magloire...

These players were taken out separately, except Eddie Griffin, and several others have the ability to start. Now they can only use their rotation time to play in the Timberwolves. I have to say that the Timberwolves' lineup is simply luxurious.

On the other hand, Aaron McGee, Vujasic, Devin George, Brian Cook, and Turiav.

Compared with the lineups of the two sides, "Zen Master" Jackson only felt that his mouth was full of sourness and his whole body exuded a lemony smell.

The Lakers are clearly a giant in the league, and Los Angeles is one of the most luxurious parts of the United States, but in the lineup, they were hung up and beaten by Minnesota's ghostly place. Jackson really doesn't want to accept this cruel fact.

The cruelest thing is that the Timberwolves lineup is obviously very good, but most players are not paid high. Compared with free market solicitation, several players are strengthened by the Timberwolves through trading operations.

Jackson no longer knew whether it was the Timberwolves' good vision or luck. In short, Jackson now looked at the lineup in his hand and became more angry. He even couldn't help but whisper: "What kind of trash is this for helping me!"

The Lakers' poor strength in the rotation stage forced Jackson to increase the main player's playing time without any brains.

Kobe, who had a full play in the first quarter, was sitting off the court and resting, but Odom, who had a one-and-a-half-point break in the first quarter, had to quickly return to the court.

Odom's return will at least allow the Lakers to find the backbone on both offense and defense. If it really doesn't work, it will allow Odom to use his personal ability to play individually, and there will be no forced attacks that will be almost 24 seconds away.

Otherwise, the Lakers, the headless fish and shrimps are not enough to be able to get a thigh between the Timberwolves.

Especially when All-Star player Magloyle was already killing all the inside, Jackson sat on the court and held his forehead with one hand, and he had the idea of ​​dying on the spot.

Within a few minutes of the second quarter, Jackson brought the main player back to the court, especially Kobe. Resting for two minutes was already a gift.

Luke seemed much calmer on the Timberwolves. Although the substitute was not as strong as the starter, he was enough to deal with the Lakers at this stage and could completely gain more rest time for the main players.

With the end of the first half, the Timberwolves expanded their lead to 12 points, revealing the dominance of the defending champion on both ends of the offense and defense.
Chapter completed!