Garnett's season reimbursement seemed to have caused a chain reaction within the Timberwolves, and the Timberwolves suffered frequent injuries for a period of time.

This forced Luke to expand his regular rotation and increase the number of veteran players' offs, so as to ensure that the Timberwolves in the playoffs can come up with a healthy and powerful lineup.

In the second half of January, the Timberwolves played intermittently after Garnett's season reimbursement, and Iverson, Ben Wallace and others suffered injuries one after another.

If Garnett's season reimbursement exposed a flaw in the Timberwolves' invincible defense, then Iverson's rest made the Timberwolves' entire offensive system face a reshuffle.

On the Timberwolves' bench was Gerald Wallace, who was selected as the second team of the All-Defensive Team last year. Even if Garnett was unable to play due to injury, the Timberwolves' defensive ability is enough to make any team in the league feel a headache.

However, Iverson's rest was a huge blow to the Timberwolves, and there was no strong scorer on the team's bench who could replace Iverson.

Whether it is Iguodala or "Penny" Hardaway, both of them are far from scoring.

Especially when the "penny" Hardaway was not at its peak, the team's offensive responsibility had to fall back on Artest.

Frequent arrangements for Iverson to take a rest are also helpless.

As early as the 76ers, Iverson had a lot of injuries. Now the Timberwolves put the burden of offense on Iverson alone. With Garnett's season reimbursement, this forced Luke to use Iverson more cautiously.

After all, Iverson is no longer able to play 82 regular season games at this age. In the long regular season schedule, the 31-year-old Iverson also needs rest, even if Iverson is a fighter on the court.

Iverson only had one full attendance in his entire career, and it has been four years since Iverson played 80 games in a single season last time.

Iverson is still the backcourt player with the strongest offensive firepower in the league, but it has to be admitted that time still leaves many traces on Iverson.

Iverson played 72 games last season, and only had ten rests throughout the season.

Even in the late season, in order to lead the 76ers to the playoffs, Iverson once played with injuries, with an average of 43.1 minutes per game, ranking first in the league.

Garnett's accidental injury sounded the alarm for head coach Luke, making Luke realize for the first time that Iverson was no longer the wind-chasing boy who was at his peak, but a stadium veteran who had been in the league for ten seasons.

Iverson's cool hip-hop style and handsome dreadlocks always make people forget his age, but before I knew it, Iverson had reached the stage of needing health.

Even after Garnett was injured, the Timberwolves needed Iverson's performance on the offensive end, but Luke still arranged a respite for Iverson in an orderly manner.

While preventing Iverson from playing all back-to-back games, Iverson is also allowed to not participate in large-distance cross-regional competitions to avoid injuries on the field due to rushing and driving.

Luke's rest schedule can protect Iverson's subsequent health to the greatest extent, but the disadvantage is that the Timberwolves struggled very hard in the second half of January.

Ben Wallace needs to recuperate for two to three games due to a wrist injury, and Iverson was also unable to play during this period. The absence of several main players caused the Timberwolves to be in trouble.

With all schedules in January, the Timberwolves' record has reached 40 wins and 10 losses.

The Timberwolves lost five games in January. Except for Garnett's injury, the two-point defeat to the Nuggets, the next one was the game where Iverson and Ben Wallace were absent at the same time. The Timberwolves lost all regretfully.

The Timberwolves had a record of 11 wins and 5 losses in January, with a monthly winning rate of nearly 70% enough, but it would seem so insignificant if it were put on the Timberwolves.

According to data, when Ben Wallace missed the game due to injury, the Timberwolves' defensive efficiency declined severely.

The inside line can only be supported by Hayes and Artest, and the inside double towers composed of Garnett and Ben Wallace are completely incomparable.

As for Iverson's offensive efficiency when he missed the game, the Timberwolves' offensive efficiency was even more terrible, and they scored nearly 12 points less per 100 rounds on average.

Iverson and Ben Wallace's contribution to the Timberwolves can be seen with the naked eye, especially when Garnett was injured and unable to play, these two people were almost the core of the Timberwolves' offense and defense.

Fortunately, the lean camel is bigger than the horse. Although the Timberwolves seemed to be bumpy all the way through January, the record of 40 wins and 10 losses still makes the Timberwolves ranked first in the league.

There is still a visible gap with the other 28 teams in the league.

As for why it is 28 teams, not 29, because the Dallas Mavericks are currently on par with the Timberwolves in terms of record, and both teams are at the top of the list with 40 wins and 10 losses.

However, the last time the two teams fought against the Timberwolves defeated the Mavericks by 5 points, so as of January, the Timberwolves were lucky enough not to lose the top spot in the league.

…………

In early February, the return of Iverson and Ben Wallace was considered a centralizer for the team.

In the first two games in February, the Timberwolves defeated the Raptors and the Nets, two Eastern Conference powerhouses, and continued to lead the Mavericks with a slight advantage, sitting on the throne of the league, refusing to come down for a long time.

In the game against the Nets, Iverson scored 51 points in the game, and beat Eddie House, who was facing him, and his eyes were filled with fear.

This is also the third time Iverson scored 50 in a single game this season, tied for the league with Kobe Bryant.

In addition, facing his old club Nets, Eric Williams has gained a lot of playing time.

Eric Williams also lived up to Luke's trust and threw four three-pointers from the outside, becoming Iverson's helper after being added by the Nets in the second half.

Eric Williams' defensive efficiency can only rank lower in the middle in the power forward position.

However, after joining the Timberwolves, Eric Williams only needs to use his strengths and act as an outside turret on the offensive end. While opening up space for his teammates, he tries to hit those damn open three-pointers.

So far, Eric Williams' three-point shooting percentage has reached 46.1%.

Even if he doesn't have much time to play on weekdays, once Luke takes it to the arena, this old guy who has been in the league for 11 years can always make a contribution.

After more than half a month of running-in, the Timberwolves have gradually begun to get used to games without Garnett.

Gerald Wallace filled the gap on the Timberwolves defensive end well.

Even if Gerald's defensive ability is not as good as Garnett, the defending champion still reorganized his bags and prepared to set sail for the rest of the season!
Chapter completed!