One Year Left to Play

Don’t mention it, this time the Lakers’ defense almost succeeded. It was only because Garnett reacted quickly, had a height advantage, and a good view that he managed to pass the ball. If he had been a moment later, he wouldn’t have had the space to pass.

Garnett now has a higher regard for Zhang Hao’s defensive awareness.

Actually, Zhang Hao just didn’t want Garnett to shoot...

Either way, the defense wasn’t great, letting Garnett receive the ball and shoot over Doug Christie, or letting Guglielota shoot from the free-throw line made little difference.

But unexpectedly, Guglielota chose a more difficult cut with an intercepting player to attack.

Zhang Hao had to criticize this shameless guy Garnett a bit—what about that agreed 211 centimeters? Almost catching up with O’Neal!

The Lakers attacked decisively, and after Kenny Anderson advanced to the front court, he activated solo play mode, challenging the Minnesota Timberwolves’ fast-paced half-court offense!

If he encountered a double team, he passed; if not, he shot directly. Zhang Hao worked hard to spread the floor and tie up Garnett.

The Timberwolves continued to play pick-and-roll offense. This lineup was indeed impressive, with great team coordination. With Marbury, an excellent pick-and-roll ball handler, joining, it filled what the Timberwolves lacked most, maximizing Garnett’s excellent ability to catch and respond after a pick-and-roll.

At this stage, Kenny Anderson was relying on his individual ability to compete against the opponent’s team offense, seeing which side would first lower their success rate.

The opening was evenly matched, and Kenny Anderson wanted to complain to Zhang Hao—look at what you’ve done! The opponent is playing too hard!

Indeed, more passing coordination easily creates better opportunities, but multiple passes mean complexity and a higher chance of errors. However, the Timberwolves were playing aggressively, as if facing an enemy who had stolen their wives.

The reason why the Timberwolves played so hard was directly related to Zhang Hao declaring at the start that they would sweep them.

However, with teammates able to spread the floor and finish well, Kenny Anderson was indeed formidable, earning All-Star starter in his third year for good reason.

With Kenny Anderson’s 6 points and 2 assists performance, after four-plus minutes of battle, the Lakers successfully relied on superior individual abilities to overtake the Timberwolves by two points!

Doug Christie made a catch-and-shoot three-pointer, George Lynch scored on a layup, and Barkley grabbed an offensive rebound and passed to a top-arc Zhang Hao; Zhang Hao caught and made the three-pointer.

Zhang Hao’s three-pointer made Garnett even more hesitant to leave him open, creating better solo play and break opportunities for Kenny Anderson.

On the Timberwolves’ side, they were holding on, knowing they didn’t have a player with Kenny Anderson’s solo shot ability. Marbury was like a kid in front of Kenny Anderson, but their team coordination was better than the Lakers. This Lakers lineup seemed to rely on simple coordination apart from playing fast, essentially resolving issues with star power.

Hence, they focused on getting back on defense to prevent the Lakers from fast-breaking since their athleticism wasn’t inferior to the Lakers. They just needed to wait until Kenny Anderson needed a break for their chance!

The Timberwolves weren’t afraid of Zhang Hao’s exterior cutting plays, which had been unstoppable this season! With Garnett stretching out and Guglielota protecting the rim underneath!

Soon, after Marbury drew a foul on Barkley and made two free throws to tie the game, the Timberwolves quickly retreated into defense. Seeing Kenny Anderson advance without continuing solo plays, they felt the opportunity had come!

Now they had to focus on defending Zhang Hao’s cut-in... huh?

Timberwolves players watched as Zhang Hao squeezed past Garnett to the left baseline mid-range and called for the ball!

As the Timberwolves sensed danger, the audience erupted in cheers again!

The fans hadn’t been particularly excited, but with Kenny Anderson initiating solo plays, their enthusiasm surged, and now Zhang Hao had returned to that familiar spot...

Here it comes!

He’s back!

The man who ruins the enjoyment of the game has returned!

Originally, the Lakers fans had hoped Barkley would do this at the start of the new season, but he didn’t. They were pretty frustrated during the last game, but thankfully, they ended up winning.

However, if Barkley doesn’t step up, they still have another back-down hooligan, one of the three notorious back-down players—Mr. Gentleman!

Garnett struggled mightily, but lacking both weight and strength advantage, he couldn’t move Zhang Hao at all!

Lakers players instinctively spread out, with George Lynch sprinting to the free-throw line, Barkley going to the right side of the three-second zone, and Kenny Anderson passed the ball to Doug Christie on the left 45-degree angle, who then lobbed it to Zhang Hao.

Zhang Hao caught the ball and collided into Garnett, forcing him back a big step!

In terms of explosiveness, Garnett had a slight edge. Zhang Hao could be held when cutting from the outside, and Garnett could keep up, but resisting Zhang Hao’s inside force...

Amidst the fans’ wild cheers, Zhang Hao pushed Garnett step by step back into the three-second area, turned around, and scored with a jump shot!

At the moment of stability competition and success rate, while Kenny Anderson needed a breather and Barkley couldn’t care less about the Timberwolves holding onto the paddle relentlessly, Zhang Hao stepped up!

How frustrating!

When it was the Timberwolves’ turn to attack, Garnett wanted to retaliate and demanded the ball for a solo against Barkley!

However, Garnett found he couldn’t move anyone, while Barkley, despite being usually height disadvantaged at power forward, couldn’t easily be moved due to his strong lower body, preventing Garnett from generating force, leaving him unbalanced and with a distorted posture, resulting in a skewed shot!

Zhang Hao boxed out Guglielota, and George Lynch secured the defensive rebound.

So far tonight, while Garnett had two assists, the same as Kenny Anderson, coordinating well, he still hadn’t scored a single point!

However, mentally tough, he quickly retreated into defense. A few seconds later, once again blocked by Zhang Hao on the baseline, Garnett couldn’t help but start cursing!

Comparing Kenny Anderson’s solo plays, Zhang Hao’s isolation was simply an insult to the Timberwolves!

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