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Chapter 660 - 280. Consecutive 40+!_3

Chapter 660: 280. Consecutive 40+!_3

I remember when they lost Garnett’s huge contract of $24 million a year, their total salary went down to $49 million. They weren’t thinking about saving money; instead, they filled up their cap space with signings, trades, building a roster around Bynum. They even used the expiring short contracts of Davis (Ricky) and Blount (Mark) to trade for players with long contracts who were exceptionally talented, and Walker was acquired through such a trade.

At the end of the preseason, some media predicted they would win 40 games. Now, they haven’t even lived up to those expectations...

Zhang Yang felt that the Timberwolves management did have some strong points, such as being very decisive in identifying their core players and having good judgment.

After Garnett, at age 19 in his rookie season, put up an average of 10 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.6 blocks a game, showing incredible talent, the Timberwolves committed to building around him. In the 09-10 season, after Love averaged 14 points and 11 rebounds, they immediately traded the limited potential Al Jefferson to the Jazz Team and promoted Love.

Now having acquired Bynum, who, in his 19-year-old sophomore season, averaged 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks, they decisively made him the new core and focused on his development.

After hearing Zhang Yang’s comments, Felton said, "I haven’t paid much attention to them, but Jack, now that you mention it, I took a look at the opposing team, and aside from missing Garnett, their roster does seem much better than in the last two seasons... Hey, does that mean Garnett’s high salary was hindering the Timberwolves from strengthening their team?

I remember seeing a news piece in college saying Garnett’s salary was higher than both Bryant’s and Duncan’s combined."

"...You could say that."

Zhang San didn’t understand the Timberwolves, which made sense to Zhang Yang since he also had to gather information about the Timberwolves because his team was about to face them. An out-of-playoffs Western team wasn’t something most people would pay attention to.

But Zhang San had quite a tricky angle on things.

However, Felton wasn’t wrong. In the 03-04 season, Kobe’s salary was $13.5 million, Duncan’s was $12.68 million, and Garnett’s... $28 million.

This season, Garnett’s salary was also $4 million higher than both Kobe’s and Duncan’s.

...

After the players chatted, drank some water, and rested for a bit over a minute, Carlisle called them together to adjust the play style.

Facing a Timberwolves team with good roster depth, sound team structure, and a tenacious playing style, Carlisle’s adjustment was clear—ramp up the offense!

This shift fitted Zhang Yang and his teammates’ preferences perfectly.

Seeing the players excitedly step back onto the court, Paul Silas said, "Hearing the call to focus on offense seems to make the players happy. It’s like none of them likes playing defense."

Carlisle: "It’s not that they don’t like defense; it’s that young players don’t like doing pointless tasks.

Our conditions for playing defense aren’t good; we don’t have a true defensive spearhead on the perimeter; our rotational defense system isn’t well established. There were a few games when we ran into trouble, I chose to tighten our defense, but the effort and energy invested didn’t bring about proportional returns. Due to the lack of inside-outside defense synergy, our defense was poor, and I found the players starting to resist playing defense.

So starting from the game against the Suns, I’ve made in-game adjustments focusing primarily on offense, and this change does suit us better at the moment."

Upon hearing this, Paul Silas replied, "Rick, it’s you young coaches who have the guts. Someone like me, even if I had noticed these things, I’d still be reluctant to abandon the tradition of defense."

Carlisle: "I haven’t given up on defense, just not fixated on ’tradition.’ Besides, defense isn’t so-called tradition. Twenty years ago, when I was still a player, NBA’s main style of play was offense. Over a decade ago, the league changed the rules, which led to a focus on defense. Coaches fixated on ’offensive tradition’ were mostly phased out by the NBA. Now the league is again adjusting the rules to favor offense, and we must keep up with the times.

However, defense hasn’t been phased out. It’s very much like the transitional period in the early ’90s; both offense and defense are important. That’s why, during the starting phase when our defense is relatively good, I still prioritize defensive strategies..."

Carlisle shared his coaching philosophy with the assistants on the sidelines, while on the court, Zhang Yang led the team in an intense offensive push!

In the last play, Zhang Yang used the butterfly step to get past the overeager defense of Randy Brown, penetrated the inside line, and hit a jump shot up close against the help-defense of Mark Madsen, closing the gap to 31-32, just one point behind.

On the next play, Randy Brown, facing Zhang Yang’s one-on-one defense, attempted a strong drive and a rushed long two-pointer that Zhang Yang disrupted.

Rondo secured the defensive rebound and started the counterattack!

Telfair and Randy Brown’s dual point guard backcourt fell back very quickly, and by the time Zhang Yang dashed inside the free-throw line, the two of them had already returned to the basket.

But Rondo still passed the ball to Zhang Yang. Receiving the ball, Zhang Yang drove into the double-team, used his height advantage to elevate and shoot... his one-on-two floater scored, drawing a foul from Telfair!

Zhang Yang took the free throw line and scored the additional point, 34-32, the Bobcats regain a two-point lead!

Taking advantage of Zhang Yang’s free throw, Whitman made a substitution, bringing in sixth man Anthony Walker to boost the offense.

When it was the Timberwolves’ turn to attack, Anthony Walker made an immediate impact by driving inside and lofting a pass... Bynum, towering over Perkins, caught the alley-oop for a basket and drew a foul!

Perkins was not entirely out of position, and if Bynum had been standing still to catch, Perkins might have held his ground. However, Anthony Walker’s pass was also a wild one, capitalizing on Perkins’ weakness in aerial defense, delivering an assist worthy of the highlight reel.