Chapter 1 The End of the Season

The Timberwolves have long been out of the playoffs.

However, their form at the end of the season was impressive, winning a seven-game streak.

This game was also their season finale, and it was a home game.

For them, winning was the best outcome.

Normally, at this point in time, regular season games would no longer attract much attention.

However, due to these factors, the attention this game received was unprecedented.

Before the game, fans were discussing whether the Pelicans would field the "Hard Training Four Brothers" in this game to secure their 80th victory.

However, when Stevens was asked this question in an interview on the day of the game, he gave an answer.

"They won't play."

After a season, Stevens had completely transformed into Popovich.

This answer disappointed some fans, but more fans became more interested in the game.

If the "Hard Training Four Brothers" all played, the Timberwolves would have no chance of winning.

It doesn't matter how many consecutive wins you have or how your recent form is.

Conversely, if the "Hard Training Four Brothers" didn't play, the Timberwolves had a chance of winning, and considering their recent form, the chance was not small.

And if they won, they would prevent the Pelicans from reaching 80 wins.

Although it was only a difference of one win, whether you get 80 or not is like a full score of 100 versus 99, the difference is significant.

On the evening of April 12th, the season finale between the Pelicans and the Timberwolves officially began.

Minnesota in April was much warmer than the last time they met, and the enthusiasm of the fans at the scene was even more frenzied.

The Target Center was packed.

In addition to the fans supporting the Timberwolves, there were also many Pelicans fans, and even some Rose fans.

Rose was playing better and better on the Pelicans, scoring a season-high 22 points in the last game, and his fans were active again.

The league's new vice president, Ryan Sock, also came to the scene.

As Stevens said before the game, the Pelicans' "Hard Training Brothers" were all sitting on the sidelines in suits and ties, confirming that they would not play.

The scene quickly moved into the entrance ceremony, and the starting players of the two teams came out one after another.

The Timberwolves' side had all their main players, with Rubio and LaVine on the outside, Wiggins and Towns on the front line, and Dieng at center.

The Pelicans' side had Rose and Lamb on the outside, Bojan and Siakam on the front line, and Dedmon at center.

Dedmon tipped the ball back to the Pelicans' half, officially opening the game.

Rose advanced to the frontcourt, and the Pelicans played a positional offense.

Lamb and Bojan ran off-ball three-pointers with screens, and Siakam cut to the basket after the screen.

Rose's pass was timely, giving the ball to Siakam on the ground at the first time, who caught the ball and dunked with one hand to score.

The Pelicans' bench was boiling, and Bryant was waving his towel wildly.

Although the four main players didn't play, the Pelicans had a lot of momentum with a dunk at the start.

The Pelicans took the lead, and the Timberwolves followed closely behind.

Wiggins posted up Bojan in the frontcourt, and scored with a bank shot after continuous spins.

The Timberwolves were able to achieve a seven-game winning streak in the past, although it had something to do with the strength of their opponents, their own form was indeed good.

The Pelicans were playing a positional offense in the frontcourt, and Thibodeau was directing from the sidelines. The Timberwolves disrupted several consecutive waves of the Pelicans' offense.

Thibodeau is a well-known defensive coach, and after being scored on by the Pelicans once, he quickly made the best defensive response.

Of course, the Pelicans' own problems were not small.

With the "Hard Training Four Brothers" not playing, this lineup did not have strong enough advantages in one-on-one matchups.

Originally, Siakam was the best candidate, but up to now, his unstable shooting has been targeted by opponents, and scoring is much more difficult than at the beginning of the season.

Bojan's three-pointer with a defender in his face didn't go in, and the Pelicans' wave of offense was fruitless.

Towns grabbed the rebound, and the Timberwolves launched a fast break.

Rubio made a long pass to LaVine in the backcourt, and LaVine made a fast-break gliding dunk, returning the dunk that Siakam made at the start.

Cheers erupted at the Target Center.

The Pelicans' frontcourt ran out of opportunities, but Lamb failed to make the shot.

Dieng protected the defensive rebound, and the Timberwolves turned around and played a positional offense, with Towns making a three-pointer at the arc.

7 to 2!

The Timberwolves gave the Pelicans a head start at the beginning.

Cheers continued at the scene.

They saw the hope of winning tonight!

And that hope was growing.

About five minutes into the first quarter, the score was 15 to 6!

The Timberwolves had extended the score to 9 points!

With one more goal, the difference would be in double digits!

Stevens reached out and called a timeout.

Cheers erupted again at the scene, mixed with bursts of whistles.

Sock's expression was also very relaxed.

Stevens was blindly confident, even if one or two of the "Hard Training Brothers" played, the Pelicans would have a great chance of winning.

But now, losing this 80th victory would look really stupid in retrospect.

The Pelicans didn't make any substitutions after the timeout.

It seemed that Stevens had only made some changes in tactics.

This change was quickly demonstrated.

After Rose dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, the Pelicans did not run a positional offense.

Lamb, Bojan, and Dedmon, two corners and one arc, opened up space. Rose held the ball at a 45-degree angle on the right side, and Siakam came up to set a screen.

This tactic was very simple. Rose used the screen to switch onto Towns, accelerated and broke through.

The Timberwolves didn't help, and Towns' ability to defend small players among big men was among the best.

He was only defending Rose, who was about to be eliminated by the league.

Towns did defend well, and Rose's layup was forced into a reverse layup, doubling the difficulty.

The ball spun and hit the board, then fell into the net.

Rose's reverse layup went in!

This ball perfectly demonstrated Rose's recent excellent form.

This goal was crucial.

The Pelicans' defensive momentum on the court also rose. Siakam defended Towns' low post attack, and Dedmon fought hard to protect the defensive rebound.

Back to the positional battle, it was the same tactic, and the Timberwolves still switched and then defended one-on-one.

This time, Rose had a change of pace, accelerating with a fake breakthrough into an emergency stop jumper.

This was his signature scoring method during his peak.

Towns retreated a little too far, and when he reached out to block, his rhythm didn't keep up.

"Swish!"

This time it was a clean swish!

Rose was in great form, scoring 4 points in a row, and also helping the Pelicans chase 4 points in a row!

Wiggins held the ball and singled in the frontcourt, and he continued to show his excellent form, turning around and fading away to put the ball in.

Cheers erupted at the scene, this 2 points stabilized the situation.

Turning around, Rose continued to hold the ball and single!

Stevens' tactical adjustments during the timeout were also clear at this point.

Any tactic relies on strong points. If you don't have strong offensive points, no matter how ingenious the tactic is, it won't be effective.

This has been proven many times in history. The Rockets' Princeton, the Knicks' Triangle Offense, the Warriors' Run and Gun tactic, and so on, are all failed examples.

The Pelicans' tactics were beautiful, like the first offense, but Thibodeau saw through it after just one play.

So, if you want to play it again, you must first create a strong point.

Dedmon, Lamb, and Bojan are all functional players, and Siakam's shooting has also been targeted. Among the starting five, Rose is the only option.

Moreover, his form has been excellent since his comeback, and he has been even more valiant recently. He is also the best choice.

"Swish!"

Rose chose a step-back three-pointer after this single, and the ball went through a parabola in the air, meeting Towns' belated hand, and went into the net with a clean swish!

He made all 3 shots after the timeout, scoring 7 points in a row!

You could feel that tonight would be a night of his explosion!