On May 15th, Beijing time, Nuggets defeated Timberwolves in the Battle of Tianwang Mountain, taking a 3-2 lead and winning the series match point.
After losing two games at home and being forced into a desperate situation, the Nuggets won two games in a row on the road to equalize the score. In the Battle of Tianwang Mountain, the Nuggets won another game at home and were only one victory away from advancing to the Western Conference Finals and becoming the sixth team in history to lose two home games and eventually come back. How does
Nuggets do it?
Jokic's MVP-level dominance is of course the key, but not the only one.
Jokic turned into a magician + Sky Hook
In the battle of Tianwang Mountain, Jokic made 15 of 22 shots in 40 minutes, including 2 of 3 three-pointers, plus 9 free throws, scoring 40 points, 7 rebounds, 13 assists, +21 points on the field. Facing four-time DPOY (Defensive Player of the Year) Gobert, Jokic used his first 40 points in the playoffs this season to turn his opponent into a toy.
data shows that when faced with Gobert's defense, Jokic made 8 of 9 shots in the field.
Timberwolves coach Finch was convinced: "He gave an MVP-level, world's strongest player-level performance, and we were helpless."
Edwards said with a wry smile: "What else can I say? I can only (wry) smile Ah. He is the mvp, the best player in the world. "
The Nuggets lost their first two home games. Jokic only made 16 of 38 shots, including 2 of 10 three-pointers, and scored 48 points. , sent out 17 assists, but made as many as 11 turnovers. The Nuggets' defeat due to offensive misfire was directly related to Jokic's failure to meet expectations. But in the next three games, Jokic averaged 33 points on 60.6% shooting, 9.3 rebounds, and 9.7 assists per game.
Especially in the Battle of Tianwang Mountain, Jokic was like a fusion of Magic Johnson and "Sky Hook" Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. His art-like back passes, long passes, and difficult sky hooks made fans feel like they had entered an exhibition hall. Jokic broke the curse. He had scored 40+ points 4 times in the playoffs, and the Nuggets lost each time.
Unlocking Murray's Firepower
In the first round series against the Lakers , Murray's efficiency was average but he still averaged 23.6 points per game and hit two buzzer beaters. But in the first two games of the second round against the Timberwolves, Murray became the team's fourth scorer, averaging 12.5 points on 28.1% shooting per game.
The key to Malone's adjustment is how to help Murray open the offensive valve.
In Game 2, the shot of the Timberwolves leading the defense on Murray in the backcourt and closing in on Murray after halftime was exclaiming as "really intense." Those large-scale confrontations took a huge toll on Murray, who already had an injury to his calf. The way Malone helped relieve Murray's burden was to increase the proportion of Gordon's advancement, allowing Murray to use more screens in the frontcourt to break away from the defense and chase Towns.
In games 3 and 4, Gordon averaged more than 20 touches per game than in the previous two games. He was second only to Jokic in the team. In the first two games, Murray was the digger with the second most touches. Gold player. In the 5-game series, who is the Timberwolves player who has taken the most shots against Murray? Downs. When he defended Murray, Murray made 12 of 16 shots, with a shooting percentage of 75%. Towns seemed to be in Murray's crosshairs. When Murray returns to his normal level, the Nuggets' proud duo-driven model can work normally.
In the last three games, Murray averaged 19.7 points and 5.7 assists per game, shooting 50% from the field and over 40% from three-point range.
Malone not only knew how to pour chicken soup but also played tactics
0-2 Later, in the locker room, Malone looked at the silent disciples and only asked two questions: "Do you still believe (that we can come back)? Do you still believe that we can make a comeback?" Go to Minnesota and win two games against a good team? "
Malone knows his disciples, and he certainly knows how his disciples will respond. But this alone was not enough. Ma Long wanted to add some ingredients to further stimulate the fighting spirit of his disciples.
Malone edited all the remarks on social media and TV programs that were condemning the Nuggets to death into a two-minute highlight. After the highlight was released, he hesitated whether to send it to his disciples, so he sought the opinion of veteran DeAndre Jordan. . Despite the support of DeAndre Jordan, Malone was still hesitant to post it.Jordan made the decision for Malone and sent the video to his teammates through the group chat.
"Marlon Chicken Soup" works. The Nuggets generals were not defeated by the losses in the first two games, but winning cannot just rely on pouring chicken soup to their disciples. Facts have proved that as a championship coach, Malone can drink chicken soup and play tactics wisely. Malone also made a lot of adjustments in the details of
. In terms of the rotation, Malone cut the rotation, Watson and Reggie Jackson's roles dropped sharply, and Braun and Justin Holiday, two wings with great resilience, good off-ball awareness, and shooting ability, became the main players. Rotate players.
Braun played as a surprise player in last year's playoffs. This young and mature star is more reliable than last year. However, the most surprising thing is Holiday, the 35-year-old veteran playing the role of a surprise player. On the offensive end, he made 10 of 17 three-pointers in 5 games, with a shooting percentage of 58.8%. On the defensive end, he frustrated Towns several times. When the two faced off, Towns made 1 of 4 shots and made 2 turnovers. Holiday is also one of the new forces defending Edwards. Edwards only made 6 of 14 shots against him, with a shooting percentage of 42.9%. In the 5-game series, Holiday had the highest plus-minus on the team with +40 points.
In this year's playoffs, the way and effects of each team's use of non-space points will have a huge impact on the game. Hart and Gordon are both regarded as non-space points by the opponent, but Thibodeau and Malone are worthy of praise for their use of their favorite players. In turn, the Timberwolves coaching staff's use of McDaniels has been very average. In the series between Thunder and Mavericks , Daignault's use of Kiddy is worth complaining about.
McDaniels only played the first few minutes of the Battle of Tianwang Mountain, while Gordon went from being a liability in the first two games to being a hero in the last three games. In these three games, Gordon averaged 19.3 points and 5.3 assists with nearly 70% of his sights. Along with the starter, Gordon was sharp in offense without the ball, changing his position from the baseline to the outside to punish Gobert. As the small-ball No. 5 on the bench, Gordon can act as a pivot supporter like Jokic, can use mismatches to attack, and make full use of his size advantage.
Malone's use of non-space points is not only reflected on the offensive end, but also on the defensive end. Malone dared to double-team Edwards because he was sure that McDaniels, Gobert, Kyle Lee and others did not have space attributes. Second, he believed that Edwards did not have the ability to break double teams and distribute the ball at the level of a superstar.
In the battle of Tianwangshan, Conley was absent due to injury, and the Timberwolves lost one point to control the ball. Malone's double-teaming of Edwards reached its peak. Edwards made many shots, one on three or even one on five, even if he broke through the third The first and second lines of defense, as well as the help defenders who let go of the weak-side corners and wings, shrink to the basket to form a third line of defense.
In the last three games, the Nuggets scored 123.7 points per 100 possessions and only conceded 106.1 points. Compared with the first two games, the Nuggets have solved the problem of slow start in the first half in the last three games, helping Murray release offensive firepower, using non-space points, and abolishing the Timberwolves' multi-point flowering mode.
This is championship level Nuggets.
