Vol 3 Chapter 268: Timberwolves still have a long way

In fact, the Thunder and Timberwolves series had already decided in the third quarter of the fourth game.
Although the Timberwolves have been holding on to the score, their defense has been unable to limit the Thunder's offense. In the previous game, the Timberwolves players used their tenacious fighting spirit and blood to put the Thunder into a difficult situation to score. But in this game, they seem to be very effective on the offensive end, but without the iron defense, they still cannot cause substantial damage to the opponent.
Donovan also saw the opponent's problem, so he was not as nervous as the last game. Even though the Thunder were still behind in the first half, he still sat quietly in his seat. Based on the understanding of these players, Donovan believes that they are only temporarily out of state. He believes that needless to say, these players can also find their rhythm on the offensive end.
In fact it is the same. After all this season, the performance of these players has always been seen by Donovan. trustworthy!
In the last quarter of the game, the Thunder went full fire as soon as they came up. Although the Timberwolves are all the main players, but the gap between the two is really big. The Thunder's defense made them suffer. The Wolves, who had been bitten by Rose before and did not crash in the third quarter, were taken away by the Thunder's offensive climax at the beginning of this quarter!
Westbrook was the one who launched the attack, and Anlow and Paul George were the culprits who eventually killed the Timberwolves. These two people, one inside and one outside, took turns in trouble. There is no way to make the Timberwolves' defense difficult.
In the end, the Thunder defeated the Timberwolves 121:102 at the Target Center Arena. While winning the game, he also had the last laugh in this series. Not only are they the first team to advance to the playoffs this season, they are also likely to be the only team that has swept their opponents to advance. Because in the West, there is another team that may sweep the opponent. That's the pelican! Their game with the Trail Blazers was also a 3-0 lead after the Thunder.
However, the lead of the Pelicans lies in the sudden outbreak of Rondo and the continued downturn of Lillard and McKlum. In the first three games, none of the Blazers were satisfactory. But the Thunder is different. No matter how well the Timberwolves play or not, they can win the game. It can be seen that the league is the first, it deserves its name.
After the game, Downs was very frustrated. This is his first trip to the playoffs. Just found that feeling, it's over! This season, he has achieved two breakthroughs that are enough to make a huge sound for his career: being selected to the All-Star and entering the playoffs. At the beginning of the season, the Timberwolves had a record high in the top four in the Western Conference. The increasingly mature Towns and Wiggins under the leadership of Big Brothers such as Butler and Teague played very well. During that period, all Timberwolves fans thought their team would do a big job. But it didn't take long for everything to gradually return to the rhythm that the Timberwolves are most familiar with. Don't he because of Butler's injury, the toughest point of the Timberwolves disappeared, losing, once again became the label of the Timberwolves. If it weren't for Ross's emergency assistance, in the final period of the regular season, he repeatedly played outstanding performances and helped the Timberwolves stabilize the situation. Maybe they have gone on vacation long ago.
But it still doesn't work. However, they have been relatively successful this season. After a lapse of thirteen years, they once again made the playoffs. After years of stumbling, finally waiting for the young players who can lead the Timberwolves' revival. Through trading, they have assembled a large number of capable and experienced players. Such as Butler, Rose, Teague, Crawford, Gibson and so on. Including players like Belica and Brooks can also contribute a lot of energy. On the surface, it all seems to be moving in a good direction.
But in fact, the Timberwolves will have a hard time going forward. The first problem they need to solve is: how to retain the current lineup. The most important thing here is, Downs.
There is no doubt that Towns is the leader of the young generation of NBA centers and the absolute core and future hope of the Timberwolves. This season, Towns is full attendance for the third consecutive season. He averaged 21.3 points, 12.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, 54.5% shooting from the field and 42.1% from three-pointers. As a center with a height of 213cm, Towns's three-pointer is more accurate than many guards in the league.
Downs is eligible to renew a five-year $158 million maximum salary contract with the Timberwolves this summer. Moreover, the Timberwolves' management had already prepared the contract, waiting for him to nod. But before the playoffs, there were reports that the two sides still did not reach an agreement on the issue of renewal.
Although the Timberwolves are optimistic about this ~EbookFREE.me~, there has been no progress on the issue of early renewal. The reason why Downs has not renewed his contract with the Timberwolves in advance is because of Butler. Media reported in the middle of the season that Jimmy Butler was very dissatisfied with Downs' professional ethics and attitude. Timberwolves team reporter Charlie Waters also confirmed that the contradiction between the two is more complicated than most people know.
Butler is a very good player. Full of passion, defensive toughness, strong desire to win, hard training, persistent personality. Such a person is strict with himself and his teammates. As for the Timberwolves' future, the two young men, Towns and Wiggins, really couldn't get along with Butler.
If Butler is just a star player with no background, then Towns doesn't have to worry about it. The reason is simple, he has enough capital to establish his position. Downs is younger and more future than Butler. The team has no reason to choose Butler and abandon him. However, the existence of Thibodeau makes the relationship between them even more confusing.
And Butler will not necessarily stay in Minnefanda. After Butler joined the Timberwolves, Thibodeau, on behalf of the Timberwolves executives, offered Butler an early renewal contract with a total price of more than 100 million yuan, but Butler also refused. He is not young anymore. He has money and fame. The championship is very important to him. The Timberwolves obviously don't seem to be able to win a championship. Coupled with the disagreement with Downs and Wiggins, it is reasonable for Butler to have other ideas.
In general, the Timberwolves have a long way to go. The playoffs with the Thunder should be able to make them understand their gap. This offseason, if the Timberwolves are not doing a perfect job, they will definitely be squeezed out of the playoffs again next season.