On November 26, the Timberwolves faced the Phoenix Suns' challenge at home.

Since the Suns came to O'Neal for the trading deadline last year, the newly appointed general manager Steve Cole has been controversial from the outside world.

Trading Marion can be said to be a dangerous move by Cole.

At that time, many people thought the deal was too incredible.

Many people think that Marion could have received more bargaining chips, and more people think that O'Neal will not be suitable for the Suns' running and playing style.

In fact, this deal cannot be said to be a successful adventure in retrospect.

But the result is not too bad.

Although the Suns were eliminated by the Spurs in the first round, the process was very ups and downs.

If Tim Duncan hadn't made that magical three-pointer in the last minute against O'Neal's first game, maybe the result of this series would have been completely different.

O'Neal is indeed old, but don't forget that for the past seven seasons he has played in a team with a single-player and a role player below average.

Although there are super scorers like Kobe and Wade as teammates, the quality of their other players is far beyond the Suns, whether they are the Lakers or the Heat.

Before this, O'Neal had never partnered with a high-level control team.

After the deal was completed, the old Sharks began to sweep away the previous decline in Miami by Steve Nash and contributed their strength in the playoffs.

It is precisely because of O'Neal's joining that the Suns' inside line that has been bullied in the past has the capital to compete with the major teams.

The Suns still maintain a good winning rate this season, with 10 wins and 5 losses so far.

However, in Li Rong's opinion, the current threat of the Suns in the West is not enough to be compared with a top team like the Lakers.

Steve Nash and Stoudemire are good, but he is 34 years old this year.

In addition, O'Neal, 36, has two of the three core players who have passed their first year of playing.

Professional players have peak ages between 28 and 32 years old, and they are far beyond this age.

Even if they can stay healthy during the long regular season, their physical strength and condition will inevitably be consumed slowly as the season progresses.

Whether it can be supported to the end is still a question.

This game against the Timberwolves is a best example.

As soon as the first quarter began, the Suns continued their small ball style.

Especially Steve Nash, who can be said to be immortal, scored 8 points and 4 assists in the first quarter.

The Timberwolves' offensive condition is pretty good, but they are still a little disadvantage compared to the Suns on the opposite side.

Both teams are players who focus on fast breaks and understand that if you want to curb your opponent's conversion attack, you must ensure your success rate.

The Suns did a significantly better job in the first quarter, and they shot 68% of the shooting percentage in this quarter.

The Timberwolves' hit rate is only 40%.

At the end of the first quarter, the Timberwolves fell behind the opponent by 5 points 23-28.

If Jordan Jr. hadn't kept fighting for the frontcourt rebounds in the interior after he came on the court, the Timberwolves would have fallen behind more.

After the last deep conversation between the two, Jordan Jr.'s concentration in this game has increased significantly by one level.

Although it still cannot change the problem that the defensive end is easily shaken, the restrictions on O'Neal are pretty good.

O'Neal had only two shots in the first quarter and hit one of the goals.

After Nash left the court in the second quarter, the Suns' offensive focus began to be mainly on the inside.

In this quarter, the Sharks obviously began to take the game seriously, and as soon as they got up, they scored a goal against Jordan's defensive hook.

Jordan Jr. was still helpless when facing O'Neal's huge body.

Li Rong knew that Jordan could not handle the serious shark alone, and wanted to double-team it.

But as soon as he left his position, the opponent Matt Barnes received a mid-range shot from O'Neal.

The overall feel of the Suns in this quarter is still very hot. O'Neal contributed 8 points and 5 rebounds, leading the rotation lineup to suppress the Timberwolves, and still maintaining an overall shooting percentage of more than 50% in a single quarter.

The Timberwolves' touch was slightly warming, but the score difference was still widened to 12 points before the end of the half.

McHale was very dissatisfied with the team's defensive performance in the first half, and gave the opponent too many opportunities to score easily in the first two quarters.

"We have to do a good job of defense," McHale roared at everyone, "we can't let them score those easy fast breaks anymore."

The reason why the score was widened in the second quarter was that there was no advantage on the rebound.

In fact, McHale also made a serious mistake in the second quarter. Seeing that Jordan Jr. could not limit O'Neal, he chose to replace McGee.

As a result, after McGee came on the court, not only was he unable to limit O'Neal's performance, but the Timberwolves' rebound advantage was also gone.

McHale learned his lesson in the third quarter. After playing for only two minutes in the third quarter, he replaced Jordan Jr.

The Timberwolves launched a Jedi counterattack in this quarter, not only leading the opponent 16-7 on the rebound, but also limiting the opponent's shooting percentage to only 37%.

Facing younger and more physically energetic opponents, the Suns were completely at a disadvantage in this quarter.

Steve Nash only scored two points in this quarter and did not give a single assist.

Jefferson scored 13 points in a single quarter, and beat O'Neal and Sir one by one.

Li Rong also gave 6 assists to his teammates in a single quarter.

Under the leadership of the two, the Timberwolves scored 38-19 in a single quarter, overtaking the score in one fell swoop.

In the fourth quarter, both sides began to fall into anxiety, and a ridiculous scene appeared.

Seeing that the team was unable to recover the score difference, Suns coach Gentry used the shark-cutting tactic against Jordan Jr.

McHale was not polite, and then retaliated against O'Neal with the same trick.

Both of them made two free throws and were replaced almost at the same time.

The one who secured the victory for the team was James Percy. He received two consecutive three-pointers from Li Rong twice, expanding his advantage to 10 points.

The game then completely lost its suspense, and the Timberwolves defeated the Suns at home and ushered in a 7-game winning streak.

Jefferson contributed the team's highest 28 points and 12 rebounds in this game, and Jordan Jr. also scored a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds.

The two of them have a great combination of the inside line.

Li Rong scored not high, only 15 points, but he gave 14 assists to his teammates.

The Timberwolves also led their opponents with 26 assists in the game.
Chapter completed!