Nets defeated Timberwolves 112-102 away, ending all preseason schedules. To be honest, the current Nets have really undergone a qualitative transformation compared to last season. They can maintain strong offensive firepower and also have their own unique defensive talent. In terms of the entire lineup, the rotation and depth of the lineup are still very good. The Nets are much more complete than last season, and Irving and Durant can play together. For the Nets, it is not only an offensive guarantee, but also an improvement for other players of the team. We can see that this game is a game where core and role players achieve each other.
A big highlight of this game is that the 711 combination keeps playing ball for the character players. Obviously, they understand that their own strength has reached that level, and they will definitely not be able to achieve it in a short period of time if they want to improve. What's more, after experiencing major injuries, Durant is already on the decline, so how high the upper limit of a team is? On the contrary, this key factor lies in the role players. If the role players can play well and play their own characteristics, the 711 combination will play more easily, which will also keep their playing time in a reasonable state, which is also a protection for their injuries.
Irving and Durant gave a total of 10 assists in the whole game, constantly threatening their offensively, passes and cuts to teammates to build a confident state before the regular season, allowing them to find the best state for their own play. If it is not considered garbage time, in this game, the Nets have a total of 10 players in regular time, all of which score points. Although this performance is that the opponent did not improve the defensive intensity in the preseason, the Nets are far ahead before the fourth quarter, and the core can clock in and get off work. This is best to control their playing time to about 25 minutes-30 minutes. To achieve the goal of winning, the team also trains.
Compared with the previous game, the 711 combination was full of firepower, causing the 3+1 feel to be hot many times. The two scored 46 points and scored more than 3-difficulty goals, which was amazing. When the team's role players can score and the core plays excellent performance, how could they lose? Simmons Although he was fouled early in this game and graduated from 6 fouls, he only played 12 minutes to play 6 assists. In terms of connecting the team, Simmons is really an indispensable part of the team. The pick-and-roll pass created a very good space for his teammates to shoot, and he can defend from the No. 1 position to the No. 5 position. This is where Simmons' talent lies. Simmons has really improved the Nets' big defense.
However, it is worth mentioning when it comes to defense. In this game, 6 fouls were played on the Bucks Simmons also had 4 fouls. It can be seen that when Simmons defended the opponent's inside and threatened the huge threat, Nash must protect Simmons so that he should not be affected by fouls early. Once Simmons is sent off like today, this will have a great impact on the internal and external defense of the entire team. So when Simmons continues to defend the opponent's inside and strong points next time, will he use other tactics to slow down the opponent's killing of Simmons, such as letting Clarkston fight head-on first and let Simmons assist in defense on the side, after all, Simmons' ability to switch to the defense is still very powerful.
Besides, the Nets' starting lineup is definitely fine now, and the defense is also excellent. First of all, although Irving does not have a great advantage in defense, his rich experience can allow him to cut the ball accurately. Durant needs to say that the big long arm covers the opponent with a shot of 80 to 10 is not possible, and Clarkston's fighting spirit on the defensive end this season can be seen, and as long as O'Neal Jr. is not facing a player with too strong breakthrough ability, he can interfere to the maximum extent. If it weren't for last season's trading and offseason reinforcement, you would never have imagined that a Nets team that has abandoned defense and attack will have a good balance of offense and defense one day.
