Chapter 212 The Lonely Wolf King
How long will it take to slip from the top in the west to the bottom of the bottom in the west? If you ask Minnesota's loyal fans this question, they will tell you with a depressed face that it only takes two seasons.
It really only takes two seasons. At the beginning of the 03-04 season, no one believed that the Timberwolves could occupy the first place in the West. Similarly, no one could believe that Garnett could survive the nightmare of the playoff round.
But those guys did it, especially that they actually killed the Sacramento Kings, who is famous for their gorgeousness, in seven games. The score of four to three is enough for them to create the team's playoff history!
It was also the happiest season in the memory of Minnesota fans, who enjoyed every victory.
They rushed to the Western Conference finals, and although they finally fell at the foot of the Lakers, everyone may think that the Timberwolves will definitely make a comeback next season and subvert the Lakers' dominance.
Especially when the Lakers were defeated by the Pistons in the finals, the light seemed to be right in front of them.
And O'Neill decided to give up the Lakers' east trip to Miami, and F4 also broke up. It seemed that the biggest opponent of the Timberwolves had automatically disintegrated, including fans and management who believed that their opportunity had come.
But Sanders couldn't continue his magic, and the Timberwolves, who went out with a lot of problems, began to collapse.
Their regular season results have shrunk by at least 40%! Even Kevin McHale did not save the team's decline. They didn't even reach the threshold of the playoffs in the 04-05 season.
When everyone thought the future was bright, the Timberwolves did a self-destruction of the Great Wall.
The 05-06 season is still the same, and not only is the team's poor record, but all the players who helped the team reach the Western Conference finals are almost gone. The only thing left is Garnett himself.
It is understandable that Kassel and Sprewell left because of salary issues. Maybe you can say that Spreville is an old man and a lion, but the incompetence of the Timberwolves management is also one of the reasons.
If they can finalize the details of the contract in advance or make a backup plan earlier, maybe all of this will not develop so much. Unfortunately, there will never be regret selling medicine in the world.
Three-headed monsters have gone two. If they can rely on those salary space to absorb some players, the Timberwolves will not be the penultimate in the West last season.
But their deal is just for Szebiak, Ogwokandi, and the recruited Riki Davis and Mark Blunt, which can't provide too much help to Garnett.
The tactical system that was finally built at the beginning was basically abandoned after the disintegration of the three-headed monster.
And in this season's draft, the Timberwolves' management was very stupid to switch Brandon Roy to the Trail Blazers. They just got the ownership of Randy Foyer.
The performance of these two newcomers in the previous more than 20 games does not need to be evaluated by others. Without Rondo and Chen Feng, Roy can definitely dominate the rookie list this season.
Foye is actually not bad, but compared with Roy, he is not a little immature, and he can't bear the heavy burden on Garnett's shoulder. No matter how you look at it now, it's a loss-making deal.
Coach Dwayne Casey now only brings 8 wins and 14 losses to the team. Although this guy has also won four consecutive victories at the beginning of the game, the next step is a six-game losing streak.
After each winning streak, they will be accompanied by a longer losing streak, which is all Dwayne Casey can bring. Minnesota fans have almost begun to despair about this season.
In fact, it's not only that they are desperate. Kevin Garnett is probably the most desperate person, especially when he is alone on the court, but no one can help him.
There is often one kind of offensive mode for the Timberwolves, that is, Garnet holds the ball and plays singles by himself, and the rest of the people open the space. As for whether they can play or not, it is not their concern at all.
Anyway, if they score, it's also Garnett's own data. They don't have any responsibility for these bystanders. After all, they are not the core of the team. They are just a group of passers-by.
"With Superman's first-class annual salary, you should carry the team forward!" At this time, no one will comfort Garnett, and some fallen media will still gloat the scene. In the eyes of those guys, high school students with sky-high contracts must be worthy of those salaries and can't hug. Resentment.
Those unscrupulous reporters are waiting for Garnett to complain, get angry, and even scold. If this guy shows that emotion, even if it is a sign, the reporters will magnify it infinitely.
Maybe in the eyes of those unscrupulous guys, Garnett is just a shelf that earns a high salary but can't lead the team forward, or is a pure data brushing machine.
In fact, Garnett has been in the NBA for so long, and he has seen any kind of situation. It's not that he has a worse time than this, but he may feel that his life in Minnesota is so difficult for the first time.
At the beginning, the combination with Marbury and Gugliota, not to mention sweeping the west, could at least make Zhu Qiang tremble, but in the end, because of his high salary, Marbury desperately left here.
Similarly, the departure of Cassel and Sprewell, in the eyes of many people, is also because of Gatner's high salary. If this guy hadn't been with the top salary, maybe the Timberwolves would have been the NBA champion.
Although this guy has done a lot for the team, I'm afraid everyone is staring at his checkbook now.
You can never change other people's opinions, even Master Joe, so no matter how hard Garnett is on the court, his days in Minnesota have become more and more sad.
From the day Iverson left the 76ers, the news that Garnett was about to leave was no longer a secret in Minnesota. Although no one knows the exact time, all this will definitely happen.
Even McHale did not firmly say that Garnett would not leave, and the puppet coach Dwayne Casey would not say anything, and the reaction of the fans was also not very strong.
When all this began to cool down, Garnett also knew that he might really have left.
Maybe you have been in one place for too long, so long that people have begun to gradually get tired of your existence. This is what Garnett has to deal with now.
No one cares how much this guy has rewritten the history of the Timberwolves. Now all they can remember is the big contract of more than $100 million, not the brilliant data.
Garnett doesn't know what his future will be, but when he sees his former teammate Sprewell and his old opponent Webber in Boston, there is an absurd black humor that is fermenting.
He once fought with Weber on the court more than once, but now that guy is no longer the gorgeous soul of the Sacramento Kings, and he, perhaps one day, will leave the Timberwolves.
When Sprewell saw Garnett, he also opened his arms and hugged him, but at the beginning, he fought against the enemy side by side, but now he is an opponent, which makes Garnett a little trance.
And Szebiak, the second head of the Timberwolves who often needs Garnett to open his hands for himself, and now he is also very calmly substituted on the bench in Boston.
As for Ogvocandi, it is a long time ago, but in the face of these acquaintances and opponents, Garnett doesn't know how to describe his current mood.
Astringent? Or is it bitter? I guess only he can understand what he is feeling at this moment...
But Garnett knows that Boston is no longer the team at the bottom of the league like the Timberwolves last season. They are recovering and rising strongly, while the Timberwolves are still hovering in the trough.
It's really a trough, a trough that can't be seen at all, even a tough guy like Garnett.
In the face of such a difficult situation for the Timberwolves, he can only guarantee that he will play every game, but he can't guarantee that the team can win.
This is a very desperate state, and it is estimated that Pierce can definitely understand Garnett's loneliness at this moment.
Just like him, Garnett is now carrying a team that has no hope in a physically and mentally exhausted situation. Although there are still nearly 60 games, hope has long been extinguished.
Envy? Perhaps, at least when Garnett saw the gang of bandits in Boston, he hoped to have at least a few teammates like that around him to help him share the burden.
Unfortunately, now Garnett looks back. In addition to Dwayne Casey's silent expression, the rest of the guys are more numb.
Only Ricky Davis and Mark Blunt, who came from the Celtics, are ready to counterattack their old masters, and the rest obviously want to be perfunctory.
The Timberwolves, who have lost five games in a row, obviously don't mind losing again at the North Shore Garden Arena.
Anyway, everyone knows that their purpose is to spoil it. It's better to be completely. Even Dwayne Casey himself said helplessly before the game, "The team's current state has not recovered."
Haven't recovered from the regular season that has played more than 20 games? Maybe by the end of the season, Kathy will still use this sentence to deal with the reporter's interview, of course, provided that he can always be the coach.
Looking at No. 99, who was preparing for activities not far away, Garnett seemed to see the momentum when he first entered the NBA, the ubiquitous explosive power, as if he would injure his opponent at any time.
"Maybe I can't save this team, but I hope I can beat every opponent as much as I can before I leave. Boy, Boston may win this game, but I will never lose to you!"
While tidying up the wrist guard, the wolf king, who silently licked the wound, stood alone on the edge of the court...
This may be a game for the Timberwolves that has no chance of winning, but for Garnett, he will do his best to defeat every opponent in front of him.
When 21 meets 99, this field may be full of sparks...
(Fifth update, a little late two or three minutes... I tried my best... It's still all kinds of request, click, red ticket, collection, um, support!!! In addition, I would like to recommend two more books for my friends. Book number: 197541 Book title: Sun Yichen was reborn. As a former business tycoon, Sun Yichen's idea after rebirth is to enjoy life, bubble girls, flirt, enough. Book number: 158380 Title: The coach book of the legendary godfather Bill Gait is very good and worth reading.)