Why did the Minnesota Timberwolves' performance decline after Garnett left? A major reason was the loss of their defense.
The Thunder used a screen and a back cut, and Durant found an open opportunity. This situation would be almost impossible against the Denver Nuggets.
Most of the Minnesota Timberwolves' offense was initiated from the low post. This time, they ran a high-low play, and Love directly lobbed the ball to Jefferson, who then started backing down with powerful moves.
But Kostić was 213cm tall, and while he might have been at a disadvantage in terms of mobility, his strength was not bad. He withstood two powerful post-up attempts, successfully disrupting Jefferson's shot.
"Clang!" The ball hit the front rim.
Jeff Green was about to grab the rebound when a big, white fatty bumped him, making him stumble. Love then tipped in the ball with one hand.
This was Love's keen sense for rebounds; his judgment of the ball's trajectory was always accurate.
Jeff Green signaled that it was his fault and immediately inbounded the ball to Russell, who quickly dribbled past half-court. He initiated a pick-and-roll with the center, but there was no opportunity, as the opponent was focused on defending his drive.
After several quick passes, Kayce made a tactical gesture. Jeff Green immediately came over to set a screen for Kayce, who then simply and forcefully accelerated and drove to the basket.
Jefferson's attention was drawn, and he was about to help defend, but Kayce flicked his wrist, and the ball flew to Russell, who was cutting to the basket.
Russell caught the ball and immediately took off, performing a mid-air scoop to evade Jefferson's block and calmly laying the ball in.
"Great pass, Kayce!"
Russell retreated on defense, loudly signaling to Kayce that it was a good play. Evans lacked experience, and Durant's screen allowed Russell to cut in. Weak teams simply had poor defense.
The Minnesota Timberwolves' offense still reliably went to Jefferson in the low post. After a couple of powerful back-downs, he executed an inward spin. Jeff Green immediately came over to double-team and disrupt him.
Just as he was about to lose the ball, Jefferson vaguely saw a white, chubby figure outside and directly threw the ball out.
Love caught the ball beyond the three-point line and immediately took a quick jump shot.
"Swish!" Good luck; it went in cleanly. Love raised both hands to celebrate the basket.
"Wow, Love's outside three-pointer went in! It seems he put in extra work on his outside shooting during the offseason!"
Although the commentator felt Love had gotten a bit fatter, a made shot still warranted praise.
"Green, no need to double-team. I like one-on-one defense in the low post." Kostić immediately indicated that he had no problem defending the low post.
Jeff Green also patted his chest, signaling that he understood.
Kayce slowly dribbled past half-court, and Wilkins immediately came over to guard him tightly.
But he was too close. Kayce, with the ball in his left hand, accelerated, then executed a crossover pull-back. With the ball in his right hand, he performed a flashy spin. This wide-ranging move completely shook off the defense.
Love reluctantly had to collapse and help defend, but as soon as he moved, Kayce made a subtle behind-the-back pass with his left hand, and the ball quickly flew to Jeff Green on the perimeter.
The latter caught the ball and immediately took an open three-point jump shot.
"Swish!" It went in cleanly. Jeff Green also raised his hands to celebrate, responding to Love.
"Come on, Wilkins overplayed it and was completely beaten by Kayce. That pass was indeed beautiful."
The home commentator couldn't help but praise Kayce, as that behind-the-back pass was full of imagination.
After Jefferson's low-post play for the Minnesota Timberwolves, it was Love's turn. The big white fatty received the ball in the low post and also started backing down Jeff Green with powerful moves. After two shoves, he executed a turnaround jump shot.
"Swish!" It went in cleanly. All that bulk still had some use.
Jeff Green couldn't match Love in terms of weight. In those days, most teams would stockpile some 'meat shield' big men, as it was still considered the last glorious era of the super center.
"Kevin, speed up the team's offense, we need to pick up the pace!" While inbounding the ball, Kayce whispered to Durant.
Although Coach Brooks had asked the team to play a bit more steadily and patiently on offense.
But Kayce felt on the court that this rhythm was what the Minnesota Timberwolves liked, so what he needed to do was speed up.
The simplest way to speed up was to quicken the offensive pace. Currently, Durant was the team's offensive core, so it needed to be clearly communicated.
After Kayce dribbled past half-court, he immediately made a gesture. Kostić came up for a fake screen, and Kayce handed the ball off to Durant, who immediately accelerated and drove with his right hand.
Brewer guarded him tightly, but Durant abruptly stopped and pulled up for a shot.
"Swish!" The pull-up mid-range shot went in cleanly.
Durant loved defenders like Brewer, who lacked strength and were physically thin. He had a lot of experience playing against such defenders.
This offense was very simple and extremely fast, because Kayce understood that the Minnesota Timberwolves' defense was terrible. In this situation, there was no need for overly complex tactics; just go for it.
The Minnesota Timberwolves didn't notice that the Thunder had already started to speed up. They were still methodically running their low-post offense. Jefferson backed down twice and then passed the ball to Evans on the perimeter.
The younger player had to take the bailout shot! Seeing that time was running out, Evans shot from the perimeter over Russell's defense.
"Clang!" The shot was way off. Kayce, with quick eyes and hands, grabbed the long rebound and immediately passed it to the sprinting Russell.
A very accurate long pass went directly to Russell, who, after catching the ball, violently took off for a one-handed tomahawk dunk.
"Slam!" After the dunk, Russell even did a little 'Russell walk' celebration.
"Oh!!"
The live audience gasped at the dunk, and the home commentator's excitement was also taken away.
After the next missed offensive possession, the Minnesota Timberwolves experienced what it was like to face a talent-overwhelming type offense.
Kayce quickly dribbled past half-court. After several quick handoffs on the perimeter, Kayce faced Evans's defense, executed several consecutive between-the-legs dribbles, then suddenly a in-and-out dribble, directly followed by a step-back jump shot.
"Swish!" The step-back three-pointer went in cleanly.
After Brewer of the Minnesota Timberwolves missed a shot from the perimeter, Kayce once again collected the long rebound and immediately initiated a fast break. He passed directly to Russell, who, without stopping the ball, immediately passed it to the streaking Durant.
Fighting off Brewer's back-pedaling defense, he directly laid the ball in. After the basket, Durant smiled at Brewer. This kind of 'ATM' was simply his favorite!
Wilkins tried to set a pick-and-roll with Love to get past the defense, but Kayce agilely squeezed through, went up, and poked the ball away, then sprinted towards the opponent's basket.
He finished with a full-circle windmill dunk.
"Slam!" After the dunk, Kayce calmly retreated on defense.
"Squeak!" The Minnesota Timberwolves called a timeout.
"The Thunder have put together a fantastic run of offense. We should make some substitutions."
After the timeout, the Minnesota Timberwolves adjusted their backcourt combination, bringing in Ramon Sessions and Ryan Gomes. The Thunder, on the other hand, brought in Ibaka, replacing Kostić.
After the timeout, with Sessions's organization, the Minnesota Timberwolves' offense immediately regained its rhythm. Jefferson scored in the low post against Ibaka.
But the Thunder's offensive pace remained incredibly fast. Everyone moved to the top of the key, using figure-eight handoff passes. Russell faced Sessions, accelerated in a straight line, stopped abruptly, and took a pull-up jump shot.
"Swish!" It went in easily. Russell—the Quick Stop Master—Westbrook.
Over the next 4 minutes, the Minnesota Timberwolves' big men were in a nightmare. As soon as they missed an offensive possession, the Thunder immediately launched a fast-break attack.
They immediately used Ibaka's pick-and-roll. Kayce, Russell, and Durant attacked in turns, truly driving past their opponents, with their drives and kick-out passes flying around.
Even when they missed, Ibaka and Jeff Green could crash the offensive glass, which prevented the Minnesota Timberwolves from running any transition offense, forcing them to rely on low-post scoring.
But with the fast pace of the game, Love and Jefferson's shooting touch declined. After several missed shots, the Thunder pulled away.
30 to 22, the Thunder had the last possession of the first quarter. Kayce dribbled past half-court, running down the clock.
Ryan Gomes matched up with Kayce in terms of build, but Kayce's badge bonuses weren't for nothing. With 10 seconds left, he dribbled with his right hand, executed a crossover, and quickly pulled back.
Suddenly, a pump fake, and Gomes was completely faked out.
The Quick Stop Master badge bonus made Kayce's sudden stop and start incredibly fast. He drove directly to the paint, and a frustrated Love came over to help defend.
Kayce didn't force a shot, directly dishing it to Jeff Green in the corner, who took an open three-point jump shot.
"Swish!"
The ball went in as the light came on. Jeff Green excitedly raised his hands and shouted loudly.
33 to 22. The Thunder led by 11 points in the first quarter. Kayce couldn't help but smile wryly, thinking that if they led by too much, his playing time would likely be reduced.
In the first quarter, Kayce had 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 6 assists, a very good performance, but he probably wouldn't play again until very late in the second quarter.
"These guys really go all out against weak teams. Everyone's brave when things are going well."
Kayce silently complained in his heart.