NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 732 Clippers vs. Timberwolves in the First Round

The two Western Conference play-in tournament matchups are Jazz vs. Nuggets and Timberwolves vs. Pelicans.

The Clippers don't have any games; all the players are watching the play-in tournament.

Although these four teams aren't particularly strong overall, the decisive playoff was certainly exciting. Everyone played with high intensity, making the match extremely fierce.

The Nuggets were relegated to the play-in tournament this season due to Murray's injury and Jokic leading the team alone.

In this game, Jokic proved to be the stronger player, leading his team to victory over the Jazz and securing the 7th seed in the Western Conference playoffs. Their first-round playoff opponent is the Suns, who are owned by 58.com.

In the other matchup, the Timberwolves defeated the Pelicans and will compete with the Jazz for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Pelicans, on the other hand, are eliminated, ending their season.

The competition between the Timberwolves and the Jazz was fierce, with the two teams going into overtime. Ultimately, the Timberwolves defeated the Jazz, winning the two play-in games and becoming the last team in the West to advance to the playoffs.

With that, the matchups for the first round of the Western Conference playoffs are set!

The matchups are as follows:

Clippers vs. Timberwolves, Suns vs. Nuggets, Grizzlies vs. Lakers, Warriors vs. Mavericks.

Of these four matchups, the outside prediction is that the Clippers vs. Timberwolves matchup will be pretty much a foregone conclusion, while the other three matchups will be full of suspense, especially the Grizzlies vs. Lakers and Warriors vs. Mavericks matchups, where you never know who will ultimately advance.

The Clippers and Timberwolves' first matchup will take place on the evening of April 20 at the Clippers' home arena, Intuit Dome.

The league started building hype: Jia Fei vs. Edwards, a showdown between the league's number one player and a rising superstar.

In reality, while Edwards is a rising star, based on his current abilities, he has absolutely no right to compete against Jia Fei. This is nothing more than a gimmick to generate buzz and traffic.

The NBA is indeed constantly trying to cultivate a new talent. Jia Fei's dominance of the league for too long has prevented newcomers from emerging, and the league has consistently lacked innovation. This monopoly by Jia Fei is not something the league wants to see.

Edwards is quite arrogant; winning two play-in games has made him a bit cocky. In an interview, he stated that he would show the Clippers their strength and that they had a chance to end the Clippers' five-peat. They will hand the Clippers their first playoff loss of the season!

The Clippers have released an update on their injury situation: Paul George will miss Game 1 of the Clippers vs. Timberwolves series on April 20th! Previous reports indicated he would return for this series, but it's currently uncertain which game.

With Paul George out, the two teams are now much closer in strength on paper. The Timberwolves have no shortage of talented players, including Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns, who is known as "The Soft Candy".

Although Towns is soft, his offensive talent is top-notch; he can be considered the best three-point shooting center in the league right now.

April 20th is fast approaching, at the Clippers' home arena, Intuit Dome.

Game 1 of the Clippers vs. Timberwolves series is about to begin.

Paula, wearing sunglasses and a gray suit, appeared at the event with his girlfriend. IntuitDome was packed tonight.

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and his family came to watch the game. Lin Ning and Rose were there, and Jia Fei's good friend Kemba Walker was also there.

Kemba Walker is currently with the Knicks, and he's out for the season due to injury, so he has a lot of time to watch games. That's why he came to Los Angeles to support his buddy.

Kemba Walker sat next to Lin Ning and said to Lin Ning meaningfully, "Let's see how your man performs tonight. I bet he'll dominate the game!"

"Your man..." Kemba Walker's words echoed in Lin Ning's ears, and her face still turned red. She was not used to hearing such a direct address.

Rose couldn't help but sigh, "It's a pity my man can't play. I bet he'll be waving that white towel again!"

“Everyone has their own job. Art understands his role very well, so don’t regret it!” Kemba Walker comforted Rose.

During pre-game practice, Edwards kept showing off his dunks! Windmill dunks, between-the-legs dunks, back dunks... he was having a blast.

This match was broadcast live on Tencent, with commentators Wang Meng and guest Yang Yi providing commentary.

"Mr. Yang, Paul George has been confirmed to be out of this game. What are your predictions on how the game will unfold?" Wang Meng asked.

Yang Yi twirled his pen and said, "In my opinion, the Timberwolves have little chance!"

"how do I say this?"

"George's impact on the Clippers this season isn't actually that significant. Their main competitive advantage is their defense; they're incredibly good at defense, and no one can stop them offensively. Offensively, they have Jia Fei, so that's not a concern. That's why I say the Timberwolves have no chance," Yang Yi explained.

"Can Towns bully the Clippers' interior players?" Wang Meng continued to ask.

"Towns plays very far out; he's more like a stretch big man. His pressure on the Clippers' interior is limited. I don't think he'll dominate the Clippers' interior!" Yang Yi said.

The starting lineups for both teams have been announced.

The Clippers' starting lineup, playing at home, consisted of Jafi, Bridges, Hart, Grant, and Hartenstein.

Hart replaced Paul George in the starting lineup. He performed exceptionally well in the regular season, was particularly strong in offensive rebounding, had outstanding stamina, and improved his shooting accuracy. He is a very useful all-around player.

The Timberwolves' starting lineup for the away game is Patrick Beverley, D'Angelo Russell, Anthony Edwards, Jared Vanderbilt, and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Beverley returned to his former team's home court, but this time it wasn't Los Angeles anymore. He was still fearless, starting to provoke Jia Fei even before the game began, stating before the match that he would shut Jia Fei down.

Of course, no one would believe that Beverley alone could shut down Jia Fei, but that's in line with his reckless personality.

The Clippers have a five-forward lineup, and although Hartenstein is under 2 meters tall, his style and playing method are that of a forward. The Timberwolves, despite having a center like Towns in the paint, are playing a three-guard lineup.

Hartenstein and Towns are preparing for the jump ball near the center circle; the game is about to begin.

The jump ball began, and Towns won the jump ball against Hartenstein, giving the Timberwolves possession of the ball for the first offensive possession.

Russell dribbles the ball across half-court.

The Timberwolves traded Wiggins for Russell, not because Russell was better than Wiggins, but simply because Towns really liked Russell and the two had a good personal relationship. The team also happened to need a point guard, so the trade was initiated.

Wiggins is certainly better than Russell, but it's also true that he often didn't put in the effort for the Timberwolves. Despite having such outstanding physical attributes and well-rounded skills, he lacked ambition, clocked out without a plan, and was too lazy to even run. This lack of motivation was one of the reasons the team decided to trade him.