The atmosphere in the Jazz's home locker room was very quiet.

The outcome of the match was already decided...

As for preventing Wei Guo from winning the rebounding title, that's something we should keep quiet about and not discuss openly.

Ultimately, it's about giving the fans an explanation. The people on the court have no grudges against Wei Guo. The two players with the highest scores in the first half were both Wei Guo's younger brothers. Harprin and Bell wanted Wei Guo to win the rebounding title, but they couldn't express it. They just went to shoot and score, while the defense was left to the other three big men.

By 2005, the internet age had arrived, and games between the Timberwolves and the Rockets were being broadcast live.

Now that we're in the fourth quarter, it's easy to see how many rebounds Garnett has grabbed. After grabbing 13 rebounds in the first half, Garnett now has 21 rebounds.

76:79!!

The Rockets are still down by 3 points.

The Timberwolves are currently ninth in the Western Conference, and if they win this game, they still have a theoretical chance of making the playoffs.

The Grizzlies, currently eighth in the West, are playing against the Bucks, who are third from the bottom in the East. If the Grizzlies lose to the Bucks, the Timberwolves could snatch their playoff spot.

So the Timberwolves were trying their best to win this game while hoping the Bucks would step up and defeat the Grizzlies, who were stronger than them.

......

The atmosphere in the away game locker room was very harmonious.

Wei Guo only grabbed 9 rebounds in the first half, which doesn't necessarily mean that the Jazz's three big men are strong; it just means that Wei Guo hadn't exerted his full potential yet.

If Wei Guo put in a little more effort...

How could Humphries, Collins, and Oku possibly keep Wei in check?

On the contrary, Cummings was indignant and kept cursing the Jazz in the locker room. He said the Jazz's style of play was very unsportsmanlike, and they let Richardson and others take open shots without defending them.

In short...

The key is to prevent Wei Guo from getting the rebounds.

Cummings had a relative watching the Timberwolves vs. Rockets game live, and he kept giving Cummings real-time stats. When Garnett had already grabbed 20 rebounds, Cummings got nervous.

Yao Ming is a bit unreliable; he actually got completely dominated by Garnett in the paint!

This was just Cummings's complaint. As a professional player, he was well aware of the gap in ability between Yao Ming and Garnett. Being dominated by Garnett in the paint was nothing to be ashamed of.

......

In the second half, the Jazz's initial momentum had vanished.

Collins and Okur continued to double-team Wei Guo under the basket!

Richardson took a three-point shot, and Wei Guo immediately went around and blocked Collins and Okur. There are no more than five interior players in the league who can withstand Wei Guo's level of physical confrontation, and of course, Okur and Collins are not included in those five.

"bang~~~"

Richardson's shot missed the rim!

*Smack!!!*

Wei Guo grabbed the rebound, raised his left arm to block in front of him, and with a light stretch of his long arm, delivered a hook shot.

"Whoosh!!!"

The basketball went into the net.

Gentry laughed and said, "Just this one skyhook is enough for Collins and Okur to study for a lifetime."

"What level of players are they!"

Cummings scoffed, "You dare to try and grab rebounds from Wei Ge!"

10 rebounds!!!

Wei Guo's rebound count reached double digits. For most players, reaching double digits in rebounds is a good achievement, but Wei Guo was not satisfied with that. He also knew that Garnett had already grabbed 21 rebounds, and that number was still increasing.

Since the Jazz want him to lose the rebounding title...

Then this rebounding title must belong to him; no one else can take it away from him.

Garnett could never have imagined that if the Jazz had played normally, they would have lost the game. However, Garnett would most likely have gone to the bench to rest after the team's lead widened. In that case, even if Garnett's rebounding total stopped at 21, he might still have won his first career rebounding title.

certainly...

Last season, Wei Guo was first in rebounding and Garnett was second, meaning Garnett had already missed out on the rebounding title.

This incident wasn't a huge blow to Garnett, because he was almost three rebounds behind Wei Guo on average, a gap that was almost impossible to close. The last few seasons can be considered the peak of Garnett's career. He was also ranked second in the MVP list last season, ultimately losing to Wei Guo.

Besides being the MVP and rebounding champion, Wei Guo also snatched many All-NBA First Team and All-Defensive First Team spots from Garnett.

Jazz on offense!

Bell took a step-back jumper after a one-on-one against Barbosa.

This is an attacking tactic that Wei Guo taught Bale. Although they are all professional players, Wei Guo often guides his teammates during team training, and his guidance is very targeted.

This was the first year that Weiguo had joined the alliance.

With the regular season just over and everyone preparing for the playoffs, Bale approached Wei Guo, hoping to learn some tricks that he could use in the playoffs.

He still remembers what Wei Guo said at the time:

"The playoffs are about to begin. I have a secret technique to teach you. Learning it will be of endless benefit. Since ancient times, there have been two secret techniques in the league: the step-back jumper and the pull-up jump shot!"

It took me a whole day...

Combining these two signature moves into one, I've named this move: the step-back jumper!

Bell initially thought Wei Guo was joking with him, but when Wei Guo executed this simple step-back shot, the combination of speed and rhythm created a chemical reaction that was like an explosion on the spot!

Bale defended with all his might...

But Wei Guo was able to easily put the ball into the basket every time.

Since then, Bell has learned a lesson: there is no single strongest move in the league; if you master the simplest move, you will be the strongest player.

This kind of step-back jump shot, which is mediocre even on amateur courts, was used by Wei Guo and few people in the league could defend against it. So Bell abandoned all his other tricks and focused on perfecting his step-back shot, which greatly improved Bell's offensive ability.

"Whoosh!!!"

The basketball went into the net.

Bell arrogantly beckoned to Richardson, who was guarding him, and yelled, "Come here!!!"

Richardson: "???"

62:45!!

The Jazz are still down by 17 points.

The Suns weren't in a hurry to widen the gap, and Marion missed a three-pointer!

*Smack!!!*

Wei Guo grabbed the offensive rebound once again!

Collins and Okur completely abandoned their defense against Wei Guo. After Wei Guo grabbed the defensive rebound, they simply stood next to him without even extending their arms when defending him.

Wei Guo easily scored with a powerful dunk!

64:45!!

The Jazz played a slow, deliberate half-court game, with only 3 seconds left on the shot clock. Collins then passed the ball back to the three-point line.

Okur receives the ball and shoots a three-pointer!

"That shot was a bit too powerful..."

With just a glance at the basketball's trajectory, Wei Guo could roughly determine its landing point, and he quickly positioned himself.

*Smack!!!*

He easily secured the rebound once again.