GSD was facing Mane. He couldn't get past him with his footwork or dribbling, so he had to look for a screen.
Ryan came over to set one for him.
The Kings were switching on every screen, so GSD switched directly onto Wang Yi after the pick.
GSD immediately felt the pressure mount. Wang Yi's defense was suffocating.
For one thing, Wang Yi was quick enough to keep up with him. For another, his arms were long, and he kept reaching in to disrupt GSD's dribble.
GSD had to keep the ball as far out to the side as possible to prevent Wang Yi from stealing it.
Seeing that he couldn't get past him, he could only lob the ball to Juan in the paint.
Juan was facing Bond's defense. He dribbled once and pushed inward, and Bond was a little on the thin side, so Juan could still muscle him back a bit. After backing him down under the basket, Juan half-spun and went for a hook shot.
But Bond leaped and swiped at the ball, his fingertips grazing it.
The ball went off course and flew out over the baseline.
Bond stood 2.21 meters tall, with a wingspan of over 2.3 meters.
He relied mainly on his height and reach to defend, making his style completely different from Towns's.
After Juan had gone at Towns several times in a row, that offensive momentum carried over. He still wanted to rely on his footwork, but sometimes footwork was useless against sheer height.
On the next possession, after the Timberwolves inbounded from the baseline, they gave the ball to Juan.
Juan used an up-and-under to get past Bond and prepared to shoot, but Bond, whom he had clearly beaten, chased him down from behind and swatted the ball against the