Suns vs. Timberwolves: Gillespie&defense wins at critical moments

In this NBA Cup game, although the Suns had an advantage in the first half, their offense misfired in the third quarter in response to the Timberwolves' different defensive strategies, and they had almost no chance of winning until the last minute. With the team's hard work and Gillespie's steady performance, they successfully reversed the situation in the end, which was also an affirmation of Gillespie's performance throughout the game.

Gillespie should be at the forefront of the league in judging the placement of rebounds. This is reflected in his rebound count and offensive rebounds, especially long rebounds. Gillespie can always stop the loose ball competition immediately and use his own awareness to quickly launch a counterattack.

Grabbed a long rebound and assisted Booker:

After Reid took the shot, Gillespie immediately appeared at the rebound spot and passed Reid, easily creating a one-on-one opportunity for Dillon in the frontcourt.

In addition to this kind of rebounding ability that is not in line with ordinary defenders, Gillespie's tactical quality is also reflected in his off-the-ball performance. Since the Suns' drive&kick play style in this game did not go smoothly, Gillespie Pi and Booker played many small-small screens, and used their opponents to guard Booker's breakthrough line and shoot from the outside:

Gillespie helped Booker switch to Conley, Jayden guarded Booker's right-hand line, and Gillespie got a chance to shoot in the mid-air.

After the Suns grabbed the offensive rebound, Goodwin broke through again. Gillespie and Dunn quickly moved. The former moved to the left at a 45° angle to receive the ball, and the latter cut in, creating an open three-point opportunity.

Booker clicked on Conley on the right side. When he broke through, he still encountered Edwards' defensive breakthrough line. Gillespie made full use of this and quickly moved to the bottom corner to easily obtain an open position.

This kind of patience and positioning wisdom are also reflected when he holds the ball. With mediocre physical fitness, he will read the defense around the bottom corner like Nash, and then use running to shake off the opponent to get the best shot opportunity.

Pocket pass assist under a single screen at the top of the arc:

Counterattack uses breakthroughs to compress the defensive space and passes to open teammates:

Although Gillespie and Booker cover most of the time, when Booker serves as the screener, he can also use misalignment to attack, which is very decisive.

This kind of patience, hard work and wisdom was also reflected in the reversal of the Suns CT. At the last minute, coach Ott sent in the five players. In addition to obtaining better shooting space, it can also provide rotation super Fast full-court defense:

The team also used mobility to seize opportunities. For example, after Dillon's forced shot this time, Edwards did not block O'Neal immediately, and the latter easily tipped the ball in.

Then Gillespie intercepted Edwards' inbound ball, and Dillon quickly found Goodwin who followed up and hit a three-pointer.

If the Timberwolves themselves had problems in the previous two times, the key defense this time was the credit of the Suns team. They quickly blocked the line where the Timberwolves players broke through and tested the ball in the middle. Randall's second breakthrough was intercepted by a three-person team and formed an effective counterattack.

For the winning goal, Gillespie took on the roles of Booker and Dillon, using an off-ball screen to catch the ball and quickly spread the screen to look for the defender. Although Gillespie did not completely get rid of DiVincenzo, he still successfully ran and shot to complete the quasi-win.