The Trail Blazers narrowly escaped with a 3-1 victory over the Timberwolves in the first round, smoothly advancing to the semifinals.
For Minneapolis fans, the dream of "ending the Trail Blazers dynasty" shattered after just one day.
Kevin Garnett once again entered the offseason, looking ahead to his next season, what Gan Guoyang referred to as "his future."
The Wolves, centered around Garnett and Marbury, seemed to have a bright future, but in reality, disaster awaited them.
Soon after, Garnett's friend, Wolves' starting forward Malik Sealy, tragically passed away in a car accident.
Garnett's emotions were severely hit, and the Wolves lost an important player.
At the same time, Stephon Marbury did not recognize Garnett's leadership role.
He was tired of the cold weather in Minneapolis, and after this series, he increasingly believed Garnett was not truly the team's leader. How could you be a core player without even scoring one-on-one, just relying on defense?
