Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

Amid the cheers of the home fans, the game between the Timberwolves and the Warriors officially began. As the basketball was thrown into the air, Warriors centers Eric Dampier and Stanley Roberts took off and pointed at the basketball.

The centers of the two teams are about the same height, but Dampier is younger than Roberts.

Dampier, who came first, directly dialed the basketball and shot the ball toward the backcourt.

The Warriors' task of holding and controlling the ball is not very broken down. In this game, the person preparing to receive the ball in the backcourt is Jim Jackson. This is a relatively versatile defender who can make mid-range shots and three-pointers. He can also hit breakthroughs, and more importantly, his court vision is also very good.

The only problem is that the stability is not very good and there are a lot of mistakes per game.

If the original timeline developed, Jim Jackson should not have appeared in the Warriors' team. He was transferred to the 97ers at the beginning of the 98-76 season, but now for some unknown reason, he immediately became a member of the 76ers shortly after he arrived. Warriors were sent.

Jim Jackson in the backcourt got the basketball and slowly advanced toward the frontcourt at a slow pace. The Timberwolves' defensive speed was very fast, and they had no chance to make a surprise attack in the opening game.

It was Sam Mitchell who defended Jim Jackson. The Timberwolves still planned to play defensive counterattack in this game, so when they were in position, the big meat shields Roberts and Garnett sank to the inside, and Marbury and Mi Chel and Tom defended the perimeter.

The Warriors' offensive positioning was very tricky. Except for Dampier, who immediately sank to the inside after entering the frontcourt, the others all went to the outside.

When Jim Jackson approached the top of the key with the ball, Joe Smith immediately set up a pick-and-roll. Garnett followed two steps and was immediately attracted by Jim Jackson who broke through. Jim Jackson took a few steps toward the inside. He immediately stopped and passed the ball back to Joe Smith.

Joe Smith didn't hesitate when he got the ball. After blasting the ball, he rushed directly towards the inside.Mitchell, who was bypassing the defense, reacted quickly when he saw this scene and chased Joe Smith, but the breakthrough Joe Smith still attracted Roberts, who was guarding the basket, at this moment.

When the defense came up, Joe Smith gave the ball directly to Dampier, who was open under the basket. The latter took the ball and pulled onions directly, dunked with both hands, and poured the ball into the basket.

Excellent and smooth cooperation directly tore apart the Timberwolves' defense.

"What did you hit?"

"Defend!"

"When I switch defenses, I shout out loudly to communicate with my teammates. How many times do you want me to say it?"

On the sidelines of the court, seeing the team lose a goal like this, coach Phillip Sanders immediately couldn't sit still and shouted towards the court.

Garnett glanced sideways at the coach and quickly ran towards the frontcourt. When passing by Joe Smith, Garnett did not forget to greet him:
"Joe, why don't you fight yourself?"

"Are you afraid of being blocked when you see me catching up?"

"Hey, look at me, you weakling, look how I beat you up!"

It can be seen that Garnett has indeed integrated into the league very well. The game has just begun, and his mouth has already started.

Joe Smith seemed to have experienced Garnett's nonsense, and just said, "You can't do it, Kevin." Then he didn't say much. When Marbury entered the frontcourt with the ball, he immediately He pushed his body against Garnett, trapping Garnett behind him.

"Ho, ho~"

"Qiao, you are too soft!"

While Garnett was spouting trash talk, he bent his knee slightly and pushed it against Joe Smith's butt. Then the next second, Garnett pulled his body, quickly walked around Joe Smith, and waved to Marbury.

Joe Smith was confused by Garnett's movements. He thought Garnett was trying to play a trick and lowered his waist. But when Garnett pulled hard, he realized something was wrong. When he pursued him, Marbury has lobbed the ball into Garnett's hands.

Garnett caught the ball with his back to the basket from mid-range, glanced sideways at Joe Smith, who came up quickly, and directly hit the ball with his back.

Garnett's height and weight are stronger than Joe Smith. It is not difficult to forcefully hit Joe Smith who is not standing firmly. After two consecutive back-to-the-basket attacks, Garnett suddenly turned around with the ball and directly followed the ball. Turn over and shoot a fadeaway jumper.

"???"

Seeing this goal, Wu Dao on the sidelines was full of question marks.

"Whoa!" In the court, the basketball hit the net with a crisp sound. Garnett raised his hand and pointed at Joe Smith, turning back to defend.

Although the ball was scored, Wu Dao's forehead was still full of question marks.

Joe Smith, who was opposite Garnett, was obviously a little overwhelmed. With Garnett's ability, he could break through the opponent and get to the basket without any effort.

But Garnett actually chose the iron-blooded jump shot, which made Wu Dao a little puzzled.

Garnett and Budo have some overlap in their playing styles, but they are completely different types of players.Garnett does not have martial arts skills to face the basket, so he plays as a power forward, and his receiving position is often deeper.

With the ball in this position, if you deal with the opponent quickly, you can hit the basket with a dunk. Isn't this better than a jump shot?
If you end with a jump shot, why give you a power forward with such a crotch-length face-to-the-basket skill?

If the opponent is a player with strong strength and explosive power, a player like O'Neal, Garnett's choice is fine, but if the opponent is Joe Smith, who is one size younger than him, Garnett's offensive choice is not only problematic, but also Big problem!

But neither the coach nor Garnett himself seemed to realize this. No one cared whether a scored goal was reasonable.

"The style of play has become a habit. This guy lacks the skills to face the basket. This offensive method is useful if his teammates are restrained. If there are no teammates to restrain him, Garnett will be easily targeted."

"The Nuggets' big men are terrible, but Joe Smith is pretty good. It's easy for Garnett to beat him, but his own shortcomings are also being magnified."

On the court, offense and defense alternate.

The Warriors used outside pick-and-rolls to create offensive opportunities for Latrell Sprewell. Using the pick-and-roll, Latrell Sprewell accelerated his breakthrough and then made a mid-range jumper under Roberts' defense. Take action.After switching defenses, Roberts was focused on preventing the opponent from breaking through. He didn't even have time to lift his center of gravity before he saw the opponent take a shot.

"Shh!"

Latrell Sprewell was in good condition, and the basketball fell directly into the net with a crisp sound.

Another goal was conceded. This time, coach Flip Saunders was much calmer and didn't say much.The defensive switch was executed very well, and the fact that the opponent was still able to score goals was due to the difference in player strength.

If this ball changes the defensive player from Roberts to Wenbanyama, then Latrell Sprewell may have to take a big cap.
The game on the court is still going on. The Warriors are playing at a fast pace, and the Timberwolves are not slow at all.Marbury dribbled the ball quickly into the frontcourt. Seeing Garnett inside with Joe Smith in position, he made a false breakthrough with his hips, and then quickly gave the ball to Garnett. The latter took the ball and directly The ball was dropped and turned around to break through.

In the panic pursuit of Joe Smith, Garnett made an emergency stop and took another "iron-blooded jump shot". The side of the basketball scraped the board and rebounded into the net.

"Qiao, please give me some strength, I don't feel the pressure!"

"Defend! Can you defend? Mr. No. [-] pick!"

Joe Smith was the No. 1995 pick in the [-] draft and was a "same class" as Garnett, who was the fifth overall pick.

Drafted lower than Joe Smith.

Garnett was still a little excited to play against Joe Smith.This is not the first time the Timberwolves have played against the Warriors. In the regular season of the 96-97 season, the Timberwolves were severely beaten by the Warriors.

Garnett played 30 minutes at that time and scored 18 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

Joe Smith played 40 minutes and scored 30 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists.

Although the Timberwolves' center Stojako Frankovich was a rookie at the time, he was beaten by his opponent Felton Spencer and allowed the opponent to double-team Garnett.

But there was no way to cover up Garnett's weakness during the game.

In the regular season, the Timberwolves played three games against the Warriors and only won one. Although there were factors of failure, Garnett knew in his heart that he did not show a crushing attitude in the confrontation with Joe Smith. .

When Joe Smith was in the Warriors stage, he and Garnett actually seemed to be about the same level.

Garnett was obviously very happy as he scored consecutive points on the opponent's head.

During the alternation between offense and defense, the Warriors' Donyel Marshall pulled an open three-pointer from the outside and the rebound was collected by the Timberwolves.

Looking back, Marbury took advantage of his teammates' pick-and-roll, held the ball alone and made a strong cut in the middle, and made a mid-range throw against Latrell Sprewell's defense.

However, Marbury's attack was a bit reluctant, and the basketball missed the basket and fell.

After Joe Smith picked off the rebound, the Warriors directly pushed back the fast break. Latrell Sprewell, who was leading the way, deliberately observed the opponent's position when approaching the midline with the ball. When he saw the opponent returning to defense, he directly It also accelerated suddenly as it sank toward the basket.

One step past the pressing Marbury, he directly approached the corner outside the three-point line and made a "forward" jumper for a three-point shot.

Latrell Sprewell's emergency stop three-point posture is a bit weird. After the basketball is released, the whole person flies forward. The degree of ugliness and weirdness is only a little better than Ah Tan's "crab style" three-pointer. That’s all.

But the strange thing is that the basketball flew in a very stable route in the air and hit the net directly with a hollow sound.

"Ow—"

As the basketball entered the net, the fans watching the game in the arena howled.Minnesota's home fans couldn't bear to see such unreasonable goals from their opponents.

Latrell Sprewell, who scored the ball, gently touched the dreadlocks on his head with a smile on his face.

On the sidelines of the court, the Warriors' substitutes cheered loudly. The strength of their Warriors is closely related to the performance of Latrell Sprewell. The outstanding performance of this core means that their Warriors' team strength is at its peak. .

In fact, this is indeed the case. Latrell Sprewell played "bravely" in the first quarter, scoring 10 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists alone.

Led the Warriors to a 26-point lead over the Timberwolves 17:9.

Garnett actually played well, scoring 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist. However, both Tom and Marbury were a bit tough today, and their offensive efficiency was very average.

Marbury was thrown away by his opponent after missing a throw, and also allowed his opponent to score an unreasonable three-pointer.

Faced with such a person, Marbury certainly planned to retaliate. With the help of his teammates' pick-and-roll, Marbury also tried a three-pointer. The result was that he made two irons in a row, and then continued to pass and cut.

But his irony was also transmitted to Tom.
Today's game is a microcosm of some of the Timberwolves' games in the regular season last season.

Regardless of whether the opponent's defensive strength is strong or weak, the Timberwolves sometimes have this "self-defense situation."

Often at times like this, the Timberwolves need someone to break the deadlock. Marbury's pass and cut is the key to breaking the tie.

And Marbury, who has a bit of personal heroism, is still willing to take on this responsibility.

But if you encounter a smart opponent and give Marbury more defensive resources, the Timberwolves will collapse on their own.

After all, this is Marbury, you can't use him as Iverson.

When Marbury wanted to take on more responsibilities for the team, he never thought about whether he could do it.

In Marbury's mind, he is certainly no worse than Iverson, but in terms of pure offensive damage, Marbury really cannot make up for Iverson.

His height makes Marbury's damage limited after all.

There is no doubt that the Timberwolves are now in a similar dilemma.

After the first quarter, the Timberwolves players returned to the dugout.

The faces of the starters were not very good. After all, they were held down by 9 points in one quarter by a playoff goalkeeper. But any player with a bit of shame would feel unhappy. After all, this year, their goal is the playoffs!
His teammates were unhappy, but Wu Dao was smiling.

Because Wu Dao knows very well that when the opportunity to prove his worth comes, the starting players are in so-so condition, and he, as a substitute, needs to save some face for the team!
Sure enough, Flip Saunders also made personnel adjustments during the break. The big meat shield was replaced by white center Cherokee Parks, who was fair and white and played well with everyone.

At the same time, Tom was also taken off the field to rest, while Wu Dao was placed among the players on the field.

"Wudao, the player you are guarding today is Jim Jackson. Donyel Marshall will be guarded by Roberts."

Before going on the field, the coach gave instructions in Budo's ear.

Jim Jackson was the Warriors' second scoring point. Although he only scored 5 points in the first half, Flip Saunders knew that it was because the "Madman" was feeling hot.

Jim Jackson was not a man to be underestimated.

"Okay!"

Defending a high-speed defender, Wu Dao also nodded and responded immediately, not worrying at all that he would be beaten or pulled by others.

After returning from the break, the game also entered the second quarter.

When the fans in the stands saw the familiar yellow man appearing in the team, they immediately burst into cheers.

In the previous game between the Timberwolves and the Nuggets, fans vaguely felt that this rookie was not simple. He often only needed to play one quarter to help the team gain an advantage.

Fans believe that under today's big disadvantage, Wu Dao can show more abilities.

Whether it is the Minnesota fans who are just being jealous and thinking too much, or whether Minnesota has truly welcomed their savior, we will soon be able to see it!
(End of this chapter)