Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

In 1997, the league had just introduced the concept of plus-minus, and Budo, who helped the Timberwolves win three consecutive victories at the beginning of the season, became the first beneficiary after the concept of plus-minus was introduced.

In the previous games, when Wu Dao appeared on the court and held the ball a lot, the Timberwolves were often able to beat their opponents.

In contrast, All-Star substitute Tom Gugliotta's plus-minus at the same position is not as good as Martial Arts.

Moreover, Wu Dao scored 40+ points in the first three games of the Timberwolves. His terrible offensive efficiency also attracted the attention of more local fans under the exaggerated reports of the Minnesota media.

The Warriors, Hornets, and Trail Blazers were defeated by the Timberwolves one after another, which also gave Minnesota fans a feeling of pride.

In this world, fans are actually a relatively pure group. If you play well, the fans will praise you, and if you play poorly, the fans will beat you. This is the reality.

While Wu Dao's outstanding performance was positively praised by fans, Tom's inefficient performance in the third quarter against the Trail Blazers was often pulled out by fans for comparison.

Moreover, American and American fans have a strong sense of “local characteristics.” How do you describe that feeling?
To put it simply, fans will think that the rookies selected by their team are their own, while other players recruited can only be regarded as helpers and cannot be counted as their own in a strict sense.

And this basketball culture of treating players differently is particularly strong in states with relatively slow economic development and relatively harsh living environments.

This basketball culture is actually related to the administrative system of the United States. The high degree of autonomy of each state has become the soil that nourishes this basketball culture to a certain extent.

Minnesota is one of those states with a relatively harsh natural environment and relatively slow economic development.
Why does Garnett have so many supporters in Minnesota? Is it because his personal statistics are better than other players?
其实无论是在95-96赛季，亦或者是在96-97赛季，加内特的场均得分都不如汤姆·古格里奥塔，在95-96第一年新秀赛季的时候场均得分也只有10分而已。

加内特在96-97赛季个人数据增长到了17分8板3助，但是与之相对的，汤姆·古格里奥塔的个人数据也是维持在了20.6分，8.7板4.1助攻，依旧是压了加内特一头。

But even so, Minnesotans still regard Garnett as the future of the team and the true "owner" of the Timberwolves.

As for Tom Gugliotta?That's just the help the team found.

This kind of basketball culture is now beginning to play a role in Wu Dao. Although Wu Dao is a yellow man, he is indeed a rookie selected by the Timberwolves. In the eyes of fans, when Wu Dao joins the Timberwolves, he is already considered a One of our own.

If martial arts doesn't come out, the fans will at best scold the team management for being stupid and choosing a parallel import. But when martial arts comes out, fans will pay far more attention to him than any other member of the team. players.

No matter how good people like Tom and Mabu are, after all, they are not players chosen by the Timberwolves themselves. They are helpers acquired through trade, and they are other people's children.

But Garnett and Wu Dao are different. They are Minnesotans and children of their own family.

From this, you may be able to understand why the Cavaliers fans acted so crazy when Ah Tan left the Cavaliers. They turned from pink to black and put up slogans in the stands mocking Ah Tan for being gay, and there were many people who burned their jerseys.

Compared with Wu Dao, a rookie who was drafted to Minnesota, Ah Tan is a native of Ohio. The Cleveland Cavaliers in Ohio are equivalent to Ah Tan's hometown team. The enthusiasm that fans pour into Ah Tan is far greater than that of Wu Dao now. Much more.

Being sentenced by such a guy, one can imagine how the fans' mentality will explode.

Now that Budo has scored 40+ points in three consecutive games and helped the team achieve three consecutive victories, Minnesota fans support Budao to the same extent as Cleveland fans support the rookie booth.

With an average of 40+ per game and the team's three-game winning streak, Wu Dao finally forced the big media to hang their noble heads and take a look at Minnesota's rapidly rising rookie.

When the Timberwolves arrived in Vancouver, Canada on a team charter flight to prepare for an away game against the Vancouver Grizzlies, a player observation report from BS Report was being widely circulated.

BS Report, this is ESPN columnist Bill Simmons' own "channel" on ESPN.

He is a Boston native and a die-hard Celtics fan.

"There's no doubt that young guy is a great pitcher, but as the game goes on, it's going to be hard to maintain that heroics."

"The Duncan selected by the Spurs is definitely the strongest No. [-] pick in recent years. There is no doubt about this."

"Although martial arts is also very good, and it seems that he has adapted to the NBA to some extent, he still cannot compare with Duncan. If Duncan had as much ball rights as him, Duncan would also be able to average 40+ per game."

"Scoring is not the only criterion for evaluating a player. In my opinion, Wu Dao's awareness of assisting defense and supplementary defense is still in high school. He still has a lot of room for improvement, and his job of protecting the basket is far inferior to that of most in the same position. player, he is not a qualified small forward."

The above words are excerpted from Bill Simmons’ player observation report on martial arts.

No one can give an accurate number on how many people agree with Bill Simmons’s point of view, but one thing is certain, while Bill Simmons’ article was widely circulated, the name Martial Arts was also Appeared in the sight of more and more people.

With the support of "Duncan", the reputation of martial arts began to skyrocket across the United States.And his 40+ record in the previous three games also allowed martial arts to attract a wave of "strong" fans.

What is a strong fan?
That's who is a strong fan of whom. This type of fans is not uncommon in the United States.

There were no surprises in the game between the Timberwolves and the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies themselves were one of the bottom teams in the league, and the entire team was not that strong.

Before welcoming the Timberwolves, the Grizzlies had played four games, winning 1 and losing three, losing to the Mavericks twice and the Spurs once. Only in the game against the Kings did they defeat their opponent with a 1-point lead. .

Perhaps the biggest player on this Grizzlies team is the future All-Star Sharif Abdul-Rahim (206cm/100kg). This was the No. 96 pick in 3 and is the core of the Grizzlies team today. As the core of the team, there is also the No. 95 pick in the first round selected by the Grizzlies in 213, Bryant Levis (115cm/[-]kg).

By the way, in the 97 draft, the Grizzlies had a lower pick than the Timberwolves. Through a trade, they used the Timberwolves' fourth pick to select guard Antonio Daniels, intending to use him to assist the young Sharif Abdul. Raheem and Bryant Reeves allow these three to grow together.

But what the Grizzlies didn't expect was that Wu Dao, whom they selected with the fifth pick, actually performed so well after entering the league, which made the Grizzlies' management regret it.

The Grizzlies are a young team (established in 95). The team has no heritage at all, and its home court is still in Canada, which also makes many players unwilling to play in the Grizzlies.As long as those NBA players can play in the United States, who would want to go to Canada?
Only those rookies will go to Canada to play if they have no other choice.

This also makes the entire Grizzlies team's player composition quite young.

In the game between the Timberwolves and the Grizzlies, Wu Dao was still the starter, but the biggest contradiction in the Timberwolves' starting lineup has not been resolved.

Coach Flip Saunders also did not give clear instructions regarding the distribution of ball rights.

When on the court, it is basically Marbury's decision to allocate the ball.

Perhaps out of wanting to compete with his classmates, Marbury made many strong attacks with the ball in the first quarter, and most of the sudden points were given to Garnett.

Marbury was the No. 96 pick in 4. When he competed with Sharif Abdul-Rahim, who was one pick ahead of him, he played very actively, even though the two were not in the same position at all.
And Garnett also had the idea of ​​​​competing. As a No. 4, he took the initiative to find the Grizzlies' No. [-] Bryant Levis on the defensive end. During the game, Garnett said "Blah blah blah". "Non-stop, even "greeting" Bryant Levis every time he scored a goal.

After the first quarter, Wu Dao only picked up three rebounds and scored 4 points in two fast breaks.

Marbury took a lot of the offensive ball, and only part of it went to Tom and Garnett.

But fortunately, Marbury's breakout efficiency is quite good, and his shooting touch is also very good today.

After the first quarter, the Timberwolves led their opponents by 29 points, 22:7.

In the second quarter, Wu Dao thought he would stay on the court, but what he didn't expect was that Phillip took him off the field and let Sam Mitchell replace him. Wu Dao was the only one in the starting lineup. People were substituted.

For such a decision, Martial Arts can only be forced to accept it.

In the second quarter, Marbury began to deal cards to Tom consciously, increasing the number of singles played by Tom.But the effect was not very satisfactory. Sharif Abdur-Rahim, who faced Tom, defended very well, and when playing at home, he also dared to make moves. He took action when it was time to take action, without any ambiguity at all.

Tom struggled in the second quarter. Although his breakthrough layup could get a whistle, his mid-range shooting accuracy was subpar.

The Grizzlies' Bryant Levis also began to exert force. The fierce physical confrontation and physical exertion made Garnett's iron-blooded jump shot begin to misfire.

Fortunately, Sam Mitchell, who came on the bench, played very well and firmly seized the opportunity, scoring 3 points on 3-for-6 shooting.After the second quarter, the Timberwolves led their opponents by 26 points at 20:6.

In the third quarter of the game, the Timberwolves replaced Tom and Cherokee Parks, replaced them with Roberts and Terry Porter, and began to play double control.

The defensive strength on the perimeter has declined, and the Grizzlies firmly seized the opportunity in the third quarter of the second half and seized this gap to attack.The Grizzlies' substitute forward Otis Thorpe and (206cm/102kg/No. 84 pick in 9) Sharif Abdul-Rahim were on the court at the same time, launching a lot of attacks on the Timberwolves' basket.

At the same time, the Grizzlies also strengthened their control of rebounding.

Fortunately, Marbury still performed well for the Timberwolves. Antonio Daniels, the rookie the Grizzlies acquired from the Timberwolves this year, was no match for the second-year Marbury and was defeated.Coach Philip saw that the situation was stable and rotated the main players to rest. Wu Dao also substituted Tom for 6 minutes in the third quarter, scored a three-pointer, and scored 5 points in a fast break.

At the end of the third quarter, the Grizzlies, who had a rebound advantage, won by 7 points and entered the final quarter with a score of 31:26.

The Timberwolves' lead was reduced to 6 points, but Philip did not make any major adjustments.

In the fourth quarter, the Timberwolves' starting lineup was complete, giving the Grizzlies the final blow.

Budo got the ball several times in the first few minutes of the fourth quarter. Not long after his personal score reached double figures, he was replaced by Philip.

Then he just sat on the bench and watched his teammates play.

Perhaps due to acclimatization, Tom and Garnett's offensive efficiency was average, but Marbury, on the other hand, went crazy in today's game.

In the final fourth quarter, the Timberwolves won the game at 31:24 in a single quarter.

马布里全场出手18中12，算上罚球总共得到了26分10助攻3板3抢断，数据领跑森林狼。

汤姆17-6，罚球10中9，拿到了21分9板5助。

加内特17中8，罚球3中3，拿到了19分11板7助。

至于武道，破碎的上场时间加起来都不到18分钟，轻松拿下了13分5板2助1抢断。

It was another hearty victory. During the media interview after the game, coach Philip led Tom to attend the press conference. When talking about the team's winning streak, Philip praised Tom's outstanding performance to the media with a smile on his face:
"Tom scored 21 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists in this game. He even had three steals. I didn't mention it."

"And have you noticed that Tom didn't make a single mistake in this game today?"

"There's no doubt that Tom is an extremely good player and one of the reasons why our Timberwolves were able to win."

Philip smiled and praised Tom's excellence to the media, but some media clearly didn't intend to buy it and asked about the martial arts situation instead.

A reporter raised his hand, and after getting Philip's permission to ask questions, he immediately stood up and asked:

"Hello, Coach Philip."

"I noticed that Wu Dao played less than 10 minutes in this game, which was much lower than in previous games, and he rarely touched the basketball when he played."

"Is it because Wu Dao, a rookie, is not unanimously recognized by the Timberwolves coaching staff for his abilities?"

"What plans do you have for this rookie next?"

When Philip heard these questions, he regretted letting the reporter stand up to answer.Philip narrowed his eyes slightly and glanced at the strange reporter who asked the question. Then he waved his hand gracelessly and pointed at another reporter at the scene:
"Next question!"

After the trip to Canada, the Timberwolves set off for Oakland to prepare for an away game against the Warriors.

The Timberwolves had already played a game with the Warriors before, and the Timberwolves beat the Warriors by 30+ and won the game easily.

But today, the Timberwolves' starting lineup has been adjusted. Wu Dao, who has always been the starter, was put on the bench. His replacement was Chris Kyle. Philip used Chris Kyle and Marbury to form a double control. line-up.

The person who took on the role of the main point guard was actually Chris Kyle, while Marbury was thrown to the No. 2 position.

In this game, I didn't even play a single martial arts session. I sat on the bench and watched the whole game.

However, the result still ended with the Timberwolves winning 97:90.

同时，主力三号位汤姆全场打了39分钟，出手24中10，三分球1-0，罚球9-9，砍下了全队最高的29分12板6助。

加内特16中6，总计砍下了15分6板6助。

马布里13中6，三分球丑陋的4中0，惨遭滑铁卢，全场砍下13分5助2板。

Chris Kyle, who served as the starter for the first time, also dared to play. He made 11 of 4 shots and 3 of 2 three-pointers. He scored a total of 14 points including free throws.

After the game, coach Philip attended the post-game press conference with a beaming Tom and praised Tom's outstanding performance in front of many media.

"From the beginning of the season to now, our Timberwolves have won five consecutive victories. There is no doubt that Tom has made a huge contribution to these victories for our Timberwolves."

"Tom is a great contributor to our Timberwolves!"

After the game, Coach Philip did not attend the celebration dinner after the team's victory. He locked himself in his room and talked on the phone with Timberwolves CEO Kevin McHale.

"Unfortunately, the Lakers have no intention of trading Campbell. However, Houston does have some ideas. They hope to trade Kevin Willis."

As soon as he heard the voice on the other end of the phone, Phillip immediately cursed:

"Are they crazy? Or do they think we are crazy?"

"Who is Kevin Willis, who can also replace our great hero Tom?"

"What an idea. At least they have to get another Charles Barkley! Otherwise, there's no need to talk about it!"

After Phillip finished speaking, Kevin McHale on the other end of the phone asked with some confusion:
"Barkley? Does it fit with our lineup?"

"What our team needs most right now is a strong defensive No. 5. Will Barkley occupy Budo's ball rights?"

"And I don't know if he signed a no-trade clause with Houston. You know, he went to Houston just to win a championship with Dream and Glider. Although they are all old, let him leave Houston and come to the Timberwolves. Such a team is unrealistic.”

When Philip heard this, he pursed his lips and said, "Let's find a way to understand him first. He can also become a good match for our Timberwolves."

"But we still need to pay attention to the free market and look for suitable insiders."

"Kevin, I can feel that we are a team with the potential to compete for the championship. We just need to find some good helpers and some good guides for those young people!"

"Inside, veterans with rich defensive experience and rich competition experience will transform us!"

(End of this chapter)