Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

Chapter 552: First grade, thanks!

On the court, the Timberwolves quickly gave the Spurs a chance to make substitutions.

It was the same high-post pick-and-roll tactic that started with David Robinson, but this time, after the breakthrough Avery Johnson passed the ball back to the high-post Robinson, the latter was immediately double-teamed by Wu Dao.

If he were an ordinary bulky center, he might panic and make a shocking mistake if he was double-teamed by Wu Dao.But Robinson is different. He has rich experience in the game and also has pretty good passing skills.

The basketball was quickly passed from Robinson's hands to Sean Elliott's. The latter directly held the ball and rushed inside, causing Cherokee Parks of the Timberwolves to cover and block the shot. It was a pity. Yes, he failed to block the shot. Instead, he slapped the opponent on the arm and was called a foul.

Fortunately, the basketball thrown by Sean Elliott did not fall into the net.

And due to the impact of Cherokee Parks' strong foul, Sean Elliott, who was sent to the free throw line, missed two free throws, which caused a burst of laughter from the Timberwolves fans in the stands.

Popovich really didn't have the eyes to see Sean Elliott's hip-stretching performance. Taking advantage of the gap in stopping the ball, he immediately replaced Chuck Person (203cm/100kg/34 years old).

Fortunately, not long after the game started, Chuck Person's body had not "cooled down" yet. Chuck Person, who was sent onto the court by Popovich, and Sean, who was walking to the dugout, gave each other a high-five and quickly entered. In the field.

"What did you hit?!"

"what?"

"Are you confused by that first-year defense? You can't even hit the ball?"

Popovich did not let Sean go until he returned to the rest area, holding his hands and saying coldly.Sean didn't dare to look at Popovich's expression. He walked to the rest area with his head lowered, took the towel handed by his teammates, covered his head, and sat on the bench without saying a word.

Popovich glanced at Sean, his eyes swept over the substitutes, and then looked toward the court.

At this time, the Timberwolves had also organized a new round of offense. After the Spurs made substitutions, Marbury found Tom on the offensive end.The latter caught the ball half a step inside the three-point line, turned sideways and quickly protected the ball behind him, and then after a tentative back shot, he quickly turned his back and rushed in from the left.

Monty Williams, who was defending Tom, was affected by Tom's back hit and was unable to keep up with Tom who turned his back and broke through in the first place.

Robinson under the basket saw this scene and immediately stepped up to cover the defense, but before the defense arrived, Tom immediately stopped and made a jump shot. As the sound of the basketball brushing the net sounded, warm cheers rang out from the stands.

Some fans held up Tom's nameplate, looking excited and excited.

The Timberwolves' game went smoothly in the first quarter. After realizing that Garnett was at a disadvantage against the Spurs' twin towers, Marbury immediately changed his approach.

The offensive ball was concentrated on Tom, himself and Wu Dao on the outside.

But when Tom discovered that when Wu Dao got the ball, most of them would choose to give the ball to Garnett inside, so he stopped giving the ball to Wu Dao and started to distribute the ball to Tom, or he would play it himself.

The Spurs' perimeter defense is really not strong. Whether it's Avery Johnson at the 1st position or Monty Williams opposite Tom, they all have a huge disadvantage in the matchup. The Spurs' perimeter defense was easily penetrated by the Timberwolves.

On the other hand, the Spurs have been using a relatively "monotonous" high pick-and-roll tactic. Wu Dao tried to double-team David Robinson in the first quarter, but as the latter successfully passed the ball, he assisted the new Cha Cha. After K. Person scored in the mid-range shot, Budao immediately gave up the idea.

David Robinson, who had gained a "perfect" mismatch advantage on the offensive end, began to frequently try high-post shots, but unfortunately, he did not seem to fit the basketball basket in the center of the target, and his shooting percentage was very poor.

Compared to David Robinson, who took a lot of offensive possessions but did not have much effect, Duncan's performance today was quite outstanding.

In the matchup with Garnett, Duncan did a very good job in protecting the rebound.At the same time, on the offensive end, Duncan scored successfully on several low-post shots, and even drew a foul from Garnett.

After the first quarter, the Timberwolves held a 23-point lead at 19:4.

Although Tom is playing smoothly, his offensive ability is not explosive, and Tom is the kind of player who likes mid-range shooting, but his mid-range shooting level is not as strong as martial arts, so the Timberwolves are in terms of explosive points. Very weak.

Marbury is the complete opposite of Tom. He has a certain amount of shooting ability, but what Marbury is best at is cutting. In front of the Timberwolves' twin towers, Marbury holds the ball a lot, but his efficiency is very low.

Budao didn't play much with the ball in the first quarter, and occasionally shot open shots. He scored 4 points on 3 of 6 field goals. He only made a shallow attempt at a three-pointer and hit it after being interfered with.

Although Wu Dao did not perform any explosive offensive performance in the first quarter, Wu Dao made some contributions to the team on the defensive end.

The Spurs' scoring was suppressed so low. In addition to Robinson's poor touch and still shooting a lot of shots, there was also the reason that Duncan was afraid of holding the ball for a long time due to his fear of holding the ball in the low post.

Duncan will play when Garnett has obvious flaws, but when Garnett doesn't have obvious flaws, Duncan doesn't dare to hold the ball for a long time and confront Garnett.

Duncan often passes the ball back to the outside. This operation also allows Robinson to hold the ball more, which in disguise affects the Spurs' offensive efficiency.

defense.

An important ability that is difficult to perfectly display with data, but can affect the direction of the game!
Rest period.

The Timberwolves audience was very satisfied with the team's result in the first half. The fact that such a young team could perform like this against the Spurs led by a superstar was enough to make most people happy.

It's just that the joys and sorrows of the audience and the coach are sometimes not the same.

When the team members returned to the rest area, Phillip immediately approached Martial Arts and asked:
"You have a lot of opportunities to hold the ball. Your first opponent was Sean Elliott. That guy was nearly 15 pounds lighter than you. Then your opponent was changed to Chuck Person, and that guy was also Nearly [-] pounds lighter than you."

"Facing an opponent of this caliber, why don't you fight yourself!?"

"Chuck Person is a 34-year-old veteran. He is far inferior to you in terms of height, strength, and speed. With your ability, wouldn't it be easy to defeat him?"

"Why pass the ball?"

Throughout the first quarter of the game, the person who annoyed Coach Philip the most was not Garnett, who hit the Twin Towers with his head, nor Marbury, the lone wolf who rushed inside with the ball, but Wu Dao.

In Coach Philip's view, it was really easy for Budo to deal with the "aging" Chuck Person, but in the first quarter, apart from open mid-range shots, Budo never played with the ball at all.

Coach Phillip's words immediately caught the attention of the players. Garnett recalled what he had said to Budao before the game, and recalled the ball that Budao passed to him on the field, and he couldn't help but feel a little moved.

In order to make a ball for himself, Wu Dao, the "coach's little sweetheart", was actually scolded.

Since Wu Dao joined the Timberwolves for so long, this is the first time that Wu Dao has been scolded for poor offensive performance. In the past, coach Philip taught Wu Dao because of reasons such as helping to defend against moves.

"Sorry, coach, I was thinking of trying to play without the ball."

"But the effect seems to be average."

"I will change my playing style in the future." Wu Dao openly admitted his "mistake". Seeing Wu Dao's "humbly" attitude, coach Philip also nodded, coughed slightly and said:
"uh-huh!"

"That's good. You held the ball less in the first quarter, so your physical condition should be very good."

"I won't rotate you off."

"That Cherokee Parks, Tom, Marbury, you three take turns to rest."

"Stanley, Sam, and Chris, you three come on."

"In the second quarter, the offense prioritized Martial Arts, followed by Sam."

"The Spurs' perimeter group is relatively weak, this is our opportunity!"

During the short break, Coach Philip quickly laid out the tactics for the second quarter. He did not plan to let Tom play for too long today. A team like the Spurs is a very good training opportunity for young rookies like Wu Dao.

He wanted Budo to hold the ball more and give him a taste of the defensive capabilities of the top inside players of this era.

The rest time passed quickly, and the players from both sides returned to the court again.

马刺那边，也是进行了轮换，5号位的大卫罗宾逊被维尔·佩尔多（213cm/109kg）所替换，3号位的蒙蒂·威廉姆斯也是被3/4摇摆的贾仑·杰克逊（193cm/86kg）所替换。

As for Duncan and defenders Avery Johnson and Chuck Person, they still stayed on the court.

"First grade, thanks."

"I'll keep that in mind."

When he came on the court, Garnett said thank you to Wu Dao. He was very happy that Wu Dao didn't just shirk the responsibility on him. Although Wu Dao did not shirk the responsibility on him, it would not have any impact on him, but this gave people a feeling of gratitude. The feeling is different.

Although Garnett has a bad mouth, he is a person deeply influenced by "street culture".At the age of 13, he started working everywhere to support his younger brothers and sisters, and he valued the so-called "brotherhood" very much.

Garnett will stay with the weak Timberwolves for 12 years, partly because the Timberwolves gave him enough "respect", and partly because Garnett is a "loyal" person.

When Garnett left the Timberwolves, Minnesota fans behaved reasonably and showed some understanding of the 31-year-old "old" Wolf King's dream of chasing a championship.

At this time, I have to mention the "only goat" who keeps saying that he will never leave Cleveland. At the age of 24, when he was at his true peak, the "only goat" left the hometown he would "never leave" and went to the Heat, bearing the abuse of countless fans.

After teaming up with Wade and Bosh, they finally won two championships at their peak.

The Celtics are also a group. The Celtics are the "old people" who hope to seize the tail of the peak and make a last-ditch effort for the championship they have never won while their bodies are still a little oily.

But "the only goat".
I understand everything I understand.

Martial Arts does not recognize the so-called "one man, one city" and scorns this concept. He just looks down on capricious villains.

As a man, you should do what you say, and don't say what you can't do. If you try hard and can't do it, forget it. Running away without even trying hard is a real crotch pulling.

Now, the "loyalty" of martial arts is recognized by Garnett. He likes people who are loyal. The person he can't forgive the most in his playing career is a traitor like "Ray"
(In 17, Garnett organized a gathering of players from the 08 Celtics championship lineup, but did not invite Ray Allen; after learning that Pierce and Ray Allen reconciled, he posted on IG, "I will not forgive a traitor. Absolutely not!")
"Farewell, I just ask you not to show off your damn fadeaway jumper in front of me."

"If you like jump shots, why not give me the ball? I think my fadeaway is much more interesting than yours, and my shooting percentage is also higher!"

Facing Garnett's overture, Wu Dao just glanced at him coldly and said in an indifferent tone.

The only touch of emotion that had just risen in Garnett's heart was suddenly gone. He walked towards the court and cursed angrily:
"You bloody bastard!"

"I knew you, you bastard, couldn't say anything nice!"

"F***"

Wu Dao ignored Garnett. He was now trying hard to concentrate.Garnett had already had many opportunities in the first quarter, but unfortunately, he failed to prove that he was better than Duncan.

But now, Wu Dao wants to prove himself that he is a better rookie than Duncan!

"Beep-"

The referee's whistle sounded and the Timberwolves had the ball.

After Chris Kyle received Sam Mitchell's serve in the backcourt, he quickly ran towards the frontcourt.After entering the frontcourt, Chris Kyle was completely different from Marbury before. He had no intention of trying it himself. He quickly gave the ball to the side of Wu Dao, and then began to move towards the left side of the court, pulling Keep distance.

After getting the ball, Wu Dao had no intention of releasing it. He bent down and sank, and the basketball was only ten centimeters from the ground.

"ohhhhh—"

Martial arts is obviously preparing for singles.

Seeing this scene, the fans in the stands suddenly burst into cheers and roared excitedly.

"For such a tall person, his center of gravity is actually so low?"

Defending Wu Dao was 34-year-old Spurs veteran Chuck Person. Seeing Wu Dao bending down to hold the ball, Chuck Person couldn't help but murmur in his heart. At the same time, he "hardly" lowered his focus to Respond to the sudden advance of martial arts.

"Snapped!"

The next second, a soft sound fell into Chuck Person's ears. The basketball in Wu Dao's hand quickly fell and rebounded under his crotch. However, Wu Dao, who was originally standing in front of Chuck Person, had already He was digging his steps to speed up, and someone passed through his crotch.

"!" Chuck Person was startled, and a sense of humiliation arose spontaneously. He quickly turned around to pursue him without thinking, but when he came to Wu Dao, Wu Dao quickly turned around and directly crossed Chuck Person's body. Defense.

Chuck Person barely stopped, and saw that after passing him, Wu Dao directly stopped in the mid-range and shot a jump shot. His smooth lunging movement and beautiful shooting posture attracted even more enthusiastic cheers from the stands.

"Shh!"

There was a soft sound, and as the basketball hit the net, the audience, who had already been aroused by the martial arts breakthrough, immediately stood up and cheered excitedly.

(End of this chapter)