Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

Shark O'Neal, this is a super player who even if you don't like him, you have to admit his strength and dominance.

Although he is huge in size, he can still soar into the air like a striker. This kind of talent is truly historical.

There were no surprises in the opening jump ball. O'Neal relied on his excellent height and jumping to easily overpower Cherokee Parks and move the ball to the backcourt.

After Lakers guard Nick Van Exel took the ball in his hands, he also began to slowly dribble the ball forward.

The Lakers of this era play at a very slow pace. The reason is certainly not because the Lakers players can't run. In fact, O'Neal was fully able to adapt to multi-round games when he was young.

But even so, the Lakers are still playing steadily on the offensive end. The main reason is because their center is O'Neal, the omnipotent O'Neal!

After entering the frontcourt, the Lakers' first attack went directly to O'Neal inside.

At this time, O'Neal was in a low position, his broad back pressed against Cherokee Parks' body, and his feet were rooted to the ground. Under Cherokee Parks' hard push, O'Neal did not move at all.

Cherokee Parks' range of movements is already very large. Such a large range of movements at the beginning of the game shows how much pressure O'Neal, who is standing in the low post, exerts on Cherokee Parks.

When Lakers outsider Nick Van Exel saw O'Neal raising his hand for the ball, he didn't hesitate and lobbed the ball directly to O'Neal inside.

Nick Van Exel's height is not much different from Marbury. It is not easy for Marbury to prevent the opponent's pass.

So the basketball easily fell into O'Neal's hands.

"Ok?"

"Did the Lakers lob the ball to O'Neal so easily?"

"Didn't the Timberwolves do any research on the Lakers before the game?"

In this day and age, almost no one can guard O'Neal one-on-one in the low post. The way many teams in the NBA deal with O'Neal is to double-team. Opponents standing on the same side as O'Neal will often let go of the player they are guarding and position themselves close to O'Neal's position.

Once the Lakers try to pass the ball, at least two players must be able to pose a threat to the Lakers' pass at the same time.

The way to crack O'Neal is not to find a way to defend O'Neal in the low post, but to try not to let O'Neal catch the ball in the low post.

This is actually the reason why the Lakers, who have an OK combination, were unable to form a strong championship momentum in the early stages.

Before Kobe Bryant grew up, the Lakers did not have a strong enough outside line that could not only have offensive power but also pass the ball to O'Neal.

For players to adapt to the Lakers, it is not enough to have singles ability and outside shooting ability. They also need excellent passing skills from outside to inside.

When the entire league knew how to limit O'Neal's performance, the Timberwolves actually allowed the Lakers to give the ball to the inside so easily. It's no wonder that the audience watching the ball made such a cry.

O'Neal, who took the ball in the low post, did not disappoint the audience. With a simple step, O'Neal went directly to the basket, and then with a simple turn with the ball, he directly drove away Cherokee Parks.

Then he jumped up and poured the ball directly over Cherokee Parks' head into the basket.

Cherokee Parks, who was affected by O'Neal's impact, couldn't jump at all when facing O'Neal. He could only raise his hands symbolically, and then was dunked by O'Neal.

The powerful slam dunk is one of O'Neal's best "unique skills". There is nothing Cherokee Parks can do to get the ball in that position.

The Lakers home fans at Staples cheered after seeing O'Neal's explosive dunk, and roaring cheers poured into the stadium.

After scoring the goal, O'Neal was also very excited. After landing, he pointed his hands towards Cherokee Parks with a mocking look on his face.

Well.
  Even though O'Neal is always acting weird on the court, like most super giants of this era, O'Neal also has a somewhat bad personality when he is on the court.

"Start to shrink the defensive line on the next ball, Tom, pay attention to support Cherokee, and the defensive position will be further inside."

"Don't let O'Neal catch the ball too easily."

"Okay, let's start the attack. Don't worry too much."

On the sidelines of the court, Coach Philip shouted loudly to the players on the court that O'Neal's strength was within his expectation. The opening goal was just a test of O'Neal's quality.

Look how far Cherokee Parks can go against a player of O'Neal's caliber.

After watching the first ball, Coach Philip realized that he still thought too much. There was no way Cherokee Parks could compete with O'Neal.
  During the transition between offense and defense, Marbury quickly entered the frontcourt with the ball. Compared to the Lakers, the Timberwolves' advancement was obviously faster.

The one who defends Martial Arts is Rick Fox (201cm/102kg). This player's level is still remarkable, but compared to Martial Arts, he is a little less interesting.

During the Timberwolves' offensive phase, the focus of the fans was also focused on Wu Dao.

Before the game, Lakers fans knew something about the Timberwolves. Wu Dao had such outstanding statistics at the beginning of the season. Anyone who pays attention to the NBA has noticed this rookie.

He also entered the NBA in high school, and the emergence of martial arts also increased Kobe's discussion among Lakers fans in disguise.

Fans pulled Kobe out and compared it with martial arts, and then came to the conclusion that Kobe was inferior to martial arts.

Lakers fans feel that if the Lakers get martial arts and have an outside scorer who averages nearly 40 points per game to help them, their championship this year will be certain.

No matter what era it is in, it is not uncommon for fans to compare players and then praise one over the other.

The attention of the players on the court was also focused on Wu Dao at this moment. After the Lakers players positioned their defense, everyone paid attention to Wu Dao's side intentionally or unintentionally.

After observing the Lakers' defense, Marbury also chose to pass the ball to Wu Dao.

The reason is also very simple. The task of attacking tough tasks needs to be handed over to the small forward, right?

Let Wu Dao first use his personal ability to disrupt the opponent's defense, and then other Timberwolves players can have more space to freely display their strengths.

Budo, who was in the corner outside the three-point line, received a pass from his teammate, then grabbed the ball with his left hand and raised it high, turning slightly sideways to look at Rick Fox, who was defending him.
  I only have one impression of martial arts for this guy.

A rare handsome guy among black people.

Wu Dao no longer has much impression of the opponent's technical characteristics.

So after getting the ball, Budo just took a look at Rick Fox's defensive position and immediately decided to attack first.

Wu Dao, who was half sideways, quickly took the ball with both hands, swept the ball with a large low altitude, and faced the frame instantly.

The moment Wu Dao, who was bending down, saw that he was sweeping the ball, Rick Fox took half a step back, then quickly retracted his feet, quickly straightened his waist and raised the ball over his head.

Faced with Wu Dao's pull-up action, Rick Fox showed indifference, and Wu Dao did not hesitate. What was originally a probing action instantly turned into a smooth three-point pull-up.

"ohhh!" 　　　 "You're going to vote now?"

In the first attack of the opening game, Budo chose a difficult three-point pull-up. Amidst the exclamations of the people around him, the basketball flew directly over Rick Fox's head, and then followed by a crisp sound of the net. The basketball goes directly into the net.

"oh---"

When the three-pointer hit the net, the Timberwolves fans immediately raised their arms and cheered. Although the cheers were not as loud as the previous cheers when the Lakers scored, they were still a strong force.

Wu Dao and Marbury, who returned to defense, high-fived each other, and then quickly turned back to defend.

"If we use this kind of defense to defend martial arts, the opponent may be able to score 50 points on Rick's head."

"You have to put pressure on the defense, otherwise, you will be shot to death."

"Even if Rick tries his best, it may not be able to affect him much. There is no difference between such defense and no defense."

If you want to say who knows the most about martial arts among the entire Lakers, then this person is probably Kobe.

He and Martial Arts were roommates for a period of time, and they also trained and competed together. Kobe knew very well how strong Wu Dao's shooting ability was.

Moreover, Kobe had watched Budao's previous games with other teams. Kobe found that Budao, who had just entered the league not long ago, had completely adapted to the intensity of regular season confrontation.

Kobe knew that defense like Rick Fox would not affect martial arts at all.

As for the martial arts that Kobe knew, if he took 100 three-pointers from the open position, he would probably score more than [-].

Such a level requires not only hard training day and night, but also players with a little bit of shooting talent. At least Kobe thinks he can't do it. A pull-up is not a jump shot, and the level of difficulty is completely different.

Compared with jump shots, pull-up shots require much less time to aim and adjust. Pull-ups require more talent, while jump shots require more hard work.

Kobe's mutterings off the court attracted the attention of coach Del Harris. His eyes swept over Kobe's body, and then asked aloud:

"Kobe, do you know that martial artist? Have you ever interacted with him before?"

Facing the coach's question, Kobe nodded and said:

“I played against him before I even came into the league.”

"His shooting is very sharp. If you don't give him intensity, it will be like watching him score."

"His shooting percentage is ridiculous, whether it's three-pointers or mid-range and long-range shots."

"We absolutely cannot let him play, otherwise no one in our team can stop him."

Kobe nodded and spoke, expressing great admiration for martial arts both in and out of his words.

After hearing Kobe's words, Del Harris didn't think it was alarmism.

The Lakers still understand the strength of martial arts.

Del Harris actually thought about how to defend martial arts before the game, but after watching the martial arts video, he no longer had such an idea.

As Kobe said, there is no one on their team who can defend martial arts one-on-one.

The young rookie of the Timberwolves has already shown his superstar characteristics.

"If it were you, how would you defend yourself?"

Del Harris asked Kobe, and his eyes became deeper.

During these times, Del Harris has also heard many, many voices. Of course, he knows that Kobe is often compared to the Timberwolves' martial arts by fans, which is inevitable for NBA players.

Del Harris knew exactly what Kobe meant when he said those words.

Kobe was also stimulated by the young man from the Timberwolves. During this period, he always wanted a chance to prove his ability.

Del Harris is willing to develop young people, and he doesn't mind giving Kobe a chance to play.

Of course, the premise is that Kobe has this ability.

"I would rather let him break through and give him two points than let him hit a three-pointer."

"All our attention is focused on defense. Our offense doesn't need me, but the defense must have me."

Kobe's strategy and ideas are very clear. Regarding Kobe's answer, Del Harris just nodded slightly and was non-committal.

On the court, Eddie Jones hit Tom hard. After a difficult little fadeaway, O'Neal got the offensive rebound under the basket and then pushed the ball into the net.

In the stadium, the offense and defense switched. As Wu Dao entered the frontcourt, when Marbury once again sent the ball into Wu Dao's hands, the stands were filled with cheers.

This time, Wu Dao still took a tentative step with the ball. However, facing the defensive Wu Dao's tentative step, Rick Fox still chose to retreat half a step. From his appearance, he had no intention of guarding against Wu Dao's pull-up.

Seeing such a defensive action, Wu Dao also planned to help the opponent. Seeing that the opponent was far away, he quickly combined the ball and then took a strike.

The Timberwolves' attack lasted only nearly ten seconds, and the basketball fell steadily into the net under everyone's gaze.

6: 4.

As soon as the game started, Wu Dao directly scored two three-pointers, leading the team to lead the opponent by 2 points.

The audience on the sidelines let out a burst of cheers. On the Lakers bench, Kobe also shook his head when he saw this, seeming to lament that Rick Fox's defensive method was too stupid.

After these two rounds of offense and defense, Rick Fox's defensive focus has become very obvious. He focuses on shooting rather than sudden attacks. This method is not a big problem against the average No. 3 player.

After all, Rick Fox is nearly [-] years old and is not as good as his opponents in terms of explosive power and instant speed. It is necessary to make choices on the defensive end.

But compared to breakthroughs, Wu Dao's three-pointers are also a terrifying threat.

With three-pointers, he can also shoot his opponents.

If it's a breakthrough, Rick Fox can still rely on his teammates, but if Wu Dao makes a three-pointer, the rest of the Lakers won't even have the ability to interfere.