Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

Chapter 678 Small conflict!
On the court, Ben Wallace's fierce defensive moves shocked everyone in the Timberwolves.

In the rest area on the sidelines, Wu Dao looked at Wallace in the middle of the court and more or less guessed what Coach Philip said to Wallace before he came on the court.

Wallace can come to the Timberwolves, in fact, martial arts is the real promoter. It is actually very sensitive for players to participate in the team's trade of players, but at that time, Wu Dao had just performed amazingly, and his potential was recognized by the management.

At Wu Dao's suggestion, the Timberwolves turned their attention to Wallace, a rookie who was almost unable to play.

After all, it only takes 20 to make Wu Dao feel that the team values ​​him. Why not do it for such a cheap show of goodwill.

When Ben Wallace entered the Timberwolves, the team management and Wu Dao had completely different expectations for Wallace's future.

Wu Dao has opened his eyes, and he clearly knows that as long as he guides Wallace well and trains him well, he can grow into an indispensable defensive leader for the team.

Wallace's defensive ability can become the cornerstone of the team.

However, the team management did not have high expectations for Wallace. They gave Wallace a certain amount of playing time, just as a tool to show their goodwill and express their stance to martial arts.

However, as the regular season progressed and Wallace's personal abilities grew rapidly, his ability and value were gradually recognized by the Timberwolves' management.

From the current point of view, although Wallace's defense is not as comprehensive as Garnett's, Wallace also has a characteristic that Garnett does not have, and that is the kind of toughness that is "unafraid of death."

From a physical point of view, Garnett is even taller than Wallace, but Wallace's strength is even better. When facing large-tonnage insiders, Garnett is used to taking a half-step and using his powerful strength. Mobility and bounce, chasing blocks and interference from the side.

When facing some tough offensive players, Garnett gave people the impression of "fighting and retreating".

But Wallace is different. He will not avoid the physical impact of the human shield striker. On the contrary, he will actively provide physical confrontation.

And without offensive pressure, Wallace is willing to spend all his energy on defense and grabbing rebounds.

He doesn't care about his scoring data at all. He knows what he should do when he is on the court. Even if he is forced to commit a foul, he will not make the opposing inside players feel too comfortable.

Wallace's growth and tough defense have attracted the attention of the Timberwolves' management.

While giving Wallace more playing time, the management also quietly instilled some special basketball concepts into Wallace.

Today's game is the moment when Wallace verifies the basketball concept he learned.

The sword-carrying guard beside the boss.

This is the team positioning set by Coach Philip and the Timberwolves management for Wallace.

In today's NBA league, any team that wants to compete for the championship needs such a player in the team.

Whether it's the Bulls, Spurs, Lakers.

There were such people among the teams that won championships in the late 90s and early s. Even in the small ball era decades later, there were still players like Dream Green active on the court.

These guards may have different functions on the court, such as Rodman, who is more familiar to fans, Bowen and Artest, who are more familiar to fans. These players have different positions on the court, and their work content is also somewhat different.

But these players all have one thing in common, that is, they are tough enough on defense and tough enough when facing conflicts.

Play style is simply an attitude.

This is a quality that every guard needs to possess.

Of course, Coach Philip is an academic coach. When he coaches players, he will not let them play with the idea of ​​"waste".

At the same time, Philip is not naive. He knows how difficult it is to win a championship in the NBA. Players sometimes encounter very difficult opponents. Such opponents are often not something you can overcome by playing well.

Jordan has taught many people this
The Timberwolves will cultivate and reserve such players. It is not that the Timberwolves do not love peace, but to make the teams that compete with the Timberwolves love peace.

Today is the time for Wallace to show his value.

"Dang~"

Malone stood on the free throw line to execute the free throw. Perhaps his muscles had not recovered from the physical impact just now, or perhaps his mentality was fluctuating. His first shot went straight out of the frame.

"Wow—"

As Malone missed the first free throw, the Timberwolves fans in the stands applauded. The applause from the Timberwolves' home fans fell on Malone's ears.

Of course, these people did not use applause to encourage Ma Long. Their applause was mocking.

"clang!!!"

Malone received the referee's pass to execute the second penalty. This time, he took a little longer to adjust, and then shot under the watchful eyes of everyone.

There was another crisp sound of the iron, and along with it were the cheers of the Timberwolves fans and the hooligan whistles of various rhythms.

The two free throws made zero, which actually ignited the enthusiasm of Timberwolves fans.
"it is good!"

“Good job Ben!!”

In the court, the rebound was taken into the arms of the Timberwolves players. On the side of the court, Wu Dao took the lead and stood up from the bench after Malone made 0 free throws. He clapped and shouted to Wallace on the court.

Wu Dao's actions also brought up the other bench players of the Timberwolves.

The substitutes all stood up and applauded when they saw the boss, and they also stood up and expressed their opinions.

Wallace, who was in the court, heard Wu Dao's words and looked sideways towards the sidelines with a slight smile on his face.

Wallace was naturally happy to receive recognition from his teammates, but Malone, the protagonist who missed two free throws, looked a little ugly at this moment.

Returning with a sullen expression, he couldn't help but take a few more glances at Wallace, with a strong fire in his eyes.

Malone's iron elbow is very famous in the league, but he is actually a very slippery person. It may be difficult for you to imagine that a person who is famous for being able to use his iron elbow is actually not sent off by the referee as many times in actual games. No higher than other superstars of the same level.

Malone is very clear about his value to the team and his value to victory, and he will reasonably control his "number of shots."

Not the number of field goal attempts, but the number of foul attempts
Simply relying on the iron elbow cannot help him win the MVP over Jordan.

Malone had secretly decided to repair and repair Wallace. After the Timberwolves' offense ended with Wu Dao, the task of attacking the opponent actually fell to Marbury.

Although Garnett also has the ability to break through with the ball, he has a way of playing that can better utilize his abilities.

As Marbury dribbled the ball into the frontcourt, Garnett, who was positioned on the wing, immediately set a screen for Marbury.

Garnett is the standard No. 4 position. During the physical test, this guy even lied about his height and used the "bend your knees" method to measure his height in order to avoid playing the No. 5 position. His actual physique is much larger than that of a true No. 3. Wu Dao is already a heavy-weight No. , not to mention Garnett.

Jeff Hornacek, who was guarding Marbury, couldn't get around Garnett's pick-and-roll. With just a delay, Marbury had already rushed inward along the direction of Garnett's pick-and-roll.

Faced with such a situation, the Jazz switched defenses for the first time, but unfortunately, the physical difference between Jeff Hornacek and Garnett was quite big. Garnett easily overwhelmed Jeff Horacek. Nasek went down to the free throw line.

Marbury, who rushed in from the wing, also had a clear speed advantage against Brian Russell, who was switching defense. When Garnett approached the free throw line, Marbury, who broke through, suddenly straightened his body and quickly looked sideways at Garnett in the middle. Nate.

And his action not only stopped Brian Russell who was guarding him, but also attracted Malone's attention. Malone successfully moved his eyes away and looked at Garnett.

Opportunities are fleeting.

And Marbury also seized the opportunity that only appeared for a moment, accelerated past Brian Russell, then made a quick layup, and sent the ball into the basket with a high rebound.

As Marbury scored, cheers erupted from the stands.

But when the fans were cheering for the Timberwolves' performance, Coach Philip and Wu Dao on the sidelines acted very calmly, and they seemed to have some kind of tacit understanding. It fell on Malone.

Will everything be fine once the attack succeeds?
The game is far from over.

Coach Philip and Wu Dao both know something about Malone, and they all know that Malone is not the kind of person who will just stop playing.

The Jazz's progress began to slow down. Jeff Hornacek had been working with Malone for too long. He knew very well what Malone was thinking in his mind at this moment.

And he will also cooperate with Malone to accomplish what he wants to accomplish.

Dribbling the ball into the frontcourt, he took a deep look at Marbury, who was defending him. This time, Jeff Hornacek did not call Malone to come up for a pick-and-roll.

Because there is no need
The basketball in his hand quickly flew out and was held by Malone in the middle distance of the elbow area.

Malone caught the ball with his back to the basket. After taking possession of the basketball, he glanced at Garnett who was trying to get closer, and then quickly faced the basket.

While Malone was holding the ball in front of the frame, other Jazz players did not stand stupidly. Brian Russell on the wing made an off-ball pick-and-roll for Jeff Hornacek, who used the pick-and-roll of his teammates. Quickly move towards the right along the three-point arc, from the top of the arc to the elbow area, and then down to the bottom corner.

Jeff Hornacek was once an All-Star player. Although his ability has declined due to age, his threat still exists.

Jeff Hornacek's three-point shooting percentage during the Jazz era was pretty good, in the early 40s, and his shooting percentage in the low-efficiency zone was also very impressive. He was not the kind of player who could ignore open shots.

Garnett, who wanted to double-team Malone, was attracted by Jeff Hornacek's movement.

After the opponent's pick-and-roll, Marbury naturally switched defenses with Garnett. Facing Brian Russell, Marbury's defensive strategy was to prevent breakthroughs and not let go of shots.

As the Jazz offensive rotation began, Malone, who received the ball, got a one-on-one opportunity with Wallace.

Malone, facing the frame, took a simple tentative step to the right, then dropped the ball with his left hand and quickly broke through facing the basket. His breakthrough speed was not too fast. Wallace, who is young and athletic, immediately followed up with a sliding step.

However, when the two people came into physical contact, a strong pain came from the chest.

When Malone broke through, he didn't lean on him with his side muscles at all. Instead, he propped up his right elbow and used his "big elbow" to clear the way for himself.

Wallace was in pain and subconsciously gave way to the road he had originally blocked.

When Malone saw this, there was no unnecessary expression on his face. He quickly stuck to Wallace's body during the action, then forced his way to the basket, grabbed the ball with his left hand and tried to put it into the basket.

His "elbow strikes" are very smart, and his cover-up movements are also very smooth and skillful. In the eyes of the referee, although he was aware of what happened in an instant, Malone's actions were not exaggerated.

This kind of offensive action is not very intense in today's era.
However, just when Malone was about to let go of the basketball, Wallace, who was pushed away by him with his elbow, had already recovered. He endured the pain in his body and caught up with Malone. At the same time, he took off with all his strength, " Aim at the basketball and hit it hard.

However, after all, Wallace's block was a beat too slow and did not hit the basketball. But the strange thing is that Wallace, who failed to block the shot, had no intention of retracting his force. Instead, the palm he slapped became fist.

"Bang!!!"

Under the watchful eyes of all the fans, Ben Wallace, who failed to block the shot, actually punched Malone firmly in the face. There was a muffled sound, and Malone's layup posture in the air was also knocked down. The man leaned back in pain and quickly landed on the ground.

Immediately afterwards, Malone's body came into close contact with the floor again, and the basketball fell to the ground and rolled out of the court.

Ma Long, who fell to the ground, covered his face with his hands and was unable to get up from the ground for a while. Blood also flowed from Ma Long's fingers.

The audience was silent.

All the players on the Jazz bench stood up in shock and looked at the court blankly. The referees also had their eyes widened at this moment. After a little hesitation, the linesman blew the whistle.

First degree flagrant foul.
This time, the intention of Wallace's action was quite obvious to others, and the referee blew the whistle without hesitation after a brief moment of confusion.

After all, it was the referees at the Timberwolves' home court. Although they punished the criminal, they did not punish Wallace for the most serious Level 2 criminal.

Wallace will not be directly expelled + suspended + fined.

All he has to bear is the Jazz's two free throws.
But such a "penalty" obviously cannot satisfy the Jazz players.
The referee had just made a penalty, and Brian Russell rushed towards Wallace with a few quick steps. He ignored the referee's rapid whistle and directly reached out to grab Wallace's jersey.

Garnett reacted very quickly on the court and pulled Brian Russell's jersey. Although he failed to stop him, it gave Wallace, who was looking at Malone, time to react.

Facing the menacing Brian Russell, Wallace took two steps back, spread his palms, and showed a "non-resistance" posture.

Brian Russell rushed forward and waved his fist directly at Wallace.

Wallace was prepared and flew back.

Brian Russell, whose punch failed, wanted to pursue, but the referee and the Timberwolves players, led by Wu Dao, rushed into the court and quickly stopped the angry Brian Russell.

The Jazz players saw the conflict break out and rushed onto the court. The two groups of players were pushing and yelling at each other.

The game between the Jazz and the Timberwolves seems to be developing into a full-scale martial arts game.