Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

Malone has already felt that the Timberwolves have developed a very targeted defensive strategy against him. As the game between the two teams progressed, Malone's feeling became clearer and clearer.

At the same time, the Timberwolves' defensive rotation in response to the Jazz's offense gradually became clearer.

Coach Jerry Longs quickly grasped several key points of the Timberwolves' defense.

Because of the presence of guards of Stockton's level, the Jazz's distribution of ball rights during offense is relatively balanced. Although Malone is the Jazz's first tactical end point, this team is built around Malone and Stalin. It was built with the technical characteristics of two Tocton people.

It's hard to say who is higher in team status between the two. Malone is more famous, but this does not mean that his tactical status can be any higher than Stockton.

Stockton with the ball will determine the distribution of all the team's ball rights.

The Timberwolves' method of restricting Malone is actually not difficult to say. Their defense against Malone is often eager for Malone to catch the ball.

The Timberwolves have highly mobile players like Garnett and Ben Wallace who can assist the interior players in defense.

This also resulted in Malone facing double-teaming by the Timberwolves when receiving the ball inside. It's not just that the Timberwolves' inside players will put pressure on Malone, in fact, even Wu Dao and Mitchell on the outside are looking for opportunities to double-team Malone.

The two insiders put pressure on Malone when he attacked the basket, and their hard defense made the offense less smooth. At the same time, talented martial artists and others can also add a layer of pressure on top of this.

If Malone's teammates don't remind him in time or Malone's own vision is not wide enough, he will encounter a pursuit and block from behind.

After all, Malone is not O'Neal. Although his offensive ability is outstanding and can be regarded as a historical level, his dominance at the basket is far from O'Neal's dominance.

If it were O'Neal, the Timberwolves' two big men wouldn't be able to guard him if they played together.
At his peak, O'Neal often scored terrifying statistics such as 40+20, 30+16.7, and 20+20. In such an iron-blooded era, although it is difficult to find a 30+ shooting guard, it is not to say that there is no one, but then He has a 40+20 center, but he can't find a second one.

It is precisely because of this that Malone, who does not possess top-level dominance, was restricted by the Timberwolves' defense.

After increasing the defense of Malone, the Timberwolves' defense of other Jazz players will naturally weaken accordingly, which will also lead to a large number of shooting opportunities for Jazz players in other positions.

However, the Timberwolves will still strengthen their control of the inside area when defending, reducing the Jazz's chances of scoring in efficient areas, forcing the Jazz to increase their shots in inefficient areas.

In the Jazz's lineup, there are actually players with excellent outside scoring abilities.

For example, Stockton is actually a player with excellent outside scoring ability.

In the early days of the Jazz, Stockton was also able to score 20+ and 30+ points in some games. His personal ability was actually quite outstanding.

But the paradox is that in those games in which Stockton took a lot of shots and posted good scoring statistics, the Jazz often won less and lost more.

This situation actually didn't change until Malone joined the Jazz.

When Malone joined the Jazz, Stockton significantly reduced his shots and consciously used passes to mobilize other members of the team to increase the team's offensive style.

The Timberwolves predicted early on that their opponent in this game might be the Jazz. Therefore, before the game, they did a lot of research on the Jazz team and were quite well prepared before the game.

The members of the Timberwolves coaching staff headed by Coach Philip also discovered this characteristic of the Jazz under the conscious guidance of Wu Dao, and around this characteristic, they specially created a defensive strategy against the Jazz.

When the first quarter of the game reached six minutes, the score between the two teams reached 17:11, with the Timberwolves leading the Jazz by six points.

Under the pressure of the Timberwolves, Stockton began to give Malone less of the ball, and at the same time frequently mobilized Malone to carry out pick-and-roll and other tactical moves. The intention is to use the team system to reawaken the team's offensive vitality.

Stockton also spared no effort in physical fitness and began to use his own breakthroughs to find scoring opportunities for other players on the team.

Under such a tactical system, the Jazz's outside offense has also increased significantly.

But in today's game, the Jazz players seemed to be in relatively average condition. Sometimes, even open shots could not successfully send the ball into the net.

On the other hand, under the leadership of Wu Dao, the Timberwolves' offensive system is very smooth.

Moreover, Wu Dao's personal ability is very strong, and his mid-range shooting firepower is terrifying. He can often attract double-teams from the Jazz and easily create open opportunities for his teammates.

Although coach Jerry Longs noticed that Malone's scoring point was targeted by the Timberwolves, after half a quarter of the game, he felt that his team's offensive rotation did not make any fatal mistakes.

Although the score is already six points behind, he doesn't think any adjustments need to be made?
In his opinion, this lag is only temporary. After the players become familiar with the court and feel better, their scoring efficiency will naturally improve.

Just when he was thinking this, the Timberwolves, who were in the lead, took the lead in making substitutions.

Center Stanley Roberts was replaced by Kevin Garnett. In addition to this group of substitutions, outsider Sam Mitchell was also replaced by Tom.

Once the personnel were changed, the Jazz players clearly felt that the Timberwolves' defense had once again improved significantly.

Both Garnett and Ben Wallace have excellent mobility, and Tom's footsteps are far more flexible than Mitchell. When some Jazz players try to make a mid-range shot, they often encounter Garnett at the last moment of the shot. Nate and others assisted in blocking shots.

Although due to the long distance, the Timberwolves players' attempts to block shots were unsuccessful.

However, the terrifying momentum of these people when defending also affected the shooting state of Jazz players, making the Jazz, whose scoring efficiency was already low, even worse.

As the buzzer sounded in the stadium, the Jazz ended the first quarter at a huge disadvantage.

At 34:22, in just one quarter, the Jazz were beaten by the Timberwolves by double digits.

From the perspective of fans and media reporters, the Timberwolves showed overwhelming strength in front of the Jazz in this game.

Back in the dugout, the Jazz players gathered around coach Jerry Longs impatiently. Falling behind so much in the first quarter was a huge blow to the players' confidence.

Obviously the basketball rotation was very smooth during the offense, but the result was 12 behind. This huge psychological gap made the Jazz players a little confused.

It's obvious that the Jazz need to make some adjustments to deal with the next game.

"Brian you replace Kee Fee."

"When defending martial arts, use more physical confrontation and don't make the opponent feel too comfortable."

"But be sure to pay attention to your body movements."

"On the offensive end, you can try three-pointers. The Timberwolves' defense is concentrated inside, and we need to open up the situation on the outside."

The Brian mentioned by coach Jerry Longs is actually Brian Russell. What is a little different from Adam Kiefe is that Brian Russell has the ability to shoot three-pointers.

The Jazz, like most teams in the league, are a team that does not focus on developing three-pointers.

This team's three-point ability is actually quite low. Brian is actually the Jazz player who attempts the most three-pointers.

The average three-point attempts per game reached 2.6, while other players averaged only a little more or a few tenths of three-pointers per game, and did not have excellent three-point ability at all.

At this point in the game, Coach Jerry Longs can only act as a doctor. He knew very well that if he didn't make some changes on the offensive end, there would be no suspense before halftime of this game passed.

Only at this time will Coach Jerry Longs realize the importance of stable outside scoring ability for a team.

In the current NBA league, there are actually few teams with excellent outside scoring capabilities.

Even if they are as strong as the Purple and Gold Lakers, they currently don't have such a player in their team.

Before Kobe Bryant grew up, players like Eddie Jones used attacking the basket as their main means of scoring.

This divine weapon, the mid-range shot, is not something that all players can master.

Especially in high-intensity games like the playoffs, the mid-range shooter must have an excellent shooting percentage. This is not a requirement for ordinary players at all, but a requirement for star players.

The rest time between the first and second quarters was very short. When the buzzer sounded again in the stadium, the players from both teams returned to the stadium.

The Jazz made substitution adjustments. Adam Keefe, who was opposite Wu Dao, was replaced by Brian Russell, but no substitution adjustments were made in other positions.

The Timberwolves had already made substitution adjustments in the middle of the first quarter.

In the second quarter of the game, coach Philip did not make any personnel adjustments. He had already made up his mind that he did not intend to replace the main players on the court until the Timberwolves players had obvious physical problems.

Facing an opponent like the Jazz, Coach Philip simply did not dare to take it lightly.

Amid the cheers of the fans, the second quarter of the game began.

The Timberwolves opened the attack. After Marbury got the ball in the backcourt, he quickly dribbled the ball across the center line. Garnett and Ben Wallace, who were supposed to be positioned inside, mentioned the high post for a double pick-and-roll.

Marbury also quickly lowered his center of gravity, holding the ball through the gap between people, and rushed inside.

When Malone on the inside came up to help defend, Marbury, who was holding the ball to the basket, flipped his wrist and quickly passed the ball down to the mid-range. Garnett was in the open hands. Make adjustments, shoot directly into the open space, and the basketball hits the net.

Unlike the Jazz, these Timberwolves players all have excellent shooting abilities.

In addition to Ben Wallace, the main players of the Timberwolves, whether it is Tom, Wu Dao, Marbury, or Garnett, all have strong outside scoring capabilities, and their shooting percentages are relatively good, far from those role players. Can be compared.

The Timberwolves scored easily, and the players began to retreat quickly. Between the alternation of offense and defense, Stockton also quickly crossed the center line with the ball, approaching the Timberwolves' half.

Bryan, who was new to the game, faced the martial arts defense.

Due to the tactical arrangement, Wu Dao did not position too far forward when defending Brian. He stood two steps inside the three-point line and missed his opponent by two meters.

This is to facilitate Wu Dao entering the basket to help defend Malone, but it also relaxes the defense of Jazz's three-pointers.

Stockton, at the top of the arc, saw his teammates had a chance, and quickly gave the basketball to the wing. The basketball came to Brian's hands outside the three-point line. The latter took the ball and took a step forward, close to the three-point line, and quickly straightened his waist. .

And at the same time that he showed his projection intention, Wu Dao in front of him quickly came to him with a quick stride and reached out to cover his eyes.

Seeing Wu Dao lift his center of gravity, Brian took a step laterally with the ball, and then forced a shot with Wu Dao's pursuit. The moment the basketball in his hand was about to leave, Wu Dao's hand also blocked Brian's sight, and the basket Disappeared from Brian's eyes.

"Dang~~"

Under the watchful eyes of the players on the court, the basketball thrown by Brian Russell hit the edge of the basket and bounced out.

The moment the rebound appeared, Garnett and Ben Wallace under the Timberwolves basket blocked the opponents behind them and controlled the area under the basket.

As Garnett jumped high, the rebound was also held in Garnett's hands.

"Have you started gambling on your life so early?"

"It's not a wise choice, but it's hard to make a fool of yourself without rice. The Jazz want to crack our defensive system. I'm afraid they won't be able to come up with any feasible plan for a while, and they can only bet on three-pointers. ”

When Wu Dao saw this ball, he understood in his heart and had a slight smile on his face.

The Timberwolves have been building a team for a while, and a tacit understanding of mutual cooperation between the players has also emerged.

The Timberwolves, whose main system is defensive counterattack, have put a lot of effort into training on defensive rotations.

It's not easy for the Jazz's old arms and legs to score smoothly against the Timberwolves.

There is no super perimeter player like Michael Jordan or the peak Kobe Bryant among the Jazz.

The lack of this kind of player also destined the Jazz to have obvious shortcomings in offense and be easily targeted.

Garnett took off the backboard and quickly passed the basketball toward the frontcourt. After receiving the basketball, Marbury did not stick to the ball and quickly passed it to Wu Dao who was traveling on the flank.

Wu Dao also quickly approached the three-point line with the ball. Wu Dao, who had already reached the three-point line before his teammates could finish their positions, suddenly straightened his body and looked at the basket, showing his intention to shoot.

Brian Russell, who was well aware of Wu Dao's strong three-point ability, did not dare to think too much and quickly stepped forward to try to block him. However, as soon as his steps started, Wu Dao had already lowered his center of gravity again, accelerated past him, and drove in. to the basket.

With Dunbai at the three-point line, probably only a player like Wu Dao, who has a terrifying three-point threat, can deceive the defensive players into stepping forward to block him.

Wu Dao, who reached the basket, quickly encountered Malone's defense. However, facing Malone's defense, Wu Dao's speed did not slow down at all. After entering the paint area, he got strong with the ball.

Malone took off to block the shot, and their bodies collided violently in mid-air. Ma Long raised his arms with a fierce look in his eyes and was about to strike, but his breath was stagnant, and he suddenly felt a huge force pushing him away from his chest.

The martial arts ball protector in mid-air directly hit Malone's chest hard, holding the ball with his other hand and gently sending the ball towards the basket.

Malone's body was directly pushed away by Wu Dao. When the two of them landed, the basketball had already slid into the net against the rim.

"Tsk!"

"Just play hard and don't think about what you have or don't have."

After scoring the goal, Wu Dao smiled and said to Malone in front of him. As he spoke, his thumb pointed behind him. Ben Wallace, who had a dark face, happened to stop in front of the free throw line and glared fiercely. Malone glanced at him and then turned to defend.

Budao smiled and turned to leave.

Watching Wu Dao leave, Ma Long's face was gloomy, and he went to the baseline without saying a word to prepare to serve.

(End of this chapter)