Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

The Lakers and Spurs are going to play a game 7, which is good news for the Timberwolves players, and also good news for the fans of both the Lakers and Spurs.

After all, for fans, if the Lakers and Spurs play one more game, they can watch one more game.

Fans who only care about the process and not the results prefer this result.

Of course, among the group of fans, only a very small number of people only care about the process and not the results. In competitive sports, the results are often what most people pay attention to.

Just like many ordinary people don’t like athletics and don’t know much about it, but they all like athletics champions.

This characteristic is not only true for Chinese people, but is the same for everyone in the world.

The game between the Lakers and the Spurs has attracted much attention in the league.

Because when the two teams were about to play a seventh game, the other teams in the entire second round series had already finished their games.

The qualifying teams have also been determined.

For example, in the Western Conference, the Timberwolves swept the Jazz 4:0 early on and advanced to the Western Conference Finals.

In the Eastern Conference, the Bulls defeated the Hornets 4:1 and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. At the same time, the Pacers also defeated the New York Knicks 4:1 and will meet the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals.

In the entire series, only the Lakers and Spurs have not yet decided the winner.

The suspense of this game also lowered the Lakers' status in the hearts of fans.

The other teams that also made it to the divisional finals either swept 4:0 or 4:1.

Before the game, the Lakers, like the Timberwolves and Bulls, were considered by most people to be a championship seed.

But in fact, the Lakers' performance was not satisfactory. They encountered such great difficulties when facing opponents like the Spurs. It is hard to imagine what the game would be like if such a Lakers team met the Timberwolves or the Bulls.

6 month 16 day.

The Game 7 between the Lakers and the Spurs started at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

This battle also attracted many fans to watch, and even many NBA players showed up at Staples to watch the game between the two teams.

Wu Dao not only likes playing basketball, but he also likes watching basketball. Relying on his acquaintances, Wu Dao also got a few tickets for the inner court and appeared in the Staples Center on the day of the game.

There were huge crowds of fans watching the game today, and there were more than 200 media reporters present in the stadium.

Such scenes are extremely rare in the entire series, and their intensity is probably no less than that of the subsequent divisional finals and finals.

Also appearing in the stadium with Wudao was his teammate Garnett, who also liked to join in the fun. When he learned that Wudao wanted to watch the game between the Lakers and the Spurs in person, he followed along.

Wu Dao is not a stingy person. Since Garnett has entrusted the task to him, he naturally would not refuse.

Also arriving at the scene with Takeshi Garnett was Hanamichi Sakuragi.

This kid was deliberately dragged here by Wu Dao. In June, the high school studies were not intense and there were relatively fewer competitions.

For Sakuragi Hanamichi at this stage, the most important thing is no longer to practice in the gym.

Instead, you need to find ways to expand your horizons and at the same time, try to seize every opportunity to show up in front of the media to increase your exposure.

There are more ways to enter the NCAA than just relying on basketball skills.

Budo has already established a firm foothold in the league. Even if Sakuragi Hanamichi does not make use of the connections and network accumulated by Budo, even if he just appears in the gym with Budo, just relying on Budo's influence and exposure will be enough to benefit him greatly.

With Takeshi's current fame in the league, even if Sakuragi Hanamichi just follows Takeshi, there will probably be a lot of people digging up his personal information.

"Beep——"

The buzzer sounded in the stadium, and players from the Lakers and Spurs walked into the stadium one after another.

This was not the first time that Hanamichi Sakuragi had watched an NBA-level team match live. The last time he was brought to watch a game live by Budo was also to watch the Lakers' game, but the Lakers' opponent at that time was not the Spurs, but the Jazz.

"Sakuragi, today's opponent against the Lakers is the Spurs."

"The Spurs are a team built around two core players. Their style of play is similar to that of the Lakers, but also different."

"You've watched the Lakers and Jazz game before, and you can't miss this one today."

"Shaquille O'Neal, I think you already know him."

"You can take a good look at how the Spurs deal with this kind of monster inside."

“This is a great learning opportunity for you.”

At the side of the court, as the players of the two teams entered, Wu Dao quietly introduced the two teams to Sakuragi Hanamichi.

During his time at Shohoku, Sakuragi Hanamichi was a person who only cared about practicing and rarely paid attention to the overall environment. The only players that Sakuragi Hanamichi paid attention to were those opponents he met on the court.

However, after coming to the United States, Sakuragi Hanamichi's concept of basketball has changed, and his vision is no longer limited to his surroundings and the opponents he has encountered.

In the past year, Sakuragi Hanamichi has met many outstanding college players and NBA players through his teammates, magazines, and television.

He also learned some advantages from those players and enriched his skill set.

When Wu Dao told him about the Spurs and the Lakers, Sakuragi Hanamichi nodded and said, "I know them!"

"Whether it's the Spurs or the Lakers, I've gotten to know them well."

"The two most core players of the Spurs are David Robinson, who is known as the Admiral, and Tim Duncan, last year's No. 1 pick in the NBA draft."

Sakuragi Hanamichi had done some research on the two teams that were going to play today, so when he heard Wudao mention it, he quickly responded.

When talking about the NBA draft No. 1 pick Duncan, Sakuragi Hanamichi showed some indignation and whispered: "If you ask me, those NBA scouts have no eyes."

"There is no doubt that the top scorer that year should be you, big brother!"

"In the end, the Spurs chose that bald guy with expressionless face."

"The Spurs must be very upset to see you perform like this in the NBA! They must also regret the decision they made in the draft."

Who said that Sakuragi Hanamichi has no emotional intelligence? From a martial arts perspective, Sakuragi Hanamichi has a very high emotional intelligence.

And this guy is really fast at picking nicknames.
Although these were just compliments, Wu Dou still felt very happy to hear them coming from Sakuragi Hanamichi's mouth.

"Haha, don't talk nonsense!"

"The Spurs' No. 1 pick was not wasted at all."

"To be honest, for me, even if the Spurs chose me at that time, I would not be happy to go. It's better to be with the Timberwolves now."

Wu Dao said with a smile.

He was not lying. Compared with the Timberwolves, which were full of talent and had Garnett and Marbury, the Spurs at that time really had nothing to attract Wu Dao. Maybe after Wu Dao went to the Spurs, the Spurs would establish Wu Dao's core position early. After all, Admiral David Robinson was old and his strength had declined greatly.

The Spurs, who were a bottom-ranked team at the time, were in urgent need of injecting new blood into the team, training new players, and then smoothly transferring power and rebuilding the team around their No. 1 pick.

If Wu Dao goes to the Spurs, maybe he can get a position in the team in a short period of time, but in the long run, the Spurs will not have any ability to compete for the championship in his first three years in the league.

Because Robinson's retirement is almost certain, he is nearly 40 years old and has only a few years of professional career. Once David Robinson retires, the Spurs will really only have the big cat and two or three kittens left.

On the other hand, the Timberwolves had young Kevin Garnett and Marbury, as well as several All-Star players like Tom, so the team had outstanding potential.

Although it took some effort for Wu Dao to stand out among the Timberwolves, compared to the benefits, this difficulty is nothing.

On the court, the referee was already standing on the center line with the ball.

The five Lakers players on the court were O'Neal, Fisher, Eddie Jones, Rick Fox and Robert Horry.

Kobe Bryant, who had performed well in previous games, still sat on the sidelines as a substitute player.

As for the Spurs, in addition to David Robinson and Duncan, the other three players are Avery Johnson at guard, Jaren Jackson (2cm/193kg, non-draft player) at No. 86 and Will Perdue (213kg, 109th pick in the first round of 88) at 11cm tall.

Unlike all previous games, the Spurs actually used a three-in-the-tiny lineup when facing the Lakers.

Tim Duncan was obviously placed at the No. 3 position in this game.

It's hard to imagine that the Spurs relied on such a group of veterans and role players to fight the star-studded Lakers to a seventh game.

It has to be said that Popovich's ability in personnel application and player potential discovery far exceeds that of ordinary coaches.

This coach has the power to turn decay into magic.

The Spurs' ability to achieve those dazzling results is closely related to his coaching ability.

The Spurs were able to receive those honors not only because of Duncan's historic inside ability.

On the court, the players of both teams took their positions, and the referee threw the basketball high into the air after a whistle.

O'Neal, who was full of explosive power, let out a loud shout, jumped up, touched the basketball and pushed the ball to the backcourt, and the ball was firmly held in Fisher's hands.

This highly anticipated seventh game officially began.

"The Spurs' lineup today looks a bit strange. Duncan was actually deployed on the perimeter."

"They have three tall players on their team. Wouldn't the whole team appear unusually bloated when they rotate between offense and defense?"

"There are too many tall players and the paint is too crowded. I'm afraid we won't be able to fully utilize everyone's abilities when attacking."

The Spurs were on defense on the court, with Duncan, David Robinson and Will Perdue forming a triangle under the basket.

Duncan was on the side of the free throw line, standing outside the paint.

David Robinson and Will Perdo stood at the corners on both sides of the basket. As for the other two outside players of the Spurs, they were on the wings on both sides of the three-point line, and the whole team set up a zone defense.

Seeing Mas's defensive position, Sakuragi Hanamichi scratched his head and spoke in surprise.

In the NBA, such a deployment is relatively rare.

The Spurs were able to make such an arrangement in such an important game thanks to Duncan's personal ability.

The young Tim Duncan is 213cm tall and weighs 110kg. Although he is a full-time inside player, Tim Duncan's displacement ability is not inferior to that of the No. 3 position. He can even keep up with the opponent even when facing an ordinary No. position.

It is precisely thanks to Tim Duncan's excellent physique that Popovich is able to make more changes in his lineup.

In fact, what Wu Dao didn't know was that Popovich also explored Tim Duncan in more directions after watching the Timberwolves' game.

Wu Dao does not have a correct understanding of his own influence. He only knows that the number of fans who like his playing has increased, but he does not know that his appearance is also subtly changing the entire league.

After seeing the power of martial arts on the court, how could the head coaches of NBA teams not try every possible means to replicate the success of martial arts?
Popovich isn't the only coach who wants to replicate that success.

Unbeknownst to Martial Arts, there are many other coaches making the same attempt.

But there are very few people who possess the physical talent for martial arts.

There are not many players in the entire league who have both the physical fitness of Budao and the delicate ball-handling ability of Budao.

And Duncan just happens to be a person with the same level of physical fitness as martial arts.

Because Budo and Duncan received different early basketball education, their technical characteristics on the court are also different.

Duncan is a person with solid basic skills. Whether it is footwork, shooting, or even dribbling the ball, Duncan actually has great potential to be tapped.

On the court, the Lakers have launched an attack.

After dribbling into the frontcourt, Fisher tentatively passed the ball to O'Neal in the bottom corner.

The Spurs and all other teams made different choices when dealing with O'Neal. They did not use a front-end defense to interfere with O'Neal's low-post reception.

"Snapped!"

As the basketball fell into O'Neal's hands, Duncan, who was on the side of the free throw line, quickly turned around and rushed towards O'Neal, intending to steal the ball.

At the same time, David Robinson under the basket also used his chest to hold O'Neal's body tightly, using his own strength to resist the pressure exerted by O'Neal.

"F**K!"

O'Neal, who was double-teamed, couldn't help but curse, and quickly passed the basketball in his hand toward the top of the arc.

Double-teaming, he has been double-teamed countless times in previous games, this time there were only two, the most exaggerated time was when O'Neal encountered five double-teaming.
O'Neal was somewhat intimidated by the abilities of Duncan and David Robinson, so he did not choose to attack with the ball himself.

He is a man who has experienced a lot and knows what is the wisest choice at this time.

Fisher received the ball at the top of the arc, made a slight adjustment and then shot a three-pointer.

His touch didn't seem to be very good, and the basketball hit the front edge of the basket and bounced out.

The rebound was grabbed by Duncan who quickly returned.

"Gambling on defense"

"No, maybe Popovich saw through the Lakers' perimeter players."

Wu Dao in the stands watched this round of offense and defense between the Lakers and the Spurs, and couldn't help but murmur, touching his chin and thinking.

(End of this chapter)