Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

Chapter 729 A young man with high hopes!
The development of the second quarter of the game between the Timberwolves and the Lakers was more or less beyond the expectations of the Timberwolves players.

No one expected that the Lakers would perform even better on the offensive end after O'Neal left the court.

Between passes, the Timberwolves completed their attack again.

After dribbling the ball into the frontcourt, Marbury took advantage of Garnett's high pick-and-roll, got rid of the defender along the three-point line, and then shot a three-pointer.

Kobe's three-pointer caused some emotional fluctuations among the Timberwolves players. Marbury, who was full of confidence in his personal ability, wanted to use a three-pointer to retaliate against the Lakers. However, after a short break, Marbury's touch was not as hot as in the first quarter.

The three-pointer went straight out of the basket and was caught by Campbell under the Lakers' basket.

The Lakers held the rebound and the Timberwolves' attack failed again.

After two consecutive offensive failures, the five-point advantage that the Timberwolves had established in the first quarter was gone at this moment.

The ball was in the hands of the Lakers, and the initiative of the game was also in the hands of the Lakers.

Nick Van Exel's advancement speed was not very fast. It was not until all the Lakers players entered the Timberwolves' half and took their positions that he slowly came to the wing of the Timberwolves' half with the ball.

The Lakers' style of play seems to have been fixed, and the person responsible for the basketball transfer has changed from Nick Van Exel to Kobe Bryant.

When Nick Van Exel took position on the wing, Eddie Jones also went to the bottom corner on the same side. Kobe, who was leaning towards the top of the lake, raised his hand and asked his teammates for the ball while moving.

The basketball passed from Van Exel's hands and smoothly into Kobe's hands. Just like the previous rounds of offense, Kobe quickly came to the left wing of the court after getting the ball.

However, this time there were some changes in the Timberwolves' defense. Ben Wallace, who was originally in the basket, quickly moved to the free throw line and stood in a high position. At the same time, his eyes were also looking at Kobe who was holding the ball outside the three-point line.

Garnett, who had originally followed De Jones to the baseline, had now returned to the inside and stood with Robert Horry of the Lakers. The two pushed each other under the basket, both wanting to occupy the most advantageous position to grab rebounds.

Seeing this, Kobe did not stick to the ball. After a simple double change of direction in front of his body, he decisively gave up the opportunity to carry the ball back to the top of the arc, and quickly passed the basketball in his hand to Van Exel on the wing.

The basketball was passed quickly between the Lakers players. Van Exel just picked up the basketball and passed it directly to Eddie Jones in the bottom corner. Garnett, who was under the basket at this time, also noticed the movement of the basketball. He rushed out from the basket decisively and pounced on Eddie Jones in the bottom corner.

But Garnett's defense was obviously a beat slower. Eddie Jones got the ball in the corner and made a slight adjustment before shooting a three-pointer.

Open three-pointer.

Fortunately for the Timberwolves players, Eddie Jones, who was shooting in an open position, failed to get the ball into the net. Eddie Jones used too much force and his open three-pointer went directly over the net.

The basketball went over the top of the basket and fell straight into the hands of Cherokee Parks.

Although Cherokee Parks' physical strength is somewhat inferior to Campbell's, he can also occupy an advantageous position to grab rebounds when defending.

"Fight back!"

Cherokee Parks, who grabbed the rebound, roared and quickly passed the basketball in his hand to Marbury. Just as the Timberwolves were about to chase and counterattack, Kobe and Nick Van Exel of the Lakers were already on their way back to defense and were approaching the midline.

Both of these outside players came on as substitutes in the second quarter and were in plenty of energy.

Moreover, the two of them seemed to have anticipated that Eddie Jones's attack would not succeed, and they began to defend the moment Eddie Jones shot.

It's not so much that the two of them don't trust Eddie Jones, but rather that Lakers coach Del Harris doesn't trust Eddie Jones' three-point shooting.

The set tactics he gave to Kobe and Van Exel were: regardless of whether Eddie Jones could make the shot, they both had to return to defense immediately to prevent the Timberwolves from chasing and fast breaking.

The Timberwolves are missing five sharp spears, and their deterrent power is obviously reduced a lot when they play fast breaks.

When facing the Lakers' outside players who started to return to defense early, Marbury also showed some hesitation. After a little thought, he did not choose to play a fast break, but directed his teammates to run to the frontcourt, intending to fight a positional battle.

The sharpness seems to be gone.

On the sidelines, Coach Philip couldn't help but frown when he noticed Marbury's offensive choice this round.

Judging from the situation on the court, Marbury's offensive choice was not wrong. When the Lakers were well prepared, launching a fast break was obviously not a wise choice.

But when Marbury really chose to play a positional battle, Coach Philip felt a little uncomfortable. In Coach Philip's view, Marbury was not completely without a chance if he tried to play a fast break.

After several consecutive failed attacks, Marbury was a little too cautious.

Back on the court, after getting the basketball, Marbury controlled his pace until his teammates passed him one by one and entered the Lakers' half, then he speeded up appropriately.

This time, Marbury did not try to find offensive opportunities himself. After crossing the center line, he immediately passed the ball to Tom on the wing.

The one defending Tom was Kobe. Kobe, who was supposed to be the power forward, seemed to be forced to the power forward position in this game. There was a big gap between Kobe's physique and Tom's standard power forward physique. When the two stood together, it could be clearly felt that Tom was a size bigger than Kobe.

In the eyes of the fans, this was a good offensive opportunity, and Tom's match against Kobe could be considered a mismatch.

Although it is true that Kobe is an All-Star player, don't forget that Tom is also an All-Star player, and unlike the young Kobe, Tom is at his peak at this age.

After getting the basketball, Tom leaned his body against Kobe while playing with the ball on one side. The huge force pushed Kobe back half a step, but the slight gap created was not enough to support Tom to break through Kobe.

"This kid is pretty good at confrontation!"

Tom did not use his full strength in this attempt, but Kobe's defensive performance also surprised Tom. He did not expect that Kobe, who looked thin, was quite good in physical confrontation.

The physique of young Kobe is somewhat different from that of Martial Arts, who has a body full of flesh and a large frame, and is able to possess an excellent tonnage even at his age.

But Kobe is a bit like a standard young player. At the age of 20, he is still in the developmental stage for a man.

As the old saying goes: "At twenty-three, there's a sudden leap; at twenty-five, there's a sudden surge."

The peak period of a player's weight gain is generally around the age of 24 or 25. Tom didn't have much of an advantage over Kobe in his first strong attack, but he didn't intend to change his tactics. After a slight adjustment, he leaned on Kobe again, and this time Tom fully unleashed his strength, directly knocking Kobe, who was trying to force the attack, off balance.

Kobe is a proud man, and when faced with tough offense from his opponents, he often responds with tough defense.

But sometimes this kind of personality often puts people at a disadvantage.

Kobe's balance was unstable, and Tom took the opportunity to quickly turn around with the ball and pass in front of Kobe. Under the watchful eyes of the players on the court, Tom went straight to the Lakers basket, then stepped together with the ball, and against Campbell's defense, he sent the ball into the basket.

As the basketball went into the net, the Timberwolves fans cheered.

"Well fought, Tom!"

"Kill them~"

Wu Dao, who was watching the game on the sidelines, also clapped his hands and shouted loudly to Tom on the field. Wu Dao's encouragement and affirmation were also very useful to Tom.

If other substitute players said these words of encouragement and praise, they might not take them to heart, but it was different for Wudao. Wudao was someone Tom recognized, and his words had a great influence on Tom.

The pace of the second quarter between the Timberwolves and the Lakers was a bit slower than the first quarter.

Both teams adopted a positional warfare style, playing steadily and controlling their own offensive rhythm.

The Timberwolves have not found any suitable defensive strategy against the Lakers' offensive tactics. Allowing Tom and Kobe to play one-on-one may be the best method the Timberwolves can think of now.

The Lakers' bench lineup's offensive rotation revolves around Kobe and Campbell, one inside and one outside.

Instead, the more experienced Eddie Jones and Van Exel became marginal figures on the Lakers' offense.

Eddie Jones had no complaints about the coach's arrangement.

He had already taken on a lot of offensive tasks in the first quarter, which consumed a lot of physical energy. In the second quarter, although he was not substituted off the court to rest, the coach's arrangement allowed him to get a lot of rest time.

As for Van Exel, the veteran did not show a particularly strong desire to attack in today's game.

He said the Lakers had a clear focus on offense, but the Timberwolves couldn't completely let go of Eddie Jones and Van Exel when they were defensively deployed.

Although Eddie Jones' three-point shooting ability is not very good, he got another open opportunity in the game after the second quarter. This time, Eddie Jones seized the opportunity and successfully sent the ball into the net.

After this goal, Garnett never let down his guard against Eddie Jones.

No one in the Timberwolves could help Tom defend Kobe. Everyone thought that as a veteran All-Star, Tom would have no problem dealing with a young man. However, what no one expected was that Tom did not have the advantage over Kobe as everyone imagined.

Kobe's breakthrough ability is exceptional and his physical fitness is also explosive. In addition, Tom needs to be wary of Campbell's single-handed attack on Cherokee Parks, which makes it impossible for him to deal with Kobe wholeheartedly when defending.

Kobe also used his excellent physical fitness, often just a simple acceleration to get past Tom's defense.

Kobe's successful breakthroughs can often easily disrupt the Timberwolves' defensive arrangements, or he can pass the ball to his teammates. In short, under Kobe's leadership, the Lakers' offense has become smoother.

The Timberwolves seemed unable to stop the Lakers' offense, but fortunately their own offense was also very smooth.

Garnett has a huge physical advantage when facing Eddie Jones, and can often easily catch the ball and jump shot in the mid-range. Garnett's shooting percentage is already quite good, and Garnett's touch in today's game was also extremely hot.

Although Tom has no way to limit Kobe's performance on the defensive end, Kobe also has no way to limit Tom's performance.

It is difficult to say which of these two players is stronger in terms of contribution to the team, as they are both very good at competing with each other.

With the assistance of Tom and Garnett, Marbury gradually regained his touch as the game progressed.

This trident of the Timberwolves can maintain a high offensive efficiency for the team even when Wu Dao is not on the court.

Originally, coach Del Harris could only give O'Neal two or three minutes of rest time.

However, seeing that the Lakers' bench lineup was playing smoothly, coach Del Harris did not choose to substitute O'Neal immediately. He did not want to break the delicate balance between the Lakers and the Timberwolves.

In his opinion, Garnett, Marbury and Wallace of the Timberwolves have all been playing since the first quarter, and the overall physical energy consumption of the Timberwolves is more serious than that of the Lakers.

Coach Del Harris wanted to send O'Neal to the court in the final period of the game to make the final decision and win the game.

As for the Timberwolves, coaches Philip and Del Harris had the same idea. The Lakers did not send O'Neal back to the court, and coach Philip had no plans to send Budo back to the court.

The Western Conference Finals is a series, which not only tests the players' strength, but also tests their stability during the series.

Rationally allocating the physical energy of each player is something every coach needs to consider carefully.

As the game progressed, the gap between the Lakers and the Timberwolves was eliminated.

In the middle of the second quarter, Coach Philips replaced Marbury with Chris Kyle. After a little consideration, Coach Philips did not have the "strategic strength" and replaced Wu Dao with Garnett, who had played for two consecutive quarters.

The Timberwolves do not face much pressure in the interior. Martial Arts can perfectly cover the tasks that Garnett needs to do, and can also fill the firepower gap when Marbury and Garnett are not on the court.

The Timberwolves have already sent their star players to the court, but coach Del Harris still has no intention of putting O'Neal back on the court.

He seemed to be planning to use the Lakers' lineup to try to beat the Timberwolves' bench lineup led by Wu Dao.

Coach Harris hopes his players can maintain the game.

As long as Kobe and his teammates can maintain the game situation, in the final stage, when Harris shows off his full physical condition like O'Neal, the outcome of this game will naturally fall into the hands of the Lakers.

"Come on, Eddie, Kobe, it's up to you!"