Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

If we have to say that the Lakers before the 20th century had any fatal weaknesses, it can be attributed to the fact that their outside players were unable to play at a level that matched their worth.

Whether it is Eddie Jones or Nick Van Exel, their true strength is actually raised to a level that does not belong to them by the required personal data.

Eddie Jones played for the Lakers when he first entered the league. He entered the Lakers with the 10th pick in the first round and thrived under the training of the Lakers management.

Before O'Neal joined the Lakers, he was just a potential rookie who averaged 14 points per game. The fact that he was successfully selected into the All-Rookie First Team in his first season actually had a lot to do with the Lakers' positioning of him as a team player at the time.

The Lakers were actually in the process of rebuilding at the time, and the highest paid player on the team was Verratti Divac, who was worth $330 million. He was the 26th pick in the first round and one of the oldest players on the Lakers at the time. He had been playing for the Lakers since he joined the team in the early s.

The most valuable players of the entire Lakers team were of this level, which shows how much the Lakers lacked combat effectiveness at the time.

The appearance of Eddie Jones instantly made him a hot commodity for the Lakers management.

Players picked in the top ten of the first round will be valued and well trained no matter which team they go to.

Eddie Jones got the starting opportunity that other players dream of when he was a rookie. Not only did he start, but Eddie Jones also played a large role in the tactics on the court.

In his rookie season, he averaged 11.6 shots per game and 3.8 three-point attempts per game.

The treatment he received when he first entered the league was much better than Kobe's.

With such a high intensity of shots, his scoring averages are naturally high, but his 14 points per game is not that high, it can only be said to be in line with the level of most No. players of this era.
Since O'Neal joined the Lakers, Eddie Jones not only averaged 17 points per game in his first year with O'Neal, but his exposure also soared, making him an All-Star player.

Are all the praises and honors that Eddie Jones has received entirely due to his own personal abilities?

If you say so, it would be too much to underestimate O'Neal's influence on the court.

Let's put it this way, the personal data of Lakers' outside players such as Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel need to be reduced by 8% after partnering with O'Neal to match their true level.

In some matches, even a 8% discount on the data was not enough.
Their abilities are filled with data and are bloated.

However, this kind of false fat exposed various weaknesses when they encountered a truly solid team like the Timberwolves.

The most obvious one is actually Eddie Jones.

He is different from Kobe. The young Kobe may not have reached his peak on the offensive end due to his physical fitness and experience.

But during this period, Kobe had already begun to show his ambition and talent in defense.

Kobe's goal is to become a true superstar like Jordan. In today's era, the symbol of a superstar is the ability to be both offensive and defensive.

Young Kobe actually did a better job on defense than Eddie Jones.

However, in the Lakers, the phenomenon of seniority is still quite serious.

The coach cannot bypass Eddie Jones, who is older and has more game experience, so as long as Eddie Jones is still in the Lakers, Kobe will never be a starter.

Unless the Lakers trade Eddie Jones, or Eddie Jones himself suffers an irreversible injury.

On the court, Wu Dao, who had just scored against Eddie Jones, quickly returned to the court amid the cheers of the fans.

Facing Eddie Jones' defense, Wu Dao played very easily. This was not only noticed by the Timberwolves fans, but also by the Lakers fans.

Before today's game, no fans would compare Eddie Jones and Wu Dao, because the two are not players in the same position, and Wu Dao is very famous. Fans often compare Wu Dao with the more dominant players in the league.

For example, Jordan and Malone. Some players even bring out players who have long retired, such as Bird, as opponents in martial arts competitions.

The image of the two players in the minds of the fans actually indirectly illustrates the difference in strength between the two players.

In today's match, the direct confrontation between Wu Dao and Eddie Jones made the difference in strength between the two more prominent.

The Lakers' Nick Van Exel quickly entered the frontcourt with the ball. He quickly looked at Kobe who was at the top of the arc. Seeing that the opponent defending Kobe was the Timberwolves' Martial Arts, after a brief struggle, he was ultimately no match for Kobe's eager eyes and passed the basketball in his hand to Kobe.

The tasks that Budao is responsible for on both ends of the offense and defense are very different. At this time, Budao, who was defending Kobe at the top of the arc, was not standing very close to the three-point line, but was nearly one meter away from Kobe, defending inside the three-point line.

It is foreseeable that once the Lakers plan to launch an attack from the inside, Wudao on the outside will be able to get back to the basket in the first time. With Wudao's athletic ability and jumping talent, if Campbell cannot shoot within three seconds after getting the chance, then he probably will not have a chance to shoot.

All the Lakers players are very clear about this.

"Open up the situation. We must open up the situation at this time. We can't just focus on the basket."

Kobe and Wu Dao are old rivals. Even though Wu Dao was standing a little far away, he had no intention of making a pull-up shot. Given the height difference and distance between them, even if Wu Dao couldn't block Kobe's pull-up shot, he could still cause great interference to Kobe.

Although young Kobe is full of passion, as a mature player he knows what he can and cannot do.

After several consecutive dribbles between the legs, Kobe did not rashly approach the Martial Arts defense line. He observed the Timberwolves' defensive position while looking for a suitable breakthrough gap.

"Do you want to play singles?"

"Challenge me right here on the field!"

Wu Dao saw the hesitation in Kobe's eyes. At this time, as Kobe's friend, he naturally had to help Kobe make a decision.

Sure enough, when young Kobe heard this, the rhythm of his dribbling suddenly changed. He scooped the ball with his left hand and quickly took a step forward to the left, trying to break through Wu Dao's defense.

But how could such a breakthrough, which has no change at all, possibly penetrate the defense of martial arts?

Although Kobe has strong explosive power, there is still a big gap between his physical fitness and martial arts.

"Bang!!"

Wudao moved sideways with a crab step and instantly appeared in front of Kobe. He didn't seem to exert any force, but just stood in front of Kobe. The moment Kobe's body hit Wudao's, his dribbling posture suddenly deformed.

The action of force is mutual. When Kobe attacks the martial arts defense, he will also suffer from the strong recoil force brought by his own impact.

This force also made it impossible for the young Kobe to maintain his dribbling posture.

After forcibly pushing Kobe away, Wu Dao did not rush to steal the ball. Although Kobe's control over the basketball was weakened, Wu Dao knew Kobe's dribbling skills. Even in this state, Kobe still had enough energy to deal with Wu Dao's steal. Whether he could steal the ball or not was another matter. If he rushed forward rashly, the opponent would seize the opportunity.

Regarding the current situation, Wu Dao doesn't need to be aggressive. He just needs to wait quietly and wait for the Lakers to make a mistake.

Kobe paused, took a step back with the ball, and made quick adjustments while retreating.

As the basketball switched from his left hand to his right hand, Kobe moved his right foot horizontally, dribbled the ball in suspension, and took a breakthrough posture. However, the martial arts in front of Kobe did not change his defensive focus because of Kobe's action.

He just took half a step back and stood still, waiting for Kobe's next move.

Wu Dao left some time for reaction, so no matter what kind of breakthrough Kobe made on the opposite side, he was confident that he could plug his loopholes in the first time.

Just as Wudao expected, Kobe did not follow up with other breakthrough moves after the suspended dribble. He seemed to be aware of the pressure brought to him by Wudao's defense.

Kobe held the ball for longer and longer periods of time. Although Kobe wanted to rely on his own ability to break through, the other Lakers players couldn't just stand there stupidly, waiting for Kobe's next move.

Campbell in the inside seemed to be aware of the difficulties Kobe encountered, and quickly pulled out from the inside and provided a cover behind Wu Dao.

Kobe did not intend to waste his teammate's help. After dropping the ball with his left hand and taking a step forward in the direction of Campbell, he discovered that Wu Dao intended to go around the pick-and-roll in advance.

And Wu Dao's defensive posture finally allowed Kobe to seize the opportunity.

After a quick stop, Kobe took a mid-range fadeaway jump shot.

Although he is a young player, Kobe's shooting posture is 70% similar to Jordan's - picturesque.

"Dang~~~"

However, the fans were not immersed in Kobe's beautiful shooting posture. As a crisp sound of iron was heard in the court, Wu Dao, who was originally circling the pick-and-roll, accelerated, instantly passed Campbell's side and rushed into the basket, jumped up, and grabbed the rebound firmly in his hands.

Sometimes the one who can defend you is not your opponent, but yourself.

The young Kobe exudes the temperament of a little blacksmith, and his shooting in the low-efficiency area is too unstable.

After getting the basketball, Wudao held the ball in his arms and was not in a hurry to pass it away.

Glancing at Kobe not far away, Wu Dao showed a slight smile on his face.

Kobe and Eddie Jones both have the ability to shoot from low-efficiency zones, but this ability of theirs cannot help the Lakers win.

The reason is simple, because even though they are both shooting from the lower school zone, Wu Dao's hit rate is higher than Kobe and Eddie Jones.

Between offense and defense, Wu Dao's pass quickly crossed the center line and came to the Lakers' half.

This time, Wu Dao did not choose to take a position outside the three-point line on the right wing. Instead, he used a reverse run to successfully cross the three-point line. Then, when Eddie Jones was chasing him, he quickly turned around and positioned himself with his back to the basket while also trapping Eddie Jones behind him.

At this time, Wu Dao was less than two meters away from the three-point line.

The basketball turned into a red light and quickly came into Wu Dao's hands. Timberwolves' ball handler Chris Kyle kept his attention on Wu Dao, and when Wu Dao had the chance to catch the ball, he quickly passed the ball to Wu Dao.

Nick Van Exel's defensive ability is average to begin with, and he had no way to deal with the passes from the tall and strong Chris Carr.

"Go up there and don't let him attack the basket."

"Pack them all up for me."

On the sidelines, when Lakers coach Del Harris saw Wu Dao receiving the ball in that position, he stood up from his seat and yelled at the players on the court.

The living players also reacted at this moment. Nick Van Exel, who was originally defending Chris Kyle, decisively changed direction and rushed directly towards Wu Dao.

Not only him, but even the Lakers' inside players quickly moved up the position the moment Wudao received the ball. It seemed that they wanted to join forces with their teammates to create a three-man attack against Wudao.

Just one person can affect more than half of the opponent's defensive strength. Wu Dao's influence as a player on the field is self-evident.

Faced with the attack from so many people, Wudao had no intention of passing the ball.

Before Kobe's double-team came up, Wudao blocked the ball once, then turned around and faced the basket in an intelligent manner, and shot a fadeaway jump shot in front of Eddie Jones, not taking Eddie Jones, the defensive player, seriously at all.

De Jones actually defended very hard. When Wu Dao received the ball, he pressed his chest tightly against Wu Dao's body, trying to restrict Wu Dao's movements.

However, there was a big gap between his physical fitness and Wuda's. With just a simple back-to-the-basket shot, Eddie Jones was directly defeated by Wuda.

At the moment, facing Wu Dao's fadeaway jump shot, Eddie Jones could only jump up with all his strength to interfere with Wu Dao's shooting, and he had no other way to pose a threat to Wu Dao's shot.

"Dang~~"

Maybe blacksmithing is a plague. It's contagious.

After Wu Dao's beautiful jump shot, the basketball actually hit the edge of the basket and bounced out.

But at this moment, the Lakers' basket was already full of Timberwolves players.

Even Chris Kyle from the back line was squeezed into the Lakers basket with other teammates at this moment.

Perhaps Campbell would have a huge strength advantage against Cherokee Parks one-on-one and would not lose to him in rebounding.

But the Timberwolves are now using the human wave tactic, and Campbell is not O'Neal. He has no way of protecting the rebounds in such a crowd.

As Tom broke into the basket, he jumped up and dunked the ball directly into the basket, and the Timberwolves' scoreboard also jumped.

The cheers of the fans flooded into the stadium.

Wu Dao, whose shot was inaccurate, kept smiling. He pointed in the direction of the basket and said to the three Lakers players standing beside him:
"Even if you can defend me, what can you do?"

Wu Dao thought this game was a sure win; even if O'Neal came back, he couldn't change the outcome!
(End of this chapter)