Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

In the Western Conference Finals, the competition between the two teams is often not just a competition between players, but the game between management levels will also become extremely important.

Every team that can reach the conference finals and defeat its opponents in the conference finals to advance to the finals is the best team in the league.

Attention, it’s a team!

The championship is a team honor. A team that can win the championship does not rely on the individual performance of a certain player, but requires the concerted efforts of all members of the team.

Not only the players on the court, but also the substitutes off the court, even the team's coaches and assistants need to expend a lot of energy to analyze the opponents and help the team win the game.

As the players from both teams entered the court and took their positions, the referee also walked into the court with a basketball and came to the center line.

As the clear whistle sounded in the stadium, the stands instantly became quiet.

After signaling the players on both sides to jump ball, the referee threw the basketball in his hand high into the air.

Game 2 of the Lakers and Timberwolves series officially begins.

The Lakers' jump ball player was Shaquille O'Neal, while the Timberwolves' Kevin Garnett, who was both taller and more capable, was in charge of the jump ball.

Although Garnett plays the power forward position, it is actually not a problem for him to play the power forward position given his height and jumping ability.

It's just that Garnett doesn't like the feeling of fighting with people in the paint. If possible, Garnett even hopes that he can have the elegant and agile style of martial arts and play the third position.
But the needs of the team pushed Garnett to his current position.

It is the Timberwolves' training direction that will allow Garnett to grow into one of the best power forward players in the league.

If there is one person in this world besides Mr. Ma who does not think Duncan is the best power forward in NBA history, then that person might be Garnett.

The basketball was thrown into the air by the referee. As the basketball reached its highest point, Garnett and O'Neal jumped almost at the same time.

Garnett was in better shape than O'Neal in today's jump ball. Perhaps it was because the pressure O'Neal was under was too great. He could clearly feel that his jumping ability was not fully utilized during the jump ball.

"Da~"

As a tip sounded in the court, Garnett took the lead and pointed the ball under the basketball, pushing it to the backcourt.

Marbury straightened his body and quickly caught the ball in his hands. Then, amid the cheers of the fans, Marbury slowly advanced towards the Lakers' half with the ball.

"Not bad, Kevin!"

"You're better than Shaq."

Garnett's ability to win the jump ball was a surprise to the Timberwolves, as this was a rare occurrence. In many previous encounters between the Timberwolves and the Lakers, they rarely won the first serve from the Lakers.

Winning the jump ball was a good start for the Timberwolves.

Wu Dao trotted towards the front court and quickly came to Garnett's side. He patted Garnett's back and praised him with a smile.

"nonsense!"

"Of course I'm better than that fat guy!"

Garnett is also an extremely cocky person. Sometimes his mysterious self-confidence can deceive his teammates and even himself.

If Wu Dao did not have a clear understanding of the strength of Garnett and O'Neal, he would have been deceived by Garnett's confident words at this time.

If anyone really believes that Garnett is stronger than O'Neal, they will probably suffer a loss in front of O'Neal soon.

"You even gasped when I praised you."

"Shaq is glaring at you."

The two of them were already near the Lakers' three-point line while they were talking. Wu Dao didn't waste any more time talking to Garnett, and ran directly to the right wing. Garnett sank towards the Lakers' basket, and his eyes also noticed O'Neal who was looking at him with glaring eyes.

Garnett's confident smile remained unchanged as he came in front of O'Neal, turned his back, and actually intended to go for the position with his back to the basket.

"?"

O'Neal was also completely infuriated by Garnett's action. Without saying a word, he put his chest directly on Garnett's back. O'Neal did not use any force to push Garnett away from the basket.

He showed no intention of limiting Garnett's ability to receive the ball in this position.

O'Neal's plan was very clear. He wanted Garnett to receive the pass from his teammates and then force him. He wanted O'Neal to see what a big shark is!

Just as O'Neal expected, Garnett's confident look naturally won Marbury's trust. Seeing Garnett's fighting spirit, Marbury did not hesitate. After approaching the top of the arc, he quickly collected the ball and passed it to Garnett who was in the right position.

The place where Garnett received the ball was only two meters away from the basket, which can be said to be quite close.

And the moment Garnett grabbed the basketball, he felt a huge force coming from his back.

O'Neal did not exert force until Garnett successfully caught the ball, and directly used his body to force Garnett to stop. Under the push of O'Neal, it was very difficult for Garnett to just stand in his current position, and it became impossible for him to turn around and break through.

The first thing he needed to do was to stabilize his body and not be pushed out by O'Neal.

"Kevin, don't push yourself."

"Pass the ball!"

As soon as O'Neal passed the ball to Garnett to confront Marbury in the interior, he realized something was wrong.

The previous victory against the Lakers also made Marbury over-trust his teammates. In G1, the Timberwolves were able to take such a big lead in the game against the Lakers, and it was not relying on Garnett's inside singles.

Letting Garnett attack O'Neal's inside line is like hitting a rock with an egg.

At least that's what Marbury thinks.

"Kevin, hit him, don't be weak."

"Don't think about using force to eat him, you're faster than him!"

"Show him!"

Unlike Marbury, although Wu Dao also noticed that Garnett was struggling to maintain his position in front of O'Neal, he did not say anything discouraging. Instead, he loudly encouraged Garnett and cheered him on.

Wu Dao doesn't think that Garnett's attack on O'Neal is like hitting a rock with an egg. At least when facing O'Neal, Garnett has his own advantages.

As long as Garnett can make full use of his advantages, he will not have no offensive success rate in front of O'Neal.

The completely different words from the two teammates made Garnett no longer have any hesitation in his heart.

Will he listen to Marbury? Will he listen to Budo?
Neither!
Once he got the basketball, Garnett decided he wanted to enforce his will.

Every player who can make a name for himself in the NBA is a player with a very strong sense of autonomy, and these people will basically not be affected by external voices.

Although Garnett has long recognized the identity of the leader of the martial arts team, his ideals have never changed.

Becoming the strongest player is probably a dream that many NBA players have.

"Bang!" The basketball fell to the ground and Garnett quickly scored.

While passing the ball, Garnett did not force himself to stand still. Instead, he took a step forward in the direction of O'Neal and then turned around quickly after getting enough space.

His movements were very clean, and he quickly raised the basketball in his hand after turning around. Seeing this, O'Neal quickly stepped forward and rushed directly towards Garnett.

The Lakers and the Timberwolves have played against each other many times, and O'Neal is well aware of Garnett's technical characteristics.

He knew that this player was best at turning around and fading from close to the basket or from mid-range.

Garnett has excellent physical talents. At the power forward position, it would be difficult for any player to interfere with his turnaround fadeaway jump shot. But coincidentally, O'Neal is not at the power forward position, but he happens to be the one who can interfere with Garnett.

His huge body rose directly from the ground. It was hard to imagine that a man of O'Neal's physique could jump to such a high level with just one step forward.

The shadow enveloped Garnett completely.

However, it was not until O'Neal jumped into the air that he realized that Garnett's feet had not left the ground when he turned around and held the ball.

By the time O'Neal realized what was wrong, it was too late. Garnett quickly bent his body, exerted force with his feet, and flashed past O'Neal's side. He jumped towards the basket, held the basketball with his left hand, and lifted the ball into the basket.

With a very beautiful fake move, Garnett successfully fooled O'Neal and scored a layup.

As the basketball fell into the net with a slight sound, the Timberwolves took the lead and scored the first two points.

"NICE!!"

"Beautiful, Kevin!"

Garnett's one-on-one goal over O'Neal's head was truly exciting, and the Timberwolves' substitutes on the sidelines also cheered excitedly.

Although it's just a ball, it doesn't mean anything.

But Garnett's goal also announced to the fans that there are young people trying to challenge O'Neal, the "league's best center."

Yes, O'Neal, who was swept by the Jazz just last year, has been affectionately called the league's No. 1 center by fans in recent years.

In their eyes, Olajuwon, who was obviously on a downward trend, had already been kicked out of the first echelon. As for the other star centers in the league, they pale in comparison with O'Neal.

Although Malone led the Jazz to sweep the Lakers, the fans who were watching the game knew that O'Neal did not lose to Malone, but to the Jazz.

These two concepts are actually somewhat different.

And now, Garnett of the Timberwolves is trying to challenge O'Neal's dominance through the Western Conference Finals.

The fans at the Target Center are actually very happy to see this scene. They not only hope that their team can have the strongest outside players in the league, but also hope that their team can have the strongest inside players in the league.

If possible, they hope that the players in every position on their team are the strongest in the league.

As a fan, no one would complain about having too many strong players in their team.

Warm cheers filled the stadium, and the fans' cheers made Garnett excited.

The feeling of the last shot was very good. At this moment, Garnett felt that he could do anything. With his blood boiling, Garnett could even feel a tingling sensation in his muscles.

This feeling does not affect Garnett's control over his body muscles. On the contrary, Garnett feels that he can control his body to perform any movement he can imagine in his mind.

His mind was clear and everything he saw became clear.

His eyes looked at Fisher who was dribbling the ball towards the frontcourt. Every movement of Fisher's dribbling was clearly captured by Garnett. Although the two were seven or eight meters apart, Garnett seemed to be able to hear Fisher's breathing.

Garnett's condition became better than ever, and the breathing sound he heard from Fisher was not actually the real breathing sound.

Rather, it is the "feeling" that Garnett brings after understanding Fisher's body rhythm.

"It's time to pass the ball."

Fisher just dribbled the ball to the top of the arc, but this thought suddenly flashed through Garnett's mind.

He was originally standing behind O'Neal, but he quickly leaned his body against O'Neal, trying to push O'Neal away and get in front of O'Neal.

"Um?!"

Feeling the force coming from the side of his body, O'Neal murmured softly, lowered his center of gravity, and stabilized his body, while also pushing Garnett away.

At the same time, Fisher at the top of the arc clasped the ball with both hands and quickly passed it to O'Neal under the basket.

All his movements were accurately judged by Garnett.

However, there was a huge power gap between Garnett and O'Neal, which made it impossible for Garnett to get around O'Neal and intercept him in the first place.

The moment he got the basketball, O'Neal clearly felt the strength on his side suddenly disappear. Correspondingly, a huge force came from his lower back.

Garnett lowered his center of gravity and crossed his hands on O'Neal's waist.

Feeling the power coming from behind, O'Neal's face became a little serious. He raised the ball above his head with both hands, straightened his back and leaned back slightly.

"Tom!"

At the same time when O'Neal received the basketball, when Tom was about to turn around and double-team O'Neal inside the left three-point line, Wu Dao's voice suddenly came from the other side.

Tom couldn't help but slow down his pace when he heard the sound, and looked in the direction of Wudao. He happened to see Wudao waving at him, signaling Tom not to be double-teamed.

Tom instantly understood Wu Dao's meaning, paused, and stopped pressing towards O'Neal.

At this moment, under the basket, O'Neal, with his head slightly turned, exchanged glances with Garnett behind him.

"Look, I'm going to tear you apart!"

O'Neal suddenly exploded the ball, took a low step, and directly hit Garnett's body. Garnett was clearly holding up his upper body, but under O'Neal's huge force, his sneakers rubbed against the floor violently, making a sharp sound, and he slid back a step.

O'Neal, who pushed Garnett away with a explosive ball, stood up quickly and hit the ball directly into the net as Garnett struggled to jump.

As the basketball went into the net with a slight sound, the Lakers fans in the stands also cheered.

"You think you can challenge Shaq? Wait a minute!"

The fans watching the fun shouted excitedly, cheering for their favorite stars!
The Target Center was in a frenzy.

(End of this chapter)