Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

"Those Timberwolves guys are really good!"

"Shaq, that idiot, was actually restricted by the Timberwolves."

"It's really embarrassing for a guy like him to be called the best center in the league by the media."

In the Chicago Bulls' meeting room, Zen Master Phil Jackson is leading the team members to watch the video of the previous game between the Timberwolves and the Lakers.

After a hard fight, the Bulls finally defeated the Pacers in the seventh game and successfully got a ticket to the finals. But for these Bulls players, there is not much time to rest. Facing the upcoming finals, they need to prepare early.

The Timberwolves' outstanding record of sweeping the Lakers put a lot of pressure on the players. In order to understand the current strength of the Timberwolves players, they also tried to understand the next opponent through some game videos.

The game between the Lakers and the Timberwolves was being played on the TV in the conference room.

In the game footage, the Lakers' O'Neal was double-teamed by the Timberwolves and was unable to pass the ball smoothly. He made a mistake when passing to the outside and the basketball was intercepted by the Timberwolves.

Seeing this scene, Kukoc broke into a bright smile and sneered at the ability displayed by O'Neal.

The Bulls have faced the Lakers head-on, and Kukoc is not unaware of the Lakers' strength. O'Neal was still able to show his terrifying dominance under the basket when playing against the Bulls.

However, O'Neal's performance in the game against the Timberwolves was indeed unable to satisfy Kukoc. If one only looked at the current game video, the ability displayed by O'Neal did not match the label given to him by the media.

"Don't underestimate the Timberwolves. It's not that O'Neal is not strong enough, it's just that the Timberwolves did a very good job defending against O'Neal."

"If we were to execute the same tactics, we wouldn't necessarily be able to do better than the Timberwolves."

"I know you have played against Timberwolves players before."

"I think the other party's strength is not too different from yours."

"But you have to understand that those guys in Minnesota are young guys."

"Regular seasons, series, and rounds of games all serve as nutrients for those young players."

"Given their talent, their current strength is probably not at the same level as during the regular season."

“You can despise your opponent strategically, but you must take him seriously tactically.”

"Michael, what do you think?"

Seeing Kukoc's disdain for the Lakers' strength, Phil Jackson felt that this mentality might affect the team's next game, so he immediately began to give his players a shot of prevention, trying to make them nervous.

At the end, Phil Jackson raised his chin towards Michael Jordan, indicating that Jordan, the team leader, should express his opinion.

Sometimes the job of managing a team cannot be accomplished by just the coach alone.

No matter how good a coach is, he is still a coach, and sometimes his words may not be more effective than those of the team leader.

"You're right. The Timberwolves' little guys are very different from the regular season."

"We cannot let our guard down and must remain vigilant."

"Coach, please arrange the tactics. If we, the Bulls, meet the Timberwolves, how are we going to deal with them?"

The Game 5 between the Bulls and the Pacers ended on May 31st, and the game time for Game 1 of the Finals has also been announced. It will be held on the 3rd of next month at the Target Center in Minnesota.

For the Bulls, these days they not only need to have a good rest, but also need to arrange their techniques and tactics in advance.

The time given to them is very tight, which is completely different from the Timberwolves.

The Timberwolves had already swept the Lakers 5-24 on May 4 and got a ticket to the finals. Compared to the Bulls, they had more time to adjust their physical condition and practice tactics against the Bulls.

This is also one of the advantages of finishing the semi-finals early.

The Timberwolves have almost ten days to prepare for the finals, so they will definitely be more prepared than the Bulls. They can even spare some time to play some training games against the Bulls.

The Bulls had no time to play training games. After Game 7, all the players were very tired. Even after resting for a day or two, they had to rush to Minnesota, leaving them no time to practice tactics.

Especially at times like this, the role of the coach becomes more critical.

Michael Jordan was obviously aware of this and tacitly gave all the right to speak to Phil Jackson.

"Well, Michael is right."

"We cannot underestimate our opponents."

Phil Jackson showed a gentle smile on his face. Before he spoke, he pulled a whiteboard from his side, picked up a whiteboard pen, and began to arrange the techniques and tactics.

"The Timberwolves' offensive core is undoubtedly this young man."

"All of our defensive tactics have to revolve around this guy."

"Michael, you are our star player. Both offense and defense are what you are best at."

"But the task of defending this guy cannot be left to you, Michael. You need to focus on the offensive end."

Coach Phil Jackson pointed at the martial arts on the TV screen with his left hand and started drawing on the whiteboard while talking to the Bulls players.

"Scottie, your physical condition is quite similar to this guy's."

"You are the only one in our team who can compete with this guy in terms of speed and tonnage."

"The task of defending the martial arts will be handed over to you."

On the whiteboard, there was a small basketball court marked out with tape. Coach Phil Jackson drew a small circle at the elbow area of ​​the three-point line while speaking, and his eyes were also looking at Scottie Pippen.

The offensive arrow of the Timberwolves is martial arts. If you want to defeat this team, the best way is to suppress this offensive arrow.

They, the Bulls, are a group of veterans. It is not easy for them with their old limbs to compete with a young man like Wu Dao.

Among all the players, Scottie Pippen's talent and ability have been tested on the court. After much calculation by Phil Jackson, only this player can withstand martial arts.

Originally, the task of defending Budo was Michael Jordan's.

One-on-one matches with star players are very common in NBA games.

But in the finals, Phil Jackson couldn't do that.

If it was Michael Jordan in his prime, he would feel comfortable handing this task over to Jordan. Even though Jordan's physical condition and martial arts were slightly inferior, he was still able to defend against his opponent with the help of his teammates.

But at this time, Lee Jordan is nearly 40 years old, and compared to when he was young, his physical fitness is no longer at its peak.

In Phil Jackson's opinion, Michael Jordan needs to use more of his physical energy on the offensive end. If he has to deal with players like Bu Dao on the defensive end, it will be too exhausting for Jordan, which may affect the team's offensive efficiency.

Overall, Pippen, as the second-in-command, is the best candidate.

However, Phil Jackson also knew that relying solely on Pippen's personal ability might not be enough to stop the opponent, so he continued to draw on the whiteboard. "If you want to curb the Timberwolves' offense, single defense is not enough."

"I naturally believe that Scottie can do a good job of strangling the young man of the Timberwolves, but we must also be prepared for the back-up."

As he spoke, the Zen Master drew a circle at the top of the lake, wrote Michael Jordan's number on it, and continued:

"Michael, you lead from this position on defense."

"The Timberwolves' player against you is likely to be a point guard. After applying pressure, the opponent will most likely choose to pass the ball."

"If the ball is passed to Wu Dao, you should immediately cut off the passing route and put pressure on Wu Dao to force him to pass the ball."

"Kukic, your opponent is the 2/3 position of the Timberwolves. The one facing you is either Tom or Sam Mitchell. No matter who it is, you can shoot a three-pointer."

"Stand a little deeper on defense. If the Timberwolves' No. 1 chooses to break through, go up and intercept him."

As the Zen Master spoke, he drew a circle on the left wing of the court, marked Kukoc's jersey number, and extended two arrows. The first arrow led to the top of the lake, and the second arrow led to the middle free throw line, directly marking Kukoc's defensive position.

"Inside, Luke and Dennis, you two will handle the Timberwolves' No. 5 and No. 4 respectively."

"Dennis, you are responsible for guarding Kevin."

"Use physical confrontation. This kid likes to shoot. Don't let him shoot comfortably."

Phil Jackson's tactics are actually not very complicated. As the whiteboard pen slides on the whiteboard, the Bulls players also clearly understand Phil Jackson's defensive intentions.

In a word, it is to limit Wu Dao's performance, while giving other Timberwolves players a certain degree of three-point freedom and strengthening the rotation of the inside defense.

By doing this, the Bulls have a high probability of reducing the Timberwolves' offensive efficiency.

There are not many players with outstanding offensive abilities in the entire Timberwolves, and these players are barely enough for the Bulls to deal with.

This internal tactical meeting lasted nearly two hours. During the meeting, Michael Jordan frequently gave his opinions and made some fine-tuning to Phil Jackson's techniques and tactics both on the offensive and defensive ends.

Jordan has an excellent sense of the overall situation, and even Phil Jackson sometimes accepts his opinions.

The overall plan for the Timberwolves was decided in this meeting.

The Bulls' five starting players were also established: Jordan, Rodman, Kukoc, Pippen, and Luc Longley.

These five players are Phil Jackson's tentative five starting players.

The team's starting point guard, Ron Harper, was relegated to the bench by Phil Jackson, and Michael Jordan served as the team's temporary number one.

Facing a team like the Timberwolves, overall height is actually very important.

Even if they wanted to double-team Wudao, if the backup players were not tall enough or strong enough, they would not be able to put any pressure on a player like Wudao.

This lineup is also the result of Phil Jackson's careful consideration.

While the Bulls were actively preparing for the next game, the Timberwolves had already completed their preparations. In the first few days of the game, after a period of rest, the players gradually began to train themselves so that they could maintain their competitive form.

For a team like the Bulls, Timberwolves coach Philip did not actually develop any specific tactics for the team.

The players were just allowed to practice defensive rotation and double-teaming during the break, so that they could adapt to the intensity of the game with Michael Jordan in advance.

In stark contrast to Phil Jackson's arrangement, Coach Philip directly assigned the task of defending Michael Jordan to Wu Dao without considering whether Wu Dao's physical fitness could handle it.

In his opinion, the younger Wu Dao has more physical reserves than Jordan, who is nearly 40 years old and just finished a game .

Of course, that's exactly what happened.

Early June.

The streets near the Target Center are already filled with the atmosphere of the finals. The stores and shops are all decorated with lights as if they are welcoming Sirius to play in the finals.

The Timberwolves' entry into the finals has had an impact on the city that goes beyond making the fans proud.

A team's excellent record can bring a large number of foreign tourists to the city, and the emergence of a star player can boost the economic development of the entire city.

This is the situation in Minnesota at this time. This city with a relatively harsh climate has attracted a large number of fans to watch the game. The local tourism industry has become vibrant, and the business of shops on the streets is better than usual.

And these are the changes brought about by the team reaching the finals.

6 month 3 number.

The Target Center was bustling with people. Fans who came to watch the game filled the entire arena inside and outside. The Target Center, which can accommodate tens of thousands of people, was packed with fans.

Even the inner field audience seats had two more rows than usual, and there were nearly three hundred media reporters on site, with cameras of all sizes set up beside the stadium.

In the lounge, Wu Dao had already done some pre-match warm-up exercises. At this moment, he had a towel covering his head and was meditating. This was a method he had learned to concentrate his energy.

Before facing some major competitions, you can adjust your body to the best condition.

Wu Dao did not attend today's pre-match press conference with Coach Philip.

The finals put a lot of pressure on Wu Dao. It was the first time for him to face such a situation. It was difficult for him to calm down and it would take some time.

Even an experienced player like Wu Dao still feels nervous when facing the finals, which is unavoidable.

A martial artist in meditation cannot feel the passage of time.

I don’t know how long it was before Wu Dao felt someone patting his shoulder.

He slowly opened his eyes, looked at Garnett who was looking serious, and slowly stood up:
"Are you ready to enter, Kevin?"

Even Garnett, who had always been optimistic, showed a serious aura that was very different from before. People like him would also feel nervous.

In fact, all the players on the Timberwolves are playing in the finals for the first time.

"Yes."

In response to Wu Dao's question, Kanete nodded.

At this time in the locker room, the other Timberwolves players also turned their attention to Wu Dao.

"Let's go then!"

"Keep the championship in Minnesota!"

(End of this chapter)