Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

It was only two quarters, but Bulls coach Phil Jackson noticed Michael Jordan's breathless appearance.

While feeling greatly surprised, coach Phil Jackson also seemed to sense something and quickly turned his head to look at the Timberwolves' rest area.

Wu Dao was sitting on the bench surrounded by Timberwolves players. Although the distance was a bit far, coach Phil Jackson could still see the fatigue on Wu Dao's face.

Considering Michael Jordan's condition at the time, he finally realized what was happening on the court.

He didn't have a strong feeling when watching the game on the sidelines, but when he saw Wu Dao and Michael Jordan looking tired, Coach Phil Jackson realized that Michael Jordan seemed to be trapped in the physical trap of the Timberwolves.

Physical trap.

Before this, coach Phil Jackson never thought that any team would make a fuss about Michael Jordan's physical fitness. As we all know, Michael Jordan is a super physical monster. When he is healthy, he can play more than 40 minutes per game in key games.

In some more extreme matches, we can maintain a relatively good competitive state even when playing for forty-three or forty-four minutes in a row.

The most famous one was in the 96-97 season, when the Bulls faced a strong rival, the Bulls. In the G5 away game against the Jazz, Michael Jordan played for 38 minutes despite a high fever of 44 degrees, scored 38 points, and helped the Bulls win the game by two points.

That game was the ultimate embodiment of Michael Jordan's physical strength and will.

In the opinion of coach Phil Jackson, no one would be foolish enough to try to target Michael Jordan's physical fitness.

Because Michael Jordan's physical fitness cannot be targeted, even though the Bulls had just experienced a brutal Game 7.

But now it seems that his common sense is about to be broken by the Timberwolves player.

Martial Arts' physique is stronger than Michael Jordan's, and in one-on-one confrontations with Michael Jordan, Jordan often needs to put in more effort to deal with Martial Arts' physical confrontation.

In the second quarter, the running distance of Budo and Michael Jordan did not seem to be very long, but the intensity of the physical confrontation was a level higher than previous games. It was like two boxers in the ring. Even if the boxers did not run much in the narrow ring, both players would be exhausted after a game.

The confrontation between Budo and Michael Jordan is like two boxers in the ring.

In the dark, unnoticed by Coach Phil Jackson, the two men were silently competing for strength.

Michael Jordan is a stubborn and unyielding person. Even if he is not at an advantage in the physical confrontation with martial arts, he will not try to ask other teammates to help him share the pressure.

Once he opens his mouth, he will appear weak in front of martial arts, which is something Michael Jordan will never allow to happen. His self-esteem does not allow him to do so. In order to maintain his image as a "god", no matter how tough the game is, he has to handle it all by himself.

However, this result also directly led to Michael Jordan consuming a lot of physical energy in the physical confrontation with martial arts.

"Hey Michael, do you need some more time to rest?"

Although coach Phil Jackson had already noticed that Michael Jordan had physical problems, if he had allowed him to continue playing without giving him sufficient rest time, perhaps Michael Jordan would not have been able to stand up and help the team in the final quarter.

But even though he knew this in his heart, Coach Phil Jackson did not make a decision immediately. Instead, he asked Jordan.

This is also his respect for Michael Jordan. Coach Phil Jackson is able to soften the proud championship players of the Bulls, not just relying on his own technical and tactical level.

However, in response to coach Phil Jackson's questions, Michael Jordan, who was exhausted, seemed not to hear them. He lowered his head, gasped, and did not answer.

Michael Jordan's abnormality was also noticed by other Bulls players. Pippen glanced at Jordan, whose jersey was soaked with sweat, with a gleam in his eyes.

"Michael? Are you listening?"

Coach Phil Jackson patted Michael Jordan's shoulder gently. During this short break, he did not seize the time to arrange new techniques and tactics. Instead, he focused on Michael Jordan's physical condition.

For the Bulls, Michael Jordan's physical condition is the top priority, much more important than so-called skills and tactics.

This is the core of the Bulls' team building, and this is the key to their Bulls winning the game.

"Um?!"

"what?"

It was not until now that Michael Jordan realized someone was calling him. He raised his head slightly and glanced at Phil Jackson in front of him. After calming down his breath, Michael Jordan asked.

As he spoke, Michael Jordan had already taken the cup of water handed to him by his teammate, took a sip of water, and held it in his mouth.

"Do you need more time to rest?"

"The Timberwolves seem to be thinking of taking that Wu Dao off the court for a rest."

"You can take advantage of this gap to have a good rest."

As Coach Phil Jackson spoke, his eyes also swept down to the Timberwolves rest area not far away. At this time, Coach Philip was explaining to other Timberwolves players what to pay attention to in the third quarter.

While Coach Philip was speaking, Wu Dao was sitting on the sidelines, not listening very seriously.

It was from these details that Coach Phil Jackson judged that Budo would not play at the beginning of the third quarter, and it was for this reason that he said these words to Michael Jordan.

Hear the words.

Jordan also glanced slightly towards the Timberwolves' rest area and glanced at Wu Dao on the bench. Jordan then retracted his gaze and looked at the scoreboard on the sidelines.

"I don't think this is the time for me to rest."

"The first game of the series is very important for us Bulls."

"As long as we can win this game, we will have a great advantage against the Timberwolves at home next time."

"I don't need a break, coach."

In front of many players, Michael Jordan gave face to coach Phil Jackson and called him coach. The difference between the Bulls and the Timberwolves made it impossible for Michael Jordan to leave the court to rest.

If the Timberwolves did not let Wu Dao play at the beginning of the third quarter, it would be a good opportunity for the Bulls to catch up.

Hearing this, Coach Phil Jackson nodded slightly, agreeing with Michael Jordan's statement. There was still more than a minute of rest time, and Coach Phil Jackson was also taking the time to arrange the next tactics for the Bulls players.

They are a mature team, and the players have already memorized the changes in techniques and tactics.

What the coach can do, besides coming up with some targeted "unique tricks", is actually to remind the players of some minor problems that arise during the game.

Without Wu Dao, the Timberwolves' offense will inevitably be weakened. Coach Phil Jackson also tried to replace Kerr on the court, trying to strengthen the Bulls' offense in this way.

Pippen, who had played for a long time, was substituted out, and center Luc Langley also returned to the court.

"Tsk——"

In the stadium, the buzzer sounded, indicating the start of the game.

Pippen, who was substituted out, had a frown on his face, as if he was very dissatisfied with the arrangement of coach Phil Jackson. He was different from Michael Jordan. After these two quarters, his physical energy consumption was not as severe as expected. Even if he played three quarters in a row, he could handle it.

But even if there was nothing wrong with his body, Phil Jackson still chose to trust Jordan instead of him.

This kind of differential treatment also made Pippen a little unhappy.

But Pippen had no way to change coach Phil Jackson's decision. In this Bulls team, his status could never be compared with Michael Jordan. Not to mention Michael Jordan, even a guy like Dennis Rodman who had no scoring ability did not submit to him.

In fact, Pippen once had the opportunity to become the leader of the team.

Those were the two years after the Bulls won three consecutive championships and Jordan retired.

The Bulls were a team built around Pippen, and Phil Jackson gave Pippen unlimited shooting rights. But surprisingly, even with the unlimited shooting rights, Pippen still couldn't score explosively, and his scoring ability was far from comparable to Michael Jordan's.

It was precisely those two years of experience as the "boss" that made Pippen sit in the position of "second in command" forever.

He is not the kind of player who can handle a large number of shots, and it is impossible for him to become an offensive core like Michael Jordan.

It is precisely because of this that even though Pippen was dissatisfied with Michael Jordan and was extremely unhappy with the low salary the team gave him, he could only keep it to himself at this time.

Players from both the Bulls and Timberwolves returned to the court.

There was a major player change on the Timberwolves side. Not only was Wu Dao substituted off the court, but Garnett was also substituted off the court.

When the Bulls fans saw Michael Jordan still following his players onto the court, there was a warm cheer from the stands.

In fact, at this time, everyone could see Michael Jordan's fatigue.

But even so, Michael Jordan still stood on the court, and his tough guy temperament also attracted cheers from many fans.

In the Timberwolves' rest area, Coach Philip looked at Jordan on the court with some surprise, and then glanced deeply at Wu Dao beside him.

"You predicted it!"

"Michael actually didn't take any rest."

"Does he really think he's an iron man?!"

In addition to being surprised, Coach Philip was also full of worries.

Jordan has created too many myths in the NBA. Even though Coach Philip saw with his own eyes that Jordan had internal problems in the second quarter, he still did not dare to take it lightly.

"iron Man?!"

"Michael is known as the God of Basketball."

"Not only do the fans think so, he feels that way too."

"That's why Michael will never allow himself to fail."

Budo has a very thorough understanding of the character of players like Michael Jordan, and the opponent's decision was within his expectations.

As the basketball was kicked out from the Bulls' backcourt, the third quarter of the game between the Bulls and the Timberwolves officially began.

But as the Bulls players entered the Timberwolves' half, the Timberwolves fans were surprised to find that Ben Wallace, who was supposed to play inside, was actually walking towards Michael Jordan on the outside.

"???"

"What's the purpose? Let the inside player defend Michael?"

"Is Coach Philip's brain rusty?"

The Timberwolves fans exclaimed in surprise when they saw this scene. No one expected that the Timberwolves would arrange their defense in this way.

Ben Wallace did not get too close to Jordan. Although he is 206cm tall and a 2/3 position player with a fast speed, if he gets too close to Michael Jordan, he can easily be overtaken by him in one step.

Therefore, when defending, Ben Wallace and Michael Jordan were about 1.5 meters apart, and there was still some distance from the three-point line.

Judging from his defensive posture, it seemed that he was planning to leave Michael Jordan open for three-point shots.

The chance is good.

Jordan had a better offensive opportunity, and the Bulls did not hesitate at all and quickly passed the ball to Michael Jordan.

After the basketball was in hand, Ben Wallace in front of Jordan only took a step forward and still failed to make any effective defense against Jordan's three-pointer.

Seeing this, Jordan made a slight adjustment and then took a three-point jump shot. However, at the moment the basketball was shot, Michael suddenly pounced towards Ben Wallace in front of him. His ferocious appearance made Wallace's defense seem very imposing.

The basketball almost flew past Ben Wallace's fingertips, and under the gaze of a group of players, Michael Jordan's three-pointer went straight out of the basket.

In fact, at the moment when Michael Jordan shot the ball, Ben Wallace quickly rushed to the inside after landing. In the blink of an eye, three Timberwolves players stood under the Timberwolves basket.

The rebound was also successfully caught by Stanley Roberts.

Luke Long is a little weaker in physical confrontation, and Stanley Roberts on the defensive end occupies a better position, so he can naturally get the rebound smoothly.

“Ohhhhh—”

Jordan missed the three-pointer, which made the Timberwolves fans cheer. Everyone was happy to see the Bulls' offense fail.

Between offense and defense, the Timberwolves quickly launched a counterattack.

Stanley under the basket received a pass from his teammate, half-turned and tried a hook shot but missed, and the ball returned to the Bulls.

Although the offense failed, the Timberwolves players did not show any frustration. Instead, they devoted themselves to defense with great enthusiasm.

The Bulls gave the ball to Michael Jordan again when attacking, not because the Bulls did not sympathize with Michael Jordan and frequently let him handle the ball, but because in the eyes of the Bulls players, under Ben Wallace's defense, Michael Jordan should have more comfortable shooting space.

But their ideas also fell into the Timberwolves' trap.

Michael Jordan, who missed a three-pointer, tried to break into the inside, but as soon as he passed the three-point line, he encountered tough defense from Ben Wallace.

It wasn't until this moment that Michael Jordan truly understood the Timberwolves' intentions.

Are the Timberwolves planning to wear down his energy? !
The Timberwolves weren't the first team to use similar tactics against Michael Jordan during his career.

However, most of the players who faced Michael Jordan were either good at defense but terrible at offense, or good at both offense and defense but not as physically fit as him.

But he can always find the weaknesses of his opponents and hit them hard. That is why no similar tactics are used against him now.

A player who can defend but not attack, Jordan can occasionally be lazy when defending.

A player who can attack but not defend, he can also successfully break through on the offensive end with minimal physical effort.

But the Timberwolves are different. The martial arts player who is facing him not only has excellent offensive power, but also strong defensive ability.

Michael Jordan expended tremendous energy on both offense and defense.

On this basis, if the Timberwolves continue to adopt a rotation system, even an iron man like Michael Jordan will not be able to withstand it.

Michael Jordan is now actually under the control of the Timberwolves.

"Come on, old man!"

On the sidelines, Budo watched as Michael Jordan made a dangerous fadeaway jump shot, forced into the basket under the defense of Ben Wallace.

As the basketball hit the rim, a faint smile appeared on Wudao's face.

(End of this chapter)