Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

In two consecutive finals, the Timberwolves took the initiative in this round of the series with a 2:0 crushing attitude.

When the news of the Timberwolves' away victory over the Bulls in Chicago reached Minnesota, the whole city was boiling.

Even the people who didn't pay much attention to basketball learned the news after the local media's strong publicity. Although the finals had only been played for two games, the Minnesota people were so happy that they seemed to have already won the championship.

The Timberwolves players flew back to Minnesota overnight on the day the game ended. The schedule of the finals was very tight. After the day's game, they only had one day to rest and adjust before they had to face the third game.

Although the game is at home in Minnesota, the Timberwolves players still attach great importance to the upcoming game.

Now, it’s far from time to pop the champagne.

In the game against the Bulls, the Timberwolves won consecutive games, but the players did not relax. On the one hand, it was because Tom and his players had just made mistakes, and Coach Philip's punishment methods and Wu Dao's words could still play some role.

On the other hand, it is also because Wu Dao, as the team leader, was not blinded by the two victories in front of him.

It's still unstable. Any kind of variables may appear on the stage of the finals, and Wu Dao has a vague feeling that the next game may become very difficult for the Timberwolves.

It’s not because martial arts has any means of predicting the future, but because of my existence, the so-called future has already undergone drastic changes.

He understands people and how the NBA, a business league, operates.

So far, both the Timberwolves and the Bulls games have gone relatively smoothly, but Wu Dao knows that this smooth progress cannot last forever.

"Michael, you can't fail like this."

"The Bulls played these two games so badly!"

In fact, it was just as Budo had expected.

The day after the G2 match ended, all the referees of the finals gathered together for a simple meeting.

Although some of the words were not very clear, after the general manager said these words, the referees knew what to do next.

The fairness and justice of competitive sports cannot be perfectly reflected in such a commercial alliance.

As long as there are referees involved in the project, there is room for maneuver.

Whether or not something like match manipulation is obvious depends on the referee's ability.

Although the league emphasizes "leaving the outcome of the game to the players."

However, when it comes to actual implementation, it is not easy to thoroughly implement such guidelines.

If this league is really as clean as water, then words like "See you in Houston" would not come out of Yao Ming's mouth.
Target Center, Minnesota.

Game day.

In the evening, fans poured into the arena. In less than two hours, the entire Target Center was filled with fans. The venue with tens of thousands of people was bustling with people.

Everyone was waiting for the players from the Timberwolves and Bulls to enter.

In today's game, local Minnesota fans accounted for more than 60% of the total audience. Looking up at the stands, there were signs everywhere about the Timberwolves.

Although the Bulls fans can also occupy a corner in the Target Center, their size is too "small" compared to the local fans in Minnesota.

As the lights in the stadium dimmed, the player passages on both sides of the court opened.

The first to enter were the Bulls players. With the enthusiastic introduction of the live DJ, cheers broke out from the stands.

In the past, Michael Jordan could always win the warm welcome of fans whether he was playing at home or away. Because in this era, Michael Jordan was almost a national idol, and all fans would not feel disgusted with him even if they did not like him.

Except for the fans in Salt Lake City who looked down on Michael Jordan, fans in other cities maintained the minimum respect for Michael Jordan.

But at this time, when the Bulls players entered the field, the boos from the stands quickly drowned out the cheers of the Bulls fans. The huge noise caused the Bulls players on the field to look up at the stands.

They rarely encounter such a situation on the road. The boos were directed at the Bulls. None of the Bulls players expected this.

Not only did the Bulls players not anticipate this, but even the media reporters on the scene seemed to have quickly grasped the breaking point. However, these media reporters quickly found the breaking point, gently shaking the camera in their hands and cutting the lens to the stands.

Under the camera of the media reporters, the Timberwolves fans showed no intention of restraining themselves. Instead, they became even crazier because the big screen cut to themselves. It seemed as if the Bulls had some deep hatred against them.

In fact, when the news of the Timberwolves' away victory over the Bulls reached Minnesota, the news that Chicago fans insulted Timberwolves players also spread among the Minnesota fan group under the hype of media reporters.

Minnesota is a typical Rust Belt city.

The so-called Rust Belt refers to the Great Lakes region that carried most of the country's heavy industries during the period of industrialization. With the development of the times and economy, the center of development of the country began to shift from industry to finance. The Rust Belt cities completed their historical mission and the economy began to decline.

Due to the overall economic shift, a large number of laid-off workers have appeared in the Rust Belt cities.

In the late 90s, people in the Rust Belt still had the qualities of "blue-collar workers". They were actually a bit like rednecks, with extremely strong xenophobic and racist tendencies.

But these people also have one characteristic, that is, when they truly recognize you, they will become your most protective supporters.

The Timberwolves may not be a super strong team, but the local fans in Minnesota have a special feeling for their team.

The insults that Wu Dao suffered in Chicago were naturally remembered firmly by the Minnesota fans.

In their eyes, martial arts is actually the symbol of the Timberwolves, and the relationship between fans and the team is also one of shared success and shared failure.

Now that the Bulls are playing at the Target Center, Minnesota fans are naturally sending their most "sincere" "blessings" to their opponents. The atmosphere in the arena has also become tit-for-tat because of the "activity" of Minnesota fans. Before the game even started, the stands were filled with a tense atmosphere.

Not long after the Bulls entered the stadium, the Timberwolves players walked out of the player tunnel one after another amid the cheers of the live commentator.

As the Timberwolves players entered the stadium, deafening cheers suddenly broke out, and the cheers even made the entire Target Center begin to vibrate.

Wu Dao followed his teammates into the court and could even feel the vibration from the floor beneath his feet.

“It’s still comfortable to play here.”

Wu Dao felt the enthusiasm of the Minnesota fans and a bright smile appeared on his face. The cheers of the fans made him feel a special sense of belonging to this city.

In fact, he had never felt this way before.

Sure enough, cheering is the best way of communication between fans and players.

In the Bulls rest area, the players who were about to take the field were making final adjustments before the game. Although the Timberwolves fans booed loudly, the pressure they put on the Bulls players was not very strong.

Compared to the impact of the fans' boos on them, the Timberwolves players can actually give them a stronger sense of oppression.

As championship players, they once again faced the Timberwolves, and they no longer had the sense of superiority and self-confidence they had before.

Originally, the championship team played against a young team, and everyone thought that the Bulls would win in the end.

Because the Bulls are too experienced and have the league's best player in Michael Jordan; on the other hand, the Timberwolves have never made the playoffs, and their star player is a first-year rookie.

On the black market, the odds of the Bulls winning the championship are much lower than the odds of the Timberwolves winning the championship. In fact, this also represents the predictions of some professional basketball commentators on the final result of this game.

However, as the series entered the third game, the Bulls were somewhat out of control.
After two consecutive losses, coach Phil Jackson was actually trying to adjust the status of the Bulls players. At the same time, he also took advantage of the precious adjustment time of the day to rearrange the Bulls' offensive and defensive systems.

The biggest change is the adjustment of Michael Jordan's position.

In previous games, in order to take care of Michael Jordan's self-esteem and maintain his honor as the God of Basketball, Coach Phil Jackson always allowed Michael Jordan to play against Budo.

But after two consecutive losses, Michael Jordan seemed to no longer be so obsessed with "guarding Martial Arts".

The strong sense of crisis also made Michael Jordan change his attitude. At such a critical moment, Michael Jordan chose to obey Phil Jackson's instructions and arrangements.

Normally, when the Bulls faced a tough enemy, Pippen would be responsible for defending the opponent's perimeter defenders, in order to fully unleash Michael Jordan's offensive capabilities.

Although in previous games, the team often could not strictly implement the arrangements of coach Phil Jackson because of Michael Jordan's willfulness, but Michael Jordan of the Bulls at that time was at his peak, and he was able to contribute to the team on both offense and defense in terms of both physical fitness and mental state.

But the situation is a little different now. Although Michael Jordan's mental state is still at its peak and his obsession with victory has not diminished at all, it is an indisputable fact that his physical functions have begun to deteriorate.

In high-intensity confrontations, even someone like Michael Jordan cannot take care of both offense and defense.

Especially since he needs to face off against a strong young player like Bu Dao on the court, this is even more stressful for Michael Jordan. If he is asked to continue defending Bu Dao, I am afraid that the level he can perform on the offensive end will be no different from the previous two games.

The overall condition of the Bulls' players has been adjusted pretty well, and coach Phil Jackson is quite satisfied with the result. Therefore, when the players entered the court, the farmers could see that the five starting players of the Bulls all had bright eyes, as if they were not affected at all by the two losses.

The mental state of the Bulls players also attracted the attention of the Timberwolves players. Having played against each other so many times, both sides have some understanding of each other.

"As expected of the Bull, he is able to remain calm even when he has been pushed into a desperate situation."

"We also have to be serious and get the championship in one go."

Before going on the court, the Timberwolves players gathered around Wu Dao. At Wu Dao's encouragement, the players shouted in unison, and then the starting players entered the court.

The Bulls' five starting players have not changed much compared to before, including Luc Longley, Pippen, Toni Kukoc, Michael Jordan, and Ron Harper.

A relatively standard 5-man starting lineup, somewhat different from G2, is the 5-man starting lineup headed by Rodman. The Bulls made such an adjustment, which did not surprise the Timberwolves players. This 5-man starting lineup is actually a relatively standard starting system for the Bulls, and compared to Rodman, Toni Kukoc has a better offensive ability.

Pippen was also capable of playing the power forward position. Compared to Rodman, Pippen was not only more threatening in the low post, but also had excellent passing skills, which enabled him to connect the team's offense.

For the Timberwolves, the starting lineup is led by Wu Dao, Garnett, Marbury, Tom, and Cherokee Parks.

This is also a relatively regular starting system for the Timberwolves. Like the Bulls, they are more inclined towards offense.

However, due to Garnett's strong personal ability, a team system like the Timberwolves can also take into account defense.

"Beep——"

After the players from both sides entered the field, the game officially began with the referee's whistle.

The one who participated in the jump ball for the Timberwolves was Garnett. Now he is very familiar with this job of jump ball. When the basketball reached the highest point, Garnett jumped up, directly touched the basketball and pushed the ball to the backcourt.

The Timberwolves get the ball.

After getting the basketball, Marbury dribbled the ball directly to the frontcourt. Before the Bulls could get into position and stand firm, the basketball in Marbury's hand had already been passed to the side to Wudao's hands in front of the three-point line.

As soon as he got the basketball, Wu Dao didn't pause at all. He straightened his body and looked towards the basket.

Pippen, who was defending him, was directly attracted by Wu Dao's movements. Not only did he stop, but he also tried to raise his center of gravity and reach out to block Wu Dao.

However, at the same time when Pippen showed his defensive intention, Wu Dao suddenly changed his rhythm, and the ball went directly past Pippen's side. After a dunk, he had already rushed into the Bulls basket in just a blink of an eye, and then suddenly jumped up and dunked the ball into the basket.

(End of this chapter)