Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

With a smooth and swift breakthrough, Dunbai easily pierced the Bulls' defense, and Wudao directly dunked the ball into the basket, scoring the first goal for the Timberwolves in this game.

After scoring, the Timberwolves players quickly returned to the half court, and the faces of the young players were filled with confident smiles.

At this point in the finals, the Timberwolves players, who have won two games in a row, have undergone a huge transformation, the most significant change being their mentality.

These young people already know where their strength stands in this league. They are confident in their personal abilities and the overall strength of the team.

Even when facing the veteran powerhouse Bulls, these players no longer had any caution or fear in their hearts.

In competitive sports, both victory and defeat can develop people.

Victory can cultivate players' self-confidence and allow them to perform better on the court; while failure can sharpen players' minds, and players who survive failure can often reach higher heights.

Whether it is failure or victory, most of the Timberwolves players have tasted it.

In the entire team, only Wu Dao's career path was relatively smooth. Not long after joining the Timberwolves, he became the core of the team.

The other players all worked their way up from the grassroots. Even players like Garnett and Marbury experienced a long period of poor performance after entering the league.

Today, the Timberwolves players who have suffered so much failure have completely transformed, and this team has truly possessed the winning temperament.

Winning temperament
It is a rather mysterious statement. If one were to use words to describe this so-called winning temperament, I am afraid that even tens of thousands of words would not be enough.

But by giving two simple examples, perhaps everyone can quickly understand what winning temperament is.

Simply put, McGrady is the kind of player who doesn't have the winning temperament; while Iverson, who is also in the top four and has never won a championship, is the kind of player who has the winning temperament.

The two players have different technical characteristics and physical conditions, which directly leads to different contributions that the two players can make to the team on the court. The playing styles and paths of the two players are also very different.

However, there is no direct relationship between winning temperament and playing style and path.

The most essential thing is the players' confidence in their personal skills and their desire to win.

"If Yao Ming is replaced by O'Neal, I can also win the championship." Fans probably cannot imagine words like this coming from the mouths of players like Jordan, Iverson or Kobe Bryant.

When a player places all possibilities of victory on his teammates, he is said to lack the winning temperament.

Why do so few fans who like Michael Jordan and Kobe turn to like James?

Compared to James, these fans may like Curry and players like Jokic more, and this is the reason.

James is not like Michael, Jordan and Kobe. He does not have the winning temperament.

After experiencing the baptism of the finals, these Timberwolves players always give people around them a different feeling.

Even if Wu Dao and Garnett do nothing on the court, the fans can feel at ease as long as they are on the court.

The mental outlook shown by these players will give fans this feeling.

Just as the Bulls fans trust Michael Jordan, the Timberwolves fans also deeply trust players like Budo and Garnett.

Between offense and defense, Ron Harper quickly brought the ball into the Timberwolves' half.

Like the previous game, the Timberwolves' defensive positioning did not change much. Wu Dao's position was still relatively inside, and he did not guard against Michael Jordan outside the three-point line.

Countless games have proven that Michael Jordan's three-point ability has not reached the top level of the league. A player like Michael Jordan cannot dominate the outcome of the game through three-pointers like Curry. He is the God of Basketball, but the offensive focus of the God of Basketball is not three-pointers.

Ron Harper, who was holding the ball at the top of the arc, glanced sideways at Michael Jordan on the right wing. Marbury, who was defending him, adjusted his position and moved to his left, intending to try to steal the pass between Ron Harper and Michael Jordan.

However, while Ron Harper was looking at Michael Jordan, his hands did not stop for a moment and he passed the ball directly to Tony Kukoc on the other side.

Toni Kukoc got the ball and directly passed it to Luke Longley who was in the inside position. After passing the ball, he quickly ran towards the sideline in front of the right corner.

The Bulls' offensive changes still revolve around the triangle offense. As Tony Kukoc and others began to move, the Timberwolves' defensive formation also changed.

Tom chased Tony Cook, while Marbury at the top of the arc chased Ron Harper to the left wing three-point line.

When Toni Kukoc crossed the paint area, Luc Langli also passed the ball to Kukoc. Kukoc moved along the sideline of the court, but halfway through, he turned his wrist and passed the basketball in his hand directly backwards.

He passes the ball without looking at the person, and even passes it behind his back.

This sudden pass caught Tom off guard. By the time he reacted, the basketball was already in Pippen's hands in the paint.

Tom's position at this time was very close to Pippen's. Seeing Pippen holding the ball and preparing to attack Garnett under the basket, Tom didn't think much about it and double-teamed Garnett, ignoring Kukoc who was already in an open position.

"Tom!"

Wu Dao saw a loophole in his team. When he reminded Tom, Jordan in front of him had already run to the top of the arc, as if he was preparing to cut into the inside from the top of the arc. Without paying attention to Kukoc, Wu Dao could only chase after Jordan to make up for the defense.

Just as Wudao expected, Tom's rash double-teaming of Pippen gave the Bulls a chance. Pippen, who was already an outstanding player in the world, passed the ball directly to Tony Kukoc on the outside at the same time when Tom double-teamed him. After a slight adjustment, the latter took an open shot and easily sent the ball into the net.

Although Tony Kukoc is not well-known among the Bulls, in the eyes of media reporters, his popularity is far less than that of players such as Michael Jordan, Pippen and Rodman.

But this does not mean that Tony Kukoc is a marginal figure in the Bulls team system. On the contrary, his tactical proportion on the offensive end can reach the third place in the team, even one level higher than the team's center Luke Longley.

Of course, Kukoc's tactical weight will also change with the needs of the team, but one thing is clear, Tony Kukoc is not a player who can be completely left alone.

The Timberwolves' defense failed, but the players did not dwell too much on Tom's mistake and quickly got into the offense.

After several passes, the basketball came into Garnett's hands. Wudao tried to cut into the basket, but the Bulls defended Wudao very tightly and Garnett had no chance to pass the ball to Wudao.

Moreover, the Bulls' defensive system has also changed a bit. Pippen is the one defending the outside five, while Tony Kukoc is defending Garnett inside, while Michael Jordan is defending Marbury and Ron Harper is responsible for defending Tom.

It is precisely because of the Bulls' defensive posture that Marbury considered letting Garnett lead this round of offense.

Wu Dao had no chance to receive the ball and had returned to the three-point line. Garnett held the ball and observed for a while before deciding to attack on his own.

Wu Dao's offensive opportunities were not better than his own, and Garnett was facing Toni Kukoc, and Garnett himself had a height advantage.

In this situation, he naturally would not consider how to pass the ball to other players.

Garnett's offensive skills and tactics are actually a bit rigid in Wudao's opinion. Even when facing a defensive player like Tony Kukoc, Garnett's first reaction is not to attack the basket, but to use his physical advantage.
After a back-to-the-basket shot, Garnett turned over and shot a fadeaway jump shot from the side of the paint area. At this time, he was about 2.5 meters away from the basket.

There are some standardized iron-blooded jump shots, which are Garnett's favorite and best offensive method. He likes the feeling that the defensive players jump hard in front of him but can't reach him no matter what.

"Dang~"

Unfortunately, Garnett's touch today didn't seem as good as in the previous games, and his shot went straight out of the basket.
Under the basket, Wu Dao had already rushed into the paint area and firmly pinned Pippen behind him. On the other side of the basket, Cherokee Parks and Luke Longley were also crowded together, competing for the advantageous terrain under the basket.

As the basketball fell, Luke Longley, who had the advantage of being a latecomer, hooked the basketball from behind and snatched it away at the moment when Cherokee Parks raised her hands to catch the rebound.

Cherokee Parks, who was intercepted, turned around hurriedly and tried to steal the ball, but at the same time he touched the basketball, Luke Longli also stretched out his hand to block it and threw the basketball in his hand quickly, but because of Cherokee Parks, Luke Longli's pass seemed a little weak.

The basketball fell to the ground, giving the Timberwolves players another chance to scramble for the ball. Marbury was very fast, and just as he was accelerating towards the basketball, a sharp whistle sounded on the court.

"Beep--"

The referee below pointed at Cherokee Parks, made a gesture, and actually directly called a foul on Cherokee Parks.

The referee's whistle also calmed down Marbury, who was fighting hard for the ball.

"Shit!"

After getting the basketball, Marbury couldn't help but curse and threw the ball towards the linesman. He was not blaming his teammates for the foul, he was just subconsciously venting his emotions.

Cherokee Parks was still confused at this time. It was not until Marbury threw the ball that he realized that he had committed a foul. He turned his head and looked at the referee with a confused look on his face. Under the referee's gaze, Cherokee Parks reluctantly raised his hand.

Was that steal just now really a foul?
At least in Cherokee Parks' opinion, it shouldn't be considered as such. Although he and Luke Longley had relatively strong physical contact, Cherokee believed that he did not hit the other's hand, and such physical confrontation was reasonable.

However, the referee had already blew the whistle, and Cherokee had no intention of arguing for himself. He hurriedly caught up with his teammates and quickly returned to the Timberwolves' half.

A small incident on the court calmed the fans in the stands down. After adjusting their emotions, the Bulls fans began to cheer for their home team in a rhythmic manner.

"The refereeing in today's game was really strict!"

"If it was in the previous two games, there would be no foul at all."

In a corner of the stands, Mitsui Shou, who had a short haircut, touched his clean chin and said to his companions. Next to Mitsui Shou, sat a red-haired young man in sportswear, who was Sakuragi Hanamichi.

The two of them came to the Target Center to watch the game together. Although he has been focusing on his basketball career in recent years, he is also very concerned about the NBA league because one of his good friends plays for the Timberwolves in the NBA league.

"Humph."

"What an idiot!"

"Even after getting the rebound, it was still stolen."

At this time, Hanamichi Sakuragi was obviously not focusing on the referee's penalty standards. His eyes fell on Cherokee Parks, a white center. He was very dissatisfied with Cherokee's mistakes and felt that this guy was holding back the Timberwolves.

Although Sakuragi Hanamichi is still just a high school player, his horizons have indeed broadened. As a spectator, he is like those fans who like to point fingers in front of the TV, observing the mistakes of the players on the field with a magnifying glass.

Sakuragi Hanamichi's favorite inside player is the type like O'Neal, strong and reliable.

Even though the Timberwolves are a team with championship potential, Sakuragi Hanamichi has always been dissatisfied with the Timberwolves' center Cherokee Parks. He thinks the player is not strong enough and feels that he can replace him and "control the thunder and lightning" on the NBA court.

Mitsui noticed Hanamichi's little emotion and a slight smile appeared in the corner of his eyes. Mitsui ignored Sakuragi beside him and turned his attention back to the court.

At this time in the court, the Bulls were launching an attack.

Michael Jordan, who received the pass from his teammate, directly hit Wu Dao. He took the initiative to exert his strength and finally gained some advantages in the physical confrontation. After forcing out some space, Michael Jordan faked a shot and passed the ball to Pippen who was in the inside position.

Pippen received the ball, turned around, and easily passed Garnett's defense with a small hook shot, hooked the ball off the backboard, and sent the ball into the basket.

(End of this chapter)