Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

The development trend of the game between the Bulls and the Timberwolves was just as the league's top management and many referees on the field had expected. With Michael Jordan and a group of Bulls players performing normally, and with the support of the referees, they quickly suppressed the Timberwolves and took the lead.

As the whistle sounded to end the first quarter, the Bulls led the Timberwolves by five points, 28:23.

At the end of the first quarter, Garnett in the interior also received a foul. Together with all the fouls of other players, the Timberwolves received a total of 6 fouls in the first quarter alone.

The huge foul pressure also forced Coach Philip to break his original plan. With about 2 minutes left in the first quarter, he replaced Wu Dao early for protection. It was precisely because of this decision that the Timberwolves were completely suppressed by the Bulls in the end.

Fortunately, Coach Phil Jackson seemed to be adjusting Michael Jordan's playing time to adjust Jordan's physical condition. Not long after Budo was replaced by Coach Philip, Michael Jordan was also replaced by Coach Phil Jackson.

The team's main scorer was substituted off the court, which meant that the Bulls did not have an overwhelming advantage over the Timberwolves. With the help of the referee, the Timberwolves were only trailed by 5 points by the Bulls.

This is just the beginning of the game, and for the Timberwolves, this 5-point difference is not an insurmountable gap.

But Coach Philip and the Timberwolves players also know that it is not easy to change this situation.

"The referee's decision clearly favors the Bulls. Coach, can we appeal?"

After the first quarter, the Timberwolves players returned to the rest area one after another. Garnett, who had played for the entire quarter, looked very tired. In today's game, he consumed much more physical energy in the first quarter than in previous games.

On the defensive end, Garnett needs to sweep the paint area, but because the referee is more stringent in his penalty standards against the Timberwolves, this directly makes Garnett dare not make too big movements when defending. Garnett often needs to expend more physical energy when defending against the enemy's attack on the basket.

Garnett needs to jump higher and reduce hand movements as much as possible to complete the defensive task, which inevitably requires him to expend more physical energy on the defensive end.

Although the first quarter only lasted for more than ten minutes, the fatigue Garnett showed at this time was as if he had played a high-intensity game for 20 minutes.

Garnett has a straightforward character. Even though he had noticed that there were media reporters filming not far away, Garnett did not suppress his anger. He took the towel handed to him by his teammates, wiped the sweat off his face and complained to Coach Philip.

"Appeal? I'm afraid it's useless."

"Kevin, grow up."

"All we can do is to do our best. Don't worry about other things for now."

"In the next game, Kevin, you take a rest first, Ben, you come on as a substitute."

"Budao, after the second quarter begins, you will be the one leading our team's offense."

"Chris, Stephen, you two should move more and use outside shooting to penetrate the Bulls' defense."

"Budo, watch your hand movements when you're defending Michael Jordan and control your foul count."

"Remember, if you weren't in this game, we, the Timberwolves, would have absolutely no chance of winning."

After a whole quarter of the game, the Timberwolves, both on and off the court, were clearly aware that this game was not in their favor.

For this reason, Coach Philip can only remind the players to control their movements on the defensive end and try not to give the referees opportunities to take advantage of the situation.

Because the vast majority of fouls occur in the defensive phase, which is determined by the nature of offense and defense.

The Timberwolves' overall tactical system is based on defensive counterattacks. Weakening the team's defense is actually weakening the team's offensive power in disguise.

But Coach Philip has no other choice. If the team gets into foul trouble, it will be disastrous for the outcome.

The Timberwolves are not a team with much foundation, and they do not have many capable players on the bench.

The Timberwolves have been able to get to where they are now, in fact, there is some luck involved, as the players are young enough and their physical fitness is at its peak, so they have been able to go so far, and fortunately, the Timberwolves have not had any major injury problems until now.

If not for this, with the Timberwolves' bench depth, there is no way to support the team to reach the finals.

If any one of this group of main starting players is injured and unable to play, it will be a catastrophic blow to the team's overall system.

Among the many starting players, Wu Dao and Garnett are the most important.

One is the absolute main force on the offensive end, and the other is the inside gate on the defensive end, neither is indispensable.

"OK, I see."

Wudao naturally listened to and kept in mind Coach Philip's reminder. The stage of the finals would not allow him to be willful. Even if he was resentful, he had to control such emotions.

Since there is no way to rely on defense to limit the opponent's performance, all the Timberwolves can do is rely on their own offense to suppress the opponent.

No matter how many points their opponents score, as long as they get more points than their opponents, they can win the game.

Of course, this kind of thing is easier said than done.

The Timberwolves are timid on defense and need to avoid getting into foul trouble, but the Bulls players have nothing to fear.

They can use intense physical confrontation to suppress the offensive efficiency of the Timberwolves players, which is also the Bulls' advantage.

The break was very short. As the buzzer sounded in the stadium, the players of both teams returned to the court.

The Timberwolves have made some changes to their team system.

In addition to Budo who returned to the court, the players assisting him were Marbury, Chris Kyle, Ben Wallace and Stanley Roberts.

The Timberwolves' white center Cherokee Parks received two fouls in the first quarter. In the next game, Coach Philip will be very cautious in using this player.

Both Stanley Roberts and Ben Wallace are not very effective in offense. Just looking at the Timberwolves' lineup, we can predict the defensive strategy that the Bulls will adopt in the next game.

They will definitely relax their vigilance against the Timberwolves' inside line and instead strengthen their control over the outside line.

It is foreseeable that the Bulls' defense will inevitably relax.

The Bulls players who played in the second quarter were Michael Jordan, Kerr, Rodman, Pippen and

Five people,

Center Luke Longley's physical condition is not very good. The high-intensity game in the first quarter also caused him to consume a lot of physical energy. He needs some more consistent rest time to replenish his physical energy.

Compared to the Timberwolves' lineup in the second quarter, the Bulls' lineup was relatively balanced.

Pippen has certain inside offensive capabilities. Although he is on the court as a No. 3, Pippen can often go low and create scoring opportunities for the team.

The basketball was sent from the backcourt.

The Bulls, who had already taken the lead in the first quarter, had the first serve at the start of the second quarter, which was a good opportunity for the Bulls to expand their lead. After Kerr dribbled the ball into the frontcourt, the ball quickly came into Michael Jordan's hands.

It was Wu Dao who was defending Jordan again. In terms of defensive position, he ignored Michael Jordan's 3-point threat just like in the previous game.

But this time, Jordan also taught Wu Dao a good lesson.

Michael Jordan scored 7 points in the first quarter, and his shooting percentage was also very good. The high score also activated Michael Jordan's self-confidence. Seeing that Wudao once again let go of 3 points, Jordan directly chose a three-pointer after getting the ball.

The basketball flew directly over Wu Dao's head, and under the gaze of the Timberwolves players, it went into the net with a crisp sound.

"Who do you think you're guarding against?!"

"In this arena, I have no blind spots to attack!"

Michael Jordan, who scored successfully, finally returned to his most "true self" state. After scoring the goal, a bright smile appeared on his face and he directly sprayed trash talk at Wu Dao.

Hmm. This is the old rogue that Wudao is most familiar with.

Capable, confident, and likes to spit shit.

The improving situation on the court finally allowed Michael Jordan to find himself again and got out of that state of self-doubt.

"It's just the referee. If I were you, no matter if I win or lose, I would kowtow to the referees after the game."

Faced with Michael Jordan's trash talk, Wu Dao naturally would not endure it silently. If he had anger in his heart, the best thing to do was to vent it out.

The two men spoke loudly, and the audience in the stadium who were closer could hear the conversation between Wu Dao and Michael Jordan.

Even when Bian heard what Wudao said, he couldn't help but look at Wudao. If he wasn't feeling guilty, he would definitely call a technical foul on Wudao to let this Asian know what respect is.

Of course, the referee can only think about it, but will not do it blatantly.

There is no way. Wu Dao is neither big nor small now. He can barely be called a star, and the star player of the Timberwolves.

This is Minnesota's home court. If the referee goes too far, it will be difficult for him to ensure that he can walk out of this stadium alive.

Never doubt the power of the fans. In this free Minnesota, anything can happen.
"Hey! Hey! Hey!"

"Budo, stop complaining like an egg."

"Speak with the ball, okay? Use the ball!"

When Michael Jordan heard this, he raised his brows and shook his head towards Wu Dao.

Rely on the referee? Michael Jordan would never admit such a thing. Even if he had indeed seen the signs, he would not agree with Wu Dao's statement.

In fact, in essence, the referee's decisions cannot be said to be completely wrong.

At least part of it, the elasticity is very large.

They are just double-standard, not blind.

Just by relying on double standards, the referee is actually able to influence the direction of the entire game. Wu Dao is actually very clear about this. Well, he was also a referee back then.

Between offense and defense, the Timberwolves have launched an attack.

After several passes, the basketball came into Wudao's hands. Wudao faced Pippen's defense and made a direct breakthrough with his body leaning on Pippen.

The huge force made Pippen stagger, and he quickly stood firm and reached out to hit the basketball in Wudao's hand.

Pippen used a lot of small hand movements when defending Wu Dao, and with the support of the referee, he was also very brave to steal the ball and was not afraid of fouls at all.

It was precisely because of this that Pippen put great pressure on Wu Dao, forcing him to slow down while moving. He then dribbled the ball behind his back to shake off Pippen. After a side step, he attracted a double-team from Jordan at the top of the arc, faked a shot and made a real pass, with the basketball in his hand already flying towards Marbury at the top of the arc.

Wu Dao's breakthrough tore through the Bulls' defense. The linesman stared at Wu Dao's movements and did not get a chance to blow the whistle.

After Marbury got the ball at the top of the arc, he dropped the ball with his left hand, moved sideways along the 3-point arc, and then took a jump shot after Michael Jordan had created enough distance.

"Shh!"

It was a very smooth set of moves, and the basketball fell steadily into the basket under the gaze of the fans.

The cheers of Timberwolves fans poured into the stadium. After scoring the goal, Marbury raised his arms and shouted, and quickly returned to defense.

The overall team atmosphere of his Timberwolves is relatively depressing, and in such a depressing mood, it is very necessary for Marbury to vent his emotions.

If a goal is scored, shout it out.

While boosting the morale of the team, it can also provide yourself with self-confidence.

In the second game, the Timberwolves had a pretty good start. Michael Jordan had just made a three-pointer and the Timberwolves responded directly, which made the Bulls players, who were leading, nervous.

They have realized that even with the help of the referee, it is not easy to win from the Timberwolves.

The Bulls' offensive system in the second quarter was still centered around Michael Jordan, but Jordan was also a sensible person and he saw the Timberwolves' defensive flaws.

After receiving the pass from his teammate again, he directly gave the ball to Pippen who was moving up. After the shot, Michael Jordan quickly cut to the inside, leaving the gap in the half court for Pippen.

Pippen not only possesses excellent offensive ability, but also has outstanding assist ability.

Jordan's open cut more or less attracted some of Ben Wallace's attention. Pippen pretended to pass the ball, and after a fake move, he chose to shoot directly.

Wallace's only flaw is his height. When he was distracted, he had no way to threaten Pippen's shot and could only watch the basketball go into the net.

There was no time for Pippen to celebrate.

The Timberwolves quickly threw the ball to the frontcourt from the baseline.

The Timberwolves don't want to spend any more effort on the defensive end. They have shifted the team's focus to offense and intend to speed up the game.

(End of this chapter)