Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

The score gap between the two sides widened further, and all the offensive pressure of the Bulls was poured on Michael Jordan alone. After several rounds of attack and defense, facing the defense of Wudao, the continuous strong attacks also caused Michael Jordan to suffer a severe consumption of physical strength.

As the game progressed, Michael Jordan finally showed signs of fatigue. He was lazy and missed shots in two consecutive rounds of attack. Although Rodman's scramble helped the Bulls get a second chance in the frontcourt, Michael Jordan still failed to seize the opportunity and missed the shot again.

“Ding, ding——”

The continuous sound of missing shots also disappointed the Bulls fans in the stands. Between offense and defense, the Timberwolves quickly launched a counterattack. After several passes, the basketball was handed to Wu Dao. With the help of Garnett's pick-and-roll, Wu Dao successfully broke into the inside and scored a dunk.

Pippen's late arrival did not have any impact on Wu Dao's offense, and the score difference between the Bulls and the Timberwolves had widened to double digits, reaching ten points.

There was less than a minute left in the second quarter.

Coach Phil Jackson, the Zen Master, saw everything that happened on the court, and was caught off guard by Michael Jordan's fatigue in the second quarter.

He didn't know how long it had been since he had seen Michael Jordan attacking with all his strength, nor did he know how long it had been since he had seen Michael as tired as he was now.

This is how Michael Jordan played in his prime before the team's triangle offense was formed. He was the team's finisher, taking more than 30 shots in a whole game, and even more than shots in some games.

At the same time, Michael Jordan needed to attack frantically while also taking into account the team's defense.

Even in a game of this intensity, Michael Jordan in his prime could last a whole game.

During that period, his average playing time per game reached a terrifying 38 minutes.

Since the Bulls' triangle offense was formed, Jordan's pressure on both offense and defense has been greatly reduced.

The essence of the triangle offense is to give Michael Jordan more comfortable offensive space and shooting opportunities. And Pippen's growth also relieved Michael Jordan of a huge defensive burden.

This offensive and defensive system also helped the Bulls win five championships.

But in today's game against the Timberwolves, the Bulls' triangle offense system was not quite working.

Pippen's touch today was really bad, or rather, young players like Garnett completely suppressed Pippen's offense on the defensive end, and Pippen's poor performance also affected the entire team.

In order to prevent the Timberwolves from pulling away from the Bulls, the Bulls had to rely on Michael Jordan's individual performance.

But the opponents Michael Jordan has to face are no ordinary ones. Although Wu Dao is young, his one-on-one defense is also considered to be top-notch in the league.

His defensive experience may not be among the best in the league, but his physical talent can make up for it.

Michael Jordan's height and weight cannot be compared with martial arts. Even his explosive power, which he was proud of, has declined significantly with his age.

Against martial arts, Michael Jordan often needs more fake moves to lure the opponent's defense, and such offense also consumes a lot of his physical energy.

Since the Bulls entered the playoffs, they have experienced various battles, big and small, along the way.

The Game 7 against the Pacers and the all-out competition against the Timberwolves have caused great physical consumption of the Bulls players.

Although Michael Jordan was in great shape, his offensive efficiency inevitably declined as his physical energy was consumed more and more.

With little time left in the game, coach Phil Jackson simply substituted Michael Jordan off the court.

He had already noticed Michael Jordan's fatigue and was thinking of substituting Jordan off the court early to give him some more continuous rest time.

It was Kerr who replaced Michael Jordan, and at the same time, the Timberwolves also made some defensive changes.

Wu Dao and Marbury switched defense, with Marbury defending Cole and Wu Dao defending Ron Harper.

The Bulls were on offense, and Kerr, who had just come on the court, consciously slowed down the team's offensive tempo. There was little time left in this quarter, and all he had to do was prevent the score between the two teams from being further widened.

The Timberwolves naturally understood the Bulls' intention, so when defending, all their players crossed the half court and put the Bulls under full-court pressure.

However, Kerr and Ron Harper are both experienced players. Under tremendous defensive pressure, the Bulls successfully brought the ball across half court with excellent conduction and screening.

The full-court pressing defense failed, and the Timberwolves players naturally began to retreat.

However, compared with the original defensive method of shrinking the inside, the Timberwolves stretched the defense line to near the three-point line when facing the Bulls with Kerr.

Both Cole and Ron Harper are players with three-point shooting ability. In the remaining time, these players are likely to bet on three points to help the team narrow the gap.

Therefore, the Timberwolves also focused on strengthening their perimeter defense when defending.

The offensive time passed by minute by minute. When the Bulls had only about six or seven seconds left, they gave up shooting from outside the three-point line. With the help of an off-ball screen, Toni Kukoc successfully got an open opportunity from the mid-range, and after receiving the pass from his teammate, he made a direct jump shot.

As the ball went into the net, the Bulls finally scored after a long time. The scoreboard on the sidelines started ticking, and the difference between the two teams reached 51:42.

After scoring the goal, the Bulls did not follow the Timberwolves' example and press their opponents full court. Instead, they quickly retreated to their own half and were defeated early.

The Bulls players had some understanding of their team's defensive capabilities. Without any physical advantage, they rashly pressed the Timberwolves full court, which only ended up hurting themselves.

The Timberwolves' Marbury and Wu Dao both have excellent ball-handling skills, and their explosiveness and speed are very strong. If they are not careful, they will be easily turned into fast breaks.

Rather than taking the risk of a full-court press, it is better to take a steady approach and gain a foothold.

After Michael Jordan left the court, the Bulls' perimeter defense was clearly weakened.

Pippen needed to defend Wu Dao, Kerr kept an eye on Marbury, and Toni Kukoc and Rodman also inevitably needed to enter the basket and guard the inside defense line in advance.

In this way, Tom, who was facing Rochapar, became the advantageous party.

Although Ron Harper is an excellent player, he still can't stop Tom because of his physique.

Relying on their physical strength, they took position in the mid-range, and the Timberwolves chose to pass the ball to Tom.

Although Tom's ball rights were divided a lot after Wu Dao joined the Timberwolves, he was still an All-Star player who averaged more than 20 points per game in the first two seasons.

Facing Ron Harper, who was nearly 10cm shorter than him, Tom, who had the physical advantage, naturally had an easy fight.

After getting the ball, Tom made a simple back-to-the-basket move, slightly pushing Ron Harper away, then turned around with the ball and took a jump shot.

The Timberwolves' huge lead made Tom play unusually relaxed.

For NBA players, mentality often determines how well the player can perform on the court.

When the basketball went into the net, the difference between the two teams returned to double digits again.

The Timberwolves' attack only took a dozen seconds, and the fans thought it was very easy, not as much of a struggle as the Bulls' attack. Seeing this, the Chicago fans at the Bulls' home court fell into silence.

Something is wrong.
When the Bulls were attacking, the Chicago fans in the stands couldn't help but clench their hands and even closed their eyes to pray for the Bulls players.

"clang--"

However, 20 seconds later, a clear sound of a shot hitting the target made the Bulls fans hang in the balance.
The Timberwolves seized the opportunity for a counterattack fast break. Marbury connected the team and directly assisted Garnett to complete a dunk and scored successfully!

With little time left for the Bulls, the Timberwolves gave up on their full-court press and retreated to their own half of the court.

To the fans' disappointment, the Bulls still failed to seize the final attack.

As Kerr's buzzer-beating 3-pointer was suddenly slapped away by Wu Dao who came from the side, the sound of the buzzer also rang out in the stadium, and the second quarter of the game was officially declared over.

A 13-point difference at halftime.

A huge pressure hung over the Bulls' rest area. All the players who returned to the sidelines were silent and looked solemn.

The Bulls players' confidence was shaken by the Timberwolves' strong attack.

After calming down, all the players could see the fatigue Michael Jordan showed. If it was just the score behind, some players might not lose their confidence in winning.

However, the state shown by Michael Jordan at this time dealt a heavy blow to the morale of the Bulls.

Without Michael Jordan, there would be no hope of winning this game.

Coach Phil Jackson did not deliberately say any words of encouragement to cheer up the players. Since there was not much time for rest, he also took the time to make some personnel adjustments.

Luke Longley, who had rested for a long time, was substituted back to the court, and Rodman got a short rest.

Neither Pippen nor Toni Kukoc were substituted out. They both had a short rest of a few minutes in the second quarter. The Bulls cannot lose these two players at the moment, otherwise the team's defense will be completely penetrated by the Timberwolves.

Kerr is a sieve and needs to strengthen the interior to make up for his defensive shortcomings.

Michael Jordan seemed to feel the heavy atmosphere in the rest area. After taking a deep breath, he smiled brightly at his teammates:

"Hey guys, the game has just started, why are you looking like that?"

"Everyone is excited. The difference of 10 points is nothing for us Bulls."

"I will lead the team to the ultimate victory."

"We've never lost in the finals, have we?!"

So far, the Bulls led by Michael Jordan have won the final championship in all five finals. Michael Jordan's words at this time naturally gave the Bulls players great confidence.

As long as Michael Jordan, the pillar of the team, does not fall, the Bulls will not fall.

The depressing atmosphere was dispelled by Michael Jordan's two simple words. Not far away, Wu Dao, who noticed this, also had a slightly gloomy expression.

"It's obviously unrealistic to expect the Bulls to give up 'strategically' after the fight has come to this point."

"In the end, it still depends on strength."

Wu Dao said to himself and turned his attention back to Coach Philip, who was explaining the tactics for the second half to the players.

Both Tom and Marbury had outstanding touches today. Although Marbury missed the occasional shot, overall his shooting percentage was very impressive.

Coach Philip already felt that the defensive force he put on Wu Dao was a bit too strong. In the first two quarters of the game, Wu Dao's continuous attacks also caused a huge consumption of his physical energy.

And unlike Michael Jordan who was able to take a breather on the defensive end, Budo had to deal with Pippen’s defense on the offensive end and Michael Jordan’s offense on the defensive end.

His physical energy consumption is far more intense than Michael Jordan.

Although Wu Dao's hit rate has not dropped significantly, Coach Philip, who has let Wu Dao play for 24 minutes in a row, also intends to give Wu Dao a break.

The offensive tactics in the second half were built around Marbury and Tom.

The Timberwolves are not unfamiliar with such a tactical system. Before Wu Dao came to the Timberwolves, they played like this.

Coach Philip replaced the white center Cherokee Parks, who had certain inside offensive capabilities, with Ben Wallace, who had no offensive capabilities. At the same time, he also replaced Wu Dao with Sam Mitchell.

Coach Philip seemed to want to dispel Wu Dao's concerns. After making the substitution, he also comforted Wu Dao:
"Budo, take a break while Michael is off the court."

"The final moment of victory still depends on your performance. If your condition drops sharply, it will not be easy for us Timberwolves to win."

"Trust your teammates, they will do their best to maintain the current advantage."

In fact, words of comfort are of no significance to Wu Dao. He has also seen the competitive state of Marbury and Tom, and naturally trusts them.

With players like these on the court, even without him, the Timberwolves are still a very competitive team and can compete with the Bulls without Jordan.

With players of the level of Tom, Marbury and Garnett, it is not easy for the Bulls led by Pippen alone to defeat this team.

What's more, Pippen is in very poor condition now.

That level of performance is unlikely to pose a threat to the Timberwolves.

A few minutes of rest is very short for the physically tired players.

Before some people could catch their breath, the buzzer sounded in the stadium.

Players from both sides also entered the stadium.

Amid the fans' enthusiastic cheers, the Bulls launched their attack.

"Dang~~~"

Soon, a crisp sound of iron hitting the target was heard from the stadium.

"Ouch!!!"

At the same time, the wailing of Chicago fans resounded throughout the stadium.
(End of this chapter)