Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

In the 97-98 season, the finals series between the Bulls and the Timberwolves was tied at 1-3.

But what fans are most concerned about is not the big score in the series between the Bulls and the Timberwolves.

After the Game 4 between the Bulls and the Timberwolves ended, almost all NBA fans' attention was focused on the Timberwolves.

There was no way around it, everyone was curious about the results of the two drug tests before and after the martial arts competition.

While fans were eagerly waiting, the Timberwolves finally held a press conference the day after Game 4, in conjunction with the NBA's anti-doping group and USADA (National Anti-Doping Agency).

Under the spotlight of media reporters, USADA officially announced the results of Wu Dao’s two drug tests.

Doping testing, invisible.

When officials announced the results in front of the media, the makeshift press conference venue at the Target Center was immediately drowned out by thunderous applause.

The local Minnesota reporters present at the scene celebrated, and when the news was passed back to the editorial office, various text documents that had been edited in advance were quickly sent out.

As for the news media, if they want to seize the initiative, they naturally have to make preparations for both scenarios when faced with such major events.

Minnesota media reporters had already prepared two reports with completely different directions.

If Wu Dao's doping test is positive, they have already prepared a whitewashing article and will put the blame on the Timberwolves' diet management.

As a new team that has only been established for a few years, it is normal for your son to be lacking in dietary management for the players, isn't it?
The other report is a complete boasting article.

Once Wu Dao's doping test comes back negative, media reporters will lavishly praise Wu Dao's outstanding performance in the playoffs, with a tendency to artificially deify him.

The Timberwolves' team owner not only has his own status in the industrial circle, but big capitalists like him also have very strong control over the media. After an in-depth conversation with David Stern that day, Glen Taylor has also realized that the players' fan base is also an important factor in whether the team can win the championship.

If the Timberwolves' Budo and the Bulls' Michael Jordan had the same size of fans and influence.

Then he doesn't need to consider whether the league's referees will have unbalanced penalty standards during the finals.

In order to help the team win the final championship, Glen Taylor is determined to make great efforts in the media to build momentum for the team and players.

The drug test results before and after a game are naturally not enough to prove whether Wu Dao had used stimulants in previous games.

It is not easy for people who fall into the trap of self-incrimination to prove their innocence.

But for the Timberwolves and Martial Arts, this result is enough.

Because in the Game 4 against the Bulls, Wu Dao still displayed the ability of a top superstar. In this way, fans supporting the Timberwolves will no longer doubt whether Wu Dao used stimulants in the game.

Their ideas are very simple, on the one hand, they are fanatical supporters, on the other hand, they can also understand that at Wudao's age and with such strength, he does not need the assistance of stimulants at all.

Drugs are drugs after all, and no matter how advanced the stimulants are, they will put a strain on the athletes' bodies.

If you are strong enough, you don't need to use stimulants to help yourself.

You can have a chance to win the championship with the use of stimulants, and you can have the same chance to win the championship without using stimulants, so why use stimulants?

A player with a promising future like Wu Dao does not need to gamble his playing career on something like stimulants.

When various reports refuting the rumors were released, the Timberwolves, who were already in the spotlight and in the vortex, immediately transformed the negative public opinion into positive attention from fans.

Of course, there are still some conspiracy theories surrounding the Timberwolves, and there are still fans who are skeptical about the innocence of the Timberwolves players.

But these people are ultimately a minority among the minority, and the public opinion storm against the Timberwolves disappeared without a trace with the release of the two drug test reports.

After winning three rounds of the series, the Timberwolves were only one step away from the championship. They were in high spirits after the win. Now, without the shackles of public opinion, the mentality of all the Timberwolves players has changed.

Now they have no doubt that their team can win the championship.

Every player is full of confidence and is determined to win the next game and send the Bulls away with a 4-1 crushing victory!

Target Center Arena.

G5 between the Timberwolves and the Bulls will be held at this venue
In the evening, fans entered the venue early and took their seats. The entire Target Center was crowded with fans from all over Minnesota.

Looking up at the stands from the stadium, there are Timberwolves support signs in almost every corner of the arena.

On the streets around the Target Center, many stores have even put up posters of Timberwolves players.

It's obviously just a small ball market, but all kinds of dolls, cheering signs, posters, jerseys, etc., are already out of stock.

All Minnesota fans are looking forward to the Timberwolves winning the championship.

The attention of fans and the media was focused on the Target Center that day.

"Wow—"

The stadium's spotlights dimmed, and as the door to the player tunnel opened, the Timberwolves fans in the stands burst into enthusiastic cheers.

The thunderous cheers shook the entire stadium.

The Timberwolves players who had not yet entered the stadium could feel the enthusiasm of the fans in the stadium just by standing at the entrance.

"Hey!!"

"Boys! Let's take down the bull in one fell swoop!"

"Keep the championship in Minnesota!"

Before entering the court, Coach Philip called the Timberwolves players to gather around him. Amid his excited cheers, the players also burst into passionate roars.

As the Timberwolves players entered the field one after another, the cheers from the fans in the stands became even louder.

The moment Wu Dao appeared in the field, the cheers from the stands reached its peak.

No one knew who started it, but after Wu Dao came out, rhythmic chants rang out from the stands: "MVP! MVP! MVP!"

Well, to be honest, although Wu Dao performed outstandingly in the regular season, the final MVP still belonged to Michael Jordan, and did not fall into his hands.

Although Wu Dao knew that the fans wanted to encourage him in this way, to be honest, he felt a little embarrassed and ashamed to have such a title attached to him.

Although he can be described as passionate and confident on the court, he is still a humble and introverted person at heart.

Wu Dao actually doesn’t like to pop champagne at halftime. He prefers to actually get the honor and then accept the fans’ praise.

If the Timberwolves can win the final championship, the Finals MVP will most likely fall into Wu Dao's hands.

But the reason why accidents are called accidents is because of uncertainty.

It would be fine to wait until he actually gets the MVP award before bragging about it, right? ! However, the fans in the stands would not pay attention to what Wu Dao was thinking at the moment. Driven by the atmosphere at the scene, the fans were so excited that they would not even think about whether Wu Dao liked to hear such praise.

Shortly after the Timberwolves players entered the court, the player tunnel on the other side was opened and the Bulls players walked out of the tunnel one after another.

3-1.

Almost no team can win the series with such a big disadvantage, but from the faces of the Bulls players, the Timberwolves players did not see any frustration on their opponents.

The spirit of the Bulls led by Michael Jordan is much stronger than their actual strength.

Even in the face of such difficulties, they did not show any fear.

Wu Daoyuan thought that with the momentum of a big victory, he could easily win this round of the series over the Bulls and capture the championship.

But seeing the expressions of the Bulls players, Wu Dao realized that it was far from time for him to relax.

In the stands, the cheers of the fans gradually subsided.

Both the Bulls and the Timberwolves also began making final preparations before the game.

Wu Dao's eyes swept over Pippen, Rodman and others from time to time, and he carefully observed the mental state of these players.

If the Bulls want to beat them, it is definitely not enough for the Timberwolves to rely solely on Michael Jordan. 70% of the outcome of this game will be on Pippen and other players.

In previous games, the performance of other Bulls players accounted for no more than 40% of the team's victory or defeat.

As long as Michael Jordan can be stable, the Bulls will always win in the end.

But it is far from enough to defeat the Timberwolves.

If all the players on this Timberwolves team can successfully grow to their peak, except for martial arts, this Timberwolves team can also be called the Big Three.

In his prime, Garnett was a historic level power forward, while Marbury was one of the best power forwards even among the All-Stars that season.

Although Tom is not as good as the top scorers, he was still able to average 90 points per game in the late 20s and early 20s. His personal ability should not be underestimated.

Today, the Timberwolves still have players of the level of Budo and Ben Wallace.

If we really want to seriously evaluate the Timberwolves' fighting ability, this emerging team will only be stronger than the Bulls.

However, the Timberwolves' previous poor record caused fans to misjudge the team.

Of course, after playing so many games.

The strength of the Timberwolves has been known to more fans. Judging from the handicap performance, the reason why the Bulls are considered to have a greater chance of winning the championship than the Timberwolves is simply because Michael Jordan and their Bulls have an outstanding historical record.

As long as the Timberwolves can completely pull the Bulls off the altar, honor, money, the Timberwolves players will get everything.

"Beep——"

The sound of the buzzer rang out in the stadium, and the time for pre-match preparation passed very quickly.

As the starting players of both teams entered the field, the fans in the stands once again burst into warm cheers.

The Bulls' starting lineup has changed slightly compared to the previous few games.

In addition to the two fixed lineups of Michael Jordan and Pippen, the other three players were Luc Longley, Rodman and Kerr.

No one knows what Zen Master Coach Phil Jackson is up to.

At least in the Timberwolves' view, Ron Harper's role on the court is obviously greater than that of Kerr. At least Ron Harper's defensive ability is stronger than Kerr, and like Kerr, he also has a certain three-point shooting ability.

This Bulls lineup is somewhat lacking in both defense and offense.

As for the Timberwolves, there were some changes in the starting lineup.

Tom was moved into the bench and in his place was Sam Mitchell.

The other four players are Wu Dao, Kevin Garnett, Marbury and center Stanley Roberts.

The reason why Philip chose this starting lineup was to stagger the offensive power of Wu Dao and Tom.

In the G4 game, he has seen the offensive power of the trio of Tom, Marbury and Garnett. If possible, he hopes to coordinate Wu Dao's physical fitness.

In the previous games, Coach Philip, who never dared to relax for a moment, did not dare to reduce Wu Dao's playing time, for fear that the team would collapse if Wu Dao was not on the court.

But now he has no such concerns.

Not to mention that the Timberwolves are leading the Bulls in the series.

Coach Philip also noticed the growth of Tom, Marbury, Garnett and others.

As the playoffs progress, these Timberwolves players are becoming more and more adapted to games of this intensity, their performances are getting better and better, and their performances are getting better and better.

As long as Budo is on the court, the cheers from Timberwolves fans will not be weak.

It was not until the players from both teams took their positions in the center circle that the cheers from the stands became a little quieter.

After a sharp whistle, he was thrown into the air by the referee.

As Garnett and Luke Longley shouted loudly, Garnett took the lead in tapping the ball and sent it to the backcourt.

The Timberwolves won the jump ball and gained first possession.

Marbury got the ball in the backcourt and slowly dribbled the ball across the center line, slowing down the offensive tempo.

His posture of holding the ball was very relaxed, and facing Kerr's defense, Marbury was neither hurried nor slow.

As Wu Dao on the wing came forward and set a pick-and-roll for Marbury, Marbury also used the pick-and-roll to accelerate his breakthrough and rushed into the Bulls basket. Marbury made a light layup and sent the basketball in his hand into the basket against the defender.

Confident, quite confident.

The public opinion storm threatening the Timberwolves was resolved, the score was 3:1, and Marbury's competitive state was adjusted to the best.

This sharp lone wolf also showed his sharp fangs towards the bull.

When the fans in the stands saw the Timberwolves take the first goal, they immediately cheered.

(End of this chapter)