Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

"I'm here to assist you."

Such words always sounded a bit strange to Wu Dao.
Damn, wasn't Thick Eyebrows fooled by these words!!!

If Wu Dao hadn’t known that the person who called him was Barkley, he would have definitely rejected him!
However, Wu Dao was visibly happy after receiving Barkley's call. In fact, he could already imagine what the NBA's public opinion environment would be like if Barkley came to their Timberwolves.

Get together!

Such a hat will definitely be put on their heads by some media to mock them. Even some competitors will use such remarks to attack them and attack Martial Arts.

But for Wu Dao personally, such remarks could not have any impact on him at all.

The reason is very simple, because before Barkley came, the Timberwolves were already the champions.
Moreover, a 36-year-old Barkley is a veteran among veterans in this era, and fans of this era are quite tolerant of players of this age.

Not to mention a 36-year-old veteran who wanted to pursue the championship honor in the last years of his career, even if Garnett, who was just in his early 30s, joined the Celtics to form a Big Three and win the championship, it would be something that fans would talk about with relish.

Except for some fans, no one regarded the formation of the Big Three by Garnett and two other players who were past their prime as a group.

Fans' tolerance for young stars forming groups and their tolerance for old stars forming groups are simply not on the same level.

If you take shortcuts during your peak period, don't blame the media reporters for being merciless.

After hanging up the phone, Wudao's mind became active. Since Barkley could call him, it was probably a foregone conclusion that he would join the Timberwolves. If that was the case, Wudao felt that he needed to study Barkley's playing style in advance.

Although the Timberwolves have played against the Rockets before, looking at Barkley from the perspective of an enemy and looking at Barkley from the perspective of a teammate will lead to two completely different results.
Wu Dao called the video analysts who were on vacation and asked them to help collect various game videos about the Rockets.

Although the team's video analyst didn't know what Wu Dao was going to do, he did not hesitate at all and agreed to Wu Dao's request immediately.

The next morning, someone rang the doorbell of the Wudao Villa.

Wu Dao got up and opened the door to greet him, then returned to the living room carrying two large bags of videotapes. The efficiency of his own video analyst was very high, and he treated Wu Dao's request as a task, even though Wu Dao did not ask for a specific completion time on the phone.

I glanced at the clock on the wall, it was only nine o'clock.

After a quick wash, Wu Dao returned to the living room, found a video tape of Rocket and started playing it.

It was a game between the Rockets and the Nuggets in the regular season. The Rockets' five starting players were Kevin Willis, Charles Barkley, Drexler, Matt Maloney and Mario Elie.

In this game, the Rockets' Olajuwon was absent due to injury, but the team still won the final victory of the game with a 116:115 away victory over the Nuggets.

Although it was a videotape randomly selected by Wu Dao, this game can also show Barkley's competitive state in the regular season of the 97-98 season.

Barkley played 42 minutes in this game, and the outcome of the two teams was not decided until the last minute of overtime.

Throughout the game, Barkley also scored an outstanding performance of 21 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists.

However, the best performance in this game was indeed the Rockets' backup center Kevin Willis. He played 43 minutes in the game, scored 33 points and 19 rebounds, including a terrifying 12 offensive rebounds. He was the biggest contributor to the Rockets' final victory.

Although Barkley also got 14 rebounds, 12 of them were backcourt rebounds. Of course, this does not mean that Barkley got these rebounds by doing nothing. In the fierce competition, protecting the backcourt rebounds is also the top priority of the team.

Barkley's offensive rebounding is far less than his defensive rebounding, simply because his function on the court is different from Kevin Willis.

Barkley is the ball handler. On the offensive end, whether he is attacking with the ball or assisting his teammates, he often cannot continue to participate in the fight for frontcourt rebounds.

12 free throws in a single game compared to the 3 free throws of center Kevin Willis actually shows that the functions of these two players are fundamentally different.

Many times, it is difficult to see a player's true ability from his statistics.

Just like Barkley in this game, his role on the court is far more than what his data can reflect.

Playmaking forward.

If we have to use a word or a position to describe the playing style of the elderly Barkley, the word "point forward" is probably the most appropriate word.

When he was young, Charles Barkley had an almost invincible physique. Relying on his big butt, he was often able to be invincible in the low post. Even though Barkley had some unreasonable three-point shots in every game in his early years, his true shooting percentage reached a terrifying 3% at his peak.

His butt is so big that the post-up rules had to be modified specifically for him.

In his second year in the NBA, Charles Barkley not only maintained his strong finishing ability, but also developed his passing ability. His average assists per game soared from 1.9 to 4.0, almost doubling.

However, as he gets older, Barkley's finishing ability has declined significantly.

In the regular season of the 97-98 season, his average points per game dropped by about 15 points due to injuries.

But even so, he is still one of the top forwards in the league.

If he hadn't taken a pay cut in order to win the championship, a player of his level would still deserve a good contract. After all, his ability and commercial value are there.

The playing style and path of the elderly Barkley are actually quite compatible with the Timberwolves. At the No. 4 position, his biggest weakness is his defensive ability due to his size.

His height also means that when he competes with players in the same position, his height will become his shortcoming.

Malone, a contemporary of his, significantly improved his defensive abilities after entering the league, and even became the best defensive player at one point.

But Barkley's defensive ability has not improved much.

In his early years, he was able to defend the No. 3 position because of his light legs, but now he probably can't keep up with the movement speed of the No. 3 player.

Asking him to defend the No. 4 player will be limited by his size and will be targeted as a weakness for attack.

However, this disadvantage of Barkley can be well compensated in the Timberwolves. The inside players who partner with him are either Ben Wallace or Garnett. Both players have excellent assist defense ability and terrifying jumping talent.

It can more or less make up for some of Barkley's disadvantages. Moreover, Barkley's appearance also enhances the Timberwolves' low-post threat. Wu Dao is used to receiving the ball outside the 3-point line to attack. Although he has a strong ability to attack the basket, by the time Wu Dao, an outside player, drives into the basket with the ball, the opponent's defense has already shrunk.

Many times, finishing at the basket is not an easy task for martial arts.

Due to Wu Dao's strong outside attack ability, the Timberwolves' opponents often expand their defense line beyond the three-point line.

But unfortunately, the Timberwolves' inside players do not have excellent low-post offensive capabilities.

Garnett's first offense is only okay among players in the same position. He is more accustomed to running to the mid-range to shoot iron-blooded mid-range shots.
After Cherokee Parks left, none of the Timberwolves' inside players were a low-post threat.

Although Stanley Roberts is big enough, his skills are too rough. Such a meaty player is not popular in the mid-range.

The emergence of Barkley can well make up for the Timberwolves' offensive shortcomings.

Of course, the most important thing for the Timberwolves is Barkley's excellent passing, because Barkley on offense also has excellent vision and excellent passing ability. Even if the low-post singles opportunity is not good enough, he can still use excellent passes to pass the ball to other teammates.

This will enable the offensive power of players like Wu Dao and Marbury to be fully utilized.

If there is any conflict between Barkley as a player and martial arts, it is probably the issue of ball distribution.

Budo is a ball-handling player, and so is Barkley.
It's not just the two of them. Marbury's No. 1 position is also the type that sticks to the ball. Although Tom's off-ball ability has been developed, overall, he also needs to occupy a part to play his best performance.

After Barkley joined the Timberwolves, the biggest problem that troubled the team was probably the distribution of the ball.

Wudao could feel Barkley's attitude from the phone call, and the issue of ball distribution should be able to be resolved well.

Moreover, it is probably unknown how much time the 36-year-old Barkley can play at full strength on the court.

The most suitable position for Barkley is probably not the starting main force, but the first substitute.

I just don't know whether Barkley is willing to put himself in a difficult position and sacrifice his playing time.

Even in the year he retired, Barkley's average playing time reached a terrifying 30 minutes. In the short 20 regular season games in the last year of his career, he started in 18 games.

Perhaps this will be the biggest point of conflict between Barkley and the team.

When Wu Dao began to examine his upcoming new teammates, undercurrents were also surging in the NBA's free trade market.

This year's NBA free trade market was extremely lively, with all kinds of news about player retirements and player transfers flying around.

First of all, what shocked the players the most was naturally the breakup of the Bulls' Big Three.

The defeat in the finals finally caused the Bulls' long-suppressed conflicts to erupt completely. Pippen, who had been receiving child labor wages, finally let himself go, no longer endured the team's exploitation, and completely said goodbye to the Bulls.

There are many teams interested in Pippen. Born in 1965, Pippen, now 33 years old, has maintained a good level. He is also famous and will not lack big contracts.

The conflict between Zen Master Phil Jackson and the Bulls management also broke down, and the Bulls' meritorious coach was fired.

O'Neal signed a super contract with the Lakers, but without Garnett's support, the earthquake caused by his big contract did not directly cause labor disputes and cause the league to shut down.

Michael Jordan, who failed to win his sixth championship, now has a new goal to pursue and did not choose to retire. How could a man like him leave in disgrace after losing to the Timberwolves?
Now that the Bulls' Big Three have fallen apart, Jordan still chooses to stay with the Bulls. Rodman, Pippen and Zen Master Phil Jackson also made the same choice. Both of them left, but the spiritual pillar of the Bulls still remains in the team.

The Bulls used a sign-and-trade method to send Pippen away from the team, but the Bulls did not gain a good salary space because of Pippen's departure. This child laborer did not occupy too much salary in the team.
Signing Michael Jordan became the most urgent thing for the Bulls.

The reason why the Rockets approached Pippen was very simple. It was originally because of Barkley's relationship. They hoped to introduce Pippen to form a Big Three and help the team win the championship.

However, Barkley's decision to leave caught the Rockets management off guard, but they still have not given up the idea of ​​signing Pippen.

Because in the eyes of the Rockets' management, Pippen is a superstar who is no less than Michael Jordan, and he and Olajuwon are a good fit, which is particularly critical.

Adding another championship trophy to Olajuwon's wall of honor is also what the Rockets management hopes to do.

For a star player, two championships and three championships are watersheds, and their values ​​are completely different.

The news that Pippen joined the Bulls to team up with Olajuwon and Barkley naturally set off a media explosion, but not long after, the news that Barkley left the Rockets to join the Timberwolves directly stunned the Rockets fans.

It was thought that the team's new Big Three after losing Drexler would make the Rockets more competitive, but it was unexpected that Barkley, as a member of the Big Three, would directly choose to leave the team and go to cold Minnesota.

Are Houston and Minnesota cities on the same level?!

Houston fans went from being confused at the beginning to being angry, and the surging public opinion poured out towards Barkley.

However, Barkley had already boarded a plane to Minnesota and appeared in the Timberwolves training hall on time at the end of July.

The end of July and the beginning of August are the hottest times in Minnesota, with the highest temperature exceeding 7 degrees.
To say that the temperature is pleasant is no exaggeration.
Barkley, wearing a loose sportswear and sunglasses, walked into the Timberwolves training hall under the guidance of his agent.

His eyes quickly swept over Wudao who was practicing shooting in the gym, and a bright smile immediately appeared on his face.

Barkley didn't expect that the first meeting with the boss of the new team would not be in a hotel, a bar, or even in each other's homes, but in a training hall.

This experience also made Barkley feel very gratified.

Young thighs are very self-disciplined!

Nice!

(End of this chapter)