Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

Chapter 670: Rest and injuries!
OK, the early Lakers were also a strong team. This can be seen from the Lakers' record.

But before the Lakers officially introduced Jackson's triangle offensive system and completely corrected Kobe, the dominance of the Lakers team was not very strong.

As long as a team can limit O'Neal's performance, there is hope that they can beat the Lakers.

Of course, restricting O'Neal is not an easy task for all teams in the entire league, but it is not easy. If you find the right method, it can be done.

O'Neal is indeed one of the most dominant centers nowadays, but he also has many problems.

For example, in his lateral movement, O'Neal has still gained a lot of weight compared to the Magic era. His lateral movement speed is completely different from that of the Magic O'Neal. His jumping is still terrifying, but the increase in weight is also Let O'Neal's physical burden increase.

In order to have more time on the court and to be able to play more "absolute" offensive power on the offensive end, O'Neal often chooses to sacrifice some defenses that are too far away.

Today, he has very few and it is difficult to defend from the inside.

The current Lakers team is actually pretty good at the 4th position. Robert Horry once helped the Rockets win two championships in the two years when Michael was absent from the NBA. So far, his honor is even O'Neal. Nothing compares to it!

Although Horry is an outstanding player, he does not fit well with the Lakers' current system.

The Lakers are using Horry as an offensive point.

Although Horry has three-point ability, he also has some breakthrough ability.

But Horry does not actually have a strong outside hard-attack ability, and his defensive ability is often unable to make up for this weakness that O'Neal cannot defend.

O'Neal needs a partner inside, preferably a player who can help protect the frame and run outside to help defend.

Alternatively, O'Neal simply does not need an inside partner and directly assigns him a scorer who can absorb a large number of ball rights in the inefficient zone.

Horace Grant, an interior lineman with the best defensive second-team standards, and Glenn Rice, an outside scorer with the ability, are more in line with O'Neal.

As for Robert Horry, he can have some unexpected effects against certain teams, but most of the time, the fourth scoring point position is more suitable for him.

For a team like the Timberwolves with a super No. 4 position, Robert Horry cannot play a big role.

After the game against the Lakers, Wu Dao was no longer so concerned about the Lakers. He felt that the Timberwolves could already deal with the current Lakers led by O'Neal. Even if they faced each other in the playoffs, he was confident that they could Led the team to defeat the Lakers.

The Timberwolves team was full of momentum after winning against the Lakers. This year, there were only a few opponents in the Western Conference that could threaten them. After easily taking the hard nut of the Lakers, the players' mentality was very relaxed.

Obviously there are still many games in the regular season, but the Timberwolves players have begun to set their sights on the powerful Eastern Conference, as if they have successfully broken out of the cruel Western Conference.

On March 1st, after a day's rest, the Timberwolves faced the current Eastern Conference powerhouse, the Detroit Pistons, at home.

The Pistons, led by Grant Hill and Joe Dumars, caused a lot of trouble for the Timberwolves.

Although the bad boy team back then has long since fallen apart, and although the current Pistons' style of play is still quite tough, in the game against the Timberwolves, Wu Dao felt that the Pistons were not playing dirty.

Players naturally make small moves when defending, but to this extent, being dirty is not involved at all.

Joe Dumars, the first to win the "Sportsmanship Award", was polite and courteous off the court, and he played very cleanly on the court, but the cleanliness was still there, and the intensity was still there.

Marbury, who was being marked by him, was very uncomfortable playing this game. Whether he was playing the ball or his own single attack, he was severely restricted.

This also resulted in the Timberwolves' offensive operation not being as smooth as it was in previous games.

The rhythm was uncomfortable, and Budao's shooting percentage in today's game was also affected by this factor.

After the first quarter against the Pistons, Wu Dao Sanzhongyi only scored two points, and the Timberwolves rarely fell into passivity in the first quarter, trailing their opponents by 23 point with a score of 24:1.

The Timberwolves' offense was not smooth, and they certainly could not let their opponents play smoothly. Wu Dao guarded Grant Hill on the defensive end and guarded him 4-for-0, only scoring two points on free throws.

The offensive core of the Pistons and Timberwolves were uncomfortable playing today's game.

In the second quarter, the Timberwolves tried to adjust the team's offensive focus. When Coach Philip noticed that Wu Dao was uncomfortable playing today, he did not find a way to make Wu Dao play smoothly. Instead, he decisively focused his offense on On Garnett inside.

In Philip's view, the Pistons don't have that kind of powerful super insider. Garnett should be able to shoulder the heavy burden and share the offensive pressure for Wu Dao.

But the ideal is full, but the reality is quite cruel. Garnett did increase his shots in the second quarter, but the team's offensive efficiency did not improve significantly.

Do you think Garnett will use his physical talents to crazily attack the Pistons' interior after getting the ball? Then you are wrong. The Pistons do not have star-level inside players, but their defensive attitude is very tough.

Garnett took the lead in the first quarter, and in the second quarter, he often chose mid-range "iron jumpers" when attacking with the ball.

Fans were watching the game live. Garnett's jump shot was very good in terms of timing and movement, and Garnett's footsteps were also good. The Pistons players guarding him often had no choice but to shoot his jump shot. It's just a symbolic interference by raising your arms.

From the perspective of the fans, Garnett's ability to "shoot jump shots" under the Pistons' defense is so strong that the Pistons have no way to deal with him.

But in fact, the Pistons have no intention of doing anything to Garnett. Even if his iron-blooded jump shot has a hit rate of about 55 today, the Pistons are still not in a hurry. They don't seem to think that Garnett can rely on jump shots. Can help the team win the game.

22: 17.

In the eyes of the fans, the Timberwolves played really well in this quarter. Garnett was like a fish in water and no one in the Pistons could do anything to him. The Timberwolves' strong defense was also revealed in this quarter. Wu Dao even shut out Grant Hill at one point, making Grant Hill's game miserable.

At the end of the second quarter, both sides made some substitution adjustments.

However, after the substitution, the Pistons' offense suddenly became sharper with the introduction of Jerry Stackhouse (the third pick in the first round in 1995).

This guy was just traded to the Pistons from the 76ers and has only played a few games with the Pistons.

But there is no doubt about his ability.

Also in the substitute lineup, Chris Kyle of the Timberwolves was simply not good enough in front of the No. 3 overall pick and was completely beaten.

In the middle of the third quarter, coach Philip hurriedly called a timeout and replaced Marbury again.

But what disappointed him was that even if Marbury returned to the court, there was still no way to stop the Pistons' fierce offensive in this quarter.

23: 29.

The Timberwolves were held back by their opponents by 6 points in a single quarter.

Budao also returned to the court in the second half of the third quarter, and made two consecutive three-pointers in the last two minutes to stop the bleeding of the team.

Otherwise, after the third quarter, the Timberwolves' momentum may be greatly dampened.

Now, although the situation on the court is still very stalemate, as Wu Dao gradually regains his form, the momentum of the Timberwolves team is even higher than in the previous two quarters.

In the final quarter, the Timberwolves and Pistons fought fiercely.

Grant Hill seems to have successfully adapted to the defensive intensity of martial arts, and he has regained some touch. With the help of his teammates, he can often get rid of martial arts defense and use outside shooting to tear apart the Timberwolves' defense. 27:26.

The Timberwolves maintained their lead until the last minute. Although Grant Hill, under the strong defense of Martial Arts, failed to successfully score in the difficult horse-riding archery at the buzzer, he missed the buzzer beater.

The victory of the game was also won by the Timberwolves.

In the whole game, Wu Dao "only" scored 16 points, but his presence was indispensable for the Timberwolves to successfully win.

Although this game was not a hearty win for the fans, being able to prevent the Pistons' final attack under such huge pressure and win the game also made Minnesota fans feel very happy.

However, the martial arts mood after winning this game was not very beautiful.

The Pistons are not a very strong team, but such a team caused so much trouble to the Timberwolves and even almost defeated them.

This also made Wu Dao secretly vigilant.

The Timberwolves seemed not as invincible as he thought.

When he feels bad and misfires, even if he shares the ball that should belong to him to his teammates, it seems that his teammates can't support the Timberwolves' offensive firepower.

Garnett's iron-blooded jump shot simply cannot kill anyone. Tom seems to have been active on the court as a scorer for a long time. Today's game was not good on the offensive end.

Several players in the team seem to have developed a dependence mentality on the offensive end? !

Budo doesn't know how to describe this feeling. He always feels that the team's independent offensive ability seems to have deteriorated. He always feels that his teammates seem to be a little weak? !

Wu Dao had such a feeling in his heart. After the game, he found Coach Philip privately and expressed his feelings. He believed that it was necessary to train the players well so that they could maintain a sense of urgency and enthusiasm during the game. .

However, Coach Philip didn't care at all when he heard what Wu Dao said. Instead, he felt that Wu Dao had a mental problem because of his poor touch and so-so performance in today's game. He actually comforted Wu Dao:
"Martial Arts, please relax. It is normal for a player's hand to have ups and downs."

"Michael was a blacksmith sometimes."

"And didn't you handle the game very well today?"

"If you feel bad in the previous games, you will decisively reduce your shots. When you feel better, you will strengthen your personal offense."

"You played very well, the team can win, and we all see your contribution."

"Don't be nervous."

Coach Phillip's words of comfort made the martial artist stunned for a moment, and he never felt that there was anything wrong with his playing.
Just when Wu Dao was about to continue talking about his feelings, coach Philip patted Wu Dao's shoulder lightly and interrupted with a serious tone: "This team runs around you."

"I can more or less understand your worries."

"But don't worry, our Timberwolves' system is invincible from the current perspective!"

"No team can stop us, I believe in your strength."

"Martial arts, if you are really worried."

"Just find a way to maintain your competitive state."

"As long as your hands don't fluctuate, wouldn't the problem you're worried about disappear?"

I don’t know if Coach Phillip’s words were really what he thought in his head, or if they were just words of comfort to tell Budo not to think too much.

After hearing what Coach Phillip said, Wu Dao naturally couldn't say anything more and left silently.

But as for Philip.
Looking back on Martial Arts, I couldn't help but feel a little speechless. There was no ups and downs in the hand? What god?
Even if it can be maintained, what if an injury occurs?
Although these words were unlucky, Martial Arts still thought so in his mind, and for some reason he felt a little uneasy.

3 month 3 day.

The Timberwolves played against the Dallas Mavericks at home, a weak team with 11 wins and 47 losses.

In today's game, Wu Dao regained his former shooting touch, and his scoring efficiency exploded. He made 6 of 6 in the first quarter, one of which was a three-pointer, and easily scored 13 points.

The Timberwolves also led their opponents by 33 points in a single quarter, 21:12.

The advantage is huge. Coach Philip also smiled and replaced some players such as Budao and Garnett in the second quarter and replaced them with the rotation lineup.

But something unexpected happened during the second quarter of the game against the Mavericks.

Tom was knocked to the ground during the fight with his teammates and was unable to get up from the floor for a while.

The team doctor immediately gave Tom a simple physical examination after realizing something was wrong and entered the stadium. He felt that the problem seemed serious and hurriedly sent someone to send Tom off the stadium.

Although Tom missed the subsequent game against the Mavericks, the Timberwolves still defeated their opponent with a score of 103:87 under the guidance of martial arts.

When the game ended, the players also learned about Tom's injury.

Groin strain, requiring three weeks of rest.

This is a preliminary diagnosis, and subsequent recovery needs to be analyzed in detail.

After hearing the news, everyone in the Timberwolves breathed a sigh of relief. This is just a minor problem. From a time perspective, it will not have any impact on the Timberwolves' playoff journey.

However, as injuries appeared in the team, coach Philip also became alert.

These days, he is so immersed in the Timberwolves' winning streak that he seems to have forgotten that this round of the regular season is gradually coming to an end.

The players have probably accumulated a lot of fatigue from playing games for several months.

Entering the middle and late stages of the regular season, fatigue injuries are concentrated, and they, the Timberwolves, have to guard against them.

"Let's take turns!"

"Judging from our current record, the playoffs are already a certainty."

"There's no point in pursuing the so-called team record."

"Our goal is the championship!"

"All the main players will take a rest starting from today."

"Take care of your body to prepare for the playoffs!"

That night, Philip announced the rest to the players in the lounge.