Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

Small tactical and strategic tricks may be able to accelerate the team's victory, but it is not easy to have the final say in the playoffs.

What ultimately determines the outcome of the game is the strength of the players on both teams and a little bit of luck.

Although Coach Philip's plan to undermine the morale of the Lakers failed due to O'Neal's outstanding performance, the Timberwolves players were not disappointed.

If Coach Philip's plan can succeed, it will naturally save the Timberwolves players a lot of physical energy. If his plan fails, then for the Timberwolves players, it is just throwing away the little bit of luck in their hearts.

"Beep——"

As the buzzer sounded in the stadium, Kobe missed the long-range buzzer-beater in his own half, and the score between the two teams was fixed at 53:50, with the Timberwolves taking a three-point lead.

During the break, Coach Philip also adjusted the lineup. Tom, who had not been resting on the sidelines for a short time, was substituted back to the court. Cherokee Parks, who had only been fighting with O'Neal for a short time, was now tired and out of breath, looking exhausted.

Seeing his appearance, Coach Philip replaced him with Ben Wallace.

In fact, Ben Wallace is not that useful against a team like the Lakers.

Coach Philip added him to the court so that he could play the five position, but the Timberwolves' five position had to face O'Neal. Although Ben Wallace had good physical strength, there was still some gap compared to O'Neal.

What's more important is that there is a big gap between Ben Wallace's height and O'Neal. In a one-on-one inside confrontation, O'Neal's height advantage can bring him great convenience.

When facing Ben Wallace's defense, O'Neal only needed to turn his body to make a strong shot without worrying about whether Ben Wallace could interfere with him.

After all, no matter how strong the opponent's jumping ability is, it is impossible for him to jump up and block the shot in such a short time.

But even though Coach Philip knew that Ben Wallace was at a disadvantage against O'Neals, he still substituted him onto the court.

He did not think of letting Garnett, who is taller than him, to defend O'Neal. Although Garnett could also play a good role against O'Neal, Garnett was not the kind of player who liked those confrontations.

Forcing a star like Garnett to do something he doesn't like is not a good thing for Philip to control the team.

After arranging for Tom and Ben Wallace, Coach Philip also found Wu Dao and asked him in a gentle voice:
"Budao, do you need to come down and rest for a while?"

"You've been playing for quite a while today."

"With Tom, Kevin and Marbury here, you don't have to worry about our team's offensive power."

"If you want to take a break, this is a good time."

Wu Dao's condition will directly determine the momentum and combat effectiveness of the entire Timberwolves team. Coach Philip is very clear about this. However, if he wants to substitute Wu Dao, he also has to seek Wu Dao's opinion. This is his respect for the star player.

Upon hearing this, Wu Dao turned his head to look at the scoreboard on the sidelines, then after a little thought, he shook his head.

The gap between the two teams is now too close. Wudao dare not relax for a moment in the playoffs. During this critical period of the score, Wudao does not want to stay on the sidelines and watch his teammates perform.

He didn't want to pin all his hopes of victory on his teammates. At this time, he only believed in himself.

As long as he can be on the court, even if he doesn't have the ball to attack, Wu Dao can feel more at ease. Moreover, Wu Dao has a very deep understanding of his influence on the court. As long as he is on the court, the Lakers have to allocate defensive forces to deal with him.

This is very good news for other Timberwolves players.

"I'm fine. After I'm on the court, I can also find time to rest between games. You don't have to worry about my physical condition."

"If I need to rest, I'll tell you."

Wu Dao is not an iron man, but his physical condition is indeed very good. Reasonable adjustment of the time he holds the ball and the intensity of the attack can allow Wu Dao to stay on the court more and longer.

The break time was very short. As the buzzer sounded in the stadium, the players of both teams returned to the court after a few minutes of rest.

The Lakers players were surprised to see Wu Dao still on the court. Everyone thought the Timberwolves would substitute Wu Dao, but they didn't expect that Wu Dao would still be on the court preparing to play in the third quarter.

Since the Timberwolves won the jump ball, the Lakers kicked off the game in the third quarter.

There was only a three-point difference between them and the Timberwolves, and the Lakers, who had the opening ball in the third quarter, were in a very good situation. As the ball was sent out from the backcourt, Fisher, who returned to the court in the third quarter, also slowly advanced forward with the ball.

Like the Timberwolves, the Lakers also had some changes in their lineup when they returned in the third quarter.

The main point guard position has been replaced by Nick by Fisher, and the Lakers' Campbell has also been replaced off the court. The one who returned to the court was Eddie Jones. Apart from the two of them, O'Neal and Kobe Bryant are still on the court.

As for Robert Horry, who played for two consecutive quarters, he was replaced by Rick Fox at this time.

Rick Fox, who is only over two meters tall, was pushed to the power forward position by Lakers coach Del Harris.

I don't know what the Lakers coach is thinking. Maybe in his opinion, among the Timberwolves' inside players, only Garnett has excellent independent offensive ability, and the other players can be dealt with by players of Rick Fox's level.

Fisher quickly brought the ball to the frontcourt. He played much more steadily than Nick, but compared to Nick, Fisher lacked independent offensive ability.

However, Eddie Jones' appearance also made up for Fisher's shortcoming for the Lakers.

On the court, the Timberwolves tightened their defense.

Budo stood two steps inside the three-point line, and was much more cautious against inside players than outside players. Kobe was in a semi-open position, and if he chose to shoot a three-pointer, Budo would probably not try his best to intercept him, and at most he would only interfere slightly.

When Fair came on the court, he chose to give the ball to Eddie Jones, who was in more physical condition. This All-Star was the core of the Lakers' outside offense, and the task of breaking through was often given to him.

The one defending Eddie Jones was Tom. The moment the opponent got the ball, they quickly took a big step forward and shortened the distance between the two.

Seeing this, Eddie Jones did not choose to attack himself, but instead passed the ball directly to O'Neal who was in the inside position at the time.

Ben Wallace was responsible for directly facing off against O'Neal. Eddie Jones thought this matchup was very beneficial to his side.

"Oh!"

The basketball was still in the air, but O'Neal, who was under the basket, had already made a move. Feeling the huge force coming from behind him, O'Neal slightly raised his arm and pushed it behind him, then quickly stepped forward and grabbed the ball directly in his hand.

His escape move was actually very big. If it happened in the regular season, he would most likely be called for a foul. But at this time, the linesman simply ignored it.

The position where O'Neal got the basketball was nearly 3 meters away from the basket, which was not his most comfortable offensive distance.

O'Neal noticed this and immediately backed up the ball. Ben Wallace lowered his center of gravity and tried to use his body to resist O'Neal's back-to-back attack, but he was still too young and his strength had not yet reached its peak. He was simply not enough in front of O'Neal. O'Neal pushed him back a step, and Garnett on the other side also rushed over quickly, trying to get around O'Neal and steal the ball.

Although O'Neal was beaten strongly, his offensive methods are not limited to such rough work.

When he was about to be double-teamed, he turned around and changed the direction of his attack. In just a blink of an eye, he flashed past Ben Wallace. Even Garnett, who was defending in front of him, was unable to react and missed.

O'Neal quickly bypassed Ben Wallace and jumped up, holding the ball with his left hand and gently dribbling the ball into the basket.

An excellent turnaround layup immediately ignited the Lakers fans.

Warm cheers rang out from the stadium. Seeing this scene, Wu Dao couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and looked at O'Neal a few more times.

Compared with the previous Game 1 between the Lakers and the Timberwolves, O'Neal's personal strength at this time has obviously improved to a higher level.

In the G1 game, O'Neal struggled when facing the Timberwolves' double team, but in today's game, O'Neal performed with ease. Whether attacking the basket himself or passing the ball to an open teammate, O'Neal played very reasonably and was able to mobilize his teammates.

"This great shark seems to have undergone a transformation"

Such a thought flashed through Wu Dao's mind.

O'Neal is clearly already an NBA-level player and has grown into one of the most dominant centers in NBA history, but he has not stopped improving, and his ceiling seems to be far more than that.

With some complicated thoughts in his mind, he ran towards the frontcourt. It was not until Marbury dribbled the ball into the Timberwolves' half that he took his eyes off O'Neal.

A faint smile appeared on Wu Dao's face, and he did not feel afraid because of O'Neal's strength.

"It's not just me and my Timberwolves teammates who have improved."

"The enemy is also evolving and transforming."

Wu Dao quickly realized the reality and turned his attention back to the game.

After dribbling into the frontcourt, Marbury did not choose to give the ball to Wu Dao, but instead chose to call a pick-and-roll and then attack with the ball himself.

There is also a slight gap between Fisher's defense and the Knicks, and for Marbury, this is also an opportunity for him to show his skills.

Garnett quickly pulled out from the inside and set a pick-and-roll for Marbury, and Rick Fox of the Lakers quickly followed up. As Marbury broke through with the pick-and-roll, the Lakers quickly switched defense.

After taking a few steps toward the inside with the ball, Marbury quickly passed the ball to Garnett who was following closely.

Marbury's pass was very high, and Fisher, who switched defense to Garnett, couldn't reach the basketball above his head even if he jumped with all his strength.

Garnett received the basketball on the wing of the free throw line, then stopped suddenly and made a jump shot.

"Shu~"

As the basketball went into the net, the difference between the two teams returned to three points.

Entering the third quarter, neither the Timberwolves nor the Lakers used any fancy tricks, but instead played a steady and solid game to test their hard power.

O'Neal's strength is indeed very strong, and the Timberwolves have selectively made some sacrifices based on O'Neal's outstanding performance.

The team selectively left the outward-facing Eddie Jones half-open and focused more defensive weight on O'Neal.

After the Timberwolves adjusted their defensive strategy, the Lakers' offense did not change accordingly.

They seemed to be aware that the Timberwolves were trying to force the ball into the hands of their outside players, so they did the opposite and concentrated the ball in O'Neal's hands.

O'Neal also understood the team's intention, reduced his passes and increased his attacks.

Under the double-team of the Timberwolves, although O'Neal missed shots frequently, he was able to draw fouls on the Timberwolves relying on his outstanding personal abilities.

Under his strong attack, Ben Wallace had accumulated five fouls before the end of the third quarter, and Garnett also had four fouls.

Not only these two inside players, but even Tom on the outside also had three fouls.

Under O'Neal's strong performance, the Timberwolves actually fell into a foul crisis.

Coach Philip didn't have any good solution for this. All he could do was to replace Ben Wallace, who had 5 fouls, with Stanley Roberts.

But such substitutions did not help the Timberwolves get out of foul trouble.

Garnett, who had four fouls, also became timid on the defensive end.

This also allowed the Lakers to seize the opportunity and launch a fierce attack on the Timberwolves' inside line.

The situation on the court turned around a little, but at this moment, Wu Dao, as the star player, stood up and used a three-pointer and a powerful slam dunk to stabilize the team's declining momentum.

After that, the other Timberwolves players also closely surrounded Wu Dao, and the offensive ball was frequently given to Wu Dao.

Garnett, who already had four fouls, rarely took the ball to attack in the second half. The risk of fouling exists not only when defending, but also when attacking.

Most of the time, Garnett would only choose to shoot when he was open. It was impossible for him to attack the basket with the ball.

All Timberwolves fans felt the pressure brought to them by the Lakers at this time.

But watching the martial arts on the court, the Timberwolves fans were full of confidence.

"Shh!"

In the Timberwolves' offensive round, the basketball was once again given to Wu Dao.

Wu Dao, who had the ball, faced Eddie Jones' defense without a second thought and shot directly, and the basketball went into the net.

And at the same time that Wu Dao scored the goal, in a corner of the inner field audience seats, McGrady, who was wearing casual clothes, had shining eyes, clenched his hands, and looked extremely excited.

(End of this chapter)