On November 3, 1997, the Timberwolves finally arrived in Telang City and stayed at a hotel near the Rose Garden Arena.
After getting off the plane and arriving at the hotel by bus, Wu Dao performed some simple exercises to quickly adjust his physical condition.
In the evening, coach Philip called the players together early, and after a brief pre-game meeting, arranged for the players to have dinner together.
The content of the pre-match meeting was also very simple. It was nothing more than determining the order of the players for tomorrow's game against the Trail Blazers. By the way, I told the players a piece of news, that is, tonight, there will be a live broadcast of the Bulls' game against the Spurs.
The Timberwolves players are very interested in the showdown between the Bulls and Spurs, because the current star of the Bulls is Michael Jordan.
The Spurs, after a year of failure, got their wish and got the most anticipated No. 1 pick, Duncan. At the same time, the Spurs' current star player is also a star player, Admiral David Robinson.
In the previous games, the Spurs, like the Timberwolves, both won two consecutive games.
On the other hand, the Bulls had one win and one loss. In the away game against the Boston Celtics, they were defeated by the Boston Celtics led by Antoine Walker and lost by seven points. After that, the team quickly made some adjustments. Later, they easily defeated their opponents in the home game against the 76ers.
In that game, Jordan only played for less than 25 minutes. The Bulls defeated their opponents by 13 points in two quarters. In the third quarter, they even scored a climax of 35:18 in a single quarter, which sealed the victory of the game.
The Bulls blossomed at many points. Young Allen Iverson played 40 minutes, but felt cold. He made 5 of 15 in the game and 0 of 2 three-pointers. He only scored 13 points in total.
The Bulls, who have completed their adjustments after a big victory, face the challenger Spurs, who have just won a winning streak. The game between these two teams will definitely be very interesting to watch.
Wu Dao was also very interested in the game between these two teams, so after having dinner early, he and his teammates stayed in front of the TV, waiting for the game to start.
Watching football is of course more interesting when there are more people.
Sam Mitchell, who had just had dinner, even went outside to buy some food and drinks, and distributed the things to the team members as soon as he returned to the hotel.
On the TV, two teams, the Bulls and the Spurs, have entered the stadium one after another. At the bottom of the TV screen, the host introduced some of the previous achievements of the two teams, and then focused on introducing some key players of the Bulls and Spurs.
In addition to admiring the Bulls, there is also a lot of praise for Duncan of the Spurs.
Finally, it was even said that Duncan will be the Rookie of the Year after finishing this season.
The Timberwolves players in the room were chatting with each other, waiting for the game to start. When they heard the host on the TV talking about the Rookie of the Year award, the voices in the room suddenly became quieter.
"Rookie of the Year?"
"The guy holding Robinson's thigh can win Rookie of the Year?"
"His statistics in the previous two games seemed to be 15 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists respectively, and in another game his statistics seemed to be 9 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, right?"
"Can a guy like this win Rookie of the Year?"
Although Garnett and Budao often quarrel, Garnett has always regarded himself as the "boss of the team". Although he and Budao do not deal with each other, he is also unambiguous when it comes to his teammates.
Moreover, before and after Duncan entered the league, the media often compared him with Duncan, and the final conclusion of the comparison was
Duncan is a better No. 4 than Garnett!
Garnett certainly sneered at the media's argument. While he was hostile to Duncan, he was also secretly attracted to Duncan.
It is precisely because of this that Garnett can easily report Duncan's data like a treasure.
Compared to Duncan, Garnett will naturally side with martial arts.
After all, Wu Dao is a teammate, and he is still at the 2.3 position. No one will compare Wu Dao with Garnett.
But Duncan is different. This player is not only from other teams, but also a real competitor at the 4th position.
"Hello!"
"Martial arts, even though you are a rookie."
"But you are a rookie of the Timberwolves. You must not let that person take away the Rookie of the Year Award!"
Garnett leaned against the back of the sofa, turned his head, and shouted towards Martial Arts not far away.
"You don't need to care. Things like Best Rookie are irrelevant."
"As the series continues, the media will naturally know what 'best' means."
While Garnett and Budao were talking, the commentator on the TV also extended the discussion when mentioning the Rookie of the Year, naming a few players who had performed better in the previous games.
But strangely enough, martial arts, which averaged 45 points per game, was not mentioned. I don’t know if those people were slow to receive the news, or if they knew that Wu Dao was a player and deliberately didn’t mention it.
In this regard, Wu Dao did not show any other emotions.
The living environment for yellow people in the NBA in this era is harsh, and martial arts knows this kind of thing very well.
In the future, even if Yao enters the league as the top pick in the Asian market, he will still be laughed at. As he plays more games, his record, personal data and dominance will increase, and he will naturally gain the respect of others. .
Before entering the NBA, Wu Dao was a little-known high school player in Asia.
As far as Neon is concerned, no matter how much the media hypes it, it will have no effect.
His starting point is also very different from Dayao. Before entering the league, Dayao was already a dominant inside player in the CBA and had a lot of fans.
On the TV, as the Bulls and Spurs players came on stage one after another, the game was finally about to begin.
The starting players for the Spurs are No. 5 David Robinson (216cm/113kg), No. 4 Tim Duncan (211cm/113kg), No. 3 Sean Elliott (203cm/93kg), 2 No. 1 Vinnie Denagro (193cm/84kg), No. 1 Avery Johnson (178cm/79kg).
The average height of the entire team is not very high, and it is obvious that the Spurs' backline players are not of the top level, and are even in the middle and lower reaches of the entire league.
Sean Elliott at No. 3 is a two-time All-Star. He averaged 20 points per game in his peak period. As of now, he is still under 30 years old and can be said to be in his prime.
On the Bulls side, Jordan's good helper, "child laborer" Pippen was absent due to injury.
In addition to Michael Jordan (198cm/98kg), the starting players include Luke Longley (218cm/120kg) at No. 5, 2/3 swing Ron Harper (198cm/84kg), and No. 4 Jason Caffey (203cm/116kg) in position 1, and Randy Brown (188cm/86kg) in position 1.
Only Jordan started the game in the Bulls Iron Triangle. In addition to Pippen who was absent due to injury, even Dennis Rodman sat off the court, and Stephen Kerr, the shooter, did not play.
"The Bulls' lineup this year is not good!"
"It seems that the bull's dominance has declined!"
"It may not be easy for such a remnant formation to defeat the Spurs."
Philip saw the Bulls' starting lineup and made a prediction with a smile. Wu Dao also nodded in agreement. Facing a twin-tower lineup like the Spurs, without Pippen and Rodman, the Bulls' inside line would probably be exploded.
Robinson and Duncan alone are enough for the Bulls to drink a pot, even if Duncan is now a rookie Duncan.
In the court, as the basketball was thrown into the air by the referee, the game officially began.
As soon as the game started, the ball was in the hands of the Spurs. The Spurs' offense relied on the high pick-and-roll of the two inside players.
As Robinson quickly set up a pick-and-roll for his teammates, he received the back pass and shot directly against the interference from a high position.
The basketball hit the edge of the basket and jumped directly out of the basket. The rebound was collected by Duncan. The latter raised the ball a little, deceiving the defender, then jumped lightly and threw the ball into the net.
The Bulls quickly launched a counterattack, and their tactics became simpler.
Give the ball to Jordan.
Jordan, who used the screen to enter the three-point line on the strong side, was not afraid at all when facing the 203cm Sean Elliott. He caught the ball with his back to the basket, quickly turned around after a post-up play, and after two steps, he directly An emergency stop, and then against Sean Elliott's defense, he shot a difficult fadeaway jumper.
After all, just after he came on the court, the basketball crashed out of the basket, and Duncan actually got the rebound in his hands again.
Then the Spurs quickly launched a counterattack.
In the early stages of the first quarter, the two teams were not playing at a fast pace, and the intensity of the entire game was not very high, giving people a feeling that both teams were playing very relaxed and casually.
Moreover, the Spurs did not take advantage of the inside to carry out a large number of inside attacks. Robinson often set up a pick-and-roll for his teammates on the outside, and would choose to take one or two steps inside the three-point line for two points.
Robinson's shots against interference were very shaky and he often missed the ball. The Bulls are a bit weak inside, so on the defensive end, Jordan often goes to the basket to grab rebounds.
In the middle of the first quarter, the Spurs relied on the twin towers inside and their rebounding advantage to quickly lead by about 8 points. The Bulls' coach Phil Jackson was somewhat tolerant of the team's disadvantage. Unable to tolerate Jason Caffey's stupidity, he couldn't sit still and hurriedly called a timeout and replaced Cole and Rodman on the court.
After Rodman came on the court, the intensity of the game increased visibly.
Although the Spurs still have a huge inside advantage, Rodman's rebounding ability is also very outstanding. However, Jordan's cold touch made the Spurs lead their opponents by 14 points 29:15 in the first quarter.
The first quarter of the game entered the break, and the room was immediately filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
"Not even the God of Basketball! This shooting percentage is so shocking!"
"Without Pippen on the inside, the Bulls couldn't hold on at all. They were directly crushed by the Spurs' twin towers."
"We were beaten by 14 points in one quarter. I'm afraid this game will be hanged at halftime."
Garnett looked at the TV and said to everyone with a smile. He also saw Duncan's performance and felt that Duncan's level was only so-so and not as good as him!
Garnett even sneered at Jordan, who took a lot of shots in the first quarter but frequently hit the iron.
In the second quarter of the game, the intensity of the competition between the two teams became even higher.
And perhaps because they had a large score advantage, the Spurs' offense in the second quarter was quite casual. Robinson and two-time All-Star forward Sean Elliott began to shoot wildly, and even substitute guard Jalen ·Jackson also shot a few three-pointers.
The crazy Spurs and the crazy Bulls have really become evenly matched opponents. After the second quarter, the Spurs and Bulls actually scored a 16:20 score in a single quarter.
Everyone in the forest wolf was stunned for a while.
In the third quarter, the Spurs began to rotate substitutes on the outside, and Duncan and Robinson on the inside also came off the court to rest. This allowed the Spurs to finally perform at a lower limit in the third quarter, scoring 12 points in a single quarter.
At the same time, No. 3 Tony Cookic (203cm/97kg) and Steve Kerr, who came on the bench for the Bulls, also began to contribute lower-level performances, responding to the Spurs' "camaraderie" with crazy strikes.
The Spurs and Bulls scored 12:18 in a single quarter.
This score shocked everyone in the Timberwolves in the lounge.
The Bulls saw that after three quarters, the point difference between the two teams had narrowed to 4 points.
At this time, the Spurs finally realized that something was wrong, and at this time, the Bulls finally saw an opportunity to win.
In the fourth quarter, Mars hit the earth.
After the Spurs' huge 14-point lead in the first quarter was filled up, the players were obviously a little more impatient, and the Spurs players still continued their cold touch and worked hard.
Although Jordan and the Bulls are still strong, they are still slightly better than the Spurs. As Jordan scored the winning goal, the Spurs were dragged into overtime by the Bulls at 16:20 in a single quarter.
Although Jordan struggled wildly in the first few quarters, you can always trust God at critical moments!
The first overtime was 6:6, and the two teams played the second overtime.
In the second overtime, the Spurs trailed their opponent by four points, 4:8.
In the end, this "ugly" blacksmith competition was won with the Bulls leading by 4 points.
Among them, the basketball god took 39 crazy shots in this game, hitting 12 of them, 1 of 4 three-pointers, and scored a total of 29 points including free throws.
Cole made 4 of 12 shots and 2 of 5 three-pointers, scoring a total of 10 points.
Rodman went crazy and made 1 of 10 free throws, 1 of 4 free throws, and scored three points.
But what is gratifying is that although Rodman was a piece of shit offensively, he scored 22 rebounds, including 10 offensive rebounds, which sealed the team's victory.
And Jordan himself also scored 13 rebounds.
For the Spurs, the Admiral made 8 of 20 shots and had 12 rebounds, for a total of 21 points and 12 rebounds, including 11 backcourt rebounds.
Duncan made an efficient 8-of-14, grabbed 22 rebounds, including 6 frontcourt rebounds, and scored a total of 19 points. There is no doubt that rookie Duncan is the real leg of the Spurs in this game!
Two-time All-Star, Sean Elliott made 2 of 10 shots and 0 of 3 three-pointers, contributing to a war criminal-level performance.
The Timberwolves players watched this game with laughter. From time to time, everyone commented on Jordan's improper handling of the ball and Robinson's hip-stretching performance when grabbing the offensive boards.
After watching this game, Wu Dao even felt that the Timberwolves could crush the Bulls and win the championship.
(End of chapter)
