All of the Timberwolves' games ended in November '97 with their big win over the Grizzlies.

With a 13-2 record, the Timberwolves are also heading into a new January. It is worth mentioning that on the first day of December, the Timberwolves welcomed a new player at the target center arena.

"Let me introduce you, from today onwards, he is a new member of our Timberwolves team."

"Come, tell us a little bit about yourself."

In the middle of the court, Coach Philip and a tall, explosive-headed black player stood in front of many of the Timberwolves' players, smiling. As soon as Philip's words fell, the eyes of Wu Dao and the others fell on the face of the "black brother".

"Hello, my name is Ben Wallace, and I played for the Washington Wizards."

"It's a pleasure to meet you and I'm happy to be able to play with you in the coming days."

Brother Hei was wearing a loose long-sleeved suit and a thick black down jacket, and as he spoke, he bowed slightly to the timberwolves in front of him, and bowed fifteen degrees, which was regarded as a greeting.

Hearing the name Ben Wallace, the Timberwolves couldn't help but look at each other, and then they all saw the dazed eyes of each other.

Coach Philip solemnly told the players the day before that a new player would join their team today, and the players thought that the management had introduced some reinforcements in order to win the championship, which made the players very excited.

But they didn't expect that after coming to the stadium, they saw the player named Ben Wallace in front of them.

Well.

It's really a fairly new player, and almost everyone in the Timberwolves hasn't heard of this name.

Except, of course, one of them.

Ever since Ben Wallace followed Coach Philip into the arena, Martial Arts' eyes have been directed at him from time to time. When Wu Dao saw Ben Wallace for the first time, he didn't recognize him at all, but he just felt that this player was a little familiar.

After all, in his opinion, the black brothers all look similar, and you can hardly expect people to be able to tell the difference between chimpanzees. Of course, this is not to imply that all black brothers look like orangutans, after all, in the NBA, there is only one orangutan, and that is the goa who is wrong, it is Ewing the gorilla.

Wu Dao can't tell the difference between blacks, just as Qiang Dong doesn't know if his milk tea sister is good-looking.

However, when Ben Wallace said his name, Martial Arts immediately had an impression in his mind, and a long-ago memory was turned out of his mind, and the face in the impression coincided with the face of the young man not far away.

The person in front of him is the man who often appears in the Da Yao highlights, Ben Wallace, who is nicknamed the little alarm clock.

2 consecutive rebounding champions at his peak, super defensive spears with 4 DPOYs, Big Ben, Ben Wallace.

Ben Wallace is only 24 years old and only landed in the NBA as an undrafted player last year, and in the 96-97 season, the young Ben Wallace played in only 34 games, averaging only a measly 6 minutes per game, averaging 1.1 points per game, and he was able to contribute 0.8 fouls and 0.5 turnovers per game to the team.

Water.

Extreme water

Also, after all, the NBA entered through non-draft routes, and before going to Washington to get this player, Philip only happened to hear Wu Dao mention it, although he knew that this was a very watery player, but Philip still communicated with the management and brought this player from Washington.

Why?

The reason is very simple, just to let Wu Dao know that our Timberwolves management has you in our hearts, although you only accidentally mentioned an interested player, but our Timberwolves management also takes your words seriously.

Ben Wallace's contract with Washington is a one-year short contract, 350,000 a year, and the management's meaning is very simple, although this is a useless leftover, but since Martial Arts is interested, let's get it.

Just spend a sum of money and fight for the favor of martial arts.

When Ben Wallace introduced himself, Coach Philip noticed that Martial Arts' eyes were looking at Ben Wallace, and when he saw this scene, he couldn't help but show a smile on his face.

And after Ben Wallace made a brief self-introduction, his eyes also glanced at Martial Dao standing in the center of the team, and his eyes showed inexplicable fanaticism.

Noticing Ben Wallace's somewhat "enthusiastic" eyes, Martial Arts tilted his head slightly, a little puzzled. And then he quickly reacted.

Well, after all, he is the boss of the team, and it is normal for newcomers to join the team and have the mentality of pleasing the boss~

After a brief meeting, Coach Philip let the players move freely.

After the disbandment, the players walked towards Wallace one after another, although it was a little-known player, but they were teammates after all, and it was still necessary to be familiar with each other.

"Ben Wallace is right?"

"My name is Kevin Garnett, and I think you've heard of me, and you're welcome to the Timberwolves."

"If there is anything in your team in the future, just tell me."

"I'll help you as much as I can!"

Garnett has a foul mouth when he's on the court, but as a well-known guy who likes to play brother basketball, he's actually a warm-hearted guy.

In other words, the dealings between blacks and blacks are very straightforward.

Garnett greeted Ben Wallace with a smile as an "old man", and after him, Mitchell and Chris Kyle introduced themselves one after another.

Although Ben Wallace has an explosive head, he is a little rusty and restrained when surrounded by many members of the Timberwolves.

When he first arrived, Ben Wallace said very little, but after his teammates introduced themselves, he gave them a simple hug, which was considered to be a greeting.

Ben Wallace's career path has been bumpy, playing in many minor leagues, helping the Celtics play in summer leagues, and even going to Italy before joining the Washington Bullets, the predecessor of the Washington Wizards.

But all along, he hasn't gotten any long-term contracts, just kept moving between various competitions and teams. He has a single skill and is only 206cm tall, but he plays on the inside, which makes Ben Wallace's career path full of ups and downs.

Fortunately, he was diligent enough, hard enough, and focused enough, which allowed him to finally touch the edge of the NBA and enter the Washington Bullets before the reform

Ben Wallace has no sense of belonging in the professional arena, from entering the league to the present, he has never felt like an NBA player, he knows very well that he is weak, in this league, players like himself, a lot of grabs.

Because of this, he cherishes every opportunity to play.

In the 96-97 season, he averaged 0.8 fouls in 6 minutes of playing time per game, which also shows his efforts. After all, if he stands on the defensive pile, he can't carry so many fouls.

After Garnett and the others finished introducing themselves, Takedo also stepped forward, stretched out his hand to Ben Wallace with a smile, and said, "My name is Martial Arts, let's work together in the future." ”

Looking at the hand handed by Wu Dao, Ben Wallace, who was still a little "reserved" when communicating with other team members, suddenly held Wu Dao's hand with both hands, shook it heavily, and actually responded with some excitement:

"Yes! I'll try!! ”

Seeing Ben Wallace's enthusiastic look towards martial arts, Chris Kyle's face changed, and he suddenly felt that he was threatened like never before, and looked at Ben Wallace with a somewhat unkind gaze.

Martial Arts also felt Ben Wallace's enthusiasm, and his mind was full of question marks.

"Am I famous?"

Although martial arts is indeed famous in the league now, Ben Wallace's enthusiasm for him is not because of his fame.

On the plane to Minnesota, he learned from Philip why he had the opportunity to leave Washington and play for the Timberwolves.

The reason is that the man in front of him let himself come!

As for why, Ben Wallace has also figured it out after thinking about it in the past few days, through his understanding of the martial arts player and the Timberwolves.

It's clear that this young superstar needs a helper!

As long as he can stay in the NBA, Ben Wallace feels like he can do anything!

December 3rd.

The Timberwolves finally have their first game of December against the Indiana Pacers, led by Reggie Miller.

It's a name that's familiar to almost everyone who follows the NBA, a super good scorer and a master of "Miller kicks."

What is a Miller kick called? It is the action of "inadvertently" raising the foot to kick the defender when throwing, which is called the Miller kick.

In the small-ball era, when the body whistle became the mainstream of the league, the NBA introduced this thing called "Reggie Miller's Law" on the eve of the 2012-2013 season.

That is, when the basketball shooter is shooting, raising his foot is an offensive foul, and at the same time, there is also something called the fake fall rule in conjunction with this rule.

These two things are the shackles that are imprisoned on the heads of some shooters.

But in this era, there is no such thing

In the evening, the target center arena was full.

The arrival of the Pacers has attracted a lot of fan attention, and before the game starts, the media in Minnesota has already begun to hype up the game.

According to people familiar with the matter, in this game, Wudao, who has missed two games, will return to the court. Coincidentally, Indiana's "big star" came.

Fans are eager to see the duel between Takedo and Reggie Miller to see who is the sharper of the two.

"Beep-"

As the sound of the buzzer sounded on the court, the players of the Pacers and the Timberwolves walked into the court one after another.

On the Timberwolves' side, Coach Philip planned to try Ben Wallace's quality, so he set him as the starting No. 4 position, while Garnett was moved to the No. 5 position, and the other three on the team were Wu Dao, Tom and Marbury.

On the Pacers' side, in addition to Reggie Miller (201cm/85kg, 32 years old), Mark Jackson (185/85kg, 34 years old) is on the No. 1 position; Chris Mullin (198cm/91kg, 35 years old) in position 2/3; No. 4 Dale Davis (211cm/104kg, 28 years old, 13th pick in the first round in '91); At No. 5 is Rick Schmitz (224cm/113kg, 2nd pick in the first round in '88, 32 years old).

Unlike the Timberwolves' youthfulness, the Pacers' starters are all "old arms and legs".

In other words, these players are all about 30 years old.

Of course, players of Mark Jackson and Chris Mullin can't compare with younger players in terms of physique and explosiveness, but their experience is also incomparable to that of young players.

And the Pacers are a very strong team on the inside, whether it is Dale Davis or Rick Schmitz, they are the kind of interior players who can handle it well.

The center circle was in place, and Garnett stood on the midline, looking at Rick Schmitz, who was obviously a little taller than himself, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help twitching.

The height of 224cm gives people a sense of oppression, and it is really strong and strong.

But fortunately, Rick Schmitz's figure is still "slim". 224cm, 113kg gives people a sense of oppression, and 226cm, 140kg gives people a sense of oppression, that's still two levels.

After a whistle, the referee threw the ball into the air.

"Da!"

At the same time, with a soft sound above Garnett's head, the basketball, which had just reached its highest point, was directly pointed to the backcourt by the captain Rick Schmitz.

Garnett had barely taken off when the ball was gone

"Shit!"

Garnett let out a low curse, then quickly turned back to his defense.

Mark Jackson took the ball in the backcourt and slowly ran to the frontcourt with the ball, and at the same time, the Pacers players also entered the Timberwolves half one after another.

At the beginning of the game, the pace of the Pacers' side seemed to be a little loose, and Mark Jackson, who was holding the ball at the top of the arc, dribbled twice of his own, and then casually transferred the ball into Rick Schmitz, who was in the back position on the side of the paint.

The basketball fell, Rick Schmitz just stretched out his hand, and took the ball in his hand, the Dutch giant received the ball on the left side, and after the basketball was in hand, the left-handed dribble was directly the back to hit the strong top, after a blast, the side quickly side, the right hand quickly pulled the ball, and then directly attached to Garnett's defense close-range small hook shot.

Rick Schmitz's movements are fast, and the series of movements of the half-turn hook are quite fluid.

Garnett's height is a cut short of the opponent's, and he can't jump at the first time after being beaten by his back, although he reacts, but he can't reach Rick Schmitz's projection at all.

The basketball flew directly over Garnett's head and landed safely into the net.

“.”

Garnett glanced at the basketball that had fallen from the net behind him, and was speechless for a moment.

It was very easy, and the opponent scored on his head very easily, which made Garnett somewhat unacceptable.

Martial Arts watched Rick Schmitz's series of actions to hit the ball in, and saw a familiar shadow in him. Then he immediately clapped his hands and shouted to the players:

"Speed up!"

"Speed up!"

Facing a team with a bunch of old arms and legs and a big center, Wu Dao quickly found the best way to deal with it.