The way of the center

Chapter 126 God's Favor

Transfers are quite normal for many old guys who have been in the NBA for many years. The NBA is a business league, and players are commodities in this league.There is no commodity that cannot be sold. Even Shaquille O'Neill, who is in full swing, is constantly wandering back and forth between the east and the west.

But for newcomers like Anjie and Jeff Green, their experience is still too little, which makes them unable to face the transfer matter calmly.Anjie was traded as soon as he was selected. Jeff Green was originally the future star of the Thunder, but he was abandoned after one season.The huge gap in the team's positioning is the main reason why they have been angry.

Even after the baptism of the first quarter, the fire in Anjie and Jeff Green's hearts was still not extinguished.

Due to Hawes' rest in the second quarter, the Kings had to replace Hawes with blue-collar center Mickey Moore for a period of time.Some excellent teams may not have a big gap in strength between the first team and the second team, but it is obvious that the Kings are not in that "excellent" ranks.

Mickey Moore is 2 meters tall and weighs only 13 kilograms.He looked the same as An Jie, with a tall and thin build.

When Spencer Hawes is on the court, he can also use the threat of his accuracy to pull Angel out of the paint.But facing Mickey Moore, An Jie was sticking to the basket and completely treating Mickey Moore as air.

Indeed, the backup center of the Kings has neither range nor the ability to play singles with Anjie in the low post. He is no threat on the offensive end.

"Jeff Green no longer dares to rush into the penalty area rashly. Anjie completely let go of Moore, in order to be able to spare energy to defend against targets who dare to attack the basket!"

Fortunately, Kevin Martin, the offensive core of the Kings, is not a person who relies on hitting the inside for a living. His precise shooting also fills in Mickey Moore's lack of space creation.

Jeff Green also played more calmly under the rhythm controlled by Kevin Martin.Now he won't go straight to the penalty area as soon as his brain is hot. After all, what An Jie's hot pot tastes like, he doesn't want to recall it again.

The offensive firepower has improved, but the problem that the Kings need to solve the most is not scoring, but defense!

Westbrook broke through with the ball, and Anjie picked and rolled the off-ball teammate in the high position, successfully allowing Durant to run out of the opportunity.After the pick-and-roll, Anjie went down. Now Westbrook can complete the shot by himself, or he can choose to pass the ball to Durant who got the opportunity. Of course, if he wants, Anjie who goes down can play another one with him. The alley-oop match comes.

"The Thunder's tactics are simply too subtle! Guards, forwards, centers, all three lines! Of course, if the Thunder's three young men are not full of threats today, no matter how sophisticated the tactics are, it will be useless."

Indeed, the tactics ran out, and the players had to be able to convert opportunities into points.It's a pity that the Kings were really unlucky today, and the Thunder's offense was really smooth today.

"Westbrook's throw! No, it's not a throw, it's a pass! Anjie received the ball, Mickey Moore has blocked it in place, and Anjie can't complete the alley-oop! Oh! An Jay passed the ball directly to Durant who was vacant in the bottom corner in the air! Durant made a shot! Go in again!" Mike Breen felt that he was almost out of breath, one of the Thunder's three rookies Everyone can participate in it, and everyone is an indispensable part.

"Anjie's pass is more gorgeous than that of Divac of the gorgeous king!" Jumping up and passing the ball directly in the air, this action is not something every center can do.

Anjie was in the middle when he ran back to defend his own half, and Westbrook and Durant were on the left and right of Anjie.Anjie stretched out his hands, and Westbrook and Durant also high-fived him tacitly.Now Durant and Westbrook will never do it alone again. They know that they share the ball, and their teammates will not take the ball and go away forever, but are also willing to feed the ball to themselves.

Apart from Thunder Three, the others' offenses are also very efficient under this system, but they don't have as many shots as Thunder Three.

Until the end of halftime, Kenny Wright failed to come up with a strategy to deal with the Thunder's three young men.He can only pin his hopes on the team's offense now, hoping that the Kings can rely on their excellent offensive performance to bite the game.

63 to 52, the Thunder scored a high score, leading by a full eleven points at halftime, of which the Thunder's three minors accounted for most of the points.With the exquisite cooperation of the Thunder's three young men, the Thunder shot 64% in the first half and 52% from three-pointers.

This is still eleven points behind when the Kings are playing well offensively.Jeff Van Gundy knows that shooting is the most basic means of scoring in basketball, but he doesn't believe that a team can win only by outside shooting.

So far, Kevin Martin, Jeff Green and John Salmons have played well, but whether they can continue to make shots in the second half is hard to say.

"Stay on defense! Don't help defend and don't lose your position! I want each of you to stick to your matchup in the second half." During the halftime break, this was the only defensive strategy Kenny Wright could come up with. .

As soon as the third quarter came up, the Kings really strengthened the defense of outside players to prevent the Thunder from continuing to flourish.This really works, whether it is Durant or Westbrook, it is getting harder and harder for the Thunder to pass the ball and find opportunities.At this time, there is no doubt that if you want to start the offense, you must start from the inside.

"Stop him!" The general manager of the Kings saw Anjie leaning against Hawes again, so he couldn't help shouting while pointing at the court.

"This guy's physical condition is similar to yours. What should I do?" Divac also stared at An Jie with great interest. The little apprentice didn't stop after he left, but absorbed everything he taught. , And also figured out a set of offensive methods that suit him.

"Angie has no way out! The outside line has been completely blocked by the players of the Kings. He must attack by himself!" Mike Breen couldn't wait to see Anjie score in that way again this time.

"Hit him!"

"Let the guy who abandoned you suffer!"

"Slam dunk on that jerk Hawes!"

In various bars in Ames and Oklahoma City, countless drunk men held up beer and used their own methods to cheer for Angie on the TV.

An Jie had a strong desire to attack today, but he has been refraining from taking shots to allow himself to organize more, for fear of destroying the balance of the team.Right now, inside is the Thunder's only option, and An Jie can finally attack the frame with all his might!

Although his weight and height were about the same, Hawes, who seemed to be bigger, fell behind in the duel of strength.After this confrontation, Hawes may have to face his slightly higher body fat percentage.

Tough!Although An Jie is a skilled center, he is very tough when he plays the ball!His repeated post-ups made the Kings fans sweat for Hawes. Jeff Green was hesitant to go up to double-team, but considering Anjie's strong passing ability, Green decided to continue. Mark your own people, so as not to be caught by An Jie to pass the ball.

"We really don't need you." These words echoed in An Jie's mind again.

"Don't fucking look down on people!" An Jie turned around suddenly, Hawes had already tried his best to block it, and his entire center of gravity was completely moved forward.

Unexpectedly, An Jie's vigorous turning around this time was another false move!After sensing that Hawes's center of gravity was unstable, Anjie immediately turned around in the opposite direction with Hawes as the axis, and this time he completely threw off the defense.

"In the three-second zone, you will never guess what Anjie will do next!" Anjie's fake moves in the penalty area are no less exciting than the dazzling dribbles of outside players.

Like Kevin Love, Hawes has been playing point guard until his height skyrocketed.In the center, his ball handling and shooting ability are very good, but he extremely hates physical confrontation, and he is also very rigid in interior defense.

This time against An Jie, it was only natural that he lost.

"The Kings have made changes, but still failed to prevent the Thunder from scoring. The burden on Kevin Martin's shoulders is heavy. After all, Anjie's inside offense is much higher than his outside shooting! Martin must Keep your shooting percentage, or the Thunder will seize the opportunity to open the score!"

Indeed, Kevin Martin is very cautious about every shot he makes.The team was already behind, and the inside offense was still contained by An Jie. If the shot still missed the shot, the Kings would really face collapse.

But fortunately, Kevin Martin feels good today, so far he has stabilized his shooting percentage at around 45%.And Jeff Green, the No. [-] player of the Kings, did not make a mistake. Facing the defense of Joe Smith and Wilcox at the No. [-] position of the Thunder, he almost encountered no obstacles and was able to score the ball.It's just that compared to the past, he prefers to score in the penalty area. Today, Jeff Green's scoring is mostly from outside shots.

The importance of interior defense may sometimes not be seen on the scene, but anyone with a discerning eye knows that if the Kings still can only look for opportunities on the outside, they must be the only ones who suffer in the end.Once several consecutive shots are missed, the Thunder will win the game in one go.

Those who win the inside win the world. In this era of running and bombing sweeping the league, in this era dominated by small lineups with high mobility, many coaches have forgotten this law that will never change.

Even if the brightest player on a team is a guard, if the team is doing well, they're bound to have an underwhelming, rim-protecting role.

Just when everyone thought that this role was inconspicuous and removed him, people realized how important this inside barrier is.

The Kings' insiders are completely unable to compete with the Thunder on both offensive and defensive ends. Their ability to bite the score can only prove that God favors the Sacramento people today.

77 to 69, Kevin. Martin and Jeff. Green relied on shooting to keep the Kings up until now.But in the most tragic fourth quarter, will their shots really be so accurate?
"Anjie is our main point of attack in the fourth quarter!" Jeff Van Gundy gave an order. Facing the ordinary interior defense of the Kings, he was going to firmly hold the victory in his own hands.

(End of this chapter)