The way of the center

Chapter 20 The Whirlwind Three Musketeers

Although Anjie's organization on the field is not as sophisticated as Mike Taylor's, it can barely help the Cyclones open the situation.Neither side could defend the other on the field, which also presented a wonderful offensive battle for the audience.Until the end of the first half, the audience was still unsatisfied. 38 to 43, the University of Texas Longhorns still have a slight advantage, leading by five points.

Anjie scored "alternative" data of 8 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds in the first half. In previous games, Anjie was used as the end point to hold the ball, but today his role was completely changed, so the 7 rebounds in the half The assists are already a new high for him in a single game this season.On the other hand, DJ Augustin scored 13 points relying on the advantage of overall strength, and another 6 assists were recorded.This statistic would have been even better if it weren't for the fact that teammates failed to seize the opportunity for a few wonderful passes.

The advantages and disadvantages of both sides in the first half are very obvious, so the coaches of both sides are prepared to talk to their players.

"We must do a good job defensively when the offensive situation is open! Just relying on Anjie and DJ Augustine to attack, our chances of winning will not be too great!" In addition to the sound of the air conditioner in the entire locker room, only Ricard waved the mark The roar of the pen.

Mike Taylor faced an NCAA star-level guy, showing a lot of his own shortcomings.Except for his height, he is almost behind in all aspects.Ricard knows that the big brother of this team is already in a precarious situation in the face of DJ Augustin's powerful offensive firepower, so he will not let Mike Taylor defend Augustin alone, he needs to use a series of efforts To contain the opposing guy in the NBA draft lottery.

Among the fans, when it comes to the "Three Musketeers of the Whirlwind", no one does not know who they are.It is precisely because of the tacit understanding and excellent performance of Mike Taylor, Andrew Morris and Anjie that the Cyclone team has changed from the current decline.While other players have been a part of the Cyclones' success, it's the trio that stand out the most.Now in Ricard's mind, the defensive burden in the second half must indeed fall on these three people.Although Anthony Benn defends well, if he switches to the No. [-] position, then who will defend the opponent's small forward?

"Taylor, Morris, Anjie! I want you to work together to defend in the second half!" Ricard quickly went through the feasibility of the tactics in his mind, then called the names of the three, and began to pick up the tactical board and prepare to assign tasks up.

"How can you tolerate that skinny guy doing whatever he wants on the court! DeAndre Jordan lost to him because the little Jordan guy has strong limbs and a simple mind, don't you too!? When we were in an advantage, it was just because he was a center The change revitalizes the opponent's entire team's offense, and you can't laugh at others when you say it!?" On the other side, Roman Harding, the head coach of the University of Texas in the locker room of the Longhorns, was facing his inside players Express dissatisfaction.

And the center and power forward of the Longhorns could only helplessly let Harding reprimand them. They have already used everything in the confrontation with Anjie in the interior.But that seemingly thin Chinese person actually contained a strength that was completely inconsistent with his size. Maybe the boy's bones were full of meat.

"Augustin did a good job in the first half, but I want you to increase your aggressiveness in the second half. Break through more inside and try to create fouls by the two big men of the Cyclones."

"Hmm." Augustine nodded slightly after hearing the coach's arrangement.He was very confident when facing Mike Taylor, but when he was asked to face the yellow-skinned center, Augustine felt a little uncertain.If it was last season, most of this kind of thing would be handed over to Durant, but now it has to be his turn to end the game, and he still lacks confidence.

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During the intermission, most spectators leave their seats.Some will go to the bathroom, while others will buy some drinks or food.At the moment, Beard and Catherine are queuing up in front of a popcorn machine.

"How about Catherine, do you feel the charm of basketball?" The bearded man enjoyed watching the offensive battle in the first half.

"It's just... too barbaric." Catherine answered her father seriously.In the first half, she saw An Jie make physical contact with his opponent more than once, especially when he hit back, as if she could hear the muffled sound of violent collision between muscles in this noisy crowd.Every time she saw this, Catherine's heart would go up in her throat, for fear that An Jie, who was thin, would be injured and fall to the ground.

"This..." The bearded man didn't expect his daughter to answer him like that.Sure enough, women's focus on things is still very different from that of men.

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In the second half, the two sides changed sides and fought again.In the first few rounds, the Cyclones didn't see any changes. It was still Taylor defending Augustine one-on-one.But the changes on the Longhorns side are more obvious.Augustin is a calm player. Most of the time he will look for opportunities to pass the ball on the outside. If he can't organize him, he will choose to attack by himself.But now Augustine's desire to attack has become extremely strong, and he has broken through to the inside to attack many times.After he broke through, he didn't score the ball, but ran straight to the basket.Although Augustine is only 1.83 meters tall, it is not easy to block his layup.Augustin's European step is very good, making it difficult to judge his release point.Because of this, Anjie and Morris have each fouled once on him.

"Very good, just wait!" His team had a bad start in the second half, but Ricard seemed very satisfied.He pressed down hard with both hands on the sidelines, reminding the players to hold their breath.The reason why he is still using Taylor to defend against Augustine is that he wants to induce the opponent to increase his breakthrough.He also expected that in order to deal with Anjie and Morris, Harding would definitely arrange for Augustine to play more inside.Now it seems that everything is moving in the direction he expected.

After Augustine continued to choose breakthroughs, Ricard began to gesture "OK".He didn't call a timeout, he arranged what should be arranged at halftime, and Ricard just wanted to surprise the Longhorns.

Augustin once again dribbled the ball across the half court, and the man defending him in front of him was still the same Mike Taylor who was blown up by him today.To say that the only difference in the Cyclone team this time is that An Jie actually went around to defend the opponent's center, and was still one step away from the opponent's center.Is it really okay to just empty the basket like this?But looking at Anjie's height and wingspan, Augustine gave up his plan to hang the ball directly into the penalty area.

Augustine was still dribbling the ball quickly. He knew that Mike Taylor, who was panting in front of him, had lost a lot of defensive energy.Anyway, the task the coach gave himself in the second half was to break through the offense, so it's better to implement the strategy honestly.

Augustine bowed his head, and Taylor couldn't tell the truth from the fake with his fancy and complicated dribble.Augustine seized an opportunity when Mike Taylor's center of gravity was shaken, kicked his right foot hard on the ground, his shoulder sank, and once again broke through Taylor's defense.

"It's getting more and more relaxed." Augustine secretly rejoiced, but suddenly, his eyes went dark!Augustine slammed into a "wall" abruptly. He didn't expect such a figure to suddenly appear from behind Taylor.

"Dribbling someone, offensive foul!" The referee immediately whistled.Augustine didn't know what was going on, but saw An Jie's smirk.

"It turns out that he is so far away from our team's center forward, so that he can get up in time when I break through. Hmph, this kind of cleverness can only be used once by you." Augustine stood up holding the outstretched hand of his teammates.

In the next attack of the Longhorns, Augustine didn't pay attention to Taylor in front of him, but first observed Anjie's position.Still defending around the front, still one step away from the center of his own team, and not entangled.

"Do you want to do the same trick again!?" Augustine knew that he was just too careless last time, and he would not fall twice in the same place.

Continue to hit the inside line! DJ Augustin puts distance between Mike Taylor and himself with a few fast-paced crotch dribbles, and then he wipes past Taylor.But this time he didn't accelerate at full speed, he knew what was waiting for him behind.

Sure enough, after breaking through Taylor, Anjie, who stood firm on his heels, still appeared in front of Augustine.Augustine was not fooled, and stopped directly.Just as his speed slowed down, Taylor from behind had already surrounded him.Angie and Taylor raised their hands and surrounded Augustine, who was short of height. Augustine wanted to pass the ball to the unmarked teammate inside, but found that Morris was actually standing in the right position, blocking his inward pass. route.As a result, his room for movement became smaller and smaller. Before Augustine had time to pass back, Taylor hugged the ball with both hands, struggling to compete with Augustine.

"Beep beep!" The whistle sounded again, but this time it was not because Anjie and Morris were fouled, but because the referee called a scrimmage.

Taylor won the ball by virtue of his height advantage. DJ Augustine did not have an advantage in height, not to mention that he has been playing guard and he doesn't know how to jump the ball at all.

After that, the offense of the Longhorns fell into a quagmire, and Augustine's breakthrough was restricted by Anjie.The three of the Cyclones can always complete the defense with a tacit understanding. Anjie blocks, Taylor double-teams, and Morris blocks the passing route. The three are in place.Augustine had no choice but to give the ball to teammates in bad positions again and again, but the offensive effect was obvious.Like the Cyclones' first half, the Longhorns' offensive playmaker Augustin is now limited to death, so how can their offensive quality be better?
"These three boys really didn't disappoint me!" Seeing that the three under him disintegrated Augustine's attack for the fifth time in a row, Ricard waved his arm vigorously.

"The ability of the three of them to read the game surprised me." Divac looked at the tacit understanding between Anjie and the other two, and nodded to Ricard in relief.

"Of course, they are the Three Musketeers of the Whirlwind." Ricard was also full of pride.

(End of this chapter)