The way of the center

Chapter 333 The Road to All-Star
"What, you can't play!?" An Jie yelled loudly in Ricard's locker room. If I remember correctly, this was the loudest time An Jie spoke to Ricard.

"You know I'm doing it for your own good, Ann!" Ricard didn't lose his temper. He understood An Jie's character, so he could guess An Jie's mood at the moment.If it is an injury, there is no way, An Jie will rest obediently.But he was very healthy and in good condition, but he was told by the coach that he could not play in this game. An Jie, a competitive guy, would definitely not do it.

"I know, but."

"Come on." Ricard waved his hand, interrupting An Jie's speech. "I know what you're going to say, but the answer is no. Back to back, three games in three days in a row. Ann, tell me, you've been playing professional basketball for a few years, have you ever met such a schedule even once?"

Ricard's words made An Jie speechless.Indeed, despite facing the Wizards and Warriors back to back, the Trail Blazers have won two consecutive victories.But if there are games for three consecutive days, then this is definitely not a good time to pursue the victory.Even in the NBA league, there are very few such schedules, from which we can see how intense such games are.

Although Rickard didn't know much about Yao Ming, he knew that the reason why Yao Ming ended his career early was not due to his excessive use of his legs and feet.Now An Jie doesn't know how to control himself, so Calder will help him control it.

Playing games back to back is the biggest compromise Ricard is willing to make.Back to back to back?Sorry, Anjie must rest!

So no matter what An Jie said, Ricard always answered him with one word: no.

Ricard knew Anjie, and Anjie also understood Ricard's stubborn temper.Once he has decided on something, it is difficult for others to sway his opinion.So after many rounds of "debate" were fruitless, An Jie could only silently accept this fact.

Hearing that An Jie would not play, the rest of the Trail Blazers were more or less flustered.The group of guys who fought alongside him knew better than anyone how difficult it would be to play without An Jie.However, they all smiled at An Jie, reassuring him to have a good rest.But An Jie knew that his teammates were as tired as himself.Facing the Clippers this time, it won't be as easy as winning the previous few times.

Sure enough, the Trail Blazers were exhausted as soon as the game started.Back-to-back games are simply a double torture of human body and spirit.Think about it, every time you win the next game exhausted, but you still can't rest, you have to catch a plane overnight, and go to the next city without sleep.And this kind of life, the Trail Blazers lived for three consecutive days!

Without Anjie's containment and scheduling, the Trail Blazers' tactics would have lacked many changes.But now that they are tired, they are not able to move their legs very well.The players on the Blazers failed to implement many of the tactics Ricard arranged.

But what is even more surprising is the Los Angeles Clippers.It would be understandable if the Blazers were exhausted and out of shape because they had just finished back-to-back games and had to play another game in a row.But the Clippers, who got two days off, didn't take advantage of it at all!Not because the Blazers played well, but because the Clippers played as badly as the Blazers!

Although there is no Anjie, Griffin is still very embarrassed by Marcus Camby.The number one pick had performed well in previous games, but today, he somehow lost his feeling.

The point guard Chris Paul, who has always been known for his stability, shot an exaggerated 15 of 5 shots.besides.The stable "queen bee" also rarely made four mistakes.

The iron symphony continued for the entire 48 minutes of the game. Anjie sat underneath and watched Ricard countless times. Anjie is very confident that he can win the Clippers in this state.But Ricard was not willing to take risks, he still rejected An Jie's application to play.Ricard put all his bets on An Jie, so he was not willing to risk playing his best card for an irrelevant game.

Until the end of the regular game time, the two teams with poor performances have not yet been able to tell the difference.Perhaps this time, the general among the dwarves will continue to screen and screen before he can finally make a decision.

Playing overtime means that the Blazers' chances of winning will become smaller.They have only experienced back-to-back games, and now they are tired and have to play overtime, which is even more exhausting.

That is to say, taking advantage of the time when the Trail Blazers were exhausted, the Clippers launched a fierce attack.Although their shooting percentage is still terrible, but in the face of the unstoppable Trail Blazers, the Clippers still have some advantages.

In the end, the Clippers finally won the game with difficulty by virtue of the Blazers' frenzied strike in the last 120 seconds.Even so, the Clippers did not win many points. 74 to 71, the Clippers won an extremely ugly victory.

Yes, you read that right.The two sides played overtime, and the score was only more than 70.The Clippers shot 38.5 percent and the Trail Blazers shot 38 percent.The only difference of 5% made the outcome of this game.

Many fans who chose to watch this game regretted it to death. This game even made people wonder if this was an NBA-level confrontation.

An Jie looked at the result dumbfounded, maybe Ricard was wise.Even if the tired Anjie plays, the game may not necessarily improve.At least today, Anjie avoided an embarrassing match.

After losing this game, the number of losses for the Trail Blazers finally came to double digits.Regardless of the fact that the Trail Blazers didn't lose much, they have only played 30 games. Although it is almost the All-Star Weekend, the number of shrunk games is much less than the normal season.However, with such a high game density, even the Blazers, who have experienced back-to-back abnormal schedules, do not feel that the shrinking season will be much easier than the full 82 games.

After the game, Chris Paul also said that it was pure luck that they were able to persist until the end.In this game, the two sides did not play their due strength at all.The outcome of victory or defeat is entirely determined by God.

Although the loss of this game was very ugly, Ricard did not lose his temper in the locker room.He knew that his players were already exhausted, and it was not easy for them to persevere.Besides, under the influence of An Jie, this group of guys never lose their enthusiasm for the game.If Ricard gets angry now, it will only dampen the good atmosphere in the locker room.

"Ann, how are you resting?" Due to a small problem with Ricard's car, Ricard could not drive to the stadium today.So after the game, Anjie took over the task of driving Ricard home.

"I won't let the time of this race be wasted. Don't worry boss, I promise to win the next race." An Jie looked at the driver in front of him seriously, but answered Ricard calmly. question of morality.

"Well, as long as your legs are fine, we have plenty of games to win. Do you understand Ann, your career is not just a few games, you and I have to think about the future." Ricard was worried, An Jie would I won't blame him as the coach for not letting him play.

"I know boss, you are nagging me every day. Don't worry, you said when you recruited me before that we will win together, and even win the damn O'Brien Cup." An Jie turned his head He smiled at Ricard. If there was anyone in this world who said something that An Jie would never question, it would be George Ricard.Not because of anything, just because of An Jie's trust in him.

In fact, in many teams, the relationship between the head coach and the leading star is not good.For example, before Anthony and George Karl, conflicts often broke out between them.The relationship between many stars and coaches is just a working relationship. In private, they basically don't have much intersection, and they even dislike each other.It's just that the tempers of Anthony and George Karl eventually caused the conflict between the two to gradually grow, and finally broke out.

But if the relationship between a team's coach and its star is very harmonious, then the combat effectiveness of this team is generally not to be underestimated.For example, Popovich and his GDP, and for example, Ricard and his Anjie.
"Another dunk! My God! An's excellent skills make people always classify him as a technical center, but in fact, An's style of play is quite direct and violent!" Seeing An Jie again Dumping Georgian Zaza Pachulia for a dunk, Mike Breen immediately grabbed the microphone and yelled.

Nowadays, in this era of declining centers, there are not many good centers, and there are very few centers who can play hard and soft like An Jie.

Seeing Anjie complete the goal, Ricard was the first to stand up from the bench.He didn't make all kinds of exaggerated celebrations like the players, but a simple punch expressed Ricard's inner joy.He and An Jie are more than just colleagues. These two guys are brothers and sisters!
Under An Jie's ravages, the Eagles gradually collapsed from the inside out.As soon as the inside offense started, the Blazers' outside shooters also got a lot of opportunities.

Courtney Lee needless to say, he was the first player to respond to An Jie's call.Secondly, LaMarcus Aldridge, who is the team's second-in-command, also began to score mercilessly.

Although Joe Johnson and Josh Smith worked very hard, these two guys obviously couldn't compete with Anjie and Aldridge.

77 to 97, after losing to the Clippers in the last game.Under the leadership of the returning Anjie, the Trail Blazers won the game again, and they also won another 20 points!
The Eagles players in this game can't say that they didn't play well, they played at their due level.It's a pity that their due level is no more than that of the Blazers.

After the game, Ricard was the first to go up and hug Anjie. With 33 points and 14 rebounds, Anjie's data is enough to make Ricard proud of him.

Wu Hua grabbed the camera and took a picture of An Jie and Ricard embracing each other.A fearsome butcher on the pitch, but always like a child in front of Ricard.
After that, there are only two games to play before the start of the All-Star break.The Trail Blazers will also face two strong Western Conference teams.Los Angeles Lakers vs. San Antonio Spurs.

In the first game against the Lakers, Anjie's rare performance was abnormal.He made only 18 of 8 shots in this game and only scored a season-low 2 points since February.But Kobe and Gasol did not intend to let go of the chance to win. They scored 18 points and 28 points respectively, helping the Lakers beat the Trail Blazers 14 to 92.After the game, An Jie showed his hands helplessly at Kobe. He still worked hard today, but he couldn't score the ball no matter what he did.

"Next time, I won't make the game so boring." These were the last words Angie and Kobe said when they said goodbye, but Kobe hoped that every time he met Angie, it would be like this, that would be great.It's too much effort to fight this guy.

After losing to the Lakers, Angie was immediately besieged by the media.An Jie has been playing stably for too long, and now he has finally performed abnormally once. Of course, the reporters will not let go of the opportunity.

It's a pity that this topic hasn't heated up yet, and the Blazers immediately finished killing the Spurs in the Rose Garden!

Maybe it was because of the doubts from the outside world, Anjie played this game very hard.

In the face of criticism, An Jie will not fight the war of words with the reporters.Action, performance and statistics are the best way to silence journalists.

Therefore, when Anjie attacked Duncan with 36 points and 11 rebounds, when the Blazers scored in double figures with 7 players.All the reporters who were scolding An Jie the day before consciously shut up.Their faces were swollen after just one game.

103 to 97, the Blazers scored in double figures with seven players without fear of the Spurs, and Anjie also made Duncan look at himself with admiration once again.

After finishing the game, An Jie finally let out a sigh of relief.Halfway through the race, he's off to Orlando for a relatively easy time.His All-Star road has finally come to an end.

In the much-anticipated All-Star Game, how An Jie will perform after returning after a year has even become one of the hype focuses of this All-Star Game.

One year later, no one can shake his position as the All-Star starter. In fact, this is enough to explain the problem.

(End of this chapter)