The way of the center

Chapter 392
After working so hard for so long, An Jie was finally not perfunctorily selected to the best defensive first team, but actually took the player of the year award in his hands.

For a player who takes defense as his own responsibility, winning this award will definitely make him happy for several days.An Jie was no exception. Now that he had returned home, he was so excited that he still tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep.

In the middle of this season, Anjie had already lifted the All-Star Game MVP trophy at the same time as Durant.In other words, the best defensive player is the second individual award Anjie has won this season.

Before that, An Jie also won honors such as the MVP of the Asian Championships and the MVP of the Rookie Tournament.But never has An Jie been as excited as today.

No way, the gold content of the best defensive player of the year is not comparable to those few small awards.This is the recognition of An Jie from the entire basketball circle, and it is also the best proof that An Jie dominates the penalty area!
Dwight Howard, who is gradually sinking in the Magic, must be revived, otherwise, Anjie, Ibaka or Morris are all likely to ride on his head.

Holding the not-so-golden but very delicate trophy, An Jie picked up the remote control and turned on the TV.

It was already ten o'clock in the evening, but An Jie still wanted to use the news to see the news that he had won the Best Defensive Player Award.However, after watching for a long time, the smile on An Jie's face gradually froze.

"Now there is an urgent news. Just a few minutes ago, the San Antonio Spurs, the No. 4 Western Conference team in the regular season, successfully defeated the Mavericks at the American Airlines Center Arena and advanced to the next round of the playoffs with a total score of 0-[-]. The Spurs' opponent in the next round will be the Portland Trail Blazers who also advanced by sweeping their opponents. The match between the two teams will be played after the first round of the duel. Welcome everyone to lock in ESPN to bring you Come live game. Well, now let’s move on to the next piece of news. Just today, the NBA officially announced the winner of the best defensive player award of the season, center Ann of the Portland Trail Blazers. The news hasn’t been read yet After finishing, An Jie turned off the TV.In an instant, he was no longer in the mood to watch the news, and the sense of joy from winning the award also dropped a lot.

Sweeping the defending champions and ranking No. [-] in the Western Conference during the regular season, the name San Antonio Spurs was like a heavy stone, which was heavily pressed on Anjie's broad and solid shoulders.

Unexpectedly, in the second round, they actually met them.Facing the Spurs, how many players can laugh?
Indeed, Duncan is not as explosive as Griffin, and Parker is not as agile as Paul.But when that group of Spurs get together, they can become the most powerful team!The scariest thing is that the old man who controls this excellent team is named Gregg Popovich.

Just defeated the Clippers, just dealt with the fatal impact of Paul and Griffin.But before he could take a breath, the next stronger opponent had already approached him.

One wave of ups and downs, this is the fiercely competitive playoffs.

"The Mavericks are too disappointing." Ricard's pressure is even greater than that of Anjie. If Anjie is only facing Duncan, who is not at his peak, Ricard has to fight against, and he has just won the best player of the year. Coach Award Dodo Popovich!

When he first started as a high school basketball coach, Ricard learned many of his tactical concepts and ideas from Popovich.Popovich has always been one of the rare idols of the guy Ricard.

When he was in college, Ricard often studied Popovich's moves.Because in his opinion, only by learning from a tactical master like Popovich can it be possible for him to improve.

Unexpectedly, now, Rickard will draw his sword against his idol and teacher in the playoffs!

"The Mavericks are too disappointing." Apart from repeating this sentence, what else can Ricard say?
As the defending champion, the Mavericks, whose strength has been greatly reduced this season, are the most ideal opponents for the Trail Blazers in the second round.When he was still fighting the Clippers, Rickard prayed to God more than once, praying that the Dallas Mavericks could successfully complete the black eight, defeat the Spurs and enter the second round.It's a pity that the gap in strength between the Mavericks and the Spurs cannot be filled by Ricard with a few prayers.Although "German Chariot" Nowitzki's performance is still eye-catching, but in terms of overall strength, the Mavericks are still far behind the Spurs.

Now, this terrible opponent finally fell on the Trail Blazers.

There is no way, since you can't hide, then you can only face it bravely!
Ricard stopped complaining. He listened to a piece of piano music, drank a cup of strong black coffee, and pressed his temples with his thumbs.Suddenly, Ricard looked much better.He turned on the tape of the Spurs' first-round series and started his brainstorming for the next round.
For the Blazers, the Spurs are a threatening opponent.For the Spurs, why isn't the Blazers a formidable enemy?

During the regular season, the two sides will win and lose each other, evenly matched.The Spurs could not occupy an overwhelming advantage over the Blazers, and the Blazers wanted to beat the Spurs, but it was also very difficult.Therefore, the Spurs' GDP and Popovich are not much easier than Anjie and Ricard.

"I said back then that Anna kid will definitely become a major obstacle in our career." In the second day's training, Popovich first called his players to give a tactical lesson in the conference room.And their research object is naturally the Trail Blazers.

Watching An Jie's wonderful goals and subtle assists on the TV screen, Duncan, who usually doesn't talk much, suddenly said that.

"It's just your mouth." The response to Duncan was naturally the Spurs' metronome, "French little sports car" Tony Parker. When Duncan played against Anjie for the first time in 08, Duncan looked at Anjie and said this to Parker.

At the time, Parker didn't take it seriously at all.For such a thin Chinese player, it is remarkable to gain a firm foothold in the NBA.When someone didn't eat meat, An Jie occasionally performed well in a few games, which didn't explain anything.

Unexpectedly, An Jie's outstanding performance has been outstanding until now.And Duncan's words finally became reality four years later.

Meeting the Trail Blazers in the Western Conference semifinals was indeed a major obstacle to the Spurs' journey.

"You have all seen that when defending the Spurs, you must never leave them a little space! Yes, when you are playing against the Clippers, you may temporarily let go of Jordan, and you can miss Mo William from outside the three-point line. But against the Spurs, this kind of take-for-granted omission is absolutely not allowed to happen! As long as you omit any Spurs player on the court, I mean anyone! Then thanks to Popovich’s system, you will definitely You will pay for it!" Like Popovich, the first thing Ricard did after assembling the team the next day was to take his players to study the video.

To defeat an opponent, the first thing to do is to understand the opponent.Analyzing game videos is undoubtedly the best way to achieve this goal.

"Ann? That guy is indeed very strong, but we still can't give up on his defense. What we have to do is not to prevent him from scoring less points, but to let him score points in an inefficient way as much as possible. After seeing so much The video, did anyone find anything?" Popovich suddenly asked the players below a question.

But when Popovich asked, the bottom was silent.

"In addition to all-around skills and horrible defense, do these game videos show Anjie's shortcomings?" This is the reaction of most players to Popovich's question.

However, one of them seriously recalled everything he saw just now, and began to think about it.

"He uses his left hand to attack less than his right hand. Also, he likes long passes very much, but the Trail Blazers guards are not as fast as Westbrook." Duncan raised his hand and answered two points.

"Not bad Tim, forcing Anjie to attack the frame with his left hand, I think we should be able to get unexpected surprises. Beware of Anjie's long pass from the backcourt, it can bring him more turnovers. Of course, Anjie's weakness is not limited These, for example, "Popovich is indeed a master tactician, and the details are different from others.The use habits of players' left and right hands cannot escape Popovich's eyes.

Of course, Duncan, who discovered this as a player, is even more brilliant.

"One-on-one close defense, less help defense, less double-teaming, pay attention to your own people. The Spurs are a team that does a very good job of passing the ball, too casual help defense and double-teaming, not only can't get up To strengthen the defense, it will expose your weaknesses to the enemy. Believe me, the Spurs will definitely not miss any opportunities, so don’t take chances.” Popovich made arrangements against Anjie in San Antonio, In Portland, Ricard also analyzed the characteristics of the Spurs for the players.Both teams are incompatible with each other, frantically adding stocks to their arsenals.

There is only one day to prepare for the game, and the two coaches are eager to instill their discoveries into the players' minds.When it comes to the field, it's a real job.Only by increasing the "inventory" crazily now, the chances of winning will be greater after arriving on the field.

"Okay, everyone, go out and get ready. Let's take a simple run with the tactics we will use tomorrow. After training, we will take an hour's rest and then we will set sail for San Antonio!" After watching the video, Ricard clapped his hands.It never hurts to be well prepared.

It was seven o'clock in the evening when the Portland team bus arrived at the airport.An Jie, who had fallen asleep in the car, was woken up by Aldridge who was beside him.

"Look at Ann!" Aldridge smiled and pointed out the window.

An Jie opened his hazy eyes and looked out the window, but the next second, his eyes suddenly widened.

Outside the Portland International Airport, countless Trail Blazers fans held signs with various slogans and stood on both sides of the sidewalk to see their heroes off!

Although most of these people can't go to the scene to watch the game, their hearts are connected with the Trail Blazers who are about to fly far away.

The warriors of the city of tearing are not fighting alone!They themselves represent the tearing city!

It was not until the plane took off and climbed so high that it was impossible to see the land of Portland through the thick clouds that Anjie finally took off the right hand placed on his heart.

The reason why he did this was to let the fans who saw them off all the way know.I have all your expectations in mind!

A strong sense of mission welled up in my heart, and returning from San Antonio with victory has become An Jie's next goal!
Wait, people of the Torn City.The king here is destined to return in triumph!

(End of this chapter)