The way of the center

Chapter 410 The Familiar Battlefield

Van Gundy looked in the mirror to confirm that he was neatly dressed and meticulous.This bald guy is always like this. He thinks that a person's clean image is not only respect for himself, but also for others.What's more, the Western Conference Finals is a big stage that he has never touched before.You must know that the last time Van Gundy led the Knicks to the Eastern Conference finals was before 2000.After a lapse of 12 years, he once again brought the team he coached to the divisional finals. This incident is definitely a milestone breakthrough for Van Gundy.So on this occasion, he didn't want to dress inappropriately.

"How was your rest last night?" Van Gundy's wife suddenly hugged the aging man from behind. For the Thunder, his aging speed soared.If possible, she really hoped that her husband would become a commentator instead of the team coach.

"Last night was probably the deepest sleep I've had this season." Van Gundy held the hand on his shoulder. There is also plenty of time to study the Trail Blazers.Now, he has done everything he can do in advance, so last night, Van Gundy, who was under constant high pressure, was rarely in his bed before midnight.

"That's good. Breakfast should be ready soon. I'll go to the kitchen. You can read the newspaper and wait for me at the dining table." Van Gundy's wife walked into the kitchen, and he even smelled the aroma of toast.A glass of milk and a newspaper were ready for him on the dining table, and Van Gundy took two deep breaths, what a peaceful morning.But he knows that in a few hours, the atmosphere and environment of his life will be very different!
After breakfast, saying goodbye to his wife, and driving his old car that was a bit worn out but still reluctant to change, Van Gundy started to head towards the Chesapeake Energy Arena.The closer he was to his destination, the farther away he was from this peaceful life.If he still can't realize his championship dream this season, then maybe it's time to retire bravely
Van Gundy shook his head, now is not the time to think about retiring.At least this season, he has to continue to fight the Thunder!And the toughest part of the playoffs will start tonight.

Van Gundy walked in the empty player tunnel, and it was not time for the team to gather for training. The reason why he came so early was just to do some preparations.Don't underestimate the low-intensity warm-up training before the game. The quality of this training will greatly affect the performance of the players on the field a few hours later.

But to Van Gundy's surprise, he seemed to vaguely hear the sharp sound of the sneakers rubbing against the wooden floor.Since An Jie left the Thunder, he rarely saw anyone coming to practice early in the morning.Morris, Durant and Westbrook occasionally come to practice early, but only occasionally.Curious Van Gundy pushed open the door of the training ground, and the guy who was training inside was a guy he was very familiar with, but a little strange.

"install!?"

"Hey, boss! You are still the same as before, you came so early." An Jie picked up the basketball and smiled at Van Gundy foolishly.

"This is the training ground for the home team, you kid." Van Gundy shook his head, and Anjie made it look like he was still a member of the Thunder.Van Gundy hopes that he is still a member of the Thunder, so that the chances of the Thunder winning the championship will be greater.Although the acquisition of Batum from the Trail Blazers also greatly improved the strength of the Thunder.With him, Durant doesn't have to play 10 minutes every game.But the role of that French striker has never been comparable to that of Anjie.

"Hehe, I'm used to it. I thought you guys haven't started training yet, so I'll borrow this field to use first. How about the boss, is the team ready?" An Jie simply sat down beside Van Gundy. , going to chat with him.

"Don't worry, Ann, everything is ready, how about you? That kid Ricard, you have thought of a lot of tricks again?"

"Boss is the same as you. You've been thinking about tactics for the past few days. Don't you think of a lot of arrangements for me? Boss." An Jie found that although he was already a member of the Trail Blazers , but he still couldn't get rid of the title of Van Gundy.He couldn't address Van Gundy by his first name, or the distant title of "coach."The boss, An Jie likes to call him Van Gundy, even though Van Gundy is no longer his boss.

"Do you want to spy on the military situation? Hahahaha, you will naturally know when you are on the field. Go and continue practicing, I... I will sit here."

Seeing Anjie running on the court, Van Gundy was deeply moved.After breaking up for a season, who would have thought that they would meet again on the stage of the Western Conference Finals.Anjie has not changed. Although he has stepped into the ranks of first-line stars like his former partners Durant and Westbrook in the Trail Blazers this year, he still does not relax his requirements.There is no squeeze on training time.His heart of loving basketball and winning is still exactly the same as when he was a fledgling.

But Anjie has also changed. This season Anjie took personal honors because he was soft-handed, and like other stars, he has his own exclusive signature shoes. This season, he also created career records and even NBA records.He has changed and become stronger than the Anjie coached by Van Gundy before!
"Boss, boss?" It wasn't until Anjie shouted twice that Van Gundy was pulled back from his thoughts.

"what?"

"I'm going to the visiting team's training ground first, and you will have to start training soon. I'm afraid it's not appropriate to stay here."

"Oh, go ahead. Actually, it doesn't matter if you stay here, really." Van Gundy was not worried about his secret being leaked, and he never regarded An Jie as an outsider.

"Forget it, boss, I have to go meet with my team. See you on the field!" An Jie blinked at Van Gundy, then turned and left.Yes, now, Anjie already has another team with him as the core.His team is no longer the Oklahoma City Thunder.

"See you on the field." Van Gundy looked at An Jie's tall back and whispered to himself.He really doesn't want to be an enemy of Anjie, he really hopes that Anjie can lead the Trail Blazers to better results.But the premise of doing that doesn't include stepping on the Thunder's corpse.

An Jie stepped out of the gate of the home team's training ground. Van Gundy knew that from this moment on, he and An Jie had changed from a mentor-student and friend relationship to an enemy who had to fight to the death or mine.

"OKC! OKC! OKC!." Chesapeake Energy Arena shouted neatly, louder than any previous series.In the blue ocean of the Chesapeake Energy Arena, An Jie finally saw the sense of oppression that this place brought to people.

As one of the former owners here, An Jie is quite able to adapt to such an atmosphere.But Matthews, Aldridge and others were obviously a little nervous by this formation.

"You son of a bitch!" Hearing someone greet him with swear words, instead of getting angry, An Jie smiled.There's only one guy in Oklahoma who can talk to him like that.

An Jie turned his head. As expected, the strong Andrew Morris was walking towards him with his arms open.

"Big Bull, what the hell have you eaten? Why do I think you look worse than before?" The two hugged each other. This scene is rarely seen in a game like the Western Conference Finals.

"Hey, you just need to know that I'll eat you later." As he spoke, Morris proudly showed off his muscles.Morris is no joke. Today, he is also one of the league's top interior defenders.The Thunder's ability to reach the Western Conference finals is inseparable from his and Ibaka's almost abnormal inside defense.

"Morris, you have a serious tone."

"Hey, boss." Seeing Ricard, Morris also became respectful.During the two years at the university, Ricard punished himself a lot, but for some reason, he just couldn't hate this foul-mouthed coach.

"Why, are you here to spy on the military situation?" Ricard also joked with Morris, but he was not afraid of Morris spying on anything at all.Just as Van Gundy still regards Anjie as his own, Ricard does not regard Morris as an outsider.

"Don't worry boss, if we want to win, we have to win in a fair way." Morris patted his chest. This guy seemed rebellious to outsiders, but in front of his own people, he was definitely a representative of loyalty.

"Big man, how does it feel to go home?" Afterwards, Westbrook also greeted Anjie.Then Durant, Ibaka, Sefoloza
For a moment, An Jie even thought that he was still a member of this group of people.However, before the game started, he found that he had to stand opposite the enthusiastic guys.

Anjie looked behind him, Aldridge gave him a thumbs up, Gerald Wallace clapped his hands to cheer himself up, Matthews drew a cross on his chest, Felton was pressing Anjie Smiled, although the guys on the opposite side are very powerful, but now he has a new team with the same strength!
"Ann! I haven't played against each other for a long time. Let me continue the unfinished one-on-one match!" Morris just finished speaking, the referee threw the basketball into the air.

Both Anjie and Morris jumped upwards as if they had been wound up.

The fans at the scene were shouting, and these voices were exactly the same as back then.But this time, what Anjie wants to do is not let the Thunder win, but let them lose at home!

On May 2012, 5, the scorching summer has come.The equally frenetic Western Conference finals have officially started!

(End of this chapter)