The way of the center

Chapter 422 A Successful War of Attrition
Although he entered the second half with a huge disadvantage, Jeff Van Gundy wasn't worried at all.The reason why the Trail Blazers were able to take the lead in the first half of the game was due to the excellent performance of Anjie and the abnormal performance of Durant and Westbrook.

His tactics are working, and the offensive efficiency of the rest of the Trail Blazers is still greatly reduced.No matter how good Anjie is, he can't replicate Kobe's 81-point myth.Jeff Van Gundy wants to see how long his former proud disciple can last in this game.

I have to admit that among all the teams that have reached the division finals, the Trail Blazers have the most shabby lineup.In the Eastern Conference finals, there will be a fantasy showdown between the Heat and the Celtics.In the Western Conference finals, the Thunder's Durant, Westbrook, Bledsoe, Morris, Batum and Ibaka are all outstanding players with distinctive characteristics.What about the Blazers?

Rickard has just a former All-Star point guard, a rising but still immature three-point shooter, and a "Elvis Presley" who has suffered a major injury and faded away.On the bench, there are only two guards who perform like All-Stars if they perform well, and are nothing if they perform poorly.Marcus Camby and Kurt Thomas?It is already remarkable that these two old guys who are older than Ricard can not hold back the team.

Anjie and Aldridge are far inferior to the bluffing names of the other three teams.But relying on this lineup, the Trail Blazers broke into the Western Conference Finals unbelievably.Ricard's subtle tactics are one aspect, but it is also an indisputable fact that the Blazers rely too much on Anjie.

What Jeff Van Gundy is doing now is to play hard against the Trail Blazers' not-so-luxury lineup.Some people may say that the five Pistons won the championship in this way, but the current three perimeters of the Trail Blazers cannot reach the level of the five Pistons back then.

Can't guard against An Jie, but Van Gundy is confident that he can guard against others.Let Anjie hit five, this is the ultimate goal of Van Gundy's tactics.

"They seem to want to cut off the connection between me and the team." It's not that Anjie can't see Jeff Van Gundy's plan. Thinking about how aggrieved the "Little Emperor" played in the Cavaliers, Anjie can Guess how bad the situation will be next.

"Listen, we continue to practice strict man-to-man defense, don't help defend, and switch on pick-and-roll. On the offensive end, if there is really no chance, give the ball to Ann! Ann, let them taste your strength!" Regarding the lineup There is nothing Ricard can do about his flawed strength.All he can do is to pay attention to the poor offensive efficiency of Durant and Westbrook.

Start with defense. This is Jeff Van Gundy's creed, and it is also Ricard's creed.

Therefore, the excitement of the third quarter was greatly reduced compared to the first half or even the first two duels between the two sides.

"Westbrook's half-turned jump shot, no, still no. The number zero guard's shooting percentage has dropped below 40% today. Jeff Van Gundy can only hope for Durant now."

Anjie grabbed the defensive rebound as always, and he really wanted to take this opportunity to play a transition attack.But looking up, Felton, a guard who can't rush up, can only wait for Anjie's pass in the backcourt, and Matthews can't get a little space under Sefoloza's entanglement.Gerald Wallace advanced very quickly, but Durant has been following behind him, always on guard against Anjie's long pass.There was no other way, Anjie had no choice but to give the ball to Felton again. Seeing the Thunder's tight defense, Anjie took a breath and ran forward.

As soon as An Jie turned his back, Morris took the initiative to find him.The big bull grabbed An Jie's jersey savagely with both hands, and his left leg was disheveled and slightly padded. He pressed his knee against An Jie's tailbone to make it difficult for him to exert strength.

An Jie saw that he would not be able to find opportunities for a while, so he chose to avoid Morris's entanglement, and mentioned the high position to Felton to pick and roll.

However, this guy Westbrook didn't let An Jie succeed. He once again perfectly bypassed the "wall" of An Jie, and Felton didn't get the slightest chance at all.

Helpless, Felton handed the ball to Matthews who was going out of the three-point line.Matthews was just about to shoot after receiving the ball, but found that Sefoloza had already arrived.Seeing this situation, Matthews immediately gave up his plan to make a move. This third-year undrafted pick is not yet strong enough to dare to squander opportunities on the stage of the Western Conference Finals.

The smooth passing of the Trail Blazers was completely over with Matthews. Matthews hesitated for a while before choosing to give the ball to Aldridge.

Aldridge caught the ball, feinted a shot, and then rushed in.After deceiving Ibaka, Aldridge made an emergency stop for a jumper inside the free throw line. Unexpectedly, Morris rushed to him at this moment and seriously interfered with Aldridge's shooting.

Before Durant and Ibaka were locked in position, An Jie suddenly flew into the three-second zone and took the rebound high.After grabbing the offensive rebound and landing on the ground, Anjie immediately took off and dunked for the second time. Durant subconsciously stretched out his hand, and the referee blew his whistle without hesitation.At the same time, An Jie swung his arms and smashed the ball into the basket vigorously, getting a chance to hit a three-pointer!
"Great game, enjoy it Kenny, I bet it will definitely be another great game for Ann!" O'Neill saw the scene of Anjie raging in the interior, and he could not help but think of himself back then.

"Be more active in running!" After the dunk, An Jie didn't do any celebration, but reminded his teammates loudly and sternly.Although for the Trail Blazers, Anjie is just a "newcomer" who has joined the team for less than a year.But when he roared loudly on the court, no one would stand up and question him.Even Aldridge only apologized to An Jie.

An additional penalty hit, Anjie once again successfully hit a three-pointer.But this guy couldn't be happy in his heart. He knew that basketball was a team sport, but Jeff Van Gundy's defense turned the Blazers' basketball into a performance of individual heroism.

An Jie doesn't want to be a hero. He would rather cooperate with his teammates to win than score 100 points but the team loses.

Jeff Van Gundy could see An Jie's anxiety. No matter how incredible this guy is, he is still human.An Jie knew very well that it was impossible for him to defeat the Thunder alone.It stands to reason that this should be an opportunity for the Thunder to launch a fierce counterattack.However, Durant's offense failed again.

"Ann! His bold forward attack blocked Durant's shot! Gerald Wallace picked up the basketball and launched a counterattack. His advancing speed was very fast. "Elvis Presley" should have taken out All my strength! Ibaka is close behind, can he make a fast break?"

As soon as Kenny Smith finished speaking, Gerald Wallace forced a layup.Before he could fly much higher, he was blocked by Morris's stronger body.

In the past, Gerald Wallace might be able to stage a slam dunk.But he, who was interrupted by Bynum and broke his lungs, lost that kind of confrontation ability a long time ago.

Under Morris's tough squeeze, Wallace had difficulty making good moves, not to mention dunks.Helpless, this strong-willed but powerless small forward can only lay up with extremely twisted movements. As a result, the basketball bounced a few times on the hoop, but finally slipped out!

"Damn it!" An Jie just ran beyond the three-point line, but had to turn around and run back.Westbrook desperately shuttled through the crowd, but Angie, who started earlier, still bit the tail of the lightning.

Westbrook leaps to the unguarded rim for a dunk.Not long after the talent flew out, the basketball in Westbrook's hand was slapped away from behind!

"Ann's second consecutive block! My God! God! Two consecutive blocks, and the blocks were Durant and Westbrook. I think, a simple word of dominance , can no longer be used to describe Ann's performance!" This time the person shouting in front of the commentary was not Kenny Smith, but O'Neill, who had always been "reserved"!He rarely gives such crazy praise to any player, because he has done crazier things himself.But Anjie's two consecutive violent blocks still completely conquered O'Neill's heart.

The basketball that was slapped by An Jie hit the backboard heavily, and the basketball rebounded vigorously.Matthews jumped high and struggled to protect the rebound under the pull of Sefoloza.After that, he advanced quickly, but the ball was cut away by Sefoloza at the moment of taking three steps.

"Oops! In these two wonderful rounds, the Trail Blazers failed to seize the opportunity to score. If the Trail Blazers' perimeter players could have stronger impact, the situation of the game would have been different!"

The bearded man stomped his feet in the auditorium. This scene was exactly the same as when the Cyclones lost to UCLA!Except for Anjie, there is no second player in the Blazers who can pose a huge threat to the Thunder.Aldridge can score, but today this guy's shooting percentage is not ideal.

An Jie fights like this, how many minutes can he last?Originally, big players have to bear greater physical exertion than others, and Anjie is not a center like Howard who is known for his athletic ability.Who can bear to run back and forth so frequently and have to attack and defend at the same time!

The game went on for a few more minutes, but the situation still did not change.No one in the Trail Blazers could stand up to share the pressure for Anjie, and the sound of Westbrook and Durant's iron strikes continued to rise and fall.

At the end of the third quarter, relying on the excellent performance of Bledsoe and Batum on the Thunder's bench, they chased the point difference to only 7 points.However, the performance of Durant and Westbrook did not improve at all.

Van Gundy thought that in the fourth quarter, he would close the game as he wished, but he could only watch Anjie widen the gap again!

Durant finally found his form in the fourth quarter, but only now, it seems a bit too late.But something is better than nothing, at least now Jeff Van Gundy sees a glimmer of hope of winning.As long as Anjie takes a rest, the Thunder will immediately control the situation!
But Jeff Van Gundy waited for 8 minutes, and Anjie was not replaced!

Seeing Bledsoe rushing towards him unconvinced, the exhausted Anjie had to open his arms and stand ready.Now he finds it very difficult to even open his arms, not to mention blocking shots.

In this moment of distraction, the kid Bledsoe had already rushed in front of An Jie.An Jie took off hastily. Although he still had the advantage of wingspan, his jumping height was greatly reduced due to extreme fatigue.

Bledsoe got two free throws for one foul.Anjie has collapsed, Jeff Van Gundy knows, Anjie has collapsed!

After the Trail Blazers' offense, Anjie used a soft drop to force a layup and made Morris a foul.

After An Jie stood on the free throw line, the entire Rose Garden Stadium rang out "MVP" shouts!Fans of the Trail Blazers can naturally see Anjie's overdrawn state, and they are all using this method to support Anjie!

"The last time the fans stood up and yelled MVP, it was when he was in the Thunder. This guy, no matter where he is, is the savior in the hearts of the fans!" O'Neill knew, although it was just a general burst of fans. It's a common shout, but it's also a great honor for a player.

Without any mistakes, An Jie made two free throws and the score remained at 7 points.But An Jie can't guarantee that he can last until the last moment!
4 minutes, 3 minutes, 2 minutes!Jeff Van Gundy looked at his watch, the time was running out, but Ricard still did not replace Anjie!

"Are you going to overdraw him? You bastard!" Jeff Van Gundy cursed in his heart. First, he was worried that An Jie would be overwhelmed like Yao Ming and get injured, and second, he was worried that the Thunder would fall in front of the imminent victory.

In the following games, Anjie's defense could only serve as a deterrent.Anyone who dares to charge towards An Jie, even if he can't score directly, can still successfully draw a foul.

The score was forced closer. During this period, apart from Aldridge's few goals, the rest of the Trail Blazers still didn't do much.

An Jie felt that he couldn't even move forward or take a step now.However, the game is not over, he must continue to fight!
When the Thunder were not easy to catch up to only three points, there were only 26 seconds left in the game.

This is the Thunder's possession of the ball, and they control the final attack that determines the outcome of the game.

If the game is successfully dragged into overtime, then the Thunder will undoubtedly win!With Anjie's current state, it is impossible to appear in overtime.

Van Gundy looked at An Jie, who was faltering in pace, and used up the last timeout in his hand.His tactics have succeeded, and An Jie has long since failed.Destiny is completely in the Thunder's own hands!

(End of this chapter)