The way of the center

Chapter 444 Let go, rookie boy
The first few days of the new NBA season have always been a few days of exciting matchups.In order to attract the attention of the public as soon as possible, NBA officials will always arrange some gimmicky matchups in the first few days of the new season, such as the Celtics and Heat in the opening game, such as the wonderful Lakers vs. Trail Blazers, and now , the "Thunder Horse War" being staged at the ATT Center.

As the two strong teams in the West, it is a pity that the two teams did not meet in the playoffs last season.But Stern would not give up this opportunity. No, this fantastic duel was put on the agenda at the very beginning of the season.

The whole game was very intense, the two sides took the lead alternately, until the last [-] seconds of the game, they couldn't tell the winner.

The Spurs played as calmly as ever, but on the Thunder side, Westbrook, who had entered the league for the fifth season like Anjie, was still suffering from the bad problem of his unstable shooting percentage.

21 of 6, shooting only 28%, Westbrook's performance made him look no different from his rookie season.If Durant hadn't been used to such things, he might have been angry about it.

Because of this, the Spurs now have a chance to control the final attack of the audience.

In the last 15 seconds, the Thunder were originally in control of the ball.However, Westbrook, who was in a really bad state tonight, made a pass error. Tony Parker struggled to dive to save the ball. He immediately called a timeout while controlling the ball.In this way, the ball was transferred to the hands of the Spurs, and at this time the score between the two sides was 86.

After returning from the timeout, Tony Parker received a grand reception from Westbrook on the perimeter.But Parker didn't let the basketball stay in his hands for too long. He hit the ground and passed, allowing Duncan to rely on Morris to get the basketball.

The muscles of Morris' whole body were tense. Don't look at Duncan, who is always tepid during the game, but his risk factor has never been lowered.Sure enough, Duncan took a step in, and Morris didn't dare to foul. Now that the two sides are tied, even a free throw can change the result of the game.

But to Morris' surprise, Duncan took a step inside and then passed the ball again.The Spurs three-point shooter Danny Green was opening an open spot at the moment. The young guard jumped up to shoot the ball, but Durant's long arms played a role at the moment. KD's arms completely covered Danny Green. Even if Green completed the shot, it was a shot completed under great interference.

Seeing that the basketball is about to be shot, Morris is ready to get stuck and fight for rebounds.at this time!Danny Green, who was still in the air, suddenly flicked his wrist, turning his shot into a pass!The basketball flew over Durant's fingertips and flew inside the three-point line.

"It's Parker! Tony Parker appeared in the mid-range position on the wing!" Reggie Miller shouted excitedly, pushing the tense atmosphere to a climax.

Because the ball was passed very suddenly, Westbrook naturally failed to keep up with Parker.After Parker took the ball and shot it, Westbrook arrived "belatedly". However, his supplementary defense has no practical significance.

"Swipe!" The basket made a death sound, the ball went in, and the watch stopped.Westbrook quickly looked at the referee, but the referee made a valid gesture for the goal!

"Yeah!" Tony Parker calmly waved his fist on the spot, but the excitement of the lore just now was by no means as ordinary as Parker's performance.If nothing else, the attack just now has already booked the top ten goals this month.

Durant tapped Westbrook on the shoulder but said nothing.Everyone in the Thunder team was very frustrated. Being defeated by a lore was the most aggrieved.

"It seems that Westbrook is not in good form recently. In the game the day after tomorrow, we can keep a close eye on Durant and let Westbrook take more shots." Rickard and Divac stared at the TV and said to West Brooke's performance was judged.

"No, people like Westbrook are easily swayed by emotions. Most of the responsibility for today's loss lies with him, so in the next game, he will prove himself like crazy." Di Watts rejected Ricard's plan. Although this guy is an assistant coach in name, it seems more accurate to call him a tactical consultant.

"En." Ricard held his chin and nodded thoughtfully.

On the wall behind the two men was a large schedule, densely packed with the schedule of the Trail Blazers this season.

On the November 11nd box, a red circle marks it.On that day, the Trail Blazers had a game, and their opponent in that game was the Oklahoma City Thunder who had just lost to the Spurs but kicked them out of the playoffs last season!

That's right, David Stern likes to engage in this kind of exciting matchups at the beginning of the season.
Since winning the Lakers, the Trail Blazers have become the darling of the media.In the past, An Jie could go home calmly after training, but now, An Jie always meets a few reporters who want to interview him for the first time after training every day.

Speaking of the training in the past few days, An Jie felt that it was full of freshness.The arrival of Divac really brought something different to Anjie. He has specially emphasized the connection between Anjie and Lillard in training in recent days.These two guys who worked together for the first time also became the couple who trained together the longest.

Both of these guys are passers, and the direct connection between the [-]st and [-]th positions will allow for a lot of change on the offensive end.Divac did not forget the simple but effective cooperation between Anjie and Lillard in the game against the Lakers. If you continue to dig this point, there will be greater gains.

There is no doubt that Divac wants to cultivate Angie and Lillard into himself and "White Chocolate" Jason Williams back then.Although these two people certainly cannot reach the heights of Divac and Williams in terms of pass viewing, but in terms of practicality, they can do better than the two "old brats" of the Kings back then. it is good.

So during the confrontation training, Divac and Ricard would deliberately let Lillard and Anjieduoduo cooperate. Some of them did play well, but more often, the two still lacked some tacit understanding .

"It will be fine. These two guys are the first year to work together." Divac watched Lillard's pass to Angie make another mistake. He was not upset, but relieved.It's better to make a mistake in practice than a mistake in a game.

"They all said that Damien's ceiling is almost at the top, but I think that kid still has a lot of room to grow. To be honest, if it weren't for Ann, the Trail Blazers wouldn't have drafted Lillard at all. I hope Ann This kid's eyesight can be as good as his golf skills."

"Hey, have you forgotten that it was under our correct guidance that Ann made rapid progress? When you found him in the field, he didn't even have the ability to play in the NCAA. But the result? He led the team to kill Into the top 16 of the crazy March! Lillard is the same, whether Ann's vision is good or not depends on our training quality." Divac believes in talent, but he believes in sweat even more.

Lillard's playing style makes him destined to become a pivotal role in the Trail Blazers. This is an ambitious and gangster guard. He cannot be willing to be a guy who just organizes offense.In this case, it's better to train him well and let him become An Jie's right-hand man!

In Portland, the Trail Blazers are preparing for the game with great fanfare.In Oklahoma, the atmosphere is equally tense.

Westbrook's aggressiveness on the training ground made Jeff Van Gundy sweat secretly.He worried that Westbrook would overdo it and get injured in practice.

After Fisher left, the Thunder were very nervous at the point guard position.Now, only second-year rookie Reggie Jackson can barely fill the vacancy left by Fisher.But this thin and inexperienced guy can only be bullied by Westbrook on the training ground.

Although the Thunder team successfully broke out of the West last season, they were crushed in the finals, but their ending was no different from that of An Jie. The NBA is sometimes more cruel than football. There is only one championship in the league every year. Unlike in the football world, a team can participate in several competitions, and at the same time there are several championships to compete for.

Among the 30 teams, even if there are only seven or eight strong teams, the competition is very cruel.As the leader of the strong teams last season, the Thunder almost touched the O'Brien Cup. This year, they don't want to let that gold cup slip away from them again.

This time he was about to reunite with An Jie, Westbrook felt a little less missing, but a little more eager to fight.

It has been five years, and the three young boys have become the mainstay of this league, and they have become accustomed to the comings and goings of the team.After competing in the playoffs a few months ago, Westbrook, Durant and others have become accustomed to Anjie appearing as their opponent.

In the last game against the Spurs, Westbrook had to pay for the team's failure.However, as Divac said, he will not be depressed because of this, but will become more bloodthirsty because of it.

This guy doesn't want to lose two games in a row, this guy doesn't want to be questioned by the outside world, this guy doesn't want to lose to Anjie, and he doesn't want to lose to a team he has beaten in the playoffs
Early in the morning, the Trail Blazers got on the plane.At this time, some people in the team were still sleepy.For example, Divac, that old and unscrupulous guy, gives people a feeling that he hasn't woken up yet.

"Hey, buddy. Your opponent tonight is not easy to mess with." An Jie took the initiative to sit next to Damian Lillard and chatted with this guy who was trained by the coaching staff.

"Hey, don't worry, I will feed the ball into your hands steadily." Lillard smiled shyly, but Anjie knew that this was not the real Damian Lillard.

"What are you worrying about? Damien?" Anjie knew Westbrook well. After losing in the last game, he will definitely be very difficult today.If Lillard still suppresses himself, he can't deal with him.

"Huh?" Lillard was confused when asked.

"I've seen the videos of you in college, and I have played against you during the trial training. I know what kind of person you are, Damien, and I know what your heart longs for." An Jie said, pointing Pointing to Lillard's chest.

"Don't worry, let it go. You don't have to think about me and LaMarcus, you don't have to pass the ball deliberately. It doesn't mean you can do whatever you want, but you don't have to suppress yourself If you want to beat Westbrook, you have to be yourself. Free your hands and feet to fuck Damien! Do what you are good at!" What An Jie needs is not a well-behaved boy, he likes Lila De, precisely because of the wildness in his heart!For a guy like Westbrook, you can only match him if you are tougher.

After An Jie finished speaking, he patted Lillard on the shoulder and turned to leave.He still likes to sit with Aldridge, which has become an unshakeable habit of the two every time they fly away from home.

"What did you say to him?" Aldridge asked curiously.

"It's nothing, I'm just trying to unleash a beast. An outside beast that might even make that fellow Westbrook afraid!" Angie's iconic smirk made Aldridge feel completely at ease.
(End of this chapter)