The way of the center

Chapter 678
"Mr. An, Mr. An! What do you think of the loss in this game?"

"Coach Ricard, has the Spurs' tactical system completely restrained you?"

"The Spurs' performance outside the three-point line is very eye-catching today. Is the team's defensive focus too much on the basket?"

After the game, An Jie could not walk smoothly from the court to the locker room.Every reporter rushed forward and brought the microphone to An Jie's mouth.

It's more surprising that the Blazers lost than they won.You know, this team has only lost ten games in a season, and every loss is enough to make them headlines.What's more, today's game is still such an important Western Conference Finals.

The defending champion Blazers, who had a smooth journey, was stumped by the veteran powerhouse Spurs. This is definitely a topic that reporters have to dig into.

An Jie didn't answer the reporters' questions. He pushed through the crowd all the way, and finally squeezed into an area where media personnel were not allowed to enter.He suddenly patted the wall around him hard, which startled the stadium staff.

An Jie has not tried the taste of failure for too long.Fighting against the Spurs, it seems that the intensity of the game has changed a lot in an instant.

If the previous two rounds against the Mavericks and the Rockets were compared to the NCAA, then today's game suddenly became an NBA level.The Spurs have come here through hardships, and their determination is stronger than the Blazers at the moment.

"Hey, let's go back and talk about it first." Aldridge patted Anjie's butt from behind, and the two walked towards the locker room side by side.Today Aldridge let Duncan, an old guy, get the second-highest 27 points in the game, second only to Anjie.So this guy feels as bad as An Jie.

The strength of the Spurs has enveloped the entire Moda Center. The first attack by Popovich's army opened a gap in the wall of the Rose City.

"I'm sorry, I don't know anything fucking!" Anjie and Aldridge had just stepped into the locker room when they heard loud curses coming from behind them.

You don't need to look to know that Ricard is throwing fire at the reporters again.Ricard is so unfriendly to reporters, which means that the entire locker room will be swallowed by Ricard's anger later.

"Crack!" The door of the dressing room was pushed open, and Ricard slammed his tie to the ground as soon as he entered.

"George! Do you still want to go to the hospital!?" Behind Ricard, Divac anxiously came up and pulled the irritable guy back.While it feels good to win as a team coach, Divac doesn't want to have the chance to be an acting coach.

"One by one, do you still think that you are fighting a team like the Rockets!? This is the Western Conference Finals, and your opponent is the San Antonio Spurs! The San Antonio Spurs! One of the most successful teams in the 21st century so far! Do you know!?" Ricard ignored Divac's dissuasion, also, when this guy went berserk, who could persuade him?
The players all bowed their heads, and no one dared to speak.Indeed, the ease of advancement in the first two rounds of the series made the Blazers players unable to adapt to the rhythm of this fierce competition.

They are still playing the Spurs in the same way they played the Mavericks and Rockets, but the Spurs are not comparable to the first two opponents.

"Defending champions, our goal is defending champions! Guys! Do you know how a championship should play? Do you know how much you deserved respect when you fought the Heat to the last ball last year!? But now!? I see There are only careless passes, sloppy defense, and an offense that relies too much on singles! Maybe James Harden's frighteningly low shooting rate makes you think that as long as you interfere casually, the Spurs' outside line will also lose sight? Maybe you think that the Spurs are still a team that Ann or others can kill on their own!? Wake up guys! We are in danger!" Ricard finished his roar and began to cough violently.Divac and the players immediately surrounded him nervously.

"I'm fine!" Ricard raised a hand, he didn't want to be protected in the locker room.

"Think about what I said, and think about how you lost today. Tomorrow's training will start as usual, Ann, and go to the press conference with me." Ricard stopped yelling, he knew that his subordinates Players are the best.Sometimes, this group of young people just lacks a little pressure.If I, as the coach, don't put pressure on them and explain the stakes of the matter to them, the young Blazers may really lose the series in a daze.After all, their current enemies are the veteran Popovich and the Spurs.

But Ricard also understands that the pressure must be exhausted, otherwise the players are likely to be overwhelmed.So instead of continuing to "bombard" the locker room, he let the players digest what they just said.

"Don't do this again, boss." Walking in the corridor leading to the media reception room, Anjie was very worried about Ricard's physical condition. He hoped that he and Ricard could become the next Popovich and Duncan , instead of Ricard retiring early due to physical reasons.

"No way, I have to do this." Ricard disagreed, he really poured everything into this team, including health.

"We'll do well in the next game."

"You know Ann, I never doubt this!" Ricard smiled, no matter how angry Ricard was, he always believed that the players under him were the best!
Sure enough, the press conference was spent amidst the chattering questions of the reporters. Anjie and Ricard sang together on the stage. The reporters neither asked anything valuable, nor could they complain.After all, these two men did answer their questions.

Regarding the issue of losing, Anjie and Ricard have always dealt with it in a perfunctory manner.But for some constructive questions, they will still answer them well.

For example, when Wu Hua asked how the team should adjust for the next game, An Jie answered the question seriously.

"I think it's still a mentality. Although they have both stood on the stage of the Western Conference Finals, the experience of the Spurs is completely different from our experience. They have been struggling since the first round of the game, and they have fought all the way to get here. So Today, their game intensity and desire to win are indeed what we don't have. We will show a better performance in the next game. The Spurs have already won a victory at the Moda Center. I can't let This happened twice in a row!"

"Thank you!" Wu Hua nodded in satisfaction. He knew that as long as An Jie didn't admit defeat, the whole Blazers would not lose!
This round of the series is really getting more and more interesting.
※※※

It's May again, and the temperature in the air in Portland seems to be getting higher and higher.I don't know if it's because of the coming of summer, or because the fierce battle is going on here.

In downtown Portland, there's one place that's always buzzing.Usually, there are always many young people and tourists gathered in the square of that place.And at night, especially when there are NBA games, this place will become the focus of the whole city of Portland, and even the whole of Oregon!Undoubtedly, there is only one place in all of Portland that meets all the criteria for appeal.There used to be a romantic and beautiful name here, Rose Garden.Now, it is called Moda Center by fans.

At noon, when all of Portland was still reporting the news of the Trail Blazers' loss, it was appropriate for the fans to still be unable to let go of last night's game.In the home team training ground of the Moda Center, the screeching sound of the friction between the sneakers and the hardwood floor has already sounded.

"Run, run, run!"

"Pick and roll! I need a pick and roll!"

"Hold on, hold on! Don't worry!"

In addition to the friction of the sneakers, the players shouted naturally in the training ground.

In today's 5-on-5 confrontational training, everyone participated very deeply.When playing against the Rockets, the full-court 5-on-5 training will always end with laughter.

But now, everyone knows.If they want to beat the Spurs and rush out of the West, they must start to get serious on the training ground!
This time, Ricard did not continue to divide the team according to the combination of starters and substitutes.Instead, the starters and bench players are mixed and distributed equally between the two teams.

Therefore, the person facing Aldridge now is no longer the youthful Meyers Leonard, but the regular season MVP award winner, Anjie!

Ricard's doing this is not without purpose. Alternating the starting lineup and the substitute group will make the strength of the two teams closer.In this way, it is also possible to better simulate the situation of a real game.

No, in order to prevent Anjie from attacking, Aldridge did his best.While Aldridge was able to bring that form to the court, Ricard didn't believe Duncan could play with ease.

"Boom!" An Jie slammed back hard, and Aldridge, who couldn't bear the impact, lost his weight and fell to the ground.

Divac didn't call a foul, he thought it was a reasonable contact in a reasonable collision zone!
An Jie didn't waste this opportunity, he exerted force on his calf, and jumped up high on the spot.

Meyers Leonard came to defend, intending to stop his big brother.However, the moment he and An Jie had physical contact in the air, Leonard knew how stupid his decision was.

An Jie made a successful dunk, and Meyers Leonard was knocked to the ground by An Jie.

He and Aldridge were lying on the ground in a state of embarrassment, and Anjie managed to handle the defense of the opponent's two inside lines by himself, and the destructive power was evident.

But this time, Anjie did not celebrate as much as he did on the field after scoring a goal.He smiled and held out his hands to Aldridge and Leonard who were lying on the ground.

"Damn! This is definitely a foul." Aldridge smiled and shook his head.

"I only listen to the referee." An Jie pulled them up and patted their chests.

"Duncan is not so destructive now, but remember, the speed of defending against him must be as fast as before!" An Jie was talking to his teammates while gesticulating.The experience gained in the simulated actual combat will bring great help to the Trail Blazers.

"How about it, the next game, the Spurs can't eat enough to go." Divac looked at everything that happened on the field, stood beside Ricard and smiled with satisfaction.The state of the players is completely different. Now, they are fighting against their own people, let alone against the enemy?

"The Spurs will not be defeated so easily, but at least in the next game, Popovich will see what it means to be a defending champion!" Ricard finished his answer, clapped his hands, and signaled for the training to continue.

The noise on the court spread out again, and everyone was thrown into the battle again.

When the wolves become hungry and bloodthirsty again, even the San Antonio Spurs will be bruised and bruised.

(End of this chapter)