The way of the center

Chapter 98 A Stone Statue (310)

San Antonio is very lively in December, especially at night, when San Antonio's Riverwalk will be lit up with colorful Christmas lights. 12 light bulbs of different colors are dotted on the entire riverside, drawing the curtain for the grand Christmas festival, and the entire riverside walkway will run through the entire main city of San Antonio like a rainbow.

Not far from the bustling riverside promenade, a huge gymnasium only has a huge signboard named "att-center" emitting a faint blue light. This huge building is shrouded in darkness at night, and The colorful riverside walk looks out of place compared to it.

In the dark arena, a group of players wearing black training jerseys were shouting loudly on the training ground, and an old man with white hair kept reminding the players on the field of their running positions with a tactical board.

A big man in jersey No. 21 catches a pass from a guard and takes a shot 45 degrees to the left of the basket. The ball hits the backboard and obediently deflects into the net.

"Bonner, if you defend the center of the Thunder like this the day after tomorrow, he will definitely score 30 points on your head!" The white-haired old man dissatisfiedly criticized the big white man who had just defended No. 21.

"But boss, there are not many people in the league who can defend against Tim's jump shot." The big white man named Bonner spread his hands innocently.

"That's because their defense is not good enough, and you are the same, continue!" The white-haired old man blew his whistle, and the players started to run according to the arrangement.

The day after tomorrow, December 12th, the San Antonio Spurs will host the Oklahoma City Thunder, which has won three consecutive victories. Popovich does not want the team to stumble against such an opponent. The Thunder are in a mess, but Popovich doesn't dare to be sloppy with this team that is in the limelight.

After beating the Grizzlies on Dec. 12, the Thunder beat the Dallas Mavericks two days later.It is no coincidence that the Magic first, and then the Mavericks, defeated two powerful teams in a row.He doesn't care what other people think of the Thunder, but Popovich himself doesn't dare to underestimate this team.

看看小牛队球员们那场比赛的数据，“德国战车”洛维斯基30投17中砍下了全场最高的46分！杰森.特里21投13中拿到了全场第二高分28分。单看这两个人的数据，也许人们打死都想不到小牛队还会输球。

But looking at the number of shots made by Lowitzki and Terry, this is probably the most abnormal part of the Mavericks.The Thunder's defense successfully restrained all the Mavericks players except these two. These two players can only say that they feel too hot, and the Thunder have nothing to do with it.

In addition to Lowitzki and Terry, the Mavericks' third-highest score is veteran Kidd's 6 points.When others couldn't score, most of the balls were handed over to these two people to play, so there was the abnormal scoring data above.

On the other hand, the Oklahoma City Thunder, which is considered to be an upset win, Durant 25 points, Westbrook 22 points, Anjie 19 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, compared to being forced to rely on two people to attack With the Mavericks, the Thunder's offense can be said to be blossoming.People are complaining that the Mavericks players are in a bad state in this game, but no one wants to admit that the Thunder's defense is really good.

Popovich knew that if he still treated the Thunder with the same vision as before, the Spurs would pay a huge price.For a team like the Spurs, the Thunder, which is at the bottom of the league, cannot afford to fail, so in any case, Popovich must find a way to lead the Spurs to victory in the next game.It is also because of this that on this lively night, all members of the Spurs are still practicing tactical moves.

"Hey Tim, others say this is a confrontation between the old and the new trio. Do you think those kids are really that good?" In the locker room after the training, Tony Parker was talking to his teammates, also Best friend and team star Tim Duncan was joking.

"They all have potential. Maybe we will have a headache for them in the playoffs in a few years." The taciturn man answered leisurely.

"You are really optimistic about them. Now the media are looking for new talents to replace us every day, and they are not bothered." While speaking, the French defender had already changed his clothes and was waiting for the big man No. 21 to join him go home.

"When you get old, you have to accept the challenges of groups of young people. Even the old man is so caring. Then the Thunder team must not be an ordinary person. Come on Tony, you drive me." Duncan used the pocket on his clothes The hood covered his head, and just like the arena, Duncan's face was also shrouded in darkness under the cover of the hood, making his expression invisible.

Jeff Van Gundy didn't call the team for extra training at night like Popovich did. He was the only son sitting in the office, tirelessly studying the tactics of the Spurs.

Van Gundy is definitely an out-and-out workaholic. His desk is messy, and there are food grease stains on various documents.Eat, drink, and sleep, Van Gundy can make it all happen in the arena.

"Dong dong dong." A knock on the door broke Van Gundy's contemplation.The office door was pushed open, and a tall yellow-skinned player walked in.

"Aren't you leaving, boss?" An Jie's extra training was over, and before he left, he decided to see if his coach had left, but it turned out that Van Gundy was still working.

Van Gundy glanced at the clock on the office wall. It was 09:30.

"You go first, Ann, is there any discomfort in your body?" Seeing that An Jie practiced for so long every day, Van Gundy asked with concern.

"No problem at all, then I'll go first, coach, you should rest early."

go to bed early?As long as no one disturbs, Van Gundy can completely forget the existence of time.Not to mention studying the Spurs, studying Popovich's system that can't be faulted.

Early the next morning, Van Gundy, who hadn't slept all night, boarded a special plane with the players and headed for San Antonio.On the plane, Van Gundy finally closed his eyes and enjoyed the few breaks.An Jie looked at Van Gundy's dwindling hair and was also worried about his physical condition.

The Thunder are still on the plane, and the Spurs have some more time to practice.But today Popovich will definitely not practice too hard. After all, the three top cards in his team are all past the age of the most vigorous.Facing the powerful Thunder, Popovich didn't dare to waste any energy of the players.

"Thunder?" On TN.T TV station, Charles Barkley received tomorrow's schedule, but TN.T actually gave up the Timberwolves vs. Lakers game, and instead chose the Thunder vs. Spurs game for the national live broadcast.

"It's unbelievable? It's been more than a month since the season started, and we have never commented on the Thunder's game. But you know what? The Thunder have won three consecutive victories, and they also defeated the Suns, Magic and Mavericks!" Barkley's commentary partner Kenny Smith explained.

"The "three young men" of the Thunder have been compared with the "three old men" of the Spurs by the media for a long time. This game is full of gimmicks. The Thunder, which is gaining momentum, will kill the horse.” TN.T explained another member of the trio, and Reggie Miller analyzed the reason why TN.T chose to make this game a national live broadcast. .

"My God, let the match between the top five teams in the league and the bottom five teams in the league be broadcast live across the United States. I am more concerned about tomorrow's football game. After all, I made a bet." Charles Barkley disapproved. The team's information was thrown aside, he was not a serious commentator, and he rarely did the homework before the game.

"Bet? Then, do you want to make a bet on this game? After all, the starting center of the Thunder is also Chinese." Kenny Smith smiled badly, and the scene of Charles kissing the ass of the donkey has become the history of sports commentary One of the most classic lenses.

"Oh my God, don't mention the Chinese center to me. I'm scared when I see them now. The Chinese center of the Thunder must have saved up enough energy to surprise me on purpose. Don't worry Kenny, no one here will follow him." You bet, I won't bet anything on Chinese players." Barkley smiled and waved his hand, what does a donkey's butt smell like?He didn't want to recall it again.

"Thunder, except for that Durant, I'm really not familiar with the others. I hope the above decision is correct, otherwise the ratings will not be able to make up for the game." Reggie Miller expressed own worries.

Every time a rookie thought they could beat the aging Spurs, they were beaten to death by the Spurs. The "Little Emperor" James in 07 was ruthlessly shattered by the Spurs, as well as the championship dreams of countless Clevelanders.

Popovich has created an army of disciplined teams that may be one of the most consistent in the NBA.And the real core of this stable team is undoubtedly the man known as "Stone Buddha".

Anjie watched Duncan's game video over and over again in the hotel room. His height of 2 meters allowed him to play both positions of power forward and center.An Jie knew that he would inevitably face this No. 11 legend on the court.

On the road to the Thunder's three-game winning streak, the only strong insider Anjie encountered was Howard.Howard, who has lost his rhythm, is nothing more than that in An Jie's eyes.If it weren't for Howard's unlimited firepower, how could he score 20 points under Anjie's smart defense.

However, Duncan is indeed an iconic existence of the Spurs. Such an opponent, such an opponent whose simple style of play is called boring by countless people, is indeed more threatening than Howard, who is dunking hard.

After receiving the basketball from Tony Parker, Duncan made a shot. There was a muffled sound when the basketball collided with the backboard, but the basketball still wiped the backboard and entered the net accurately.

Receiving a pass from Tony Parker, Duncan did it again.An Jie is looking forward to the duel with Duncan, and Duncan is also well prepared, waiting for another challenger to appear on the stage.

Young and stable, lightning and stone, what kind of game will the collision between the two bring to the audience?

(End of this chapter)