Anthony the Reborn

Chapter 206
Anthony finished talking with D'Antoni, and then returned to the locker room.

Not long after, D'Antoni also came to the locker room and announced the start of this game. The start of this game surprised everyone except Anthony.

D'Antoni's starting lineup for this game is very different from the previous ones. Although Williams and Bell are still starting on the outside, they have made a lot of adjustments on the front line. In this game, D'Antoni let Korver played the starting small forward, while Anthony appeared at the power forward for the first time in the playoffs, and Nene played the center.

The Nuggets players were taken aback after seeing this starting lineup, but combined with Anthony's previous actions, they all knew that this should be some advice from Anthony.

In fact, within the Nuggets, the players agree with Anthony even more than the coaches. Since it is Anthony's suggestion, they naturally have no reason to question it.

After D'Antoni announced the starting lineup for the game, he left the locker room. At this moment, Anthony stood up and gave some words of encouragement to his teammates. He also communicated with Wang Zhizhi, telling him that the performance of the substitute in this game is very important. , The reason for putting him on the bench is to hope that he can lead and maintain the team's offensive firepower.

After Brand's absence, Wang Zhizhi filled the gap on the offensive end very well, but he also knows where his shortcomings are, and all of his benefits are due to Anthony, so he also listens to Anthony's words very much. During the exchange, he kept nodding his head, knowing that the burden on his shoulders was not light.

Anthony was also relieved to see that Wang Zhizhi did not change his mind due to the improvement of the team's status and performance. You must know that players in the league often need to make their own calculations, because after all, it is about their own future. , especially Wang Zhizhi, who will be a free agent after the end of this season. Although it is restricted, good data is the basis of the contract. Being able to accept the role of a substitute also shows his own good mentality.

After Anthony finished communicating with Wang Zhizhi, he took a last look and saw that the expressions on the faces of his teammates had returned to their previous confident state, and he was also relieved.

Everything is ready, Anthony and his teammates are ready to play and start their last stand.

Because it is the home court of the Nuggets, the commentators of this game are still the home opener Doug Collins and the Nuggets star Ingrash.

Collins is in a very good mood at the moment. The Nuggets are now standing on the edge of a cliff, and he is finally about to prove that what he did was right. Anthony is not the supernova who is enough to carry the hopes of the league.

Compared with Collins's happy face, Ingrash's face is not too good. After all, as a famous Nuggets player, he is naturally excited when he sees that the Nuggets are expected to win the championship trophy for the first time. It's a pity that the current situation seems to be very pessimistic.

Players from both sides have already arrived on the field and are doing their final warm-up before the game. The two commentators also took advantage of this time period to start communicating.

Collins was still the first to speak: "Alex, the Nuggets are now on the edge of a cliff, and D'Antoni seems a little impatient. In the starting list that came out just now, he actually ranked Melo in the starting lineup." The power forward position, what do you think of this formation?"

Ingrash glanced at Collins. He is not an idiot. He naturally heard the gloat in Collins' words. If it is said that this is the first time he has been invited to be a special commentator in this playoffs, he actually has a lot of emotions in his heart. I don't understand why ESPN would ask Collins to be a commentator, but these things are beyond his control, so he also smiled and said: "Brand's absence caught the Nuggets by surprise. Since the second game, I have been looking for a weapon that can deal with the Spurs. I think D'Antoni's approach today is bold, but as the saying goes, a hero is judged by success or failure. I am afraid that we will not know until the end of the game. Is it worth it?"

Hearing Ingrash's dispensable answer, Collinston felt a little bored: "The rookie coach also has the advantages of being a rookie. If you dare to try, you just don't know if it will really work."

"beep!"

As soon as Collins finished speaking, the whistle sounded on the sidelines, and the Nuggets' home game was about to begin.

The head coach and the players conducted the last pre-match mobilization, and then the starting players of both sides all appeared on the field.

The Spurs still have the same lineup as before, the "GDP" combination, plus Bowen and Ostrovic.

As the starting players of both sides walked near the middle circle, the referee threw the ball up, and the game between the two sides officially started.

Nene took advantage of his fast and powerful bounce to slam the ball towards the Nuggets halfcourt, and the ball was in Korver's hands in no time. Korver also played as a starter for the first time. , After observing his teammates, he then gave it to Williams.

The Nuggets went all forward and started their first possession of the half.

Williams' dribbling is still skillful, and he steadily advanced to the half court, watching a group of Nuggets players start to move.

The Spurs still defend the zone defense, and after all, Popovich has rich experience. After seeing the lineup sent by the Nuggets, he decisively chose a 3-2 zone defense to oppress the Nuggets' perimeter.

Anthony and Korver looked at each other, and then rushed towards the two bottom corners knowingly. At almost the same time, they had practiced countless tactics in training and pulled away on the court in an instant. Williams came from the middle. Starting to break through to the inside, Nene pulled to the free throw line and began to do pick-and-rolls.

Nene's block blocked Parker, and Williams went to the inside smoothly, causing the Spurs' defense to shrink inward, and the three of them compressed towards Williams' position, blocking his route , A look at the posture is to make his turnovers.

It's just that the Spurs still underestimated Williams' ability. Looking at the blocked route, Williams didn't know where to find a gap. With a straight throw diagonally, the ball seemed to hit the navigation device. He flew directly towards where Anthony was.

Anthony is in space in the corner.

To say that the Spurs are indeed worthy of the team with the most proficient zone defense. When Williams passed the ball, their defensive focus quickly fell in the direction of Anthony. When Anthony received the ball, Bowen and Duncan have rushed towards him from two directions, and along the way, the entire Spurs' defensive center of gravity has been compressed there.

Anthony's first choice after receiving the ball is a three-pointer. Although the Spurs' defense changes quickly, it is impossible to change the defensive lineup in an instant, so Anthony still has a three-pointer when receiving the ball. Space, but he didn't choose to shoot by himself. He knew that the current Nuggets most needed hit rate to improve morale, so the moment after receiving the ball, he took the ball and broke through from the bottom line to the inside.

This time, Popovich on the sidelines was happy, and the players on the Spurs team were also happy. You must know that the defense of the zone is to break through. Just now, Anthony had a chance, but he didn't choose to shoot, but chose to break through. It was completely useless. Brain play.

Naturally, the Spurs would not let go of such a great opportunity. Bowen and Duncan rushed forward, Duncan was the main defender, and Bowen was the main breaker. The two looked like they were going to stop Anthony.

But at this moment, Anthony made an unbelievable move. His move was completely unexpected by the Spurs. He actually took three steps when he was just within one step of the three-point line.

To say that in the history of the NBA, there are not no players with three-point layups outside the three-point line, but they are all slender strikers with long hands and feet. Anthony obviously does not belong to this category, so his approach makes others They were all dumbfounded, and even Duncan showed a trace of doubt in his dumbfounded expression.

Anthony stepped on the first step of three steps and ran into the double-teaming of Bowen and Duncan. It was impossible for him to step on the second step. It seemed that this attack would end in a mistake.

Even Collins, who was in the commentary, showed a smile that couldn't be concealed at the moment.

But just when everyone thought that the Nuggets' offense was going to end hastily, Anthony suddenly made another choice in mid-air that surprised everyone, but looked very normal. He slammed the ball to the left With a flick, a large horizontal pass, the ball flew straight from the right corner to the left corner.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye, and the Spurs players were all attracted by Anthony's layup. They didn't notice the position in the left corner. Korver had already stood there for more than ten minutes. seconds of time.

After the ball was thrown, Korver jumped up to catch the ball, and then shot without stopping or hesitating.

With a whirling arc, the ball flew straight towards the basket under the hot eyes of the fans at the scene.

"Shh!"

"yeah!"

The crisp sound of entering the net was accompanied by the excited roar of the fans, as if the gate of the flood had been opened, and the suppressed emotions of the fans burst out in an instant.

"Haha, I knew that Melo's actions are too fake!" After seeing Anthony's goal, Ingrash couldn't help but shouted excitedly, completely ignoring the image that a celebrity should have, he laughed and endured. He couldn't help but glance at Collins next to him, seeing Collins' displeased face, he couldn't express his happiness.

(End of this chapter)