The Way of the Center

?An Jie leaned against the glass of the plane window, looking at the dark clouds outside with a blank expression.

It was already 12:20 in the middle of the night, and there were only a few faint and soft lights in the entire cabin. Most of the Thunder players had already fallen asleep before landing.

But An Jie couldn't sleep. It wasn't because the seats on the special plane were not comfortable enough, but because he was still brooding over tonight's loss.

The fans in the Chesapeake Energy Arena were shouting his name frantically. Every time he scored, whether it was critical or not, he would get praise from the fans.

This group of cutest people gave An Jie the greatest trust and expectations. This time, however, the game didn't follow the perfect script. Facing the not-so-strong Pistons, Anjie was unable to lead the team to turn the tide again.

The comeback battle has attracted much attention, and in the end they lost to an opponent who should not have lost, swallowing the longest four-game losing streak this season.

Thinking of these, An Jie couldn't fall asleep. Ray tomorrow? none? wrong? The Oklahoma City Thunder will also play back-to-back games with the Rockets at the Toyota Center. An Jie knows that a bad spirit will greatly affect his state, but he just can't forget this loss that shouldn't have happened.

"Go to sleep, Ann. If you don't sleep, you'll have to get off the plane later." Besides An Jie, the other person who didn't fall asleep was naturally Jeff Van Gundy.

"I can't find the feeling of playing. I feel that I am very uncomfortable on the court." An Jie saw Van Gundy come and sit next to him, and expressed his distress.

19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Although this data is not as amazing as before, although the shooting percentage is slightly worse than before, but in all fairness, Van Gundy is already very satisfied with Anjie's data tonight.

"Don't put the expectations imposed on you by others on your shoulders, score 30 or 40 points in the comeback game? Grab more than 20 rebounds? Lead the team to win the game in three quarters? If you are a fan, you I also expect Yao Ming to produce such statistics when he comes back. But think about it, is this realistic?". Discomfort after returning from injury, several of Van Gundy's outstanding centers have encountered such problems. And the last such guy was Yao Ming who came from the same country as An Jie.

"You always feel that you should show amazing performances to prove that your body is fine. You don't need to prove that your body is fine if you can play. If you care too much about your statistics, you will be restricted. Can't use it."

An Jie was thoughtful, at the same time, heaps of lights could already be seen under the plane. The Thunder have arrived in Houston.

"Take time to rest after arriving at the hotel. Tomorrow I will appropriately postpone the regular training time. Don't think so much, you just have to play with your normal heart in tomorrow's game. Everyone is eager for you to get good data, 30+ 30 is better. But if you fulfill the fantasies of your fans every game, is that possible?". Van Gundy patted An Jie on the shoulder, young man, the technical problem is minor, but the psychological problem is the biggest.

Keep calm? Is it really that simple?

An Jie moved his injured leg, and to be honest, there was nothing unusual about it. He doesn't need to prove it to anyone, he knows his own situation best!

"After both Yao Ming and McGrady were injured and Artest left the Lakers, people defined the Rockets this season as a civilian team and thought they were one of the bottom candidates in the West. However, it may have fulfilled the "Ewing Law" , The Rockets' performance this season is actually very good.

They have defeated teams such as the Mavericks, Cavaliers, and Lakers. Of course, the high-profile Thunder has lost to the Rockets twice before. Although the Rockets have no stars this season, their integrity has made everyone a star. Before the game, Charles Barkley analyzed the game situation for the audience.

"So, I don't think the Thunder's losing streak will stop here. They have lost to the Rockets twice before, and the Rockets' overall offense cannot be guarded by Van Gundy and the rookies. Although Angie is back, his Everyone has seen the status, and I advise Thunder fans not to have too much expectations for him. After all, it is not a short time to leave the game for a month.” Before the game started, Barkley supported his old club, Completely underestimate the Thunder.

At this moment, Anjie and the Thunder naturally couldn't hear other people's comments on them. The Thunder players were changing clothes one by one in the locker room, while Van Gundy was writing and drawing on the whiteboard. Everything is as usual, no exceptions.

Anjie put on the blue No. 16 jersey leisurely and tucked it into his shorts. Morris said that this number is a curse, allowing the Cyclones to fall below the top 16 twice in a row.

"You better change your number quickly, or this bad luck will be brought to the NBA." Morris once joked with Anjie like this.

An Jie didn't think that this number represented a curse or bad luck. In his heart, that round of 16 was the best memory of his life. They beat the No. 1 pick, they lost Morris, they waited for the invitation call of the tournament, and their lore against Stanford University was bittersweet, bloody and tearful.

"Anjie bless Iowa State!" Even this shout would reappear in Anjie's ears from time to time.

He put on a headband, wrapped gauze around his knees, put on the protective gear, and took out the brand new sneakers sent to him by Nike. Everything is so calm and natural, yes, normal, normal

After putting on all the equipment, An Jie got up and hopped around in the locker room. The passion for the game has slowly spread in him. Although they are playing back-to-back games, An Jie wants to get on the court more than anyone else!

Van Gundy tapped on the whiteboard, and all eyes were on the guy with dwindling hair.

"Listen well guys, this time I don't want you to waste my efforts and your own efforts." After that, Van Gundy began to arrange the tactics to be used later.

In fact, every team and every coach has a roughly unchanged tactical idea, and this tactical idea will be used for a whole season without accident. The arrangements before each match are nothing more than detailed adjustments made for the opponent. Therefore, the tactical arrangements before the game did not take much time.

The warm-up was quickly over, and the cheers from the Toyota Center grew louder. Van Gundy finally confirmed everyone's physical condition. There was no player introduction ceremony at the Toyota Center today. They will go out directly from the player tunnel and start preparing for the game.

"Remember, Ann, don't care what statistics or performance others want you to have. Follow the usual, hey! Let us take away the victory!" Van Gundy first spoke to Anjie alone, and finally, he raised his voice, and in the player tunnel Yell and make sure the players can hear themselves over the din of cheers.

The closer we get to the pitch, the louder the cheers. Flashlights were already flashing at the exit of the tunnel, and Westbrook leaned down and kissed some of his wristbands.

Durant painted a cross on his chest, he is a loyal believer.

Morris closed his eyes, enjoying the noise of the scene. Everything he has now is hard-won.

"Huh, victory, victory." An Jie took a deep breath, lightly hammered his chest, and the huge No. 16 on his back swayed accordingly.

Suddenly, the security personnel at the exit of the player tunnel gave an "OK" gesture to Durant who was standing in the front, and they were about to play!

"Go, go! It's time for us!" Durant is usually taciturn, but today, after the team's four-game losing streak, he had to shout something.

While roaring, Durant trotted and led the team towards the court.

"Take away the victory, we will take away the victory!" An Jie, who was at the end of the team, also echoed, jumping up and down, eager to try.

"Boom!" The moment he walked out of the player tunnel, the noise on the scene instantly became several times louder.

The scene was bright, the DJ's screams, the insults of the Rockets fans, and the voices of the commentators on the sidelines.

An Jie sucked in all the atmosphere around him familiarly, the same smell, the same feeling. He has not changed, the stadium has not changed, what has changed is only his mentality.

Now, he wants to make sure that his mentality will not change.

"Y???!!!!!!" The DJ on the scene shouted, and the stands immediately burst into cheers. Angie and Scola stand in the middle circle, ready to jump the ball.

Shadow of injury? to hell!

Anjie took the lead to get the chance to attack first. Krstic received the ball from Anjie and quickly passed the ball to Westbrook.

Westbrook took the ball forward unhurriedly, Aaron Brooks lowered his center of gravity, and soon entered the game state.

Anjie didn't ask for the ball in the low post, and he wouldn't try to get statistics just to prove himself. In the last game, he attacked too much and played unreasonably, which is why he only shot 46%.

This time, Anjie mentioned the high position and made an off-ball pick-and-roll for Durant. The latter immediately flashed past Anjie in tacit understanding. Rockets captain Sean Battier was completely restrained by Anjie's excellent pick-and-roll. Durant ran to the left corner, almost open.

At the same time, Westbrook made a breakthrough, but suddenly flicked his wrist during the march, and the basketball obediently flew to the left corner and flew into Durant's hands.

At this time Battier had just gotten rid of the entanglement with Anjie, Scola had to give up the inside and take the initiative to rush to Durant who was missed.

Durant naturally ignored the opponent's forward pounce, he still took off confidently, shot, and the first goal seemed inevitable!

"Kuuuuuuuuuuu What happened was that Durant hit the rim with his first open shot on the court and missed.

Scola quickly turned his head to look for the direction of the rebound.

Just then, a guy wearing the Thunder's away blue jersey flew up to Scola. Of course, there is also the conspicuous back number, 16.

"哐!" There was another loud noise from the basket, but this time, it wasn't caused by blacksmithing.

"Ann! It's a strong and heavy dunk! The Rockets should be careful, the Eastern High Tower is very excited today!"

"Ah!~~~" An Jie thumped his chest and roared angrily, as if venting all the troubles in his heart.

On the first goal of the game, An Jie gave his best!

(Two updates will resume today, but I will add more manuscripts) (To be continued.)

Chapter 201: It's just mentality:

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