The Way of the Center

"We didn't lose to the Thunder, we just lost to the referee." Jerry Sloan spoke unreservedly, and he pointed the finger at the referee who whistled Boozer for a foul on the last ball. For him, that ball was just a reasonable physical contact, and it would not constitute a foul at all.

Sloan has been in the nba for many years, has experienced countless victories, and also suffered defeats. However, such an aggrieved failure like today is very rare.

Because of a rebound, because of a penalty, the Thunder just won the lost game after Durant's lore failed.

Sloan was very unconvinced by the loss. The Jazz, who fought back to back, performed no worse than the Thunder!

But one point behind is still a point. If you want to blame it, you can only blame Anjie for working too hard and grab the rebound on the heads of Okur and Boozer. As for Boozer's last foul penalty, it was actually a foul, but as the team coach, Sloan had to stand with his players.

Although it is not a thrilling sports battle lore, Anjie is still praised for grabbing offensive rebounds and killing the game with free throws.

16 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists. Since Durant and Westbrook took up a lot of shots, Anjie's score was not high. However, it was precisely because of the rebound and two free throws in the last few seconds that he, who was originally inconspicuous in statistics, became the focus of the audience.

Of course, Anjie and Durant were praised, and Westbrook, who performed poorly, naturally received a lot of criticism.

"He's too lonely, too selfish!"

"Such a shooting percentage shouldn't always take the shots. If his shots are reduced and added to An, we don't even have to be dragged to the last second to win the game."

"Russell, we know you want to contribute to the team, but when you can't make a shot, don't keep shooting."

All these words made Westbrook not too happy about the victory in this game. He has been playing like this since high school, and now he is told to change it, and he can't change it at all.

"I just don't feel good today." Westbrook pushed himself, and he didn't intend to make any changes at all. Crazy shots, crazy impact, frequent scoring, as a point guard, Westbrook is full of these.

organize? Don't we have Anjie? Why should I organize.

With this in mind, Westbrook and the Thunder entered 2010 and entered the last two-thirds of the regular season.

This year's New Year's Day nBa does not have a holiday,

But there are only six teams that have games to play, and those six teams do not include the Thunder, which defeated the Jazz the day before.

Although there was no game, Anjie and the others did not get a rest. On January 2, the Thunder will play away against the Bucks. Today, Anjie can only spend his Lantern Festival on the plane.

After getting off the plane, An Jie received a call from his parents. Relatives and friends at home gathered together to eat glutinous rice balls to celebrate this traditional Chinese festival of family reunion.

As for Anjie, he could only talk to his parents at the bitterly cold Milwaukee Airport. Although his parents only came to Oklahoma City to accompany him during his injury, the feeling of missing his family could not be suppressed on this holiday day.

"I checked the weather on the Internet. It's cold in Milwaukee, and my body is very cold. When warming up before the game, be careful, so as not to make mistakes again." An Shiran's simple instructions made An Jie feel extremely warmth.

"Understood Dad, it's quite cold here now. Your injured foot should wear more protective gear to keep warm, otherwise it will hurt again." An Jie still remembered what caused his father's injury, and now, he can be regarded as Help my father realize his dream.

"Hey, Ann." Just as An Jie hung up the phone, An Jie heard someone calling him from behind.

Turning his head, it was Westbrook wearing a scarf and snow boots.

"What's the matter Russell?" An Jie was a little surprised, why did Westbrook come to find him in private.

"Eh..." In the cold wind of the Milwaukee airport, two guys who had just turned from boys to men stood facing each other.

"Well, call me when you go to training tomorrow morning, and I will practice for a while." Westbrook was shy because he was ashamed of his recent performance.

"Haha, what else can I say. Then you have to rest tonight, after all, it is very painful to get up early in the cold Milwaukee." An Jie smiled and patted Westbrook on the shoulder, Those who criticize him from the outside world just don't know him well enough...

Many people sneered at Westbrook's play style of taking the ball and rushing in regardless of the situation, and Westbrook's efficiency in these games is indeed not high.

But this style of play forced Westbrook to have physical contact with those big men inside. Does he hurt? pain. But in Westbrook's view, this is the most effective way to attack, which can not only score goals, but also cause damage.

After being stopped again and again, Westbrook will not choose to give up. He'll pick up the ball on the next play and keep going in until he scores.

Although Westbrook's shooting rate was low in these few games, his breakthrough disrupted the opponent's defense very well, indirectly allowing Anjie and Durant to get more opportunities.

Westbrook is such a "reasonable" person. Although Anjie's statistics are somewhat affected by Westbrook's style of play, he is still willing to help this teammate who joined the team at the same time as him. Because Westbrook's original intention is also for the good of the team.

Since this guy won't stop, there's no point in arguing with him and complaining. It's better to help him, let him get back to his form, and help the team win!

The next day, Anjie really knocked on the door of Westbrook's room early in the morning. After a simple breakfast at the hotel, the two headed towards the open Bradley Center training ground.

The No. 2 training field in the Bradley Center is provided for the Thunder players to train. In most cases, the Bucks players will not use this field. Various fan Jialianhua activities and pre-season rookie tryouts Training will be arranged here.

Therefore, Anjie and Westbrook don't have to worry that they will encounter tonight's enemies in advance. The two can safely train away from home without interruption.

As usual, An Jie first picked up the basketball and shot it casually, firstly to warm up himself, and secondly to try the feel of the ball.

"Ann, your training intensity is so high, how do you keep your swing stable." Looking at An Jie who was throwing the ball by himself, Westbrook asked a question that had troubled him for a long time.

"My training intensity is not high. Although it takes a long time, it is within my acceptable range. Now I am not like in college. Even if I put myself down in college, as long as the progress has not been completed, I will force myself to continue. I have often been scolded by Divac for doing this, and now, to be honest, the NBA schedule is too dense, and I have learned what is enough." An Jie spoke, but the work in hand Did not stop.

"However, it's really not good for me not to practice more. As long as I don't play for a day, I feel that my sense of the ball will be affected." In fact, Anjie is just a psychological effect. Maybe ordinary people will really feel the ball if they don't play for a month. The sudden drop, but for players of their level, the feeling of the ball will not disappear so easily.

At this moment, Westbrook has changed his sneakers and practiced shooting with Anjie.

"I really admire you. When I called you, most of the time I was still training." Westbrook often invited Angie to go out, but most of the time, Anjie declined on the grounds of training.

"What do you think is my problem in these few games?" Westbrook said as he made a shot, but the ball was still missed even though no one was marking him.

"The choice of shots is not very reasonable. I'm not talking about breakthroughs. Breakthroughs are your style and your strengths. Even if you can't score directly, you can still cause damage. But sometimes your outside shot selection is also very bad. Against the defense The shooting percentage is the worst." Angie said bluntly, there is no kindness between him and Westbrook.

"I want to play as reasonable as you, but..." Westbrook shook his head, and once he stepped on the court to start a fierce game, he would definitely throw these advices behind his ears. But no matter what, in these few games, he has to try to change and try to make the team better.

The Thunder's three young men will not exclude each other for the sake of data. They know that only when the three of them really work together to explode at the same time is the most dangerous time for the Thunder.

Westbrook hopes that he can quickly keep up with Anjie and Durant's state so as not to be dragged down.

The two o8-level rookies stayed in the No. 2 training ground of the Bradley Center until noon. An Jie knew that the Bucks should suffer today...

...................................

The two young players get along very happily. An Jie is not the kind of person who likes to compete for fame and fortune. As long as the team can win, he can accept most of the sacrifices. This includes allowing Westbrook and Durant to take the shot.

This is due to Anjie's character. Off the court, he is very docile and humble to his teammates.

But in the eyes of many businessmen and team managers, the relationship between Anjie and Westbrook is not that simple.

The managers of other teams will definitely use Westbrook as a trigger to lobby Durant or Anjie to leave.

The team has won five consecutive victories, and the overall performance of the three young players is very good. Everything looks very normal and very bright. However, in the NBA, in order to compete for players, there will always be endless open and secret struggles.

The foreshadowing is a little longer, but it doesn't mean that other teams' competition for the Thunder's three players will never come. A fuse is enough for those cunning businessmen to find a breakthrough. There are countless great combinations in this world, but there are only a handful of combinations that really work together from beginning to end... (To be continued.) 8