The Way of the Center

Chapter 451: Perfect Start

Durant looked at Westbrook, the guy's eyes were firm, he aimed at the basket, and he would definitely not give up the offense.

Looking in the direction of Westbrook's eyes, Durant found that Anjie was staring at the outside line with the same eyes. This guy's defense used to be the safest shield behind him and Westbrook. But now, this barrier has become the biggest obstacle for the Thunder to win.

Durant feels very tired. He has played 43 minutes today. A five-minute rest time means that Durant only rests for more than a minute in each quarter on average.

Maybe playing against other teams, Durant can still grit his teeth and carry it down, but facing the fiercely confrontational Trail Blazers, Durant feels that he can hardly lift his legs.

At this time, Westbrook broke through again! Sometimes Durant really admires Westbrook's hard work, which is what he admires most about Westbrook. Durant still remembers the ball that Westbrook dunked Leonard just now.

But this time, facing Anjie, Westbrook failed. Both he and Anjie fell to the ground in embarrassment, but Westbrook didn't stand up as quickly as usual.

Durant walked forward worriedly. Fortunately, Westbrook was not injured, but...he was just like himself, too tired.

Anjie fouled and Westbrook made two free throws. But what's the use? With only forty seconds left in the game, the gap between them and the Blazers was still in double digits.

Smoothed out, the spirit of the Thunder has been completely smoothed out by the Blazers so far. They persisted for a full 48 minutes, and they let themselves see hope several times. But now, it's all over...

"Beep~~~~" The red light on the backboard was on. Last season's Western Conference finals, this light represented that Durant and the Thunder were going to the finals and competing for the O'Brien Cup. But today, a few months later, it is also in the Chesapeake Energy Arena, facing the Blazers, and the flashing red light on the backboard represents the Thunder. Here comes the two-game losing streak!

106 to 92,

The Thunder lost at their home court by 14 points to their former underdog. And this battle, everyone in the Thunder team was convinced that they lost.

"This season's surprises are really endless. Who would have thought that strong teams like the Lakers and Thunder would start losing streak at the beginning of the season, and it would be difficult to win. Who would have thought that the Blazers, who expanded vigorously this summer, It really showed the expected strength." Mike Breen still couldn't get enough of it after watching the game, and he felt that this season would be extremely exciting.

"Russell, you performed very well today, but what caused the Thunder to lose in the end?" Westbrook was about to greet Anjie after the game, but was intercepted by reporters on the way. Indeed, Westbrook scored 32 points today, while shooting an excellent 54%. If the Thunder win, he will be a well-deserved player of the game.

"The Trail Blazers are doing better than us, that's all." Westbrook spread his hands and replied disapprovingly. He played well with his teammates today, but Anjie and his new friend played better.

"21 points, 7 assists, 20+ points in two games in a row, and this guy has diversified the offense of Ann and LaMarcus. You know who I'm talking about, Damien Lila De!" In the post-match summary, the T.NT trio rarely focused on An Jie.

"He is an amazing rookie. From the current point of view, only Anthony Davis, the No. 1 pick, can keep pace with Lillard. The general manager of the Nets should regret it now. Ladd, they should cherish their draft rights!" These days, there are not many teams that rely on the draft to slowly rebuild like the Thunder, and most teams hope to quickly build a lineup through big trades. But the drafts of the Thunder in recent years and the harvest of the Trail Blazers this year have once again illustrated the importance of draft picks.

Maybe some rookie players really need to be cultivated for a long time before they can produce results, but there are also some rookies who can play their role as soon as they play!

At the press conference after the game, Ricard brought the three of Anjie, Aldridge and Lillard. The reporters below raised their cameras one by one, hoping to keep this picture. These four guys sitting on the stage are the backbone of the Trail Blazers! Without any of these four, the Blazers would suffer significantly.

"Coach Rickard, do you think the current configuration of the Trail Blazers can be compared with the Big Three of the Heat?" A reporter was curious. better.

"Big Three? I remember early last season when people said that Ahn, Aldridge and Gerald Wallace were going to be the Big Three in the West. It turned out to be a ridiculous statement. We're not some three. We will not imitate the success of others. We are the pioneers, we are ourselves!" Ricard seems to dislike his men being labeled as the Big Three, because he knows that his team's The way of operation is very different from those teams that make up the Big Three.

They are a collective, and everyone is a giant. It's just that the three people sitting beside him at the moment are more prominent.

Leaving Oklahoma with a victory, Anjie and his teammates are also in a good mood. They stopped here last season, and this season, they will start their journey from here.

One day after defeating the Thunder, on November 3, the Trail Blazers ushered in their first back-to-back schedule of the season, and it was two consecutive back-to-back away games.

It's true that it won't take long to fly from Oklahoma to Houston, but back-to-back trips on the road won't be easy by any means.

Rockets coach Kevin McHale is hoping to use this to stop the Blazers, and his confidence is not groundless.

A few days before the start of the season, the Rockets finally got what they needed in the transfer market. James Harden, who played as the sixth man for the Grizzlies for several years, finally decided to take the lead and went to Houston alone to carry the banner of the Rockets.

Although this transfer is not comparable to the "big snap-up" of the Lakers F4 and the Trail Blazers, it is still a blockbuster deal.

Since Harden joined the Rockets, his state has been very good, showing his ability to be qualified as a leader. With the help of Harden, the Rockets got off to a two-game winning streak. It is precisely because of the capital of winning the first two games that Kevin McHale, an old man, has the fantasy of beating the Blazers.

However, when the game started, Anjie and his teammates proved that McHale's fantasy can only be a fantasy and will not become a reality.

After James Harden met Matthews' defense and Anjie's basket, he suddenly didn't know how to attack.

On the inside, Harden hopes to use the "touch porcelain" method to create a foul to get a free throw opportunity, but the equally sophisticated Anjie will not be fooled by such a trick.

Seeing that the inside line was not good, Harden turned his attention to the outside line again. It's just a pity that Matthews' excellent defense made Harden's three-pointers hit repeatedly. The key is that Harden made repeated irons and repeated shots.

As for Jeremy Lin, who also joined the Rockets this summer, he can't compete with Lillard. Linsanity is over, and as it turns out, Linsanity will never return.

Under the excellent defense of the Blazers, the Rockets' offense was a mess. But the Trail Blazers can easily disintegrate the Rockets' defense. The Rockets' combination of Omer Asik and Patrick Patterson simply cannot be compared with Anjie and Aldridge, the two "most offensive inside combination".

The inside line was blown away, and the Trail Blazers' outside line also shot well. After the Rockets resisted a little in the first quarter, they never had an advantage again.

If James Harden wants to be on his own, he still has to spend a lot of time grinding it out.

96 to 85, the Trail Blazers won three consecutive victories, and the victory points of the three games were all in double digits. Anjie scored a season-high 33 points and 11 rebounds in this campaign. Aldridge scored 27 points and Lillard scored another 20 points. These three were enough for the Blazers to win. What's more, Matthews and Iguodala performed very well today.

In contrast to the Rockets, under the impregnable defense of the Trail Blazers, only small forward Chandler Parsons of the Rockets' starting five has a shooting percentage of 40%. As for the others... they are all below this level.

It may be time for McHale to discover that although the Rockets have Harden, they are still a long way from becoming a top team.

Three consecutive victories, with a point difference of more than 10 points in each game. People are talking about the excellent results of the Trail Blazers, but one day after defeating the Rockets, Anjie presented a big gift to the fans.

"114 to 91, just had a carnage at the American Airlines Center in Dallas! This is already the Blazers' fourth straight win since the start of the season, and their third straight win on the road! Missing Novi Cisky's Mavericks were no match for the Blazers, and O.J. Mayo fought like a man to the end, but he wasn't good enough to take down the mighty Blazers!" Mighty Blazers, a word that's been used a lot these days On the Trail Blazers.

Anjie had 32 points and 13 rebounds, Aldridge and Matthews scored 20 points each, Iguodala had 14 points, and Lillard "only" scored 13 points. The performance of scoring 20+ consecutive games in the first few games made people almost forget that Lillard is just a first-year rookie! Even if he only scored 13 points today, it is still a very good statistic.

After playing three consecutive away games, the Trail Blazers finally got some breathing time. They were able to return to the city of Portland to rest Lira for two days and play against the Clippers at home.

The biggest change for the Clippers this summer is to poach Jamal Crawford, the best sixth man who originally belonged to the Blazers.

It is true that Crawford is an excellent player, but the Clippers, who were swept by the Blazers last season, cannot change their destiny just because of the appearance of Crawford.

Crawford played an MVP-level performance. Facing his old club, he scored 25 points and shot 52% from the field. It's a pity that the strength of the Trail Blazers cannot be shaken by a mere Crawford.

90 to 103, the Clippers still cannot avoid sinking in the city of tearing. The Blazers' starting five scored in double figures again, and the Blazers also settled the game with double-digit points.

Unknowingly, the Trail Blazers have easily won 5 consecutive victories. In 5 games, the Trail Blazers played 5 opponents all over the floor.

A dominant and perfect start, An Jie really hopes that the ending of this season will be as perfect as the current start.

In the long season of hundreds of games, the victory of five games is simply insignificant. Anjie hasn't won enough, and the Blazers still have to continue to wreak havoc.

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