The Way of the Center

"The game just now was really exciting! If the game continues like this, the ratings of this series will definitely hit a new high!" Beside Wu Hua, an American colleague had already forgotten that he was working. He put down the camera in his hand and cheered along with the fans at the scene.

"This game won't go on like this forever. Here, let's see." Wu Hua pointed to the field with his chin. After the timeout ended, both the Spurs and the Blazers re-entered the field. Even the hot cheerleaders couldn't distract the fans.

As soon as the players from both sides appeared on the stage, the atmosphere that had been eased just now was rekindled. Although the air-conditioning in the rose garden was functioning normally, the fiery atmosphere here never cooled down.

"Oh? Why do you think so?" The American colleague obviously disagreed with Wu Hua's statement.

"Rickard and Popovich will definitely strengthen their defense. If you don't believe me, just watch it. This is the Western Conference Finals, not an exhibition game. These two guys, Ricard and Popovich, don't care whether the game is good or not. Well. In order to win, they are willing to try any means." Wu Hua stared at the field, neither side changed players, and they still played with five tigers on the field. The Trail Blazers started another round of offense, and Ricard wanted to see what kind of defense the Spurs would come up with!

When Lillard was still in possession of the ball, he clearly felt that Tony Parker's interference was much stronger than before. If it weren't for Lillard's natural intuition for the ball, he might have been intercepted by Parker long ago.

Seeing Anjie being surrounded by Split, Lillard decided to find another way out. He looked at Iguodala, and Iguodala immediately started running with the understanding. But to Iguodala's surprise, this year's rookie game mVP winner Kawhi Leonard stuck himself very hard.

Iguodala doesn't even talk about attacking with the ball now, he has no chance to connect the ball! No wonder the Spurs' performance has improved by leaps and bounds this season. This Leonard's progress is simply Popovich's deadly weapon!

"Damn, LaMarcus, LaMarcus!" Lillard had no choice but to break through with the ball. He reached out to find Aldridge, and Aldridge immediately set up a pick-and-roll for Lillard.

Although Tony Parker was ready, when Lillard suddenly added a breakthrough,

The Frenchman was still half a beat behind. Lillard is an older rookie, and Tony Parker is a real older player.

After Lillard broke through, everyone except Leonard habitually shrank the defensive formation to block Lillard's passing vision and increase the difficulty of his passing.

But Lillard had already thought about the direction of the pass before breaking through. Seeing that Danny Green also shrank a few steps into the three-point line, Lillard suddenly jumped up and made a hard pass.

The basketball quickly flew into the hands of Wesley Matthews, who was ambushing outside the three-point line. Matthews did not hesitate to catch the ball and shoot it. As a shooter, that's what he has to do.

But Danny Green's desperate dive still disrupted Matthews' shooting rhythm slightly. The basketball swiped around in the basket, but it still spun out.

Split immediately took off to grab the rebound, but the Brazilian's body had just risen to halfway when he saw Anjie's hand had passed him and got the basketball.

Poor jumping and weak rebound protection, these are the two major shortcomings of Splitter. Before this guy could react after landing, An Jie had already jumped up for the second time and was about to attack the frame.

Anjie just put it lightly at the basket, and he helped the Trail Blazers seize the opportunity of the second attack.

Although the Spurs conceded again, Popovich didn't seem too upset. The Spurs' defense has done well enough in this ball, but the problem lies in the protection of rebounds.

"Tim, give it to me!" Popovich yelled at Duncan. Duncan understood that next time, the person defending Anjie would be himself instead of Splitter!

However, in the offensive round of the Spurs, before Duncan got entangled, Anjie was the first to find him. Perhaps Popovich and Ricard did not expect that they would have such a tacit understanding, and at the same time use the inside trump card to confront each other. This is the only way for them to limit each other.

An Jie lowered his center of gravity to resist Duncan. Duncan didn't ask for the ball, but suddenly ran out to pick and roll Parker.

The Trail Blazers' good defense lies in the enthusiasm of the players mobilized by Ricard and the single defense ability of the Trail Blazers players. Generally, they will not easily let the opponent break through or allow the opponent to gain space. Even if the opponent does, then Anjie, a center with a burst of single-defense ability, will become the last barrier of the Trail Blazers.

But Duncan and Parker's pick-and-roll is like a complicated math problem. You have read the problem thousands of times, but you can't solve it no matter what.

The tacit cooperation between Parker and Duncan allowed Lillard, the guy with the weakest personal defensive ability in the Trail Blazers team, to be broken through again. An Jie was very afraid of Duncan's shooting, so he didn't switch defenses hastily.

Iguodala moved sideways one step to block Parker's breakthrough route, but Parker was in danger. Facing Iguodala who was threatening to show his claws, Parker suddenly made a point and gave the ball to the Spurs' rising star Leonard.

Leonard directly shot a three-pointer, but what they didn't expect was that Matthews, who was originally defending from the front, unknowingly jumped in front of him.

In the interference of Matthews' face, Leonard's three-pointer knocked out of the frame.

An Jie rushed into the penalty area immediately, leaped high, and hugged the rebound. The Spurs missed the shot, and it's not like the Blazers have someone who can grab the offensive glass.

"Sure enough, the defensive strength of the two teams has improved qualitatively! But at present, the Spurs seem to be at a disadvantage." Kenny Smith said while observing the Spurs' defensive strategy. After being beaten into a second offense by An Jie, what adjustments will they make?

However, what Kenny Smith didn't expect was that this scene would come so early. "Audience friends, Ann and Duncan seem to be sticking together!"

"Haha, I've been waiting for you Tim for a long time. Believe me, even you can't do evil in the Rose Garden!" An Jie habitually stimulated his opponent's nerves. Even if Duncan was expressionless, it didn't mean There was really no disturbance in his heart.

Does Duncan really have emotions? An Jie didn't know, he just hoped to use his own method to make Duncan as irritable as possible.

Anjie settled down and found a suitable position to catch the ball. But he took a look with his great vision, and it seemed his teammates were in trouble.

The Spurs' defense likes to limit the opponent's speed and breakthrough in the middle, and force the opponent to go to the side as much as possible. At the same time, widening the distance between the players of the Trail Blazers prevents the Trail Blazers from getting close pass opportunities.

Large-scale transfer means high risk, so Lillard dare not act rashly at this moment. Forcibly break through? Unless you want a steal for Tony Parker, it's best not to.

An Jie had no choice but to give up his preferred position and mentioned a high position to provide cover for Lillard.

After Lillard broke through, Duncan immediately blocked it and raised his hands. The Spurs' defensive strategy is like this. When the opponent on the wing or the bottom corner breaks through, the inside line on the weak side will immediately fill in. And this weak-side insider refers to Duncan.

Lillard passed the ball back, and Anjie confronted Parker in the mid-range position. He didn't dare to dribble, but this rhythm is not An Jie's favorite shooting timing. Just stunned for a moment, Duncan and Parker quickly switched defenses, and a poker face was once again blocked in front of An Jie.

An Jie turned his back, and he still planned to use his best method to score. After a while, the Blazers' offense once again turned into a heads-up between the two mVPs.

Popovich couldn't help but secretly take pride in seeing the Trail Blazers pushed into this situation. Don't look at Anjie getting the chance to singles, but starting to singles Duncan from the middle distance is not an easy task.

After all, Duncan's ability to defend against backs has been comparable to few people throughout the ages. This rock solid guy has a solid foot, a solid footwork and a long wingspan. Strong cast, can interfere. Turn around and the experienced Duncan can keep up.

Moreover, many people underestimated Duncan's strength. He is rarely carried in the back, and this guy doesn't have to go down to catch the opponent's power point. For example, the Big Dream and Shark back then and even the current Anjie, they carried others, and they all liked to use their strength to prevent their opponents from advancing.

But once the opponent's center of gravity is up, if they pull up and shoot directly, the defender whose center of gravity is too low will suffer a lot. If it weren't for Anjie's quick response and long arms, he might really be beaten by guys like Nowitzki and Aldridge because of this defensive habit.

But this trick is not only for Anjie, but also for Duncan, it is difficult to be effective. Duncan doesn't need to deliberately press the center of gravity, just stand where he is, and it will be difficult for you to move away and turn.

An Jie is now facing such an embarrassment. An Jie, who started back-to-back combat in the middle distance, can neither advance to the three-second zone in a short time, nor can he turn around and break through in front of Duncan, who is in a special position.

Seeing that the Spurs cut off all the passing routes, and he was about to fall into the trap of a five-second violation of his back, An Jie had no choice but to shake his shoulders and prepare for a jump shot.

Anjie's lifelike shoulder shake may be able to make him shake Marc Gasol, but Duncan will never be fooled. This guy just looked at An Jie blankly, and got stuck a step forward, making An Jie unsteady.

An Jie forced the shot, but Duncan's defense without lowering his waist made it easy for him to interfere with An Jie's shooting. Anjie hasn't felt such a strong defensive pressure on any inside player for a long time, but this 36-year-old "old" Duncan has done it all!

"Damn it!" An Jie yelled badly as soon as he shot the ball. Sure enough, the basketball missed. This was the first time An Jie missed an attack in this game!

"It's amazing! Tim Duncan, no matter what era he is in, no matter what kind of opponent he faces, he will never suffer!" Although Bill Wharton is a loyal fan of An Jie, but now, this guy also Have to praise Duncan. Duncan fought with the four major centers, and he has not lost the wind when he confronts Anjie, the strongest center of the new era. Duncan is a monster, a monster that will never fluctuate for decades.

"Damn it." An Jie looked at Duncan's poker face, feeling annoyed. He has defeated Duncan many times, but he never expected that the current Duncan is the true final form.

When it comes to the Western Conference Finals, no one is willing to give up. Even Duncan, who has won four championships, is no exception.

After that, the game was just as Ricard said, and the excitement of the scene took a sharp turn for the worse.

Duncan and Anjie, the core of the two teams, are frequently playing against each other's defense. Although the others can score goals, they always feel a little bit less interesting.

Even after the second team came on, Ricard and Popovich focused on defense. The confrontation scene at the beginning of the first quarter may be difficult to appear.

25 to 26, the Trail Blazers ended their first quarter with a slight advantage of one point. Duncan and An Jie, whichever of these two guys can knock down each other first, maybe whoever can control the trend of the game.

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