The Way of the Center

"Hey, everyone perform well later, especially Anjie and Westbrook, don't be nervous, just play at your level." In the Thunder's locker room, head coach P.J. Carlesimo began to encourage There are two rookies in the team. Presti said that in addition to improving performance this season, the only task of the team is to train young people. He believes that his choice will not go wrong.

"You're going to watch Baan behind me for me, just like you did when you were in the Cyclones." Westbrook's legs kept shaking.

"Don't worry Russell, you can attack with confidence." An Jie patted Westbrook on the back. As the saying goes, if you don't fight, you don't know each other. Now Westbrook's best friend in the team is Ann. Jay.

"Hello, audience friends. Welcome to the 08-09 season NBA preseason game. Today we bring you the game between the newcomers of the NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Philadelphia 76ers. I think everyone knows this The highlight of the game is that the Chinese player An Jie is very likely to appear in this game and become the fifth Chinese player to play in the NBA!" A commentator on a live webcast platform introduced excitedly.

"Anjie may get a lot of chances to play today. The general manager of the Thunder, Presti, is a person who values ​​the development of newcomers. The team's head coach, Carlesimo, has also faithfully implemented the general manager's thinking. The Thunder dare to Using new people, from the team to the players, this is a young, brand new team!"

Divac is sitting in a luxury box at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, with Presti beside him. It was Angie's first professional basketball game and the Thunder's first NBA game. Although it was only a preseason game, it could be seen from the large vacancies in the auditorium that this game was not eye-catching, but in the eyes of Divac and Presti, this game has a different meaning.

"I'm looking forward to your students' performance later." The players had finished their warm-up, and Anjie performed freely on the field, but Westbrook seemed a little nervous.

"I am also looking forward to the Thunder's first game at the new home court. Watching this young team play seems to make me ten years younger." Divac smiled cheerfully, and said Press Divac was really enthusiastic. Originally, Divac just wanted to sit in the auditorium in a low-key manner, but after being discovered by Presti, he was invited to this luxurious box.

Anjie didn't feel much nervous. The arena was only about a quarter of the audience, and the new fans in Oklahoma City hadn't yet formed a distinctive fan culture. The sound of cheering was sparse and disorganized. Compared with the frenetic atmosphere in Ames, this game was so deserted that it looked like a college basketball game.

Except for the distant Eastern Continent, this game really failed to attract the attention of the fans.

Anjie and Westbrook sat on the bench, waiting for the start of the game. This is the first time for the two of them to play a basketball game as a substitute player. You must know that both of them were the arrows of their respective teams when they were in college.

"Honey, come and sit down, the game is about to start!" An Shiran made a cup of tea for himself, sat comfortably on the sofa, and watched the new TV that An Jie had just bought for his home. On the TV screen, players from both sides have already stood apart near the center circle, ready to start jumping the ball.

The starting lineup sent by the Thunder is not much different from that of last season. Nick Collison is still sent at the center position, and Chris Wilcox is the power forward. To be honest, the combination of these two insiders, Putting it in the West is the only way to be beaten by others...

At the small forward position, Kevin Durant, who is already in the second grade, is still sent. His strong performance last season proved that the second place is not necessarily worse than the first place.

On the guard line, the Thunder played a combination of Desmond Mason and Earl Watson. Such a lineup is too shabby compared to other teams,

I really don't see how such a team can be competitive.

Sure enough, after the game started, the 76ers immediately launched a fierce attack under the leadership of Andre Iguodala. Although Durant performed well last season, he still looks very immature when facing Iguodala.

In addition to Iguodala, the 76ers' starting shooting guard Louis Williams also played well. He has already hit two consecutive three-pointers on Mason's head. Not long after the game started, the 76ers immediately established a 10-point lead!

Presti shook his head in the box, but it didn't matter, this was just a preseason game, not to mention that the two little guys hadn't played yet.

"Defense! Where's our defense!?" P.J. Carlesimo yelled, as if the Thunder's offense was okay.

"Russell, An Jie, both of you!" Carlesimo waved his hand, and the two young men looked at each other and smiled.

"There are too many things that the Thunder have to change this season. They fell behind by 10 points in just over four minutes of the first quarter, and their scores are still in single digits." The commentator on the webcast platform felt that I was about to fall asleep. If it wasn't for An Jie, who would go to see this starless team. However, after returning from the timeout, he seemed to see a tall yellow-skinned guy taking off his coat and preparing to appear on stage!

"It's An Jie! An Jie is ready to play! Audience friends, An Jie is here!"

"Look, it's my son!" An Jie's mother shouted excitedly, pointing at the picture on the TV. In the past, NCAA games were only played against the United States, and Anjie's parents had no way to see their son's performance. It's different now, they can see their son fighting hard on the field at any time.

"Catherine! An Jie is here!" the bearded man called to the daughter in the room, and Catherine rushed downstairs immediately after hearing the voice.

"You kid, don't embarrass the Cyclone team!" The corners of Morris' mouth raised slightly, and he almost fell asleep watching the first four minutes.

"Peggy, please make me a cup of coffee, thank you." Ricard stared at the TV intently, his face full of pride.

Countless pairs of eyes were fixed on this tall yellow-skinned boy, and he set foot on the NBA court with people's infinite expectations.

"Come on, Ann." Westbrook and An Jie bumped their fists, and for a moment An Jie almost thought it was Mike Taylor standing in front of him.

The Thunder sent the baseline ball, Russell Westbrook dribbled the ball across the half court, and Anjie's career officially started from this second!

Westbrook handed the ball to Durant who was in a good position after halftime. Durant observed the running position of his teammates. After making a few tentative steps, he suddenly started and broke through the penalty area!

Although the team leads by 10 points, Iguodala has to admit that this second-year rookie has caused him a lot of trouble! Seeing Durant start, he reacted quickly and moved his steps immediately! Although Iguodala's offensive ability is super, his defense is also one of his housekeeping skills.

Only halfway through, Iguodala suddenly bumped into a "wall". Iguodala, who was blocked, could only watch Durant slip past him.

"When's the pick and roll!" Iguodala looked up in surprise, but found a yellow-skinned guy standing in front of him. The pick-and-roll was very stealthy, and Iguodala didn't notice someone on his side before hitting it.

After Durant made a breakthrough, he immediately stopped and made a jump shot. After the ball was scored, Durant pointed to Anjie to express his gratitude. Anjie just smiled and ran back to prepare to defend.

"This pick-and-roll is enough to show how good Anjie's basketball IQ is. Don't look at it as a simple pick-and-roll, but it actually requires a very high ability to read the game!" As long as the Chinese players have any good performance on the court , the commentators in the mainland will seize the opportunity to brag. But this time they were not completely wrong. Under the training of Ricard and Divac, Anjie's ability to read the game is indeed stronger than his peers. You must know that Anjie is still a center forward, not a point guard.

As soon as An Jie took a defensive position, the 76ers counterattacked aggressively! Sure enough, the pace of the NBA game is very fast now!

Louis Williams ran into Westbrook on the perimeter. He thought he could easily break through the first-year rookie, but he didn't know that he was squeezed out as soon as he had physical contact with Westbrook. out.

"What! Is this guy really a defender!?" Louis Williams himself was indeed on the thin side, but Westbrook's physical fitness still surprised him.

There is no way. Now that this guy has just played in the NBA, he has accumulated enough strength. Williams can only pass the ball to Iguodala. He doesn't want to hit the gun and become a stepping stone on the road to success for this group of rookies.

Iguodala still has a lot of experience facing this Durant. Although he is very difficult on the defensive end, he is no worse than the genius in front of him on the offensive end.

Dalembert mentioned the high position to pick and roll, and Iguodala tried to cooperate with Dalembert, but in the middle of the process, he suddenly made a quick change of direction in front of him, towards the side without the wall suddenly go. Durant reacted a little slower, and he was already entangled with Dalembert. Iguodala can be said to have kept Durant clean.

The athletic Iguodala never misses a chance to wreak havoc at the rim, even if it's just a preseason game.

Holding the ball with both hands, kicking the ground hard with both legs! Iguodala soars into the sky! Anjie had never seen such a jumping height in the NCAA! But now there is no time to be shocked, An Jie also jumped up after him.

"Can it be covered!?" The mainland commentator watched An Jie take off, and became very excited for a while.

"Bang!" Iguodala dunks with both hands! The basketball hoop kept shaking with the huge force, like a crumbling dead tree, unable to withstand such a huge devastation.

"Damn it!" An Jie scratched his hair angrily. He was just barely able to touch the basketball just now. However, there is no difference between a little and a lot. Anyway, it can't stop the opponent from scoring. Is this the gap between the NBA and the NCAA? Facing NCAA small forwards, Anjie can block the ball nine times out of ten.

An Jie was annoyed on the field, while Presti in the box saw it with wide eyes. The rest of the Thunder's other centers didn't even have the chance to chase and take a big risk, but An Jie could not only make up the defense quickly, but also accurately judge the timing of taking off and blocking the block at this high-speed running moment. You must know that Iguodala is now one of the best athletic players in the NBA, and Anjie has been able to defend to this level.

"Mr. Divac, it seems that your disciple really lives up to his reputation. I have watched a lot of his game videos, and I have also seen countless wonderful blocks of his, but only by seeing it with my own eyes will I be impressed by this huge defensive range and I am impressed by his good defensive awareness." Presti expressed his love for Anjie in front of Divac without hesitation.

"His athletic ability is not good enough, which has to be guided by the Law team." And Divac will not let go of any opportunity to provide advice.

"My fault, my fault." Durant raised his long arms, and he did not shirk his responsibility.

After the attack, Durant was looked down upon by Iguodala, and he could only hand the ball into Westbrook's hands.

After receiving the ball, Westbrook's eyes became focused. He quickly changed the ball holder, and his upper body kept shaking from side to side, making Louis Williams not sure which direction he was going to break through.

left! Westbrook kicked his right leg hard, and the amazing explosive power of the first step made all the audience gasp! too fast!

Williams immediately went to block, but he only caught a gust of wind. Westbrook broke through easily.

Dalembert stands ready! Does a small point guard dare to hit the penalty area like this? Besides, he's just a rookie. Do kids nowadays really think they can become Allen Iverson?

Even though Dalembert is at the basket, Westbrook still has no intention of slowing down. He just knows that there are tigers in the mountains, and he prefers to go to the mountains!

Dalembert was amazed at the height of Westbrook's jump. But basketball is not a high jump, and whoever can jump the best will win.

Dalembert opened his arms, ready to give this ignorant kid a hard lesson. But when Westbrook rose to a height where he could attack the rim, Dalembert realized that the kid in front of him didn't have a basketball in his hands.

"That Chinese!" Dalembert knew that something was wrong. The inside defense was all attracted by Westbrook, but Anjie, who was the tallest player on the field, was ignored by people.

A stealth pass by Westbrook in the air gave Angie a chance in the open.

"Come on, Ann, I know your strength." Westbrook, who was still in the air, knew that he would definitely get an assist.

Ainger received the ball to the left of the free throw line, with no defender two steps away. All the inside players of the 76ers retreated into the penalty area because of the breakthrough of a first-year rookie.

An Jie was not nervous, he calmly aimed at the basket. Take off, lift the ball, shoot. Thaddeus Young rushed over to interfere with the shot, but Anjie's high release point made him useless.

"Brush!" What a sweet voice, just like Catherine's voice.

"An Jie! An Jie scored! He scored the first point of his NBA career!" The commentator in mainland China was as excited as if he had scored a football goal. He seemed to have forgotten that the data of the preseason game is not counted. in career data.

"This guy!" Thaddeus Yang didn't expect the Thunder's two first-year rookies to completely disrupt their defense. How many centers with a soft touch are there in the NBA now? Don't worry, now there's another one.

An Jie has formally challenged the NBA, be careful, that Eastern Tower has officially landed in the league!

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