The Way of the Center

Chapter 72: Respect and Challenge

Morris didn't play much time in the warm-up match between the Cyclones and the Mountaineers. He only scored 4 points and 3 rebounds, but he sent three big shots in a very short period of time. The big bull is still the big bull, and he is still the most solid iron shield of the whirlwind team. But apart from the fans in Ames City, no one paid attention to the news of this ordinary player's comeback, not even Anjie and Taylor.

Seeing Taylor and Anjie, two former teammates, both stepping into the NBA arena, how could Morris not have the slightest disturbance in his heart?

"Are you really going to give up basketball?" He asked himself more than once in his heart, but in the end he decided not to bow to fate.

Until he was successful, he decided not to tell anyone about his comeback. Morris is not a person who accepts failure easily, so after Anjie left, the key to the gymnasium gate assigned by Old Austin to Anjiedo also fell into Morris's hands. Without affecting his injured foot, Morris also started diligent and boring extra training. Although the training intensity was not as great as that of Anjie, Morris was still sweating and making progress without anyone knowing.

It's not that Anjie doesn't care about his alma mater, but he really doesn't have much time to pay attention to things other than the NBA. Even talking to Catherine and her family, he had to cut short.

An Jie is still the hardest working person in the team, and Carlesimo is still the one who criticizes An Jie's style of play the most. In his opinion, this rookie just hasn't adapted to the Thunder's tactics, and is still playing according to the college set.

After all, it is impossible for a person to be full of good luck for a lifetime. After meeting a coach like Ricard who is good at using centers in college, Anjie's first NBA coach is obviously a model of coaches who can't use centers. In the eyes of P.J. Carlesimo, once a center leaves the three-second zone, it is no different from a decoration. However, if it is not to provide the greatest assistance to Durant and Westbrook, Anjie will not mention it frequently. Go high. But who formulated the tactics that allowed Westbrook and Durant to attack the inside again and again? Or he, P.J. Carlesimo himself.

To make more breakthroughs from the outside line with two strong impacts, and not let An Jie raise the high position to support, Carasimo's tactics are self-contradictory! But he is still the head coach of the Thunder, and An Jie is not the kind of rebellious kid who will conflict with the head coach, so An Jie can only accept it silently.

Anjie became more and more aggrieved, but fortunately, Westbrook and Durant had a good relationship with Anjie, so they would occasionally pass on Anjie to let him perform in front of Carlesimo. But after all, this is not a long-term solution. The depressed Anjie can only continue to play in a way he doesn't like during confrontation training.

"I could see it in the first game, he is an incompetent bastard!" After An Jie called Divac to complain, Divac also cursed without restraint.

"I'm worried that if I continue like this, I will lose my place in the team." It's not that Anjie doesn't know his position in Carlesimo's heart. As long as Carlesimo says a word, Anjie will sit on the bench throughout the game. possible.

"You don't have to worry, your general manager Presti is a smart man, and he personally picked you, he won't let that old guy abandon you." Divac is quite sure of this point.

After hanging up Divac's phone, Anjie called his family and Catherine again. After finishing all the tasks that should be done today, the exhausted An Jie lay down on the bed and soon fell asleep.

Two consecutive days without a game did not make Anjie much easier. After the Thunder's poor performance in the first game, P.J. Carlesimo obviously increased the training intensity, especially the number of confrontation training. This made everyone in the Thunder team exhausted, let alone An Jie who had to stay for extra training?

In addition to intensive training,

Two consecutive back-to-back schedules also put pressure on the Thunder players. And when it comes to the pressure in his heart, An Jie is undoubtedly the most difficult one among them! Because tomorrow Anjie will fly with the team to Houston, the first stop of their back-to-back games!

In China, no matter it is the live broadcast platform or the live TV channel, all the media have obtained the rights to broadcast this game at any cost. Chinese Derby! If anyone is still questioning the ratings of this kind of competition, then he must have his head caught by the door!

All the fans started a heated discussion on the Internet, about what the confrontation between Anjie and Yao Ming would look like, this topic almost occupied the front pages of all basketball forums.

The competition time of this competition happens to be on the weekend, so whether it is an office worker or a student party, everyone can feast their eyes on this November morning. China's sports media is also almost all out, this can be said to be the most important game for Chinese fans at the beginning of the season.

Wu Hua was sent to Houston early by his immediate boss. Yao Ming's every NBA game has attracted much attention, not to mention that now there is another gimmick that can be hyped. In the previous Chinese derby, those players were generally not directly facing Yao Ming. And now Anjie is playing the center position! Moreover, he is also the main rotation member of the team, and he will definitely confront Yao Ming directly in the game! So this time the Chinese Derby can be said to be worthy of the name, which is enough to ignite the passion in the hearts of all Chinese fans.

Reporters like to compare Anjie to Yao Ming when he first entered the league. After all, Anjie's thin body and relatively flexible style of play are somewhat similar to Yao Ming at that time. Therefore, this duel was hyped up by some media as a kind of inheritance. As long as you think about it, there are simply too many things to hype about this match.

Yao Ming is also very much looking forward to this duel with his compatriots. After all, Yao Ming is very familiar with Chinese players in the NBA, and everyone has been teammates in the national team. But An Jie is completely different. He is a player outside the system and an opponent full of uncertainties. Yao Ming also wants to try his hand at this kid's level. After all, we are all compatriots. Who doesn't want another outstanding player to appear in China?

An Jie faced such a game with more headaches, opponents weighing 140 kilograms, which An Jie had never met in previous basketball games. And the height and wingspan advantages that An Jie relies on to survive on the court will not work in front of Yao Ming. An Jie is not an egomaniac, he knows that he can't defeat the mighty Yao Ming in one go, but he must have some countermeasures against Yao Ming. However, when An Jie set foot on the land of Houston, he still failed to come up with a solution.

As soon as the Thunder got off the plane, they were frantically besieged by reporters, but this time most of the reporters were Chinese!

"An Jie! Do you feel nervous when confronting Yao Ming for the first time!"

"Do you think it is possible for you to shake Yao Ming's dominance in the Chinese basketball world!?"

"How many points do you think you can score against Yao Ming?"

The reporters kept chattering and asking questions. Even the team leader Durant didn't get the treatment of Anjie today.

"It seems that you and I will be the foil in this game." Westbrook looked at Anjie who was surrounded by his compatriots sympathetically, and joked with Durant.

Fortunately, the Houston police arrived in time to rescue An Jie who was caught in the water and fire. The local police station sent four motorcycles to clear the way for the Thunder team's bus. Along the way, there were countless Chinese holding signs on the side of the road, welcoming Anjie's arrival.

An Jie didn't put on airs either, he smiled and waved to the fans outside the window in the bus. At this moment, Westbrook suddenly stabbed An Jie with his elbow.

"I said Ann, you can also teach us a few words of Chinese, so that we can also say hello to the Chinese media."

"That's right, it's not good for you to show off alone." Wilcox also came up.

When the Thunder's player bus arrived at its destination, the reporters' flashlights flashed immediately. The bus opened its gates, and Westbrook was the first to rush off.

"Ni Bo Hao, Ni Bo Hao." Westbrook's broken Chinese made all the Chinese reporters smile heartily, and of course there was a flash of dizziness at him. His move really made many Chinese fans fall in love with this naughty little defender.

It was An Jie's appearance that finally led to a climax. No one in the Thunder team had ever received such attention, and now because of An Jie, they were all in the limelight.

After trying their best to squeeze into the Toyota Center, Yao Ming and his Rockets warmed up inside. Yao Ming smiled when he saw An Jie, and An Jie responded with a smile, and hurried to the locker room to change.

When the Thunder warmed up, Anjie was not with his teammates.

"Hey Russell, you go to warm up first, I have to go over and say hello." An Jie pointed to the halftime where the Rockets were warming up.

At this time Yao Ming was sitting on the bench, crossing his legs and talking and laughing with Scola beside him. Seeing An Jie approaching, Yao Ming did not pretend to be a veteran, but stood up from the bench respectfully.

"Hello Brother Yao." An Jie stretched out his hands to shake hands with Yao Ming, very restrained. joke! He is facing the pride and banner of Chinese basketball!

"It's quite tall, like me, I've touched the ceiling a lot." Yao Ming tried to relieve An Jie's nervousness with his own humor.

"How does it feel to play in the NBA?" Yao Ming asked casually.

"It's very good, very good, and I have to learn a lot from Brother Yao." An Jie is not used to facing each of these idols on the court. He is just a complete novice, so when he faces a star like Yao Ming It seemed a little overwhelmed.

"Don't be nervous and perform well later. It's a pity that you didn't bring you to fight monsters in the 2008 Olympics. After all, it is a rare Olympics held at home. But it doesn't matter. There are many opportunities. Play hard and strive to be selected for the national team next time. "Yao Ming smiled and patted An Jie on the shoulder. He is really a player with strong national pride and is always ready to fight for the country. Of course, we will not forget to discover new blood for the country.

The two sides chatted for a few more words, and after seeing Carlesimo's increasingly uncomfortable expression, An Jie had to leave and go back to warm up.

"Hey, do you think we have a chance to win? Brother Yao." Halfway through, An Jie suddenly turned around, and said such an ambiguous sentence to Yao Ming as if joking but also seriously.

"No way, An Jie." Yao Ming replied with a smile, no matter whether this sentence was a joke or a serious one, it was a sentence without any malice.

The two giants were finally separated, and when they met again, the two had to be enemies.

Chinese Derby! About to start!

The most direct duel between centers, fans all over China are paying attention!

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