The Way of the Center

Hold the ball! turn around! Anthony Davis's footsteps were so fast that Anjie couldn't react in an instant. As Kenny Smith said in the program, Anthony Davis is indeed very powerful. An Jie even thought that this guy might be more versatile than himself in the future.

Davis, who surpassed Anjie by half, did not hesitate at all. Although the guy next to him had a super defensive ability, at such a critical moment, the only thing Davis could do was to be brave!

Although he is only 22 years old this year, Anthony Davis has already become the backbone of this team. If even he backs down now, the Pelicans are really doomed.

So, the slender power forward with the same exaggerated wingspan leaped with both legs, and Davis lifted the basketball and headed straight for the basket.

"Boom!" With a loud noise penetrating the entire court, Anthony Davis hung on the rim and roared excitedly!

"Successful! Beautiful attack! Anthony Davis, this guy actually scored a goal on Ann's head! My God, it's unbelievable!" Not only Davis himself, but even the commentator in the commentary area We were all completely ignited by this dunk.

98 to 98, when the game was about to end in three and a half minutes, Anthony Davis used a powerful dunk to help the Pelicans tie the score!

The cameras of various TV stations immediately shot towards the Trail Blazers' bench. However, Ricard did not respond, and still just looked at the field quietly.

"There is no timeout! Coach George Ricard did not call a timeout. Even though the team is tied now, Coach Ricard seems to think that there is no need to adjust tactics!" Jeff Van Gundy has to admire Ricard's calmness, if If he had been directing, he must have stopped the game.

"Damn! Are you so confident!?" Seeing that Ricard didn't respond, the pressure came instead to Pelicans coach Monty Williams.

He has long known that Ricard is a scheming guy, and Monty Williams has no experience in coaching the playoffs before. He couldn't help but worry a little, whether he was falling into Ricard's trap step by step.

In a blink of an eye, the Trail Blazers had already attacked. The person defending Anjie was not Anthony Davis, but Turkish center Omer Asik.

Monty Williams knows that in today's league, it is impossible for anyone to defend Anjie one-on-one in the low post, not even Anthony Davis. Instead of letting Anthony Davis waste energy on the defensive end, it is better to let Asik play the role of the meat shield directly.

Lillard used a quick frontal change to make room for himself,

Pelicans point guard Eric Gordon thought Lillard was going for a straight shot. Unexpectedly, the No. 0 guard just hung the ball inside, and he just hoped to pass the ball through this little space.

An Jie raised his long arms and firmly grasped the incoming ball. Asik was sweating profusely. As long as Anjie held the ball, this guy felt as if his whole body was heavy with lead.

This time, Anjie didn't play back singles directly like before, but slowly held the ball to face the frame.

He puts his hands on the ball so low that Asik cannot reach it at his height. Anjie looked at Asik, then at the basket. After that, he looked at Davis with provocative eyes.

Didn't you just score a goal over my head? Come on, now, I will give it back to you!

An Jie suddenly picked up his speed and broke through to Asik's left. Asik's reflexive step and lateral movement seemed to block An Jie's breakthrough route well.

If it were other inside players playing singles with the ball, Asik's defense might really succeed. But An Jie, who was nimble on his feet, took Asik as the axis, and suddenly turned around one after another. The Turkish center has nothing to do with such a result.

An Jie turned around calmly, but to his surprise, Anthony Davis actually posted it at the right time!

This guy with slender limbs like a "big spider" raised his arms high, and An Jie's offensive space was completely invaded! Like beef, he was sandwiched between Asik and Davis as a hamburger.

Even in such a narrow space, An Jie couldn't even take off, he just threw the ball towards the basket at will.

The ball seemed random, but in fact, An Jie completed all the movements perfectly at the moment of the shot. It's a toss! A quick drop shot that the little guy uses to avoid the big guy's block. Back then, Craig Smith relied on this tactic to beat the young Anjie without a temper. But now, this trick was used on another big man.

The basketball draws a very high arc in a very short distance. Anthony Davis even thinks that this kind of random shot has no possibility of hitting.

However, the basketball with an extremely unreasonable flight trajectory fell straight into the net!

"Beautiful!" Aldridge clapped his hands excitedly with Anjie, and Anjie glanced at Davis again during the retreat, and blinked at the young man.

"A perfect double team! Anthony Davis' ability to read the game and defend the penalty area is simply outstanding! It is a pity that Anjie is an unconventional existence in this league! Even if Davis and Ah Sick has made the defense to the extreme, and An is still able to score goals! It is worthy of being the league's scoring leader this season, and An is well-deserved!"

Anthony Davis was a little unwilling, after all, this defense could really be described as perfect. He looked up at the big screen at the scene, and the number behind An Jie's jersey number had changed to 34.

Before the game was over, Anjie had already scored 34 points. What should I do to stop this guy's footsteps!

Offensively, since there is nothing he can do on the defensive end, Anthony Davis intends to bite the game on the offensive end.

If you score a goal, I will also score a goal. If you score two points for the team, I can also add two points for the team.

With this belief, Anthony Davis took an active position in the next offensive round and took the initiative to rush to Eric Gordon for the ball. In this league, there are almost no big men inside who dare to ask for the ball under An Jie's defense. Anthony Davis, may be the only one who dares to do so.

With the precedent of a successful dunk on Angie's head just now, Davis is now much calmer and more confident than before.

He felt the change of An Jie's center of gravity with his back, and planned to seize the opportunity and break through in one fell swoop! However, An Jie stood motionless behind Davis like a rock, making the sensitive Davis unable to find any chance!

There was no way, Davis had no choice but to turn over and make a jumper. His shooting ability is very good, and the turnaround jumper in this position should not be difficult for Davis.

However, An Jie's huge black shadow completely blocked Davis' entire vision.

Davis's shot was slightly receded, and he still didn't believe it, so Anjie could still block his own shot.

Just when Davis was shooting backwards, Anjie also continued to press forward! Now, Davis must make a shot without losing his center of gravity! Anjie's defensive range is so huge that Davis can't get rid of Anjie's entanglement even if he shoots a fallback jumper.

Seeing that he was about to fall to the ground, Davis had to force his shot. However, just after the basketball flew out, it was slapped back hard by An Jie's broad palm.

This time! Angie didn't make Davis' dream come true!

Eric Gordon, with quick eyesight and quick hands, immediately picked up the basketball that flew out of the fan, and launched a second impact towards the basket.

Angie had just blocked Davis, and he couldn't have blocked another guy so quickly. With this in mind, Eric Gordon drove the ball straight to the basket. Hold on to the score, the Pelicans must hold on to the score!

Although the basket is currently unguarded, Gordon did not intend to dunk, but chose to attack with a quick layup. In the restricted area guarded by An Jie, the simple and practical way is always the best.

Gordon raised the basketball and was about to throw it. However, the slender arm appeared again. Gordon looked at the hand above his head in disbelief, and the basketball was taken away abruptly again!

"Two blocks in a row! Ann, this incredible guy completely killed the Pelicans' offensive hopes!"

The basketball that was slapped by An Jie hit the backboard heavily and bounced back quickly. This time, An Jie received the basketball himself, and launched a fast break with a long pass.

The Pelicans with an empty backcourt had no one able to catch up with Iguodala, who started early. Iguodala dunked with both hands, widening the difference between the two teams to four points. At this critical moment of anxiety, the four-point gap is enough to put tremendous pressure on the lagging side. What's more, the Pelicans are still a team playing in the playoffs for the first time.

Monty Williams called a timeout, and the bald coach finally couldn't bear the huge psychological pressure.

George Ricard still looked relaxed. This game will not be any different from the previous games!

"We must improve the efficiency of our offense! Don't let AD fight with An Shi, I want each of you to stand up! There are still two minutes left in the game, and we have plenty of time. The difference is only four points, don't give up!" When Monty Williams motivates his players, he also motivates himself.

"The Pelicans are so overwhelmed that we keep putting pressure on them on the defensive end. After the timeout, they should increase the number of passes. Listen, don't give them any chance, I want you to press Defend everyone on the opponent's field! This huge pressure will sooner or later completely crush those boys! Get rid of them, we are here for the championship!" Ricard's last words undoubtedly greatly stimulated the development The nerves of the Jazz players.

After returning from the timeout, the Pelicans did as Ricard said, the offense was more complicated, and more people participated in the offense.

But the Trail Blazers, after strengthening their defense, still didn't leave any chance for the Pelicans. You must know that Anjie is not the only one who has excellent defense in the Trail Blazers. The defenses of Aldridge, Iguodala and Matthews are not so easy to break through. Although Lillard's defense is poor due to his thin body, his enthusiasm can usually make up for his physical shortcomings well.

The Pelicans' offense became a stagnant pool under such a high-intensity defense. The team couldn't implement any of the tactics that Monty Williams had just drawn. In the end, the Pelicans' offense turned into a one-on-one confrontation between Anthony Davis and Angie. The result of doing so is obvious.

In the last 30 seconds of the game, Davis's turnaround jumper knocked out of the frame under the interference of Anjie. Although the game was not over yet, at that moment, Davis' heart suddenly collapsed.

It's over, he didn't expect that his first trip to the playoffs would end like this.

106 to 99, the Pelicans, who were still seven points behind in the last 30 seconds, had lost their last hope.

Yes, this is the last hope. Today's game is the fourth game of the first round of the playoffs at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans! Before that, the total score of the series was 3 to 0... Under the shadow of Anjie, the Pelicans did not win a game!

The time on the timer is slowly decreasing, and Anthony Davis' playoff journey is about to come to an end...