The Way of the Center

"3...2...1!"

"Beep~~~~~~"

Anthony Davis' eyes glowed red, and he knew that the red lights on the backboard had already been turned on at this moment.

He had imagined countless times that when the red light on the backboard was on, he successfully defeated An Jie, became the new darling of the league, and became the challenger of the "King".

However, such a fantasy, in the four-game series, has not been realized. An Jie's strength is so terrifying that the Pelicans can't even win a game.

"First round, pass safely!" An Jie let out a sigh of relief, the current Anthony Davis is much better than himself when he was 22 years old. After four games, Davis averaged 29.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 3 blocks per game. This makes him the fourth player after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Chamberlain and McAdoo to post such amazing numbers in the first playoffs of his career. At the age of 22, An Jie couldn't hit such statistics.

Maybe a few years later, when he is old and Davis matures, he may really not be able to do this boy with thick eyebrows and big eyes.

However, at least for now, Davis is far from being a threat in front of Anjie.

Thinking of this, An Jie pushed aside the crowd and walked straight to Anthony Davis with his head bowed.

Davis seemed to feel something, he slowly raised his head, only to find that An Jie was walking towards him with open arms.

"You played well, kid. The O'Brien Cup will be in your pocket sooner or later." An Jie whispered in Davis' ear.

Now, An Jie may not know. His own encouragement made Davis a creed for future struggles.

"The O'Brien Cup is mine!" This sentence has always encouraged Davis to move forward bravely until many years later.

※※※

4 to 0, after cleanly killing the newcomer Pelicans in the away game, the Trail Blazers once again became the first team in the West to get a chance to rest.

The strength gap between the teams in the West is not particularly large compared to the East. A score of 4 to 0 may often appear in the East, but it is not often seen in the West.

The Grizzlies, Spurs, Rockets, Warriors and other teams all have to work hard for the second round of tickets. Especially the Rockets and Spurs, which are third and sixth in the West, are currently tied 2-2. If they want to decide the winner, I am afraid they will have to go through a tiebreaker to find the winner.

The night after taking down the Pelicans, Ricard immediately arranged for the players to fly back to Portland. The first game of the second round was offered to be staged at the Moda Center. They now have plenty of time to prepare and Ricard has plenty of time to study tapes of potential opponents.

The Clippers and Grizzlies, the winners of the two teams, will be in the way of the Trail Blazers' second-round run. Needless to say, the Clippers, this is not the first time the two teams have met in the playoffs. The Grizzlies, on the other hand, can't help but make people a little worried.

Now that the entire league is increasing the number of rounds and strengthening the offense, the Grizzlies are quite different from the mainstream, and they have adopted a style of play that focuses on iron and blood defense.

The playing style of this team is the same as their team's main color, cold and without passion, people who don't like it will fall asleep after watching it.

However, Ricard was fascinated by the Grizzlies' style of play, and he liked the Grizzlies' style of play very much. In Ricard's view, the Grizzlies are the team that really knows how to win.

Although from the current point of view, the series between the Grizzlies and the Clippers is still very anxious. But Ricard believes that the Clippers can't last long just relying on those few moves during the regular season.

Ricard has been able to basically lock, the Memphis Grizzlies are their opponents in the second round of the playoffs!

So in the past few days, Ricard has focused on the Grizzlies. Even the training of the players is aimed at the Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies have many advantages, but their disadvantages are equally obvious. First of all, this team's ability to finish outside the three-point line is really poor.

There are only a handful of people on the team who can shoot three-pointers, and Tony Allen doesn't even have the ability to shoot three-pointers.

Secondly, the disparity between the Grizzlies' bench lineup and the main lineup is also the key point that Ricard must grasp.

Although the Grizzlies have Vince Carter, a respected and legendary guard, on the bench, there is also Jeff Green, the former All-Star player who was swapped with Anjie back then. But today in 2015, the contribution these two guys can bring to the team is not much.

In the middle of this season, the Grizzlies had planned to talk to the Blazers about the transfer of Courtney Lee. However, Nell Orsi directly rejected the request of the Grizzlies. From this, it can be seen how much the Grizzlies need a guy who can shoot three-pointers to join.

Unfortunately, now that the playoffs have already started, the Grizzlies have not found such a person.

Time passed day by day, and many teams have successfully advanced to the second round of the playoffs. It's a pity that the Los Angeles Clippers, who are ambitious every year, once again failed their hopes.

Not to mention the championship, Chris Paul can't even touch the floor of the Western Conference Finals.

As Ricard expected, the Grizzlies finally eliminated the Clippers with a total score of 4 to 2 and successfully advanced to the second round of the playoffs.

But in Memphis, Grizzlies fans weren't happy for long. Meeting the Portland Trail Blazers means that the chances of the Grizzlies continuing to advance have been minimized.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the Trail Blazers are the worst opponent in the playoffs.

With apprehension, the Grizzlies general finally boarded the plane to Portland and headed for "hell".

An Jie's huge poster is still next to the airport. It has been many years, and that billboard has never changed its content. The result of this is that just after getting off the plane, Gasol felt tremendous pressure.

The centers in this league can be divided into several grades, but only An Jie belongs to the top grade. This point, even the well-behaved Gasol Jr., cannot be denied. If An Jie's line was in the 1990s, there would be "five major centers" in NBA history.

Even if this guy is compared with Olajuwon and others, he is not inferior.

Grizzlies coach Dave Jogel is the most stressed person in the team except Gasol. He believes that Ricard must have studied the Grizzlies thoroughly in the past few days. The Grizzlies, who just defeated the Clippers, don't have much time to study the Trail Blazers.

On May 3, the last day of the Labor Day holiday, Chinese fans finally waited for the start of the second round of the playoffs.

Before the game, almost all the media were unanimously optimistic that the Trail Blazers could win the game. The Grizzlies' defense is indeed strong, but their offense is far behind the Trail Blazers.

In the first game between the two sides, Ricard showed the benefits of his full preparation.

The mobility is not strong enough, which may be the most fatal problem of "Black and White Twin Bears". A heavy center like Gasol can't run like Anjie at all, and Randolph, who is getting older, doesn't have much athletic ability.

Taking advantage of the weakness of the "black and white two bears", An Jie did not directly fight the two bears in the three-second zone today, but frequently mentioned the middle distance to attack the two bears' weaknesses.

When Gasol pushed forward, Anjie could easily break through with his faster speed. If Gasol doesn't force him up, Angie's desperate mid-range shot will kill the Grizzlies.

Moreover, holding the ball in the mid-range position, Randolph is not easy to complete the encirclement with Gasol. Gasol can only rely on his own strength to defend, but the effect is not satisfactory.

A few years ago, Gasol Jr. could play back and forth with Angie. But now, the gap between him and An Jie is already huge.

When Gasol was resting on the bench, he couldn't help thinking. Could it be that An Jie's ability is not capped?

Taking advantage of the shortcomings of the Grizzlies' weak mobility, the Trail Blazers' transition offense played brilliantly.

Lillard's impact left Mike Conley at a loss. The black and white bears, the most powerful weapon of the Grizzlies, were restrained by Anjie and Aldridge. Lillard doesn't have to worry about falling into the defensive trap of the two bears. As long as he breaks through Conley, he will see a basket in front of him!

Throughout the game, the Grizzlies were led by the Trail Blazers. The Grizzlies are very good at playing positions, but Ricard won't play positions with you today.

Quick offense and quick counterattack, today's Blazers have shown their uncommon side. At this time, people realized that the Blazers played fast-paced basketball, and they would not look unfamiliar at all.

Rather than saying that Anjie is an all-around center, it is better to say that the Trail Blazers are an all-around team!

Whether it's a positional battle or a fast pace, whether it's focusing on defense or offense, the Trail Blazers can play it all.

The sluggish Gasol Jr. and the aging Randolph were exhausted by the Blazers' fast-paced game, and Tony Allen couldn't contribute offensively under the tight defense.

Mike Conley played quite well. He and Lillard fought back and forth, and neither of them wanted to admit defeat. However, relying on Conley alone, it is impossible for the Grizzlies to beat the Trail Blazers.

Dave Jogel kept shaking his head on the bench. The strength gap between the Grizzlies and the Trail Blazers could not be filled by him arranging a few tactics.

The Grizzlies still have a long way to go if they want to create a Western Conference...

In the end, with Anjie scoring 25 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocked shots, the Trail Blazers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 82-97 at home by 15 points.

No one will be surprised by this result. A well-prepared Trail Blazers will not be afraid of any team in this league.

1 to 0, Anjie continued his winning streak in the playoffs. Jogel has only one wish now, not to advance to the minor round, but to win the next game...