The Way of the Center

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"You can rest assured and lie here, Kevin, when you return to the team, we might all surpass the sun." Westbrook patted Durant's chest.

Durant is no longer on bed rest. He is alone at home, but he has to use crutches to move. There are only 11 days before the tentative comeback time, and Durant decided to go to the bench in tomorrow's game to have a look.

"I've seen it. The game I came back to happened to be the game against the Suns!" Durant was already eager to try. As a young man, in a group full of vitality, this atmosphere made him feel free not come down.

"Russell and I will continue to work hard to make your comeback game a key battle for our ranking rise!"

Durant patted An Jie on the back, and with these two guys, they might really be able to create their own Thunder glory.

"Russell, Ann, tell me...is it possible for the three of us to win the championship in the future?" Durant looked at the sky through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The sun that had begun to shine in March looked like The O'Brien Cup is as dazzling.

"Hey, as long as the two of you don't leave, we will always welcome that day." Russell looked at Durant and Anjie, as long as they were there, he was full of confidence in victory.

The three young men who have just set foot in the NBA have already set their minds on the championship. I don't know if it's better to say that they don't know the heights of the sky and the earth, or that they have great ambitions...

But youth and time are indeed their capital.

The three gathered at Durant's home for dinner, but after the meal, An Jie left early alone. No doubt Durant and Westbrook know, is this guy going anywhere other than the practice field?

As long as you don't work blindly, you will definitely be rewarded. On March 4, the Thunder played against the Washington Wizards at home, and Anjie once again proved the correctness of this sentence with his excellent performance.

"Ann revitalized the team! The starting players of the Thunder team all scored in double figures, and the scoring gap is not too big. It is an indisputable fact that the Thunder team has limited ability except for the three players, but in this game, you can completely see Don't come out of this."

The Wizards who lost the "General" Arenas gave up this season early, but many players in the development stage of the Wizards are unwilling to let go of any opportunity to perform.

But the Wizards, where the players are fighting on their own, can't be compared with the closely united Thunder,

Wizards all-around forward Antawn Jamison scored a game-high 29 points, but that didn't give the scattered Wizards a victory.

Westbrook had 18 points and Anjie had 15 points and 10 rebounds. The statistics of the two of them can only be described as mediocre, but it is these "mediocre" two headed stars who have driven the entire Thunder team.

In the final moments of the last game against the Mavericks, the Thunder played a lot of blooming performances. Therefore, in this game, the others continued their good form from the very beginning and fully integrated into the offense.

Kyle Weaver, Nick Collison, and Thabo Sefolosha all scored 12 points each. Facing the Thunder with an even distribution of shots, the Wizards couldn't grasp the key points of defense at all, which naturally made Jamison's 29 points an inflated number.

83 to 88, the Thunder won the second opponent in March. On the same day, Wade led the Heat to defeat the Phoenix Suns with a 35-point performance. With this opportunity, the gap between the Thunder and the Suns was only two games!

Since Durant was injured, the Thunder not only did not get up, but instead played a wave of four consecutive victories under the leadership of Anjie.

Yes, another four-game winning streak. This winning streak is like a curse for the Thunder, and it is difficult to break.

Except for Van Gundy's first five-game winning streak since taking over, the Thunder have never had a five-game winning streak.

Four consecutive victories, which indicates that the Thunder will lose in the next game. God seemed to have issued a curse, so that the Thunder could not break this embarrassment anyway.

It is precisely because of these dramatic records that NBA games will become exciting. On March 7, the Thunder traveled to New Orleans, hoping to break the curse of not being able to break through the four-game winning streak in the away game.

"The Thunder have won four games in a row four times this season, but only one of them, the Thunder seized the opportunity and achieved a five-game winning streak. The Warriors, the Heat, and the Lakers, these three teams were to prevent Can the New Orleans Hornets stop the in-form Thunder today and join the ranks?"

The suspense created by various media whetted the appetite of the fans, and even many neutral fans were attracted by the Thunder's embarrassing record.

Facts have proved that the Thunder really don't have a five-game winning streak. The Hornets played very well in this game. In terms of the ability to control the rhythm of the audience, Chris Paul is undoubtedly much better than the center Anjie.

The Hornets played against the Thunder throughout the game, and on the defensive end, the Hornets even boldly double-teamed Anjie.

Van Gundy wasn't worried the first time he saw the Hornets double-team Angie. Because Krstic is on the court, he can always use shots to solve the problem when Anjie encounters double-teams.

It's just a pity that the Serbian center feels really bad today. Anjie repeatedly sent wonderful passes when he was double-teamed, but Krstic failed to seize the opportunity.

Seeing that Krstic didn't feel good, the Hornets' double-teaming became more determined.

Facing the two-person attack of Tyson Chandler and David West, An Jie really didn't have much to do.

In the first two games, the Thunder's multi-point offense gradually increased everyone's shooting opportunities, but the facts also proved that not everyone who got the right to fire could convert it into points.

Veterans Chucky Atkins and Malik Rose had the same shooting percentages as Krstic, which was abysmal. The two of them were still favored by Presti because of their rich experience. Unexpectedly, these two veterans really proved with practical actions that they have not many advantages to tap besides experience.

Krstic made 3 of 12 shots, 25 percent from the field. Atkins made 2 of 8 shots and a 25% shooting rate. Malik Rose made 2 of 9 shots and a minimum shooting rate of 22%.

All three took a lot more shots than they had in previous games, but they failed to live up to all expectations. To bloom more, not everyone can bloom.

In contrast to the Hornets, Paul's organization still allows his teammates to play very easily. No matter how tight the Thunder's defense is, the "queen bee" can always find a fatal gap.

Westbrook scored 24 points, Anjie had 18 points and 8 rebounds. This data seems to be not bad, but compared to the Hornets, where three scored 20 points, six scored in double figures, and the number of rotations was as many as 11. The numbers of Sturbrook and Angie are far from enough.

"The game is over! Coach Van Gundy has taken Anjie and Westbrook down, which means that the Thunder have given up the game!"

98 to 108, the thunderous thunder was a shocking defeat in New Orleans. The Hornets shot 53% in this campaign, while the Thunder only had a pitiful 39%. Just looking at this statistic, you can probably guess the final result.

Although the performance of Anjie and Westbrook in this game was not amazing, they definitely played at a high level. The poor performance of role players is a big reason why the Thunder were once again shut out of their five-game winning streak.

The role players are not good. This is a common problem for the Thunder. Some of them may perform outstandingly in a few games, but from the perspective of long-term team building, the overall strength of the Thunder's role players is obviously still below the passing line. . Presti's summer looks destined to be very busy.

The pace of progress came to an abrupt end again at the hurdle of four consecutive victories, but the only thing that everyone in the Thunder team is grateful for is that the Suns also lost in the previous day's game.

In another Yao Shark battle yesterday, Yao Ming led his Houston Rockets to defend the glory at home, and also defended Yao Ming's title of the first center in the league. The Suns have lost two games in a row, so even if the Thunder lose today, the Suns still only have two more wins than the Thunder.

After the crushing defeat in New Orleans, the Thunder didn't have too much time to grieve, returning home to play back-to-back games against the Philadelphia 76ers.

The opponent of the 76ers, An Jie, is no stranger, because his first professional basketball game was against the 76ers with the team in the preseason.

For Anjie at the time, the 76ers players were still very strong. But now, after so many trials, Anjie is no longer afraid of this team that is no longer brilliant.

20 turnovers, under the Thunder's defensive posture, the 76ers sent a full 20 turnovers.

Passing the ball out of bounds, dribbling was interrupted under fierce physical confrontation, etc. These mistakes have become the main theme of the 76ers' game.

In addition to turnovers, the poor shooting percentage also accelerated the death of the 76ers.

Andre Iguodala did not expect that the two rookies of the Thunder would improve so much. In the preseason, he completely ignored Anjie's inside defense, but now, Anjie's defense The restricted area allowed him to miss layups several times.

"The joint defense of Sabo Sefolosha and Anjie made Iguodala completely lose the sense of offense. This is the 11th time Iguodala has shot, but his score is still only 9 points, which has not changed. "

He made 3 of 11 shots and made only 50% of his free throws. The core of the 76ers is like this, do they have any capital to win?

74 to 89, after experiencing a big defeat, the Thunder immediately won back-to-back games. The state is lost quickly and recovered quickly. This is a characteristic of young teams that has both advantages and disadvantages. The double-double performance of 14 points and 11 rebounds made Anjie still popular.

Also today, March 8, the Suns challenged the GDP Spurs away. To the delight of all Thunder fans, the Suns lost again!

Facing the Magic, Rockets and Spurs, the Suns gave the Thunder a big gift with a three-game losing streak. Now the difference in victory between the two sides is only one game! Wanting to surpass the sun seems to be just around the corner!

The morale-boosting Thunder team aggressively rushed towards their next opponent, the king who had already been double-killed by the Thunder this season.

Every time he played against the Thunder, the general manager of the Kings would be sprayed by the fans for a while. The players of the Kings naturally don't want to be underestimated by the fans. Everyone played very hard in this game, and the Kings have a super-level defensive strength because of this.

Jeff Green and An Jie naturally became the two guys who attracted the most attention. The two of them did not disappoint the audience, and they attacked with the ball one after another.

The Thunder led 97-92 in the final 38 seconds of the game. Jeff Green received a second pass from his teammate Bobby Jackson and made a decisive shot from outside the three-point line. The basketball went into the frame and the score was only 2 points away!

"MVP! MVP! MVP!" Jeff Green's key goal made the sleep train arena boil. He wants to prove himself that he is not inferior to the No. 16 on the opposite side!

Afterwards, Westbrook made a two-pointer after receiving a pass from Anjie in the open space, allowing the Kings to seize the opportunity to play a fast break, and it even gave the Kings fans the hope of a lore.

Jeff Green did his part and got the right to take the last shot. He pushed forward quickly, trying to rush to the basket before Anjie returned to the defense.

But the familiar scene was staged again, Jeff Green took off stretched, ready to dunk. Just when he thought that An Jie had no time to defend himself, the basketball in his hand was slapped from behind and pinned firmly to the backboard.

"Ann! A crucial block shot! Jeff Green can't escape An Jie's palm at all!"

Being stopped by An Jie again, now in Jeff Green's heart, An Jie has really become that lingering shadow.

After that, the Kings had to foul Anjie intentionally, but they all knew that it had no effect at all.

With 19 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocked shots, Anjie's large double-double and strong defense in the penalty area once again picked Jeff Green off the horse.

99 to 98, the Kings and Jeff Green still failed to complete the lore. They fought to the end, but lost to the defense of the Chinese.

So far in the game, the Thunder has also won 34 games, which is the same as the Suns! Now there is only one game away from Durant's return from injury. If the key battle related to the ranking rise and fall is left to Phoenix, it will undoubtedly be stubbornly resisted by the Suns.

Whether it is a bang or being pulled away again, the fierce competition for the playoff tickets has reached a fierce stage. (To be continued.)