The Way of the Center

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"Ann is finally playing! Coach Van Gundy has never used people like this in previous games. We hope that Anjie's sacrifice early in the third quarter will be rewarded!" Kenny Smith knew that Van Gundy would not refrigerate Anjie for no reason , There is only one reason why Anjie has not played until now, and that is that he must bring a tight defense for the Thunder in the last 15 minutes!

It's impossible for Durant and Westbrook to stay active for 48 minutes, and it's impossible for Ainger to play 48 minutes without getting tired. But Jerry Sloan's Jazz has the depth of the bench that allows the team not to lose the chain for 48 minutes.

In order to solve this problem, Van Gundy had to disassemble the team's defensive backbone and offensive core. Now that the two offensive cores have completed their tasks, it's time to test Anjie's defensive pillar.

Paul Millsap is having arguably the best performance of his career this season, filling the void perfectly during Carlos Boozer's injury.

Now that Boozer is back, Sloan still chooses to let Millsap continue to play as a substitute. In this way, the offensive ability of the Jazz's second team will be greatly improved.

The Jazz's backup point guard, Blevin Knight, who is only 1.78 meters tall, controlled the ball and advanced. Atkins opened his arms wide, and did not dare to underestimate this "little guy". A person of this height who can play in the NBA must have something extraordinary!

Knight's dribbling is very fancy, and he can avoid being intercepted by the opponent with a low center of gravity. But in Atkins's view, Knight's dribbling is simply a flashy sideshow!

Suddenly a pass was made, and Atkins quickly reached out to block it. Knight was frightened into a cold sweat. Fortunately, Atkins' arm was a few centimeters shorter, and the basketball was passed without any risk.

"AK47" Andrei Kirilenko received the ball. Due to injuries and age, AK47 has gradually changed from the core of the Jazz to a substitute. Although the current ability cannot be compared with the past, this does not mean that the previous all-rounder The AK47 will disappear completely.

Seeing Kirilenko receiving the ball, Malik Rose hurriedly followed. In addition to the shooting range, the seemingly thin Kirilenko used to be very good at forcing breakthroughs. But now his shooting range is getting shorter and shorter, and his ability to forcefully break through has simply disappeared. Seeing that Malik Rose didn't give him a chance, Kirilenko hit the ground and passed again, allowing the young Paul Millsap to receive the basketball.

Millsap caught the ball, and Van Gundy stood up from his seat immediately. This guy is the reason why he sent An Jie to play!

After Millsap received the ball, he turned to face the frame. Attacking with his back to the basket is not his specialty. And Anjie still stuck to him, he would rather force Millsap to break through than let this guy get a shot.

The inside players of the Jazz seem to have good shooting ability.

Anjie blocked Millsap's line of sight with one hand, while the other hand was raised high, ready to interfere with the shot at any time. Millsap made a few tentative steps, then suddenly stepped forward!

"Millsap is going to break through!" Kenny Smith immediately made the correct explanation.

Anjie saw Millsap rushing in and hurriedly retreated. Unexpectedly, this big man with excellent basketball awareness suddenly made a sudden stop and made a jump shot!

Millsap has a high release point, and he rarely misses close shots. Of course, the premise is that he can throw the ball out.

"Crack!" Millsap thought that the emergency stop had thrown An Jie away, but when he just pushed the ball out, An Jie abruptly slapped back the basketball he shot.

The official height is 2.03 meters, but the actual height is only 2.01 meters. As a pocket power forward, Millsap has good skills, but Anjie's sensitive defensive sense and height and wingspan advantages are also in front of Millsap. Anjie was indeed deceived by Millsap's emergency stop, but he also adjusted his defensive posture in a very short time.

Before the Jazz players had time to react, Kyle Weaver picked up the basketball that was blocked by Anjie, drove straight in, rushed the audience, and succeeded in a fast break dunk. His excellent athletic ability was considered by Van Gundy as "Westbrook on the bench."

On the first ball, Anjie proved how correct Van Gundy's decision was! Bring Anjie up for this purpose!

Afterwards, the Jazz's second substitute, Kyle Korver, missed a three-pointer. Millsap has a very good sense of position, so he usually grabs a lot of offensive rebounds in the game.

However, Anjie's prediction of rebound position is no worse than Millsap's. Moreover, Anjie's positioning technology is also something that Millsap does not possess.

Millsap and Angie reached the fighting position almost at the same time, but Angie made a solid card and squeezed Millsap out.

The basketball fell, and Anjie didn't take off, but continued to put pressure behind him, making Millsap unable to jump. The task of grabbing rebounds seems simple, but in the NBA where the springs are flooded, if you want to get more than 10 rebounds like Anjie frequently, the doorway is still very deep.

After disrupting Millsap's rhythm, Anjie just jumped lightly and protected the rebound, allowing the Thunder to launch an offensive again.

In addition to defense, Anjie's other task is to invigorate the offense of the Thunder's second team. As a center, that task seems a lot harder than making him defensive.

Because when playing with the first team, Durant and Westbrook's personal abilities are very outstanding. As long as Anjie does not make mistakes in the distribution of the ball, he can let the two score easily.

But these players in the second team obviously need Anjie to spend more energy to give them a better chance to play the ball.

With the ball in the middle distance, the four players started to run. After a season, fans, commentators and opponents will not be surprised that the Thunder let a center to organize the offense. With an average of 7 assists and only 1.1 turnovers per game, Anjie's passing skills and basketball IQ will no longer be questioned.

Anjie began to hit back hard, and Kyle Weaver quickly cut inside. This move undoubtedly attracted the attention of most players in the Jazz. Unexpectedly, on the weak side, Atkins ran beyond the three-point line through Malik Rose's off-ball pick-and-roll. Anjie didn't even look in that direction, but made a precise pass, and an open opportunity appeared just like that. Passing the ball is not by eyes, but by brain and hands.

"Another no-look pass, can you guys believe that Ahn is a center? How many centers in this league can do that?"

The off-ball pick-and-roll cooperation between the two veterans is very tacit. Although the current Atkins has seriously degraded in all aspects, he still has the ability to shoot three-pointers from the open.

Catch and shoot without making any adjustments, that's the rhythm of Atkins' shots.

The basketball didn't go into the net hollow, but hit the basket's neck. Anjie immediately squeezed into the penalty area, but Paul Millsap also desperately kept Anjie out of the competition range.

Just when An Jie screamed in his heart that it was not good, the basketball hit on the basket's neck began to fall. Instead of falling out, the ball fell into the net.

"Chucky~~~Atkins! Three points!" The DJ immediately yelled into the microphone, and the fans in the Chesapeake Energy Arena gave out the most enthusiastic cheers.

In the last three minutes or so of the third quarter, the Thunder changed their slump. The Jazz, who originally had the upper hand in the second team, lost their power because of Anjie's presence.

Jerry Sloan shook his white-haired head helplessly. There was nothing he could do about a servant like Jeff Van Gundy. Although the Chinese center only scored two points in the third quarter, he inspired other teammates. Such a player is definitely a practical tactical executor.

70 to 77, the Jazz's second team scored only 6 points under the defense of Anjie. And among these 6 points, there is no contribution from Millsap. After all, Anjie can't help Korver and Kirilenko's outside shots.

"How is it!? Do you need time to rest in the fourth quarter?" Van Gundy greeted Anjie with concern as soon as he was off the court.

"No, I only played for three minutes in the third quarter, and then I can last the whole quarter!" An Jie replied decisively. He held back for so long in the third quarter, isn't it just to be able to exert strength at the last moment.

"Very good! In the second half, you can just do what you usually do! Remember to hit the success rate! The Jazz are not the kind of team that will lose in a chaotic battle!" The only thing Van Gundy is worried about now is Durant and West. Brook's inconsistent shooting.

"If you still don't get a chance, let's play singles!" As the Thunder's third choice, Anjie enjoys singles privileges that Westbrook and Durant do not have.

Because of his high efficiency, Van Gundy is most assured. It's just that Durant and Westbrook have richer offensive methods, so they can be ranked ahead of Anjie. After all, three-pointers and making kills are a good way to quickly open the score.

Boozer, who went crazy in the third quarter, launched a fierce attack on An Jie in the fourth quarter. He can evenly compete with Yao Ming in the playoffs. Is the current first-year rookie stronger than Yao Ming? With this in mind, Boozer started to get angry with himself, and started to get angry with Anjie who was defending him.

An Jie is indeed no better than Yao Ming, but the huge difference between the two is the reason why Boozer does not have the advantage now. Boozer's technical characteristics may be just enough to restrain Yao Ming, but it doesn't work for Anjie.

Whether Boozer is going to shoot or rush, Angie can keep up with the rhythm. After three shots, Boozer only hit one of the balls, and Anjie's defense was still in place for that ball, not because Boozer found space.

Seeing Boozer's performance like this, Jerry Sloan immediately paused to stop Boozer's endless inside attack.

"One of the Jazz's two demons was completely frozen by Ann's defense today. If Durant and Westbrook are Van Gundy's spears, then Ann is Van Gundy's shield!" Kenny Smith's metaphor is very vivid, the only When it's different, Anjie's shield is equally powerful in attacking.

After Westbrook missed four consecutive shots, for the fifth time, he finally decided to surrender the right to fire.

Anjie signaled Westbrook to press the rhythm and wait for him to get to the position before passing.

After Westbrook dribbled a few crotch balls to confuse Deron, he suddenly made a pass. The basketball flew over Deron's head, but he had no time to react.

Seeing that Anjie was holding the ball on the right side of the basket, the rest of the Thunder team tried to pull to the left side, leaving only Durant on the strong side to facilitate the response.

"This is a tactic to open up singles! It seems that Anjie's half-month core was not in vain. This kind of tactic is not something that any player can enjoy!" The TV commentator laughed from ear to ear.

Okur is very afraid of Krstic's shooting. The Serbian center has made 4 of 5 shots today, so Okur dare not take half a step away. This defense really only depends on Boozer.

An Jie hit the offensive range with his back and turned around to shoot a jumper, leaning back a little. Boozer's outstretched palm could only block An Jie's face.

Anjie couldn't see the basket, but he had already aimed at it. Now invisible, it is no longer able to interfere with his shot.

"Boozer defended the ball very well! He didn't choose to block the ball, he chose to block the line of sight!"

As soon as Kenny Smith finished speaking, the ball thrown by An Jie scored.

"Poor Carlos, today he was completely suppressed by An, a rookie in the first grade, on both offense and defense!"

Westbrook didn't feel good, and Anjie stepped forward, which is nothing.

But when Kevin Durant finally fired and was able to hit, Jerry Sloan realized that his roar was not going to help much.

Down by seven, down by two, tied, up by three, up by six...

The mighty Thunder Three used a wave of 8-0 and a wave of 7-0 to completely defeat the Jagged Jazz.

Deron Williams is the only unrestricted strong point on this team, but that alone wasn't enough for the Jazz to win in Oklahoma City.

Durant's firepower in the fourth quarter is still fierce. Now the Thunder has three rookies with full potential. Anjie also did a good job in the half month when Durant was absent, so it is about who is the real core of the Thunder. The discussion has never stopped.

But the low-key Durant can always tell everyone the answer with his powerful scoring ability. At least for now, the Oklahoma City Thunder still belongs to Durant.

At the last minute, the Jazz were still struggling. No matter how powerful Deron Williams is, it is impossible to stage a comeback in front of the Thunder, which is good at defense.

And what frustrates him in particular is that although he performed well, he will definitely be scolded bloody by Jerry Sloan in the locker room later like everyone else. Although Sloan is a great coach, Deron really doesn't like playing under him very much.

An Jie grabbed his 10th rebound, and the whistle for the end of the game sounded in the next second.

Jerry Sloan put his face together and shook hands with Jeff Van Gundy. This bald coach used Anjie's strategy, which was a key to changing the direction of the game.

"You played a beautiful game, coach." Jerry Sloan said this from the heart.

"You just lack a little luck." Van Gundy's joyful smile was completely different from that of Sloan.

After shaking hands, coach Sloan refused all media interviews and went straight to the player channel. And the players of the Jazz also closed their lips tightly. In the locker room later, Jerry Sloan's roar will definitely be indispensable.

94 to 101, the Thunder defeated the Jazz at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, and won a certain initiative for themselves in the competition for tickets to the playoffs.

Durant scored 24 points, and Westbrook scored 22 points after feeling poor in the final quarter. Anjie only scored 16 points due to the low number of shots, but grabbed 10 rebounds, sent 8 assists and 3 blocks, and once again achieved a double-double.

What kind of storm can the biggest spoiler in the West create in the remaining month of the regular season? (To be continued.)