The Way of the Center

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Andrew Morris received a bonus from Iowa State University today to reward his outstanding performance in the ncaa arena. ?

Taking advantage of the school's $15,000 reward, Morris bought his mother a beautiful dress and himself a not-so-luxury but well-crafted suit. Of course, Morris' father also got a coveted Cimano brand fishing rod.

His parents have supported him for so many years, and now, he has finally earned his first money from playing football.

Although the Cyclone team once again stopped in the top 16 in March Madness, Morris was very excited when he thought that he would be able to stand in the NBA in a few months.

Morris' pick predictions are shaky, and the only thing that's certain right now is that he won't fall into the second round. But for Morris, being selected in the first round is considered a success.

"Play well Ann, we can meet on the court next season."

"Ah cut!" An Jie, who was sitting on the bench, suddenly sneezed. Feeling a little chilly, he immediately put on his training jacket.

98 to 79, with only one and a half minutes left in the game. In Game 1 against the Nets in April, the Thunder allowed garbage time.

The Nets, which had completely lost hope of the playoffs, had no intention of playing. The most active player on the court was the first-year rookie Brook Lopez, but unfortunately he met An Jie, so there was no trouble.

With an easy win, the Thunder got off to a good start on April 1, once again closing the gap with the Jazz.

On the 1st, it is also the day when the best rookie of the month is announced. The Grizzlies' o.J. Mayo, the stat brush, finally got his wish and won the best rookie of the month in the Western Conference. But An Jie will not focus on that thing at all now, the Grizzlies have long lost their qualifications for the playoffs, but An Jie and the Thunder still have to work hard for the playoff tickets.

On April 2, although the Thunder did not have a game, they received a piece of news that was as cheering as the victory.

At the Pepsi Center in Denver, the Jagged Jazz led by Jerry Sloan lost to the Nuggets, the second-ranked Nuggets in the West, with a score of 104 to 114. Facing the Thunder's relentless pursuit, the Jazz seemed to be unable to withstand the pressure behind them.

As the season got later and later, Presti got busier. He has to start looking for rookies who need to be drafted in the summer, and players who are worth signing in the summer. Of course, who needs to be shot in the Thunder now,

It is also a question that he must consider.

He was thinking about other players, and the general managers of 29 other teams were also thinking about Thunder players. Regarding Anjie's quotation, it is even more than Durant's quotation!

16 teams have asked him about the possibility of trading Anjie, and most of the teams offer conditions that are not worth Presti's payment for Anjie, but there are also several very attractive proposals.

Of course, Presti is not an idiot, he will not decide Anjie's future direction so early. Now that Angie has scored double-doubles again and again, Presti will not let him follow in the footsteps of Jeff Green. Because no matter in terms of statistics or performance, Anjie is much better than that Jeff Green back then.

Changes in team personnel are the responsibility of the general manager. As a player, An Jie's job is to play well for the team. And he is full of confidence in Presti and his own performance. He doesn't believe that the Thunder will sell him. After all, Anjie is now an indispensable part of the Thunder's defensive end.

On April 3, the Trail Blazers, who had secured a place in the playoffs, visited Oklahoma City and once again challenged the same young Thunder.

Although the playoffs have been locked, this does not mean that the Trail Blazers will relax their vigilance. After all, there is no team in this world that thinks it wins too much.

With 35 points and 11 assists, Brandon Roy, the well-deserved owner of the Trail Blazers, used a large double-double to prove why they can rank fourth in the West.

Even though Greg Oden was absent due to injury and played very few games this season, the "Yellow Mamba" still shouldered the responsibility, allowing Trail Blazers fans to finally usher in the team's revival.

Facing the relatively soft defense of two inside players, LaMarcus Aldridge and Joel Pulzbila, Anjie scored a team-high 22 points and 8 rebounds in this campaign. But Anjie only sent 4 assists in this game, not because he reduced the number of passes, but most of the balls he passed were not scored by his teammates.

Durant scored 13 points on 4 of 13 shots, and Westbrook scored 12 points on 4 of 12 shots. It is true that the Thunder's three young men did not all misfire, but the two guys with the most violent offensive end failed to play at their level. Under such circumstances, Anjie's 22 points are also difficult to pick.

This may be the reason why the Thunder have not been able to get the playoff tickets until now. As a common problem for rookies, the performance of the Thunder's three young players is still too unstable. When they are strong, they can push the Spurs into a desperate situation, but sometimes, they will be defeated by the Clippers, the bottom team in the West.

107 to 84, the Thunder lost at home at a critical moment.

I don't know whether God hates the Thunder or favors the Thunder. When San Shao was defeated at home, all members of the Thunder rushed to the locker room and watched the live broadcast of the NBA game around the small TV.

The Timberwolves' away game against the Jazz seems to be a game without any suspense. But Love's brave performance pushed the Jazz into desperation.

In the last 30 seconds, Timberwolves shooting small forward Mike Miller hit a two-pointer, helping the team lead by one point 103 to 102.

In the following time, Deron Williams' two consecutive strikes kept the score until the end of the game. The tired Jagged Jazz was almost driven crazy by the Thunder team behind him.

25 points, 15 rebounds, 20 shots and 10 shots. Kevin Love's performance in this game is comparable to his performance in college. The o8-level rookies can be said to have turned the league upside down this year. All kinds of upsets, most of them came from the o8-level rookies.

Regarding the final winner of the Rookie of the Year, it has also become more confusing.

The Jazz and Thunder both lost, and their gap remained unchanged.

The competition between the two sides in the past half month can be said to be the most intense competition in the entire league. Until April 15th, the Thunder and the Jazz have not been able to tell the winner!

"The last game of the regular season is left! The fate of all teams has been decided! Only the Jazz and the Thunder, they are the only two teams in the league that are not divided! The battle for the eighth place in the Western Conference is more difficult than We imagined it to be much more intense! Both teams are 47 wins and 34 losses! Fate is undecided!" The theme of Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley's program naturally fell on the Thunder. The number of times the two of them mentioned the Thunder this year is surprisingly many.

The playoffs have not been confirmed until the last regular season game, and this situation has not happened before.

It's just that people didn't expect that, still in the process of rebuilding, the Thunder, supported by rookies, could reach this step. Therefore, in this last game, the Jazz and Thunder can be said to have attracted much attention.

On April 15, the Jazz will play against the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have no worries about determining their place in the playoffs. The Thunder, on the other hand, encountered an opponent they least expected to encounter, the Phoenix Suns.

The Suns and Thunder are only 2 games away, but they only have the last game to play. It was the Oklahoma City Thunder that reduced the Phoenix Suns to the point where there was no playoffs to play.

The Cavaliers have entered the playoffs, and James will definitely choose to rest in order to hit the championship. Therefore, the Jazz may not encounter any strong obstacles in this game.

But the Phoenix Suns, who have not entered the playoff range, may be the team that most hopes to see the Thunder lose. Don't let us in, and you don't want to succeed!

Stoudemire, who has returned from injury, has long wanted to meet this Chinese kid again!

In the fateful battle to decide the playoff tickets, the Thunder team encountered the worst opponent. (To be continued.)