The Way of the Center

Anjie was on the field, leading the second team of the Thunder to continue the competition with the Kings. In just five minutes, the Thunder pulled the point difference to double digits, but with Anjie on the court, it would be very difficult for the Kings to take the opportunity to get back the score.

Of course, Kings head coach Paul Westphal also made adjustments to the field lineup. After all, the Kings' height disadvantage is obvious, and it is impossible for him to allow the Thunder to blow up his inside.

The only solution for Paul Westphal is to send Dante Green, a power forward with a height of 2.11 meters. However, facing the combination of Anjie and Morris, the Kings' inside defense is still in a precarious state.

This time Jeff Green returned to the third position. Facing the small forward Edon Thomas who joined the Thunder this summer, Green played with ease.

Strength, speed, Ethan Thomas are not dominant. Jeff Green broke through easily, Hawes stuck Anjie very hard at this moment, as long as Anjie is not there, the Thunder team will have no threat in the restricted area!

In the last season, Jeff Green's idea was completely fine. Unfortunately now...

Jeff Green shouldered Edon Thomas all the way to the inside. Although the dreadlocked forward was about the same height as himself, it didn't give him any advantage in defense.

An Jie tried his best to get rid of and rushed to the restricted area, but suddenly, he stopped the movement of his hands.

"Have you given up?" Seeing that An Jie didn't resist, Hawes looked back in surprise. In his impression, this Chinese can never stop.

An Jie did not give up returning to the defense, but because he saw that Morris had already filled his position.

Jeff Green took off again, and the Thunder's three-second zone was simply his nightmare. Now without An Jie, he can finally hang the frame vigorously to vent his unwillingness.

"Ah!" Green's muscles were tense, and he swung his hands vigorously towards the basket.

"Boom!" However, when Green dunked the ball, what the audience heard was not the sound of the basket, but the muffled sound of the collision between the basketball and the backboard.

Jeff Green fell to the ground in embarrassment, while Andrew Morris raised his hands towards the audience. Looking at the frontcourt again, Kyle Weaver has advanced quickly, dodged Kevin Martin's block and completed a layup, making a fast break.

All of this happened only in the blink of an eye, and many viewers in front of the TV did not realize what was going on.

"Did Jeff Green fly the ball?" Even the cctv commentary was not sure what happened.

The audience seemed to be quiet for a second, and suddenly, huge cheers burst out, almost toppling the ceiling of the Chesapeake Energy Arena!

Until now, the audience saw everything that just happened through the big screen back defense.

Just when the basketball held by Jeff Green was about to be dunked into the basket, Andrew Morris rose from behind. Although his height and wingspan were not as good as that of Anjie, his athletic ability made up for his lack of physical strength. insufficient.

Morris slapped the basketball into the air before the ball was scored. Due to too much force, the basketball quickly hit the backboard, and then bounced out heavily.

Kyle Weaver, who has quick eyes and quick hands, started to start after receiving the basketball, and it was an easy fast break.

"Damn..." Jeff Green quickly got up from the ground,

He yelled and cursed loudly. But he had to admit that Morris covered the ball very cleanly, without muddling. Sprinkle without anger, only to swallow the bitter fruit.

For Jeff Green, the Thunder's restricted area really became a no-fly zone.

"I've seen this guy's performance in the summer league! He may be a little rough in technique, but he is very hard on the defensive end! Anjie's offense is fine, and what he lacks around him is someone who can help him share the defensive pressure. people!"

Picked an immediate force with the seventh overall pick, which now seems like a good pick.

Originally, he wanted to take advantage of the rest time of the Thunder's main force to close the score, but he didn't expect that the king's counterattack horn had not been blown, and Morris ruthlessly crushed it.

After Ainger played for a few more minutes, Van Gundy replaced Ainger with Nick Collison.

Van Gundy was originally a coach who didn't like to use rookies. Although this has changed a lot now, it doesn't mean that he will rest assured that the two rookies Morris and Ibaka will partner inside.

When Anjie was off, Sefolosha and Westbrook played again. Van Gundy will always keep one or two starters on the field, so that the Thunder's offensive firepower will continue, so that the Kings cannot find opportunities to counterattack.

After changing three lineups, the Thunder's efficiency has not declined at all. The Kings hesitated throughout the first quarter, unable to hold their heads up.

Westbrook broke through with the ball, and he gave all the audience a brand-new feeling in the first quarter. This No. 0 guard with a strong offensive desire actually made assists his top priority in the first quarter.

In the last ten seconds, the ball returned to Westbrook without a doubt. The terminator of this final attack will undoubtedly be him!

Desmond Mason, who was a member of the Thunder last season, is now wearing a Kings jersey in front of Westbrook. Realizing that the Thunder would no longer have his place this summer, Mason chose to sign with the Kings. Although everyone had a good relationship before, when it comes to the arena, no one knows how to show affection.

This is professional sports.

In most cases, the team will choose to give the star singles on the last attack, and Jeff Van Gundy's arrangement this time is no exception.

All the attention of the Kings fell on Westbrook, completely forgetting everyone else.

With five seconds left, Westbrook speeded up and broke through. Nick Collison made a pick and roll, and Westbrook went straight to the inside! The entire Kings lineup shrank towards Westbrook. In the past, Westbrook must have played hard by himself, but today, he is very obsessed with passing.

Three people from the Kings rushed towards Westbrook, including Dante Green and Hawes.

"Did you see Russell, pass it on." Anjie silently encouraged Westbrook on the bench, hoping that he could see the gap.

Westbrook's eyes kept staring at the basket, which made the Kings players firmer in their belief in the encirclement. Just when the encirclement was about to be formed, Westbrook jumped high and threw the ball casually, looking inaccurate.

"Could it be!?" Dante Green yelled badly, and turned his head away quickly. At this moment, Morris has vacated and caught the basketball thrown by Westbrook. All he has to do after that is press the ball into the basket.

"Bang!"

"Beep!"

As soon as the basketball was dunked, the red light on the backboard, representing the end of the game time, lit up.

An Jie rushed to the field first, and Morris also ran to meet An Jie. The two big guys jumped up and collided in the air, and that was their slightly savage way of celebrating.

"Russell Westbrook's mind is much calmer than before! This is the difference between the first grade and the second grade, a beautiful aerial coordination! Andrew Morris' start is very timely!"

"The Kings ended the first quarter with a shameful score, 22 to 39. In just 12 minutes, they were 17 points behind the Thunder!" The deafening cheers in the Ke Energy Arena were so loud that almost no other sound could be heard. Therefore, he also kept increasing his volume to ensure that the TV station could receive the commentary clearly.

The success of the first quarter did not ease Jeff Van Gundy's serious expression, and the game was only a quarter past. 17 points is not a margin of victory.

"Steady defense! In the second quarter, they will definitely increase their peripheral shots. The inside players should pay attention to protecting the rebounds and not giving them a second chance to attack. The outside players must not lose their positions and try to compress their shooting space!" The first quarter of the game Van Gundy's inside defense has made the Kings impenetrable, so naturally the Kings will definitely take advantage of their excellent shooting.

"You don't need to hit every ball into the penalty area. The advantage of a small lineup is the shooting range. Hawes, you are also a three-point shooter. Why do you have to fight with that Chinese inside!? Pull away, shoot, I want you to use your strengths to avoid weaknesses and play to your own strengths." Sure enough, Paul Westphal focused the Kings offense on the periphery.

As soon as the second quarter came up, the Kings' shots in the three-second zone decreased significantly, which also kept Anjie from feeling the pressure on the defensive end. After all, Hawes does not have the ability of Anjie to get rid of the defense and gain space without the ball.

Anjie was relaxed on the defensive end, but Westbrook's pressure suddenly increased.

Kevin. Martin's strange shooting rhythm and quick and sudden stop jump shot made Westbrook hard to defend, and this Kevin. Martin, like Divac, can be regarded as a generation of "touch porcelain" masters.

Westbrook not only failed to guard Martin, but also allowed Martin to get a lot of free throw opportunities.

The first quarter was almost equivalent to the disappearance of Kevin Martin, but the second quarter was eye-catching. Although he didn't make a three-pointer, he scored 15 points in a single quarter with 3 of 6 mid-range shots and 8 of 8 free throws!

Fortunately, the Thunder's three young masters stood up and stabilized the situation at this moment, especially Westbrook, who increased the number of self-attacks while maintaining his assists. When he broke through, the Kings' ineffective inside defense could not pose a threat to Westbrook at all.

On the other hand, Anjie used off-the-ball running to get rid of Hawes again and again, and got a lot of open mid-range shots. The audience wanted to see Anjie's summer training results, and dream dance was the best way to show this result.

It's a pity that Anjie didn't need to show his housekeeping skills when facing Hawes, so the audience didn't have that kind of luck.

Divac looked proudly at his student who had become stronger. When he knew that An Jie was invited by Olajuwon from the phone, he knew that An Jie would definitely learn something. Only those who have taught him personally can know how strong this guy's absorption ability is.

"This guy, his strength has already surpassed me back then." Divac took a sip of the red wine. At first, he wanted An Jie to inherit his mantle. Now it seems that An Jie can monopolize the mountain and establish himself.

An Jie not only has the high-level support of Divac, but also the low-level charm of Dameng. Of course, Anjie also has his own playing style. The combination of these three has already made Anjie's playing style completely different from his two mentors.

Kevin Martin's strong performance allowed the two teams to tie the score in the second quarter, but the total score was still 17 points behind.

51 to 68, the Kings can no longer compete with the current Thunder.

Durant and Anjie both scored 15 points in just halftime, and Westbrook also scored 10 points, and by the way sent out an unprecedented 7 assists.

Morris was eye-catching, scoring 8 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks in the half. Although only half of the game, but Morris has conquered the Oklahoma City fans.

In one half, the Kings were already overwhelmed. They wish this game would end sooner, and Jeff Green wished that he would never have to return to Oklahoma City.

It's just a pity that Thunder, which is stronger than before, has no intention of stopping.

In the second half, the Kings basically gave up the idea of ​​rebirth from Nirvana, but the bloody massacre of the Thunder was not over yet. (To be continued.)