The Way of the Center

In New York, in this big city, people never seem to lose their enthusiasm for basketball. r?an ?e?n ?ranen`Even though the Knicks' performance this season is very dismal, New York fans still came as scheduled, filling the Madison Square Garden arena to the brim.

Van Gundy will never forget this city and this team in his life. During the coaching period of the New York Knicks, it was the most glorious period of Van Gundy's career. The Knicks were also the team where he played for the longest time and devoted the most effort.

Although Van Gundy never led the Knicks to a championship, it has to be admitted that the performance of the Knicks in those years was not comparable to the current Knicks.

Van Gundy looked at the familiar arena, the familiar locker room, and the familiar auditorium, but he felt strange. He was unfamiliar with the players in the orange and white jerseys, the guy who coached him, and the front office that had been overhauled. This team is still the New York Knicks, but it is no longer the New York Knicks of the year.

Failure to enter the playoffs for five consecutive seasons was a humiliating record for the original Eastern powerhouses.

Van Gundy withdrew his thoughts and turned his attention to the Thunder players who were warming up. Now, this group of energetic young men are his subordinates, the Oklahoma City Thunder is where he will create another brilliant place.

"Welcome home, Jeff." Suddenly, a man stood in front of Van Gundy and greeted him.

Van Gundy, who was sitting on the bench, looked up and saw a black man wearing glasses and a baseball cap smiling at him.

"Be safe, Lee." Van Gundy recognized this stylish guy at a glance. The person who came was none other than a die-hard New York Knicks fan and a very successful African-American independent film director, Spike Lee. .

"You came back this time with bad intentions." Spike Lee turned his head and looked at the third Thunder Junior who was warming up. The Knicks have little chance of winning.

"This season has to hit the playoffs, so every ball must be contested." Van Gundy waved his hand disapprovingly. He admired diehard Knicks fans like Spike Lee. They don't want to make progress, but they still support the team as always.

"Westbrook and Durant can't handle it, I hope David Lee can restrain your big Chinese man." David Lee, the insider who frequently scored 20+10, is the Knicks The team's only hope for the game.

"I hope so." Van Gundy smiled. To be honest, he still had full confidence in Anjie, even though he was about to face that All-Star insider.

David Lee may have perfect offensive skills, but his defense is not good enough. And An Jie is the kind of guy who can accomplish both offensive and defensive tasks very well. Van Gundy had many excellent centers under him, and he knew that An Jie was a member of the "excellent center" family.

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This is the first time for Catherine to come to Madison Square Garden. Although she has lived in New York for several months, Catherine seldom goes out except for training every day.

Moreover, Madison Square Garden is still a little far away from Catherine's residence, so today is the first time she has entered this landmark building in New York.

At first, Catherine thought the arena was in Madison Square Garden, but she didn’t know until today when she took a taxi that the current third-generation Madison Square Garden has nothing to do with Madison Square Garden, just because The name "Madison Square Garden" is so representative that it is still used today.

When the taxi driver dropped Catherine here, Catherine thought she had come to the wrong place, because there was no place near the stadium that could be called a square.

The taxi driver saw Catherine's predicament and then explained it.

"Are you a Thunder fan? Because it looks like this is the first time you've come here to watch a game, so you're from Oklahoma City?" Before getting out of the car, the taxi driver asked curiously.

"I'm a fan of the Thunder, but I also live in New York." Catherine was in a good mood. She looked at the ticket that An Jie had sent her, and she couldn't wait to rush into the stadium, so much so that she almost forgot to pay the fare.

Now, when Catherine really saw An Jie, her heart was much calmer.

Catherine still remembers the first time she went to watch a basketball game live, and An Jie became the guy who attracted her attention the most on the court.

"We meet again, my dear." Catherine smiled idiotically. There is nothing more joyful than a reunion of a couple separated by two places.

After the warm-up was over, An Jie immediately looked up to find something in the auditorium. Catherine quickly stood up and waved her arms, making An Jie notice her.

An Jie also happily waved to the audience, this move naturally did not catch the eyes of the reporters on the scene. After the Thunder returned to the locker room for the last time, Catherine was surrounded by a group of reporters.

But Catherine is not bored, because how to deal with the relationship with the media is also one of the contents of Catherine's current training. After all, a model is also a public figure.

Compared with the Catherine who was surrounded by reporters more than a year ago, she is much more calm in handling these matters now.

With more and more fans in the stands, the reporters had to make room for their real owners.

On the live commentary stage, the commentators gradually took their positions. It can be seen from the fanatical atmosphere that the Knicks and Knicks fans will not let the Thunder win ten consecutive victories easily!

"We must win! Not because of the damn ten-game winning streak, but because we are strong against the Knicks!" Jeff Van Gundy finished talking about tactics. Now, it's time to mobilize the enthusiasm of the young people .

"Don't be afraid of the Thunder's defense. As long as we play according to the tactics, we will definitely be able to pry out a loophole." Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni is also very confident in his offense. After all, he led the Suns to success. Needless to say, in front of everyone.

One advocates defense and the other advocates offense. One likes a slower pace, the other the faster the better.

The Knicks and the Thunder seem to be representatives of two completely different styles. The last stop of the Thunder's ten-game winning streak is about to start.

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The opening game was just a scrimmage, and David Lee found that he did not have the advantage.

Today, when the lineup is getting smaller and smaller, David Lee's height on the field can already be regarded as the level of "seeing all the mountains at a glance". However, when An Jie stood face to face with him, he discovered for the first time that he was also at a disadvantage in height.

The referee threw the ball into the air, and An Jie jumped like a conditional launch, surpassing the entire palm of David Lee, and easily took the ball away.

"Damn it!" Outsiders may not be able to see it, but David Lee knows that An Jie's bounce has always been underestimated by people!

An Jie has been practicing his jumping ability for a long time. Although it is incomparable with those perverted "spring men" in the league, An Jie's control of the high ball is even more handy after his jumping has improved.

After Westbrook got the basketball from Angie, he quickly started. Before the Knicks players found someone, he had already rushed to the three-point line.

Westbrook didn't hesitate, and immediately jumped with both feet, he wanted to shoot!

"Russell Westbrook planned to attack at the beginning of the game! Although it was unexpected, but to be honest, the timing of this shot is very bad!" Even the cctv commentary who supported the Thunder did not agree with Westbrook's decision. decision.

The Knicks' two guards, Chris Duhon and Daroni Gallinari, jumped up with both hands to interfere with Westbrook's shot. Although the guy's shooting rate was unstable, no one dared to relax on him.

David. Lee and Jared Jeffries went straight to the basket, ready to fight for the rebound.

When Westbrook jumped to the highest point, everyone thought he was about to make a shot. Unexpectedly, Westbrook changed his posture, changed from a shot to a pass in the air, and passed the ball over the heads of Duhon and Gallinari.

David Lee hurriedly moved his eyes following the movement of the ball, but when the ball was caught by someone, David Lee yelled that it was not good.

Westbrook's take-off pass was passed to An Jie who cut inside.

At the beginning, the Knicks' defense was in chaos. First, Gallinari and Duhon went to block Westbrook's shot, and now it was David Lee's turn to defend the basket. get ready.

After An Jie stepped into the three-second zone with one foot, he held the ball with both hands. David Lee rushed to defend, hoping to draw An Jie's offensive foul.

Angie took the first step, while Durant found an opening in the chaos. An Jie turned his head and saw Durant who had a better chance outside the three-point line.

He quickly raised his hand, and it seemed that An Jie was about to interrupt a layup for a breakthrough.

Seeing this situation, David Lee immediately adjusted his center of gravity and stretched out his long arms, hoping that he could intercept the ball midway.

Unexpectedly, when An Jie took the second step, David Lee found himself being tricked by the Chinese!

In the second step, An Jie withdrew his hand to collect the ball, and by the way, also withdrew his eyes that looked like he was about to pass the ball. He changed his action again, when everyone thought An Jie was going to pass the ball, but he went straight for a layup!

David Lee sprinted toward the passing lane, only to find himself missing. The Knicks' basket was wide open because of David Lee's mistake.

"Oh, hahahaha, can you believe it? A big center made a realistic fake pass layup, and really cheated his matchup! Maybe Ann's skills are no better than some guards It's bad." The first ball made the commentator start to praise An Jie.

In fact, Anjie's movement is not difficult at all. The only difficulty lies in the coherence of the movement and the eyes. If you want to make people believe that you will definitely pass the ball, deceiving eyes and smooth movements are indispensable.

"Hahaha, I was ready to catch the ball just now." Durant was also happy. Anjie's actions deceived him as a teammate, let alone David Lee.

Anjie only used one ball in the opening game, which showed that the Thunder will try their best to win ten consecutive victories.

The Knicks should work hard, not to win the game, but to prevent the bloody massacre at Madison Square Garden again... (To be continued.)