The Way of the Center

"Eric Gordon had the miracle of scoring 41 points in a single game against the Thunder in his rookie season last year, but now, it has been proved that the Thunder's three young players have even more potential! He only scored 7 points on 3 of 11 shots. It's hard for you to imagine that this is the data of a guy who was still eligible to compete for the Rookie of the Year last year. And the well-deserved Rookie of the Year, Anjie, had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks today. Another double-double, he was not affected in the slightest when he was absent from the game and fell into the scandal of violence! Well, now let’s take a look at the reporter’s interview with Ann.” Mike Breen smiled and saw his favorite player Breaking through doubts and getting good grades, can you be unhappy?

"Hello Ann, congratulations on winning another game. What do you think is the biggest factor for your victory?" Doris Burke handed the microphone to An Jie's mouth.

"Well, the composition of a basketball game is very complicated, so there are many factors to win. First of all, we did a good job defensively. Whether the opponent is an inside player or an outside player, we are very tight. Secondly, God, KD That guy scored another 32 points. I haven't had more than five 30-point games in my entire career, and Kevin's guy can score more than 30 points in almost every game. There is a guy who can score the most Being in the team and performing well, our offense will be relatively easy." An Jie, who won the game, was also in a good mood, and those unhappy things were completely left behind by him. Eddie Brown? An Jie could hardly remember the name.

Doris Burke was very happy to see An Jie, so he also decided to ask a bold question.

"After this game, you got a new nickname, do you know what it is?" The blond lady looked at An Jie with interest.

"New nickname? I really want to know what kind of image I am in the hearts of the fans." An Jie is also full of curiosity about this matter. He hardly had any nicknames before, and the only one was "Oriental Tower". Too convoluted, so it is not used much.

"Um, your new nickname is still very distinctive, from Oklahoma City... Chinese Butcher." Burke knew that he must have shattered An Jie's beautiful fantasy about himself.

"The butcher?" Well, after a long time, this is the image of myself in the hearts of the fans. Why are other people called The Flash, Peter Pan, and even worse, there are people called Warcraft. When you come to yourself, you become a butcher.

"I really didn't expect the fans to call me that. It seems that I will have to be more gentle in the future games." But An Jie could not accept this nickname, he was still joking with Burke.

"Hahahahaha, this nickname really suits you, I don't even know how they came up with it." In the locker room, everyone in the Thunder team was also talking about Anjie's new nickname.

"Okay, this name doesn't sound good at all." Even though he said so,

Seeing that An Jie was still smiling.

There is frequent physical contact with the opponent on the court, the style of play is not clean, and there will be conflicts with the opponent from time to time. Now, there is another scandal about an off-site violent incident, and An Jie's nickname is well deserved. Chinese people are all well-behaved? An Jie undoubtedly broke people's impression of Chinese players.

The victory in Los Angeles quickly spread Anjie's nickname throughout the league.

And the recent violent off-court incident can only be drawn down amidst the suspicions of the media and fans. After all, the unreasonable Eddie Brown didn't go any further. It was too late for him to deal with his own troubles, so he didn't have the time to fight An Jie.

But just like all bad scandals, although there is no definite evidence, it has become a big stain on An Jie's off-court life.

Although it was a stain, not only did it not bring any bad influence to An Jie, but it made him famous and his popularity soared. Anjie's "disobedient" image has also been fully established in the NBA.

"Hahahaha, good job, if I were you, I would keep that bastard's teeth for collection." Divac accidentally saw the appalling nickname of "The Butcher", but unexpectedly this nickname belonged to him disciple. When the old man was happy, he chatted with An Jie again.

"Good job... You may be the only one in the world who can comment on this kind of thing." An Jie blushed when he heard Divac's praise.

"As long as your image of a villain is established, no one will dare to provoke you. The next time someone breaks into the penalty area of ​​the Thunder, he has to think about whether he will be destroyed by the Chinese butcher in Oklahoma City." Drop." The deterrence of the restricted area is what Divac likes.

"Okay old man, I'm bad enough, look how much Stoudemire hates me."

"As long as you can win, how many people hate you is enough. Think how many people hated Jordan back then, but now he is directly equal to God in the basketball circle. Come on Ann, I know I will not be wrong. More than just Your skills, and the nature in your heart." Divac's iconic bad laugh came from the phone again.

An Jie really admired himself for being able to survive under the hands of such a "scumbag" master.

...................................

As the state of An Jie and others began to stabilize, the Thunder's record also stabilized. The victory over the Clippers is just the beginning of another series of winning streaks for the Thunder.

They defeated the Kings 108 to 102, the Hornets 83 to 98, the Nets 102 to 104, and the Jazz 111 to 119. It was not until March 17 against the Charlotte Bobcats that the Thunder finally lost.

During this period, the Thunder once again experienced a five-game winning streak. Although they lost to the Bobcats, which were not considered strong, the media will no longer talk about the loss of that game. They know that the Thunder is not a pseudo-strong team, and the loss is only temporary for them.

Sure enough, after losing to the Bobcats on March 19, the Thunder reversed the situation and defeated the invading Toronto Raptors.

The last time the Raptors beat the Raptors was because the "Dragon King" Bosh was absent from the game. This time, even though Bosh played and scored 22 points, he still couldn't prevent the Thunder from taking the victory away.

Durant 31 points, Anjie 25 points, Westbrook 23 points, the performance of the Thunder's three young men made Bosh feel ashamed. Had it not been for Ibaka's absence from the game due to injury, Bosh would have faced even greater defensive pressure.

Speaking of injuries, Van Gundy really has to thank the team doctor and God his old man. Although Ibaka was injured in this game, it was only a slight sprain and it was not a serious problem. Throughout the entire season, only Kevin Ollie of the Thunder team has experienced a major injury and is unable to play until now. The others, although not full attendance, are considered healthy anyway.

Thinking about the injuries of Anjie, Durant and many key players last season, it really made Van Gundy very headache. If last season's lineup can be as complete as this season, it is not guaranteed that the Thunder will taste the taste of the playoffs last season.

However, a year late is also good. This season, the Thunder's three minors are obviously more mature, and the Thunder's inside defensive strength has been raised to another level. In this way, they can also go further in the playoffs.

Yes, now Van Gundy is thinking about the playoffs. Although the regular season still has more than 20 days to end, although the Thunder's record is not enough to allow them to enter the playoffs early. But if they want to fall out of the top eight, it is only theoretically possible.

A team with a healthy lineup, good form, full of tacit understanding, and a good atmosphere, Van Gundy really can't figure out how such a team will suddenly collapse.

During this period, An Jie had less and less contact with the outside world. Not to mention Divac and Ricard, even Catherine and his parents have to talk to Anjie for several days. Now he is completely immersed in the basketball world and immersed in the intense season.

Such a good result in the regular season should make people more relaxed. But An Jie is actually preparing for the playoffs. He knows that the playoffs are the true manifestation of the strength of the NBA.

...................................

Thunder general manager Presti sat in a luxury box and shook his head at the court. "It's a waste."

He was lamenting the Thunder's opponent, the rookie guard of the Grizzlies, James Harden. In Presti's view, this shooting guard has unlimited potential.

Although Harden was lost in the draft, Presti was not upset. Isn't the reason why he lost Harden because the team's performance has improved?

It took Presti only three years from the time the team selected Durant to completely enter the rebuilding process and now returns to the playoffs. Three years, this period of time does not seem short, but for rebuilding a team, three years can be regarded as a crash course.

Today is already April 14th, and today is also the last game day of the 2009-10 season, the NBA regular season.

On the basketball court, Van Gundy did not let the main players rest because of the upcoming playoffs. He still sent the strongest lineup, and the Thunder's strongest lineup still beat the Grizzlies all over the place.

Even though Rudy Gay and James Harden scored 25 points and 21 points respectively, the Thunder, currently ranked fifth in the Western Conference, still make the Grizzlies, whose winning rate is less than 50% this season, a grave object.

The outstanding performance of the Thunder's three juniors can also be regarded as a wake-up call to their playoff opponents. Although it is the first time to enter the playoffs, their goal is not just a round trip!

Ranked fourth in the Western Conference, the Nuggets, who are only one game more than the Thunder, undoubtedly encountered one of the worst opponents.

"Little Melon" Anthony must feel very worried today, because three days later, he will have a tragic playoff battle with this group of seemingly powerful guys.

"It seems that we have to play Cameron." Billups and Anthony turned off the TV. In the West, the competition is always so fierce.

105 to 115, the Thunder's three minorities defeated their opponents by 10 points, drawing a perfect end to the regular season of this season.

With 51 wins and 31 losses, the Thunder's score is even higher than the San Antonio Spurs. However, after the victory in this game, all members of the Thunder team did not show much joy, because they knew that the most difficult test of this season had just begun for them. (To be continued.)