The Way of the Center

Austin Rivers, the son of current Celtics coach Doug Rivers. Speaking of which, this guy was also born into a basketball family.

In high school, he and Anthony Davis represented the highest level of American high school basketball. In college, Rivers' performance was equally dazzling. After the Hornets took Davis with the No. 1 pick, they also picked Rivers with a 10th overall pick. Recruiting two hot young players at the same time, the potential of the Hornets is really terrifying.

This season, two rookies, Rivers and Davis, both won starting positions. It's just that the Hornets let him and Rivers form a double point guard lineup in order to prevent the Venezuelan Vasquez from being overqualified.

It's just that in the face of extremely high talent, Rivers just saw with his own eyes how terrifying the truly overwhelming strength is!

As the strongest high school student who stood side by side with him back then, Rivers knew very well how strong he was. But just now, An Jie gave Davis a bloody rash as if he was playing with a child. That scene left Rivers dumbfounded.

"Hey, Austin, why are you in a daze! We're starting to attack, and we're starting to counterattack!" Hornets coach Monty Williams yelled at Rivers from the sidelines. Williams' face was ugly.

"Damn it." It's not that Rivers doesn't want to work hard, it's just that this "double point guard" combination actually exists in name only.

Vasquez is always the guy who controls the ball, because Monty Williams obviously likes to use the more experienced Venezuelan to control the situation. And what about Rivers? He's a guy who likes to have the ball in his hands and attack. Poor outside shooting and unrefined movement off the ball made him an embarrassment next to Vasquez.

Another offense, Rivers didn't even touch the ball. And Anthony Davis hooked the iron under Anjie's active defense,

The Hornets once again missed their chance.

The subsequent games have been spent passively by the Hornets. Davis has rarely shot since then, because there is already a shadow created by An Jie in his heart.

What about Rivers? He also has little opportunity to perform. The entire Hornets relied on Vasquez's mid-range shots to survive until Ricard finally "showed mercy" and gradually replaced the entire starting lineup. The decline of the Hornets finally eased.

However, the Hornets did not have any advantage in the duel between the second teams of the two teams. Due to Aldridge's injury, Ricard had to put Hickson in the starting lineup, and his replacement on the bench was the 33-year-old veteran Jared Jeffries.

The inside line guarded by Jeffries and Leonard must have many loopholes. But the connection between Fisher, Batum and Courtney Lee did not give the Hornets any advantage.

In the end, the first quarter ended with 19-25. The Hornets looked just as fans imagined, almost powerless to fight back.

During the break during the festival, the Trail Blazers were talking and laughing with ease. The Hornets' bench was lifeless. All the players were silent and buried their heads, as if they had accepted the "fact" that they were doomed.

"What the hell are you doing!? The game has only been played for 12 minutes, and it's only been 12 fucking minutes! Look up, who! Admit that you are a coward, a weakling!" Monty . William James doesn't expect the Hornets to create miracles, but he doesn't want to see his players lose hope in the game so early.

"Austin!" Little Rivers was startled when he heard the head coach calling his name.

"In the second quarter, you control the ball!"

"What!?" Little Rivers thought his ears were broken.

"I said, in the second quarter, you will control the ball! Is there any problem!? Duke's top student!" Williams repeated dissatisfied.

"No... no problem! Boss!" Rivers is gearing up, now that the team can't open up the situation, his chance has finally come!

In fact, Williams does not expect Rivers to help the Hornets reverse the situation, but Vasquez's excellent touch may make him run open shots more efficiently. As for Rivers, as long as he doesn't commit the old problem of being too sticky to the ball, his creativity on the offensive end is still better than that of Vasquez. I hope Rivers can bring some surprises to Williams, and I hope this group of Hornets don't give up on themselves.

Subsequently, Williams picked up the tactical board and drew again. Ricard saw all those pictures in his eyes. He knew that in the second quarter, either the Hornets would mess themselves up, or they would bring big trouble to the Blazers!

"Be careful guys, if you annoy the little wasp, he might come over and sting you." Just as Ricard finished speaking, the timer beeped. At the beginning of the second quarter, he wanted to see what else the Hornets could do to bring him back to life.

"Is this your arrangement?" When Ricard saw that the Hornets switched to Rivers Jr. to control the ball, he even wondered if he was a little nervous. The rare problem between the Hornets and the Blazers can be solved by a little Rivers?

Since Lillard, the last starter in the first quarter, was still resting, the person facing Rivers at this moment was the elderly Fisher.

Although Rivers Jr.'s ability to handle the ball is not outstanding, the start of the first step is still quite threatening. It just so happened that the current Fischer is most afraid of fast-playing defenders.

Without hesitation, with the help of his good buddy Anthony Davis' pick-and-roll, Rivers Jr. quickly flashed to the left with one crotch, and easily left Fisher behind.

But Rivers' breakthrough didn't make the Trail Blazers too nervous. They all knew that this thin guy's finishing ability was very bad. Just a little pressure can make him suffer.

In the process of Rivers' breakthrough, Davis pulled to the middle distance, Vasquez began to slide the bottom line, and Aminu quickly cut inside. Rivers has many choices, but there is one person who has not been valued by people.

Emergency stops, jumps, shots, changes in wrist movements, basketball shots. Rivers used an emergency stop and a false pass to return the basketball to the outside line.

"Outside!? Oops!" Rickard suddenly frowned. Rivers Jr.'s breakthrough and the movement of several other Hornets made Ryan Anderson's anti-aircraft gun completely missed!

This soft insider might not even be able to do dirty work well on the court. After all, the current blue-collar insiders are too strong. But this guy can occupy a place in the NBA just by relying on his precise three-pointers!

It wasn't until the camera lens was aimed at him that people realized that this guy with a very low sense of presence actually got an open shot. Rivers' passing isn't great, but it's more difficult to predict than the well-behaved Vasquez.

Anderson took his shots unhurriedly, and even from beyond the three-point line, the guy's shooting height was still very low. But this does not affect the orange basketball, which fell into the net at a standard angle of 45°!

An Jie looked at Hixon, who just stretched out his hands helplessly and added a sentence of "sorry".

However, tens of seconds later, Ryan Anderson scored again.

This time, Rivers Jr. tried his best to finally get Anthony Davis the basketball. Anthony Davis did not hesitate, and continued to use his mobility advantage to beat Anjie. Davis' impact made Hickson involuntarily lean towards the basket a few steps. However, it was the distance of these few steps that gave Davis the opportunity to send the ball to Anderson.

J . J . Hickson dared to take a few steps to the basket because he knew that big shooters usually shoot slower and take longer to adjust after receiving the ball than guards. And this time was enough for Hickson to feel in front of Anderson.

However, when J. J. Hickson turned back confidently and was only halfway through, Ryan Anderson had already completed the shot in the bottom corner!

"Impossible!" Hixon saw with his own eyes that Ryan Anderson's shot speed was as fast as that of a defender! He could only watch helplessly as the basketball entered the net with the same arc.

"Top shooting insider! Ryan Anderson helped the Hornets tie the score!" This time, Kevin Harlan finally had the opportunity to praise the players of the Hornets.

"J . J . ! Pay attention to your people!" This time, Anjie no longer just reminded Hixon with his eyes. As the team leads, he yells at Hickson loudly, telling him to pay attention to his problems. Being scored consecutive three-pointers by the opponent is the most taboo thing in a game.

"There won't be a next time, I promise!" Hickson also got excited, Ryan Anderson who seemed to disappear in the first quarter, what muscle suddenly went wrong in the second quarter?

Only Ricard knows that Williams' replacement of Rivers Jr.'s possession of the ball is not to rely on Rivers to win the game, but to rely on him to make the Hornets play something different.

Now, his goal has been achieved. A series of butterfly effects happened after Little Rivers took control of the ball! ,

Subsequently, although Anjie assisted Iguodala again and scored a goal. But when the Hornets came to attack, Rivers also broke through Fisher again. When Hickson didn't dare to make up the defense easily, he easily succeeded in the mid-range shot.

Due to the precise shooting of Ryan Anderson and Vasquez, the Trail Blazers players did not dare to defend easily. Now, Rivers can really get a lot of opportunities. The aged Fisher became the target of Rivers' operation.

He was on par with Davis back then, but he was gradually forgotten by people in college and after entering the league. Now, it's time to make yourself the center of attention again!

"Damien! Get him done!" Ricard patted Lillard on the back angrily. He was not dissatisfied with Fisher, a veteran, as Fisher had worked hard enough. He just doesn't like it very much, a guy with mediocre ability is acting recklessly on his own territory!

Yes, mediocre ability, this is Ricard's true evaluation of Rivers. If Rivers Jr. knows that he is nobody in the hearts of others, would he be depressed or furious?

"Leave it to me, boy, it's not difficult." Lillard walked to the technical stage with a smile and was ready to play at any time to change the situation? No, you are not qualified yet!

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