The Way of the Center

On January 4, 2013, the Blazers with their three-game winning streak only landed in Memphis that morning.

Not coming to Memphis in advance is not because Ricard doesn't like the strength of the Grizzlies. In fact, the Grizzlies' current record is an excellent 20 wins and 9 losses, and they are undoubtedly one of the biggest dark horses this season. The current fourth ranking of the Grizzlies in the Western Conference is definitely enough to make Ricard feel nervous.

However, for the sake of the physical strength of the players, Ricard decided to fly over again this morning. After all, from New York to Memphis, the distance in between is not small. Therefore, the Trail Blazers went back to Portland first, and then rushed here from Portland after a day of rest.

Time is tight, but Ricard's preparations are not sloppy at all.

The good news is that the big black bear Zach Randolph, one of the "black and white bears" of the Grizzlies, is currently suffering from injuries and cannot play.

Losing Randolph is undoubtedly beneficial to the Trail Blazers. The Grizzlies are indeed very strong, but now without the protection of a big bear, the Grizzlies' inside line may not be able to withstand the impact.

When An Jie just walked into the lobby of Memphis International Airport, all the reporters gathered in the dark. If it weren't for the security guards and the police blocking them, the Trail Blazers might not even be able to get out of the gate of the airport today.

"My God, what's the situation?" Anjie asked Divac in a low voice while smiling and waving to the fans. The Grizzlies are indeed strong, but Memphis has always been a small ball market, and the Grizzlies' low-key and conservative style of play has made this team never the focus of public attention.

Therefore, the game between the Trail Blazers and the Grizzlies is not today's focus matchup. An Jie was very surprised. Why did so many reporters go to Memphis to pay attention to a game with few gimmicks? You know, today in the nba there is a strong dialogue between the Pacers and the Celtics in the Eastern Conference and the Los Angeles Derby between the Lakers and the Clippers. Compared with these games facing the national live broadcast, the Grizzlies are too insignificant to the Trail Blazers.

"They don't pay attention to the game itself. You have to know that old man Sam Smith has such an ability to make public opinion follow him." Divac, wearing sunglasses, answered An Jie's confusion,

The reason why so many reporters will come to Memphis is because of Sam Smith's remarks!

"Mr. An! What do you think of Sam Smith's evaluation?"

"Sam said your success was just accidental, what do you think?"

"Sam Smith can be said to be an expert with high prestige. Mr. An must feel very uncomfortable to be commented by an expert like this?"

Sure enough, this group of people really came because of Sam Smith's remarks. Seeing that they couldn't break through the fence formed by airport security and Memphis police officers, the reporters stretched out the microphone to An Jie's mouth in the crowd.

As more and more people obstructed, An Jie and his teammates were also unable to move forward. It seems that this group of reporters will not let An Jie go without saying anything.

"Sam Smith? An expert? He knows me, maybe because I'm already famous. But I'm sorry, I don't know who this Sam Smith is, and I'm not interested in what he said." An Jie After finishing speaking lightly, he cleared the way for his teammates behind him, squeezed out of the airport, and got on the team bus.

And what about the reporters who heard An Jie's answer? They all opened their mouths and looked at each other. Sam Smith is still very prestigious in the American basketball circle, even superstars like Jordan and Kobe have to sell his face.

However, An Jie, who hadn't played five full seasons in the league just now, was so outspoken to Sam Smith! This kind of thing was unheard of before! Even the rebellious Allen Iverson has never expressed his disdain for Sam Smith.

"Sure enough, you came to the right fucking place! Where there are Sam and Ann, there must be big news!" Some reporters began to rejoice that they didn't go to Los Angeles or Boston. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to witness this wonderful farce with his own eyes...

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

"I have no comment. I don't care about the opinions of the outside world. I just want to play my game well." Like Anjie, he had the same indifferent attitude towards the media, and there was another protagonist today, Marc Gasol.

The Spaniard has never been the protagonist of these gossip news, he is just like the Grizzlies, he is usually inconspicuous, but once he goes crazy, he is extremely dangerous.

Joining the league with Anjie until now, Gasol is also growing step by step. It can be said that without Gasol Jr. sitting on the inside, it is impossible for the Grizzlies to achieve 20 wins and 9 losses.

Although the current Gasol is not yet a superstar, he is definitely a very powerful traditional insider. Such a guy is really not weak to be An Jie's opponent.

"To be honest, I like that kid quite a bit." During the warm-up, An Jie would always focus on Gasol from time to time. He has always treated Gasol with respect, not hostility.

"But you have to beat him today, after all, Sam Smith has already defended his words." Lillard chatted with Anjie while shooting.

"Don't worry Damien, even without Sam Smith, I will beat him." An Jie stretched out his hand and fist bumped Lillard. An Jie has always believed that the best way to show respect for an opponent is to fight him without sparing any effort!

"Those nonsense remarks are really annoying." As soon as An Jie walked into the middle circle, he heard Marc Gasol talking to him on his own initiative. This surprised An Jie, because Mark didn't seem to be the kind of chatty person, and the two of them rarely communicated in the previous fights.

"You mean..."

"Sam. Smith." Gasol Jr. replied.

"Haha, the old man is just bored and flustered, just find some fun for himself. Leave him alone, let's just play our game well." An Jie was very happy to see that Gasol could reach a consensus with him.

Afterwards, the referee asked whether the two tall centers were ready. Seeing the black referee lift the ball over their heads, Anjie and Gasol also put away their friendship, and their eyes became focused.

Although he is only three centimeters shorter than Anjie, Gasol Jr. is much worse than Anjie in terms of jumping. With ease, Anjie patted the ball thrown by the referee into Lillard's hands. Mike Conley immediately set up his posture to prevent Lillard from sneaking. At this point, this competition, which has attracted much attention because of one person's remarks, officially began.

This season, after sending away James Harden and O.J. Mayo, the situation of the Grizzlies is even better. They can distribute the ball reasonably and attack more calmly. Of course, the negative defensive attitude brought by Mayo and Harden also disappeared.

So when Ainger leaned on Gasol for the first time, he knew why the Grizzlies were successful. Because they have something a lot of teams are throwing away now - defense!

Don't look at Gasol Jr. as a big white man, but in fact his style is very tough. Angie tried to push in a bit before catching the ball, but failed.

Gasol Jr. is not afraid of Anjie's advancement. His huge weight and core strength that cannot be underestimated allow Gasol Jr. to not suffer too much when fighting in the interior.

Seeing that An Jie didn't want to get to the position, Lillard beckoned and signaled An Jie to step forward to pick and roll.

With a high-quality pick-and-roll, Lillard launched a breakthrough. The four of the Grizzlies shrunk the penalty area, preparing to block Lillard, and by the way, beware of Anjie who cut behind Lillard.

Just before the siege was about to be completed, Lillard passed the ball. But the person who caught the ball was not An Jie.

Due to the Grizzlies' wide-ranging contraction, Wesley Matthews, who ran flexibly outside the three-point line, got an open shot.

After receiving Lillard's breakthrough point, Matthews made a decisive shot. In the absence of interference, Matthews shot the basketball hollow into the net, and the Trail Blazers took the lead.

Although the Trail Blazers' tactics were very beautiful, the reporters were not interested in this goal. What they want to see is a confrontation between Ainger and Gasol, not an open shot from a perimeter player.

Next, in the offense of the Grizzlies, Gasol naturally didn't have any brainless singles against Anjie. These two guys are not the kind of players who are easily swayed by the media. They don't care what the media wants to see, they only care about how to help the team better.

Marris Speights, who replaced Randolph, played a very simple pick-and-roll with Mike Conley. After Conley broke through, he returned the ball to Speights, and Speights made a jumper from a mid-to-long distance position.

Speights also entered the league with Anjie back then. During the preseason of their rookie season, Speights was "educated" by Anjie a little. But now, this seemingly fat insider has found his own positioning and playing style, which also makes him have a good life in the Grizzlies.

Although there were goals for each other, the Blazers and Grizzlies did play a little flat. These two teams are mainly teams that play positional warfare, but positional warfare is a pasture that kills wonderful shots.

Compared with those fast-paced games, this matchup was dull enough. Now that the two focuses of Anjie and Gasol are no longer confrontational, the game is even more boring.

At least one thing Sam Smith said was right. The duel between the centers is indeed lacking in entertainment.

The two sides just came and went, playing a few rounds calmly and steadily. But Anjie and Gasol, in addition to doing some auxiliary work, still did not start a duel.

However, in an offense by the Grizzlies, Rudy Gay made another old problem of unreasonable shot selection. Originally, Iguodala's defense was tight, and Gay also shot against the defense.

There is no doubt that the basketball hit the basket, but what An Jie didn't expect was that the basketball hit the basket's neck, which was a long backboard.

As a result, An Jie, who was stuck in the position, was in a disadvantageous position instead. Gasol, who was behind An Jie, took two steps back, stretched his long arms and jumped vigorously, and took off the rebound.

"Pau Gasol grabs the offensive rebound!" A reporter shouted pointing at the court, and his colleagues who were about to fall asleep instantly regained their spirits.

After getting the ball, Gasol didn't hesitate, hugged the ball and bowed to the basket to kill. Although An Jie lost a rebound, he still defended seriously. He blocked Gasol with his chest, but Gasol also refused to give an inch.

In the end, Gasol struggled to score the ball under Anjie's physical contact. He scored two points first, kicking off the prelude to the center-forward duel!

"You are careless, Ann." Gasol spread his hands and turned to retreat.

The Trail Blazers immediately counterattacked, An Jie stood at the free throw line and held the basketball high, and the entire Trail Blazers revolved around An Jie.

"Do you want to be a command tower?" Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins supported his chin, unable to guess Anjie's next move.

Lillard circled around and finally ran behind Anjie. Anjie took the ball back sideways, looking like he was going to pass a hand to Lillard.

Just when Lillard passed An Jie, An Jie suddenly turned around and started! All of these are just smoke bombs. From the beginning to the end, this tactic was formulated for Anjie to score!

"Cunning guy!" Gasol thought the basketball was in Lillard's hands, so he froze when he saw Anjie break through.

Now Anjie has passed half of Gasol Jr., and Speights also left Hickson and walked inside.

After An Jie stepped into the three-second zone, he raised his right hand high, looking like he was about to make a layup!

Little Gasol took off from behind and took a big risk after chasing him. This is not only Anjie's patent!

Just when Gasol "flyed" to the highest point, and Speights also raised his hands in front of An Jie, An Jie raised his right hand, but suddenly retracted it.

"What!?" Little Gasol's eyes widened, and in the next second, he turned around while holding the ball, avoiding Gasol and Speights, using the three fingers of his left hand to flick the ball, and scored with a hook .

"Beautiful footsteps! As expected of someone who has won the true legend of the dream! An alone played Gasol and Speights!" The atmosphere of the game became hot in an instant. Gasol Jr. fought back.

"You are also too careless, Mark. I think we should all be careful." An Jie blinked at Gasol, 12 to 10, and the excitement has just begun!

Center is the elimination product of modern basketball? Angie and Marc Gasol disagree.

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