The Way of the Center

"I asked you to have a massage earlier, not to let you be lazy. Be normal, I need you to be normal! Put that damn 22-game winning streak behind me, and the win or loss of this game now , is the only thing you have to consider now!"

"How do we usually play? Is this how we play? Defense! I want you to play tough defense! Look at James Harden's casual breakthrough, even guys like Chandler Parsons you Can’t handle it? In the second quarter, slow down the tempo and strengthen the defense! Don’t fight against the Rockets, you are slowly falling into the rhythm that the Rockets like!” Although Ricard loves to swear, but He wasn't just kidding either. This young coach can always analyze the situation on the field thoroughly, and then give the players correct guidance.

After being sprayed bloody for a while, the Trail Blazers players were not only not disappointed, but full of energy.

Normal heart, defensive, slow pace. Armed with those three things that Rickard laid out during the break, the Trail Blazers stepped onto the court confidently and began their journey into the second quarter.

At the beginning of the second quarter, the Trail Blazers still used a full bench lineup. The Rockets, on the other hand, use a mix-and-match lineup of substitutes and main players.

But what reassures Ricard is that James Harden did not appear on the court. As long as there is no Harden, Ricard is not afraid of the rest of the Rockets at all.

From passing to scoring, the Rockets' gorgeous offense in the first quarter can be said to be entirely created by Harden.

Now that the Trail Blazers have strengthened their defense, it may be difficult for the rest of the Rockets to play well without Harden.

Patrick Beverley, a fierce-looking No. 1, is the one who handles the ball on the court.

This guy was drafted by the Lakers with the second overall pick in 2009, but the Lakers didn't sign him. After that, Beverly moved to Europe. In 10 years, Beverly originally thought that the olive branch of the Heat would be a turning point in his career. But after the preseason was over, Beverly was finally waived. After that, the nBa stage became more and more distant for Beverly.

Earlier this season,

Due to Jeremy Lin's injury, the Rockets urgently need a cheap and usable No. 1 to replace Jeremy Lin, and Beverly has become the target of the Rockets.

Although this guy has mediocre statistics, his hard work on the basketball court has allowed him to successfully capture the hearts of Rockets executives and Rockets fans.

Especially when such a guy meets the old Fischer, Fischer seems to struggle even more.

It can be said that Beverly completed the breakthrough effortlessly. This hard-working guy is simply not something that Fisher can stop now.

He broke into the restricted area smoothly, and Fisher could only chase after him. Beverly suddenly stopped for a jumper, and the fans in the Toyota Center even cheered in advance.

However, Batum suddenly rushed out at this moment, catching Beverly by surprise. Beverly thought that his eyes were wide open, but Batum's sudden interference made Beverly lose his shooting rhythm.

The ineffective defense of both sides in the first quarter made everyone get used to the fast-paced offense. Now, the Trail Blazers suddenly increased their defensive intensity, and the Rockets couldn't slow down for a while.

In this way, McHale's mixed lineup of substitutes and main players soon became untenable. The Blazers quickly turned back by 4 points, and they did it all with the bench lineup.

"James, Lin, Parsons, get ready to play!" McHale knew that the situation could not continue like this. He called a timeout and terminated the rest of several main players in advance, hoping that they could use their powerful offensive firepower to break the momentum of the Trail Blazers. press down. However, when these three came on the court, the five tigers of the Trail Blazers also stood in front of them.

An Jie clapped his hands, attracting the attention of his teammates. "Stand in your defensive position and let the Rockets see what it means to be tough!"

An Jie's shout made his teammates' blood boil. Jeremy Lin could not help swallowing when he saw that the five people on the opposite side were all imposing and fierce. Can the smooth attack really be played?

Before getting close to the three-point line, Damian Lillard posted it to Jeremy Lin without reservation. Jeremy Lin's confrontation ability is definitely one of his shortcomings. Facing the defense with frequent physical contact, this Harvard top student is really at a loss.

Lillard will not worry about his defensive position being too far ahead. In terms of speed, Lillard is still full of confidence.

Seeing that Jeremy Lin was so entangled that he couldn't even complete the work of organizing the offense, James Harden came out and prepared to receive Jeremy Lin's pass.

Jeremy Lin passed the ball with bumps and bumps. If it weren't for Harden's quick eyesight and quick hands, the ball might have turned into a mistake.

Harden didn't hesitate after getting the ball, and went inside without hesitation. No pick and roll, no pinch. Harden broke through Matthews at such a straight speed and attacked the penalty area guarded by Anjie.

Is Harden stupid? No, this guy is smart. He knows how terrifying Anjie's defense is. A man who can catch James from the front cannot be defeated by courage.

Harden's impact was not to score directly, but to cheat fouls!

If An Jie is a master of touch on the defensive end, then Harden is a master of touch on the offensive end. This guy was once criticized by people, scoring only by touching porcelain.

But I have to admit that being able to make opponents foul and get to the free throw line is also a science. And Harden can be said to be quite researched in this knowledge.

He leaned towards An Jie without fear, seeing An Jie threateningly in front of him, Harden was even happier.

I saw this young bearded man holding the ball with both hands and taking a beautiful European step. He leaned forward suddenly, intending to force An Jie to violate his cylinder. However, at that moment, Harden missed the opportunity.

"Damn it!" Harden, who hadn't found a point of strength, staggered and walked four or five steps with the basketball in his arms. This obvious move naturally did not escape the eyes of the referee.

"Pfft." Seeing this funny scene, Mutombo almost didn't laugh out loud. An Jie is not one of those ordinary stupid big men. It may not be so easy for Harden to draw a foul on him.

Seeing Harden make such an embarrassing mistake, An Jie deliberately spread his hands at him, expressing his innocence.

But Harden was so angry that Anjie planned to make a fool of himself from the moment he broke through Matthews! From the beginning to the end, An Jie was playing tricks on him!

"Don't try to use this kind of opportunistic defense to score on my head. If you want to win, you have to rely on some real skills." When An Jie passed by Harden, his mouth was not honest at all. In fact, An Jie didn't want to provoke Harden, but Harden's angry expression attracted An Jie's attention.

Maybe continuing to stimulate the star of the Rockets will have unexpected results?

After Harden came back, the Rockets' first offense ended in failure. And the Trail Blazers, who strengthened their defense, did not forget to strengthen their integrity on the offensive end.

Everyone in the Trail Blazers no longer relies on Anjie, although Anjie can beat the Rockets' backup center Cole Aldridge to nothing in minutes. However, the players of the Trail Blazers are still very active in running positions. This kind of running naturally opens the door for the Rockets, who are not good at defense.

Cole Aldridge, a big man who came out of the Thunder like Anjie, was educated by his seniors. Anjie has demonstrated the offensive skills that a center should have in front of Aldridge. If Aldridge of the Trail Blazers is here, this kid may gain more knowledge.

The Blazers' offense played well, even better than the first quarter. But what about the Rockets? Harden continued to try to touch porcelain several times after that, but Anjie was not fooled.

When An Jie used an easy block to kill Harden's layup towards Pengci, the choice of fouling was completely annihilated in Harden's mind.

Fortunately, Jeremy Lin and "Tall, Rich and Handsome" Parsons played very well in this game and wiped Harden's ass. Otherwise, the point difference between the two teams is estimated to be in double digits.

Anjie once again demonstrated his omnipotent dominance. On both ends of the offense and defense, no one on the Rockets can shake his strength.

People can't help but sigh, this Chinese is indeed the guy who surpassed Drexler's record! Such a performance is worthy of such a result.

After that, McHale made some adjustments to make the Rockets' offense connect again and return to the team offensive mode in the first quarter.

With the fiery touch of Jeremy Lin and Parsons, Harden also showed his talent in passing, although usually this bearded guy doesn't like to pass.

When Jeremy Lin, Parsons and others started to score efficiently, the Blazers had to focus on defending them, so Harden got more opportunities.

It's just that now, Harden no longer dares to step into the damn penalty area. Because he knew that the Chinese wearing the No. 0 jersey would not let him get what he wanted. Stepping into the restricted area is a dead end!

The Rockets relied on Jeremy Lin, Parsons and Harden's peripheral shots to bite the score. Although the hope of opening the score failed to come true, Ricard and Divac are still very satisfied with the current situation.

There will always be times when shooting feels bad. The later the game is played, the worse the physical strength of the players is, and the easier it is for their shooting movements to deform. Maybe the Rockets can still rely on shooting to win the game in the second quarter, but at the critical moment of the fourth quarter, can the Rockets only rely on shooting to solve the problem?

In this world, there is no team that wins glory by shooting!

"Your compatriot, he is really a deterrent. In the past, Harden was eager to get the ball and go inside, but now he is not afraid to step into the penalty area." Even McGrady's elegant scoring hands, all gave a thumbs up to An Jie's defense and deterrence.

Yao Ming just smiled slightly after hearing this, but did not respond. Deterrence, this description, even Yao Ming back then, never obtained it.

Otherwise, how could Yao Ming think that An Jie was destined to outdo him?

When the second quarter ended, Harden still had zero points in the paint. And the score of the two sides also became 59 to 5o. If the game time is one more round, the Trail Blazers may be able to widen the point difference to double digits.

Anjie's extremely dominant performance gave the Trail Blazers a complete upper hand. Sam Smith should be very nervous now, because Anjie is one step closer to the record of 22 consecutive victories...

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