The Way of the Center

Sweeping teams from Los Angeles in the first round of the playoffs for two consecutive seasons is not only an accident, but also a manifestation of the strength of the Blazers.

When Anjie successfully eliminated the Lakers, Staples seemed to have become Anjie's home court. Countless local media in Los Angeles ran to An Jie, wanting to interview this player who played a legendary season.

However, Anjie was not as ecstatic as the reporters imagined, and his reaction was completely different from his state after being promoted in previous seasons.

For An Jie now, advancing to the first round is nothing to him at all. He did it all with the Thunder back in his second year as a rookie. Now Anjie only desires one thing, and that is the championship.

"Advancing to the first round is something we planned, and I would be surprised if we couldn't do it. This is an expected victory, and the next journey is the real challenge for us. "An Jie didn't flatter the Lakers in front of the Los Angeles reporters, and the Los Angeles media didn't get angry because of An Jie's words. After all, this year's star-studded Lakers F4 is indeed too disappointing. Perhaps after a huge setback, this mighty Purple and Gold Legion can rise again.

Ended the journey of the first round of the playoffs, the Trail Blazers left Los Angeles with the honor of a complete victory. And they also became the first team to end the battle in the first round of the playoffs.

Boarding the plane with a good mood, An Jie enjoyed the beautiful scenery outside the window for the first time. Looking down on the City of Angels from the air is still so spectacular. And after a season of hard work, they finally got their first reward.

With a perfect pass in the first round of the playoffs, An Jie is one step closer to his championship dream.

The day after that game ended, the Heat also cleanly eliminated a Bucks team led by two immature guards at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. The fans of the Bucks didn't complain too much about this. The team's ability to make the playoffs is already a good reward for them.

So far, this season's two biggest favorites to win the championship have easily passed the first round of the test. The first round of the playoffs is basically coming to an end.

The Grizzlies have led the Clippers by two games 3 to 1, and they are 3 to 1 behind to complete the reversal, which is also difficult. If nothing else, Anjie's next opponent will be the Grizzlies who have improved significantly this season.

On the Spurs and Nuggets side, the score also came to 3 to 1. The Spurs are the favorites to win the championship every year, and this time is no exception. Many people are optimistic that they can meet the Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Finals. And Popovich and Duncan never let the fans down.

For the Thunder and Warriors, the score became 3-2. Although the Thunder took the lead for the time being, Curry and Klay Thompson of the Warriors showed superhuman qualities. Coupled with David Lee's outstanding performance as always, the Thunder suffered a lot.

Some experts even predict that the Warriors will become the most competitive team in the next five years. Because their development trajectory is very similar to that of the Thunder that rose rapidly back then. Rebuilding through shrewd draft picks has been the only way out for many underwhelmed teams.

But in any case, Westbrook, Durant, Morris and Van Gundy will not allow the team to fall in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. They not only want to defeat the Warriors, but also get rid of the Spurs, Trail Blazers and Heat together to get the supreme gold cup.

The first round of the playoffs is coming to an end, which also means that the day of the regular season awards is getting closer.

On May 2, the NBA officially announced the first regular season award, the winner of the best coach of the year.

George Ricard, the young coach who led his team to 69 wins in only his second season of coaching in the NBA, has undoubtedly become the winner of this award.

And Ricard, who climbed all the way from the high school league, has also become the idol and benchmark of grassroots coaches.

Ricard didn't expect that he could be linked to this kind of honor. After all, whether it was the NCAA or the current NBA, there are many coaches who are more famous than him. But this foul-mouthed guy still led the Trail Blazers to break several records and win honors by virtue of his weird ideas and tricks.

Some fans said that Ricard got the best coach entirely because he coached a good team. But every time someone makes such remarks, the rebutters will use the Lakers F4 who have just been eliminated by the Blazers as an issue.

"Is the Lakers lineup good enough this season? Why doesn't D'Antoni get the best coach?"

In any case, being able to lead the team to complete the feat of 69 wins and 27 consecutive victories, Ricard is certainly not without level. Only Anjie and his teammates know how important Ricard is to the team.

This is also the second coach to win the best coach after coaching Anjie after Jeff Van Gundy. Also because of this reason, An Jie has won a new nickname - the best coach trainer.

From Anjie's entry into the league to the present, a total of three coaches have coached him. And two of them have won the honor of the best coach. If you don't count Carlesimo who was fired after only a few games, then the coaches "trained" by Anjie have a higher success rate.

Ricard didn't talk much at the press conference at the awards ceremony, but this time, he didn't curse.

The Trail Blazers coach won the first honor of the season for the team and the individual, and the team is very happy from top to bottom. However, they don't know that what is more worthy of celebration is left in tomorrow.

On May 3, when the Trail Blazers and Heat had rested for several days, while other teams were still fighting fiercely, the NBA officially announced the winner of the best defensive player of the year.

The announcement of the winners this time was also expected by many fans. An Jie won the award for the second year in a row, and everyone expected it.

In this selection, James and Garnett can only be ranked fourth and fifth. As for Kobe and Howard, the big favorite in the past two years, they didn't get a single vote, and they were completely ignored by the media from the Lakers.

It has to be said that the poor performance of the Lakers this season has made them already labeled as "losers".

In the afternoon, the Trail Blazers held a press conference specially for Anjie. Its purpose is to present a trophy to An Jie.

Wu Hua is very honored to be able to attend Anjie's award ceremony for the second time. This is a player from his home country, and this is a player with the same skin color as him. However, such a guy has dominated the inside of the NBA for the second consecutive year and has become one of the most dangerous defenders in the entire league.

First, Nell Orsi proudly handed the little gold cup to An Jie. An Jie also showed an excited smile for the first time in such a long time. Compared with easily advancing to the first round of the playoffs, winning the honor of the best defensive player is obviously more hard-won.

An Jie's speech was also very simple, but he still did not forget to thank his teammates.

"Without LaMarcus on the practice field, I don't think my defense would be as good. After all, you all know that guy's turnaround jumper is too difficult to defend. But don't tell me, I Really overwhelmed him in training." Anjie's exaggerated expression and tone made him make the reporters laugh, and also made the relationship between him and his teammates closer.

Whether a team has cohesion is largely determined by the leader of the team. After seeing Anjie's performance on stage, people can easily explain why the Trail Blazers have such a strong combat effectiveness.

"Ann, just when we presented the awards, the Grizzlies defeated the Los Angeles Clippers in overtime and advanced to the second round. That is to say, the opponents of the Trail Blazers in the next round will also be good at defense, And the Grizzlies are very united. Moreover, Marc Gasol, the core of the Grizzlies, also ranked second in the selection of the best defensive player this time, second only to you. Do you think you will meet in the second round? Have you met a real opponent?" A reporter wearing a bluetooth headset who was very anxious from the beginning of the press conference finally received the result of the match in another land.

An Jie frowned when he heard this question. Because compared to the Clippers, the Grizzlies are indeed more difficult. Don't look at this group of guys who basically couldn't compete with the Trail Blazers in the regular season, but in the playoffs, the Grizzlies showed very good qualities.

"Mark is an excellent center forward. As you all know, I respect him very much. Every time I face him, I really have to spend a lot of effort. I will go all out to prove that I am worthy of this award and also It proves that the Trail Blazers are not just good in the regular season." An Jie's answer was pertinent and firm, and another reporter in Los Angeles also asked Gasol the corresponding question about An Jie's answer.

"Ann is a difficult guy. First of all, I have to congratulate him for winning the best defensive player award for the second consecutive year. It is true that I have never defeated him in the regular season, but the playoffs are a completely different battlefield! I Brother? I’m different from my brother. Just because he can beat my brother doesn’t mean he can beat me too!” Gasol, who was still sweating profusely after the game, was even more excited. It's time to wrestle with An Jie and the Blazers.

In the selection of the best defensive player award, Gasol lost to Anjie, which made Gasol still a little unwilling. An Jie knew that this European mobile fortress would definitely perform at a super level, so as to prove that the second place is not necessarily worse than the first place.

But An Jie has made all the preparations to meet the challenge. Today's award ceremony will not make An Jie self-inflated, but will only make him have higher demands on himself in the future!

The Trail Blazers won two consecutive regular-season awards, which should have been something to celebrate. Nell Orsi had actually already booked a celebration banquet, and he wanted to relieve the pressure for the players temporarily.

But now, with the Grizzlies qualifying, Orsi had to postpone his celebration dinner. Maybe it's not too late to celebrate after the Trail Blazers win the championship.

This is not Nell Orsi's wishful thinking. After all, a team has both the best coach and the best player, which is enough to show their strength.

It seems that Anjie and Ricard have to temporarily put their joy aside. After all, a stronger opponent has already approached the door. And Anjie and Ricard, the two backbones of the Trail Blazers, will never allow the slightest distraction.

They have to be careful, because there are bears on the way to the championship...

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