The Way of the Center

"An is a tough defender. Of course, you can't ignore this guy's all-round performance on the offensive end because of his excellent defensive end." This is a line in the documentary "The Last Giant" directed by Spike Lee. Of course, this is also the characteristic that Spike Lee concluded after following An Jie for a few days.

"Don't worry about attacking Zach, I will continue to help you contain Ann!" After Marc Gasol came on the field, he looked at the Blazers' bench. In the Rose Garden Stadium, which suddenly became huge, he saw An Jie taking off his training uniform.

In the first quarter, it can be said that Gasol and the Grizzlies won temporarily. I don't know if the second quarter can't be as smooth as before?

An Jie put away his playful smile, and immediately ordered his teammates to quickly take their positions after playing. This leader now looks very serious, completely different from his usual friendly image.

Even Aldridge didn't dare to relax at this time. The Blazers' defensive formation quickly stood up, and everyone noticed that this group of guys was different from the previous ones. They planned to defend the zone defense!

"Zone defense?" Hollins was stunned, in this era of faster and faster speed and worse rim protectors. The strategy of zone defense was almost abandoned by the league. After a season, you can't see a few teams using zone defense.

"Mark and Zach both have shooting range, such a zone defense is meaningless!" Hollins didn't care. Randolph and Gasol are not like Howard and Jordan. Ricard will definitely regret using the zone defense.

The Grizzlies' offensive tactics were not complicated. As before, Gasol picked and rolled, Mike Conley broke through, and Randolph fell to the low post.

But because the Trail Blazers used zone defense, this time the basketball did not hit the inside line, but found Tyshawn Prince who was interspersed in the mid-range gap.

Without hesitation, Prince catches and shoots. However, Matthews' active replacement has greatly disturbed Prince's shooting rhythm. Due to the presence of Anjie, everyone in the Trail Blazers is now very active in defense. So Prince didn't get the open space he dreamed of, and the basketball he threw out also knocked out of the frame.

Naturally, Gasol Jr. in the mid-range position can't reach this rebound, Zach Randolph? It would be a miracle that he could take off the offensive rebound on Ainger's head.

After Anjie took off the rebound, he was not in a hurry, but signaled the inexperienced Lillard to stabilize his rhythm. After everyone except him and Lillard had run through the half court, Anjie just handed over the ball.

Tony Allen is the same as before, ready to stick to Lillard to make it difficult for him to play. But this time, Allen found that An Jie had been dangling by his side. Obviously, this is a signal that Anjie is ready to pick and roll Lillard at any time.

Tony Allen and Anjie grabbed a favorable position while guarding against Lillard's advance. Just when Tony Allen's heels touched the three-point line when he retreated, An Jie suddenly covered his crotch with both hands and stood firmly. At the same time, Lillard, who was slow and leisurely, accelerated instantly and stabbed towards the side that An Jie blocked.

"It's not that difficult!" Tony Allen immediately began to get rid of Anjie's pick and roll. Although Anjie and Lillard's one block and one burst were very tacit, Tony Allen believed that he was much stronger by himself. With his body, he can still stop Lillard with ease.

This guy deftly bypassed the pick-and-roll, accelerated hard, and ran to the side of Lillard to interfere.

But when Allen saw Lillard, he found that Lillard didn't have a basketball in his hand.

"Ball!?" Tony Allen looked back subconsciously. As expected, just after the pick-and-roll was completed, Lillard used a ground-hitting pass to let Angie gain possession of the ball.

After getting the ball, An Jie took advantage of this time difference to resolutely go inside. Faced with Marc Gasol who posted him, An Jie did not flinch. He held the basketball tightly with both hands and took three steps to prevent the ball from being cut away. Don't underestimate this basic movement that An Jie practiced for a long time last summer.

Whether an inside player's ability to protect the ball is excellent will directly affect the quality of his breakthrough.

An Jie's three steps are not fast, but each step is very solid.

Gasol was beside Anjie, and Anjie held Gasol firmly with his shoulders, preventing him from touching his basketball and blocking his way forward.

Two steps later, An Jie forced a layup. Marc Gasol, who was ranked second in this year's best defensive player selection, is naturally strong.

Mark reacted quickly, jumping almost at the same time as An Jie. But in the physical confrontation in the air, Mark was still defeated. He was overwhelmed by Anjie, who stretched his long arms and tried to pass the ball to the basket.

The basketball hit the backboard and into the net under An Jie's soft shot, but An Jie, who had experienced a fierce confrontation in the air, lost his center of gravity and fell down.

Although Anjie fell, Gasol's defense was a reasonable collision, and the random referee did not call a foul.

Anjie's fall was not light. For a big player, every fall is not easy. However, An Jie didn't stay on the floor for too long, he got up from the floor almost instantly, and shouted at his teammates. "Back to defense! Back to defense! Get in position quickly!"

Gasol spread his hand at Hollins. If the ball was replaced by someone else, even if it was not blocked, it would be impossible to score the ball under such strong physical contact and interference. However, Anjie just broke Gasol's excellent defense.

Facing the zone defense for the second time, the Grizzlies are still preparing to find a gap in the middle distance. Their strategy is correct. The weakest point of the zone defense is the vacuum in the middle distance. However, the Grizzlies seem to have forgotten how bad their perimeter offense is.

Mike Conley tried to hold the ball several times, but was "rejected" by the Blazers' zone defense. It's not because Conley is back to his old habit of sticking to the ball, it's because his teammates just don't stand a chance.

In desperation, Conley had to hand the ball to Gasol Jr. According to Ricard's arrangement, when Gasol was in the middle distance, Iguodala was in front of him.

Facing the eyeing Iguodala, Gasol knew that it was impossible for him to dribble and move. Seeing that the attack time was about to run out, Gasol raised the ball directly above his head, ready to shoot!

He intends to use his height advantage to avoid blocking and interference, while Gasol's slightly slow shooting action gave Iguodala sufficient interference time.

I'm not tall enough, so I can bounce to make up for it. Iguodala, who is already good in athletic ability, jumped with all his strength, and the interference he brought to Marc Gasol completely exceeded the Spaniard's expectations.

Although he practiced the mid-range shot well during the warm-up before the game, Gasol, who is not a pure shooter, still lost his position under such huge interference.

Gasol shot the ball very well. If he can complete the shooting action, he will definitely score. Unfortunately, in the face of Iguodala's blockade, Gasol Jr. had to make an early shot. As a result, the basketball hit the basket's neck, and the rebound was once again controlled by An Jie.

"It seems that the Blazers' zone defense has indeed played a certain role. The Grizzlies missed consecutive shots. Let's see if An Jie can seize this opportunity!" As soon as Yu Jia finished speaking, Lillard launched an attack .

The No. 0 defender ran wildly like crazy, which was completely different from the slow rhythm of the previous round. Even Tony Allen can only follow behind Lillard to catch up.

Lillard overtook consecutively and shuttled through the crowd to the three-point line in the other half.

"Anxious young man." Hollins didn't feel nervous because of Lillard's breakthrough, because he knew that Allen, who followed closely, would definitely reward Lillard with a big risk.

Lillard glanced back, then jumped up for a layup. Tony Allen reacted quickly. When Lillard took off, he also jumped high, raised his arms, and shot towards the basketball.

Seeing that Tony Allen's palm was about to touch the basketball, the fans in the Rose Garden had already put their heads in their hands. However, in the next second, Lillard flicked his wrist, and the basketball flew out of the penalty area and came into An Jie's hands.

When playing a fast break, the defenders must focus on the fast-running perimeter players. It is generally difficult for center players to participate in the fast break. If the fast break is not completed after the center runs over, then the fast break is basically terminated.

So when An Jie, who just took a small step inside the three-pointer, received the ball, there was no one around him. Marc Gasol and Randolph both rushed inside to protect the rim, and everyone else watched their matchups.

An Jie received the ball without any hesitation and shot directly. This ball is the worst long-range two-pointer for "cost performance", because this kind of ball only needs to go out a little to be a three-pointer, and it is too difficult to be a two-pointer at this distance. The distance is too far.

People are wondering whether Anjie has such a long range. Although An Jie shoots well, in his 5-year career, he rarely hits such a long "mid-range shot". After all, this position is only one step closer to the three-point line.

Both Aldridge and Iguodala rushed inside immediately, ready to grab the rebound. The basketball first hit the basket and bounced. The people under the basket immediately began to fight hand-to-hand, fighting for positions.

But when the bouncing basketball fell, it fell directly into the net.

An Jie nodded triumphantly, and slowly backed away while maintaining the motion of pressing his wrist for the shot. It's just an open shot, nothing can be done!

"Sometimes I wonder if An Jie can shoot a three-pointer. This guy's touch is really soft, softer than some big shooters!" Zhang Weiping applauded An Jie's goal, what? Called an all-around center forward? Anjie is synonymous with an all-around center.

The successive setbacks in offense and defense made it impossible for Lionel Hollins to continue to deal with it easily. He roared loudly on the sidelines, signaling this attack, and the Grizzlies hit the ball inside.

In the first few offenses, Gasol's premise did not pull Angel out. This time, An Jie still stayed near the three-second zone.

Conley was hesitant, but Zach Randolph, the fat man, leaned on Anjie without fear and raised his hand for the ball.

Isn't it just Anjie? Randolph still doesn't believe that this Anjie can defend all his shots in the paint.

After getting the ball, Randolph, like before, immediately sat under the basket. But Anjie is not Aldridge, and Randolph's impact can't shake Anjie's defense at all.

"So strong?" Randolph felt his ass hurt, but Anjie remained motionless like a stone statue.

Since you can't be tough, Randolph will be soft! "Flexible and deadly fat" is referring to insiders like Randolph.

Randolph immediately turned around with the ball, and that skillful turn and footsteps are definitely the top in the league in Anjie's opinion. With this trick, Randolph can pass most of the insiders in this league, including his opponent Griffin in the last round.

But An Jie is not included in this "majority". He is at the top of the food chain among the insiders of this league!

Seeing that An Jie was thrown behind him, Randolph couldn't help smiling triumphantly. He immediately hooked a layup and scored over An Jie's head, which wasn't too difficult.

However, just as the basketball was released, Randolph felt a shadow cast over his head.

"Holy, ****!" Randolph yelled unconsciously, and the crisp sound rang in Randolph's ears. The basketball that was just rising was slapped out by a big hand!

"Not here, Zach. The three-second zone of the Rose Garden is no longer your territory." When Randolph, who was sweating profusely, landed, An Jie shook his head at the once unruly fat man.

"Here, I'm in control! Here, you are not allowed to shoot!" An Jie pointed to the paint area under his feet, Randolph swallowed, and he found himself unable to say a word... Search for "Apex Novels 208xs" on this site, or please remember the URL of this site: