The Way of the Center

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When other teams are still fighting to advance, the Trail Blazers and Heat have already ended the first round of the playoffs early and got more rest time than others.

In the East, after the introduction of Al Jefferson, the Bobcats got their wish and entered the playoffs for the second time in history. And the last time they entered the playoffs, it dates back to when Gerald Wallace led the team.

The seventh-ranked Bobcats in the East met the Heat, a super team, and naturally they were beaten helplessly. After four games, only one of the Bobcats controlled the point difference in single digits.

Although Wade said in an interview with reporters that the Bobcats are a good team, it is not like what everyone imagined when they heard the name Bobcats.

But anyone with a sense of taste can tell that "The Flash" is speaking politely. The Bobcats' record is placed in the West, and they can also rank tenth. After they entered the playoffs, the gap in strength was infinitely magnified.

It is precisely because of the encounter with the Bobcats that the Heat were able to easily advance with a total score of 4-0. The Heat and the Trail Blazers are also the only two teams that have swept and advanced in the first round.

The Big Three, who played tepidly in the regular season this season, once again became the darling of the media because they swept their opponents to advance. Of course, topics such as 00VS6, Anjie fighting James again, also raised its popularity again.

Some experts believe that the Trail Blazers, who won a terrifying 72 wins in the regular season, will undoubtedly defend their title this year. Some people also believe that James, who has failed once, will complete the Jedi counterattack and win the O'Brien Cup again.

No matter what the outside world says, no one can accurately guess the final result. After all, who can guarantee that the Trail Blazers and the Heat will definitely be able to reach the finals again?

Kobe Bryant, who was fired before, was against James, and Durant's revenge on James has never been realized.

So now, Ricard has not prematurely trained the team against the Heat. His focus is still on the Clippers and Rockets.

Although Anjie and the others advanced early, they didn't really relax. Ricard has never stopped training with high intensity every day.

As far as An Jie is concerned, he also has one more thing to worry about. The steak house named after Anjie and invested by Anjie himself will take advantage of the playoffs to open three restaurants in Portland.

Taking advantage of Catherine's presence, Moslav suggested that Anjie and his wife should attend the ribbon-cutting event at the same time.

Attract more customers to these stores.

At first, Anjie rejected Moslav's proposal without even thinking about it. Now during the playoffs, apart from taking care of Catherine and the child in her belly, the only thing An Jie hopes to do is to train well.

"I do not wish to be disturbed by commercial activity at this time, Mr. Meslav."

"It won't take up too much of your time Ann, at most three hours, and it will be over. And you have to get used to this kind of life. You are no longer the nobody you were back then, you are a superstar, a man with countless honors Superstar! Is there any superstar that wasn’t caught by business and basketball? How could Jordan have organized his teammates to gamble on the away plane? What’s more, you are a legitimate business. I can handle those small activities for you But this is your own property, if you don't even buy it, who will pay for it?" Moslav's words shook An Jie's heart.

"I also see that the Rockets and the Clippers can't tell the difference for a while, so I want to take this opportunity to let you solve this matter. In fact, the preparations for the steak house have been done a long time ago. At the beginning, I considered Now that you want to hit 72 wins, the opening plan has been postponed. Now that the playoffs have started, this matter can no longer be delayed. You and Catherine attended the ribbon-cutting event, so that people will recognize that this belongs to Your Anjie's property, not just a name."

"Huh..." An Jie sighed into the phone receiver, and Moslav was right. After a player becomes famous, he is destined not to just focus on basketball. This is also the reason why many geniuses fall after becoming famous. In addition to doing our best on the basketball court, how to correctly balance business and basketball is also a science. Only by doing these two things well at the same time can you be called a superstar.

Anyway, it's only three hours. It's a big deal. An Jie can go to practice for these three hours at night.

"Well, Mr. Meslav, I'll be there tomorrow, and so will Catherine. But you must promise me that it will be done within three hours."

"Two and a half hours, if it takes more than a minute, you will fire me." Moslav and Anjie joked.

"Fire you? Then who will help me make money." Anjie laughed cheerfully. When did Meslav disappoint him?

From the draft to winning the championship, this manager has followed him all the way. The tacit understanding and trust between the two are already extraordinary.

※※※

The next day, to An Jie's surprise, there was a dark crowd that surrounded the huge restaurant.

He didn't expect at the beginning that this ribbon-cutting event would attract so many people to watch, and when the restaurant opened, the crowd poured in.

From delivering a speech to opening the restaurant, Anjie and Catherine went through all the procedures in just one and a half hours. Moslav has shortened the entire ribbon-cutting ceremony as much as possible in order not to disturb Anjie's practice.

And when An Jie was still practicing at the training ground at night, Moslav called and said that the long queues outside all three branches had not dissipated until now.

This is the star effect, even if the steak has nothing to do with An Jie. But as long as they heard that An Jie opened the store, countless people would be attracted.

"I'll retire tomorrow and devote myself to making steaks." Looking at the exaggerated picture sent by Meslav, even An Jie himself couldn't believe it. It turns out that his influence in Portland has reached this level. It is said that the mayor's daughter specially reserved a place in the store tonight.

"Ann, let's start!" When An Jie was still chatting enthusiastically with Moslav, Ricard suddenly poked his head out of the office and called An Jie.

"Here we come! Let's not talk about it now, Mr. Moslav, please keep an eye on the restaurant." After An Jie finished speaking, he hung up the phone and trotted into the office.

The office is pitch black, and the 48-inch TV on the wall is the only light source in the room.

An Jie and Ricard sat in front of the TV, staring at the screen seriously.

"It's finally time to decide the winner. I'm almost rusted from waiting." An Jie's tone became serious. Whenever he mentioned something related to basketball, he would immediately become serious.

"Hello, audience friends, welcome to the tiebreaker between the Rockets and the Clippers!" Jeff Van Gundy's familiar voice rang into Anjie's ears, and Anjie was gearing up, as if he was on the basketball court right now. , while Jeff Van Gundy is calling the shots.

After the game started, the Rockets and Clippers played the same as the previous games. The game can be summed up in one word: anxiety.

Although Griffin and Paul worked very hard, Harden and Howard always returned the favor. The Rockets' eight-man rotation is a disadvantage, but it also ensures that everyone on the court has extremely strong combat effectiveness.

On the Clippers side, when Paul was off the court, Griffin actually had to shoulder the heavy responsibility of organizing the offense.

It can be said that both teams played extremely abnormally. It is precisely because both sides have fatal flaws that they have been unable to tell the winner.

The game has been anxious to the last moment, Griffin committed 6 fouls with 46 seconds left in the game. When the Clippers were in a hurry, they failed to hit several consecutive offenses.

On the Rockets side, "Tall, Rich and Handsome" Parsons and Harden made consecutive hits, tying the point difference.

With 17.8 seconds left in the game, the Rockets trailed only 102-104.

After the Clippers kicked off, Jeremy Lin, who was active, suddenly rushed out and snatched the basketball from Paul. The Rockets had a chance to equalize. Harden chose to shoot from outside the three-point line, but Paul rushed forward without any worries. As a result, when the whistle sounded, Harden got three free throw opportunities.

After Harden made three free throws steadily, the Rockets exceeded 105-104, leaving the Clippers with 6.4 seconds.

Paul took control of the final attack and forced his way to the basket, but was intercepted a second time. Harden gambled and poked Paul's basketball away, taking away the victory of the game. Clippers coach Rivers was very angry. He ran to the court and yelled, and went into a rage on the spot, but it was of no avail.

After the game, Chris Paul covered his head with his hands in pain. The Clippers fell short and ended the season with regret. And Paul's championship dream was once again shattered early.

Compared with being swept away by the Blazers last year, Paul was eliminated because of his own mistakes at the last moment of his fight this year, which made Paul feel overwhelmed with pain.

If I had handled the last two goals calmly, maybe the result would have been different?

But there is no possibility on the basketball court, only winning or losing. The NBA is so cruel, sometimes tens of seconds can deny your hard work for a whole year.

Chris Paul failed again. The scene of him walking into the player tunnel in a slump also had a great impact on An Jie in front of the TV.

During the match, he and Ricard were busy analyzing tactics. But when the game was over, An Jie suddenly felt pity for Paul.

An Jie couldn't imagine how much frustration Paul felt at this moment. I'm really lucky, otherwise An Jie really doesn't know if he can bear it like Paul who has been defeated repeatedly.

"Ann, don't think about those messes. Our opponent has already appeared. I haven't played the game for so long. I hope you haven't forgotten what you are here for!" Ricard naturally saw what An Jie was thinking. , he didn't want these messy things to affect An Jie's performance.

"Houston Rockets... This is exactly the opponent I want. Don't worry, boss, I'm here for the championship! Nobody or anything can stop me from accomplishing my goal!"

"Hmm..." An Jie replied firmly, which reassured Ricard a lot.

After a five-day break, the Blazers' opponents for the next round are finally revealed. The Houston Rockets, a team with deep roots in China, will once again appear in the eyes of Chinese fans.

The "Modern" combination suffered a lot of humiliation in the regular season, and their revenge against An Jie will also be fully launched in the playoffs!

The flames of battle will be rekindled in the City of Roses. Mobile phone users please browse and read for a better reading experience.