The Way of the Center

What does a true team leader look like? Not only can he perform well on the court, he can also make his teammates around him better.

This is why even though the current Blazers team is full of stars, the absolute leader is still Anjie.

In this game, Anjie made Nurkic change dramatically. This smart big European man is a quick learner, all thanks to Anjie's conversation with him.

When Popovich found that the Spurs' breakthrough offense was no longer smooth, the halftime game was drawing to a close.

Nurkic's performance on the defensive end is very active. On the offensive end, this guy's big hands like suckers also made many wonderful passes, giving his teammates many opportunities.

The narrators all exclaimed, they all said that they seemed to see a young An Jie!

Look at that pass, look at that defense. Except that Nurkic is a little fatter and shorter, he is almost similar to Anjie in the Thunder period.

Only Jeff Van Gundy, who has personally coached Anjie, knows that there is still a big gap between Nurkic and Anjie when he was young. First of all, in terms of offense, Nurkic is not as comprehensive as Anjie. Secondly, on the defensive end, Nurkic's movement speed and ability to read the game are far behind.

But I have to admit that the European big man has done very well. As a core of the second team, he has passed.

In the last attack of the second quarter, Nurkic relied on David Lee's turn and hit a hook, which brought an end to the battle between the two sides in the first half. And after Nurkic scored, Anjie waved the towel excitedly.

What about the Spurs? From the coach Popovich to the two cores of Aldridge and Leonard, they are all drawn together.

Trailing the Trail Blazers by 5 points at halftime is indeed not something to be happy about. Popovich thought that the just-formed Trail Blazers might play very chaotically due to the lack of tacit understanding and the large number of stars.

However, the facts proved that An Jie and the others had already overcome the difficulty of tacit understanding. Even Nurkic in the second unit can be influenced and benefited from it, let alone Morris and Paul George.

"LaMarcus, you must be more aggressive in the second half of the game! Before, you were too hesitant. Parker fed you a lot of balls, and you passed them back directly! I know you want to seek better But under the entanglement of Morris, the kind of opportunities you crave are few and far between! Don't hesitate, just vote!" Popovich now knows that if he wants to win this damn opener, he Have to rely on Aldridge and Leonard.

Rudy Gay and Ginobili are good, but they are past the age when they can change the game. What's more, Nurkic is still halfway out. Therefore, he asked Aldridge, who played tepidly in the first half, to be more determined. As for Leonard, Popovich doesn't have to say much to him. The guy who was more silent than Aldridge knew what to do next!

Aldridge clenched his fists, he didn't want to lose in front of Anjie either. No matter what he said, he was also the number two figure in the Pioneer Dynasty!

In the second half of the game, it's time for the Spurs to show up!

The halftime time passed quickly, and amid the cheers of the fans at the ATT Center, the Spurs' starting five re-emerged.

An Jie looked at Aldridge across the way, and beckoned Morris to his side.

"Be careful, guy, LaMarcus, he's about to get tough." After working with Aldridge for so many years, Anjie only needs to look at the guy's eyes to know what he wants to do.

Morris nodded silently. Morris knew very well how powerful Aldridge's offense was. He didn't want to make a big mistake because of his arrogance.

Sure enough, at the beginning of the third quarter, Aldridge used a turnaround jumper from the mid-range to give the Spurs the lead.

In order to avoid a foul on this ball, Morris

He didn't dare to rush forward with all his strength. But he still blocked Aldridge's sight. He can guarantee that that guy Aldridge will definitely not be able to see the basket when he is shooting.

Even under this kind of defense that was almost sealed to the face, Aldridge still scored. For a guy like him who is good at shooting, just aiming at the basket is enough!

"Damn it." An Jie couldn't help cursing, if Aldridge really voted, let alone Morris, maybe even he himself might not be able to suppress him.

Although Aldridge scored an extremely beautiful goal on the offensive end, when the Blazers counterattacked, the Spurs didn't have much to do.

Lillard made a gesture to pass the ball, but after a feint, he broke through directly!

The "French sports car" Parker, who is no longer young, couldn't keep up with Lillard's footsteps. Lillard didn't hesitate. When he got the opportunity, he immediately stopped and shot a jumper. The basketball went into the net hollow, and the point difference continued.

This is the dilemma that the Spurs have to face now. The Trail Blazers have too many people who can score. From No. 1 to No. 5, no one is a fuel-efficient lamp. They worked so hard to score on the offensive end, but couldn't keep the results on the defensive end.

Morris? Indeed, Morris' autonomous offensive ability is indeed not good. But his superb off-the-ball pick-and-roll can help offensive teammates get a bigger gap. Offense is not necessarily only scoring, it is called offense. Is the off-ball pick-and-roll not part of the offense?

"Don't be discouraged, let's continue!" Popovich's roar sounded again. From the beginning of the game to the present, Popovich seems to have never stopped. He has been crossing the sidelines, and kept yelling.

What about Ricard? This guy is sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai now, but his expression is not so relaxed.

Inspired by Popovich, Aldridge, who received a pass from Parker, once again got a chance to single Morris.

Gasol pinned Ainger to the paint, and Leonard, Parker and Danny Green kept the rest of the Blazers at the three-point line. And the entire mid-range space is the battlefield for Aldridge and Morris.

Aldridge has particularly high requirements for the offensive environment. In the past, as long as the position was slightly out of Aldridge's habits, he would choose to pass back to Parker. This guy never seems to hit the ball that he is not sure about.

But sometimes, too much pursuit of stability will miss many opportunities. Sometimes, the core of the team just needs to convert an opportunity that is not an opportunity into an opportunity.

So today, Aldridge must fight. The meaning of Popovich's words is obvious, San Antonio Spurs, now you need Aldridge to stand up!

Aldridge took a deep breath, turned his head and glanced at the basket from the corner of his eye, and then began to push back.

Unsurprisingly, the strong Morris is like a bunch of "little meat mountains", allowing Aldridge to exert strength, he is completely unmoved.

An Jie let out a big breath, at least for the first time, Morris resisted.

Aldridge saw that he could not continue to get close to the basket. If he turned over and made a jump shot at this distance, it would be too difficult.

So this guy simply turned around to face the frame, and suddenly broke through! Morris didn't think of Aldridge's choice at first.

As mentioned earlier, prediction is a very important part of defense. And because Morris didn't expect Aldridge to break through, he didn't react in time.

Just when Aldridge broke through to the edge of the three-second zone, he suddenly stopped and took one, then turned around, and shot directly!

Morris chased too far due to inertia and had no time to react. Aldridge's shooting was as stable as ever, and the Spurs once again bit the score!

"Stinky boy, are you determined to fight till the end?" An Jie picked up the basketball on the ground, his heart tightened. The hardest part of this game finally came...

※※※

Anjie is very happy, although the game has entered the final stage and the Trail Blazers only lead by six points, but Anjie is still very happy. If this game is won so easily, it would be too boring.

"Ann, it's the last two and a half minutes. You and Morris switch defenses, and I want you to defend Aldridge yourself. Stretch that LaMarcus boy to death!" Ricard patted Anjie on the shoulder, An Jie made an "OK" gesture.

"Leave it to me, boss."

"George, it's time to score. Use the energy you had when you were in the Pacers. At the last moment, Ann is in charge of defense, and you are responsible for scoring for me!" Rickard turned his attention to Paul George again. , If such a super scorer is not used, it would be too wasteful.

Both coaches made perhaps the most important deployment of the night, with players from both sides back on the field.

Aldridge scored 10 points in the fourth quarter. No matter how hard Morris tried, he could not effectively contain Aldridge's offense.

Aldridge, who is in good form, should be the hope of the Spurs. However, when people found out that the person facing Aldridge at the moment was Anjie, everyone couldn't help but worry.

Anjie didn't stand behind Aldridge like Morris did. He moved quickly, circled in front of Aldridge, and defended around the front!

"Ann chooses to go around and defend Aldridge. He has his arms up high, and Parker has no chance of passing the ball!"

"Damn it!" Aldridge started to move immediately, he didn't want to be watched dead by An Jie. However, Anjie is always with him, he understands Aldridge's running habits, and he knows Aldridge's favorite position to receive the ball.

It can be said that Anjie has blocked all Aldridge's receiving routes. There is no way, Parker can only beckon Gasol to step forward to pick and roll, the plan must be changed!

In the end, Parker found Leonard who cut inside. But under Morris' active supplementary defense, Leonard's forced layup missed.

Anjie immediately threw away Aldridge, jumped high, and took off the defensive rebound.

Then, Angie skipped Lillard and gave the ball directly to Paul George!

In the past, as long as George played against Anjie, he would be extremely excited and perform very well.

Now, as Anjie's teammate, George's hard work is even stronger!

George received the basketball, did not slow down, and continued to advance at high speed!

He used a back dribble past Danny Green who was about to intercept himself in the middle. Facing Leonard's defense, George shook his upper body, and his subordinates made a quick change of direction, allowing him to overtake in an instant!

Immediately, it became clear to George that Parker was the only one left. Parker stands on both feet, trying to draw an offensive foul on George. But George adjusted his footsteps in time, dodged to the side, and made an easy layup from the side.

"Too fast, the Trail Blazers' offense is too fast. This may be the only team in the entire league that can control both fast and slow tempo!"

After George scored a goal, he and Anjie slammed into the chest in the air. Aldridge gritted his teeth when he saw this scene, he couldn't lose!

On the second ball, Aldridge finally caught the basketball after a lot of hard work. At the moment, he is in a 45-degree position near the three-second zone, which is Aldridge's favorite shooting spot!

Without hesitation, he turned around and shot a jumper after feinting a shot!

If Morris is defending Aldridge at this moment, Aldridge may score again. But Anjie's height and wingspan are not at the same level as Morris.

Just as Aldridge made a turnaround jump shot, he was slapped back vigorously by An Jie who knew him well!

Or Paul George, this guy picked up the basketball that was blown away. The Spurs immediately surrounded by two players, for fear that George would speed up.

But George did not choose to break through by himself. Today's team is completely different from the Pacers. George is not the only one who can score.

George passed the ball hard, and Lillard, who had already started, was the target of George's pass.

After receiving the ball, Lillard quickly went straight into the penalty area. Under Parker's pressure, Lillard passed the ball behind his head.

The basketball spun quickly and fell into An Jie's hands. Under the pull of Aldridge, Anjie forcibly took off and dunked!

The Trail Blazers not only scored two points, but also added penalties! After a wave of offense, the Trail Blazers instantly widened the point difference by 10 points! At this time, there is only one and a half minutes left before the end of the game!

Popovich looked at the No. 21 jersey hanging above the dome of the ATT Center. Unfortunately, you are no longer here. …

The gray-haired old man gently put down the tactical board. He must admit that this Portland Trail Blazers team is too strong...

At the same time, An Jie successfully made an extra penalty at the free throw line. This ordinary free throw made the entire ATT center silent.

One and a half minutes later, 11 points behind, the opponent is the mighty Portland Trail Blazers, the league's number one Anjie. But any fan who can accept the reality knows that the Spurs are powerless.

Anjie and his brand-new Trail Blazers took the Spurs, a traditional strong team, and this is just the beginning. The next thing that will be torn apart by the Trail Blazers is the entire league! 19689