The Way of the Center

Moda Center, the most crowded place in Portland, is not very popular with Paul.

Chris Paul, as a top point guard in the league, fell in the Moda Center again and again in the playoffs. As long as Anjie is in front of him, the Western Conference Finals seems to be just a dream for Paul.

The Clippers' previous disastrous defeat at the Moda Center is still vivid and unbearable to look back on. This damn place, just walking in made Paul feel particularly depressed.

"What's wrong?" James Harden's voice broke Paul's thoughts. Paul looked back at his bearded teammate, smiled and shook his head.

"It's nothing, hehe. I just think, why are you here again?"

"This place is everyone's nightmare. But this year, we will change everything!" Harden's expression was very firm. Once, the Rockets also fell here. Once, he, James Harden, could only be buried with the Blazers.

But those are already in the past. The current Rockets team has become very different!

Harden, who is already very mature, is no longer the kid who can only score by cheating fouls, and Chris Paul is no longer the lone hero who can only stand up at the critical moment. The Rockets coach D'Antoni also brought his former running and bombing glory to Houston.

Although the Rockets' record in the regular season this season is only eighth, even the Blazers themselves dare not underestimate them.

The Rockets fell in the regular season rankings, and that was thanks to the damn injuries. But now the Rockets with a complete lineup are definitely not opponents that the Trail Blazers can easily beat.

"Let's go Chris, it's time to warm up!" Seeing that Paul's equipment was almost changed, Harden stood up from his seat and jumped twice.

"Let this damn place become history!" Paul clenched his fists and pushed open the door of the locker room. The other players of the Rockets filed out behind the two guards, Portland, here we come!

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Anjie looked at Harden and Paul who were warming up on the opposite side, and then looked back at Shabazz Napier, who was warming up nervously and had a thin body. Although Napier, the former NCAA Tournament MOP winner, did not play badly during Lillard's absence, Angie still couldn't help worrying about Napier when facing the menacing Paul and Harden.

"Hey, relax guys, there's nothing to be nervous about." An Jie walked behind Napier and pressed the shoulders of the post-90s young guard.

"Phew, don't be nervous, don't be nervous..." Napier took two deep breaths. Although he is not the team's main scoring point, he will not become the opponent's key target. But Napier knew that once he became a breakthrough for Harden and Paul's offense, it would be very detrimental to the team.

Although Napier has a tough style and is not afraid of physical confrontation, when facing two top defenders, Napier still doesn't know if he can do everything well. If the team got into trouble because of him, Napier would be quite guilty.

"It doesn't matter, we are watching behind you. As long as you do your best, you will be able to do it!" An Jie seemed to see through Napier's mind. After all, who didn't have any worries when they were young?

Napier smiled slightly. Although it was just a few simple conversations, Anjie made Napier bolder and more relaxed than before.

After adjusting Napier's mood, Anjie also devoted himself to warming up. It's been a long time since I felt the atmosphere of a big battle...

Before the start of the game, Zhou Qi, a Chinese player of the Rockets, stepped forward and hugged An Jie. Almost all the Chinese present cheered, and it was the first time in history that two Chinese players met in the playoffs.

When Zhou Qi returned to his own half, An Jie saw James Harden also cheering Zhou Qi up. It seems that the leaders of both sides hope that the young players in their teams will not be affected by nervousness.

Although Zhou Qi doesn't start the team like Napier,

But as a member of the rotation players, Zhou Qi's performance will also be directly linked to the result of the game.

After Harden finished speaking, Zhou Qi unconsciously cast his gaze on An Jie again. When training with the national team, Zhou Qi knew exactly how terrifying An Jie's strength was. He couldn't believe that he was about to compete with such a passing guy in the NBA playoffs.

An Jie could tell that Zhou Qi wasn't completely relaxed. So, under the eyes of fans all over the world, An Jie gave a thumbs up to the tall, youthful yellow-skinned guy on the Rockets bench.

"This is really a rare scene on the basketball court. The head star of one team gives the thumbs up to the players of another team. But in the NBA where there are few Chinese people, Ann is also doing this It makes sense." Jeff Van Gundy liked An Jie's general demeanor very much, and he had to ask Wu Hua to take a photo of him for his collection just now when An Jie raised his thumbs up.

"Now I am also very much looking forward to Zhou Qi's performance. In the regular season, Zhou Qi has played a bright moment. Although it is only an occasional flash in the pan, who can guarantee that this Chinese will not shine in the playoffs. What? After all, the playoffs itself is a stage to breed stars!" After learning from An Jie's past, Mike Breen is also full of expectations for Zhou Qi, who is also from China.

Although Zhou Qi can't be compared with An Jie in his rookie period at all, who can say clearly what will happen in the future?

All these preparations have made the fans' expectations for this game reach their peak.

When Anjie and Rockets starting center Clint Capela stood in the middle circle, the cheers from the fans in the Moda Center reached their peak.

Capela looked at An Jie calmly. This strong center from Switzerland was much calmer than Zhou Qi.

However, in front of Anjie who is 2.19 meters tall, Capela, who is only 2.08 meters tall, looks so "small". Sure enough, just as the referee threw the ball, Anjie patted it into Napier's hands. In the jump ball stage, Capela had no chance at all!

Just after halftime after Napier received the ball, he ran into Chris Paul who came to pester him. Paul's defense is inseparable, even if he is not facing a top guard like Lillard, Paul is unequivocal.

Napier did not expect that Paul would take such "careful care" of him. In order to keep the ball from being taken away by Paul, Napier had already spent all his energy.

Paul's fast hand will suddenly stick out at some point. Napier had to concentrate on dribbling to keep the ball from being lost.

"Iguodala ran out of space! Hey, Napier didn't notice this, he was still dribbling with his head buried. Chris Paul put a lot of pressure on Napier. From the beginning, the Rockets planned to lock Damn the Blazers' offense!" Seeing Napier miss another chance, even Jeff Van Gundy was sweating for the Blazers. If the Trail Blazers' offense starts to disintegrate from the first position, then they will be in big trouble!

Paul’s desperate entanglement forced Napier to give up the ball. When Paul George received the basketball hand-to-hand from beyond the three-point line, the Trail Blazers’ tactics were completely disrupted and could not continue to execute up.

There was no way, George beckoned, and in the last ten seconds, he was the only single player!

"Starting the singles, James Harden personally defended Paul George! George's crotch changed direction directly! Harden's reaction was very quick, and he blocked George's offensive line!" After years of experience, Harden's Defense is no longer the state of "eye defense" back then.

Although you can't expect Harden to suddenly become a perimeter defensive gate, at least for now, it will not be so easy for George to pass the test.

Seeing that he didn't pass Harden for the first time, George immediately planned to make a second breakthrough.

George took a step back, putting a little distance between Harden and him, and then suddenly sped up and stabbed to Harden's right.

George had just wiped Harden, and before he had time to be happy, he bumped into Ariza.

"Tvor's supplementary defense was very timely! He boldly dropped Iguodala, but successfully stopped Paul George!"

With little clock left on the shot, George now has only two options. Either force a shot under double-teaming, or pass the ball reluctantly, giving your teammates a last-second chance to make a shot.

George glanced directly in front of him and immediately decided to choose the second way of handling the ball.

I saw George pass a pass under the tight double-teaming of Harden and Ariza, and the basketball flew to the inside.

The pass was so high that Anjie had to jump high and stretch his arms as far as possible to barely get the ball down.

When Anjie received the basketball, there was only one second left in the 24-second shot clock. If An waited until he hit the ground before attacking the frame, it might be too late!

So An Jie, who received the pass from George with his back to the basket, forcibly turned around in the air with his waist and abdomen strength.

An Jie's body was immediately twisted into a "twist", the lower body was still facing backwards, but the upper body was twisted towards the basket.

It was under such circumstances that An Jie made a shot. All of this added up in less than a second.

However, Anjie threw the ball in this unimaginable way. This is undoubtedly a wonderful goal, but at this time, no one will cheer for this goal.

"It was a close call. The Rockets almost defended for 24 seconds! Although it must have been a blow to morale at the last moment to be scored by Anjie in such an unconventional way, the Rockets' defense at least gave people hope! They are on the right path!"

"Don't hesitate next time, pass it faster!" An Jie reminded Napier loudly when retreating. It's good to score that goal just now, but it's impossible for the Trail Blazers to rely on that incredible goal to score points every time.

Napier nodded after hearing what An Jie said, and wiped the sweat from his forehead. It was only the first round, and he was sweating profusely from Chris Paul's pressing.

After returning to his own half, before he had time to catch his breath, Napier found that Paul controlled the ball and rushed across the half at an extremely fast speed and rhythm. I almost forgot, the current Rockets are a fast-paced team that runs and bombs!

Napier had to throw himself into defending Paul right away, even before the guy could breathe.

Paul did not break through Napier, who was full of flaws, but suddenly braked outside the three-point line!

After that, Paul made a strong pass, and the basketball flew across half of the court and flew into the hands of Harden who ran to the bottom corner at some point.

At this moment, George has been stopped by Ryan Anderson's pick-and-roll. What Harden got was a chance to get close to an open shot! This is the benefit brought by Chris Paul after joining the Rockets. As long as Harden can run out of the gap, Paul's pass can be delivered in time no matter where he is. This was absolutely impossible for Beverly and others before.

The bearded guard didn't hesitate after receiving the basketball. He must destroy the nightmare of the Moda Center with his own hands!

Bending knees, jumping, shooting, shooting, fingering... Harden's shooting movements are done in one go, without sloppiness.

And the orange basketball fell into the net under the attention of everyone present!

"Three-pointer hit, the Rockets overtook the score! This attack, the Rockets only took less than seven seconds to successfully score! For the Blazers, the relatively fast offensive and defensive rhythm will definitely become a huge challenge!" Mike Brin excitedly analyzed the situation on the court to the fans. This game, which is destined to be exciting, is really getting more and more interesting......

Harden gave Paul a friendly high-five after scoring a goal, and when the two guys, both disaffected by the Moda Center, teamed up, Angie had to be careful.

Paul and Harden, the gorgeous guard line of the Rockets, there are countless other possibilities. What An Jie saw now was just the tip of the iceberg.

Such a Houston Rockets seems to be really different. If you want to defeat them, I'm afraid it won't be as easy as before.