The Way of the Center

In 2012, that was perhaps Westbrook's most impressive season. That year, Angie left Oklahoma. Also in the playoffs, Westbrook and Durant ran into Anjie who had just switched to Portland.

Under the strong combination of Westbrook and Durant, the Thunder was able to successfully defeat Anjie and Ricard, who cooperated for the first time in the NBA. That year, Westbrook led the Thunder to the finals, and that was the closest he came to the O'Brien Cup.

Six years later, in 2018, the bitter battle is still going on. The Thunder still have a combination of a super small forward and a super guard. Only this time, the victory seems to have been farther and farther away from Westbrook.

When Westbrook managed to score with a suicidal breakthrough, Westbrook got up from the ground and looked at the big screen at the scene, only to find that the Thunder were still 12 points behind the Blazers.

The No. 0 guard did not give up, but endured the pain and quickly returned to defense. The restricted area guarded by An Jie and Morris is indeed not so easy to be defeated. Westbrook pays dearly every time to score in the paint at Moda Center.

Where is Anthony? The Anthony guy has been completely lost by George and Iguodala's defensive turns. He performed well in the first half of the game, but he has completely collapsed in the second half. Throughout the second half, Anthony took the most twelve shots, but only hit three of them.

Although it wasn't Anthony's fault for being behind, it has to be admitted that Anthony's appallingly low shooting percentage was indeed one of the main reasons why the Thunder fell into a passive position.

Westbrook felt like he was back to last season. In the season Durant just left, Westbrook had to rely on himself for everything. Now, although Anthony is by his side. But Westbrook knows that if he wants to change his disadvantages, he still can only rely on himself.

The frustrated Anthony's mentality has been greatly affected. This not only frustrates his offense, but now even on the defensive end, he has become very impatient.

The only thing this once invincible "King of New York" wants to do now is to end the defense as soon as possible, and then prove himself in the next round of offense. So when George was holding the ball, Anthony rushed forward recklessly and prepared to steal.

Naturally, George would not waste this kind of opportunity that came to him. The young George saw the timing, and with just one step, he avoided Anthony's steal and successfully broke through.

Adams and Taj Gibson quickly shrunk to the basket, defending the basket to the death. However, George did not continue to go deep after breaking through Anthony, but suddenly stopped and shot.

Basketball hits the net with precision,

Westbrook felt another punch in his heart. The two points that I had just scored so hard were easily filled back by the Trail Blazers.

"Damn it! The ball!" The unwilling Anthony yelled at Adams who was about to serve the bottom line. This guy brought back his bad habits from New York.

"Calm down, Cameron, I'll control the ball!" Westbrook stepped forward and patted Anthony on the shoulder, and Anthony ran forward unwillingly.

"Oh? We saw that Westbrook and Cameron seemed to have some disputes over the ball. At this time, the Thunder must be united. Especially the two of them, there must be no cracks. "Everything that happened on the court did not escape Barkley's eyes. Anthony and Westbrook, two guys who need a lot of ball possessions, can coexist peacefully until now, which has made Barkley feel incredible.

In fact, Barkley's guess is quite different from the reality. Everything is fine between Anthony and Westbrook. But these two guys are really a little too anxious.

The team trailed by 14 points, but there were only 3 minutes and 48 seconds left in the game. Whoever it is, will be anxious.

After Westbrook held the ball beyond the three-point line, he deliberately suppressed his urge to go directly to the basket. If Anjie was at a disadvantage, he would definitely be very calm at this time.

Thinking of this, Westbrook began to direct the offense, but his good helper Anthony did not have such a good sense.

Anthony did not actively move, but stood still and raised his hands for the ball. His meaning is very simple, that is, to play singles with the ball and Iguodala!

It's not that Westbrook doesn't trust Anthony, but he knows that even if Iguodala is thrown away, there is still a good partner in Anjie waiting for him. Facing An Jie, Anthony, who had been blinded by impatience, did not have much chance of winning.

No way, Westbrook had to continue to do it alone. After he feinted left and right twice, he pulled up directly outside the three-point line and shot!

Napier didn't expect Westbrook to be so bold. He didn't react in time and didn't interfere with Westbrook too much, and he was able to hit this three-pointer again!

Westbrook, as before, did not celebrate, did not smile, and some just quickly turned and retreated.

Although Westbrook scored a three-pointer, Ricard was not worried at all. The Trail Blazers will not be defeated by one person alone, even if this person is the regular season MVP winner last season.

The point difference has been anxiously around ten points, Westbrook worked very hard, but the point difference has not narrowed. Whenever he worked hard to score a goal, the Blazers could easily re-score. And when his offense failed, the Trail Blazers were still able to score steadily.

In the last two minutes of the game, Anthony was directly replaced by Donovan. Now Anthony is not only useless on the offensive end, but has even become a burden on the defensive end.

Rather than let him squander opportunities on the court, it is better to let Robertson go up and try. at least. Robertson's defensive attitude is correct.

But now such a substitution can no longer allow Donovan to save the team. At the last minute, Anjie and George teamed up to play a 7-0 offensive mini-**, which completely shattered the hopes of the Oklahomans.

When Westbrook was also replaced, the kid stared blankly at the big screen. The difference of 18 points is a gap that Westbrook never thought of before.

After so many years, Westbrook, who used to always win against Anjie, is now so far behind his good brother?

"Hey, don't be discouraged, okay? It's just a game!" Donovan saw that Westbrook looked a little bit wrong, so he patted his favorite general on the shoulder when he was off the court.

Westbrook just nodded stiffly, then sat back on the bench without any other reaction. Maybe the 18-point difference is too big a blow for Westbrook.

He thought about losing, but never about being beaten like this by the Trail Blazers. Anjie and George's smooth offensive cooperation made Westbrook really envious.

You say, it would be nice if you damn guy hadn't left...  

"Beep~~~" The electronic buzzer sounded to represent the end of the game, and Catherine, who was watching the game at home, jumped up happily holding her son. In the first game of the Western Conference semifinals, An Jie led the team to a good start!

On the other side, Westbrook sighed and walked towards the player tunnel. In the first game of the Western Conference semifinals, I was in such a good state, but I lost so thoroughly. Although this guy knows that winning a game means nothing in the playoffs. He hasn't been eliminated yet, and the Thunder still have a chance to save the situation. But who is willing to be behind when facing the Trail Blazers?

"27 points, 15 rebounds and 5 blocked shots! Anjie once again delivered an all-round performance today! Wait and see the show, guys, the horrible No. 00 who ruled the league two years ago has been resurrected!" Anjie said to the basket The blockade really left an extremely deep impression on Kenny Smith. You know, he is facing Anthony and Westbrook. However, under such circumstances, he locked the entire restricted area in a daze!

If it weren't for Anthony's inability to score points inside, he wouldn't bite the bullet and float outside to shoot.

Another super strong team in the West was defeated by An Jie's iron fist. An Jie said that he would win the second three consecutive championships, but he never just talked about it.

1 to 0, with the lead, the Trail Blazers continued on the road. In this destined to be an extraordinary season, the pace of the Trail Blazers has not been stopped yet!

I'm sorry Russell, this time, it's my turn to win!