The Way of the Center

Catherine was walking in the mall with her son in her arms. Wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap, she didn't attract too many people's attention. Occasionally, one or two people who recognized her identity just smiled in surprise and did not step forward to disturb her.

At the juncture of the Western Conference finals, even if Anjie is in Portland, he doesn't have much time to spend with his family.

Training during the day and watching videos at night. Whenever he came home, he was exhausted. In the days without An Jie's company, Catherine and An Xiang certainly wouldn't just stay at home so boring every day, so today, seeing that the weather was fine, Catherine took her son out for a stroll.

In the huge shopping mall, Catherine has seen countless people wearing Trail Blazers jerseys. And most of them are wearing An Jie's number 00.

In the stores of sports brands, there are countless large promotional posters of the Western Conference finals. Anjie's Way of the Center series sneakers are still the mainstay of Nike stores in all places.

This city has been completely changed by Anjie. Even though Catherine is away from home, no matter where you go, you will find that this city is closely related to basketball.

Tired of walking, Catherine took An Xiang to a coffee shop to rest. Opposite the coffee shop's floor-to-ceiling windows, there was also a building that pierced into the sky. An Xiang looked around and suddenly stretched out his little hand.

"Look, it's Dad!" An Xiang shouted, pointing at the opposite building, and his voice naturally attracted the attention of the customers at the adjacent tables.

Catherine looked in the direction of An Xiang's finger, and there was a huge billboard in the center of the opposite building. Obviously, this billboard has just been replaced.

On the billboard is a half-length photo of the Trail Blazers' starting five. An Jie stood in the middle with a basketball in his arms, and the other four stood on both sides of An Jie with their arms crossed.

Underneath the billboard, white letters formed a simple but powerful sentence. "Defend your home field!"

There is no doubt that this is a billboard officially set up by the Trail Blazers to promote the Western Conference Finals Game 7. Defending the home court, this is the theme of the entire Portland city in recent days.

The most important home defense in the history of the Trail Blazers seems to make the city feel like it is really going to war.

"Tomorrow's father's competition, do you think he can win?" Seeing that everyone around her recognized her because of An Xiang's actions, Catherine simply took off her sunglasses.

"Father will definitely win, tomorrow they will be fighting at the Moda Center." An excited expression appeared on An Xiang's small face,

Catherine smiled and shook her head. Maybe this little guy will be more obsessed with the court than Anjie in the future...

※※※

"Switch, switch! Napier, your switching speed is not fast enough! Remember, you must be decisive. If you hesitate, the Warriors will have a chance!" In the Moda Center, the atmosphere became even more tense.

Although the tiebreaker will start tomorrow night, the Trail Blazers did not relax their training at all today. Now is not the time to rest. If tomorrow's game is lost, the Trail Blazers will rest for the whole summer with grievances.

"Again! Remember, switch defenses quickly and decisively! Tomorrow's game, any chance you give each other may change the entire game. This is a battle where every ball must be fought, gentlemen, every ball must be fought !" Ricard blew his whistle, and the players immediately started moving again.

On the court, most of the players were shirtless, and the exhausted George was one of them.

As one of the leading stars of this team, George's determination to win is as firm as Anjie. It can be said that besides Anjie, the hardest working person on the entire training ground is Paul George.

He has always followed Anjie, whether it is failure or victory, whether it is training or competition. He doesn't want to fall behind, because he hasn't forgotten that his dream is to become a great player like An Jie!

So even though he was exhausted, George still took training seriously. When facing Evan Turner's defense, he suddenly changed direction with a large arc in front of him, allowing himself to pass the defense cleanly.

"It's so fucking fast!" Divac couldn't help talking to himself, George's breakthrough, even if Leonard came, it might not be able to stop it.

After breaking through Turner, George faced the basket guarded by Anjie without fear. This guy knew that if he had a hard time with An Jie, he would only be blocked. So this guy held the ball with both hands, and stepped out with a wide arc of his feet. George avoided Anjie's defense with a European step with a great change in direction and made a successful layup.

But just as George landed, he suddenly lost his balance and fell to the ground. An Jie hurried up to help. At this time, no more accidents should happen.

"How is it? It's all right, man!" An Jie stretched out his hands and pulled George up.

"It's okay!" George waved his hand, but no one noticed that his expression was not very natural.

An ordinary fall, which is not surprising at all on the training ground. Basketball is a highly confrontational sport. Since it is highly confrontational, bumps and bumps cannot be avoided. An Jie is so big, he has to fall seven or eight times every time he trains.

George quickly continued to devote himself to training. He knew that no matter what, he had to persevere......

※※※

"Defense! Defense! Defense! Defense!" May 27, 2018, 9:30 p.m., Moda Center.

In the stands, the Blazers fans uniformly wearing dark red short-sleeves shouted neatly, making Curry even feel that the stadium under his feet was shaking.

Not just the players, but the fans know how important this game is to them. Therefore, they, who were unable to help the team on the court, used their own methods to play the role of the sixth man.

Curry called a pick-and-roll, and Draymond Green came out immediately. Morris clung to the stocky guy in front of him, for fear that he would be left open.

At this time, the tiebreaker has reached the last quarter. The score between the two sides is 85, and there are still four and a half minutes before the end of the game.

This game was as exciting as the fans expected. The two sides refused to give in to each other and played very fiercely. The Warriors want to break the spell that no one can win on the road in this series, while Anjie and the others are determined to defend the Moda Center to the death.

When Curry was about to break through the pick-and-roll, Napier quickly bypassed the pick-and-roll and re-posted it. After practicing the pick-and-roll defense for so long, Napier's improvement is very obvious. Although Curry still broke through, Napier has been interfering with him.

Seeing Curry go to the basket, Anjie immediately left Pachulia behind the basket. Even if Curry passes the ball to Pachulia now, Angie can go back quickly.

The fans were still yelling "defense" at the top of their lungs, and Curry still felt the whole court shaking. His eyes were fixed on the direction of the basket, but he passed the ball behind his head and broke through to score the ball!

The basketball was accurately passed to Durant who ran out of position, not because Curry had eyes in the back of his head, but because he knew the Warriors' tactics by heart. When and which player should be in what position, Curry knows clearly in his mind.

This kind of guy is often a huge threat on the court, because An Jie is also such a player.

Curry's no-look breakthrough made the commentators applaud, but Durant had just caught the ball and before he had time to shoot, he was entangled by Paul George.

Of course, Durant would not give up the offense because of George's defense. He took a feint with the ball and immediately put his shoulder on George's chest to force a breakthrough. Although Durant's figure is "bamboo pole" type, this guy is not afraid of physical confrontation at all.

Although George retreated again and again, he always stayed around Durant. If Durant wants to force a layup, it will be very difficult.

Sure enough, Durant wanted to use his wingspan advantage to directly attack the frame. Even if George is next to him, even if Anjie is under the basket at the moment, Durant still intends to do this.

Perhaps for others, doing so is undoubtedly asking for death. But for Durant, this is an opportunity to score!

Durant took a step, supported George with his right hand, and raised the basketball high with his left hand, preparing for a layup.

The lanky No. 35 stomped off the ground and leaped high. Anjie showed no sign of weakness. Although there was a George between him and Durant, he still had the opportunity to complete the block.

George is also ready to follow Durant to take off and continue to apply pressure. However, when his legs were exerting strength, George yelled, and then fell to the ground!

"Swipe." The basketball sent by Durant passed An Jie's fingertips and fell into the net.

An Jie ignored Durant's goal, but carefully looked at his feet, for fear of stepping on the fallen George when he landed.

George gritted his teeth and looked like he was fighting back the pain. Although his expression was very strong, An Jie still saw that this guy hugged his ankle with both hands.

"What's going on!?" An Jie knelt down on one knee and asked with concern.

"It's okay! Help me up!" George said, grabbing An Jie with one hand.

With an effort, An Jie pulled George up from the ground. However, what George himself did not expect was that his right foot could not touch the ground at all. As long as it hits the bottom, the ankle will hurt!

Seeing George limping on the field, Ricard's expression became tense. He originally thought it was just an ordinary fall, but looking at it now, it seems that things are not that simple!

The next second, Ricard saw An Jie waving at himself. That meaning... that meaning, is calling the team doctor!

"Damn it!" Ricard kicked the bench on the bench vigorously, and then followed the team doctor onto the pitch. He pushed through the crowd and walked to the middle, only to find that George's ankle was swollen beyond recognition.

"What's going on!?" Ricard squatted down and asked loudly.

"When I just took off, I seemed to be stepped on by someone. Two huge forces pulled my ankle suddenly. And..." George looked at Ricard, hesitating to speak.

"And what?"

"After I fell in training yesterday, I felt some discomfort in my ankle. It's just that I didn't want to give up today's game, so...so I didn't say it." George's ultra-high-speed change of direction in extreme fatigue yesterday, It has already caused his ankle to be slightly worn. And after being stepped on when he just took off, George's ankle completely broke out.

Ricard didn't know what to say, he didn't dare to curse God, otherwise this guy would have been swearing by now.

"How do you feel?" An Jie, who was supporting George, was also very nervous.

"I think it would be good to take a break." George wanted to play, he knew that the battle was not over yet.

"I'm afraid that's not the case, kid. Look at your ankle. If it's so swollen, I don't dare to say that you can continue playing after a break." But the words of the chief team doctor gave George, Anjie and Ricard The three of them poured cold water on them.

While everyone in the Trail Blazers was observing George's injury, the whole process of defending George's injury had begun on the big screen.

Just when George was defending Durant, he was about to jump, but was stepped on by Drummond Green beside him. The pull of two huge forces caused George's ankle to deform at an exaggerated angle.

No one knows if Draymond Green did it on purpose. An Jie would rather believe that this guy did it on purpose, otherwise, he would personally abolish him!

Green looked at the big screen and returned to defense, and spread his hands innocently. At that time, he just wanted to get stuck in the position for an offensive rebound. He never thought that his foot would step on George who was taking off.

But for a guy with "a lot of criminal records", who knows whether his innocence is true or not.

"I'll take him to the hospital for a comprehensive examination right now. I don't know if he can play the next game, but this tiebreaker..." The team doctor squatting on the ground looked up at Ricard and Anjie . "For the remaining four minutes of this tiebreaker, you can only rely on yourselves."

"No, sir. I can do it, I just need to rest!" When George heard this, he was more anxious than anyone present.

"Okay, George, don't worry. I promise you, I will make it to the finals!" Just as George was struggling, An Jie suddenly patted him on the shoulder.

"But......"

"Don't you still believe me?" Before George could finish speaking, An Jie took the right to speak. An Jie's confident smile always makes people believe his words.

With the support of the team doctor, George limped towards the player channel. In the stands of the Moda Center, the fans put their hands on their heads. After losing Lillard, they were about to lose George. Although I don't know how the injury is, what is certain is that this game will definitely not be played.

Now the Warriors still lead by two points, and the game will end in four minutes. George was injured at this time, and the blow to the Blazers is self-evident.

But An Jie, he didn't panic. This guy gathered everyone and stood in the middle and talked to them.

An Jie hasn't given up yet, An Jie doesn't intend to just fail like this. The game is not over yet, this damn war has not yet been decided!

"For George, for Damien, and for the championship, defend our home court!" An Jie shouted, causing the rest of the Trail Blazers to clenched their fists.

As long as the leader of the Trail Blazers has not given up, the Warriors will not get away with it.

The tallest flag in Portland is still standing.