The Way of the Center

"Ann, Ann! You scored 26 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in the first game of the finals. Do you have anything to say about that!?"

"With LeBron's 18 points and Dwyane's 11 points, do you think they're both completely limited by the Blazers' defense?"

"Coach George Ricard, can you tell us about your tactical thinking? How did you train the team during the closed training days?"

After the game, there was an uproar. The Cavaliers, who were originally the favorites to win, have "fleeed" from the scene in embarrassment. And the Trail Blazers, who were demoted to nothing by the media before the game, were surrounded by reporters who slapped themselves.

Those guys who said categorically that the championship belongs to the Cavaliers yesterday have become faithful believers of the Trail Blazers today.

An Jie originally wanted to rush back to the locker room, but he found that there were more and more reporters around him, and a dense row of microphones was raised high. If An Jie didn't say something, he might be stuck here all night.

"My triple-double is nothing, the team won, that's the most important thing." An Jie replied with a smile, and some reporters took the initiative to move out of the way. Sure enough, his way forward became a lot easier in an instant.

In this way, under the interviews and filming of countless media around the world, An Jie finally walked into the player tunnel. The tall No. 00 center let out a big breath, and the nerves that had been tense since before the start of the game finally relaxed.

As An Jie walked towards the locker room, he was thinking about what happened just now. Leading the Trail Blazers with an incomplete lineup to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers, all that happened just now actually happened.

Closed training, a $500,000 fine, and the previous efforts of Lillard and George... these are not in vain.

An Jie smiled and pushed open the locker room door. At this time, the rest of the Pioneering team were already waiting inside. As soon as An Jie came in, all the players rushed towards An Jie, hugging this guy tightly in the middle.

Sweat, hard work, exhaustion, and laughter all came together at the moment. What about Ricard? He didn't join in the wild celebrations of the players. This guy just leaned back on the chair calmly, the corners of his mouth still slightly raised.

In the past few days, Ricard has been under too much pressure. Punishment from the league, pressure from the boss's trust in him. If Rickard doesn't win, he'll become a pariah overnight.

Now, the burden on this guy has been relieved a little. During this rare vacuum,

Let the coach whose hair is graying unknowingly take a good breath...

Although the series needs to win four games to be considered a win, at least the Blazers let the world know. They are not so vulnerable!

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On the second day after the game, fans who were still unsatisfied began to discuss heatedly on the Internet. Some fans even watched the video over and over again to analyze the tactical changes of the Trail Blazers.

What about Anjie? An Jie was pushed to the altar again. After all, the last pure inside player who could score a triple-double in the finals dates back to Duncan in 2003. In other words, Anjie once again made his name as famous as a legend. Titles like "Future Hall of Famer" have been increasingly used by the public on An Jie.

At this moment, although the Trail Blazers reversed the whole situation, Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue didn't have the mind to pay attention to the news related to the Trail Blazers.

Rickard's closed training made Tyronn Lue make a lot of wrong judgments in the first game. Now, with the only game video, Tyronn Lue has entered the state of brainstorming . Every movement of the Trail Blazers players, every pick-and-roll off the ball, was recorded by Tyronn Lue.

"The boss doesn't seem to have come out since he went in this morning." Wade, who was sweating profusely, leaned close to James' ear, and pointed in the direction of Tyronn Lu's office and muttered.

At this time, the Cavaliers' one-day training has ended, and the tired players are dragging their bodies, preparing to go back to the hotel to take a good rest and make full preparations for the next day's game.

But when the number of people in the training ground became less and less, Tyronn Lue, who was studying the game video, still hadn't left the office door.

"I must be studying the game video of the Trail Blazers. The changes they made in those few days of closed training made all the plans made by that guy Lu useless. Now, Tyronn Lu must start from scratch. Next, come up with a brand new game plan." James is very clear about what Tyronn Lue is doing, although stars such as James are the protagonists in the Cavaliers, but why doesn't Tyronn Lue aspire to a championship?

The overhead lights on the training ground were turned off one by one by James before he left. Finally, the real leader of the Cavaliers looked at Tyronn Lu, who was still working with the door closed. I hope this guy can find a way to resist the enemy.

The team has fallen behind 1-0, and the pressure that was on the Trail Blazers at the beginning has now fallen on the shoulders of the Cavaliers. If the next game loses another away game at the Moda Center, the entire series will be quite difficult for the Cavaliers.

The last time James and Anjie met in the finals was the second time he was swept in the finals after Duncan. This kind of humiliation, James will definitely not stop there.

This is the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Cavaliers, will not be easily defeated.

At night, Tyronn Lue had watched the Trail Blazers video over and over ten times. The Trail Blazers' tactics were so subtle that Tyronn Lue had to give Ricard a thumbs up in his heart.

But no matter how good Ricard and his team are, Tyronn Lue must now come up with a feasible way to change the situation.

Now there are less than 24 hours until the second game of the finals. Before the tactical training at noon tomorrow, Tyronn Lue must take care of everything properly.

The guy rubbed his temples, although the Cavaliers' roster looked gorgeous. But under the tactical suppression of the Trail Blazers, he really doesn't have much advantage. The stars of the Cavaliers are all outside. Although Love is an inside player, his style of play is also biased towards guards.

"Defender!?" Tyronn Lu suddenly had a flash of inspiration, yes, since his team has so many powerful defenders, why can't they all be used?

Even if they keep inside players such as Tristan Thompson on the court, they can't contribute more to the Cavaliers' defense. That being the case, the Cavaliers might as well play a small lineup outright!

Small lineup, if the Cavaliers use a small lineup, it will definitely have a big impact on the Blazers' defensive system!

As if he had discovered a new continent, Tyronn Lu frantically began to simulate tactics in his mind. Defense, the Cavaliers can't defend Anjie. That being the case, it is better to give it a go and use a more violent attack to destroy the enemy!

Giving up on the inside and then using the huge advantage of the outside to deal with the Blazers, Tyronn Lue's decision changed the game of basketball again...

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An Jie received a pass from Iguodala to the inside near the three-second zone. When he received the ball, a very magical scene appeared again.

On the field, except for An Jie and Love, the other eight players from the two teams were all near the three-point line. In the entire area inside the three-point line, there are only Anjie and Love.

Facing Love's single defense, An Jie naturally played without any pressure. In this period, there is no doubt that An Jie is still at the peak of his personal ability. Generally, superstars at their peak are unsolvable. For example, Kobe, who was still able to score goals against the defense of two or three people, Wade, who was as fast as lightning and broke through like a knife, or the "big shark" who did whatever he wanted on the court. And the same is true for An Jie now.

An Jie just took a step back and hooked his hand directly. A simple offense brought two solid points to the Trail Blazers.

"This is already the 40th point that Ann has scored in this game! But we can clearly see that Ann is not very happy. Because at this moment, the Portland Trail Blazers are still 5 points behind the Cavaliers!" Mike Breen While lamenting An Jie's strong personal ability, he also had to admire Tyronn Lu's courage.

Give up the inside line to Anjie, and then try his best to defend the other four of the Trail Blazers. In this way, no matter how superb An Jie's passing is, it will be difficult to create opportunities for his teammates.

The Cavaliers only sent Love one inside, played James at the fourth position, and then sent Thomas Jr., Rose and Wade at the same time. Their attack power cannot be matched by An Jie alone.

At first, the rest of the Blazers were desperately looking for opportunities. But when the game progressed to the grueling period at the end of the fourth quarter, the situation simply became a situation where one person played against four people.

Today, the person who kept roaring on the sidelines changed from Tyronn Lue to Ricard. But no matter how much he yells, the Trail Blazers' overly "civilian" perimeter configuration still makes the Cavaliers' defense stuck to death.

Just as Anjie scored a goal, the Cavaliers immediately attacked. They just want to use this extremely fast rhythm to completely control the game.

James quickly broke through to attract the defense, and then made a precise point. Thomas Jr., who had been ambushing outside the three-point line for a long time, opened his hand and hit another three-pointer.

In an instant, the difference between the two sides became 8 points. At this moment, the end of the game is less than one and a half minutes away.

Tyronn Lue was ecstatic on the sidelines, who said that insiders win the world? Who said that basketball is still a game that cannot be separated from the inside? He wants to prove today that the closer he is to the basket, the closer he is to victory!

Anjie was still able to score inside, and the inside scoring ratio between the Blazers and Cavaliers became an exaggerated 23 to 55.

If you look at it from a conventional perspective, the Trail Blazers should be ahead by a lot when they have such a large inside scoring advantage. But the Cavaliers are the one leading at the moment.

Tyronn Lue's style of play did not conform to the conventional basketball rules, which overturned the unprepared Trail Blazers.

In the end, although An Jie scored a large double-double with 45 points and 16 rebounds, the Cavaliers, who scored in double figures with four players and scored more than 20 points with three players, still managed to recover after a big defeat.

The fans of the Trail Blazers have not been happy for a long time, and the total score of the finals has become a 1-1 tie.

Times are changing. The Trail Blazers playing old-school basketball and the Cavaliers playing modern basketball. The collision between the two teams is a collision between two different basketball concepts.

Is it the useless theory of the center that can gain a foothold, or the traditional one that can win the championship? The significance of this year's O'Brien Cup seems to have surpassed the championship itself.