The Way of the Center

San Antonio is very lively in December, especially at night, when San Antonio's Riverwalk will be lit up with colorful Christmas lights. 120,000 light bulbs of different colors are dotted on the entire riverside, drawing the curtain for the grand Christmas festival, and the entire riverside walkway will run through the entire main city of San Antonio like a rainbow.

Not far from the bustling riverside promenade, a huge gymnasium only has a huge signboard named "att-center" emitting a faint blue light. This huge building is shrouded in darkness at night, and The colorful riverside walk looks out of place compared to it.

In the dark arena, a group of players wearing black training jerseys were shouting loudly on the training ground, and an old man with white hair kept reminding the players on the field of their running positions with a tactical board.

A big man in jersey No. 21 catches a pass from a guard and takes a shot 45 degrees to the left of the basket. The ball hits the backboard and obediently deflects into the net.

"Bonner, if you defend the center of the Thunder like this the day after tomorrow, he will definitely score 30 points on your head!" The white-haired old man dissatisfiedly criticized the big white man who had just defended No. 21.

"But boss, there are not many people in the league who can defend against Tim's jump shot." The big white man named Bonner spread his hands innocently.

"That's because their defense is not good enough, and you are the same, continue!" The white-haired old man blew his whistle, and the players started to run according to the arrangement.

The day after tomorrow, on December 15th, the San Antonio Spurs will host the Oklahoma City Thunder, which has won three consecutive victories. **Vichitch does not want the team to stumble against such an opponent. Everyone underestimates the performance in November The Thunder are in a mess, but **Vichitch does not dare to be sloppy with this team that is in the limelight.

After beating the Grizzlies on Dec. 11, the Thunder beat the Dallas Mavericks two days later. It is no coincidence that the Magic first, and then the Mavericks, defeated two powerful teams in a row. He didn't care what other people thought of the Thunder, but Vicki himself didn't dare to underestimate this team.

Looking at the data of the Mavericks players in that game, "German Chariot" Lowitzki scored a game-high 46 points on 17 of 30 shots! Jason Terry scored 28 points, the second-highest score in the game, on 13 of 21 shots. Looking at the data of these two people alone, perhaps people would never have thought that the Mavericks would lose.

But looking at the number of shots made by Lowitzki and Terry, this is probably the most abnormal part of the Mavericks. The Thunder's defense successfully restrained all the Mavericks players except these two. These two players can only say that they feel too hot, and the Thunder have nothing to do with it.

In addition to Lowitzki and Terry, the Mavericks' third-highest score is veteran Kidd's 6 points. When others couldn't score, most of the balls were handed over to these two people to play, so there was the abnormal scoring data above.

On the other hand, the Oklahoma City Thunder, which is considered to be an upset win, Durant 25 points, Westbrook 22 points, Anjie 19 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, compared to being forced to rely on two people to attack With the Mavericks, the Thunder's offense can be said to be blossoming. People are complaining that the Mavericks players are in a bad state in this game, but no one wants to admit that the Thunder's defense is really good.

**Vich knows that if he still treats the Thunder with the same vision as before, the Spurs will definitely pay a huge price.

For a team like the Spurs, the Thunder, which is the last in the league, will never allow failure. Therefore, in any case, Vicki must find a way to lead the Spurs to victory in the next game. It is also because of this that on this lively night, all members of the Spurs are still practicing tactical moves.

"Hey Tim, people say this is a confrontation between the old and new trio, do you think those kids are really that good?" In the locker room after the training, Tony Parker was talking with his teammates and close friends. , the team's star Tim Duncan joked.

"They all have potential. Maybe we will have a headache for them in the playoffs in a few years." The taciturn man answered leisurely.

"You are really optimistic about them. Now the media are looking for new talents to replace us every day, and they are not bothered." While speaking, the French queen

The guard had already changed and was waiting for the No. 21 big man to go home with him.

"When you get old, you have to accept the challenges of groups of young people. Even the old man is so caring. Then the Thunder team must not be an ordinary person. Come on Tony, you drive me." Duncan used the pocket on his clothes The hood covered his head, and just like the arena, Duncan's face was also shrouded in darkness under the cover of the hood, making his expression invisible.

Jeff Van Gundy didn't call the team for extra training at night like Vicky did. He was the only son sitting in the office alone, studying the Spurs' tactics tirelessly.

Van Gundy is definitely an out-and-out workaholic. His desk is messy, and there are food grease stains on various documents. Eat, drink, and sleep, Van Gundy can make it all happen in the arena.

"Dong dong dong." A knock on the door broke Van Gundy's contemplation. The office door was pushed open, and a tall yellow-skinned player walked in.

"Aren't you leaving, boss?" An Jie's extra training was over, and before he left, he decided to see if his coach had left, but it turned out that Van Gundy was still working.

Van Gundy glanced at the clock on the office wall, it was half past nine.

"You go first, Ann, is there any discomfort in your body?" Seeing that An Jie practiced for so long every day, Van Gundy asked with concern.

"No problem at all, then I'll go first, coach, you should rest earlier."

go to bed early? As long as no one disturbs, Van Gundy can completely forget the existence of time. What's more, it is to study the Spurs, and to study the system of Vivić, which makes people unable to find fault.

Early the next morning, Van Gundy, who hadn't slept all night, boarded a special plane with the players and headed for San Antonio. On the plane, Van Gundy finally closed his eyes and enjoyed the few breaks. An Jie looked at Van Gundy's dwindling hair and was also worried about his physical condition.

The Thunder are still on the plane, and the Spurs have some more time to practice. However, Vitch will definitely not train too hard today, after all, the three top cards in his team are all past the age when they have the most physical strength. Facing the impactful Thunder, Vicki didn't dare to waste any more physical strength of the players.

"Thunder?" On TNT TV, Charles Barkley received tomorrow's schedule, but TNT actually gave up the game between the Timberwolves and the Lakers, and instead chose the game between the Thunder and the Spurs for a national live broadcast.

"It's unbelievable? It's been more than a month since the season started, and we have never commented on the Thunder's game. But you know what? The Thunder have won three consecutive victories, and they also defeated the Suns, Magic and Mavericks!" Barkley's commentary partner Kenny Smith explained.

"The "three young men" of the Thunder have been compared with the "three old men" of the Spurs by the media for a long time. This game is full of gimmicks. The Thunder, which is gaining momentum, has been killed." TNT commented on another member of the trio, and Reggie Miller analyzed the reason why TNT chose to make this game a national live broadcast.

"My God, let the game between the top five teams in the league and the bottom five teams in the league be broadcast live across the United States. I still care more about tomorrow's football game. After all, I made a bet." Charles Barkley disapproved. He is not a serious commentator at all, and he seldom does that kind of homework before the game.

"Bet? Then, do you want to make a bet on this game? After all, the starting center of the Thunder is also Chinese." Kenny Smith smiled badly, and the scene where Charles kissed the ass of the donkey was already the most famous in the history of sports commentary. One of the classic lenses.

"Oh my God, don't mention the Chinese center to me. I'm scared when I see them now. The Chinese center of the Thunder must have saved up enough energy to surprise me on purpose. Don't worry Kenny, no one here will follow him." You bet, I won't bet anything on Chinese players." Barkley smiled and waved his hand, what does a donkey's butt smell like? He didn't want to recall it again.

"Thunder, except for that Durant, I'm really not familiar with the others. I hope the above decision is correct, otherwise the ratings will not be able to make up for the game." Reggie Miller expressed his own feelings. worry.

Whenever a newcomer feels

When they can beat the aging Spurs in one step, they will all be beaten by the Spurs. The "Little Emperor" James in 2007 was ruthlessly shattered by the Spurs, as well as the championship dreams of countless Clevelanders.

**The army-like disciplined team built by Vicki may be one of the most stable teams in the NBA. And the real core of this stable team is undoubtedly the man known as "Stone Buddha".

Anjie watched Duncan's game video over and over again in the hotel room. His height of 2.11 meters allowed him to play both positions of power forward and center. An Jie knew that he would inevitably face this No. 21 legend on the court.

On the road to the Thunder's three-game winning streak, the only strong insider Anjie encountered was Howard. Howard, who has lost his rhythm, is nothing more than that in An Jie's eyes. If it weren't for Howard's unlimited firepower, how could he score 20 points under Anjie's smart defense.

However, Duncan is indeed an iconic existence of the Spurs. Such an opponent, such an opponent whose simple style of play is called boring by countless people, is indeed more threatening than Howard, who is dunking hard.

After receiving the basketball from Tony Parker, Duncan made a shot. The collision between the basketball and the backboard made a muffled sound, but the basketball still wiped the backboard and entered the net accurately.

Receiving a pass from Tony Parker, Duncan did it again. An Jie is looking forward to the duel with Duncan, and Duncan is also well prepared, waiting for another challenger to appear on the stage.

Young and stable, lightning and stone, what kind of game will the collision between the two bring to the audience? (To be continued.)