The Way of the Center

"The Warriors' starting outside line is born for chaos! Stephen Jackson, Jamal Crawford who just transferred from New York, Monta Alice who returned from injury, the defensive pressure on the Thunder will undoubtedly continue to increase !"

15 to 14, the Thunder temporarily led by one point. The score was so high only halfway through the first quarter, and Jeff Van Gundy was furious off the court.

"Russell! Are you going to fight against the opponent again!?" Van Gundy yelled at Westbrook with a serious face. He tried his best on the offensive end, but he was careless on the defensive end. Westbrook made Jeff Van Gundy was quite dissatisfied.

Monta Ellis dribbles the ball toward the Thunder's half court again. Of course Westbrook heard Van Gundy's yelling, and he spread his arms, trying to restrain his offensive desire.

"Defend, defend." Westbrook kept reminding himself that he could no longer let this guy score easily!

Westbrook is fast, but Montaline is lightning fast too! There was no pick-and-roll, no cooperation, Alice still chose to go it alone after succeeding a few times!

"Alice's speed is very fast, Westbrook has been passed by him more than once today!"

Indeed, Westbrook was too eager to end the defense quickly in the previous few possessions, so that he could fight back on the offensive end. Therefore, after the front was broken, Westbrook simply broke the can and let Alice score easily.

But now, Van Gundy's criticism by name made Westbrook have to be vigilant.

"Huh, easy." Another breakthrough after shaking, Monta Alice thought that she could still succeed in throwing as easily as before.

Unexpectedly, just as he was about to make a shot, Westbrook just overtook from the side and got between Alice and the basket!

"Russell Westbrook was very active on defense this time! He stopped Monta Alice!"

Just as Alice was looking for her teammates in a hurry, Westbrook's hand had already been cut off. Alice was about to pass the ball to Stephen Jackson, who was slipping towards the baseline, but Westbrook cut the ball first, and he made a mistake!

"Westbrook's steal, Kyle Weaver has started, there is no defensive player in front of him!"

Kyle Weaver is just a second-round pick in the same class as Anjie. This guy with very mediocre basketball skills has excellent physical fitness.

If Westbrook represents the group of guards with the best physical fitness,

Then Kyle Weaver is an impact player who belongs to the second echelon.

Westbrook's pass went right through the court, and Kyle Weaver didn't hold the ball firmly on the first down, but it didn't stop him from hitting the basket at all.

"Dunk with both hands behind the back! A model of a sports player! After Damien Wilkins was injured, Weaver has gradually found the feeling of the game!" Wonderful dunk, no matter which channel's commentator, there is no doubt Words of praise were uttered. Four of the starting five are rookies, and three of them are freshmen. It is not easy for the Thunder to keep ahead with such a lineup.

Seeing that Westbrook finally made some achievements on the defensive end, Jeff Van Gundy was willing to relax his tight nerves and hoarse throat.

Immediately rewarded after hard work, this will undoubtedly make a person work harder next time! After Westbrook successfully completed a defense, his attitude immediately corrected a lot. Now starting from the No. 1 position, the Warriors have to face the iron wall arranged by Van Gundy!

Stephen Jackson broke through and scored the ball. He pretended to make a shot, but in fact he turned his wrist in the air and gave the ball to Jamal Crawford.

Crawford took advantage of the opportunity to squeeze away Weaver and entered the penalty area. He knew how good Anjie's defense was, so Crawford didn't plan to layup directly. He was going to complete a pull-up action!

He took off against An Jie, but withdrew his hands in the air, flew to the other side of the basket, and prepared to complete the attack with a backhand layup.

Everything went according to plan, Crawford's movements were beautifully stretched, and Warriors fans at Oracle Arena were ready to scream and cheer.

Just as Crawford was about to make a shot, he was suddenly knocked out by a huge force, and his thin body lost his center of gravity and fell out of the bottom line.

"Angie fouled! My God, he wasn't fooled by Crawford's action! It's a pity that this wasn't a clean block." When Crawford faced Anjie and took off, Anjie Jie felt that this guy could not be so stupid! Unless it is a guard like Kobe and Wade, it is possible to choose to directly attack the frame against An Jie. Jamal Crawford dared to do this, there must be fraud in it!

Thinking of this, An Jie didn't jump up. Sure enough, Crawford planned to use a pull-bar layup to avoid the block. It was indeed too late for Anjie to judge the timing of the block, but he would not let Crawford easily score under the basket. Even if there is a foul, Anjie must let Crawford know that the penalty area he is guarding is not allowed to break in at will!

"Damn it!" This was the first time Anjie was fouled on his back, and Crawford fell hard this time. Seeing An Jie's indifferent expression after hurting himself, Crawford was very upset. Although he made all two free throws afterwards, it was still difficult to relieve his hatred just by making free throws.

"You can't stop me!" Crawford, who suffered a loss, yelled at An Jie angrily. Although he has been wandering in various NBA teams, he had a single game when he played for the first two teams. The performance of scoring 50 points, after coming to the Warriors, he also scored 50 points in the game against the Bobcats.

Played for three teams and scored 50 points in all three teams. This is undoubtedly another great record. Crawford's provocation isn't about bragging, it's about his ability to do so.

"If you think you can do it, try it!" Unlike Crawford's ferocious expression, An Jie just smiled disapprovingly in the face of the provocation, as if he didn't take Crawford's harsh words seriously.

Although Anjie's defense allowed Crawford to score two points through free throws, Van Gundy nodded in satisfaction. The Thunder's defensive strength has been greatly improved now. As long as they can control the rhythm of the game, the Warriors, a group of chaotic masters, will be at a loss.

Roni Turiaf, although the story of the short and stocky center of the Warriors is inspirational, the disadvantage of physical condition is actually there.

To say that Anjie's parents brought him the greatest wealth is undoubtedly the height of 2.19 meters and the wingspan of 2.34 meters. The physical condition is something that Turiaf, who is 2 meters 08, cannot change no matter how hard he tries.

"The seemingly thin Anjie was initially thought to be his shortcoming in strength and confrontation, but Anjie broke this doubt with practical actions! Whether it is core strength or confrontation ability, there is no doubt that Anjie will not Get lost!" McBrin was one of those people who didn't like Anjie before. But now, he will admit without hesitation that he is a fan of An Jie!

When the Thunder's offensive rhythm was gradually brought under control and it became a positional battle again, Anjie's chances also increased.

Turiaf? This kind of guy can't pose a threat to An Jie now.

Back hits, turns, hooks, no extra moves, easy to score.

In the past, An Jie liked to use his footsteps to seek opportunities, but now when facing opponents weaker than himself, An Jie's offense is becoming more and more capable. There are no gorgeous movements, only extremely high efficiency.

"It's so easy to score steadily. In the last game, Anjie's shooting percentage and scoring were not ideal, but that was because Anjie was facing a big shark, and he played a full 42 minutes on the court! Don't get me wrong, An Jie's condition has never been a problem!"

Seeing that the initiative of the game is being taken by the Thunder a little bit, the head coach of the Warriors, Nelson, did not change his tactics. Running and bombing, chaotic battles, and a small lineup, only in this way can the Warriors play their own characteristics!

Stephen Jackson has a high release point, so he's usually able to score without completely getting rid of the defense. But Durant, who is tall and long, obviously made Jackson's advantage disappear. Once again, Jackson had no choice but to pass the ball abruptly after preparing to make a shot.

The ball returned to Monta Alice's hands. Since no one had any good chances, Alice could attack by herself without any scruples.

Share the ball? In Alice's eyes, sharing the ball is his teammate's job. His job is to attack the rim, attack the rim, and continue to attack the rim!

Turiaf came out to pick and roll, and Anjie had to keep up. Although this stocky center has little threat on the offensive end, it doesn't mean that Anjie can put Turiaf in the middle.

Alice got a little impatient, Turiaf's pick-and-roll was not in place, and he suddenly started it. His sudden failure to cooperate with the pick-and-roll not only did not have the effect of a surprise attack, but it greatly reduced the quality of the pick-and-roll.

Bypassing Turiaf's cover, Alice glanced at the three-second zone. Nick Collison is entangled with his teammate Kelana Azubuike at the moment, and Alice will naturally not let go of this scoring opportunity.

Even though Jamal Crawford had already run out of space, Alice chose to ignore it! He continued to accelerate, and indeed no one in front could stop him, but Alice didn't care about what was behind her.

"Damn it, I shouldn't have encouraged this guy to take more shots before the game! Now he is messing up!" Stephen Jackson saw Westbrook and An Jie chasing back in time, and he seemed to have guessed that Ai Liz's next fate.

Alice bursts to two steps inside the free throw line, ready to take off for a dunk. Unexpectedly, Westbrook posted it immediately, which greatly affected Alice's take-off height!

"No, unless there is a foul, Westbrook can't save this defense." The TV commentator shook his head. This first-year small guard is really disappointing, and frequently loses the chain at critical moments.

Indeed, there is only so much Westbrook can do. Unless there's a jump rush or a pull foul now, Westbrook won't have a third way to stop Alice from scoring directly.

But Westbrook can't stop it, and it doesn't mean the rest of the Thunder can't stop it either. Westbrook's all-out pursuit and defense slowed down Alice's bullet speed greatly, which just gave Anjie, who was not so fast, an excellent chance to block the shot!

Westbrook was ready to make a foul, but at this moment, there was a huge pressure behind him, and Angie's huge palm appeared above his head.

Seeing this situation, Westbrook quickly stopped, there was no need for him to foul, this time the defense was successful!

"Oh! God! Did you see that!? Anjie! It's him again! He completed a big chase through Westbrook!" The most pleasing shot on the defensive end is undoubtedly the block shot. An Jie slapped the basketball that Alice had just thrown with a movement almost like playing volleyball, and the ball hit the backboard and bounced hard. From this, it can be seen how much strength An Jie has used in this cover.

Two consecutive attacks in the three-second zone were blocked by An Jie. Under An Jie's defense, the area near the Thunder's basket became a veritable restricted area!

An Jie pointed two fingers at Crawford and Alice, indicating that he had successfully defended the penalty area twice.

Starting from Anjie's solid foundation, the Thunder's defense has become indestructible centered on Anjie!

Do you like chaotic attacks? What a coincidence, I love defending and blocking shots! Defensive pillar, Van Gundy undoubtedly gave Anjie a bigger role! (To be continued.)