The Way of the Center

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The game related to the promotion and promotion of the ranking has already entered the third quarter, and O'Neal's breathing became more and more heavy. Once upon a time, he would sweat profusely in order to defend a mere ninth position in the West.

The Thunder team, a young team that has come out of injuries and gradually improved its lineup, has brought unprecedented pressure to the Suns. Especially O'Neal, the 36-year-old O'Neal obviously couldn't keep up with Anjie's rhythm in back-to-back games.

The last time the two sides played against each other, the Suns scored 140 points, and O'Neal also showed his prowess in front of Anjie. However, after a few rounds of that kind of desperate running and bombing, both O'Neal and Nash clearly felt that there was a problem with their physical strength.

The 147-kilogram behemoth averaged 17 points and 8 rebounds per game with Solar Energy, which is already very remarkable. People say that this is simply a season of O'Neal's flashbacks. But under the fast game rhythm of the Suns, it is indeed difficult for the "big shark" to show a dominant performance in back-to-back games.

Anjie was in position inside and once again received the ball from Westbrook. He leaned on O'Neal and played back singles without fear!

O'Neill hurriedly adjusted his breathing. This Chinese, whose legs were not thicker than his arms, unexpectedly made himself very hard to beat. With relentless physical contact and all kinds of small moves, An Jie used all kinds of means to deal with O'Neill.

An Jie leaned back a few times. Although O'Neill has a huge advantage in tonnage, he still has to work hard to keep An Jie out of the penalty area.

Of course Anjie is not stupid. He doesn't expect to be able to shake a "mountain of meat" weighing 147 kilograms. His two back hits are just to disrupt O'Neal's defensive rhythm.

"Five seconds!" Jeff Van Gundy yelled from the sidelines, reminding Anjie of the remaining attack time.

Five seconds is enough to face the "big shark" who can no longer swim!

An Jie leaned on O'Neill's huge body and suddenly turned around and cut into the inside line. Naturally, O'Neill would not be confused by such a trick.

"Damn it! Damn it!" O'Neill's consciousness was still the same as it was at its peak, but his body couldn't compare to what it used to be. The brain can think, but the legs can't move. The nimble Anjie easily surpassed O'Neal by half a body, made a layup with a low hand, and scored the ball before the end of the attack time.

The time left for the Suns was only 2 seconds. After Nash caught the ball from the baseline, he threw it directly in the backcourt. The miracle did not happen, and the basketball thrown by Nash did not even touch the basket.

82 to 72, at the end of the third quarter, the Suns still lead by 10 points, but Phoenix fans and Suns players are very worried. Because after the three quarters, the Thunder's condition is getting better and better, while the Suns' fatigue is getting worse.

In the first quarter, the Thunder played a lot of blooming performances as soon as they came out, and Durant, who had just returned from injury, was also in a brave state. The exhausted Sun was completely unable to resist, and he was beaten into a mess at the beginning of the game.

In the second and third quarters, Nash slowly controlled the rhythm. Not only did he score points crazily, but he also helped the Suns hit the run and blast the storm again, overtaking the score. But the Thunder were not defeated because of this. They persisted in their style of play and did not speed up with the Suns.

The running and bombing in the two quarters has already exhausted Nash, O'Neal, Grant Hill and others. Stoudemire was absent due to injury, so they were worried whether they would be defeated by the strictly rotating Thunder in the fourth quarter.

In the last quarter, Gentry himself couldn't make up his mind whether to play position or run and bomb.

"We decide tactics according to the situation! After the opening, let's take a break and play positional battles with the Thunder!"

There are several rhythms and tactics in a game. Even a top point guard like Steve Nash finds it very difficult to execute.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Suns' performance highlighted the word "chaos". Some people want to run and bomb, and some people want to drop the ground, which makes Nash don't know what rhythm to use.

Before the Suns knew their footsteps repeatedly, the Thunder's counterattack came fiercely.

With 16 points and 6 rebounds, in just three quarters, Anjie scored such data on the head of the legendary center O'Neal. The Thunder's three young men reunited, and the shooting guard was replaced by Weaver with Sefoloza, who has a stronger comprehensive ability. The increase in outside firepower can help Anjie disperse a lot of defensive pressure. Whether it is to pass or attack, An Jie can complete the task with ease.

As soon as the Thunder's offense came over, Anjie controlled the ball with his back to the basket. O'Neill had to post it. It's been a long time since he was forced into such a mess by a center. Is this the difference between the age of 36 and the age of 20?

Durant, Westbrook, and Sefolosha all started to run, and Krstic moved to the mid-range position. The space Anjie gained was unprecedented!

An Jie has a lot of room, and so does the room for others to make a breakthrough. Kevin Durant's quick counter-run overwhelmed the aging Grant Hill, and he was thrown off by Durant again, allowing the No. 35, who had just returned from injury, to cut into the penalty area.

An Jie looked at Sefoloza, who was standing in the bottom corner, and made a pass, but the ball flew in the opposite direction, and a hit came to Durant who cut inside.

O'Neal, the only center, was attracted by Anjie, and the Suns' inside line could be said to be completely undefended.

Durant jumped with both feet, straightened his long arms, and smashed the buckle vigorously.

"Durant! There is no problem with his condition, and a small injury can't help him!"

"Anjie passed the ball beautifully, and he hit the east and the west. The young people are full of creativity!"

Everyone is praising the Thunder, as if the Thunder are also in the leading position now.

As for the Suns, "Brazilian Lightning" is undoubtedly the most suitable person for the run-and-gun tactics. After receiving the ball from the baseline, he directly ran across the court. Before the Thunder fell into a defensive position, he made a successful layup. .

But how many times can Barbossa use such an unexpected attack?

"Don't fight for offensive rebounds! I want you to return to the defense quickly after the shot, and don't give the Suns a chance to switch between offense and defense!" Jeff Van Gundy is not a fool. He can solve Barbosa's problem with just a timeout.

Under the dual constraints of physical strength and the Thunder's defensive strategy, the Suns can't run and shoot, what position? How can they be the Thunder's opponents.

As soon as O'Neill received the ball, Kyle Weaver immediately fouled him on purpose, hacking the shark tactics!

After the foul, Weaver was immediately replaced by Sefoloza, and Van Gundy replaced him, purely for fouling.

O'Neal has long been used to such tactics, and he walked to the free throw line depressed. Severe physical exhaustion made his already poor free throws even worse. He missed two free throws and Anjie got the rebound.

Time passed by every minute and every second, and the Suns were still struggling to support it by relying on the advantages established in front. Five minutes into the fourth quarter, when Van Gundy replaced the main force and took a break, the Thunder had tied the score at 88. In five full minutes, the Suns only scored 6 points. exceeded this figure.

The depth of the Thunder's bench is naturally not comparable to that of the Suns, but the tenacious style of the bench players did not allow the Suns to take much advantage. In the two and a half minutes when Jeff Van Gundy rested the main force, the score was not widened again. The Suns only led by three points during this period. Three points, for the Thunder in such a state, it is not at all gap.

"Kevin Durant! He hit a three-pointer as soon as he came on the court, and it was an assist from An Jie. This Oriental tower seems to be able to connect with everyone!" Durant and An Jie cordially clapped their hands. Although he didn't express it on the surface, Durant really likes Anjie, a foreign teammate, very much now.

After Stoudemire was injured, O'Neal is the only insider in the Suns team who can do it. In fact, Robin Lopez is very good. Anjie knows this, but the head coach just doesn't like to use it. He is a rookie. Gentry would rather let the tired O'Neal run back and forth on the court than choose to trust Robin. His current situation is very similar to that of Anjie when he played under Carlesimo at the beginning of the season.

"I can't stand it anymore." This was the first time O'Neill had such an idea in his mind. There were four minutes left in the game, and the two sides drew again, but O'Neill seemed to have seen the end.

The Suns played slower and more chaotically. The Thunder became more and more courageous as they fought, and the more they shot, the more they fired. The young Thunder had two days off before this game, and the old Sun had 18 hours off before this game. Now it's Gentry's turn to complain about the league's damn schedule.

"Durant scored 10 points in a row!"

"Ann dunks at the basket! The man who defends him is O'Neal!"

"Westbrook's desperate attack! If you enter, you will be punished!"

"Sefolosa made a three-pointer, and there it is! The referee awarded a two-pointer, and the ball stepped on the line, but this did not affect the momentum of the Thunder team to close the game."

In the last four minutes, the Suns players seemed to disappear from the commentators' mouths, and no one mentioned their names again.

Nash and Barbosa, the two shortest guys on the team, struggled to keep the Suns alive. But in the end, this hope did not come true.

At the beginning, the Suns devoted all their efforts to introduce O'Neal, largely to limit the Spurs' Duncan in the playoffs. Unfortunately, the current Suns are farther and farther away from the playoffs.

O'Neill stopped running, he crossed his hips and panted heavily, a drop of sweat accidentally flowed into his eyes.

I rubbed my eyes and opened them again. The score was still 106 to 95, and the time was still March 14, 2009. The Suns really lost, and he is really old.

Seeing the No. 16 center in the blue jersey surrounded by his teammates and laughing wantonly, O'Neal could only shake his head helplessly. Perhaps the inside dominance of the NBA has long since ceased to belong to him.

The Thunder chased hard for most of the season, and finally surpassed the Suns, ranking ninth in the Western Conference.

Sir Jerry Sloan, you must stabilize the situation. Otherwise, this blue and white lightning bolt will jump in front of you very soon! (To be continued.)