The way of the center

Chapter 382 Thunderbolt and Blazers Advance Together
"Nick Young is still fighting. No, the guy's luck is gone. With Jamal Crawford's interference, Nick Young's three-pointer missed. Marcus Camby Grabbed a defensive rebound, this is already the 9th rebound that the veteran has picked up today! The Clippers players did not foul Camby, they gave up, and the Clippers completely gave up the game! Let's Congratulations to the Portland Trail Blazers, congratulations to them for a good start to the playoffs!" 99 to 108, the Clippers struggled to the death, but still could not take away the victory from the Rose Garden.

As soon as Mike Brin finished speaking, the ESPN cameraman left the field and took pictures of the Clippers' bench.

There, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and Pooh DeNagello sat side by side, but the expressions on the faces of these four men were very depressed.

They all hate this feeling, the feeling that they can't do anything while watching the game is not over.This kind of experience of waiting for failure will not be good for anyone.

Jamal Crawford ran out of time holding the ball from beyond the arc, and the Clippers walked off the court with their heads down one by one.Of course, this did not include Nick Young, who performed well in this game.This guy who goes his own way, like Jamal Crawford, is a guy who cares about his own interests more than the interests of the team.

Maybe, Nick Young and Crawford didn't care about winning or losing because they haven't encountered the kind of team that he is willing to put his heart and soul into.But at least for now, the winning Crawford is not very happy, and the losing Nick Young is not too disappointed.

"It's over, Paul, let's go." De Nagro looked up at the big screen again. He hoped that this was just a nightmare, and as long as he kept looking at the bright place, he would wake up.

It's a pity that the numbers on the big screen will not change again. This is a nightmare that De Nagro will never wake up from.

Chris Paul put a towel on his head. He is unwilling to appear in the cameras of reporters now.He didn't want his relatives and friends to sell newspapers the next day, only to see that the entire page was such a downcast self.

In sharp contrast to the Clippers, it is the Blazers who have won.Even an "old man" like Marcus Camby embraced passionately with his teammates.It's a pleasure for players and fans to achieve such a smooth victory in the playoffs. Of course, this will not include the Los Angeles Clippers.

"29 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 blocks. Pay attention to the playoffs, Ann is back!" After the game, O'Neal also used his exaggerated expression and tone to remind the audience how beautiful Anjie's statistics are.

"Let's look at the performance of other stars in this game, Aldridge 19 points and 6 rebounds, Wesley Matthews 12 points, Jamal Crawford 11 points, the Clippers side, Chris .Paul only scored 14 points and had 4 turnovers. What about shooting percentage? Surprisingly only 41%! Yes, maybe for other guards, 41% shooting rate is also reasonable, But Paul is not that kind of guy. 41% shooting rate is obviously not enough for a core point guard like him! Jordan has 5 points, poor guy, what can I say? Gerry Finn scored a team-high 17 points, but with a shooting percentage of 45%, his performance can hardly be called good." O'Neill chattered and introduced a lot of players' games.

"What do these statistics show about Shaq?" Kenny Smith was at a loss. The players' statistics had just been shown on the big screen, and O'Neal had no reason to repeat them.

"What does this mean? It means that An is outstanding among this group of people!" O'Neal found that he, who used to hate his mouth, was attracted to An Jie just like Barkley.Facing other people, the two guys with big mouths would tease and even quarrel with the subject of discussion.But facing An Jie, it was difficult for these two big guys to say bad things.

"God Shaq, you and Charles must be crazy. I think our studio wall must be covered with posters of Ann. As long as there is a game where Ann appears, your mouth is so sweet that I feel panic " Kenny Smith acknowledged An Jie's strength, but considering his working environment, he still complained a few words in a joking manner in the live broadcast room.

But it can also be seen from this that An Jie's performance is indeed very good.If it weren't for that, the demanding O'Neill and Barkley wouldn't praise Anjie frequently.

"I knew that guy would keep up." In Oklahoma, Durant, Westbrook, Morris and Van Gundy and other Anjie's former teammates really got together and watched The entire game between the Trail Blazers and the Clippers.And Morris has long known that his former coaches and teammates cannot cope with the Clippers, who are ranked fifth in the West.

Perhaps the analysis from the outside world is correct. The reason why the Trail Blazers fell to fourth place in the Western Conference in the last month may have been deliberately arranged by Ricard!

Others may not know it, but Morris knows it very well.It's not like Ricard can't do this kind of thing.

"Don't worry, An will definitely pass the first round." Durant was not surprised by the Trail Blazers' victory. He knew An Jie's strength, so he also knew that the result of the game would have been like this.

"What if they pass the second round?" At this moment, Westbrook's unintentional question made the surroundings instantly quiet.

If both the Thunder and the Trail Blazers pass the second round at the same time, then these two teams will have to fight each other!

"Don't think too far, let's finish the first round first! Let's go, go back to rest, can we have a game tomorrow?" Jeff Van Gundy urged the players to leave quickly, and he closed the door in the office. television.

Although this bald man, who was in his second spring with the Thunder, didn't answer Westbrook's question, in his heart, why wasn't he worried about this kind of thing happening?
If they really meet the Blazers led by An Jie, they will definitely be a bad opponent!

Van Gundy now hopes that Anjie can achieve good results, but also hopes that Anjie can be eliminated earlier. He hopes that his former disciple can become a blockbuster, but he hopes that his team can go more smoothly.

The playoffs are different from the regular season and the March Madness of the NCAA. Winning a game can only mean that you are temporarily ahead, but it does not mean that you will have the last laugh.In history, there are even examples of a reversal after two games behind, so the current total score of 1 to 0 is not a reassuring advantage.

The Oklahoma City Thunder knew this, and they didn't let up on their first Game [-] victory.Durant and his teammates worked hard to beat the Nuggets again in their second home game in Oklahoma!
And the Oklahoma City Thunder are not the only ones who know this truth. Although Anjie and Ricard are famous for playing March Madness, these guys also have a good idea in the series.

"Let me tell you! The victory in the last game is nothing at all! You all know that in this game, the Clippers will only counterattack even harder! Don't say that your performance is worse than the previous game, it is that you performed as well as you did in the previous game." The last game is exactly the same, and it will be difficult for you to win again. Listen to me, I want you to perform better than the last game! The opponent has become stronger, and you can only win if you become stronger. It's defeated!" Ricard yelled seriously, making all the players have to raise their spirits.

After the game started, the Clippers' resistance was completely different from the previous game!If the Clippers, who have been participating in the playoffs for many years in the last game, have not adapted, then today, they have completely performed at the playoff level!

In the first quarter, Paul's assists and breakthroughs, Griffin's runs and dunks, and Randy Foye's precise shots all allowed the Clippers to push the Trail Blazers to death.

Even DeAndre Jordan's enthusiasm is very different from the previous game!This is also the first time for An Jie to feel how huge the defensive pressure is on him.

The Clippers have indeed fought a lot harder, and they seem to understand the truth that if they lose in the playoffs, they will go home.But basketball is not the kind of sport where you can win games by being aggressive.

In the second quarter, the Trail Blazers, who put more energy into defense, immediately beat the immature Griffin and DeAndre Jordan back to their original form!

Griffin can still score, but his scoring efficiency is definitely not the efficiency that an insider should have.DeAndre Jordan is still able to complete the occasional jaw-dropping alley-oop, but his scoring opportunities are only a few times.

In the first game, the Blazers' defense had already made the Clippers miserable.

Today, after Griffin, Paul and others stepped up their offensive, the Clippers were surprised to find that the Blazers' defensive strength could actually improve!
After Griffin and Jordan were seen dead, Paul also changed his organizational approach.He allocated more opportunities to Randy Foye and Caron Butler, but among the two, only Foye completed his mission.

At the end of halftime, the Clippers barely bit the score. 47 to 51, although the Blazers lead, but on the scene, they were forced to work very hard.

"Close defense, do you know what close defense means? Don't give an inch, I want you to stick to your opponents without giving an inch! Don't be afraid of their breakthroughs, Ann will solve this problem for you. What you have to do, Just make it difficult for your opponents to connect with the ball!" During the intermission, Ricard gave orders to his outside players to press closely and defend.

Why did you do this?It's very simple. With both Griffin and Jordan Jr. restricted, if the Clippers' No. [-] and No. [-] positions are also locked, then Paul will be isolated again!

Paul's scoring ability is indeed very strong, but what is more deadly about him is his steady organization and precise passing.If Paul is isolated, then his two greatest strengths will not be able to play.

So in the third quarter, the Clippers players discovered that the previous offensive routine was useless in front of the Blazers' defense.

Randy Foye and Caron Butler tried to break through under the defense of Matthews and Wallace, but Anjie's successful defenses made them give up this idea.

Now, the only person in the Clippers who can score is Paul again!

"Another turnover! In the last game, Chris Paul made a total of 4 turnovers, but today, this is his 5th turnover!" The tight defense not only caused Paul to be isolated, but also greatly Increased his passing difficulty.

Paul, who doesn't believe in evil, insisted on using mistakes again and again to prove how good the Trail Blazers' defense is.

In the third quarter, the Trail Blazers relied on defense to open the score again.De Nagro fell into despair again. George Ricard, a rookie coach, has so many bad ideas in his head!
In the fourth quarter, Paul still couldn't get rid of the cycle of poor performance.His number of turnovers is still increasing, and the score gap has not been filled.

Anjie also served as the core of the Trail Blazers in the last quarter, helping the team use tight defense and diversified offense to completely overturn Paul again!

88 to 105, the Clippers were originally ambitious, but lost all two away games in Portland's Rose Garden!

2 to 0, the Clippers must carry this huge burden, return to Los Angeles, and seek a way to survive.
(End of this chapter)