The Way of the Center

LeBron James, this guy Anjie often saw on TV before, but he didn't expect that he could compete with such a person. [] But in the same way, James's strength is more terrifying than what you see on TV. Only after confronting him personally, will he understand the power of that guy.

He scored 38 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists in 43 minutes on the court. Even after playing for a long time, his shooting percentage is still as high as 58%! This is the strength of the hyped up future leader in the league. If it weren't because he was still young and hadn't won a championship, the prefix "future" could have been removed.

As the Thunder's number one offensive point in this campaign, Anjie scored 23 points and 10 rebounds, but only had 5 assists. The first is because Anjie has more autonomous attacks, so naturally there are fewer passes. The second is because Durant wasted too many opportunities, and several passes failed to turn into assists.

However, 5 assists, from the point of view of the center position, are not too few.

Like Yao Ming, James planned to invite An Jie to dinner the next day, but because of the intensive NBA schedule, An Jie had to refuse James’ kindness.

After playing the game with the Cavaliers on the 21st, the Thunder will fly to Atlanta non-stop the next day to prepare for the game against the Hawks the day after tomorrow, which is the 23rd.

After fighting against James, the three Thunder Juniors felt exhausted physically and mentally. At first they were tired, thinking about the long-distance attack the next day, and then the third day they would continue to play the game, and they felt even more tired in their hearts.

This is the life of a professional player. Behind those glorious stories, there are more training, flying, playing games, training, flying, playing games... Such a cycle continues, insisting on a full 82 games. If you are "fortunate" to enter the playoffs, congratulations, you have to give everything for the championship when others have already started to enjoy the vacation, and there is a high chance that you will not be rewarded for such hard work.

The next day, the Thunder departed from Oklahoma only after regular training, so when they arrived in Atlanta, it was already eight o'clock in the evening.

After getting off the plane and just stepping on the ground in Atlanta, Anjie felt that he was very uncomfortable even to breathe. No way, after all, Atlanta is located on the Appalachian Mountains 350 meters above sea level. As one of the three highest mountain cities in the United States, the thin air here has made Anjie not slow down for a while.

After completing all the procedures, the Thunder bus passed through downtown Atlanta in a low-key manner. When all the players checked into the allocated hotel rooms, the time had become ten o'clock in the evening.

An Jie lay down directly on the bed. He really didn't understand the energy of the players who went out to have fun after the game.

Even though An Jie came to Atlanta for the first time, and even though the night view of Atlanta outside the hotel was very charming, the tired An Jie didn't want to go out at all.

"Damn, it made me bring several sets of clothes. As a result, I didn't have time to wear them out and wander around." Westbrook, who lives in the same room with Anjie, took a lot of effort to pack his luggage. The zero guard The dressing taste is very unique and avant-garde, and is often the focus of reporters' cameras.

"Wash and sleep, Russell, do you really think the boss brought us to Atlanta for a trip?" An Jie is different. Two pieces of clothes and some daily necessities are almost all his luggage.

If Westbrook’s teammate was a guy like Michael Beasley at this time, maybe he would have been tempted to go out and fool around with Beasley. Fortunately, Westbrook has an open personality, while An Jie is relatively restrained, which allows them to form a good complement and mutual restraint. Seeing that Anjie was asleep, Westbrook had to stay in the hotel obediently.

But even so, the tired Thunder still couldn't find the state in the second day of the game.

Maybe it really took too much physical strength against the Cavaliers. Now on the court, the Thunder players feel that they can't make any progress. Due to Ricard's devil training, Anjie's physical strength in the NCAA is already top-notch. However, in the face of the intensive NBA schedule, An Jie knew how happy Ricard’s previous physical training intensity was.

Although it is a home game, the state of the Eagles playing back-to-back games is not much better. The offensive efficiency of the two teams is extremely low and the low-level errors have increased. People can't believe that this is an NBA-level confrontation.

The two teams are not comparing who can do better, but who can avoid being the worst. In the end, the young Thunder still "won" the battle for who is the worst.

There were 12 turnovers in the game. This data directly reflects the performance of the Thunder in this game. Jeff Van Gundy was so angry that he broke a brand-new tactical board. The strategy he came up with watching his sleepless night was not cracked by his opponents, but was so ruined by the players under Z. Which coach can stand it?

In the end, the Thunder lost their last road trip before Christmas 98-88. This is the first time the Thunder have swallowed the bitter fruit of a losing streak since Jeff Van Gundy took over the team.

"The team has gone from a five-game winning streak to a two-game losing streak now. What do you think caused the situation like this." At the press conference after the game, the reporters naturally would not spare the Thunder general.

"My boys and I don't know how to write the word rest anymore. If the league can shorten the regular season schedule, then our condition will definitely be much better." Jeff Van Gundy used the media as a weapon, once again Tucao the league's extremely unscientific schedule.

"You mean, as long as the Thunder are strong enough, you can beat the Eagles?" The reporter who is picky, there will be one or two in every press conference.

"I haven't said anything like that, it's what you said." In the face of such a reporter, Jeff Van Gundy's way of dealing with him is to be indifferent to him.

"Ann, you only scored 13 points and 7 rebounds in this game. Do you think your body can't keep up with the rhythm of the NBA schedule?"

"I just don't feel good, and the NBA schedule is not difficult for me." Even if he is lying, he can't admit that he is exhausted now.

Regardless of what the Thunder say, the newspapers the next day will inevitably question them. The essence of the weak team is fully exposed, and the four-game winning streak plus the five-game winning streak is just a glimpse. All kinds of headlines, all kinds of brain holes, Thunder players and coaches also throw these newspapers into all kinds of trash cans.

Although they lost the ball, all members of the Thunder knew that as long as they could get a chance to relax, they would definitely be able to play their true level in the next game. What the outside world likes to say, let them go. The thing that the Thunder love to do is to surprise everyone.

On the second day after the game, Christmas Eve arrived as scheduled. On this day, the NBA did not arrange any games, and all members of the Thunder team rarely got Christmas Eve and Christmas holidays for two consecutive days.

But today, the Chesapeake Energy Arena has been covered in snow, and the team is on vacation. Even Van Gundy temporarily put down his work and returned to his family, but Anjie was still wearing only a jersey and sweating in the training ground. .

I don’t stop practicing on days off. This is a habit that Anjie has developed during his college years~www.NovelMTL.com~Tomorrow’s Christmas. Under his arrangement, this year’s Christmas should be much more lively than last year, so tomorrow There was really no time to train, and An Jie could only finish tomorrow's share on Christmas Eve.

From noon wearing a down jacket and driving his car into the arena until now at eight o'clock in the evening, An Jie never left the training ground. In this cold winter, An Jie soaked four full jerseys with his sweat.

An Jie is too tired to speak. Chesapeake Energy Arena has security guards around the clock, so An Jie doesn’t have to worry about leaving too late.

He was lying on the physiotherapy bed in the dressing room, but of course, the physiotherapist had already left work, and An Jie stared at the white ceiling in the dressing room blankly, looking forward to Christmas Eve tomorrow.

"Father and mother should be on the plane by now? Let them play in the United States for a few more days this time, so as not to be exhausted in a hurry. Of course, there is that girl... the two places are separated. After so long, I can finally see you again tomorrow." Thinking of this, the tired An Jie smiled happily at the ceiling.

(Thank you for your rewards, monthly tickets and other support. I am really grateful. I have been working hard to save the manuscript these days. I will try to provide you with more updates in the next few days.) (To be continued.)