The Way of the Center - Chapter 788
On the basketball court, the Trail Blazers are now leading the away Detroit Pistons by 13 points. The Pistons head center Drummond, known as the “Shenzhen” by the fans, was completely suppressed by An Jie today.
But even so, the atmosphere in the Moda Center still has nothing to do with happiness. All the fans sighed and closed their faces.
Because a minute ago, Damien Lillard, who had just signed a billion-dollar contract, retired due to injury.
An Jie on the bench has long had no intention of fighting. Originally, Ricard used to run the lineup in the preseason, so the players who joined the team will play longer.
Who would have thought that Lillard was injured in such an irrelevant game.
It’s not uncommon in the NBA to have a star injured in the preseason that affects the team’s record. Anjie didn’t want this irrelevant game to delay the Blazers’ plan for the whole season.
Now Anjie doesn’t care about the situation on the court at all, he only hopes that Lillard’s injury will not be too serious.
When the game ended, the lineup composed of new players still won the final victory by 3 points. But at this moment, the outcome of the game is no longer important. Anjie and Ricard did not even attend the press conference after the game, so they hurried to the hospital.
Fortunately in misfortune, Lillard’s foot injury was not a major problem. After resting for more than ten days, he can return to the court vigorously.
However, Lillard will definitely be absent for the Blazers’ opener this season. There are indeed not many candidates for the first position on the Trail Blazers, and they are not strong enough. Pat Connaughton and Tim Fraser, the two little-known post-90s teenagers, are still unclear whether they can even gain a foothold in the NBA, let alone start in the NBA. Therefore, the absence of Lillard still has a great impact on the Trail Blazers.
The next few preseason games were still proceeding step by step, but the Trail Blazers did not continue to maintain their wins as they did in previous seasons.
Although the preseason wins and losses cannot explain any problems, everyone can see that the new players still have a way to go before they are fully integrated into this team and system.
Under the uneasy mood of the fans, October 27, 2015 finally arrived. Today is the day when the opening game of the new NBA season begins. The opponent of the Portland Trail Blazers is the New Orleans Pelicans who were heated up before the start of the season.
Anthony Davis, the star of the Pelicans, is considered to be one of the mvp candidates for this season, so the confrontation between him and the western “old master” Angel is particularly eye-catching.
Because of this, Adam Xiao Hua decided to put this group of duels in the three games of the opening match.
The regular season officially began. When fans saw the Trail Blazers starting roster today, they couldn’t help but feel a little worried. Because today Ricard’s lineup is likely to be the weakest starting lineup for the Trail Blazers in the past five years.
Lillard was injured, and the starting point guard for the Trail Blazers could only be topped by the young Allen Crabbe, and c.j. McCollum at the second position was just a rookie guard that many people had never heard of. Iguodala is getting older, and you can’t expect him to share the scoring responsibility for An Jie. As for the cameo starting power forward Meyers Leonard, he is just a young guy who has just passed his rookie period.
With such a lineup, Anjie stood in front of Anthony Davis and his Pelicans.
Although on paper, the strength of the Trail Blazers is indeed discounted compared to last season. But Anjie’s terrifying dominance will not weaken in the slightest.
With the first goal in the opening game, Anjie suddenly passed the ball after attracting double-teams inside, and assisted the team’s rookie C.J. McCollum to hit a three-pointer. McCollum received enthusiastic cheers from the entire Moda Center fans, which made him feel very happy and brought the relationship between him and the team one step closer.
Afterwards, it was Anjie who encountered a double-team, or Anjie passed the ball. Meyers Leonard, who has fully developed a three-pointer, got a shot at the bottom corner. An Jie did not miss the gap and delivered the ball steadily.
Leonard doesn’t want to mess up his starting battle, not to mention, the ball passed to him by An Jie, he must also cherish it!
In this way, with the knife up and down, Meyers Leonard scored the second goal of the game. The fans in the audience are cheering at the moment, this brand new Trail Blazers team, it seems that there is nothing wrong with it.
These two three-pointers allowed the Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry to give up double-teaming. And after the double team disappeared, An Jie became even more lawless on the inside.
Kendrick Perkins, the defensive defender who suffered constant injuries last season, is no longer the role that can defend Anjie alone.
Perhaps three or four years ago, Anjie would still feel strenuous because of Perkins’ defense. But now, Perkins is just another defeater in Anjie’s eyes.
An Jie showed his magical powers in the interior, even with a sudden shot and a buckle, to beat Anthony Davis and Perkins without fighting back.
In the end, An Jie also led the incomplete trailblazer and successfully won the game with a score of 94 to 112 and made a good start after the start of the new season.
Anjie scored 37 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists in this game, and C.J. McCollum, who scored 21 points, became a surprise for the entire Portland City. When Anjie lacked a helper, it was McCollum who stood up bravely and gave the opponent a fierce counterattack.
After winning the opening game, Portland fans seemed to have picked up their confidence in the past. After all, Anjie, the greatest player in the world, is still playing here.
In the next few days, the Trail Blazers continued to win. An Jie may be born with good leadership, under his leadership, this newly formed lineup was quickly softened together.
Although not very good-looking on paper, as long as it is a winning lineup, it is a good lineup!
Time flies quickly, and Damien Lillard has officially returned when the NBA new season has been played for a week.
People think that the Trailblazer, who has won three games and three wins, will be as invincible as last year after owning Lillard.
However, on the first day of Lillard’s comeback, the Trail Blazers lost.
In the first game, Lillard’s performance was not satisfactory. Lillard made only 3 of 15 shots and only scored 10 points and 4 assists. What’s even more sad is that at the end of the game, C.J. McCollum, the Blazers’ biggest dark horse of the season, had to withdraw from the game because of a sprained ankle.
Lillard had just recovered from his injury, but McCollum immediately lined up on the injured list.
With Hayward’s excellent performance, the Jazz eventually defeated the Portland Trail Blazers and became the first team to defeat the legend this season.
The season continues, and the Blazers have exposed more and more problems.
Although under the leadership of Anjie, this lineup will always play some highlights from time to time. But the decline in hard power has kept the Trail Blazers in trouble from time to time.
Whenever Angel and Lillard are off the field, the offense of the Trail Blazers tends to be Ricard’s biggest headache.
With good luck, Iguodala and Gerald Henderson were able to carry the banner and played well. But most of the time, the Blazers lacking Lillard and Anjie can only watch the opponent close or widen the score.
When the first month of the new season’s schedule was all played, the Blazers’ record was only 12 wins and 5 losses. Although this is still a good result, on a team like the Trail Blazers, I always feel a little unsatisfactory.
You know, the Trail Blazers lost only 8 games last season. In just the first month of this season, they have lost five of them.
A few days later, c.j. McCollum, who surprised the Trail Blazers fans, finally returned, but Ed Davis was injured again in training.
“It’s weird, because this season is like a cycle. People are always injured one after another. If someone recovers, someone falls.” Lillard said helplessly when interviewed by reporters.
Although Ed Davis is not a key point for the Trail Blazers, he is one of the only two power forwards the Trail Blazers have this season.
When he is injured, the rotation pressure of the Trail Blazers will become very huge. And Aminu, who was originally born as a power forward, is now playing at the third position, which makes Ricard a headache when it comes to the fourth position.
Angel and Lillard still continued their excellent performance, but the record of the Trail Blazers will never reach the height of the previous two seasons.
In the subsequent games, the Trail Blazers lost and lost, and the injuries within the team continued to cycle.
At the end of December, the day of the Christmas War. The Portland Trail Blazers, lacking Iguodala and Courtney Lee, face the full lineup of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Last season, the Thunder had an incomplete lineup and were rejected by the playoffs. A year later, the Blazers and Thunder switched positions.
Although the Trailblazers, currently ranked third in the Western Conference, are not so miserable that they will be rejected from the playoffs, their declining strength has been greatly reduced due to injuries. Now, Anjie can finally feel Westbrook’s mood last year.
In this game, Westbrook, Durant and Morris, the three former good brothers of Angel, are not soft. Westbrook and Durant scored 55 points together, and Morris also had 14 points and 13 rebounds.
For the Trail Blazers, Anjie’s 33 points and Lillard’s 18 points are the only two figures that have scored in double figures. C.J. McCollum, who had high hopes, played abnormally in this game and only scored 7 points. As for the rest of the Trail Blazers, they couldn’t hold up the scene in this kind of battle.
105 to 100, the Trail Blazers lost the Christmas game this season. This is also the first time Anjie has lost at Christmas since his career.
“We didn’t have any problems. Losing is normal. What we need to do is to adjust our state as soon as possible.” An Jie’s answer was tepid at the press conference after the game. But Wu Hua can clearly see that Anjie this season is much more exhausted than last season…
On January 16, 2016, the Trail Blazers successfully avenged the Jazz with a score of 99 to 85 in Salt Lake City. An Jie scored a large triple-double with 48 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists. This should have been a happy day.
But just like in the preseason, Portland fans still couldn’t laugh after the game. Because in this game, Damien Lillard was injured again in a breakthrough in the first quarter! If it weren’t for the lack of Lillard, Anjie wouldn’t have scored so many points alone.
Coincidentally, Iguodala just confirmed that he will return in the game the day after tomorrow, and Lillard fell. This cycle of repeated injuries continues to expand, and fans are worried about whether this circle will find An Jie one day.
February 6, the traditional Chinese New Year. Anjie, as always, sent red envelopes to every teammate. Only this year, many people are missing from the locker room.
With Aldridge joining the Spurs, they are now firmly ranked second in the Western Conference. The number one ranked first became the defeated Golden State Warriors of the Trail Blazers last year.
The Trail Blazers are currently ranked third in the West with a record of 40 wins and 11 losses, but the gap between them and the Spurs is getting bigger and bigger.
The only good news is that An Jie was not found in the injury cycle from beginning to end. On April 13, when the Trail Blazers defeated the Nuggets, and when the Trail Blazers’ last regular season ended this season, Anjie still did not fall. He was full attendance for the third consecutive season, playing all 82 games. This is almost unbelievable for An Jie, who has suffered serious knee injuries.
Fortunately, Anjie played all the games this season. Otherwise, the Blazers, who have been incomplete in the lineup, might not even be able to maintain their third position in the Western Conference.
On the same day, Angel’s once favorite star, Kobe Bryant, staged his retirement performance at the Staples Center. Although Anjie and Kobe met more as opponents, but I don’t know why, when he saw Kobe cut 60 and will leave the court forever, Anjie’s eyes would become ruddy.
After Kobe’s last game, Angel immediately called Kobe. On the other side of the phone, Kobe’s voice was very relaxed. Twenty years of professional career has turned Kobe into what he is now, but from now on, he can be free…
“Come on, Ann, I think only you can rule this league. You know, I think there is another regret in my career, that is, I failed to cooperate with you, a super center!” Bryant said, let Ann Jie was flattered.
“Don’t fudge me, I won’t go to the Lakers this summer. Hey buddy, in the future… often come out to play.”
“Don’t worry, I’m 40 years old, and I can still embarrass you!”
“Hahahaha, then you have to call me!”
Say goodbye to Kobe, and say goodbye to the regular season. But Anjie and the Trail Blazers still can’t stop.
Now after the regular season, Lillard and C.J. McCollum are very healthy. Only Iguodala could not catch the last train of the playoffs.
But for the Trail Blazers, this is already a blessing in misfortune. At least, they have scored in the first three points of the season.
In the end, the Trail Blazers secured their third place in the West with a record of 60 wins and 22 losses this season~www.mtlnovel.com~Angel averaged 29.8 points, 13.8 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game this season. It can be said that he has maintained a high standard as always.
But many people predict that Anjie’s continuous mvp winning record will be cut off. Because Stephen Curry, who led the Warriors to 73 wins, has booked the mvp trophy this season.
From the data point of view, Anjie may not be inferior to Curry. But the Warriors broke the Bulls’ record of 73 wins, which is much better than the Trail Blazers’ 60 wins this year.
Team record, this is also one of the important considerations in the mvp awards competition.
In a blink of an eye, another season is coming to an end. An Jie can’t believe that he and this group of “new” guys who joined the team have been fighting side by side for a whole season. Obviously, the days of creating a dynasty are still vivid, but now, I have once again set foot on the playoff stage to fight again.
As the career progresses, time flies faster and faster.
In the playoffs, the game will be more difficult for the current Trailblazer team. It belongs to An Jie’s era, perhaps, will soon be replaced…