Chapter 664: Battle Upgrade
Just as Angel and Ricard were worried, Stephen Curry, the No. 30 defender who just finished the finale here a month ago, performed very perfectly today.
His performance outside the three-point line is as outstanding as ever, and the success rate of this guy after the breakthrough has far exceeded An Jie's expectations.
Others on the Warriors, especially those on the substitute, are indeed limited in their abilities. But Stephen Curry has pushed the Warriors up several levels.
"Double-teaming, we must double-teaming Curry in the second quarter! Others can put them in a few shots first, but Curry must not let him get points like this!" Ricard nervously wrote and painted on the tactical board, and Anjie also knew that there was another powerful opponent in his career.
Yes, think about it, Wade, James, Anthony, Duncan, Kobe... these names are no longer young. It is time that a few fresh blood should be pouring out and gradually taking over this alliance.
Stephen Curry, at least he has received superstar treatment here in Ricard.
In the tense situation, the break between the festival always passes quickly. The Warriors, who were unavailable on the bench, brought all the starters, while on the Trail Blazers, Robin Lopez and Miller, Old Miller, mixed into the starters.
Even though Stephen Curry had just played almost a full quarter, now, this guy still looks great.
Anjie didn't know if Curry would be dragged down by his physical strength in the end, but he knew that if Curry could not be curbed, the only one who was dragged down in the end might be the Trail Blazers himself!
So the Warriors and Curry came again. After Harrison Barnes played the pick-and-roll for Curry, Iguodala and Lillard both rushed towards the No. 30, ignoring Barnes, the rookie.
Indeed, Barnes' shooting stability was very poor. Letting him go to block Curry seemed a very wise choice.
Just when everyone thought Curry, who was forced into a desperate situation, would throw the ball to Barnes, he passed the basketball in the opposite direction.
Following the orange-red afterimage, Klay Thompson stood outside the 45° three-point line on the right, and he was in an open position!
"Repair the defense, make up the defense!" Anjie's roar covered the entire half. Barnes and Curry's pick-and-roll were just bait. Without anyone paying attention, Thompson had borrowed the pick-and-roll without the ball and reached the outside of the three-point line.
Like Curry, Klay Thompson has both average physical fitness and prefers defenders who have shot better than breakthroughs. Such guards are not very popular now, but the Warriors have relied on these two unmainstream guards to achieve good results.
Although his performance is often not as explosive as Curry, Thompson is also an indispensable part of the Warriors' ability to get this result.
Thompson, who was in the third grade this season, averaged 18.4 points per game, which is enough to show his strength. He and Curry did not suddenly rise. It can only be said that before this, people knew too little about the Warriors team.
Thompson's shot was not as fast as Curry, but Anger could tell that this guy's shooting was quite steady.
After the basketball took action, Matthews blocked it like a broken seal. However, this could no longer change the fact that the Blazers failed to defend this time. The basketball was hollowed out and the Warriors scored another three-pointer!
"Klay Thompson's performance outside the three-point line is also very good, but he has a better Curry around him! It seems that Coach Ricard's double-teaming tactic does not seem to be very successful." Seeing that the Warriors' second scoring point had already been opened, Bill Walton couldn't help but worry about the Trail Blazers.
Ricard cursed on the sidelines that if Thompson and Curry both made the balls today, just like a month ago, the game would be quite tricky.
The second quarter was hit at the beginning of the game, which was something that the Trail Blazers fans did not expect. Now, it depends on whether the Trail Blazers can win a game on the offensive end.
Old Miller discovered that although Curry was not as fast and strong as the opponents he had met before, Miller thought Curry was more dangerous than those fast and strong guys.
From the eyes, you can see that Curry is very cunning and smart. Old Miller dares not slacken. He is afraid that once he relaxes, Curry will seize the opportunity to complete the steal.
Curry did think so in his mind, but the cautiousness of the veteran in front of him made Curry invincible.
Miller was so terrified that he controlled the ball outside the three-point line. He looked up and the first person he was looking for was An Jie. However, this time, An Jie failed to get to the position in time.
Go around and get in position. Bogut grabbed Anjie's jersey and went around and defended again. Anjie threw away Bogut's arm, then went in front and get in position.
The hand-to-hand war between center players often begins before receiving the ball. Bogut, who received the command of Mark Jackson, was not afraid of his excessive moves. As long as the referee didn't brag, he would entangle Anjie throughout the game!
In the first quarter, the Australians suffered humiliation. From now on, Bogut plans to give back everything doubled!
An Jie suppressed the anger in his heart. He knew that if he fought back at this time, Bogut would definitely fall to the ground. Then he would be called an offensive foul, but it would be worth the loss.
However, it is not a solution to continue the attack like this. An Jie blinked at Old Miller and asked him to change his second offensive tactics.
Miller understood it and waved to Aldridge to pick and roll it up for him. Bogut suddenly felt a sense of joy of victory. His desperate entanglement really made Anjie give up the attack!
Just as Old Miller borrowed Aldridge's pick-and-roll breakthrough, Anger suddenly threw away Bogut and ran away, pointing his finger to the sky, signaling Miller to pass the ball.
Miller did not hesitate and threw the ball high. He knew what Anjie's finger pointed to the sky meant, which meant that Anjie called an air relay pass!
At the moment when Anjie got rid of Bogut, there was no obstacle between Anjie and the basket. Anjie wanted to see how Bogut defended in an air relay!
An Jie caught the basketball, and his body began to fall at this moment. The tall No. 00 had enough strength to catch his hands and was ready to smash the basketball into the basket!
Suddenly! An Jie felt that someone was pulling him hard behind him. There was no doubt that it must have been the bastard Bogut who used another trick.
After being pulled suddenly in the air, An Jie had no center of gravity. However, he still used his arm length to dunk the ball into the basket before he completely lost the center of gravity.
After the basketball dunked in, An Jie leaned back. In the end, An Jie fell to the ground at an angle parallel to the ground!
"Wow!" In an instant, the referee's whistle sounded, and the entire Moda Center made a huge boo. The fans cursed Bogut in the stands, but Bogut walked away from Anjie silently like a ok person.
The referee only gave Bogut an ordinary shooting foul, which naturally caused dissatisfaction among the fans on the scene. Everything that just happened was indeed too fast, and the referee might not have seen how extraordinary Bogut's defensive movements were!
"Damn it, I've been disliked by you for a long time!" Just when Bogut thought everything was going well, Robin Lopez, who was partnering with Anjie in the inside with an explosive head, suddenly rushed up and pushed Bogut hard.
Bogut staggered back a few steps, but Robin seemed to have no intention of letting go. He quickly waved his fists and forced Bogut. Seeing this, the players from the Warriors and the Trail Blazers quickly joined the battle.
Here, people like Old Miller, Curry and Iguodala are basically fighting each other. Lillard, Meyers Leonard, David Li and others are taking advantage of the chaos to fight back, and whoever fights is considered unlucky.
The scene became chaotic, and as the basketball game was about to turn into a group fight, the referee immediately stepped forward and separated the players from both sides from a distance. The conflict finally subsided.
Generally speaking, the referee should take his strict side at this time to control the situation. However, he only added Robin Lopez to a first-level malicious foul. He did not punish the fuse Bogut!
This naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of Robin Lopez. Do you think Ricard, the head coach, will come on the court and tell him not to argue with the referee? No, the angry Ricard rushed to Lopez and scolded the referee even more unpleasant than Lopez!
"The referee's whistle is too soft! If he doesn't do anything like this, the same thing will likely happen in the subsequent games!"
"Everything is secondary now, I really want to know how An's injury is!"
It was not until the incident slowly subsided that the reporters' camera finally returned to An Jie.
"How do you feel? Where did you fall?" Aldridge helped Anger up, but he felt that his partner seemed to be unable to even walk steadily at this moment.
"Where is that bastard Bogut!? Fuck it!" The first thing Anjie did after standing up was not to worry about himself, but to start looking for Bogut. Seeing this, Aldridge grabbed Anjie even tighter.
"I'll talk about that bastard later. Let's talk about you first. Where did you fall?" Ricard pushed the crowd away and walked to Anjie. Anjie's situation was what he cared about the most.
"I knocked my head for a moment, and now I'm a little dizzy." An Jie waved his hand and signaled that he was not seriously injured.
The chief team doctor also took out a flashlight and shone on An Jie's pupils.
"Every reaction of the pupil is normal, and it doesn't seem to be a big deal. But I think it's safer to have a concussion test."
"That's going to talk about it after the game is over!" An Jie yelled and rejected the team doctor's proposal.
When Stodmeier broke his head before, Anjie had undergone concussion tests from the league. So he knew very well how troublesome this test was.
An Jie knew that when he had a wife, he would be a father soon. His body was no longer his own. But all of this had to be considered until the game was over.
"In this way, you get off the court and take a break first. When everything is normal, I'll change you to come up. Meyers, hold on to the inside well. You don't want to let Ann disappoint you, right?" Ricard saw that the game would not be able to drag on like this, so he planned to let Ann go off the court and rest first.
Meyers Leonard patted his chest, allowing Anjie to rest assured that he would do his best to fight.
Angel patted Leonard on the shoulder and walked into the bench with the help of Aldridge and Robin Lopez.
"Anjie is over! Oh my God, Anjie is over! I hope he is not seriously injured. I won't talk about the record of 72 wins, the playoffs are about to begin!"
"We'd better pray that Angel is fine, otherwise the Trail Blazers will be in trouble in the playoffs this year!"
"I hope An will not have any shortcomings. If An happens, I doubt whether Bogut can safely walk out of the Moda Center today."
Not to mention the fans, even the commentators are now scared by An Jie's situation. The playoffs are about to start in four days. If you lose your star at this time, the blow to the Trail Blazers will undoubtedly be fatal.
An Jie sat on the bench and shook his head hard. He was still a little dizzy, but it should be better after a while. After all, the impact of his head hit the hardwood floor was really big.
Although there was still discomfort in her body, An Jie's eyes were staring at Bogut from beginning to end.
Thinking back then, David Lee made himself reimburse for a whole season. But now, Bogut has to leave the court at a critical moment.
Now, both of these guys happen to be playing for the Warriors again.
Thinking of this, An Jie could no longer suppress the anger in his heart. Now he not only wanted to win the game, but also wanted to swallow Bogut, a damn guy, and his flesh and skin!
The joints on Anjie's hand turned white because of his tight fists. Bogut didn't know that his eyes were full of anger had already burned on him.
"I will make you pay the price! I promise!" Anjie said to himself, but Batum, who was sitting next to Anjie, could hear goosebumps.
It seems that this Australian villain who does whatever he wants on the basketball court is about to be in trouble...
Chapter completed!