Chapter 305: The Return to the Pitch
In the NBA opener game on the 25th, some Anjie fans collectively raised a sign of nostalgia for Anjie at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info but even so, An Jie's departure from Thunder to join the Trailblazers has become an unchangeable fact. The photo of Anjie holding up the Trailblazers No. 00 jersey and smiling made these Anjie fans very distressed. They can only wish An Jie a better and better road in the future, because judging from the situation of this game. The Thunder really don't have a place for Anjie anymore.
89-97, in the opening game, the Thunder, who reached the Western Conference Finals last season, easily won the Magic led by Howard. Now, even without An Jie, Warcraft can't set off any big waves in the Thunder team's territory.
Serge Ibaka and Morris were enough to strangle Howard on the defensive end, while the onslaught of Durant, Westbrook and Bledsoe off the bench made it difficult for the Orlando Magic to deal with.
The Thunder easily won the opener, and it seems that An Jie's departure really has no impact on the Thunder. And An Jie has not played even a single official match since he was injured last year. The disastrous performance in the preseason made people think that trading Anjie was another shrewd decision by Presti.
Although he is in Portland, he is already a member of the Trail Blazers. But An Jie still watched the whole process of the Thunder team game on TV tonight.
When Westbrook dunks, Anjie can't help but shout, and when Morris defends successfully, Anjie always applauds. But when the surroundings quieted down, An Jie realized that he was the only one around, he was not a person fighting on the field, he was just a spectator, a spectator who had nothing to do with the Thunder team.
"The 4+5 center in the preseason may only be wanted by a team like the Trail Blazers who are in a hurry to go to the hospital. Did you see the Thunder's performance? Without Ann, they're still a strong team. But the Trail Blazers may not be able to play well with Ann. Olajuwon said that Anjie will be reborn in Nirvana?Please, Dameng just doesn't want his signboard to be smashed. This is the comment of a commentator on Anjie's transfer after the game. But what he didn't know was that he was judging others here after the game, while An Jie practiced alone after the game.
When you come to a new and unfamiliar environment, how do you quickly adapt to it? For An Jie, the answer is very simple, that is, to practice!
It's only when he practices that he doesn't think about the mess in his head. Only when he practices can he get acquainted with every inch and every point of this arena. It is only when he practices that he thinks he has not been surpassed by those who work harder.
Although An Jie was injured and did not play for a season, he is now much stronger than before. He couldn't do training with the ball during the injury, so Peterson's physical modification became a priority. As far as the current Trail Blazers team is counted as one, no one can resist An Jie's forced advancement.
An Jie was still sweating frantically in the power room, and he hoped that the opportunity to prove that he had not yet sunk would come sooner.
December 26 marks the second game day of the NBA's shortened season. Today, the matchup between the Trail Blazers and the 76ers has become a high-profile matchup.
People want to see if Anjie, who has been missing for a season, can play at a high level. However, when countless fans watched the game in front of the TV, they found that Anjie was not in the team squad at all. Not to mention the starters, now even on the bench, you can't find An Jie.
"What the hell?"
"Could it be that the Chinese is injured again?"
"It can't be that he's still in Oklahoma, right?"
Countless speculations spread in the circle of fans, and the Trail Blazers also lost the game by Iguodala's stunner.
"Coach Ricard, why is Anjie not in the squad today?" The spearhead of all the problems is directed at An Jie's absence.
"Ann only came to report to the team yesterday and he is very new to everything about this team. I want him to get used to it before I put him on the pitch. It doesn't hurt the team, it's good for him. Rickard's answer is hard to fault with it, but the reporters certainly won't be satisfied with it.
"Coach Rickard, against the weak 76ers team and lost, are you sure you can handle the NBA-level game?" a male reporter pointed out the question.
Rickard's fists suddenly clenched, this is the NBA, this is the negative impact of a bigger stage on him.
"You're not the general manager of the team, the general manager just knew that I could control the game and invited me here, otherwise why wouldn't he invite you?" Ricard didn't intend to put up with it, he was a straightforward and sweary guy. To outsiders, he is an out-and-out hooligan, not a manager. Now, for the first time, he showed his personality at a press conference.
The reporters frantically recorded and photographed, and Riccard's tough response was really much more than everyone expected. It seems that in the future NBA, there will be another topic of conversation.
With his first home defeat of the opening season, Ricard returned to the dressing room. At this time, An Jie was waiting for his teammates and coach in the locker room.
"How's the game going?" Rickard nodded at Angel.
"Well, a more intuitive understanding of the team's tactics. LaMarcus, your style of play is simply tailor-made for me. With that, Anjie turned to Aldridge and smiled.
The reason why Ricard asked Anjie to stay in the locker room and watch the game on TV is that he hopes that Anjie can learn the team's tactics and layout more clearly through the overall situation, and also find out the problems that he or his teammates should improve. Rickard had to give Anjie the ability to read the game before he could get him on the pitch to practice. He's now at the heart of the Trail Blazers, with no scoring champion and no impactful guard around him. His teammates around him need to lead, and An Jie is the one who wants to lead the team. If he doesn't even know what the team's tactics look like, how can he lead others?
The best way to read the game is to watch the footage. But today, Anjie has to do that by watching live streams. Therefore, Ricard is willing to pay the price of a game loss, and also let Anjie take this first step.
No one will take An Jie for granted that he will be the core, only if An Jie shows his performance, people will look up to him and respect him. Connect the whole team, drive the whole team, and command the whole team. If you don't do that, you can't be called a leader. Reading through the team's tactical system is a must to complete these requirements.
"Ann, you're going to play in the next game, right?" Aldridge asked An Jie this question just as everyone was changing.
Angel looked at Ricard, who only nodded slightly.
"Don't worry, LaMarcus, in the next game, I'll protect you behind you!" Anjie stretched out his fist and slapped Aldridge in the chest, although the atmosphere in the Trail Blazers' locker room was not lively, but there was no crack in it. If you want to be a leader, you have to do everything well in the locker room. It's important to eliminate barriers with your teammates.
"Anjie was not fit for the game and was kicked out of the squad by Ricard. ”
"College basketball coaches aren't good enough to do the NBA. ”
"The deal that failed, the Trail Blazers want to revive, and they have to wait for Roy's comeback. ”
Sure enough, the next day, both Ricard and Anjie were saddled with numerous infamy. Rickard's tough words at the press conference made him a public enemy of the media.
But Rickard ignored that, as he put it, it was nothing more than a bunch of idiots who didn't understand bullshit.
The Trail Blazers' training is still the same, and Anjie seems to have become more and more accustomed to the Trail Blazers' tactics and is better and better integrated into the team. Aldridge likes to attack from mid-range, Wesley Matthews likes to shoot from distance, and Jamal Crawford likes to play alone with dazzling movements. After figuring out the habits of his teammates, An Jie can also better serve his teammates.
When you begin to be willing to serve others, others will serve you in return. Although Anjie is defined by Ricard as the core of the Trail Blazers, the fact is that Anjie is still a newcomer to the team, and he must use his own efforts to make his teammates trust him first. After that, it all fell into place.
On this day, the quality of the Trail Blazers' training improved significantly. An Jie is also at home in the team's tactics and plays very freely.
On Dec. 28, just one day after the Trail Blazers' first game loss, the Rose Garden will welcome their second enemy of the season, the Sacramento Kings.
This match, for Ricard and Anjie, is the real opener. Because today, the Trailblazers will show their true strength.
....................
Wearing a white Trail Blazers jersey and looking at the huge No. 00 on his chest, An Jie suddenly felt a strong sense of strangeness in his heart.
It was the first time he wore an official Trail Blazers jersey, and that's not what he'd seen when he looked down before.
An Jie looked up and looked around. It's different, everything is different. Wardrobe, teammates, vibe...... The last time he sat in the locker room like this to prepare for a game was more than a year ago, when he was still a member of the Thunder's three young players, and at that time he was a key part of the Thunder's championship attempt.
But now, the man sitting next to him in protective gear was not Westbrook chattering, but quiet Aldridge. The guy bouncing around in the locker room was no longer Durant, but Wesley Matthews. Anjie couldn't believe that just one game apart, he came from 2010 to 2011, and he came from Oklahoma to Portland.
"Knock knock!" At this moment, An Jie suddenly heard a knocking sound. When I looked up, it was Rickard tapping on the whiteboard.
"Listen guys, you haven't forgotten yesterday's tactical training. Ricard's voice drowned out all the other noise in the dressing room.
"No problem, I can't wait to put it into practice. Matthews was the first to answer Ricard.
"It's good, because we lost to the 76ers in the last game, so the evaluation of us is miserable. I looked, and we're basically on the same level as Justin Bieber now. But to be honest, I didn't even want to win the first game. I know you guys need some time to warm up, so I'll give you a full 48 minutes. But today, if anyone dares to walk around the field, don't blame me for being unkind!" Ricard's expression suddenly became serious, and no one below dared to say anything more.
"Today! We're going to defend our home court, we're going to get our first win of the season! We're going to make those bitch-bitched idiot reporters deflated! Aldridge, hit the Kings hard with your shots! Matthews, I know you like to shoot threes, so don't be soft when your chance comes out! Gerard Wallace, people say you're not good with injuries, I think you're fucking farting! Dunk, go for the impact, go for the proof, you're still the fucking Elvis! I know you have a few pounds and a few taels, so that the little cubs of the Kings team can see what the real No. 1 position is. Ann!" Finally, Van Gundy called out to the opposite of Ann Jie.
"As for you! I want you to fucking dominate the game, go and dominate the whole game for me! If you can't, you keep watching live in the locker room for me! Go out, go out and tell the Kings, tell them what the Broken City is! Kill me without leaving a piece of armor!" Rickard finished and pushed open the door of the locker room, and at this moment, An Jie felt that everything around him was so familiar.
Rickard's yelling and swearing, eager to try as if he could devour his opponent's teammates alive.
Anjie lowered his head again and looked at the Trail Blazers' No. 00 jersey. He patted his chest, and the huge two zeros on his back swayed with it. Everything goes to zero, everything "starts from the heart".
"Come on, watch me win!" An Jie muttered to himself, and suddenly he opened his eyes sharply and rushed out of the players' tunnel first. In an instant, the cheers of nearly 20,000 people on the Rose Garden Stadium poured into An Jie's ears.
An Jie's blood boiled instantly, he came back, after more than a year of absence, he is back now, standing here! Familiar cheers, familiar lights, familiar smell of gunsmoke. He didn't leave, he never left. He was no stranger, he was never a stranger. All of this is familiar to An Jie. All this makes Anjie feel at ease!
Although it is no longer the No. 16 of the Thunder, although it is no longer the Chesapeake Energy Arena. But what does it matter, nothing can stop a heart that yearns for victory and killing!
When the butcher appears again, it will inevitably lead to bloodbath. In the Rose Garden, you'd better keep a low profile. Even if you are a king, you have no privileges!