Chapter 391: Winning the Grand Prize
Chris Paul couldn't believe that the Clippers, who were dominant one minute ago, were the losers a minute later. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ļ½ļ½ļ½Uļ½Eć ļ½ļ½ļ½ļ½
Anjie once again staged a block stunner at a critical moment, and his block against Chris Paul also directly led to Gerard Wallace's dunk.
Those who insist on coming to Staples to watch the game today are all die-hard Clippers fans. It's just a pity that even though Kenyon Martin has mobilized everyone's emotions, even though the Clippers have done their best, they still haven't been able to win even a single game in the hands of Anjie and the Trail Blazers.
Losing the series, that's what was destined to happen when they were down 3-0. But not being able to bring a playoff win to the fans and themselves is indeed a great regret for the Clippers players.
Chris Paul deliberately looked up at the big screen and glanced at Anjie's data. 32 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 blocks, when an interior player can come up with that kind of stats, it's hard to win as an opponent.
Paul lowered his head and slowly walked into the players' tunnel. It's over, my first season in Los Angeles, that's it.
At the beginning, the NBA denied Paul's deal to transfer to the Lakers, but Paul didn't expect to come to Los Angeles after a turn. It's just that what he is wearing is not the uniform of the Purple Gold Army.
Thankfully, Griffin's performances this season, the rise of DeAndre Jordan, and the additions of Foye and Butler have given Paul confidence in his career in Los Angeles. Indeed, under Paul's leadership, the Clippers are finally back in the playoffs after a full six years.
But that was the end of Chris Paul's dream. Paul didn't play well in two games, but he still deserved the title of winner despite his tenacity. It's just a pity that the Los Angeles Clippers just ran into one of the worst opponents.
The regular season is just a dream. Paul knows that the Clippers want to be competitive in the playoffs, and that isn't enough.
Being swept out of the game is the best proof of this.
Of course, it's not just Paul, it's the Clippers management who thinks there should be some changes to the team. After all, no matter who the opponent is, being swept 4-0 in the playoffs is still too telling.
Paul, Griffin and Jordan Jr., the three central axes, the management will definitely not move. If you want to move, start with the manager......
What will happen to the Clippers as losers, no one cares anymore. Now all fans only know that the Trail Blazers, who killed all sides in the regular season and learned from the Spurs to "deliberately" lower their rankings in the last month, completed a sweep that represents strong strength!
Don't be fooled by the Trail Blazers' fourth-place finish in the West, as many coaches say. The Trail Blazers, who are fourth in the West, are just as dangerous as the Spurs, who are first in the West!
Anjie had forgotten how happy he was in Los Angeles that day, and advanced to the second round of the playoffs with a sweep, which was the first time in Anjie's career.
In the past in the Thunder, they bumped and bumped, and finally stopped in the second round. But now that it is the Trailblazers, An Jie feels that except for the third game, the team can easily pass the test.
Is it true that the current Clippers are not as strong as the Nuggets of the past? Indeed, the Nuggets of that year had Anthony, a super scorer, and J.R. Smith, a nerve knife that was no different from a super scorer. But the Los Angeles Clippers, which have embarked on the road to revival, are not so vulnerable.
You know, at the end of March, the Trail Blazers were killed by the Clippers.
Therefore, the reason why Anjie can be easily popularized now is not because the opponent has become weaker, but because he has really become stronger.
Returning from a major injury to Portland, this was a transfer that was seen by countless people at the time.
Anjie, who had a poor performance in the preseason, was regarded as the star of the Trail Blazers, and many fans were laughed off by this news.
But now, facing the Trail Blazers, who swept the Clippers to advance to the second round, few fans dare to question the team from Portland that has just lost two former stars, Roy and Oden.
Now they may be more powerful than themselves in Roy's time!
It turns out that sometimes leaving, is not a bad thing. Although the current Thunder is more than one level stronger than before, if Anjie is still in Oklahoma, the first place in the West may not be the Spurs. But even without Van Gundy, Westbrook, Morris and Durant, Anjie can create a world of his own in Portland.
Sweeping opponents in the first round of the playoffs is just the beginning.
As the first round of the playoffs draws to a close, the NBA officials also announced the awards of each regular season award in turn.
On May 2, Popovich had already won the much-anticipated Coach of the Year award. While Van Gundy has been just as good this season, it's clear that Popovich's Spurs have the better of the game.
Six days later, on May 8, the day the Trail Blazers swept the Clippers, the next major award in the NBA will be revealed.
Since the Spurs and Mavericks have not yet decided the winner, the Trail Blazers, as the first team in the West to advance, do not have any combat missions for the time being.
So today, An Jie can finally face the early morning sunshine, drive his car, go to the rose garden, and continue his training plan.
Since he only returned from Los Angeles yesterday, Ricard scheduled his regular training session for the afternoon for the sake of the players' fitness.
So when An Jie stepped into the court with a basketball, he was the only one in the training ground.
An Jie calmly filmed basketball, a one-man training ground, this scene was already used to when he was in college.
Always stumbling on himself, this is the reason why Anjie has made progress step by step. However, after only two sets of shooting today, An Jie's phone rang without warning.
"What time is it, didn't they all call me last night to celebrate the victory?" An Jie now has goosebumps when he hears the phone ringing, and last night because of the victory of the sweep of the Clippers, An Jie's hands were soft when he received the celebration call.
But looking at the caller ID, An Jie knew that this matter must not be simple. Because of the busy Moslav, he will not call himself early in the morning.
"What's the matter, Mr. Manager, who can do anything. An Jie, who had just won the game, was in a good mood, and as soon as he answered the phone, he also greeted Muslav with a smile.
"I'll tell you good news, you'll be very happy to hear it!" As everyone knows, Muslav on the other end of the phone was more excited than Anjie who won the game.
"I know that Nike has put the money on my account. The reward for advancing to the second round of the playoffs is indeed not a small amount. "As usual, the first thing An Jie saw when he opened his phone today was a text message from Nike.
"No, that's not what I'm talking about! Defensive Player of the Year! Ann! You're the Defensive Player of the Year!" Muslav yelled into the phone, almost shouting. An Jie, on the other hand, did not take the phone away because of the loud noise coming from the earpiece. He stared blankly ahead, as if Muslav were standing in front of him.
"You scored 321 points, beating out Ibaka and Howard to become the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year in 2011-2012! You know what? 321 points, which means that no one can compete for this award at all!" Although Anjie was selected to the All-Defensive First Team, Moslav felt that Anjie was fully qualified for the All-Defensive Player of the Year. After all, the gold content of the latter award is much higher than that of the former.
However, after each evaluation, Anjie was only more than ten points lower than Howard, who won the Best Defensive Player award for a second time. In the NBA's Best Defensive Player Rating Rules, game commentators and sports reporters who are eligible to vote for first, second, and third place respectively on their ballot slips, with the first place being awarded five points, the second being three points, and the third being one point. The player with the highest score in the end wins Defensive Player of the Year.
And the gap of more than ten points is just a gap of several people. But this season, Anjie scored a super high score of 321 points in one fell swoop, and Anjie's old teammate Serge Ibaka scored 294 points to rank second, missing out on this award. And Howard, who won this award for three consecutive seasons, only scored 186 points under the pressure of Anjie and Ibaka!
In other words, Anjie not only won the award for Best Defensive Player, but also defeated Ibaka and Howard by a landslide!
"Hang up Ann first, trust me, that guy Orsie must have blown up your phone!" Muslav knew, and the general manager of the Trail Blazers must have known the news. In the afternoon, he is bound to hold a press conference for An Jie to present the award to An Jie!
Sure enough, as soon as An Jie hung up the phone, Orsi's call came in.
"Ann, who were you talking to on the phone? Hey, I've got good news for you!" Orsi was no less excited than Moslav and Anjie himself.
"Come on, Mr. Orsi, you just skip the previous paragraph and tell me directly what time is the press conference?" An Jie had already eased his surprise, so he also used humor to try to ease Orsi's emotions.
"You got it!?Great job, you're doing a great job!After today's practice, at half past five in the afternoon, in the media reception room at Rose Garden Stadium, I'll hand over the trophy to you!" Now, the trophy of honor is on Orsie's desk, and across from him are two smiling NBA officials.
How long has it been since this group of old men descended on the City of Tears? Orsi didn't know, after all, although the Trail Blazers had Roy and Oden in the past few years, their results had not been up and down, which was very embarrassing. The last time the NBA officially sent someone to Portland was when Roy won the Rookie of the Year award in '07.
But Orsi can be sure that as long as Anjie is there, there will be more times in Portland than these guys!
Best Defensive Player, wait, this trophy, will be delivered to its owner in no time!