The Way of the Center

The first game of the playoffs is often the most watched game in the first round. Not only the players, but the fans will also cheer for the arrival of the playoffs. And the first game is often the most eye-catching. So at the Pepsi Center, Nuggets fans nearly toppled the roof of the arena.

Their enthusiasm is high, and they look forward to watching the Nuggets who stopped in the Western Conference Finals last year can make up for their regrets this year. What is Durant, we have Anthony. What is Westbrook, we have the FMVP Chauncey Billups of the year. Angie? The fans of the Nuggets are not afraid either. The Brazilian won the No. 1 pick in 2000, Kenyon Martin, "Birdman" Chris Anderson... the Nuggets' inside line with perverted athletic ability is enough. Let the starting center of the Western Conference star drink a pot.

The Nuggets finished one spot higher than the Thunder, so the young Thunder's first playoff game had to be booed by fans at the Pepsi Center. The Thunder's three juniors have played so many regular season games, but none of them has such a frenetic atmosphere as the playoffs.

In addition to the fan factor, the intensity of the game itself is unmatched in the regular season.

Whether it is physical confrontation or technical competition, whether it is the rhythm or intensity of the game, everything is more than one level higher than the regular season.

The Nuggets are a frequent visitor to the playoffs and a team that reached the Western Conference Finals last season. They have played games with higher intensity than this. But the Thunder is a team that has only played in the regular season. They are obviously still very uncomfortable with the sudden increase in the intensity of the playoffs.

There were still two minutes left in the fourth quarter, but the Thunder's third young master was already sitting on the bench. Generally speaking, there are only two situations in which Van Gundy will let the Thunder's three minors rest early.

It's a pity that today, in the Pepsi Center, the reason for the rest of Thunder's three young masters belongs to the latter.

"Twenty minutes Charles, you said before the game that you are more optimistic about the Thunder, but judging from the performance of this game, the Thunder has no power to fight back against the Nuggets. Maybe Coach Jeff Van Gundy and his team The team has never been able to break the curse of being eliminated in the first round." Kenny Smith is eager to see how Barkley will react, after all, the result of the game is very different from what he predicted.

"I have to admit that the Thunder are still playing according to the regular season, while the Nuggets have entered the state very early. However, the playoffs are a best-of-seven game, and the Thunder lost the first game. It can be regarded as a reminder to them. The playoffs and the regular season are completely different!"

Following Barkley's commentary, the whistle for the end of the game also sounded. 103 to 126, the Thunder lost the game by 23 points. Anjie has never suffered such humiliation.

Carmelo Anthony's state of the game exploded,

Scored a game-high 42 points. The Nuggets sixth man J.R. Smith also scored 20 points.

In contrast to the Thunder, although Durant scored 26 points, Anjie scored 19 points, Westbrook 17 points, and even Morris scored 15 points. But their loss in this game was not due to offense, but defense, which is the defense they are most proud of.

After the game, Anthony frantically swaggered in front of the home fans. Last year, he missed the Western Conference Finals. This year, the Nuggets' lineup and tactics are aimed at the Lakers. The Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round? Sorry, you are not our real opponents yet! Winning you is a matter of course!

The players of the Thunder just want to quickly leave this sea of ​​winners. They all bowed their heads and remained silent. The playoffs, which they had been looking forward to for a long time, would be so cruel and bloody.

They were ambitious before the game, but Anjie and the others felt a lot of discomfort when the game started. Take Anjie himself as an example. Facing the Nuggets' abnormally athletic and aggressive inside line, it is rare for him to feel that it is very difficult to keep up with the opponent's rhythm.

It's not that An Jie has never played against them in the regular season, and it can even be said that An Jie has won them more times. But in the playoffs, those guys seemed like different people. They're more aggressive, faster and more impactful than they were in the regular season.

Van Gundy looked at the lifeless locker room and didn't know what to say for a moment. He is not a "chicken soup coach", mobilizing players' emotions is not his specialty. And this kind of defeat is something that Van Gundy has never encountered since taking over the Thunder.

A group of young people stepped into the playoffs full of confidence, but they were hit mercilessly in the end. This kind of mood cannot be reversed by Van Gundy in a few words.

"Boom!" Just when there was silence in the locker room, there was a loud noise from An Jie's side.

Looking back, An Jie's fist was touching the cabinet. He gritted his teeth, his face full of resignation.

"It's all my fault, guys. It's all my fault. There is no problem on the offensive end, but the problem is on the defensive end. It's all my fault. I haven't adapted to the rhythm of the playoffs." An Jie began to talk to himself.

"Don't be a fucking hero, I'm guarding the inside line with you, and if you lose, I'll be counted!" Morris also stood up after listening.

"Okay, your abilities are fine. It's all my fault that I haven't brought you more experience. Before the next game, I will do this part of the work well." Nick Collison, the most experienced Thunder team A center forward also spoke.

After that, almost everyone said something about what they did not do well in this game. In this way, everyone not only shared the responsibility for the loss, but also allowed Van Gundy to see the problems in the game more clearly. After all, no matter how good the coach is, it is the players who can feel the details of the game most intuitively.

"Okay, don't talk about it. Anthony's 42 points have the most to do with me. I didn't fulfill my responsibility as a first attack point. In the next game, I promise I won't let you down!" Finally, all the time Durant, who was silent, also boldly admitted his shortcomings.

"Do you believe me?" Van Gundy spoke only after all the players had finished speaking.

"We have always believed in your boss. You have brought us to this point." An Jie answered first. The most aggrieved person during Carlesimo's period may be An Jie. Anjie knows the great changes that Van Gundy brought after he came to the team.

"Yes, of course we trust your boss."

For a while, other people also echoed underneath.

"Very good, you actually believe me, you have to listen to me. Because listen to me, I will let you win the game! Now, I want you all to go back to the hotel to rest. We will gather here at eight o'clock tomorrow morning!" No matter how badly a game is lost, it is already an irreversible past. Now, Van Gundy and the Thunder must focus on preparing for the next game.

Losing a game is inevitable in a series. The Thunder can only make the end of the playoffs different from what it is today if the Thunder become more and more courageous.

...................................

Before eight o'clock the next day, the No. 2 training ground in the Pepsi Center was full of people. None of the Thunder players were late, and all of them were here early, even though they had a draining game yesterday.

Everyone in the Thunder team is full of fighting spirit, and they all want to win back in tomorrow's game. Although they encountered a lot of problems in the first game, it doesn't matter, as long as the problems are solved one by one, isn't it all right?

When Van Gundy stepped onto the practice field, he thought he was in the wrong place.

"Everyone came so early? Very good, come on, let's solve the problems one by one. First of all, I think you have a deep understanding of the rhythm and intensity of the playoffs!" When saying these words, Van Gundy looked at Anjie. When he played against the inside line of the Nuggets yesterday, An Jie was the most uncomfortable person.

"During the regular season, maybe you only use 70% of your strength to defeat an opponent. When you encounter a strong opponent, you may need to spend 80%-90% of your energy. But in the playoffs, once you play, you must Use all 100% of your ability to fight against your opponents, and truly spare no effort! It doesn’t matter if you are tired, how to let you rest is my problem, and you don’t have to share it for me. As long as you play, you will fight for me, give I'll fight!" Van Gundy first wanted to let the players know what the concept of the playoffs was.

"Okay, now, let's talk about the various problems encountered during the game. In fact, as long as you do what I just said, there will be very few problems. Ann and KD, if you also work hard , it is impossible for Anthony to get such a high score. And you Westbrook, Billups is different from those opponents you have faced before..." After that, Van Gundy began to solve them one by one. The doubts in the hearts of the players.

Since the second game of the series between the Thunder and the Nuggets will start the next day, the training intensity arranged by Van Gundy today is not high. Even if the players were in full swing, he only arranged a few tactical drills for training. These efforts should not be spent on the training ground, but in the next day's game.

"Go to bed earlier, Morris. Kenyon Martin won't be weak tomorrow." Back at the hotel, Anjie and Morris watched TV on the sofa for a while, and then prepared to recharge their batteries for tomorrow's game.

"I should be the one who reminded you. Every night you spend enough time on the phone to get me a good night's sleep."

"Okay, you guy, if you don't perform well tomorrow, I won't be polite to you." An Jie said and threw a pillow at Morris. Morris quickly closed the door and escaped the crisis.

An Jie smiled and walked back to his room. He took out his phone and called Catherine. But today, Anjie and Catherine's phone "date" lasted only five minutes. An Jie knows that he must now focus on the playoffs...

...................................

"Beat, OKC! Beat, OKC..." The door of the locker room is still closed, but even so, in the locker room of the Pepsi Center, which has excellent sound insulation, you can still hear the shouts of the Nuggets fans. cry.

"Did you hear Cameron, the fans have high hopes for us!" Kenyon Martin enjoyed the cheers from the fans. Playing in such an environment really helped the players of the home team to burst out even bigger. the power of.

"We must not lose at home, so that the old man can recuperate in the hospital. Let's go to the second round and wait for him to come back!" Anthony jumped up and scored the highest score in the playoffs of his career in the last game. 42 points, let alone how excited this guy is. Therefore, for the second game of the series, Anthony also saved enough energy.

"We are the Thunder. We have gone all the way to come here, not to serve as a foil for the Nuggets! They are only one place higher than us. The Nuggets have nothing to fear. We will be the last Winner!" After Van Gundy finished speaking, he pushed open the door of the locker room and walked out first.

"1, 2, 3, Thunder!" The players followed behind Van Gundy, yelling like a pack of hungry wolves.

Van Gundy and his Thunder Warriors will step into the battlefield again. But this time, the Nuggets will not play as easily as the last game.

The current Thunder is hungry, bloodthirsty, eager to fight, and even more salivating for victory.

As soon as An Jie came on the field, he stared at the Nuggets players tightly and clenched his fists. Butcher, it's not in vain!

"Hello, viewers. Welcome to ESPN's live broadcast of Game 2 of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. The second matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Denver Nuggets is about to begin!"

The atmosphere in the Pepsi Center became more and more frenzied, and An Jie's heart became hotter. (To be continued.)