Anthony the Reborn

Chapter 154 Destiny?

D'Antoni seemed to be busy with something, he and Brand explained and left the locker room.

Williams and Brand have been in constant communication, and it can be seen that they both seem a little excited to play together.

After a while, they all walked into the locker room. At this moment, Brand noticed Anthony who stood up. A smile appeared on his face, and he said hello, "Hey, Mello, long time no see."

Anthony also opened his hands with a smile, and greeted him: "Hey, Elton!"

Because of Lima's incident in the Clippers before, Brand also helped the leader at that time. Even if the two knew each other at that time, they can be regarded as old acquaintances when they meet again now.

At this moment, Mutombo also walked over and said with a smile: "Hey, Elton, welcome to Denver."

Brand had focused on Anthony before and didn't notice Mutombo. Now when he saw him, a trace of surprise flashed unconsciously on his face: "Hey, Dikembe! When are you in Denver? ? Are you not in New York?"

There are frequent transactions in the league, and Brand is also deeply troubled by the Clippers. It is normal not to pay attention to Mutombo.

Mutombo laughed loudly when he heard the words: "Old man, I feel too noisy in New York, come to Denver to cool down on the plateau."

"Ha ha……"

Both Anthony and Brand were amused by Mutombo.

Anthony then greeted several other new arrivals, who, with the help of Mutombo, quickly settled into the Nuggets atmosphere.

Destiny always jokes with people. Brand and Williams have just entered the Nuggets. After a two-day rest, the Nuggets will fly to Memphis and Los Angeles to challenge the Grizzlies in turn. and the Clippers.

The league's schedule has been determined before the start of the game, and no one deliberately arranges this game, but there seems to be something, it's really such a coincidence.

The Memphis Grizzlies are a new army of the NBA. As part of the league’s overseas expansion, the Grizzlies were originally called the Vancouver Grizzlies. As the team’s name implies, the players originally played their home games in Canada. Vancouver, until 2001, the team officially moved back to Memphis.

Such a new team originally existed in the league, but after the famous Lakers Jerry West entered the league management in 02, the team has undergone qualitative changes, and this season is even more fruitful. In the season, Pau Gasol, James Posey, Mike Miller, and Bunch Wells have done a good job. They have shown strong competitiveness in the previous games, and now they are ranked sixth in the West. Andre Miller, who was traded from the Nuggets, can be said to have further improved his strength and will surely make a difference in the playoffs.

Anthony and his Nuggets flew to Memphis the night before the game. When they arrived, they first rested in the hotel where they stayed. Then the next morning, after the team practiced together, they rested in the afternoon and prepared to meet the Grizzlies in the evening. challenged.

After Anthony arrived, he originally wanted the Nuggets players to go with Miller to get together, but thinking that this would not have a good impact on the team and Miller, he finally thought about finding Miller alone. Had a meal.

Miller stayed in Memphis for two days, but unlike Anthony, he played on the first night after he arrived, and now this game against the Nuggets is his second game with the team , The Grizzlies attack with Gasol as the axis, and generally speaking, the rhythm is much slower than that of the Nuggets. This is a good thing for Miller, and his ability can be better displayed.

Anthony and Miller had a meal, and after a brief chat, they went back to their teams to prepare for the night's game.

The FedEx Arena is just put into use this season, and it can accommodate more than 8000 spectators.

At this time, the FedEx Arena is already crowded with people. Because of the strong performance of the Grizzlies this season, the Memphis ball market has finally ushered in spring. The fans' enthusiasm for the home team has reached an unprecedented level.

Anthony was sitting on the bench at this time, and he looked up at the arena in front of him. In his impression, most of his understanding of the Grizzlies was from the "Black Eight Miracle" team that played against the Spurs in the later period. On "Black and White Two Heroes", he didn't know much about the Grizzlies led by Paul Gasol. What he had to say was that Gasol led the team without a win in the playoffs and was swept all the time. This is also an embarrassment. memory.

The game's commentary is from ESPN's Bill Walton and his partner Brad Nelles.

"Hey, Bill, this game is really interesting. The Nuggets just got the captain Elton Brand at the trade deadline. This is Elton's debut in the Nuggets, and the Nuggets I just made a deal with the Grizzlies, and they traded Miller for Williams, this is the first time for both players to face their former owners, so I wonder what kind of strength they can display?" Nales started, Just throw out all the highlights of this game.

Walton also smiled when he heard the words: "There are indeed many things to watch in this game. Look at the packed fans behind us. This kind of attendance is comparable to the playoffs."

Neles nodded when he heard the words, and then seemed to think of something, suddenly turned his head and said: "By the way, I heard that the All-Star voting for the league earlier today has finally closed, although the final result will not be announced until the 27th." Announced, but judging from the previous voting statistics, Melo should have basically secured the All-Star vote champion?"

Wharton looked at Anthony who was sitting on the sidelines, his eyes were full of admiration: "Yes, Melo can be said to have turned out now, Michael has just retired, and with his previous advertisements, his popularity has reached a peak Yes, maybe in less than two years, he will become the new spokesperson of the league. You must know that he is only a rookie now, and a rookie becomes the All-Star vote leader. This is really very rare in the history of the league, and it is voted on the modern Internet Against this background, it can be said that it is truly unprecedented.”

Just as the two commentators were talking, Anthony had stood up from the bench, and D'Antoni had gathered the players and started making the final tactical deployment before the game.

"beep!"

Soon, the whistle sounded to start the sideline game, and the starting players from both sides also appeared on the stage.

For the Nuggets, the traded Williams and Brand have entered the starting lineup. In the other positions, there are still Bell, Anthony and Nene. Nene has always been the team's fourth position. After Brand came, he was moved to the fifth position.

On the other hand, for the Grizzlies, Miller also started the game. He partnered with Mike Miller in the backcourt. James Posey and the team's core Paul Gasol were on the front line, and Lorenzen Lai, a local Memphis player, was on the center. special.

It was Nene and Wright who jumped the ball. Before that, it was Camby who jumped the ball for the team. Maybe it was because the big girl got on the sedan chair for the first time. Nene jumped after the referee threw the ball. Rather, he amused himself.

For the second jump ball, Nene adjusted his mentality and slapped the ball back on Wright's head. The ball fell into the hands of Williams, who dribbled the ball and began to advance forward.

The Nuggets still play run and gun tactics, but with Brand joining, their tactical options have become more abundant. This time after halftime, the ball was given to Brand after two fiddles on the outside. De hands.

As soon as Brand received the ball, the fans at the scene began to shout loudly for defense. The overwhelming shouts showed the wild atmosphere of the Memphis team.

Guarding Brand was Gasol, a technical insider who stood up against Brand with a calm foot.

Brand is short in height, but his low-post skills are better than Gasol's, and he also has a very good coping ability. At this moment, he hit Gasol on the back twice and made several fake moves in a row , the pivot is as stable as Mount Tai, and Gasol is also being pushed hard enough. After Brand felt that it was almost enough, he turned around sharply, bypassing Gasol's big body like a small spinning top, and he was about to go up. basket.

Seeing Gasol being passed by, Wright suddenly ran over to block, but as soon as he came over, Brand suddenly threw the ball back from his armpit, and the ball fell firmly into the inside inside hands.

After Nene received the ball, without any hesitation, he pulled up the ball and dunked it.

A muffled sound of "Bang!" immediately plunged the FedEx Arena into boos.

To say that when Nene played the power forward position before, he felt violent, but as a second-year student, his skills are obviously not good enough, especially in the passing support, which is particularly special in the running and bombing tactics. For the important part, what Nene did was arguably worse.

Now that Brand has joined, this superstar insider with the same status and technology as Duncan has is even more powerful for the Nuggets. The ball just now fully explained Brand’s contribution to the team. The changes brought about, while Nene enjoyed the refreshing feeling of dunking the ball as soon as he caught it.

Anthony looked at the cooperation between the two insiders, and felt relieved. You must know that Brand is not that kind of athletic insider, and may not be the best for bombardment tactics, but if he can play his support Strength will also play a role in getting twice the result with half the effort.

Nene's powerful dunk helped the Nuggets get the first goal in the opening game, but the Grizzlies' ability to achieve such a season this season is not blocked. Looking back, Miller and Gasol made a After the pick-and-roll, he went inside and attracted the defense of the Nuggets, and then hit back to Gasol. Gasol hit a big two-pointer with one step in the three-point line, and he was not far behind. The Grizzlies scored the first point of the game.

(End of this chapter)