Anthony the Reborn

Chapter 251 Attack or Defense
Anthony's wonderful blocking at the end of the second quarter gave the Nuggets a chance to breathe, but the trend of the game could not be changed. In the end, the Nuggets lost to the Spurs by 20 points in the away game, but What is more worrying than the disastrous defeat is that the Nuggets lost a total of 130 points in this game, and the Spurs even created their historical scoring record. For a team that is good at defense, this is simply a miracle. To something that seems unlikely.

But in fact, it did happen. As a player of the Nuggets, this is also unacceptable to them.

But in any case, the game ended in a disastrous defeat for the Nuggets, and the game was just a difficult night for the players.

For D'Antoni, this was just a loss he encountered. He didn't reflect on his own style of play. After all, his team's record still ranks first in the league.

However, the next January game will not be so good for the Nuggets. The disastrous defeat of the Nuggets and the Spurs has allowed other teams to master the way to beat the Nuggets, which is to defend, and then find the best defense for the team. The fierce outside players defended Nash, which caused great trouble for the Nuggets.

Although D'Antoni used pick-and-rolls or running off the ball to solve the defensive pressure, it also had some effects, and he was able to show very good competitiveness against underdogs.

However, the opponents in November are relatively weak, and most of them are offensive teams, while in December, the opposite is true. The opponents this month are all strong opponents, and they are all good at defense. At that time, their record changed from 11 wins and 12 loss to 12 wins and 12 losses, with mixed results. The team's record also fell from the first in the league to the sixth in the league. Fourth only.

For Anthony, this period of time is also a difficult time for him. He has approached D'Antoni and even talked with Vandeweghe in private, hoping to use him to remind D'Antoni and let D'Antoni consider the team's defense. However, D'Antoni, who was quite obedient to Anthony's advice, has become very stubborn at the moment.

It felt like he had finally found a platform to prove his coaching level and win the game through his philosophy. He became very stubborn, so stubborn that the players of the Nuggets began to feel a little bit worried. Born dissatisfied, the biggest opinions and the most affected are Brand and Anthony.

Under the premise of requiring fast play and widening the space, D'Antoni greatly increased the playing time of Diaw and Korver. The playing time of Brand and Anthony was limited, which was naturally the most affected. Their average data It seems a bit shabby for their worth and status. Brand, who was able to contribute 25+15 last season, is only 18+8 this season. Anthony, the MVP of the game, averaged only 12 shots per game, contributed 20.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game, and weakened into an ordinary star in an all-round way.

Regarding the decline of the team's status and statistics, the performance of the two is completely different. When Brand was interviewed by reporters, he openly talked about the team's defensive problems, alluding to D'Antoni's lack of offensive options, and Anthony kept silent and kept silent about D'Antoni, but during training, he hoped that the players would pay attention to the defensive problems.

However, it is always the coach who decides the way a team plays, so this situation will remain unchanged in the next game, and the record of the Nuggets can be said to be neither high nor low.

This time, the Nuggets faced the defensive Pistons and lost again by 20 points. Because it was at home, Anthony, Nash and D'Antoni attended the press conference.

At the beginning of the press conference, the local media of the Nuggets was aggressive: "Is the Nuggets not doing enough defensively in this game? Coach Mike, do you have any ideas to improve the team's defense?"

D'Antoni seemed to be prepared in his heart, and said with a smile: "I think I have said many times about the team's defense. Players should not put too much energy into defense. The final victory of the game Or, it's always the player who scores more, isn't it? If we don't win the game, I think our offense is not good enough."

D'Antoni's answer was self-explanatory, making it impossible for the reporter to refute, and he sat back in his seat disappointed.

Anthony now turned his head to look at Su Xi who was standing beside him. Su Xi has become the female publicist of the Nuggets, but she basically does not appear in the arena except during working hours, and Anthony wanted to contact her several times , they couldn’t be contacted, but the press conference became a rare time for him to see Su Xi.

Su Xi pointed to another reporter at this time, Anthony followed her gestures and saw that it was Vasquez standing up, he unconsciously looked away.

After standing up, Vasquez didn't look at Anthony, but asked Nash: "Steve, as the biggest signing of the Nuggets this season, I know you performed very well on the court, but the team The starting power forward Brand expressed his dissatisfaction with the team's defense in public. What do you think about this? Does it mean that Coach Mike needs to work on defense?"

Anthony listened to Vasquez's questions, and couldn't help feeling tense. After more than a year, Vasquez was no longer the reporter who didn't know anything before. The questions she asked were all very news-inducing, and she She deliberately avoided Anthony, and she didn't know if it was because of the previous relationship between Anthony and her.

Nash did not expect that the sexy reporter in front of him would ask such a tricky question. He turned his head and looked at D'Antoni unconsciously. Seeing that his face was not very good, he hesitated for a while before saying: "I think This question...Brand may be targeting everyone on the team. Our defense on the field is not very good. He should not be talking about Coach Mike's tactics. Of course, Coach Mike's tactics are no problem Yes, it’s just that our players have not done so satisfactorily in the trade-off between the two.”

"So, will the team make adjustments in this regard?" Vasquez followed closely.

"Um... I will meet, we will play harder in the follow-up games, whether it is offense or defense." Nash said with a smile, but the embarrassment under his smile is still obvious.

Vasquez also knew enough was enough, and did not continue to ask. After asking, she nodded and sat down.

At this time, it was almost the last question of the press conference, so Su Xi clicked on the last reporter.

Then he stood up and asked Anthony directly: "Mello, hello, I am a reporter from SBC. We all know that the Nuggets performed very well last season. Your personal data is also very beautiful. As a The rookie has created team records one after another, and even since the beginning of the new century, he has become the first player to win the All-Star Game MVP and the regular season MVP, and even won a series of honors such as the scoring champion. Say you did a great job."

Listening to the reporter praising himself, Anthony smiled and said, "Thank you."

The reporter then changed the topic: "However, since this season, the Nuggets have performed very well, but your personal data has shrunk significantly. Is this related to the importance Coach Mike attaches to you? I have a piece of data here. It shows that last season, your shots reached 17.8 times, and in the playoffs it rose to 23.2 times, but this season, so far, your shots have only averaged 12.4 times per game. I would like to ask, is this for Isn't it...too underestimated?"

Anthony smiled wryly when he heard the reporter's question. This reporter's question was even more tricky than Vasquez's, and it was all about asking death for life.

None of the reporters at the scene spoke, and the scene was completely silent, just waiting to see how Anthony would answer this tricky question.

Anthony quickly noticed that D'Antoni was also looking at him. He now has two options, either to tear the skin off with D'Antoni in person and let the management make the choice. Then with Anthony's influence, D'Antoni will basically leave. Anthony, but this way of handling is the most harmful to the team, and it is very likely that their opportunities this season will come to an abrupt end.

Finally, Anthony coughed twice, and then said: "The decline in the number of shots does not mean that the team pays attention or does not pay attention, but it shows the depth of our team's lineup, and I don't need to score so many points. This is a very good phenomenon, I think, in front of the team, personal honor is not so important."

After Anthony finished speaking, the reporter on the scene burst into applause, but the reporter still asked: "But Melo, I compared the performance of the Nuggets at the beginning of the season and the second half of last season, and it seems that there is no improvement. , Even a little regressed, we all know that the Nuggets created a record of 18 consecutive victories last season, isn't this a bit contradictory?"

Anthony's expression changed. The reporter in front of him was too ignorant, but he couldn't show it at this time. He smiled and said, "It seems that this reporter is very knowledgeable about mathematics..."

The reporters at the scene burst into laughter.

Anthony then said suddenly and seriously: "Actually, no matter what, it is the most important thing that can help the team win and the team can always be on the way to win."

The fans at the scene applauded again, but the reporter didn't seem to want to stop, but wanted to continue asking questions.

At this moment, Su Xi suddenly reached out and interrupted him: "This is the end of today's questioning. If you have any questions, I will ask them at the next press conference. Thank you very much."

Su Xi issued the order to evict the guests, and the reporter could only sit back in resentment.

Anthony felt grateful for a while, and turned his head to talk to Su Xi, when he found that she had left the meeting room by herself.

(End of this chapter)