538: Shake yourself down
Greg Smith sat on the ground, feeling a little regretful. Although he and Link both lost the draft, he deeply experienced the huge gap between the two in just one fight.
Link didn't know why Smith was so stupid. Who gave him the courage, did Liang Jingru?
I originally wanted to complete a dunk just by ordinary, but I had to send it to make it a dunk.
If you want to become famous, you don’t need to be so anxious.
Jeremy Lin ran up and pulled Smith up, while Harden was still standing there, stunned!
The bearded man was wondering, would Smith's fate be his own today?
In the playoffs last season, the Grizzlies and the Thunder were able to "hide" behind Durant and Westbrook. But today, he was exposed to Link's firepower.
Moreover, this Link is even more irritable than Link in the regular season!
Link ran back from the frontcourt to defend and walked to Harden's ear. He still did not mock or swear, but said softly, "2-0".
Harden ignored Link for the time being because head coach McHale had already started yelling on the sidelines.
"Relax, the game has just begun! Get it back on the offensive end and be patient!"
McHale was loud and Link heard his yelling too.
Although the Rockets are only ranked eighth in the West this season, there is one terrible data that they can average 106 points per game in the regular season, ranking second in the league, slightly higher than the Thunder!
In this era when small balls and three-pointers have not yet been completely enlightened, averaging 106 points per game is not something you can get casually.
Defense is not the Rockets' specialty, and McHale doesn't want the Rockets to be entangled in defense.
Let go of your hands and feet and attack hard, and the attack is over!
McHale's shouting was still useful. When the Rockets attacked again, Link felt a difference.
The Rockets' offense became very fast, passing, running and covering every step was carried out at high speed.
It seems that McHale hopes to tear the Grizzlies' iron defense with a fast-paced attack.
Lao Hubi on the commentary stage also saw through the Rockets' intentions, but he was not nervous, but instead laughed jokingly.
That's right, the Rockets are second in the league in scoring per game. But the Grizzlies' defensive efficiency is the best in the league!
In 82 games, the Grizzlies had 10 games that allowed them to score even 80. This is the second decade of the 21st century, and the NBA game scores can still be prevented by 80. Listen, is this what people do?
The Rockets' fast movement and transmission have not worked. The Grizzlies' three outside lines and defensive abilities are top-notch! And the inside line is also a strong contender for the best defensive player.
In the end, Parsons could only barely take action outside the three-point line. Iguodala was about 10 cm shorter than Parsons, which is a big height gap. Link and many centers had less than 10 cm in height.
However, Iguodala's timely defense and interference made Parsons' height advantage impossible to exert at all
Under severe interference, Parsons' three-pointer hit the front of the basket. Judging from the arc, he didn't rush into the net at all. It can be said that he was outrageously biased.
This is a long rebound, and the inside players are not easy to control. But the Grizzlies are not worried at all, they also have a good rebounder on the front line.
Link started at the right position and took the right time to make rebounds. Among all the players who played in the third position this season, only four people could get 7 rebounds, and Link was one of them.
This kind of long rebounding battle has always been Link's expertise.
The Rockets' rapid offense failed, and then they were forced to use their tofu-like defense to resist the Grizzlies' offense.
The Rockets learned their lesson this time. Seeing that it was Link who was carrying the ball, they retreated very quickly. From Jeremy Lin to Asik, everyone was running like crazy.
Seeing that there was no chance to take a fast break, Link slowed down. But to be honest, he also wanted to see how strong the Rockets' position defense can be.
Link just passed the half, and handed the ball back to the real point guard Conley.
Conley is well-known to more and more fans because of the 0.9-second game at the end of the season. Now everyone knows that Conley is not the point guard like Chalmos who is only responsible for dribbling through the half-court in the Grizzlies. His own attack power is also quite strong.
Randolph ran up very consciously to cover Conley. It seemed that Conley wanted to make a breakthrough on his own.
This smart little defender is really a big challenge for Jeremy Lin, and everyone's eyes are on Conley.
But Conley just passed the ball bypassing Randolph. The basketball flew from the right to the middle distance on the left, and Link received the ball! And there was no one in front of him!
Everyone opened their mouths, including McHale. Because Harden had the old habit of eye defense again!
After Conley held the ball, Harden's attention was also focused on Conley. Link secretly walked around the left empty space, but Harden was still standing there, and his eyes were still on Conley.
This kind of defense will be beaten to death by teammates in the 1990s!
When Harden realized that he wanted to block it, it was too late. Link made a steadily jump shot from the middle distance, and he had just had a hard dunk, and now his soft shot is not difficult for Link.
"James Harden was stunned again. No one knew what he was thinking just now. This kind of defense appears in the playoffs, it's really not good." Mike Brin sighed. Harden has also played in the Finals, but he still has not made any progress in this regard.
Link pointed to the sky, which was considered a celebration of the goal. When he passed by Harden, Link said another sentence to him, "4-0".
Harden clenched his fists, that hatred!
Seeing Harden getting angry, Link became proud. Just be angry. Isn’t the purpose of squirting trash talk to make you angry?
The Rockets' bottom line ball drove very quickly, and before the Grizzlies had completely retreated, the Rockets' bottom line ball opened.
Harden rushed forward frantically, and halfway through. Jeremy Lin seized the opportunity and sent the basketball to Harden who was running in the front.
Harden likes this fast-paced attack very much. He doesn't believe that he will be suppressed by Link at the rhythm he likes. At least he will not be worse than Link in terms of scoring!
After Harden received the basketball, facing Link outside the three-point line, his upper body swayed and was about to change direction!
However, Link seemed to see through Harden's thoughts, and just reached out and slapped the basketball on Harden's hand!
Link carefully studied Harden's game video. In the fast-paced advance, Harden always likes to use this move. Once he breaks through the defense line, he can directly make a layup. If he can't make a basket, he will be able to make a foul.
Harden averaged 10.2 free throws per game this season, and many of them did.
Sure enough, this time is no exception. Harden wanted to use this move to swing over Link. But unfortunately, Link is not the kind of player who can break through just by shaking. Irving also wanted to swing Link away, but that was another sad story.
Not only did Harden lose the ball, but he also lost all his center of gravity and fell to the ground due to sudden blockage.
Then he accidentally stepped on his right foot and made his shoes fly.
Under Harden's embarrassing back, Link began to fight back near the midfield line. He traveled through the crowd and finally made a layup under Asik's blockade.
The audience laughed, and Mike Bryn joked, "James Harden shook himself."
Harden got up from the ground and put on his shoes again. Then, the voice came as promised, "6 to 0".
At that moment, Harden experienced what real despair is. This is the Memphis Grizzlies, and this is the reason why the Rockets are unwilling to fight with them!
After 6 minutes, the Rockets did not score any sports game! With only two free throws from Harden, they played 13-2 with the Grizzlies. They were only halfway through the first quarter, and the Rockets were 11 points behind.
McHale's quick attack did not play any role in front of the Grizzlies, so he had to suspend the game again.
Before Harden left the field, he saw Link competing against him, indicating that the score between the two is 6-2.
It seems that Harden is forced to pull him into this competition whether he wants it or not.
Harden pretended to ignore it, but he felt panicked.
Chapter completed!