One Thousand and Thirty-Nine: Deal with Them Before Getting Tired (2/5 4K)

Tonight's game was supposed to be the highlight.

Coupled with the controversy about Link's historical ranking, it further enhances the appeal of this game.

So tonight, when the players were still warming up, the court was very lively.

Because there are so many reporters who come to shoot and interview, this is the most intuitive way to reflect whether a game is attracting attention.

The reporters' questions on the sidelines were all similar, and they were basically all related to the "Hall of Fame Pyramid" that was released today.

"Of course Link deserves the sixth position. Have you all forgotten how he pushed Antetokounmpo to the ground and rubbed him yesterday? Who else can do it except him? With yesterday's performance, He is fully qualified to be ranked sixth.”

Facing reporters' questions, Wade was full of praise for Link. He did not refuse to acknowledge Link's greatness at all because of the hostile relationship between the two.

"After tonight, Bill Simmons will realize what a mistake he made. All I can say is, good luck to Link."

DeAndre Jordan holds a completely different view, but since he let the Mavericks dove once, Jordan's influence in the league is far less huge.

In terms of hard power, it is generally believed that the Grizzlies are stronger than the Clippers.

But today the Grizzlies are playing back-to-back games, and their opponent yesterday was the tough Bucks.

As a result, people are concerned about the state of grizzly bears.

If the Grizzlies are unable to exert their full strength due to fatigue, the Clippers can easily take the game away.

So before today's game started, Doc Rivers' plan was very clear.

"Speed ​​up the tempo as soon as you come on the field, and don't let them stop running for a moment! As long as they wear down their physical fitness, they can wear down their efficiency!"

The Clippers are well prepared. They must prove that they are capable of defeating the Grizzlies. They must give it a try for what is likely to be their last season.

The starting lineup of both sides stepped onto the court. On the Clippers' side, the starting five didn't change much from before.

Paul, Redick, DeAndre Jordan and Griffin are the Clippers' unbeatable main force.

The only difference is that the Clippers finally found a candidate for the third position they dreamed of!

Once upon a time, whether it was Caron Butler or Matt Barnes, they were no match for Link. Every time the two sides play against each other, the Clippers' No. 3 position will be badly beaten.

But this year is different. The Clippers' starting No. 3 position now belongs to "Prince of Cameroon" Luc-Richard Mbah a Moute.

Even though Mbah a Moute only averaged 6.1 points per game this year, his defensive efficiency ranks seventh in the league!

And this season, Mbah a Moute has also developed a three-pointer. After five games, his three-point shooting percentage is close to 40%!

You know, in the past few years, most of his three-point shooting percentages were still around 20%.

To put it simply, Mbah a Moute is now equivalent to a Tony Allen with range.

He is often used to guard the opponent's leading scorer, and the effect is outstanding. Even if he defends in the fourth position, there is no flaw.

A 3D small forward, and a small forward with D greater than 3, is exactly what the Clippers need.

With Mbah a Moute here, the Clippers have a trump card against Link.

Rivers doesn't expect Mbah a Moute to be able to completely lock Link, that's unrealistic.

But as long as he can be consumed as much as possible, Link's efficiency will definitely drop drastically in the end after fighting back-to-back!

If Link falls, the Clippers will have a chance!

After Rivers finished speaking,

The Clippers players all stood in their designated positions seriously.

On the Grizzlies side, reporters photographed Link saying something that made Jorge look surprised before the game started.

No one knows what Link said to Jorge, but everyone knows that the Grizzlies will definitely be in a tough fight today!

"Link's performance yesterday was impeccable. He embarrassed Antetokounmpo. But today, we don't know how much strength Link has left. After all, fighting against the 'Greek Monster' is not an easy task. "

Hubie Brown is a little worried. Although losing will happen sooner or later, he still hopes that the Grizzlies can win as many games as possible in the beginning.

Moreover, if Link loses at this juncture when Simmons just ranked sixth in history, he will definitely be drowned in people's saliva.

"Link may not launch a strong attack in the first half because he has to save his strength for the critical moment in the second half. So for the Clippers, the first half is their best chance to take advantage."

Beside Hubie Breen, Jeff Van Gundy predicted the trend of the first half of the game.

Almost everyone believes that the Grizzlies will struggle today due to physical problems, and Rivers is also ready to drag the game into the final moment.

Jordan and Gasol competed for the ball in the center circle, and the game officially began.

As soon as he came up, Paul held the ball over Conley and hit a three-pointer.

With this ball, Paul, who was about to break through, caught Conley off guard with his sudden jump shot.

But even so, Conley reached out as quickly as possible to interfere.

But his interference still failed to prevent Paul from scoring. As soon as he came up, Paul showed his determination.

"In the last game, Milwaukee lost because it was not experienced enough and had not fought a tough battle. But today, the Clippers and Paul will not be troubled by such problems. It seems that Paul is very aware of the Grizzlies' current situation, and he seems to be starting the game Just establish an advantage.”

After Paul scored, he immediately called on everyone to retreat.

Everyone is very positive, and the momentum shown by the Clippers today will undoubtedly make those fans who think Link is not worthy of sixth place in history extremely happy.

Because if Link loses today, it will undoubtedly prove that Link's ranking is too high.

The real sixth in history will not lose because of back-to-back reasons!

"Damn, it's really unreasonable." Link looked at Paul who scored the goal and shook his head.

That shot just now had no rationality at all.

Since Paul is so domineering, Link has no intention of restraining himself.

Anyway, he had no intention of doing that.

Just after Link ran halfway, Bamot entangled Link forcefully.

I have to say that Mbah a Moute's defense really made Link's eyes shine.

With Mbah a Moute, Link seems to have regained the feeling of confronting Tony Allen in the training ground.

Bamot is very active in taking the initiative to fight. It is obvious that he hopes to consume Link in this way.

Even if Link were Superman, it would be difficult for him to maintain sufficient physical strength in two consecutive intense back-to-back games.

Link did not deny this.

Therefore, his strategy is simple - get rid of the Clippers before he collapses from exhaustion!

Link leaned on Bamot and turned around, then shook off the "Prince of Cameroon" and cut inside.

Bamot was a little surprised. He didn't expect Link to get rid of his defense so easily!

That smooth pace and perfect timing made Link slide away from Bamot as if his whole body was covered with soap.

Mbah a Moute has guarded many teams' leading scorers, but Link is the first to be able to get rid of him so easily!

Mbah a Moute hurriedly chased back, but just as he was about to speed up, he saw Link taking advantage of Gasol's off-ball screen to reach outside the three-point line.

This is a reverse run!

When Link returned to the three-point line, Conley's pass was immediately delivered.

At this time, Mbah a Moute was entangled with Gasol who was covering!

Link didn't hesitate and shot directly from outside the three-point line!

Although Mbah a Moute rushed over as soon as possible and interfered with the shooting.

But this level of interference has almost no impact on Link.

"brush!"

Following Chris Paul just now, Link also responded with a three-pointer!

This timely and easy response to the ball made Paul feel like he had been punched.

Rivers and Jeff Van Gundy on the commentary desk were both a little surprised. This was different from what they predicted!

Indeed, it is nothing unusual for Link to score such a goal.

But in their understanding, Link should not launch much offense in the first half.

But in the first round, Link used active running to seek scoring opportunities.

"Link is very active, and his shooting is as accurate as ever. But in this case, does Link not plan to play in the second half?" Van Gundy swallowed. Could it be that this time, Link made a mistake?

But it wasn't over yet. Soon, Link used his tireless running on the defensive end to complete the defense.

This time, the Clippers wanted to tear apart the Grizzlies' defense through active and fast passing of the ball and non-stop running. Although it was somewhat imitating the Warriors, this move did work.

In the end, J.J. Redick was leaked by the exhausted Wade.

Redick caught the basketball and was about to take a shot, but found Link approaching him quickly.

Redick is not stupid. Although he shoots accurately and likes this opportunity, he is an experienced veteran after all and can keep his composure.

Therefore, Redick is not greedy for credit. After he made a fake shot, he passed the ball to the vacated Mbah a Moute!

Rivers clenched his fists and was ready to celebrate the goal, and Mbah a Moute also jumped up and took action immediately. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

However, when Mbah a Moute took off and took action, his eyes were covered by a black shadow.

It’s still Link!

"Damn, what speed is this!?" Rivers couldn't help complaining. Link had just rushed towards Redick with all his strength, but now he could still rush back to defend Mbah a Moute!

This guy seems to be running faster than he can pass the ball!

Link not only didn't save any effort, but he was also full of firepower as soon as he started!

He did not hesitate to run wildly in the half court and was unwilling to give the Clippers any chance.

In this round, Link was equivalent to one person guarding two people!

Mbah a Moute's three-point shooting percentage has indeed improved greatly this season, but interfering with three-pointers is not what he is good at.

Under Link's interference, Mbah a Moute missed the shot.

Jordan and Gasol took off at the same time to fight for rebounds, but neither side touched the basketball, but clicked it out.

As a result, Link, who had just finished running wildly, jumped up again, grabbed the rebound like a crowd, and then immediately took control of the ball and started to counterattack!

"The pace of the game is very fast, astonishingly fast! Link almost never stops running. He seems to like this rhythm very much!" Hubie Brown feels that as he gets older, he can't even keep up with Link's legs and feet. .

The speed of this transition between offense and defense made it difficult for Lao Hu to keep up, let alone the Clippers' defense.

Rivers looked at Link in surprise, at the No. 0 forward.

The Clippers play at a fast pace mainly to wear down the Grizzlies.

At this time, shouldn't Link try to stabilize his rhythm?

But instead, he made the pace of the game faster!

Link held the ball and walked outside the three-point line, then suddenly stopped!

His extremely strong core strength allows him to overcome inertia and "brake" very simply.

Bamot, who had been running at full speed to catch up with Link, rushed two steps away due to inertia.

Taking advantage of the space in these two steps, Link made a pull-up jumper directly from outside the three-point line.

Another three-pointer, and another hit!

From grabbing a rebound to scoring a three-pointer, it only takes a few seconds!

"Link started today with a strong desire to attack and was very active in running. This is exactly the opposite of what we predicted!" Van Gundy scratched his hairless head.

Suddenly it dawned on him. Now, he finally knew what Link said to Qiaogel before the game, which caused Qiaogel to be so surprised.

※※※

Facing the Clippers in back-to-back games, Joger was still very worried.

Last season, the Grizzlies were completely frightened by injuries. So faced with such a huge consumption of back-to-back games, Joger has a psychological shadow.

The more tired the players are, the more likely they are to get injured late in the game, and the Grizzlies can no longer afford injuries.

Link also knew this truth, so before the game started, he said to Qiaogel, "The further we go in today's game, the more passive we will be. Everyone is tired, so today we..."

"So we have to stabilize the rhythm after taking the field? Reduce consumption?"

"No, I will launch a fierce attack as soon as the game starts today and try to solve the game before I feel tired! I know that the Clippers will not let go easily today. But... I should be able to handle it." Link laughed. He said to Joger and then stepped onto the court.

Qiaogel was shocked. He did not expect that Link would choose to go in the opposite direction.

He didn't sit back and wait, but wanted to take the initiative!

To get the Clippers in advance, no one in the league dares to say such a thing, not even Durant and Curry.

But Qiaogel quickly regained his composure. After all, he was Link.

There is no word "impossible" in Link's dictionary.

And now, after Link disrupted the Clippers with his tireless defense and flying rhythm, Joger has more confidence in Link.

It doesn't seem too far-fetched to take care of the Clippers before getting tired.

Today, let the Clippers have a good look at the terrifying strength of the sixth in history!