One Thousand Two Hundred and Ninety-Nine: Can't Afford to Offend, Can't Afford to Offend

If Zion was the No. 1 pick in the 1990s, he probably wouldn't be as honest as he is now.

Recall how the rookies in the 1990s treated Jordan.

During his rookie season, Reggie Miller dared to openly challenge Jordan and told him face to face: "Michael, who do you think you are? The great god of basketball? Well, now there is a new big brother."

Mutombo, the "Mountain of Africa" ​​whose real age no one knows, once challenged Jordan during his rookie season: "Can you shoot free throws with your eyes closed?"

Of course, neither of the above two is as brave as Artest.

When Artest was a rookie in the training hall, after being trash-talked by Jordan about autism, he simply broke Jordan's ribs with an elbow... It must be said that Artest at that time had already shown his talent. Showing his "King of Fighters" temperament.

Fortunately, the Internet was not very developed at that time and the information was relatively limited. Otherwise, Artest will definitely be sprayed to death by the fans.

This is the rookie of the 1990s. Even if they face the strongest man in the league, they will not be timid.

But now, times have changed.

People were expecting Zion Williamson to have some sparks with Link, but unfortunately, both of them were polite before the game.

"Zion is a very talented player, and his performance speaks for itself. But basketball is a team sport, and I don't want to evaluate a player of the other side individually." Before the game between the Grizzlies and the Pelicans on January 20, This is how Link evaluated the new top pick in an interview with reporters.

Obviously, Link's answer was very inconsistent with fans' expectations. They all hope that Link can stir up some trouble, but taking the initiative to stir up trouble is not in line with Link's character.

The other half, Zion Williamson, is as cautious and humble as ever.

"It has always been my dream to play against the Grizzlies at FedEx Arena. The Grizzlies were the greatest team in the 10s, and all players want to play against the greatest team. To catch up with the last game of Link's career Years are my luck and honor.”

Zion did not use words to provoke the current leader in the league like Reggie Miller and Mutombo, nor did he imitate Artest and start directly.

Although he said this, Zion actually really hoped that he could win the game.

Think about it, the new No. 1 pick defeated the Grizzlies,

Defeating Link is a great opportunity to make a name for yourself!

Besides, which arrogant No. 1 pick doesn’t desire to defeat the No. 1 player in the league?

Why do the rookies in the 1990s like to challenge Jordan? Because that's the best way to make them famous.

Although, almost no one takes this shortcut.

The same is true now. If a newcomer can defeat Link, there is no doubt that he will become famous immediately.

But Zion still has B numbers in his heart. Although he is big, his mind is not simple.

Defeat Link? Does this mean that you can defeat it if you defeat it?

Isn't this making things difficult for me, Fat Tiger?

Therefore, before the game is over, it is best not to rashly speak out.

All in all, Zion should avoid provoking Link.

This way, even if you lose, it won't be too embarrassing. But if you win, you will still get praise.

It’s simply a profit without loss!

When the players from both sides came in to warm up, Jermichael Green couldn't help but swallowed his saliva when he looked at "Fat Tiger" Williamson's muscular figure.

Zion's 129 kilograms is the second-heaviest weight among active players in the NBA.

The first priority is Mavericks center Boban Marjanovic. The Serbian center weighs 132 kilograms and is a well-deserved giant.

But Boban's height is 2.21 meters, which is only five centimeters shorter than Chairman Yao.

And what about Zion? His height is only just over two meters if he wears shoes!

This shows how terrifying the weight of this new top pick is.

It's like the second generation of Barkley.

You know, when Jokic was at his fattest, his weight did not exceed 120 kilograms.

Moreover, Williamson's fatness is different from Jokic's fatness. Jokic's muscle lines are not so obvious, so he does not look so intimidating.

Williamson, on the other hand, has almost no fat on his body. He seems to be one of those guys who likes to wear underwear outside of superhero comics. He looks very difficult to mess with.

Green is about to cry but has no tears left. What did Qiaogel say yesterday? Is he just a kid?

This child is growing too fast...

Before the game started, the camera gave a split-screen close-up of Zion and Link.

The showdown between these two people is undoubtedly the biggest highlight today.

But Link's eyes fell on the thin striker with an expressionless face.

Brandon Ingram, he is the key today!

After leaving the high-profile Los Angeles, Ingram settled down and finally achieved the expected results.

In fact, Ingram's few seasons with the Lakers were quite unfortunate.

In the 16-17 season, he had D'Angelo Russell beside him to compete with him.

In the 17-18 season, Russell finally left, but Ball and Kuzma came again.

It was even more desperate last season, and Lao Zhan came directly...

Although the Lakers have always said that Ingram is their future and the core of their team building. But in fact, they have never given Ingram core treatment.

Only this year with the Pelicans did Ingram know how to write the word core for the first time.

Amid the cheers of the crowd, both teams started getting ready.

People are discussing what kind of sparks Zion and Link will collide today, but Link's "target" is aimed at Ingram.

The referee threw the ball up, and Pelicans rookie center Jaxson Hayes got the ball first.

After Lonzo Ball got the basketball, he began to advance slowly. At this time, everyone was staring at Williamson, expecting him to perform well in the opening game.

After all, Ball is the kind of player who can "hang" Zion on the basket with a long pass at any time.

But what makes people disappointed is that the Grizzlies did not send Link and Williamson to face off directly.

This is somewhat appealing to fans.

Although Ball is known for his passing, most of his wonderful passes actually come from counterattacks.

Falling into position, Ball's current organizational ability can only be said to be quite satisfactory.

Ball quickly handed the ball to Ingram. After Ingram got the ball, No. 1 pick Zion came to cover.

The former Prince of the Lakers first moved to the side with cover, but after seeing Link moving laterally, Ingram pulled with his long arm, changed direction and began to break through!

Ingram's position this season is very clear, he is a scorer.

He doesn't have to waver between point forward and playmaker like he did with the Lakers.

Get the points first and talk about the rest later.

After Ingram broke through, he was about to stop for a mid-range shot, but found that Link had moved sideways in front of him, blocking all shooting space!

Ingram frowned, Link's sideways movement was too fast!

Generally speaking, Ingram is accurate when shooting directly after a mismatch.

But he didn't expect that Link would follow his footsteps so quickly.

Although Ingram is no longer a first-year player, this is his first time playing against Link in a real sense.

Therefore, Ingram does not have a very intuitive understanding of the depth of Link's defense.

However, Ingram would never be defeated so easily. Seeing Link blocking his shooting space, he suddenly changed his rhythm and dropped his center of gravity again to accelerate the breakthrough!

Ingram has handled the ball very cleanly, tough and determined this season.

He has a lot of stride, so most of the time, that change of pace is enough to get him past most defenders.

However, as soon as Ingram took a step forward, he was forcefully forced to stop by Link again!

Link followed Ingram's footsteps almost immediately, and Ingram's rhythm changes were not confusing at all to Link.

"Damn it!" Ingram gritted his teeth. No wonder even James would be defeated by Link again and again.

But Ingram had another trick up his sleeve. After being forced to stop by Link, Ingram took advantage of the situation and turned around and shot a jumper.

He still has no intention of giving up scoring!

Just when Ingram was secretly glad that he finally got rid of Link, the moment he took action, Link raised his arm to interfere.

Ingram couldn't see anything for an instant and had no way to aim at the basket.

Ingram was completely confused. Why could Link predict all his plans immediately?

Really a death entanglement?

Under Link's tight defense, Ingram's turnaround jumper fell directly into the hands of the referee.

Three no-sticks.

In the first round of the game, the new core of the Pelicans experienced the horror of FedEx Arena.

Link didn't trash talk Ingram because it wasn't necessary.

He believes that even if he doesn't use psychological tactics on Ingram, he will definitely get the new core of the Pelicans.

Ingram has indeed improved a lot, but he is still too young.

Watching Link silently walk away from him, Ingram felt even more oppressive.

Sometimes, a disdainful attitude will actually increase the other person's psychological pressure.

Zion Williamson on the side looked at Ingram who was stunned and swallowed his own saliva.

Fortunately, Link didn't face him today. This was too scary!

Although Williamson and Ingram didn't play together for a long time, he watched a lot of Ingram's games from the bench.

He knows very well what kind of strength Ingram is. This guy is a quasi-All-Star player who can contribute 25 points per game!

However, Ingram was embarrassed in front of Link.

At this moment, Zion suddenly felt a chill running down his spine.

He glanced back and found Link looking at him.

Zion quickly looked away, and kept reminding himself in his mind: "Don't mess with Link, don't mess with Link."