One Thousand Three Hundred and Thirty-One: The Truly Strongest Opponent

The scene of Leonard stealing James and confronting Davis at the last moment has become the most popular scene in the past few days.

The historical defensive performance of "Facial Paralysis Man" can't help but make people sweat for Link.

Although the Grizzlies have not encountered any trouble so far in the playoffs and have not lost a single game, they have shown their extremely strong dominance.

But the strength of the Clippers cannot be confused with the Mavericks and Jazz.

The Mavericks and Jazz are certainly not weak, but they are not championship contenders after all. If you ask the Mavericks and Jazz to play against the Lakers, they will never survive until Game 7.

And in the regular season, the Clippers were the team that caused the most trouble to the Grizzlies, no one.

The Grizzlies have played against the Clippers four times this season and have only achieved a record of 2 wins and 2 losses.

You know, the Grizzlies have only lost seven games this season. Among them, the Clippers accounted for two!

The two times the Grizzlies won, one was 119-118 and the other was 113-112, both beat the Clippers by only 1 point!

This is the strength of the Los Angeles Clippers.

They didn't suddenly become strong in the playoffs.

Therefore, it is understandable that people are now worried about the fate of Link and Grizzly.

The Los Angeles Clippers have become Link's biggest obstacle on his way to becoming a god.

As soon as the Western Conference semifinals ended, the showdown between the Grizzlies and Clippers became a hot topic among fans.

No one knows whether Leonard can become famous in the Western Conference and become a god on the back of Link's legend.

No one knows whether Link can survive the Clippers' difficulties and continue to move towards the goal of four consecutive championships.

For fans Leso, Link and Leonard, no matter who wins this year, this will be a battle for the gods.

I just didn't expect that in the last playoffs of Link's career, there would be neither Durant nor James.

His opponent will actually be Leonard, who has never had a high sense of presence before.

But this does not affect the fans' enthusiasm for this round of the Western Conference Finals.

"In other people's last seasons, they just enjoy the game easily and then leave the place where they fought for with the blessings of the fans. But Link, he still has to face more difficult challenges than before. This is indeed It's not easy."

"Leonard's defense at critical moments is quite amazing, while Link's offense at critical moments can often kill the game. In the next round of the series, there may be a wonderful showdown between spear and shield."

"Kawhi Leonard said he couldn't predict the outcome of the series. In fact, no one can predict it. The Grizzlies have shown their strength, but the Clippers are not bad either. I have no idea who will win in the end. Will be a winner.”

As in past years, the excitement for the Western Conference Finals remains high.

Although there is a new generation of championship candidate Antetokounmpo in the East to support the field, there is still no way to make the Eastern Conference Finals as popular as the Western Conference Finals.

Link finally waited for his first threatening opponent in the playoffs this season, and Leonard also got his wish for a chance for revenge.

This powerful dialogue touches the hearts of all basketball fans.

People thought that before the start of this year's Western Conference Finals, the two sides would have an earth-shattering war of words to warm up the game, just like they did against the Warriors in the past.

But what is unexpected is that the Clippers players and Grizzlies players have been surprisingly quiet these two days, and there is even no news worth mentioning on the players' social media.

There is no trash-talking, no "father-son drama", and no verbal spats.

The two sides are like two unrelated teams, each going his own way without disturbing each other.

Beverly and Link talked trash and entered a state of standstill.

The fans who were just waiting to watch were all depressed. In front of such an important game, both sides showed no sign at all?

Really not, because both sides are nervously preparing for the game at this time, and have no mind to worry about anything else.

Besides, Link is a "passive defensive" keyboard warrior. Unless someone takes the initiative to cause trouble, Link can do something good.

There is nothing Link can do when he encounters Leonard who is silent and silent...

In this way, the Western Conference Finals are approaching day by day. The days before the war were so peaceful that it made you want to doze off.

Although the media helped to fuel the flames, the parties involved on both sides refused to stop and tear each other up, and the popularity never increased.

The atmosphere of war that was finally created gradually dissipated due to the calmness of the past few days.

Finally, on May 14, the Western Conference Finals started as scheduled at FedEx Arena.

If this game had started a few days later, fans would have forgotten that the NBA playoffs were still going on.

Before the start of this game, Stephen A. Smith was actively stirring things up between the Clippers and Grizzlies, hoping to help both parties stoke the fire.

But the players of the Grizzlies and Clippers were very calm, and when faced with some tricky questions, they gave tepid answers.

For example, when Link was asked about whether he would be worried about being stopped by Leonard on the way to winning the championship, he just said one word lightly: "Of course."

When Leonard faced the question "Do you want to do all you can to drag Link down from the altar?", his answer was very brief: "If you don't want to win, what am I doing here?"

After Stephen A. Smith finished interviewing the two of them, he felt an embarrassing cool breeze blowing...

No, where does the wind come from in the indoor court?

Some are just embarrassed.

Overall, the atmosphere before the start of this game was far less enthusiastic than everyone imagined.

It was as if this was just an ordinary regular season game.

Before the game started, only George, Harrell and Link said hello, and other Clippers players had no contact with the Grizzlies players at all.

This makes the game less topical.

The fans are all a bit unmotivated. They are obviously looking forward to this game, but for some reason, they just don’t have the enthusiasm...

But when the game really started, the situation took a 180° turn!

How indifferent the two sides were before the game started, but how fiercely the two sides fought after the game started!

Leonard really didn't lie, he just wanted to use actions to explain the tragedy of this round of the Western Conference finals!

As soon as the game started, Paul George, who came to help defend, missed Link's layup from behind.

Link is one of the players with the lowest blocked shots in the league. Under normal circumstances, anyone who wants to block Link is wishful thinking.

But today, George completed the block on Link as soon as he came up. This is mainly because Leonard blocked the ball in a timely manner, which gave George the opportunity to risk Link.

The Clippers' strongest striker, after experiencing the baptism of James and Davis, has become even more brutal than during the regular season.

Of course, soon JaMychal Green used his advantage of arm length to slap Paul George's layup into the stands through Dillon Brooks.

Link's idea of ​​"reciprocity" has been passed on to every teammate.

In the first two rounds, there were two big risks.

As soon as they came up, the two sides fought fiercely and refused to give in to each other.

These two rounds also became the epitome of today's entire game.

After that, the entire game was like a replica of the Clippers and Lakers series.

That is, the two sides fought very fiercely, and no one could get rid of the other.

George and Leonard did play better than in the regular season, and Harrell and Lou Williams played their strongest substitute combination.

At halftime, the two sides were tied at 58. Joger, who was interviewed by reporters, also said bluntly: "This is the most difficult game we have played since entering the playoffs."

Link was not surprised by this situation. He had experienced the Clippers' superior strength during the regular season.

But he is not worried. Who knows the outcome until the end?

In the second half, the anxious situation did not ease at all. The scores of both sides took the lead alternately, and the star showdown also made the fans excited.

In the last minute and a half of the game, the Grizzlies, who were trailing by 2 points, took possession of the ball.

At this time, although the Grizzlies were lagging behind, the fans in FedEx Arena were still full of confidence.

They believe in Link's ability at critical moments.

After Conley controlled the ball outside the three-point line, he was ready to find Link who came out of his pocket.

But unexpectedly, as soon as Conley released the ball, Leonard stretched out his long arm and suddenly accelerated, destroying the pass!

Although Leonard did not catch the ball directly, he was successful if he could interrupt the pass.

Sure enough, in the next second, Paul George rushed up to pick up the basketball, and then threw the ball to the side when Link was chasing him, assisting Harrell to make an alley-oop.

Seeing Harrell's dunk land, Link shook his head.

If Harrell hadn't restricted Siakam last season, it's unclear whether the Grizzlies could have established a dynasty. He was one of the most important members of the Grizzlies' last three consecutive championships.

Unexpectedly, just one year later, he would become the opponent's sharp knife.

Well, maybe I shouldn't have persuaded them to leave in the first place...

The score difference was widened to 4 points, and the Grizzlies became more and more dangerous.

In the next attack, Link personally held the ball and broke through. The moment he entered the penalty area and prepared for a layup, Leonard did everything!

Leonard's timing of cutting the ball is almost perfect, and he is on par with Link. Although Leonard still failed to get the ball directly, the ball eventually hit Link's thigh.

Clippers have the ball!

Two consecutive mistakes at critical moments made the Grizzlies very passive.

But Link never imagined that this was just the beginning.

In the last 38 seconds, the Grizzlies, who were 6 points behind, still had a glimmer of hope. Jokic held the ball and supported him in the high post. Link went around Jokic to catch the ball. Leonard also followed Link around.

But just when Link and Jokic were about to hand over the ball, Link suddenly ran back and moved to the other side!

Jokic and Link's fake pass cooperation always works well at critical moments.

But this time, Leonard was not deceived! He reacted in time and stole the ball the moment Jokic passed the ball!

With three consecutive steals, Leonard used his superb defense at the critical moment to end the game!

After grabbing the basketball, before Link could even foul, Leonard passed the ball to George, who had already started.

The latter forced a layup against Dillon Brooks, easily scored the ball, and had to add a penalty!

At that moment, all the Clippers players raised their arms high. They knew that they would win this battle!

"Damn, it's really difficult." Link shook his head. With these three steals, Leonard was about to become popular again.

With Leonard's key steal, the Clippers finally defeated the Grizzlies 118-111 and made a good start in the Western Conference Finals.

The fans in FedEx Arena also experienced the taste of defeat for the first time.

The Los Angeles Clippers are indeed extraordinary.

They are indeed the Grizzlies' strongest opponent in the Western Conference!

Link was a little annoyed, but not desperate.

As he told himself during halftime, who knows the outcome until the end?

The end of this game is not the end of the series, but there are seven games to be played.

There are still many things that can be done next.

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