Three Hundred and One: It's Time for a New Generation

A year ago, on January 2, the defending champion Lakers, who were still in full swing at the time, encountered the difficult Memphis Grizzlies.

That was the first time Kobe played against Link, the first time he felt the magic of the undrafted pick.

At that time, Link came off the bench and scored 13 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, helping the Grizzlies win a big victory. Although Link's stats are not amazing now, at the time, Kobe was already surprised by Link's ability. After all, he is just an undrafted pick. Moreover, it was just an undrafted pick that was given up by the Rockets.

After that, the time came to February 7th. This time, the Lakers succeeded in revenge and defeated the Grizzlies. But Link put up a performance of 18 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. In just one month, he has improved more than last time!

Then, it will be January 8 this year. At this time, Kobe was quite familiar with Link, and Link became the new darling of the league. He not only led the Grizzlies to win the Lakers, but also scored 17 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds.

Kobe is delighted with Link's progress, and he believes that all those who work hard deserve to be rewarded.

But no matter which one of these games, Link's performance and statistics did not surpass Kobe. Link over Kobe? This sounds like a magical thing that couldn't be more magical. In front of Kobe, Link can score more than ten points and show an all-around performance, which seems to be a kind of victory. As long as he can do this, the media will not hesitate to use compliments.

But beyond Kobe? The media and fans are not extravagant. In their view, against a player like Kobe, not getting blown up is a victory. Moreover, Link has been making continuous progress. Every time he faces Kobe, he is gradually getting better.

As a result, on March 12, just over two months later, Link had 38 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds and 1 block. Without any warning, Link defeated Kobe from statistics to performance! He was no longer satisfied with the gradual progress, but suddenly took a big step forward, which shocked everyone!

From Kobe's first meeting with Link to today, in just one year and two months, that number 0 has undergone tremendous changes.

Thinking of these, Kobe felt heartache. He has witnessed Link's growth, but it can also be said that he has become the background board for Link's growth.

"The Lakers may have to give up the game. Sure enough, Mike Brown replaced Kobe Bryant. He didn't want Kobe to take any more risks. This year's regular season schedule is very dense. Avoiding injuries is the best long-term goal. A favorable approach. But the game ended in this way, Kobe must be very unwilling."

Hubie Brown wiped his sweat while speaking. When Kobe walked off the court, Brown Sr. felt relieved. The war is finally over, and most importantly, the Grizzlies are the winners.

For Grizzlies fans, this is undoubtedly a happy ending. After Gay was injured, the Grizzlies still managed to avoid losing streak. And Link also used his outstanding performance to give the Grizzlies fans a reassurance.

Now, everyone believes that the Grizzlies will not fall due to injuries, nor will they be finished because of Randolph's decline.

Because, they have Link.

Seeing Kobe off the court, Hollins also took Link down. When Link walked off the court, all the fans stood up and applauded Link.

Seeing this scene, Kobe, who was sitting on the bench, couldn't help feeling that the Grizzlies finally ushered in their true soul.

This team, from now on, will no longer be confused.

"Well done, I knew I could trust you."

"What did I say? As long as you unshackle, you can fight better!"

"You are so handsome today! Believe it or not, the ball you swayed Bynum in the second quarter will be played continuously on TV for a month!"

On the bench, Link was praised by his teammates, and he hugged his teammates very accommodatingly, completely losing the vigor he had on the court just now.

This guy put away his desire to win again and hid it in his heart. But I believe that from now on, no one will dare to easily release the "demon" in his heart.

In the end, the Lakers lost on the road. As long as the Grizzlies score more than 110 points in a single game, it means that this game is unusual. Today, people know what makes the game unusual.

Link's 38 points and 12 assists are really eye-catching! This is the second highest score Link has scored this season after the 40-point triple-double against the Bulls.

Kobe was speechless. This is the second time this season that he allowed a Chinese to score nearly 40 points... and both of them were named Lin.

Worthy of the two guys who can be featured in "Time" magazine.

After the game, the reporters couldn't wait to pour into the stadium. Bynum, Kobe and Link have become the three most popular players today.

Bynum obviously didn't want to be so "popular", he just wanted to go back to the locker room and hide. Although he scored a large double-double with 24 points and 16 rebounds, Bynum did not feel that he performed well today.

No way, who made him sit on the ground directly in the second quarter, and his mentality collapsed afterwards. These two points are enough to make his large double-double today bleak.

"Shaking? No, it's just that the ground is too slippery and I just slipped and fell."

"What? You saw my ankle sprained? No, no, nothing... what ankle terminator, bullshit."

"I repeat, I didn't get shaken, I just slipped!"

When Bynum was interviewed, he kept defending, but everyone could actually see whether he slipped or swayed. The more he defended, the more reporters liked to make him make a fool of himself.

On the other hand, Bryant's mood is much more stable. But there is no doubt that he can only serve as a foil for Link today.

"I said a long time ago that Link is fully capable of carrying a team. But unfortunately, the Lakers did not become Link's suffering."

"Yes, Link played very well today. His post-up technique is very mature, and his cross-step emergency stop mid-range shot can rank among the top three in the league. I don't deny his excellence, but I still feel sorry for the loss. Disappointed."

"We're going to win more games, today's loss is a big blow to us, but it's not the end of the world."

Kobe looked calm on the surface, but there was a sense of unwillingness in his words. Originally, he wanted to recover from the one-on-one loss of the all-star training heads-up in the official game. Unexpectedly, today Link won a bigger one.

With Kobe's character, just thinking about it will tell how aggrieved he is.

However, although Kobe is competitive, he also agrees with the strong. He may be one of the few players who can't help but smile after being blocked by a well-connected star or scoring a goal.

So after the game, Kobe still embraced Link in a friendly way, and patted Link on the shoulder meaningfully.

In the eyes of some fans, this is merely a courtesy. But in Hubie Brown's view, this seems to herald the beginning of the renewal of the league...

Pierce, Ray Allen, Garnett, Kobe, Nowitzki, GDP, Nash... These guys who have been in the league for more than ten years have gradually withdrawn from the ranks of top stars. Players such as James and Wade began to dominate the league.

And Link and the others sat in the position of James and the others.

The situation in this alliance may change dramatically in the past few years. Today, it is just a portrayal of this general trend.

I just don't know what role the Memphis Grizzlies will play in the league in the future.

Will they be rulers, or challengers?

At the same time, in the luxurious box of FedEx Arena, the gray-haired Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley also made a difficult decision.

The future changes of the Grizzlies will be even greater than people imagined.

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