Chapter 858: Twin Towers Changes (3/5)

Chris Paul doesn't care what other people think of him, he just wants to win.

Since entering the league in 2005, Paul has quickly earned the title of "No. 1 point guard" and has become one of the top ten superstars in the league.

But compared with others in the top ten, his hard honors are really pitiful.

Durant has already gone through the finals and Link already holds two championship rings.

Chris Paul, this guy who is always ranked very high by people, has never even played in the conference finals!

Paul thought that after coming to Los Angeles, he would be closer to glory. However, everything is no different than it was in New Orleans.

This is already his ninth year in the industry. How many nine years does a player's career last?

Paul knows that his age is also rising, and his final peak will only be in the past few years.

If he is unable to reach the conference finals or even the finals during this period, he will most likely become a "ringless superstar" like John Stockton.

That's certainly not the result Paul wants. For someone like him who has a strong desire to win, not having an NBA championship is unacceptable.

Therefore, at this juncture when the Clippers were "stranded", Paul chose to put victory first.

As long as they can defeat the Grizzlies, the Clippers have hope, and Paul only recognizes this.

He doesn't care whether Link is injured or not, and he doesn't care what the fans think of him.

He only knows that the Clippers are now 8 points ahead, and this is the fact!

"Chris, in the second quarter, add individual singles while assisting teammates inside to score. We need to completely open up the score and establish the victory!" Doc Rivers knew that he now had an advantage, so he didn't want to dwell on it. How did it come about.

At first, Rivers only wanted the Clippers players to treat Link roughly, but he didn't expect Paul to be so rough.

In this case, of course we must seize the opportunity to win!

Paul nodded silently, his eyes full of murderous intent. 4-0 is a thing of the past.

Starting today, the Clippers' status has changed!

The electronic buzzer sounded and Chris Paul stepped onto the court. As soon as he walked onto the court, there were deafening boos.

Paul did not waver. He knew that he was now on the "blacklist" of FedEx Arena.

But he was not afraid, but stared ahead, waiting for the Grizzlies to attack.

But when Paul saw the Grizzlies' starting lineup in the second quarter, the unscrupulous No. 3 frowned slightly.

"Link is back. After a rest, he returned to the court. It seems that Link's health is not serious. Memphis fans can rest assured! Wait... In addition to Link, the Grizzlies The team also sent Marc Gasol and Hassan Whiteside at the same time." Hubie Brown couldn't help but raise his voice.

Qiao Geer has sent a double center lineup!

"Dual centers?" Doc Rivers also noticed the Grizzlies' changes, but his expression was very relaxed. "That guy doesn't think that stacking big men can solve the interior crisis, right?"

Jordan was gearing up. He couldn't wait to press Whiteside to the ground and rub him.

In the first quarter of the game, Jordan scored 6 points and 4 rebounds, which was quite good data. However, due to the staggered playing time of the two sides in the first quarter, Jordan did not get the opportunity to directly play against Whiteside.

Now, Jordan wants to let the reporters see how unbearable the 10-day short-term work they boasted about is really!

Whiteside also clenched his fists. He also wanted to go over and beat Jordan up right now, but in the end he held back and did not get carried away.

He has not forgotten that his current opponent is not Jordan, but Blake Griffin!

Jordan's revenge will come later. His first priority now is to help the Grizzlies tide over the difficulties.

The Grizzlies started the second quarter with a baseline kick.

Link waited outside the three-point line for Conley to dribble across half court. At the same time, Whiteside began to wrestle with Griffin, trying to squeeze into the basket.

Gasol stood in the middle distance, trying to draw Jordan out of the penalty area.

As soon as Conley passed halftime, Link immediately started to respond.

When accelerating, Link felt a slight pain in his calf. Paul's pinch was really hard.

After Link received the basketball, he changed his body and threw away Barnes, breaking through again!

"Looks like the pain you just suffered wasn't severe enough!" Paul gloated when he saw Link breaking through.

He believed that Jordan would teach Link to behave.

As expected, Jordan pounced ferociously. They successfully restricted Link in the first quarter, so Jordan was full of confidence in the second quarter.

If Link gets stronger, he will only suffer more damage. If it is passed to Gasol, Jordan can rush back to interfere immediately.

But this time, when faced with a double-team, Link didn't push forward or pass the ball to Gasol. Instead, he hit the ground to Whiteside who cut into the basket!

It's time to break through the Clippers' $30 million insider!

When Whiteside caught the basketball, there was Griffin blocking him.

Griffin's defense is not top-notch to begin with. His defensive skills are average, and his short wingspan makes it very difficult for him to defend tall opponents.

In their twilight years, Dirk and Duncan both had experiences of abusing Griffin.

The reason why Griffin was able to restrain Harris before was because Harris was at a disadvantage in terms of strength and tonnage and could not defeat Griffin. But Whiteside, who replaced Harris at this time, did not have this problem!

After receiving the basketball, Whiteside ran two steps and took off for a hook shot. With a height of 2.13 meters and a wingspan of 2.31 meters, his shooting point was very high, and Griffin could not reach it!

The Clippers' No. 1 pick tried to straighten his arms, but his short hands had no interference at all...

Just like that, Link assisted Whiteside and hit a hook, and the Grizzlies narrowed the point difference!

"Beautiful goal. For Griffin, Whiteside is a bit too tall and too strong. Let's see how the Clippers will respond." Hubie Breen waved his fist. That might have happened just now. This was the Grizzlies' smoothest offense today.

Whiteside happily pointed at Link as a thank you. Link nodded and quickly retreated.

When passing Paul, Link stopped and whispered in his ear.

"You have one of the lowest turnover rates in the league. You are not a person who makes mistakes, Chris. But just now, you made a big mistake."

After saying that, Link quickly left, leaving only Paul gritting his teeth.

Paul knew that Link was a talker, but he had no intention of fighting back. As long as this attack can be scored, Link will naturally shut up!

In this round, Paul and Jordan repeated their old tricks, trying to run a pick-and-roll and then throw lobs.

But at this time, it was Whiteside who defended Jordan.

DeAndre Jordan immediately cuts in after the pick-and-roll, but facing Whiteside, DeAndre Jordan's advantage in mobility is not so obvious.

He may be able to get rid of Gasol easily, but he can't get rid of Whiteside, who also has excellent athletic ability and a vengeful mentality!

Paul still threw the ball into the air, unaware of Jordan's dilemma.

So, Whiteside jumped in front of Jordan, and his long arms were like a high wall, blocking the basketball "outside the wall."

"Whiteside destroyed Paul's alley-oop pass to Jordan. Now, the Grizzlies' interior is no longer at a disadvantage in terms of athletic ability!"

As soon as Hubie Brown finished speaking, Link rushed up and pocketed the destroyed basketball. Paul was also grabbing the ball, but he received a hidden elbow from Link while fighting in the air.

You know, although Link will not intentionally hurt others, he still has many dark tricks!

Paul was dazed by the elbow. He immediately covered his head and staggered a few steps, trying to win the referee's sympathy, but the referee ignored him.

Everyone knows that Paul loves to act, and after Paul hit Link hard in the first quarter, he left a bad impression on the referee. Therefore, the referee judged that Paul was faking it and did not interrupt the game!

As everyone knows, Paul really suffered a loss this time. But even if he really suffered a loss, Paul would no longer be protected by the whistle.

This is the basketball version of "crying wolf".

After Link grabbed the basketball, he immediately pushed forward. Barnes and Jordan rushed towards Link fiercely, as if they were going to knock Link out of the baseline.

Link turned to look at Butler, who was following up from outside the three-point line, but actually threw the ball lightly and sent it to the inside!

Whiteside, who had already walked to the basket, reached out and caught the basketball. After reaching the basket, he suddenly pushed it away, knocking Griffin away.

Griffin's advantages in tonnage and strength turned into disadvantages in front of Whiteside!

Although there is only a little space, it is enough!

Whiteside pushed away Griffin and dunked directly. The dunk was so powerful that Griffin reflexively put his hand in front of his chest to protect himself.

The Clippers' inside advantage seemed to be gone, leaving Whiteside to wreak havoc.

"DeAndre, protect the rim, protect the rim!" Doc Rivers started shouting in his duck voice. He knew that Griffin alone could not restrain Whiteside.

The destructive power of this behemoth is much greater than when it came to the Clippers for trial training. Only Jordan can compete with it.

With only 4 points left, Link stuck out his tongue at Paul, "Sorry, but you guys are really vulnerable!"

Paul was absolutely furious, but he wasn't the type to get hot-headed easily. As the team commander, he kept calm in the next attack and did not have Maoran singles.

Paul knows that Jordan is basically watched to death by Whiteside. So, I planned to find an opportunity with Griffin.

In the end, Paul used a breakthrough ball to create a mid-range shot opportunity for Griffin. But under the interference of the tall and long-armed Gasol, Griffin's shot completely lost its aim and was ridiculously crooked!

The Clippers' inside line became extremely weak in the second quarter, and both Jordan and Griffin were misfired! On both offense and defense, they were beaten to death by the Grizzlies Twin Towers.

Jordan retreated unwillingly. He still didn't believe that the Clippers' inside line would be suppressed by a has-been All-Star + 10 days of short-time work.

So this time on defense, Jordan's position was very close to the basket. The purpose is simple, to interfere with Whiteside's attack.

He has to step up and protect the rim.

Seeing Jordan standing so close to the basket, Link became happy. The Clippers were completely led by the nose now!

Before the double team formed, Link raised the basketball and seemed ready to pass an alley-oop to Whiteside.

Jordan immediately retreated to the basket, but the next second, Link passed the ball in the opposite direction!

At the free throw line, Gasol received the basketball and was unguarded!

No matter how fast Jordan was this time, he couldn't make it back. When he retreated to the basket, he was too far away from Gasol!

Gasol did not hesitate and lived up to expectations and threw the ball in! As soon as the second quarter started, the Grizzlies launched a wave of 6 and 0, instantly narrowing the point difference!

And these 6 points all came from Grizzlies inside players!

"What? DeAndre should give Gasol enough respect in the mid-range. Gasol can really shoot." Mark Jackson complained. How could Jordan just let Gasol go?

The keen Doc Rivers immediately suspended the game and was chased for 6 points in a row. This was not a good sign. The Grizzlies' twin towers changed their formation and caught the Clippers off guard!

Link excitedly rushed forward to hug his two giant teammates. They were really helpful!

Of course, Link also knew that this was just a warm-up.

The real counterattack will be more violent than this...