Nine: Early Appearance?

The Sioux Falls Sky Force is definitely the favorite team to win the G League this year. Because they have two players who have been dropped from the NBA.

They are Luke Babbitt and Marshall University's violent center Hassan Whiteside.

Babbitt and Whiteside are both rookies this year, the former being selected with the 16th overall pick in the first round and the latter a second-round pick.

Generally speaking, only marginal players who can't play in the NBA will come to the G League to play. But even such a player is a "big killer" for the Development League.

Link remembered that he had read the news of Yi Jianlian playing in the G League before he crossed over. He still remembers that Yi Jianlian's performance in the D-League was very good at the beginning, and there was no problem with averaging 20+10 per game.

However, in the NBA, Yi Jianlian's performance is extremely unstable. Although I don't want to admit it, Yi Jianlian was indeed a marginal person at that time.

This shows that there is a huge gap between the NBA and the Development League. Most of the players or rookies that the NBA temporarily does not want to put into the D-League can perform at a dominant level.

The same goes for Luke Babbitt, though the white forward is temporarily unavailable in the NBA. But this season in the G League so far, he is averaging 18.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

Therefore, the strength of the Sky Power team with two decentralized players should not be underestimated.

Besides, Link also knew that Hassan Whiteside was not a jerk. He is very clear that this center, who can't play in the NBA now, will become an All-Star level behemoth in the future. In the G League Whiteside averaged 3.2 blocks per game, which is enough to show his defensive talent.

So this game is bound to be very tough for the blue team.

"I want you to attack with high efficiency, attack the opponent's inside line for me, and be sure to bite the opponent on the offensive end!"

Before the game started, Conor was nervously arranging tactics in front of the starting five tigers. And the person who needs to play an efficient offense in his mouth is Joan Brockman.

As the only player from the Blues to be dropped from the NBA, Brockman has always had high hopes. It's just a pity that his performance is really sorry for his status as an NBA player.

So far this season, Brockman has averaged only 15.1 points per game, and his three-point shooting percentage is only 23.7%. On the defensive end, he is more than rough, but not smart, and is often fouled by opponents.

But what troubled Conor even more was that Brockman was the only one he could hope for. Against Luke Babbitt today, only Brockman can play against him.

"I know, just give me the ball." Brockman waved his hand impatiently, as if the coach was talking nonsense.

At the beginning of the game, the cheers in the stadium with only 2,000 people were not loud, but the basic conditions of the G League game are the same as the NBA, such as the arena environment.

Therefore, when Link sat on the bench to watch the game, he was still a little excited. After all, it was his first time watching a professional basketball game live!

"Link!"

Just as Link was looking around like a bumpkin, Conor suddenly yelled at him.

"I'm here!" Link hurriedly turned around, his palms sweating with nervousness.

"Be ready at any time, remember, I don't want you to go on the field and make mistakes as you did last time."

Afterwards, Conor didn't say anything, but focused on the basketball court.

Link clenched his fist secretly, and his performance in the training match yesterday must have impressed Conor. If Brockman doesn't work later,

Conor is bound to change himself to try it out. Now is your chance to show up!

The referee blew his whistle and the game officially started.

Whiteside naturally won the ball with ease, and his physical condition and athleticism are definitely top-notch in the G League.

After the Sky Force point guard took the ball past half court, he gave it to college star Luke Babbitt without thinking. Joan Brockman posted it immediately, and the showdown between the two white forwards attracted much attention!

Brockman sticks closely to Babbitt, who, after all, has always been a player known for shooting.

However, Babbitt didn't take Brockman's defense to heart at all. He directly held the ball and forced a breakthrough, and only one step made Brockman clean!

"So fast!" Link widened his pupils. According to his memory before he passed over, Luke Babbitt really had no ability to break through with the ball. His speed doesn't match the word "fast" in the NBA.

But in the Development League, Babbitt's breakthrough seems so skilled.

This also has something to do with Link's first time watching a professional game live, because even those CBA players who usually look slow on TV will feel very fast when they go to the scene to watch the game.

Babbitt made a successful breakthrough, and then bravely reached the inside for a layup. Like Brockman, Babbitt is not a soft white guy, and his style of play is very aggressive.

In fact, if he was a soft guy, he would not have played in the NBA for so many years in the future. Those who look average in the NBA are top-notch in other leagues.

The furious Brockman was going to chase him, but in the air he was surprised to find that Luke Babbitt made a layup with his left hand!

Even NBA-level guards are rarely able to use their left hand skillfully, not to mention Babbitt is a forward with a height of 2.06 meters.

After all, this guy was born to be left-handed.

Brockman couldn't catch up, but instead gave Babbitt a chance to play 2+1. Conor reluctantly held his forehead. They were all delegated from the NBA. Why is the gap so big?

A foul was given to the opponent at the beginning of the game, and Brockman's performance even attracted boos from many home fans.

But Brockman disagreed, and he didn't care about winning the game at all. The only thing this guy cares about is whether he can get good data.

So in the next offense, Brockman did not cooperate with his teammates, he just went it alone with the ball.

However, his poor dribbling ability could not break through Babbitt's defense, and in the end his layup could only end in iron.

At this point in the stands, I don't know how many scouts have crossed Brockman's name. The gap between him and Luke Babbitt is obvious at a glance.

The next few rounds were a complete disaster for Brockman. On both ends of offense and defense, he couldn't do anything with Luke Babbitt.

Babbitt's shot is better than Brockman, and he is 3 cm taller than Brockman. And against Brockman, Babbitt was not at all disadvantaged.

No matter how big you are in college, when you get into professional basketball, you have to start all over again. No one cares about how you were before, it's all about what you can bring to the team now.

Nothing compares to others, and the NBA naturally won't want you. If you want to enter the world's top basketball league and get a million-dollar annual salary, the competition you face is so cruel.

After four minutes in the first quarter, Luke Babbitt has scored 7 points on Brockman! The blue team was also 5 points behind early, which undoubtedly made Conor very passive.

If it wasn't for Upshaw's 3-pointer passing through the net just one round, the blue team is now even more behind.

So, the bald coach stopped the game first, and Link and other substitute players also surrounded him.

Although the tactics that the coach will talk about next may have nothing to do with these substitutes, they still have to listen to the pretense.

Link stood at the outermost edge of the crowd, because as a fringe player, he didn't expect to play so early.

However, in the middle of the crowd, Link heard Conor shouting.

"Where's Link!? Link! Come on, come to the middle! Listen, I need you to get on the court and use the 3-pointer to help the team get closer to the score! Try to run without the ball and take your chance!"

Link swallowed and even didn't quite believe his ears.

"What are you still doing!? Hurry up and take off your training clothes!"

At the same time, Joan Brockman became full of black lines. He knew that his trust in the head coach had run out of balance.

"Hey, don't be nervous. I'll pass you the ball just like I did in training."

Upshaw patted Link on the shoulder, and the show was about to begin.