Chapter 887: Triple-Double in Game 9, the Undercurrent Behind It

First round voting, 1.01 million votes...

Nothing like this has ever happened in NBA history. Even Howard, who won the all-time vote leader in 2009, only received about 700,000 first-round votes.

For comparison, James received only 1.41 million votes in the All-Star voting last season.

And Link received 1.01 million votes in the first round alone!

Stephen Curry resisted this result. He thought that with his high popularity this season, he could compete for the top vote.

However, the huge gap between Link and others made Curry give up this goal in the first round.

I really can’t compete, it’s so perverted!

Many All-Star players failed to get 1 million votes by the end of voting. Link's votes were similar to Chamberlain's 20,000 women.

It can only be admired but cannot be surpassed.

"It's really yours. I got 1.01 million tickets in the first round, hahahahaha. If I post a canvassing video, I guess I can reach 1.1 million tickets!" Jeff Austin laughed from ear to ear on the phone.

No wonder Link was indifferent to Curry and James' campaign to canvass votes. It turned out that he had expected that he would be far ahead!

But in fact, Link was also surprised by the number of votes he received.

1.01 million, this is indeed a bit exaggerated, especially when Link is scolded every few days.

But in fact, which famous superstar has not been scolded? ESPN also writes articles about Kobe Bryant every day, and James has been criticized in various ways, including Jordan.

However, even Jordan himself was also attacked.

Link's extremely high number of votes proves a saying, "In the world of competitive sports, there are as many people who hate you as there are people who love you."

Last season's history-making 74 wins and the first consecutive championship since Kobe Bryant made Link's popularity soar.

On the premise that he was already the top vote-getter last season, Link's votes this season will naturally become quite exaggerated.

"Don't be too happy, Jeff. I can already imagine that the media will say that I got so many votes because the Chinese fan base is too large." Link curled his lips.

After being in the NBA for so many years, he has concluded a truth - no matter how good you play, there will always be people who will criticize you.

But in fact, the impact of Link's vote explosion goes far beyond being hacked...

※※※

On December 19, the NBA regular season will continue.

The Memphis Grizzlies face the Chicago Bulls, who are currently 16 wins and 9 losses, at home.

The Bulls are considered to be the Cavaliers' major opponent in the Eastern Conference this year. With Paul George yet to return, the Bulls were even considered to be the Cavaliers' only opponent in the Eastern Conference.

People's expectations for the Bulls come from their iron-blooded style and excellent record last season.

The Bulls' journey last season was full of twists and turns, and the team started the new season with full confidence. However, Rose, the former MVP point guard, only played 10 games, and before he could shake off the rust, he was once again declared retired.

After Rose was injured again, the Bulls' morale suffered a severe setback. The next day, they were defeated by the Clippers by 39 points. In the next month and a half, they only achieved a record of 8 wins and 13 losses.

Everyone thought the bull was going to be doomed, and people even joked that the bull would start to turn around and crash.

However, Thibodeau led the tenacious Bulls all the way to fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

Although the Bulls were eventually eliminated by the Wizards in the first round of the playoffs, it was already a remarkable achievement to go from a "pretty bad" team to making it to the playoffs.

Of course, people's greatest confidence in the Bulls still comes from Derrick Rose!

The Bulls still won 48 games without Rose last season. This year they have retained the entire core team on the defensive end, and coupled with top scorers like Rose, it stands to reason that they will be in second place in the Eastern Conference.

But now, one and a half months after the start of the new season, the Bulls are no longer as anticipated as they were at the beginning of the season.

Their record of 16 wins and 9 losses seems to be good, but Derrick Rose's condition is not as good as people expected.

Rose is averaging only 16.8 points per game so far this season, and his shooting percentage is just over 40%, only 40.5%.

Regardless of efficiency or scoring data, Rose is far from MVP levels.

What's more, Rose has not yet returned to 100% health.

Rose is still playing on and off this season. For example, in this game, Rose will be absent due to knee discomfort.

Without the drama of Rose VS Link, this game actually doesn't have much to watch.

There is indeed a gap in hard power between the two sides. Not surprisingly, Thibodeau's Bulls will be unable to fight back.

However, this originally uninteresting game had high ratings today.

There was no one absent from the FedEx Arena, with all 18,300 seats fully occupied.

All of this is because of one thing - in this game, Link will very likely tie Chamberlain's record of scoring a triple-double in 9 consecutive games!

"Look at the atmosphere at the scene, look at the fans cheering for Link! I believe you can feel this kind of enthusiasm even through the TV screen! If Link really hits another triple-double, then this will be What a great milestone night!”

Hubie Brown's first words after the live broadcast started focused on Link.

The Chicago Bulls seemed to be a supporting role from the beginning, and their winning or losing didn't seem to matter at all.

Before the game started, when both sides were warming up, Link had mixed feelings when he saw Jimmy Butler practicing shooting next to him.

If the Grizzlies hadn't intercepted Butler in advance, he would have had to confront Butler in this game, and the Grizzlies wouldn't have been so easy.

But now, they have become teammates.

After the game started, the Bulls immediately showed their tenacious style.

Although the lineup on paper is not as strong as the Grizzlies, the Bulls dare to play hard and are not afraid of confrontation on the defensive end.

However, Dunleavy was no match for Link on the defensive end. Although the Bulls worked hard, as Mavericks coach Carlisle once said, "Hard work alone cannot defeat a player like Link."

After the first half, the Grizzlies led 56 to 44 by 12 points. Link had 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, getting closer and closer to the first record in history.

Just when people thought the Bulls were going to be rubbed on the ground like this, Spanish first-year rookie Nikola Mirotic stood up from the bench.

Mirotic participated in the draft in 2011, but did not enter the NBA from the Spanish League until this year.

No one thought that Mirotic would be a threat. As a result, Mirotic made 6 of 6 three-pointers in the second half and scored a career-high 27 points!

6 of 6 three-pointers. God knows how long it took Mirotic to accumulate character to perform like this.

Under normal circumstances, if a player can make 6 of 6 shots from beyond the three-point line in a certain game, then he will most likely win the game and he will completely dominate today's game.

It's a pity that Mirotic still hasn't broken the law that "only the Grizzlies can create magic in Memphis".

After Mirotic exploded with a three-pointer, Link stepped up his offensive and killed Dunleavy completely.

In the end, Thibodeau had to choose to shrink and double-team. But as a result, Link's assists skyrocketed again.

There is no way, who allows the Grizzlies to even shoot at the fifth position with Gasol?

In the end, with Link's 33 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, Mirotic's 6 three-pointers were reduced to nothing.

If the Bulls had given up resistance early in this game, Link's triple-double record might not have been that great.

But Mirotic's desperate resistance actually succeeded Link.

At the end of the game, what people cared about was not the score, but Link's data.

"The ninth game, the ninth consecutive game! Congratulations to Link, he has become the second player in NBA history to score a triple-double in nine consecutive games! He is now as famous as Wilt Chamberlain and has become the record player with consecutive triple-doubles. The player with the most triple-doubles! Mirotic’s performance today was outstanding enough, but it’s a pity that he ran into a historical opponent!”

Hubi Breen's roar was quickly drowned out by the cheers of the fans. Link strode onto the technical stage and enjoyed the admiration of the fans.

Behind him, Mirotic walked silently and lost.

Is Mirotic's performance not good enough? of course not.

But if you lose the game, any data obtained will be in vain.

All of Memphis was rejoicing and the whole world was in shock.

But at the same time, outside the joyful Memphis, NBA headquarters issued a vote to change the league's existing rules.

Obviously, they don't want to see Link continue to dominate the All-Star voting.

They don’t want China’s huge fan base to undermine the “fairness” of All-Star voting…