The San Antonio Spurs, who started the second quarter with an eight-point advantage, are now just four points ahead of the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies decided to use their tough defense against the Spurs, and the results have been quite significant for the few rounds so far.

Link was undoubtedly the most aggressive of them all, disrupting Spurs' passes several times, and was proficient in steals, assists, blocks and rebounds. He used a wide range of runs at the expense of physical energy to fill the gaps caused by the spurs.

Spurs assistant coach Budenhozer is already starting to feel that Link is a little scary, and even Leonard will not defend like crazy.

However, Link's madness continues.

After assisting on Gay's dunk, the Spurs put Duncan in the low post and prepared to single Gasol Jr. for that point. As a result, the moment Duncan received the ball, Link immediately caught it!

"Big Fundamentals" basically don't do anything too out of the ordinary now, so after encountering a double bag, Duncan's first reaction is still passing. And the passing target is naturally Leonard, who was hollowed out.

When I used to be a fan, I used to say that Leonard was three points worse. But in fact, Leonard shot above 37% from three-point range in the first three years of his career. The hit rate is good, it's just that the shots are less. Therefore, Leonard is still quite a threat from beyond the three-point line.

But the Grizzlies' change of defense was too tacit, and as just now, this time, Guy pounced directly in front of Leonard and helped Link to make up for the defense, while Link defended to Split's side. The Grizzlies' change of defense was completed in an instant, and it was still leaky!

Leonard saw the opportunity to hoist the ball directly to Split, and it was a chance to play misplaced!

Split is 2.11 meters tall, and Link is only 2.03 meters, and the gap is still relatively obvious. But fortunately, Split doesn't have Duncan's superb offensive skills, otherwise he would have just turned over and made a jumper.

Split's offense is average, with no consistent shooting and no strong low-post offensive skills. Although Split has long been known as the No. 1 centre-forward in the Europa League, his greatest shine is still his defensive stats. Offensively, Split averaged just 16 points per game at the peak of the Euroleague.

Last season, Link averaged more than 16 points per game in the NBA in his rookie season.

Split pushed in with his back, but he definitely didn't expect Link to withstand the first blow! If it had been last year, Link would have probably been eaten raw. But this year, as long as he doesn't face those devilish muscles, Link can still withstand most of the time after his weight and strength have increased.

The push was fruitless, and Split planned to turn around and hit the basket hard.

However, as soon as Split turned around, Link cut the basketball out. Breaking through with the ball, that's not Split's specialty.

This time, the small defense and the big defense have become!

"Link, second steal of the second quarter! With two steals and one block, Link's performance on the defensive end in the second quarter today was simply amazing! Split's ability to attack on his own is limited, which is why Coach Hollins dares to play one big and four small. Now the Grizzlies have completely curbed the Spurs' pick-and-roll to see if they can equalize before halftime! ”

Hollins knows that Link is very good defensively, and as long as that guy puts his heart and soul into defense, he can be a Tony-like guy. Allen's defensive gate. In the playoffs last season, playing the Thunder in the first round, Link's average points per game was actually not high. This is mainly because Link is focused on how to defend Durant.

In the second round, he faced Richard, who was not strong in attack. Jefferson, Link's score is high.

In other words, as long as Link puts more focus and energy on the defensive end, he can often do things that are unexpected. While it would affect his scoring, Link didn't seem to care. He wants to win more than the stats.

After stealing Split, the Grizzlies fought back quickly. In the end, Conley assists Jimmy. Butler scored an easy layup, and Butler was one shot away from breaking his career-high scoring record!

His previous record was 4 points......

"There are only 2 points left in the difference, and the Spurs can't stand it!" Kerr shouted excitedly, and it's usually the offense that is the most enjoyable part of a basketball game. But today, Kerr couldn't wait to see Link's defense in the next round.

That kid is stunned to make the defense very ornamental.

"Manu, Bonner, you guys!" Popovich couldn't sit still either, and he decided to intensify the attack.

Ginobili and Bonner went to the technical bench to prepare, but before that, the Spurs had to survive the offense.

Parker didn't pass the ball this time, he borrowed the pick-and-roll and went straight to the restricted area to make a layup. But it turns out that little Gasol, who dragged back behind, was not a vegetarian. With a wave of his long arm, the big white bear fanned the basketball out of the three-second zone like a whip. The "French sports car" also failed to score points on his own, and the Spanish homeless man was not relentless in the face of the opportunity to take the off.

Popovich clenched his fists, he regretted it a little, he felt that he should have just called a timeout for a substitution!

Now, if the Grizzlies score again, the score will be equalized!

As soon as the second quarter came up, it was beaten 8-0, who can stand it!

Afraid of anything, even if Popovich prayed in his heart again and again that the Grizzlies would never equalize. But in the end, Gasol Jr.'s singles on the inside line still broke the only fantasy in the old man's heart.

Gasol Jr. is indeed not a scorer, and Duncan is also very effective in defending Gasol Jr. But that doesn't mean the Spaniards won't get a point.

He had a small hook on the right and managed to score over Duncan's head. At the same time, it also completely stopped the Spurs. 26 to 26, the Grizzlies were stunned to equalize the score!

Popovich called a timeout, which was a little late, and now the Grizzlies are fully on the rise. The Grizzlies' leaky defense has left the Spurs struggling on the offensive end. They stumbled on offense in the second quarter, thanks in large part to Link, who was one of the toughest defensive stubbles I've ever seen! ”

Steve. Kerr used the word "defensive gate", and in his mind, Link was already the league's top perimeter defender!

Link walked off the court sweating profusely, and the second quarter was only a few minutes into the game, but it was as if Link had just played an overtime.

He sat down on the bench wearily, took the towel, and gasped for air. The price of excellent defense is several times the physical exertion of others.

"Link, rest for a few minutes. Sean, you replace Link, let's continue to defend solidly, continue to strangle them with a meat grinder-like defense! "Hollins has the same tactics, it's still defensive.

Link didn't argue with Hollins' substitution options, don't think it's handsome to say "I don't have to rest." If your coffee position is not at the level of James or Kobe, then saying this is actually equivalent to challenging the authority of the head coach.

Link really didn't want to rest, but he had to save face for Hollins and not stiffen the relationship.

So, after the timeout was over and everyone else was on the court, Link sat down next to Hollins and asked, "Leon, how long do I have to rest?" ”

"Three minutes! You might have to work hard today, Link! ”

"If I could, I'd like to take a break for just a minute." Link leaned into Hollins' ear and replied softly.

"A minute!? But you've only just ......" Before Hollins could finish speaking, Ginobili scored on the pitch. From behind the bench came the cheers of the Spurs fans, and the Spurs were leading again!

Battier shook his head in annoyance, no one would question Battier's experience and defensive skills, but it is indeed difficult for Battier to fill the void by moving quickly these days. For a 34-year-old veteran, that's too much to do.

"Damn!" Seeing that the score that had just been desperately equalized was exceeded again, Hollins gritted his teeth.

If now Tony. Aaron is still there, and he can still replace Link, but Tony. Allen was injured before this crucial back-to-back. Change Bombset? Although he is a 3-and-D player and has excellent athleticism, he is not as solid defensively as Link. Let him go, and he may not be able to prevent the effect just now.

Hollins looked at Link beside him, and Link shrugged, "There's no way around it, Leon." One minute, I can only rest for so long. ”

"A minute and a half, give me a good rest, and I'll call you to the technical desk to get ready!" Hollins compromised and he couldn't let the Spurs pull away any longer.

Link smiled slightly, then leaned back against the bench, trying to adjust his breathing.

If hard work can lead to a victory, then Link is willing.