589: Pivot
Link's dunk show made the scalps of the fans at the scene tingle, and in a trance, James seemed to see the shadow of the Lakers No. 24.
What's going on with this guy? Even compared to the regular season, the strength has improved a lot!
Although the bout has only been fought for a few rounds, Link has already made an impressive impression.
In addition to this dunk, the picture of him blocking James and Wade in a row in just one round is also a classic.
From the very beginning, Link played here as if it were his home turf. Fulfill what he said to Wade yesterday, "This is everyone's territory!" ”
In the next few rounds, Wade and James finally started to make a difference. Although the Grizzlies' defense is still tight, after all, the two Janway are also superstars. Moreover, he just won the last game, and he is in good shape.
The Grizzlies, on the other hand, are still attacking around the two "insides" of Link and Gasol, and they are quite efficient. With Wade and James activating the offense, the excellent play of Link and Gasol still kept the Grizzlies in the lead
The Heat didn't rotate until the roster went to Ray. Aaron, only to close the score. Thunder. Allen's performance in the finals is still quite good, and even if a star of his caliber is tepid throughout the regular season, he can't be taken lightly in the finals.
However, Ray. Allen was never the Ray who scored 51 points in a single game in the playoffs. Aaron too. Closing the score is already all he can do.
After 12 minutes of the first quarter, the Grizzlies scored 32 points! Undoubtedly, this is a performance that is well above the Grizzlies' average single-quarter score.
Although the Heat's 25 points are not a lot, they are still in a backward position under the unbridled offense of Link and Gasol.
"The Grizzlies played a great offense, with Link and Gasol in the three-second zone. The two of them also played very skillfully with the passing and cutting and blocking and dismantling cooperation. If the Heat don't want to protect the restricted area, then in the second quarter, the Grizzlies are likely to pull away the score. ”
Mike. Brin looked at the statistics of the first quarter of the game, and Link had 10 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists in a single quarter, which was quite comprehensive. As a number four, Link has it all. Gasol also scored seven points in the first quarter, and the two combined to score more than half of the Grizzlies' points in the first quarter.
As long as Link can break through or Gasol can form a single opportunity, the Heat's defense is basically dumb.
On the Heat side, Wade and James scored 8 and 9 points respectively, shooting 40% from the field, and the efficiency was not bad. But compared to the Grizzlies' offense, it's a little less eye-catching.
The Heat fans were collectively silent during the break, completely losing the momentum they had at the beginning.
Who would have thought that the Grizzlies would actually play a small lineup, and moreover, play so well.
"Chris, after the second quarter starts, you keep playing. CB, you rest for a few more minutes. Off the pitch, Spoelstra couldn't be as silent as the fans.
The team is in trouble and he has to talk instead.
First, Spoelstra let "Birdman" Anderson, who played in the first quarter rotation time, continue to play in the second quarter. Ostensibly, he wanted Bosh to rest for a few more minutes. But in fact, it was a desire to try out Anderson's rim protection ability.
In the second half of the first quarter, Anderson's low-post defense was very successful. But by that time, most of the Grizzlies' main players had already gone to rest. So now, Spoelstra wants Anderson to try it out against the Grizzlies' main lineup.
It's only 7 points behind in the first quarter, and the Heat haven't conceded defeat yet!
During the break, the cheerleading girls' performances were cold, and the fans were not in the mood to appreciate the wonderful postures on the field.
It wasn't until the beep sounded after the start of the second quarter that Heat fans came to their senses.
Mike. Brin glanced at the lineup and instantly noticed the change.
"Chris. Anderson continued to play in place of Bosh in the second quarter, and it seems that the Heat really want to protect the restricted area. ”
Heat fans seem to see a glimmer of hope, the guy who is full of "feathers", although the data is not amazing, is definitely a vital component of the Heat lineup.
Since Anderson joined the Heat, the Heat have a 35-1 record. One of the losses was to the Grizzlies.
And in the just-concluded Eastern Conference Finals, Anderson shot 16 of 18 and shot an astonishing 88.9%. Although the number of shots is not much, it also shows that "Birdman" will not waste any hard-won opportunities.
And Anderson also has a very magical 4+ rebounds must win the law, since January 30 to the present, Anderson has more than 4 rebounds in a single game, and the Heat have won all of them.
He's certainly not the Heat's brightest star, but he's an integral part of the Heat.
A small firing pin may not be a big deal, but without it, no matter how powerful a pistol is, it can't fire.
Anderson is beloved by Heat fans, and seeing him continue to play in the second quarter, the American Airlines Center seems to be back in glory.
Link looked at the gray-skinned Anderson and pouted. Think you can take down the Grizzlies with a pure center? Wish for the moon!
The second quarter started quickly, and this time it was the Grizzlies who took the lead.
Chris. Anderson is indeed better than Bosh in the confrontation, and Gasol can no longer sit inside as easily as he did in the first quarter.
Not having to go around the front means Anderson can help protect the box at any time. It seemed like in an instant, the Heat's interior barrier was raised.
James believes that under the double blockade of himself and Anderson, even if it is Link, the scoring efficiency will decline!
As long as they see Link and Gasol dead, the Heat can regain the advantage!
Seeing that Gasol couldn't settle down steadily, Conley passed the ball to Link.
Link raised his hand and made a few gestures, then prepared to break through.
"Pretending to be a ghost!" James secretly complained in his heart, since he wants to play singles, what is the point of gesturing?
This scene can't help but remind James of his opponent in the Eastern Conference Finals, Lance. Stevenson. He likes to gesture very much, but in fact his gestures can't even be understood by the manager.
Link shook out a hint of acceleration space with a very beautiful change of direction in front of his body, so he immediately grabbed his position and prepared to accelerate.
Today, James was overwhelmed by Link's breakthrough, and even a player as strong as James could find out in the first place which direction Link was going to break through.
Although Link was once again preempted by the opportunity, James was not impatient. He knew that Chris. Anderson will be the first to rush to Link.
Anderson is also a fearless guy, and now even if it's Jordan who is rushing at him, he won't have stage fright.
Just when the encirclement between James and Anderson was about to form, Link hit the ball to the side and passed!
Outside the three-point line on the right, Iguodala smacked his horse and arrived. At this time, Wade, who was defending him, was trying to get out of Butler's cover.
Everyone thought that the Grizzlies' offensive focus was still on the inside, but in fact, they had already changed their strategy!
Link just gestured to direct Iguodala to run!
Iguodala receives the basketball and feels good. Although he hadn't played in a while, that didn't rust his body, but only strengthened Iguodala's desire to win.
Taking advantage of the opportunity that Wade has not yet sealed, Iguodala made a decisive shot with three points!
How can a small lineup not have a three-point shot?
Iguodala made his first three-point shot since his comeback, and he didn't waste Link's brilliant pass. It's all in the finals, and Iguodala doesn't have any need to play dead.
By the time Wade raised his hand to block it, the basketball was already flying in mid-air.
The reason why Wade couldn't keep up with Iguodala in the first place was because he also thought Link would continue to attack the basket. Even if it is to be passed, it is within the internal transmission with Gasol.
But Link's passing vision is obviously wider than Wade thought.
The basketball eventually slammed into the front of the basket, but it didn't pop straight away. Instead, after being upside down, it jumped into the net when it fell for the second time.
hit a three-point shot, and the Miami Heat was stretched to double digits by the Grizzlies as soon as they came up in the second quarter.
Chris. Anderson looked confused, and said that what about the attack inside? What a waste of expressions.
No one knows if this ball was planned by the Grizzlies or improvised by Link, after all, in the first quarter of the game, the Grizzlies were basically playing inside.
Now it's suddenly starting to split the ball outside, maybe it's just a coincidence.
Seventeen seconds later, the Memphis Grizzlies made a comeback. The Heat's offense just now ended with James hitting 1 of 2 free throws. The Heat temporarily narrowed the deficit to nine points, but still not out of danger.
Wade didn't dare to slack off this time, he followed Iguodala all the time, and he couldn't be turned around by a guy who had just returned from injury.
Anderson is also still stuck inside, and he believes the Grizzlies will definitely attack the basket again.
Sure enough, Conley hit the ball to the ground from beyond the three-point line and into the hands of Link, who cut inside the basket. Link catches the ball and goes inside.
James puffed out his chest and prepared to engage Link in hand-to-hand combat. However, Link had barely taken two steps out when the basketball grazed James' head and flew out.
"What!?" James turned his head in surprise, another pass?
On the other side of the court, Jimmy. Butler easily shook off Miller Sr., and after receiving the basketball, he didn't need to dribble, he could directly take two steps to attack the frame!
Link's pass and Butler's cut in were abrupt, which led to Anderson being unprepared and a little hasty in his defense.
Moreover, Anderson is 35 years old after all, and he is far from as explosive as his athleticism during the Nuggets era. His slightly lackluster lateral movement, combined with the no longer fearsome bounce, made his defense look weak
Eventually, Jimmy. Butler was tough on Anderson's defense and pushed the ball up. Meanwhile, the referee blows the whistle and Anderson defends a foul!
Jimmy. Butler gets a chance to play 2+1!
"Beautiful passes, how did Link find Jimmy? In the second quarter of the game, the Grizzlies' offense was richer. In the first quarter, Link and Gasol accounted for more than half of the team's scores. But now, the Grizzlies' offensive focus seems to have shifted again. Their small lineup, as if there are no offensive dead ends! ”
Mike. After Brynn finished speaking, he looked at Link's current stats again. 10 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists..... This guy can do anything today, this is the rhythm of getting a triple-double.
Link is simply the axis of the Grizzlies today, leading by example from defense to offense. His performance in the number four position was simply amazing.
After Butler was knocked down, Link rushed up and pulled him up.
Now, all five positions on the Grizzlies' small lineup have been opened. Their ideal offense has been fully formed.
The rest depends on whether the Heat can withstand the fight.
Butler stepped up to the free throw line and made a steady shot of the free throw. At the beginning of the second quarter, the 12-point difference held the Heat down.
Wade and James' championship dreams, I'm afraid this time will not be so easy to achieve.