On November 21, 2014, the San Antonio Spurs finally got their chance to make a comeback at the Federal Express Arena.

Greg. Popovich said more than once before the game, "We can win this game because the Grizzlies have exposed a lot of problems." Just grasp those problems and we can win! ”

Bill, who hasn't spoken for a long time. Simmons is naturally on Popovich's side, and he finally caught the Grizzlies' chance to lose, and he will definitely not let it go, "The Grizzlies haven't tasted two consecutive defeats for a whole year, and now, it's time for them to reminisce." ”

The local media in San Antonio was full of confidence in Leonard, "Link can score 63 points on the Rockets, but in front of Leonard, he doesn't even think about it!" ”

Judging from the public opinion throughout the game, everyone is more optimistic about the Spurs. The biggest attraction of this game seems to be how the Spurs make the Grizzlies fall off the altar.

From Link to the inside, it was believed that the Grizzlies would collapse across the board when they met the Spurs.

In boxing, it is common to refer to the side where the bookmaker gives a lower odds of winning as a "lower dog".

And today, the Memphis Grizzlies undoubtedly play the role of "lower dog".

Before the start of the match, Popovich looked like he was on the verge of victory. Receiving David on the sidelines before the game. In Aldridge's interview, Popovich unabashedly showed his arrogance.

"I know, the Grizzlies just signed a firefighter. But if they think that's going to stop the Spurs, they're very wrong. Look, my team will play at their level today. ”

Popovich's attitude towards Whiteside's signing of the Grizzlies is actually the attitude of most people towards this matter.

Players with short contracts of 10 days are generally very inconspicuous. Many players sign a 10-day contract with a team without much news.

Before fans even realize that a team has added a new signing, that player may have already been cut.

The same was true of Link, who signed a 10-day contract with the Grizzlies at a time that even many local Memphis fans didn't know.

If Popovich hadn't been studying Grizzlies for the past few days, he probably wouldn't have noticed the news.

The Memphis Grizzlies once gambled on a Link on a 10-day contract, which is already a very incredible thing.

No one believes that miracles happen twice.

What's more, Hassan. Whiteside is not like Link back then. At that time, Link could be said to be a blank, and he was completely ignored by the NBA team in college.

But Whiteside, everyone still knows more or less about his situation. After all, he had a brief spell for the Kings and was a regular in the Development League.

The most important thing is that many team managers still remember the brain-dead things that Whiteside did back then.

People know Whiteside better than Link, and in their judgment, Whiteside has no ability to gain a foothold in the league and no conditions to create miracles.

So, Popovich was not worried at all. He still doesn't believe that a casual worker on a 10-day contract can ruin the Spurs' winning plans.

On the other hand, although Whiteside himself is not worth mentioning, he is joined by the most watched team in the league. So before the game, Whiteside was also given the treatment of being interviewed on the sidelines.

"Hassan, we all know that joining a championship team is an opportunity for you. What do you think your biggest goal is for today's game? ”

Whiteside looked at the reporter, thought for a while, and then replied categorically, "My goal is to improve my 2K ability value, and 2K games should improve my ability in all aspects, and I am not so weak." ”

At first, the reporter thought Whiteside was joking, but the serious expression of the "big white edge" made the reporter stunned.

This guy ...... My head is as bad as it was four or five years ago......

Seeing Whiteside's childish answer in an interview, let alone Spurs fans, even many Memphis fans almost didn't laugh out loud.

Whiteside is still the same Tie Hanhan who boasted that he was comparable to "big dreams", and he might just be a passerby in Memphis.

Everyone didn't take Whiteside seriously, but Link muttered a few words to Whiteside before the game began.

"Remember, your task today is to show yourself and try to improve your 2K stats. Don't do superfluous things and play seriously. ”

"Look at me, Link!" Whiteside nodded solemnly, then sat back on the bench.

To others, Whiteside's reasons were naïve.

But in Link's view, it was a powerful shot that could make Whiteside go berserk at any time.

The two sides started to step onto the court, and this game, which the whole world was looking forward to the Grizzlies losing, officially began!

"In the Western Conference Finals last season, the Grizzlies and Spurs had a 1-49 support ratio. Of the 50 states in the United States, only Tennessee supports itself. I don't think anything has changed in the approval ratings today. Everyone was clamoring that the Grizzlies were about to lose streak and were about to lose their dominance. What do you think about this? ”

Before the start of the game, the commentators also began to cut to the topic. As soon as he came up, Mark Murphy, who has gone from being the Warriors coach to the commentator. Jackson threw it to Hubby. Brown a question.

"First of all, I have to remind you that the Grizzlies are still the best team in the league. Their 10-2 record is much more decent than the Spurs' 7-4. It's too early to talk about the Grizzlies' dominance. The focus of today's game is actually mainly on the showdown between Link and Leonard. Whether Leonard can limit Link or not will directly determine whether the Spurs can win or not. ”

Hubi. Brown knew that the final outcome of the game would be decided by the two small forwards.

But the inside line does affect the trend of the game.

The Spurs, on their part, fielded Parker, Green, Leonard, Duncan and Split today.

Popovich's goal is clear, which is to use his height advantage to find a breakthrough on the inside.

If Gasol can be fouled early like the Raptors in the last game, Popovich believes that the Spurs will win half of the game!

On the Grizzly Bears' side, it's still the same. Nothing has changed except for Harris in place of Randolph.

As soon as the game began, the Spurs did not shy away from executing the plan.

They didn't hide it, but tried to gain an advantage from the start.

After Split fought for the Spurs to attack the ball first, Parker stabbed inside on the first shot.

"French Sports Car" borrowed Duncan's pick-and-roll to rush in, Tobias. Harris had to switch guards.

However, Harris's not very good rim protector eventually allowed Parker to make an easy layup.

Parker hasn't averaged many points per game this season, but he's still very efficient. Spurs players, their actual role on the court is far greater than what the stats see.

Joggel was a little helpless, once upon a time, the Grizzlies were the most luxurious team in the league. But now, the inside line has become a weak point.

Then the Grizzlies started to attack, and Leonard's defense of Link was directly promoted to the highest level, and there was no gradual process at all.

Leonard let Link take a step without the ball in his hand to prevent Link from cutting in. But even so, Conley didn't dare to give the ball to Link easily, because Leonard's long arm was enough for him to intercept the pass when he let go of the opponent's step.

Eventually, Conley played the ball to Harris in the hope that he would eat Duncan with a quicker pace.

Harris accelerated immediately after holding the ball, and Duncan did have a hard time delaying Harris.

Harris made a pull-up jump shot after passing Duncan half a body, because he knew that if he went any deeper, he would be caught between Split and Duncan.

Harris did get some space to shoot, but it wasn't particularly ideal. His pull-up jump shot was somewhat interfered with by Duncan, and Popovich smugly hooked the corners of his mouth when he saw this.

"See? If you're not a superstar, don't be a superstar. "Popovich just rushed to Becky. After Harmon finished speaking, Harris's shot slammed into the frame!

His pull-up jump shot missed, and the kind of interference that Duncan just had just done was probably nothing for Link, but it was difficult for Harris.

Harris has really improved dramatically this season, and his scoring has skyrocketed. But as Popovich said, he's not a superstar yet.

Split grabbed the rebound and the Spurs countered.

Through the Spurs' subtle teamwork, Danny. Green ended up with a three-point shot in the bottom right corner.

Jimmy. Butler was serious about defending from start to finish, but he still lost it under the Spurs' superb off-ball coverage and Green's coquettish off-ball movement.

Green fired a shot from the bottom corner, and the basketball hollowed into the net. As soon as the game opened, the Spurs hit consecutive shots!

Popovich clapped vigorously on the sidelines, seemingly very proud. Link glanced at the old man with disdain, but the old man looked back with an arrogant gaze.

Link shook his head, so he went straight to the baseline ball, intending to control the ball himself for half the court.

Since it's not safe to pass the ball, just skip this step!

Now, as a star player, he has to settle his rhythm first.

Leonard was starved across the halfway line, and anyone who saw him as an "emotionless" defender would lose half of his confidence.

But Link wouldn't, and he didn't let the guy frown.

Seeing Link and Leonard start to face each other early, the fans at the scene shouted excitedly.

Before the game, both Popovich and the San Antonio media clamored that Leonard could limit Link. In this regard, Memphis fans are very unconvinced.

Now's Link's chance to prove himself!

Link was closely guarded by Leonard just past the halfway line, but he still didn't pass the ball, but motioned for everyone to pull away.

In this way, Lin Keqiang leaned on Leonard to kill the middle distance!

Leonard tried to make several steals along the way, but they were unsuccessful, and Link's control of basketball was unmatched by any other forward player.

After reaching the middle distance, Link suddenly slowed down and switched to a back-to-back single.

Leonard tensed his nerves, Link's back single, there are countless possibilities!

It was too late to say that it was too late, and Leonard had just thought of it when Link made a move.

I saw Link suddenly shake his shoulders and take a step, as if he was going to turn his back and break through!

Leonard reacted immediately and prepared to retreat. But at this moment, Link turned in the opposite direction again, and his real purpose was to roll over and make a jumper!

If it was an ordinary person, he would have been shaken out of the clouds by Link a long time ago. But Leonard immediately adjusted his center of gravity and pounced, blocking Link's shooting angle!

He leaped slightly, stretched out his long arms, and waited for Link to strike the iron.

His defense, as always, is watertight!

But when Leonard floated into the air, he realized that Link was still a feint!

It's fake to turn around and break through, and it's also fake to turn over and jump shots! After shaking off Leonard, Link looked at Spur No. 2 in the air and said softly, "Bye-bye".

Link then took a step up past Leonard as he took off, and then made an easy jumper.

Other people's feints usually have only one, but for Link, two feints in a row are not difficult at all.

Link's goal sparked the first climax at the Federal Express Arena, with Popovich saying before the game that Leonard could handle Link. As a result, instead of doing it, he was directly shaken off by Link!

"Nice feints, so what restricts Link's statement is not reliable at all. He's a super scorer with a combination of skill and physicality, and 63 points in a single game isn't just a stroke of luck. ”

Hubi. After Brown finished speaking, he couldn't help but glance at Popovich, and the old man's expression that had just been smug disappeared in an instant.

It only took one round for Link to shatter the old man's illusions. Leonard's defense is indeed strong, but Link's offense is stronger!

But the Spurs aren't in a hurry, and even if Leonard can't freeze Link, that's okay.

After all, they still have an inside advantage......

(End of chapter)