One Thousand and Fifty-Eight: The Last Link Is Left

Durant was gasping for air, and he was out of breath just at the beginning of the second quarter.

Because at this time, he felt the huge pressure brought by the Grizzlies. This sense of oppression made his breathing irregular.

Nikola Jokic, that fat and white guy is indeed better than he thought. At the very least, it's much better than last season's Western Conference Finals.

The kind of defense just now is not something that all centers can accomplish.

It is true that Jokic's frame protection rate is not the best among centers, but he has his own strengths.

Generally speaking, Jokic's defense is not bad, and he can even be said to be a defender above a certain level.

But Durant was not willing to be restrained by a fat second-round pick like this.

Not just Durant, but the rest of the Warriors will not accept such a result.

Especially Draymond Green.

In this year's Olympics, he was just educated by Jokic. At this time in the NBA arena, Green does not want the tragedy to happen again.

So in this offense, Green directly held the ball and beat Jokic from outside the three-point line.

But Jokic was already on guard. He let Green take two steps to prevent him from breaking through.

Moreover, Green is not an excellent singles player. If the Warriors' offense is reduced to relying on Green to play in isolation, then Link would support it with both hands.

In the end, Green's shot was blocked by Jokic who took two steps back. Although Green is full of power and has strong impact. But after getting close to Jokic, his height disadvantage was still revealed.

What's more, once Jokic faces Green, he is full of energy. Jokic is still reeling from the fact that Green failed to win the game in the Olympics.

After Green failed to rush to the frame, he wanted to use his own hard work to immediately win the offensive rebound.

Unexpectedly, Jokic used his broad back to block Green from jumping.

Jokic's defensive rebounding is also his best point. Maybe this guy can't jump as high as a Coke can, but he is able to use his positioning and take-off timing to collect rebounds.

Green failed to fight, and the Warriors quickly retreated, denying the Grizzlies a chance to counterattack.

This time, Green and Clark changed positions and defended Jokic.

Seeing this, Jokic simply stopped outside the three-point line. He shook his head. Green's defense was as if Gasol didn't exist. He will defend himself, so who will defend Gasol?

Soon, Gasol sank into the low post, leaning on Clark and raising his hand for the ball.

Clark almost cried. Although he finally changed someone, he seemed to be unable to handle it either...

What's the difference for him between guarding Gasol and guarding Jokic? They were all exploded!

"The Grizzlies' twin towers are amazing! Both centers have good three-point abilities, which actually makes the Grizzlies misplaced no matter how they play."

Hubie Brown was overjoyed, and Link simply turned on the "smoking in the corner" mode. He didn't even have to take a shot before forcing the Warriors to change their strategy.

This time, Klay Thompson double-teamed Gasol. He couldn't let Clark be eaten alive by the opponent's center. That would be no different from giving away points.

Although it is a two-point knife to cut the flesh, it still hurts if you cut too much.

The Warriors' good defense is not just good in individual defense, but also because their assist defense is very good.

Thompson, Green, and Barnes, including now Durant, have always been wings with excellent defensive capabilities.

Once they help defend, the opponent's center will be in a tough fight.

This is also the reason why many big centers can't handle the Warriors.

Clay didn't hesitate because Dinwiddie was so inconspicuous. What's more, when the two sides played in the Western Conference Finals last season, he also saw how powerful Dinwiddie's three-pointers were.

Once the impression of "three-point iron" is deeply rooted in people's hearts, it will be difficult to change.

People like Rondo and James, although their three-point shooting percentages are much better, still can't get rid of the "three-point iron" hat.

Moreover, most of their three-point shooting percentages are open shots and are extremely unstable. So even if the three-point shooting rate improves, it does not fully indicate that their three-point shooting has truly improved.

This is how Clay thinks of Dinwiddie. The second-round pick guard is nothing to be afraid of!

Seeing Thompson double-teaming, Gasol accurately passed the ball to Dinwiddie with one hand.

Gasol's support ability is very good, which is another difference between the Grizzlies' twin towers and other teams.

Jokic and Gasol, they can pass the ball! Therefore, there will be no situation where the ball fails to move.

The ball was passed steadily to Dinwiddie, and Clay felt that he had half succeeded! As long as Gasol is prevented from continuing to play in the low post, the Grizzlies' strategy will be messed up.

As for Dinwiddie, he definitely wouldn't dare to vote! Even if he shoots, he can't make it!

"Eh?"

Just when Thompson thought this, Dinwiddie decisively shot a three-pointer!

"I'm not a top shooter, but I won't show mercy when needed, Link!"

At this time, Link thought of what Dinwiddie said to him yesterday, and he really did what he said.

"brush!"

The net was rolled up by the basketball, and the three-pointer hit the net! He replaced Wade just to score this kind of ball!

Klay Thompson paid the price for his stereotype.

Dinwiddie's three-point shooting percentage has not only improved, but has really improved! It's not feasible to use the method used last season to deal with him.

It would be too underestimated to think that the Grizzlies players will not improve!

"Dinwiddie hit a three-pointer, and the Warriors' defense was cut to pieces by the Grizzlies! So far in the second quarter, the Grizzlies have scored 7 points in a row! Now, the Warriors only lead by 4 points, and their lead is shaky. !”

As the fans cheered, Link gave Dinwiddie a thumbs up.

He already knew that Dinwiddie could score, because yesterday afternoon, Dinwiddie beat him again from beyond the three-point line...

"No, we have to raise the level!" Next to Cole, his assistant coach Mike Brown couldn't sit still.

If he keeps fighting like this, he will be killed by a grizzly bear sooner or later.

The Warriors are now in a situation where they can't defend themselves on the inside, but they dare not let go on the outside. They are completely choked by the Grizzlies!

Moreover, this was without Link taking action. Once Link starts taking over the offense like he did in the first quarter, the Warriors will be even more difficult to defend against!

Cole frowned and stood on the sidelines. Of course he knew that he needed to increase his height to reverse the decline.

But with Varejao or McGee on the court, the Warriors' offensive threat will be greatly reduced, and the defense may not improve much!

The Warriors' offensive system has no room for these big men to survive.

They rely on space and mismatch that neither Varejao nor McGee can provide. And technical centers like Jokic and Gasol are really not afraid of confronting the fifth position.

Cole hesitated. He didn't know whether he should compromise for defense, but simply found a way to attack the Grizzlies!

"Damn it!" The anxious Cole couldn't help but cursed. The Grizzlies this season are indeed much more difficult to deal with than in the Western Conference Finals last season.

He never expected that in the small ball era, he would be cornered by the Twin Towers lineup.

Just then, the Warriors finally scored on the court.

However, the process of scoring a goal was full of twists and turns. In short, the offense was not smooth.

This time Curry chose to play a pick-and-roll with Green. As always, Jokic delayed first and then chased back.

Delaying the ball holder, chasing back, protecting the basket, and then collecting rebounds, Jokic has been repeating this series of actions on the defensive end today. His excellent sense of position prevents Curry from passing the ball at all.

He knew that Green was freed up, but the passing route was blocked by Jokic!

In the end, Curry could only wait for Jokic to chase Green and suddenly shoot a pull-up shot over Conley.

The ball went in, but if they attack like this for the whole game, the Warriors will have problems sooner or later.

The Warriors brought the point difference back to 6 points, but they had no sense of security at all.

To them, it seems like they are just hanging on for dear life.

Sure enough, in the rest of the second quarter, the Grizzlies' offense went smoothly.

Jokic and Gasol had a good time in the paint, and Dinwiddie also hit three-pointers many times.

When Clay focused on defending Dinwiddie's three-pointer, he could occasionally catch Clay off guard by cutting inside or breaking through with the ball.

You know, Dinwiddie has never been a pure shooter. When he was drafted, he was positioned as an all-around combo guard!

Green then simply bet on Jokic and Gasol's three-pointers. He arbitrarily defended the inside and ignored the two big guys outside the three-point line, just betting that they wouldn't make the shot.

The result was equally tragic. Gasol and Jokic used stable three-pointers to beat the Warriors.

The Grizzlies slowly flattened the score and then gradually overtook the lead.

If the Warriors hadn't relied on Durant and Curry to score many difficult goals, the Warriors might have been defeated in the first half!

After halftime, the Warriors went from leading by 11 points to trailing the Grizzlies by 10 points! Jokic, Dinwiddie and Gasol became the Grizzlies' main scoring points in the second quarter!

Link only scored 4 points in the second quarter and basically only played a deterrent effect on the offensive end. Because it is enough to leave the job of scoring goals to those three people.

"The Grizzlies' lineup changes have worked wonders. Now, the pressure is on the Warriors! If they continue to let things go in the second half, the point difference will only get wider!"

Hubie Brown waved his arms cheerfully. The strength shown by the Grizzlies in the second quarter was simply impeccable! The twin-tower lineup of Jokic and Gasol also broke the shackles of the times.

In this small ball era, the Grizzlies refuse to compromise! Since the Warriors like a small lineup, let them suffer the disadvantage of a too short lineup.

The Grizzlies players walked into the locker room, and both Link and Joerger praised the performance of others.

But the game is not over yet. Next, Link has to perform the most critical part.

According to Joger's prediction, in the second half, Cole will definitely let Durant and Green defend Jokic and Gasol.

Needless to say, Green's low post defense has always been excellent.

Although Durant is not as strong as Green in confrontation, he is as tall as a center, allowing him to effectively interfere with center players' shots.

Not to mention completely guarding Gasol and Jokic, but as long as they can stop them from doing whatever they want in singles, they can quickly recover with the Warriors' offense.

But if Cole really does this, the Warriors will face a serious problem - Link will have no one to match up with.

Whether it is Clark or Clay, their effectiveness in defending Link is not as good as Durant.

If Link could seize the opportunity and open it up completely, the Warriors would be completely defeated today!

However, Qiaogel is the most confident about this link.

Is there anything more reliable than asking Link to attack?

At this time, Link was receiving a muscle relaxation massage from Judy.

After beating the warrior painfully, he has not forgotten his goal today.