One Hundred and Three: Sit Down and Start (15/40)

On February 1, 2011, the NBA officially announced the selection list for the Rookie Challenge.

In this era, the Rookie Challenge has not been restructured, so it is still divided by the difference between the first-year team and the second-year team. This year, the first-year team and the second-year team each have a special rookie.

On the second-year team, the selected players are basically not criticized. Harden, Curry, Jennings and other top rookies at the time were all selected. But the most unexpected thing is that the undrafted Wesley Matthews was among them.

Last season, basketball fans around the world had no idea who Wesley Matthews was. But now, as an undrafted pick, he was named to the All-Star team. There is no doubt that this makes Matthews topical.

On the first-year team, the most eye-catching addition to the two generations of No. 1 picks Griffin and Wall is the undrafted Link.

"Two months ago, no one knew this kid at all. No one would care, it turned out that the G League had a yellow-skinned undrafted pick. But now, he is a member of the All-Star Weekend, and he will be with Wall and Top rookies like Griffin play together!"

"He's just as inspirational as Wesley Matthews. They're both from low backgrounds, but they've climbed up step by step with their own efforts. I'm looking forward to seeing two successful undrafted picks here at All-Star Weekend. duel."

"I know, there will definitely be a lot of people who will come out and say he's not qualified. But looking at his stats and performance, you have to admit that this undrafted pick is definitely one of the best rookies this year!"

As soon as the league announced the list, Link and Wesley Matthews really attracted widespread attention. It's not uncommon for people to see second-round picks entering the All-Star Rookie Game. But both teams have been undrafted, which is the first time in NBA history.

Especially on Link's side, he actually squeezed out this year's No. 2 pick, Evan Special. It has to be said that the span of this counterattack is really big enough.

Link's All-Star selection and Randolph's January Western Conference Player of the Year award gave the Grizzlies a moment of glory. This team, which has always been paid little attention to, has become a "dark horse" in people's mouths.

The Grizzlies congratulated Link and Randolph as soon as they got to the practice facility this morning. Especially Link, because if nothing else, he is likely to be the only Grizzlies in this year's All-Star Game.

During the afternoon training, the number of people who came to the training hall of the Federal Express Arena for interviews also hit a record high again. In the past, as a team with no stars and no record, reporters didn't bother to interview the Grizzlies for training.

But now it's different. The Grizzlies have Randolph, the best player, and Link, the lowest-drafted All-Star rookie. As long as it is topical, journalists will swirl around you like mosquitoes.

Watching Link be surrounded by reporters, the Grizzlies must be the most upset now is O.J. Mayo. Today marks the end of Mayo's 10-game suspension. However? Only a few reporters came to interview him.

Most people seem to have forgotten him. This player, who used to be known as the upper limit of Jordan and the lower limit of Kobe, is now not as popular as an undrafted pick.

Mayo was naturally very angry, but a little powerless. After all, during the time he was away, the Grizzlies not only had a good record, but Link also took the opportunity to play an impressive performance.

After finally hurting Xavier Henry, Mayo didn't want to be taken by Link again. At first, Mayo thought that Link was no threat to him playing the second position, but now, it is clear that he has been challenged.

Mayo clenched his fists, thinking that during the confrontational training this afternoon, he must teach the undrafted a lesson.

So, Memphis Grizzlies, not everyone is so united.

※※※

During his suspension, O.J. Mayo was almost forgotten. Except Link's light completely overshadowed Mayo,

It's also one of the reasons why he often leaves the training hall early.

Relying on the "advantage" of his suspension, Mayo often does not practice with the team in the afternoon. Mayo always leaves early after practicing personal projects in the morning.

As for Mayo's departure, who knows? As a third overall pick in 2008, he has the financial ability to do whatever he wants.

Lionel Hollins didn't bother to care about him either. This would allow Mayo to rest for a while to avoid injuries. Second, the Grizzlies are actually ready to trade Mayo, but no one dares to take over!

Mayo's positioning is actually very embarrassing now. His height of 1.93 meters is a bit short to play the second position, and he has no skills to play the first position. Some people may ask, Wade is only 1.93 meters. But Wade's wingspan, athletic ability and cheekbones are all that Mayo doesn't have.

Mayo's explosiveness and athleticism are mediocre, and his wingspan is nothing. Shooting is good, but not at the top level. Also, he likes throwing waves.

This kind of player, not all teams are willing to spend chips to trade. Top teams look down on him because those teams usually don't lack talent. The teams in the middle layer did not dare to ask for him, for fear that he would break the team's system. Bad teams also dare not ask for him, because Mayo may delay others from being bad.

Therefore, the Grizzlies have been unable to shoot Mayo. And Mayo also thought that he had quite a position in the Grizzlies. As everyone knows, he was about to be abandoned by the management.

Before the start of training today, Mayo was fully prepared. He knows very well that if he can kill Link in the matchup, it is not impossible to return to the starting lineup.

However, not long after the training game started, Mayo was shriveled.

This time, he was holding the ball on the perimeter, ready to single out Link. A star who has been in the spotlight since high school, Mayo is confident in his one-on-one ability.

However, after experiencing the baptism of the NBA, especially the "education" of those perverted scorers, Link really felt that Mayo's offense was almost meaningless.

His first step was unpleasant, and it was difficult for even Link's "old man" body to surpass it. Seeing that he couldn't break through Link, Mayo made a pull-up jumper.

Pull-up jumper, which is his most commonly used offense this year. Because most of the time, he can't get past defenders completely. And this has also become the reason why his hit rate has plummeted this year.

Seeing Mayo take a jump shot, Link jumped up responsively. With his height of 2.03 meters and a wingspan of 2.18 meters, Mayo's heart was half cooled.

"Snapped!"

There was a loud bang in the arena, and Mayo's shot was directly sent to the other half by Link's fan...

Sweat dripped from Mayo's head, not because he was tired, but because he was surprised!

It's not the first time that Mayo has played against Link in training, but he must admit that the speed of progress of this No. 0 is terrifying!

Now, his control of the timing of blocking shots has reached such a precise level!

Look at yourself again, let alone progress, you can hardly even maintain the state of your rookie season.

"Haha, nice job. In Minneapolis tomorrow, I hope you can make such a block." Then, Randolph came up and patted Link on the shoulder, repeatedly praising.

Ironically, Link, who has only been with the team for three months, has already gotten along very well with everyone. Mayo looked at himself again. He had just had a fight with Tony Allen ten days ago...

A deep sense of powerlessness spread across Mayo's body instantly, and he found that he was getting farther and farther from the starting position. And the most terrible thing is that he has not been able to regain everything he lost through his strength. Because the strength of the undrafted person is really stronger than himself...

This time the block made Mayo fall into the state of "thinking about life". In the scrims that followed, he performed poorly. Even if the offense can't score, the defense is smashed to scum by Link.

At first, Hollins had hoped that this sense of crisis would bring Mayo back to life, but now, he thought too much.

The next day at 8 p.m. at the Timberwolves' home target center. The Grizzlies still sent a lineup with Link as the starting No. 2, and the media were not surprised that the All-Star rookie could still start despite Mayo's return.

This means that Link will not have to wait for the main team to be injured or suspended before he can start. He won't be back on the bench again because he's already secured the Grizzlies' starting spot.

A series of facts have proved that the level of your draft has little to do with the success of your career.