Thirteen: Successfully Attracting Attention

"The Left Hand of God", this is Luke Babbitt's nickname in the NCAA. His tough style coupled with the habit of shooting left-handed, let him call the shots in college.

In fact, before this game, Luke Babbitt was also a figure in the G League. After all, he was a guy with a formal basketball education and was drafted in the first round of the NBA, and what kind of players are most of the G League players?

Unknown, from the street, able to fly well but with rough technology, difficult to tame... Compared with this group of people, Luke Babbitt, who is basically solid, is simply the son of heaven.

But today, in this small city of Oklahoma, Luke Babbitt's rule has been completely ended.

At this point, the game has reached the fifth minute of the fourth quarter. The Blues have a 13-point lead, and they've held a double-digit lead for a long time.

Luke Babbitt has only scored 13 points so far. Since he has already scored 7 points in the first quarter, his performance today is not outstanding.

Ever since the yellow-skinned No. 5 jersey came on the field in the first quarter, everything has been thrown off balance.

Now, there is not much suspense about the outcome of the game. Because the whole game, the blue team suppressed the sky power from all over Miami. If they could come back, they would have turned the game over long ago.

At this point, the only point of interest in the game is whether the No. 5 Link can get a triple-double today.

That's right, at the beginning of the second quarter, Babbitt didn't want to be hit by Link's double-double. But now that the game reached the fourth quarter, Link was already running for a triple-double.

"23 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists, Link's performance today is amazing. Since the second quarter, due to the increase in help defense, Link has reduced his personal shots, but the assists have also increased. With five minutes to go, do you think it's possible for this amazing kid to get a triple-double?"

At the beginning of the game, both on-site commentators said that Link would be beaten into scum by Luke Babbitt. But now, the two have unanimously changed their tune and expressed their hope to see Link win a triple-double.

Therefore, if a yellow-skinned person wants to be respected by others on the basketball court, he needs to show his strength and then hit the opponent.

When you win, people can't make a fuss about your skin color anymore.

"The triple-double is not difficult for him. Luke Babbitt did not put any pressure on Link today. But the game is not over yet, and the Sky Force has a chance."

While speaking, Link received another pass.

In the beginning, the blue team's point guard always liked to pass the ball to Brockman. It's not so much "like" as it is forced. After Brockman failed, the point guard liked to pass the ball to Upshaw again.

While offense with the ball wasn't the guy's forte, Upshaw was the blue team's most efficient scoring player at the time.

Now, the point guard will hand the ball over to Link after halftime. In the last game, he was still an idiot who made two consecutive mistakes as soon as he played, but today, he has become the most trusted person by his teammates.

Link took possession of the ball from beyond the arc and surveyed the court. Clearly, he has become a true point guard for the blue team.

The No. 5 striker waved his hand, and Joan Brockman, a second-round pick who had always shown the image of an "uncle", obediently put it up for Link to cover.

Although he was cursing, he still did it. Not because the relationship between Brockman and Link has improved, but because Brockman has eaten a lot of cakes today. He knew that covering Link would help him get good numbers too.

For G League players, stats trump everything, even game wins.

cover,

Hold the ball, break through.

It's a pity that Link's speed is not fast enough, making it easy for the opponent to complete the switch. If Link now possesses the physique of Grant Hill in his prime, that one shot just now would have been enough for him to start up and complete the dunk.

However, the Sky Force is a G League-level team after all, and their switching is not rigorous. Finding a gap, Link threw it lightly. The basketball passed Luke Babbitt's head and fell into the hands of Brockman, who was cutting in.

This is just the most basic pick-and-roll combination, but Brockman and Link have tried many times today.

But this time, when Brockman chose to lay up, Sioux Falls' restricted area behemoth Whiteside killed it. Whiteside is the best player for the Sky Force today, with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks so far.

But Whiteside is not the kind of player with strong autonomous offensive ability after all, so when the team is behind by a large score, what he can do is very limited.

Under the interference of Whiteside, Brockman's layup regretted hitting the iron. Just when Luke Babbitt was ready to fight back, Link appeared just right at the landing spot of the rebound. He can't jump high, and he's not fast. But being able to predict where the rebound will land in advance is sometimes more important than bouncing.

And Grant Hill is just a striker with a keen sense of rebounding. His rebounding sense naturally also appeared on Link.

Link grabbed the offensive rebound and quickly threw the ball beyond the three-point line. On the right, Link's best friend Zeke Upshaw was already in place. Due to Brockman's layup just now, the player who was originally guarding Upshaw has left.

This kind of opportunity cannot escape Link's eyes, and his ability to read the game is definitely the best on the court.

And Upshaw is definitely the most consistent three-pointer on the court.

Upon receiving the basketball, Upshaw immediately shot. Just like on the training ground, the two best friends have the most tacit cooperation.

"Zick Upshaw made another three-pointer. He has scored 17 points today, and his scoring average is only 9.8 points per game. I think it is Link's appearance that makes the teammates around him better. Okay. Whether it's Brockman or Zeke, they got a lot of easy shots today. And that easy scoring opportunity wasn't there in previous games."

While the commentators praised Link, he also added an assist and a rebound to his attack this time.

With 23 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists, Link is close to a triple-double!

Everyone in the audience had a feeling that the G League game seemed too easy for Link.

※※※

The 10-11 season was a distressing season for Chinese fans. After a season in which Yao Ming was out of season, people were looking forward to Yao Ming's comeback.

However, the "Great Wall of China" was injured again not long after its comeback, and everyone knew that this injury was devastating to Yao Ming.

His body may not be able to withstand the operation again, and his ankle is already fragile. The biggest loss for the NBA is that they don't have a Chinese player to attract the huge Chinese market.

Once, the golden period when Sun Yue, Yi Jianlian and Yao Ming played in the NBA at the same time has passed, and the attraction of the NBA to Chinese fans has greatly declined. The league is naturally very distressed, and they are committed to finding the next player who can take over Yao Ming's torch.

At this time, the general managers of many teams have heard a message.

"In the G League, there is a little-known Chinese American who scored a triple-double of 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists on Luke Babbitt's head."

Triple-double, Chinese, unknown... These keywords undoubtedly hit the G-spot of many general managers of NBA teams.

From now on, the home of the blue team may be accompanied by scouts from many NBA teams with Link.