Two Hundred and Seventy-One: 1 Minute and a Half

The San Antonio Spurs, who started the second quarter with an 8-point advantage, are now just 4 points ahead of the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies decided to use their tough defense against the Spurs, and the results have been quite remarkable for the past few possessions.

Link is undoubtedly the most aggressive of them all, breaking the Spurs' pass several times and being proficient in steals, assists, blocks and rebounds. He used a wide range of running without hesitation to fill in the gap derived from the Spurs.

Spurs assistant coach Budenholzer has begun to feel that Link is a little scary. Even Leonard would not go to defense like this crazy.

However, Link's madness continued.

After assisting Guy for a dunk, the Spurs let Duncan sit in the low post, ready to single against Gasol. As a result, the moment Duncan caught the ball, Link immediately double-teamed it!

"Basic skills" basically won't do anything too outrageous now, so after encountering a double-team, Duncan's first reaction is still to pass the ball. The target of the pass is naturally the hollowed-out Leonard.

When I was a fan before, it was said that Leonard was a three-pointer. But in fact, Leonard's three-point shooting percentage for the first three years of his career was above 37%. The hit rate is good, it's just a small amount of shots. So, Leonard is still quite a threat from beyond the arc.

But the Grizzlies’ switching defense was too tacit. Just like before, this time, Gay jumped directly in front of Leonard, helping Link to make up the defense, while Link defended to Split’s side. The Grizzlies' defense change was completed in an instant, and it was still watertight!

Leonard threw the ball directly to Split at the opportunity, this is a chance to hit the wrong position!

Split is 2.11 meters tall, and Link is only 2.03 meters tall. The gap is still quite obvious. But fortunately, Splitter does not have the superb offensive skills of Duncan, otherwise he will just roll over and make a jumper.

Split's offense is average, with no consistent shooting and no strong low-post offensive skills. Although Split has long been known as the first center in the Europa League, his most dazzling defensive data is still. Offensively, Split averaged only 16 points per game at its peak in the Europa League.

Last season, Link averaged more than 16 points in the NBA in his rookie season.

Split pushed forward with his back, but he never expected Link to withstand the first blow! If it had been last year, Link would have been eaten raw long ago. But this year, as long as he doesn't face those devilish muscle people, Link, who has increased in weight and strength, can still withstand most of the time.

Advance to no avail,

Splitter intends to turn around and get to the basket.

However, as soon as Split turned around, Link cut off the basketball. Breaking through with the ball is not Splitter's specialty.

This time, the small defense and the big defense have been completed!

"Link, the second steal in the second quarter! Two steals and one block, Link's performance on the defensive end in the second quarter today is absolutely amazing! Split has limited ability to attack independently, this is Coach Hollins. Dare to play big and four. Now the Grizzlies have completely contained the Spurs' pick-and-roll and see if they can tie the game before halftime!"

Hollins knew that Link's defensive ability was strong, and as long as the guy put his heart and soul into the defense, he could become a defensive gate like Tony Allen. In the playoffs last season, in the first round of the Thunder, Link's scoring average was actually not high. This is mainly because Link is focusing on how to defend Durant.

In the second round, against Richard Jefferson, who was not strong in attack, Link scored higher.

In other words, as long as Link spends more attention and energy on the defensive end, what he can do is often unexpected. Although it would affect his scoring, Link didn't seem to care. He wants to win more than personal data.

After stealing Split, the Grizzlies made another quick counterattack. In the end, Conley assisted Jimmy Butler with an easy layup, and Butler was one goal short of breaking his career-high scoring record!

His previous record was 4 points...

"The difference is only 2 points. The Spurs can't stand it!" Kerr shouted excitedly. Usually, the offense is the most enjoyable part of a basketball game. But today, Kerr couldn't wait to see Link's defense in the next round.

That kid, stunned, made the defense very enjoyable.

"Manu, Bonner, you go!" Popovich couldn't sit still, he decided to strengthen the attack.

Ginobili and Bonner went to the technical desk to prepare, but before that, the Spurs had to survive this offense.

Parker didn't pass the ball this time. After he borrowed the pick-and-roll, he went directly to the restricted area to lay up. But it turns out that Gasol, who was dragged at the back, was not a vegetarian. The big white bear waved his long arm and fanned the basketball out of the three-second zone like a whip. The "French Sports Car"'s own wish to score was also in vain, and the Spaniards will not be relentless in the face of the opportunity to give away.

Popovich clenched his fists. He regretted it a little. He felt that he should just call a timeout to make a substitution!

Now, if the Grizzlies score again, the score will be tied!

As soon as the second quarter came up, he was beaten 8-0, who can stand it!

Afraid of what to do, even if Popovich prayed again and again in his heart that the Grizzlies would never tie the game. But in the end, Pau Gasol's singles on the inside broke the only fantasy in the old man's heart.

Gasol is indeed not a scorer, and Duncan's defense against Gasol is also very good. But that doesn't mean that the Spaniard won't get a single point.

He made a small hook on the right side and managed to score a goal over Duncan's head. At the same time, it also completely stopped the Spurs. 26 to 26, the Grizzlies tied the score!

"Popovich called a timeout, which was a little late, and now the Grizzlies are fully on their feet. The Grizzlies' water-tight defense has kept the Spurs running on the offensive end. Their offense stumbled in the second quarter, which was mainly due to Credit to Link for being one of the toughest defensive gates I've ever seen!"

Steve Kerr used the word "defensive gate". In his mind, Link is already the top perimeter defender in the league!

Link walked down the court dripping with sweat. It was only a few minutes into the second quarter, but Link seemed to have just played an overtime.

He sat wearily on the bench, took the towel, gasping for breath. The price of excellent defense is several times the physical consumption of others.

"Link, rest for a few minutes. Sean, you are for Link, let's continue to defend firmly, and continue to strangle them with a meat grinder-like defense!" Hollins' tactics remained unchanged, still focusing on defense.

Link didn't refute Hollins' substitution choice, don't think it's cool to say "I don't have to rest". If your coffee position is not at the level of James and Kobe, then saying this sentence is actually equivalent to challenging the authority of the head coach.

Link really didn't want to rest, but he had to save face for Hollins and not screw up the relationship.

Therefore, after the timeout was over and everyone else was on the court, Link sat next to Hollins and asked, "Leon, how long do I have to rest?"

"Three minutes! You might have to work hard today, Link!"

"If possible, I would like to rest for only a minute." Link leaned into Hollins' ear and replied softly.

"One minute!? But you just..." Before Hollins could finish his words, Ginobili scored on the court. There were cheers from the Spurs fans behind the bench, and the Spurs took the lead again!

Shane shook his head angrily. No one would question Shane's experience and defensive skills, but it is indeed difficult for Shane to move quickly to fill the vacancy. For a 34-year-old veteran, that's too much of a challenge.

"Damn it!" Hollins gritted his teeth, seeing that the score he had just fought so hard to equalize was overtaken again.

If Tony Allen was still there, he could still replace Link, but Tony Allen was injured before this crucial round of back-to-back. For Ponderset? Although he is a 3-and-D player and has excellent athletic ability, his defense is not as solid as Link's. Let him go, it may not be able to prevent the effect just now.

Hollins looked at Link beside him, and Link shrugged, "This is impossible, Leon. I can only rest for so long in one minute."

"A minute and a half, give me a good rest, and I'll ask you to go to the technical table to prepare!" Hollins compromised, he could no longer let the Spurs open the score.

Link smiled slightly, then leaned on the bench, trying to adjust his breathing.

If hard work can bring you a victory, then Link is willing.