Forty-One: Competition Among Role Players

Sam Young worked extra hard when he warmed up today. He knew exactly what it meant for the Grizzlies to sign Link.

As a sophomore, Sam Young averaged 7.3 points in 16 minutes per game in his rookie season. Although his three-point shooting percentage is only a meager 19.6%, but with the occasional dunk performance, Sam Young is still deeply loved by fans and the team.

After all, as a second-round pick, it was a surprise that he could occasionally exert strength during the rotation in the first year. It is believed that he should be able to develop into a qualified role player.

But this year, second-year Sam Young didn't make much progress compared to last year. Although his three-point shooting rate has skyrocketed to 34%, because the sample is only 0.6 three-pointers per game, the sample is too small, so this improvement in three-point shooting rate is meaningless.

Sam Young's scoring average hasn't changed this year, despite an increase of four minutes per game. He averaged 7.3 points per game last year and is only averaging 7.2 points per game this year.

For rookie players, lack of progress is the most fatal flaw. As a senior player, Sam Young is an immediate force, and his potential is really almost tapped.

And this year, the Grizzlies want a 3-and-D small forward on the bench. Therefore, Sam Young, whose shooting was not stable enough, gradually lost the trust of Hollins.

Originally, the Grizzlies had Xavier Henry the perfect candidate this year. Unfortunately, the Kentucky rookie forward was out of season, and the Grizzlies had to find someone elsewhere.

Now, before the big enemy, Sam Young is very clear that he must defend his playing time and playing order with his performance. If Link rises and Henry returns next season, Sam Young's Memphis career will be over.

As a second-round pick, Sam Young is well aware of the consequences of being dumped. From being traded, to being fired directly. It's a matter of jobs, and he won't give Link a half.

While Sam Young was preparing seriously, Grizzlies assistant coach Elston Turner also began to explain the basic tactics of the Grizzlies to Link.

"Your job is to play as a 3-and-D player when Rudy Gay or O.J. Mayo is resting. So, the tactics that the coach arranges for you is not complicated. First, open space outside the three-point line. .If we are going to play inside tactics, you need to run back and forth in the two corners to try to open up the offensive space for Zach and Mark. Second, the position in the fast break, if your teammates are pushing the ball in the middle, You need to choose whether to stand at the three-point line or cut to the basket depending on the situation..."

As an undrafted player, there is no coach who has a tactic for you or a tactical meeting just for you. Right on the training ground, listen to the assistant coach to set you up. If you understand it, you can play, and if you don't understand it, you can play it, but it may be a mess. And the result of the mess is to get out with $50,000 in ten days.

At first, Link was really uncomfortable. After all, in the G League, game tactics are far less complicated. The focus of the G League is on individual performance, and every player is fighting for his own future.

But in the NBA, the focus of the game is the team. Every seemingly ordinary attack is supported by complex tactics behind it. Only today did Link really experience that there are no players with bad brains in the NBA.

Because players who can memorize so many complex tactics and execute them must be extremely smart. The same is true for role players. Stars can also make the team adapt to themselves, while role players have to adapt to the team themselves.

Although the Grizzlies' tactics are more than ten times more complicated than the blue team, thanks to his four-year basketball education at Link University, it is not difficult for him to understand and remember these tactics.

And don't forget, Link now has Grant Hill's more than ten years of basketball experience and basketball understanding.

His tactical cultivation is several times stronger than that of rookies at the same level. Grant Hill has accumulated experience for most of his life, and ordinary people can't get it even if they want.

Link now only feels thankful that without the experience and system of those four years, he would not have been able to understand the tactics Turner said so thoroughly.

"Do you probably understand what I said?" After Elston Turner finished speaking, the tactical board in his hand was already densely drawn.

"Well, probably clear."

"Very well, now, go and run tactics with the trainer and get used to it. I'll go and tell Coach Hollins that if everything goes well, you can go up and practice your hands later in the confrontational training. By the way, you We've got your No. 0 jersey ready for you, so don't wear your black vest again in training later."

As soon as he heard the No. 0 jersey, Link was full of energy. For the sake of himself and Upshaw, no one can stop him later!

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One similarity between the Grizzlies' adversarial practice and the Blues is that Hollins also likes to mix teams from the bench and starters.

In this way, it is not only beneficial to cultivate the tacit understanding of the whole team, but also makes the competition close to the actual combat. Because both sides have similar strengths, there will be no one-sided situation.

Before today's confrontation training began, Hollins gathered everyone to assign the roster. Sam Yang is ready for battle. He is a player with a year and a half of NBA experience, but he can't lose to an undrafted draft!

"Tabet, Randolph, Sam, Mayo, and Vasquez, you're a team. Marc Gasol, Darrell Arthur, Link, Tony Allen, and Conley, you're a team. Others, ready to come off the bench at any time."

As soon as Hollins announced the list, everyone was instantly excited. They all knew that the presence of Link would make today's adversarial training incredibly interesting.

After hearing that he was assigned to the opposite of Link, Randolph was also gearing up. In fact, Randolph is no longer a villain. After coming to Memphis, he has become a classic case of a prodigal son.

But Randolph doesn't want his teammates to be softballs, and the Grizzlies don't want softballs. Therefore, he will test how much Link is in today.

"Don't be nervous man, run according to tactics, there will always be opportunities!" Before the game started, Tony Allen patted Link on the shoulder.

Elston Turner blew the whistle as the trainer's referee, and the game officially started!

Since it was a training match, the jump ball was skipped, and Randolph directly served the baseline ball.

Sam Young is very active. On the offensive end, he is constantly interspersed with moves, hoping to get the opportunity to cut to the basket.

Randolph received a pass from Venezuelan guard Vasquez in the post, and he was actually capable of one-on-one defending his little brother Darrell Arthur. But Randolph, who didn't think it was a big deal, deliberately didn't play singles by himself. Instead, he responded from a high position and hit the ground to Sam Young who cut into the basket!

Sam Young is a "Spring Man" striker, and all kinds of aerial work are his favorite. If he can dunk one on Link's head on the training ground, it will definitely deepen Hollins' trust in himself.

Thinking of this, Sam Yang jumped without completely getting rid of Link! Seeing this scene, Hollins was not happy, but shook his head.

"Sam is in a hurry."

As soon as Hollins said to himself, Sam Young dropped the ball. As soon as he took off, Link seized the opportunity to start everything, sabotaging Young's dunk.

Link's approach is sophisticated, calm, and neat. It doesn't look like a rookie at all.

But that's Link's character, his maturity that doesn't match his age has long been his hallmark.

After cutting off Sam Young's basketball, Link immediately gave the ball to Conley, and then pulled it to the bottom corner on the right.

Hollins was very pleasantly surprised by Link's tactical movement. He's playing in the Grizzlies' system for the first time, but his mind is clear. When to give the ball to whom, and where to run, Link can know what to do.

For a role player, this kind of performance can impress the coach even more.

Conley was in possession of the ball from the outside, and Link was entangled in the right corner by Sam Young.

Sam Young had a very strong confrontation, and this level of confrontation was undoubtedly beyond the scope of the training game. But he knew that for Link and himself, this was not a scrimmage, but a showdown between go and stay.

Yang originally wanted to use a strong confrontation to deter Link, but as a G League player, what Link is most afraid of is competition! The cruelty of the development league is sometimes even worse than the NBA!

Sam Young's strong confrontation did not cause Link to be locked up. After Conley passed the ball to Darrell Arthur outside the three-point line on the right, Link immediately ran to the bottom corner on the right according to the tactics!

He pushed Sam Young away, crossed the crowded bottom line, and the running route was very clear!

And Sam Young was delayed in the defensive pace under the crowded basket, allowing Link to go out at the right time.

Arthur passed the ball, Link just jumped out of the three-point line, caught the ball and shot!

Although the ball has not yet entered, but Hollins is already laughing. At least this tactic, Link executed perfectly. I don't know, I thought Link had been with the Grizzlies for several years.

The next second, the Nets had a "white wave". Link not only ran out of tactics, but also seized the opportunity to score. The Grizzlies finally played this refined 3-pointer that the Grizzlies bench didn't have. And this kind of solid three-pointer is also something that Sam Young cannot provide for the Grizzlies.

Three-pointers and defense, Link showed his value in the clearest way. Don't you just need threes and defense? I have both!

Link had already caught the attention of Hollins, and he had made a good start for himself. But it's not over yet, "Uncle Zach" has become more and more interested in the Chinese striker.