Seven Hundred and Two: Flying in the Air

"Hello, Link. Your dunk was very good just now. Does this mean that in the slam dunk contest, you will also perform a self-tossing and self-dunking action?"

Stephen A. Smith walked up to Link first. Today, Smith was wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses, which made him look less stubborn than usual.

"Maybe, maybe not. To be honest, Smith, I haven't decided what to do in the slam dunk contest." Link spread his hands, very confident.

It's not that Link is throwing smoke bombs, it's that he really hasn't prepared for the slam dunk contest. At least before defeating the Thunder and regaining the ten-game winning streak, Link didn't have that in mind.

"Oh? So confident? Didn't you see Damien Lillard provoking you? That kid is a bomb!"

"Damien is really good, and I hope he can do well in the dunk contest. Well, as long as he is not better than me."

Smith nodded with a smile, this is Link's style, "The last question, are you sure tonight? In the last game, the Trail Blazers killed the Warriors to pieces. Lillard 38 points, almost Didn't make Curry cry. Are you worried about the Blazers' offensive firepower?"

"Worry, of course. But worry doesn't mean fear. Plus, we have Mike Conley, the best defensive second team point guard last season."

Link mentioned Conley again intentionally or unintentionally. He really hoped that Conley would not be restricted by exposure.

That's all Link can do. It depends on whether Conley can seize the opportunity today.

Finally, at 8:30 p.m., this high-profile duel was officially staged.

The two sides stepped into the court for the first time, and Link hugged each other's two-element leaders Lillard and Aldridge friendly. But this does not mean that the two sides will play very harmoniously. On the contrary, it is precisely because everyone knows each other, so the game will definitely be very fierce.

After Link stood at his designated position, he took a closer look at the Trail Blazers' starting lineup.

Lillard, Matthews, Batum, Aldridge and Robin Lopez, it is no exaggeration to say that this is definitely the first glory of the Blazers in the post-Roy Oden era.

There is not a single soft persimmon in the Blazers' set of starters. Lillard and Aldridge will not say, their strength is obvious to all.

Wesley Matthews is an excellent 3D player,

It is also frequently selected for the list of "The Strongest Undrafted Picks". Like Link, although the starting point is low, his strength is absolutely unquestionable.

"French Pippen" Nicolas Batum is considered the leading figure in French basketball after Tony Parker. This season, he can contribute 13 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. From the data, we can see how versatile he is. He is a jack-of-all-trades player.

Robin Lopez was mediocre in the Suns, but he showed his worth when he arrived at the Blazers. His toughness on the defensive end complements Aldridge's. The title of "Mascot Killer" also makes Robin's current popularity equal to that of All-Star Brooks.

Link knew that the five people in this starter would all have big contracts in the future. Although that led to the fact that this set of starters could not be saved in the end, but all five of them signed contracts, which is enough to show their strength.

And now that history has been rewritten by Link, God knows if this set will be disbanded in the future?

The referee walked between Gasol and Lopez and threw the ball high.

Robin won the first ball for the Trail Blazers with a slight advantage, Lillard took control of the ball, and the battle was directly staged!

Link moves constantly with Batum. The Frenchman is not an All-Star, but if you ignore him, he can give you an All-Star-level performance in no time.

And Batum is sometimes one of the Blazers’ tactical initiation points. Limiting Batum can also limit the Blazers’ tactical operation.

Just when Link was thinking about how to cut off the Blazers' offense, Lillard took the lead in playing a pick-and-roll with Aldridge.

The first attack in the opening game, the Blazers played extremely simple, presumably they wanted to hit a success rate. Lillard and Aldridge also want to give the Grizzlies a blow.

Randolph naturally knew how accurate Aldridge's mid-range shot was, so he didn't switch defenses and stayed in front of Aldridge all the time.

But in this way, Lillard has a chance to break through!

Lillard, who wears the No. 0 jersey like Link, accelerated into the inside line, and he was temporarily flat in front of him. He had countless ways to score the ball!

"Damn it!" Link gritted his teeth and was mentally prepared to be scored.

As a result, in the next second, Conley rushed from behind and interfered with Lillard's throw in time!

Lillard probably didn't expect Conley to come back, and in order to avoid the block, he shot a little hastily.

Seeing this, Link immediately rushed to the basket. Sure enough, in the next second, Lillard's throw hit the box, and Link got the rebound at the right time!

"I didn't make it, Damian Lillard's first offense was seriously disturbed by Mike Conley! It seems that Mike is still very serious today. Damien has to be careful, Curry's defense can't be compared to Mike's!"

Hubie Brown excitedly applauded Conley, the always humble and silent No. 11, although his style of play was not that great and his popularity was not that high.

But if you think he is easy to bully, you are wrong!

Link was worried that Conley would be nervous at first, because the guy was really tight when he warmed up.

But now, Link found himself completely overthinking. That is the young, mature and calm Mike Conley, he is fully capable of adjusting his mentality!

Conley defended very hard, and he had only one thought in his mind at the time - can't let Lillard score.

As a player who has fought hard in the league for seven seasons, Conley is very clear that everything in this league is earned by himself, and no one will give you a hand.

That's the case with the championship, and so is the All-Star spot.

He has to fight, he can't let himself down, let the fans down. Most importantly, don't let Link, who supports him, be disappointed!

Link more or less mentioned Conley in media interviews, which Conley actually saw in his eyes, and he knew that the leader of this team was doing his best to help him.

So even if it's not for himself, Conley has to give everything he has!

He was indeed a little nervous before the game, but when he saw Lillard break through, Conley's nervousness disappeared in an instant.

Because he only has defense in mind, there is no room for tension.

Link won the rebound and didn't rush to counterattack. With the black and white bears, he couldn't just let them run back and forth.

The Grizzlies are a team that can play on the ground and counterattack. If Tobias Harris and others are used, they can even become a small lineup.

The Blazers are all on alert, and Lillard is red-eyed now.

The goal just now clearly passed the defender, and Lillard felt that it was almost a must. As a result, it was destroyed by Conley.

So this time on defense, Lillard is also very serious.

But Link didn't give Lillard a chance to perform. He directly hoisted the ball to Randolph and shifted the battlefield to the inside.

Aldridge is ready, and although Randolph's form has declined slightly this season, he is still one of the best low-post scorers in the league.

The "Big Black Bear" began to chisel to the basket, and Aldridge was beaten down.

Just when everyone thought that Randolph was going to shoot himself, he suddenly hit the ball to the middle and passed it to the ground!

Then, a yellow lightning jumped into the restricted area, and Link cut in!

"Damn, how can you let him cut in so easily!" Blazers coach Terry Stotts scolded off the court, what is that guy Batum doing?

Batum also felt innocent. He thought this attack would end in the low position, but he didn't expect Link to start suddenly without warning, and he couldn't react at all.

When he turned back to chase, Link had already caught the ball. Batum admits that he has rarely encountered such a fast striker.

Aldridge is not stupid. Seeing Link rushing with the ball, he immediately took a step laterally and raised his arms to guard the basket. And Aldridge's position is very chicken, just on the edge of the reasonable collision zone.

Link's sprints are short right now, so it's unlikely to be a direct dunk. If Link comes up for a layup, there is a high probability that he will be called an offensive foul.

He was almost caught in a dead end! Link's offensive conditions now are much harsher than those of Lillard just now. If Lillard couldn't even score a goal just now, then Link wouldn't even think about it!

Don't think that Aldridge is just a power forward with a good mid-range shot. He can become an All-Star player, and his basketball IQ is also one of his advantages.

Terry Stotts let out a sigh of relief when he saw Aldridge return to defense in time. Now, Link is out of the way!

For ordinary players, this situation is really difficult. Throw it, there is interference. Layups and dunks, easy to attack fouls. Pass the ball? Too little space is easy to make mistakes.

But Link is not an ordinary player, he is a superstar at the level of the All-Star vote this year! What Lillard can't do doesn't mean he can't do it either.

After Link approached the basket, he took off against Aldridge! Aldridge gritted his teeth, ready to accept the bump. Just rushing up like this, Link will definitely be called an offensive foul!

But what happened after that made Aldridge's eyes widen.

I saw Link suddenly make a 360° turn in the air, swiping past Aldridge! There is no frontal collision, and the risk of offensive fouls is avoided!

After wiping Aldridge in the air, Link has come to a negative angle on the side of the rebound. But he did not panic, but threw the ball high with one hand.

In the end, Link fell directly after landing due to inertia. But at the same time, the basketball also exploded a "white wave" on the stunned Aldridge's head.

"The ball went in! 360° in the air for a layup, Link was juggling it! But it was this juggling action that gave the Grizzlies the lead!"

Mike Brin couldn't help yelling, he didn't expect such a powerful scene at the beginning of the game. 360-degree aerial turn for layup, this kind of shot is not common!

Aldridge thought his defensive plan was seamless, but it turns out that for a star of Link's level, there is no dead end at all!

Link got up from the ground, and then opened his hands at the wide-eyed Lillard, "It's your turn, boy!"

In his words and deeds, Link revealed a relaxed mood. As if the difficult layup just now was just a warm-up.

Lillard has goosebumps all over his body and is flying in the air? Link this is horrible! This summer, he must learn the trick from Link!

Link did not get carried away after scoring the goal, but directed his teammates to defend without leaving a gap for the Blazers.

People say the Grizzlies are going to have big trouble with the Blazers, and they ask him if he's afraid of the Blazers' offensive firepower. It's as if the Blazers meet the Grizzlies and they can easily pass. Instead, Link asked the Blazers to see how terrible the defending champion's firepower was!

Link won't allow himself to be beaten by anyone until he gets his 10-game winning streak back from Durant!