Nine Hundred and Fifty-Four: Welcome Ceremony

On May 4th, Grizzlies fans who were almost bored with their idle time finally poured into FedEx Arena to watch the Grizzlies' second-round playoff game.

On the Warriors' side, the second round matchup with the Rockets had begun a day ago. The Grizzlies, who advanced early, waited until today to find their opponents in the second round.

In most people's predictions, the Grizzlies' opponent in the second round should be the same as last year, the Los Angeles Clippers.

But the tenacious Trail Blazers disappointed people's expectations. Although they were scarred, they finally entered the FedEx Arena, entered the palace of the king, and prepared to seize the throne.

The Trail Blazers and the Grizzlies, one has just created a miracle of a 1-3 comeback, and the other is firmly holding the number one spot in the league.

Before these two magical teams officially started to collide, many sparks were created.

Before the game started, ESPN specially showed Lillard's highlights from the previous round.

ESPN just wants to express one point of view with this move, "This is a top point guard who is not afraid of Paul in the playoffs!"

Lillard has indeed become famous this season, and he has even made the Trail Blazers his own team.

Before this season, everyone felt that Aldridge was the key to the Blazers' resurgence. But now, almost everyone believes that Aldridge is Lillard's assistant.

Lillard has always been a "retrograde". He was not officially selected for the All-Stars this year. He was only selected to replace injured players and was used to fill in.

His popularity is not particularly high in the Western Conference. When people think of Western Conference defenders, people will think of Harden, Westbrook, Curry and others.

Lillard? He will probably be forgotten.

It wasn't until he led his team to counterattack the Clippers in the last round that people suddenly discovered that Lillard is such a powerful character.

In this regard, Lillard is quite similar to Link. They are all older rookies, and none of them are favored by others, but they have all used their practical actions to escape from doubts.

Such players are usually very scary, not just because of how good their skills are, but because they have an extremely strong heart that is almost impossible to destroy!

In the last round against the Pelicans, Link destroyed the Pelicans' mentality in just a few rounds in the first game.

Once the opponent's mentality collapses, they will retreat steadily. Grizzly bears become more and more relaxed when they fight.

But facing Lillard, this kind of good thing is not easy to happen. Unless he really encounters a major setback, Lillard will not lose his balance easily.

A tenacious and unbeatable opponent is always the most difficult to defeat.

So when Lillard heard Link say, "They've never seen real hell," the Trail Blazers' young guard just waved his hands indifferently.

"I know Link's style. He always likes to try to create panic for the opponent before the game starts. I have to say, this is a very good move. But for me and the Trail Blazers, this move doesn't work."

Lillard still believes that nothing is harder than falling behind 1-3.

They have gone through the most difficult things, what else can they not get through?

Before the start of the game, when players from both teams came in to warm up, Lillard and Link hugged each other surrounded by a bunch of cameras.

Lillard is right, he and Link have a good personal relationship. Otherwise, he wouldn't keep feeding Link the ball in the All-Star Game.

Link first congratulated Lillard for leading the team to escape death, but he also quickly said bluntly, "You know, Damien, I really want to watch you keep winning.

But I can't lose, this is my mission. "

"You have your mission and I have mine. Let's do our best to have a good fight. This is just about the game. By the way, you said you would let me see what hell is really like. Are you serious?"

"Of course, I don't like to joke around." Link looked directly into Lillard's eyes, and reporters seemed to feel like lightning was rubbing between their eyes.

"Well... then let me experience it, and don't let me down, Link."

After saying that, the two separated and walked to their respective halves.

How close they were just now, how fiercely they will fight on the basketball court later!

Men's friendship is such a wonderful thing.

As soon as Link returned to his own half, Conley immediately stepped forward and said, "Link, you are very confident."

"Don't you?" Link patted Conley on the shoulder.

"No, it's just that there is too little time to practice tactics together..."

"It doesn't matter, go ahead bravely. Just remember that I will always be there to protect you."

Conley looked at Link and instantly felt relieved.

Although Conley was also selected to the All-Defensive Team, Lillard showed off in the last round in front of Paul, who is also defensively strong.

Conley would be nervous, which is understandable.

But with just one word from Link, Conley felt at ease.

The son of the Olympic champion smiled and shook his head. It was not the first time that Link had inspired him.

The main thing is that Link does what he says every time. This time, Conley also believed in Link 100%.

In this case, let's work together to make Lillard fall at FedEx Arena!

The game started quickly, with both starters shaking hands, greeting each other, and then standing in their designated positions.

It seems that the smell of gunpowder between the two sides is not that strong. But everyone knows that this is just the calm before the storm.

For the Trail Blazers, Lillard, Matthews, Batum, Aldridge and Lopez still form the starting five.

They are all very motivated, and it seems that no difficulty can stop them.

After the referee blew the whistle, he threw the ball into the air. Robin Lopez jumped up and put the ball into Lillard's hands.

The hard work Lopez showed when fighting for the ball has clearly demonstrated the Blazers' determination.

Joger stood anxiously on the sidelines as soon as the game started, because he didn't know how far the double-teaming tactics he had deployed could be implemented.

As long as there is one mistake, Lillard will completely penetrate the Grizzlies' defense!

Lillard slowly advanced with the ball, and he was ready to go one-on-one with Link.

But when Lillard crossed the midfield line, he was surprised to find that the Grizzlies were still using Conley to defend him!

"There was no change of defense. Coach Joger didn't use Link to block Lillard! He still chose Conley. Could it be that the Grizzlies didn't make any adjustments!?"

Not only Lillard, but also Hubie Brown who was watching the game adjusted his glasses in surprise.

Where's Link? He is in front of Aldridge at this time!

Everyone felt that Joger made the wrong move. Instead of letting Link defend Aldridge, it would be better to let him defend Lillard!

Doesn't that guy figure out who is the most threatening player on the Trail Blazers now?

It's true that Aldridge is very strong, but if you don't guard Lillard, just containing Aldridge will not be effective.

"Lillard is ready to attack. Is this a decision-making error by Joger or a clever move? We will get the answer soon!"

While speaking, Lillard called Aldridge to cover. Since the Grizzlies don't need Link to defend themselves, Lillard won't be polite.

Taking advantage of the screen, Lillard successfully got rid of Conley.

Link didn't hesitate. He let go of Aldridge and switched to Lillard.

Lillard didn't panic. Under normal circumstances, the big man would just delay the change of defense after the pick-and-roll. They would all retreat after waiting for the little man to catch up.

And this gap is Lillard's opportunity to score! This is how he defeated the Clippers in the last round.

Lillard believes that Link will definitely withdraw, and he must withdraw. Otherwise, Aldridge will be left short.

But when Conley got off the screen and caught up with Lillard, Lillard realized something was wrong.

Neither Link nor Conley left him, but double-teamed him on the spot!

"Double-team, in the first round, the Grizzlies decided to double-team Lillard!" Hubie Brown stood up. Joger's strategy was completely different from what people imagined!

Lillard was stunned. He directly flanked after the pick-and-roll? What the hell kind of tactic is this!

Now Lillard definitely can't attack by himself. His best choice is to give the ball to Aldridge.

But Link, the best defensive player, and Conley cleverly blocked Aldridge's receiving route, and Lillard, who was trapped inside, couldn't pass out at all!

Lillard is originally an offensive point guard, passing and organizing are not his strengths.

What's more, he was still double-teamed by two defensive masters!

In the end, Lillard could only pass the ball with poor vision, but the pass was deflected and slow. Gasol, who was assisting in defense, stretched out his long arm and intercepted the pass.

In addition to Conley and Link, Gasol inside is also one of the keys to defending Lillard.

The Grizzlies used three layers of defense to contain the Trail Blazers' No. 0 guard.

In the first round, Lillard made a mistake!

Jimmy Butler immediately stepped down, and Gasol once again demonstrated his accurate long-passing ability from the backcourt.

In a flash, the Grizzlies counterattacked, leaving Lillard messy in the wind.

This was the first time he encountered such a defensive strategy, and he didn't even know how to handle it.

The feeling of being double-teamed by the best defensive player is not pleasant at all.

Just when Lillard was stunned, Link patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't panic, this is just the beginning, man. Now, please allow me to formally welcome you, friend, welcome to hell! Just now, that was the welcome ceremony for you."

Seeing Link's confident look, Lillard swallowed.

He didn't know what was waiting for him next.