Link knew that the night of the 28th was a tough battle, but not because the Trail Blazers ranked fourth in the West, not because the Trail Blazers had an excellent record of 33 wins and 12 losses, nor because they had almost the perfect starting five tigers.

But because of Damien Lillard.

Last summer training camp, Link got along well with all the stars who participated in the training camp. Of course, Lillard also included.

Nonsense, if you don’t deal with Link, you won’t come to participate in the training camp hosted by Link.

When he came into contact with Lillard, what Link was most amazed was not his football skills, but that guy really wanted to show himself too much! Just like Kobe wanted to win too much, Lillard also had a terrible persistence in showing himself.

Like Link, Lillard is an older rookie. He played in college for four years, so he entered the league later than many people.

Moreover, the difference between Lillard and Link is that he is still a lottery show with high expectations. Therefore, starting later than others is a very big disadvantage.

Most of the players who participated in the draft with Lillard were only 19 or 20 years old. Paul George, who was the same age as Lillard, was an All-Star player when Lillard first entered the league.

Lillard knew that he didn't have too much time to waste. So, he was willing to seize any opportunity to show himself and couldn't wait to tell others, "I can!"

His desire to show his desire is literally deep into his bones.

Last summer in training camp, Lillard liked to fight Link one-on-one every time he practiced a new move. He couldn't wait to let Link know, "Hey, buddy, look, I'll do this one too!"

In the game, Lillard will not miss any opportunity to show himself.

Last season, he beat Anthony Davis to win the Best Rookie. This season, Lillard averaged 20.7 points and 5.6 assists per game, with a three-point shooting percentage of nearly 40%. He is already one of the best point guards in the league. He grasps every game and tries hard to show himself.

This year, Lillard participated in the Rookie Championship, Skills Challenge and Three-Point Competition. He participated in all of those who can participate because he knew that the All-Star Weekend was the perfect stage to show himself.

If Lillard is finally selected as the All-Star substitute, he will also appear in the All-Star Game!

Only Lillard is willing to do this in four of the five All-Star Game events at the same time.

So Link knew very well that Lillard would never be lenient when facing the Grizzlies.

Fighting the Grizzlies means that it is a highly anticipated focus duel. Winning in the focus duel is the best way to show yourself!

Lillard rarely complains and has almost no controversial remarks. He always uses his performance on the court to show himself to the world and justify himself. He told the whole world that "older rookies can also do well in the NBA."

Lillard doesn't want people to think that if he is an older rookie, he should be inferior. Before the draft, Lillard was even quite proud of the fact that he played in college for four years.

"I have obtained my degree. I have been on campus for 4 years, far away from my hometown, and have taken this opportunity to grow into a man. I am not trying to belittle my opponents in the draft, but I definitely surpass them in experience. I think most of them are only 19 or 20 years old, and some are even only 18 years old. And I am already 21 years old, so this maturity will certainly help me."

It was to prove this that he killed everyone on the court.

Without a wise and mature mindset, you cannot say such words. Lillard was still calm and mature while being young and frivolous.

If you only treat Lillard as a slutty little guy, then wait to lose. Just like what the reporters said, the Trail Blazers are not easy to deal with. After all, there is a supernova point guard in their team that is not easy to deal with.

Link and the Trail Blazers had no holiday, and they had a good relationship with Lillard and Aldridge. But in order to get back 10 consecutive victories from the Thunder, they had to fight the Trail Blazers.

The morning before the game, Link woke up very early. He was so excited that he couldn't wait to start tomorrow night's game soon.

Link hasn't felt this way for a long time. An exciting opponent is not something you can encounter at any time.

But before the game started, Lillard gave Link a surprise.

As usual, while making breakfast for himself, Link habitually turned on the TV and listened to sports news.

As a result, I heard the news that Lillard announced his participation in this year's dunk contest!

"Damion Lillard, the leading point guard of the Trail Blazers, announced this morning that he will participate in the All-Star Dunk Contest half a month later. At this point, all four players in the Dunk Contest have been confirmed. If Lillard is finally selected into the All-Star Contest, he will become the first player in NBA history to participate in all five All-Star Tournaments!"

Listening to this report, Link was surprised. He participated in all individual events? This is too hard!

Because of the long time, Link doesn't remember whether Lillard participated in all five main events of the All-Star Game in his original history. But with Lillard's personality, if he was finally selected into the All-Star Team, he would definitely not refuse any competition.

Afterwards, the scene of Lillard being interviewed at the airport was played on TV.

"I have the ability to participate in all the games, why not be the first to participate in all the All-Star events? What's the difficulty? I just do this with the money? The skills game only requires me to spend 2 minutes on the court. The dunk contest is more troublesome because there is Link, but I guess I only need to play for 3 minutes, and the three-point competition is only 2 minutes. These games won't take too much time. There is no need to be tired or tired at all, it just depends on whether I want to participate."

Lillard's answer is not pretentious at all. Unlike other stars who complain about being afraid of being injured or complain about not having time to rest. His views on his three views have always been very positive, which is another reason why Link likes him.

"So do you think that tomorrow in Memphis, you will stage a dunk match with Link in advance?" The reporter then asked the second question.

"Tomorrow's things are much more complicated than dunking. I hope you're ready, Link." Lillard smiled and walked into the boarding passage.

Link sighed, and Lillard also announced that he had participated in the slam dunk contest. As a result, the lineup of this year's slam dunk contest is really dreamy.

Link, George, Wall and Lillard are all first-tier stars. Sure enough, Link's star effect is very powerful. In addition to attracting fans, he can also attract opponents.

In front of these three good players, Link's chances of failing in the dunk contest have undoubtedly increased greatly.

Bill Simmons probably breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the news of Lillard participating in the slam dunk contest. It seemed that there was a turning point in his wearing women's clothing. After all, it was not easy to stand out among Wall, George and Lillard.

However, this is exactly what Link hopes to see. The more lively, the more fun it is.

Seeing Lillard step into the check-in channel, Link turned off the TV and prepared to go out.

Are you ready? I can't fucking wait any longer!

※※※

As everyone imagined, the Federal Express Arena on the evening of January 28 was extremely hot.

Although this game was not a live broadcast in the United States, it was treated as a live broadcast in the United States. Countless reporters were waiting on and outside the venue, and ESPN also sent Mike Bryn to comment on the game.

The sideline reporter was led by the famous "American Yang Yi" Stephen A. Smith. For ESPN, this can definitely be regarded as a live broadcast level configuration across the United States.

Link was very excited today. When he was warming up, he even threw a self-dumping and dunk in public. This ball made the fans' blood swell, which was considered as a preview of the dunk contest.

But Conley, another protagonist of the Grizzlies, was a little nervous. He was very tense when shooting and lost several.

"What's wrong with you Mike?" Link also noticed Conley's strangeness. After training yesterday, he stayed with Conley and practiced shooting until 7 o'clock in the evening. His feel shouldn't be so bad.

"It's okay Link, I'm just... damn, let me adapt." Conley waved his hand with a serious expression.

The fact that Lillard scored 38 points on Curry still made Conley feel a little scared.

Although Conley and Lillard may be selected as the All-Star substitute at the same time, this is not a matter of choosing one of two. However, the losing side will definitely become quite dangerous. Therefore, Conley also regards this game as a key battle to whether he can become the All-Star!

After the Grizzlies warmed up for a while, everyone from the Trail Blazers also appeared.

Link turned his head and found Lillard walking in the front of the team!

After seeing Link, Lillard did not rush to come up and say hello. Or rather, his way of saying hello was a little different.

After Lillard ran a few baskets to find out, he signaled his teammates to get out of the way, and then suddenly held the basketball and changed hands and dunked in the air!

The reporters and fans at the scene were crazy. First, it was Link's self-dumping and dunking, and then Lillard's change of hands. Do these two guys want to make the dunk contest take place in advance?

Before the game started, Link and Lillard started to compete!

After the dunk landed, Lillard smiled at Link. That was how he greeted Link just now!

Stephen A. Smith also walked onto the court with a smile and prepared to start the sideline interview.
Chapter completed!