752: Veteran with a key role
On the second game day of the playoffs in the 13-14 season, there were obviously fewer unpopularity than on the first day.
The Miami Heat, the second in the East, beat the Bobcats 99-88, and did not repeat the retreat of the First Pacers in the East. The Clippers, ranked fourth in the West, also defeated the Houston Rockets. Harden and Howard were as expected by Link, had only had to catch up in the playoffs.
The highly anticipated Memphis Grizzlies created the biggest score difference of 19 points in the game that day.
Before the game, people said that the Mavericks were so strong, and they said that they were by no means as simple as the eighth place in the West.
But in just one game, Link shut up everyone.
The strongest West in history is the eighth place? The Grizzlies are the strongest in history!
The entire game started with Link's one-handed dunk in the first round, and the Mavericks saw no hope at all. Their mobility, offense, defense and efficiency... almost every item is more than one level worse than the Grizzlies.
The only two or two more technical statistics in this game than the Grizzlies are fouls and mistakes.
After this game, it would be gold to switch to Cuban's silence.
Before the game, he proudly believed that the Mavericks could cause trouble for the 74-win Grizzlies. But after the game, Cuban became mute.
Even though Link was rude to Cuban in an interview last night, Cuban did not respond in any way.
After losing 19 points, what else can I say? Even if Cuban is talking about the sky, his words are not convincing.
In addition to Mark Cuban, the NBA League must be very troubled now.
The Grizzlies played the entire series in just one game without any suspense, which would undoubtedly have an impact on ratings and revenue.
It seems that giving birth to a super team is not all good for the league.
After the second game day of the playoffs, everything seemed to be back on track. On April 21, the higher-ranked teams won. The Dallas still failed to create miracles in the second game between the Grizzlies and the Mavericks.
In the second game of the series on April 23, the Mavericks' shooting percentage did not reverse again. Monta Ellis scored 21 points in the whole game, with a shooting percentage of 45%. Nowitzki made 8 of 10 shots and efficiently scored 20 points with an 80% shooting percentage.
The Dallas Mavericks are excellent, but for the Grizzlies, this is not excellent enough.
In the original history, there was no player in the Spurs who could stand up and violently output. So when the Mavericks played well, it was difficult for the Spurs to bite the score. In addition, Carlisle was always able to control **Vic in tactical terms, so the Spurs fought with the Mavericks in the first round to tie the score.
But the Grizzlies don't have this problem. Link can use continuous scores to exterminate the Mavericks' momentum. In the second quarter, when the Grizzlies were 6 points behind the Mavericks, Link broke out in a 9-0 wave, suppressing the Mavericks in one fell swoop.
In the second game, the Mavericks lost only 6 points to the Grizzlies. They did show their strength far higher than the eighth place in the West, but the results were the same as losing 6 points and losing 19 points.
The Grizzlies continue to go to the opponent's home court with a 2-0 score. According to the Grizzlies' "habits" last season, they will not miss the opportunity to end the series in Dallas.
Mark Cuban is now quite embarrassed because in Dallas, he can no longer hide at home to watch the game.
At that time, his ugly expression will be displayed to the public in a clear view.
This is the first time that Cuban regrets what he said. He is happy for a while, but the price is very heavy.
After the game returned to Dallas, everything still didn't improve.
The Grizzlies' first night in Dallas, the Mavericks did resist fiercely. They once narrowed the gap to 6 points when they were 20 points behind in the third quarter!
Just when everyone thought the Mavericks were about to complete a shocking reversal at home, Link, the villain, stood up and used a block to tear the perfect inspirational script.
In the sixth minute of the fourth quarter, Monta Ellis used the cover to shake off Iguodala and rushed straight to the basket.
At this time, Gasol was pulled to the outside due to the pick-and-roll defense, and Randolph was pulled outside the three-point line by Dek.
Ellis has a clear road ahead. If he can score successfully, the Mavericks will narrow the gap to 4 points!
But Ellis knew that things were not that simple. It was not enough to just throw away the black and white bears. Before Ellis made a layup, she deliberately looked at Link's position.
When he found that Link was rushing towards him, Ellis decided to use a pull rod to avoid the block!
Sure enough, when Ellis took off, Link also jumped up. Ellis was glad that he had prepared, otherwise this would definitely turn into a volleyball that flew the ball for 50 meters.
In the air, Ellis pulled the ball back into his chest and avoided Link's block.
Then, Ellis switched the ball to his left hand and prepared to make a layup!
As long as this goal is scored and the gap is narrowed to 4 points, there will be hope for everything!
However, after completing the pull-up action, Elis was surprised to find that Link still did not land! This guy seemed to be waiting in the air for him to change hands. After he raised the basketball with his left hand, Link also changed his hand to get the ball!
Ellis has completed countless difficult layups, including success and failure. But never once did he meet someone who could complete the switch-up blocking in the air.
Link finally gently patted the basketball in Ellis's hand and completed the block! Monta Ellis' beautiful layup still failed to escape the fate of eating hot pot.
After landing, Link quickly picked up the basketball and then used a long pass to assist Conley to fight back.
The Mavericks, who had the hope of narrowing the gap to 4 points, are now 8 points behind.
Most importantly, Link's block that was so scary that it took for a long time to stay away killed the Mavericks players all their confidence.
Now the Mavericks players are not thinking about how to win, but: "How can you win in the face of such a guy!?"
Link completely shattered the Mavericks' playoff dream with this terrible block. As it turns out, there was only one miracle in 2011.
Before the game ended, the Mavericks' home fans left the court early. No home fans spent money to watch the game, hoping to see their home team be massacred.
As a result, a very desolate scene appeared in the American Airlines Center Arena.
Mark Cuban sat in front of the audience with a sad face. Instead of yelling excitedly or standing up and punching as before, he stared blankly at the court, no one knew what he was thinking at this time. Behind him was an empty stand, full of destruction.
Link destroyed his favorite thing in front of Cuban - his team.
After the game, the harsh beeping sound brought Cuban to his senses.
The total score became 3-0. Although the Mavericks have not lost yet, they are no different from losing.
Grizzlies players have begun to embrace Mavericks, the kind of hug between winners and losers.
Nowitzki dragged his tired body to Link with his arms wide open, but this time, he did not nag in Link's ear for a long time.
After saying "I hope you all goes well", Nowitzki left the court. This time, Link no longer needed any of his suggestions.
After seeing Nowitzki off, Link wanted to walk to Cuban to say goodbye to him, and to appreciate Cuban's expression from pride to loss. But Link didn't expect that Vince Carter actually found himself on his own initiative.
"You guys are fighting very well, kid, you're so merciless." Carter shook his head and walked to Link and took the initiative to carry him.
With an average of 12.6 points per game, you can't say that Vince Carter has no contribution to the Mavericks. It's just that his current contribution is far from comparable to ten years ago. However, he has tried his best and will definitely be unwilling to accept it because he failed to win a game in the playoffs.
"You almost won, aren't you?" Link was very good at slandering, but he was really not good at saying good things. Faced with his opponents who took the initiative to show goodwill, Link's response has always been very stiff.
"Okay, don't comfort me, I know the gap between us. But... Damn, I actually feel unwilling. A 37-year-old veteran will feel unwilling. It's ridiculous. Leave your phone number to me, this summer, I want to train with you."
Faced with Carter's sudden request, Link was a little stunned. In the past, most of the young people who trained with him were young people. But now, even the old fox like Carter, who had a huge influence, was interested in his training camp?
Link guessed that if he had a paid training camp like Olajuwon in the future, he would have to hit a hammer ball! Just by "selling classes", he would make a lot of money.
"Are you sure? Our summer training is very intense."
"It is precisely because of this that I want to join. How can I keep up with the pace of your young people if I don't work hard in the summer?" Carter smiled. He had not lowered his requirements for himself.
Link exchanged numbers with Carter, and the conversation between the two ended here.
A veteran who still has a desire for victory and championships, not just to support his family.
Such players may play a key role at a specific time.
Unfortunately, Carter is not in a team that has the ability to compete for the championship. Otherwise, his key role will definitely be fully revealed.
For example, in Memphis Grizzlies...
Link didn't think much about it. When he was about to say goodbye to Cuban, he found that Cuban was no longer in the stands.
Chapter completed!