As a temporary summer league team, both offense and defense appeared somewhat "chaotic." For some undrafted players, they all hoped to secure an NBA contract through eye-catching stats, which further disorganized the team's offense and defense.
But a good floor general can quickly integrate the team and forge collective combat effectiveness.
After the Washington Wizards' summer league team secured a victory in their opening game against the Philadelphia 76ers, the outside world was full of praise for Link.
Many companies began to proactively contact Link's agent, wanting to sign endorsement deals with him.
After the game, Link also received congratulatory text messages from his Washington Wizards teammates.
"Wow... man, sorry, I've been held up with some things lately and didn't get in touch with you in time. But seriously, man, your performance tonight was truly amazing." — Jarred Vanderbilt.
Jarred Vanderbilt, nicknamed "Buffalo," is 206 cm tall and weighs 125 kg, serving as the Wizards' Center.
He has a stocky build, moves slowly, and lacks mid-to-long-range shooting ability. Last season, he contributed 1.4 Blocks per game and possessed decent rebounding skills, averaging 12+8 during his peak.
Although Link knew this was just polite talk, since the other party reached out proactively, there was naturally no need to expose it.
Besides Jarred Vanderbilt, there was also Hubert Davis, but the difference was that Hubert Davis proactively called Link.
He was the Wizards' shooting guard last season, a pure shooter with a career Three-Point Shot percentage of 41.5%, averaging 1.5 three-pointers per game last season.
On the phone, Hubert told Link that he had been vacationing with his family on a European island where the signal was poor, which was why he hadn't reached out sooner.
Hubert was very excited and expressed with great enthusiasm how great it was that the Wizards were able to select Link with the number one draft pick this year.
Uh... how should I put it?
Link sensed a hint of "bootlicking."
Regarding bootlickers, although bystanders might find it annoying, for the beneficiary being flattered, it was actually quite comfortable.
This was normal; Hubert Davis was a three-point shooter with average athleticism and defense, and his size wasn't particularly large. To establish himself in the NBA and secure his next contract, he needed an excellent floor general.
Link gave him hope.
Hmm... as a side note, the reason Niang of the Nets hated Ben Simmons the most was that he took a pay cut to join, only for Simmons to not play.
(TN: didn't know who this Niang is)
Having been proactively contacted by two teammates, Link was in a great mood. After all, they helped him gain 1000 GOAT points as a system reward, which was much faster than playing games.
[GOAT Points: 4,115/16,355]
...
...
In the second game, the Washington Wizards faced the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Perhaps because Link didn't take any three-pointers in the first game, he was surprised to find that the opponents didn't respect his Three-Point Shot.
To this end, he directly activated [Moment of Dominance: Sharpshooter].
The result...
Three consecutive Three-Point Shots forced the opponent to call a timeout.
After the timeout, the opponents employed tight man-to-man pressure to shut down Link's Three-Point Shots.
Link immediately activated [Moment of Domination: Gods Weapon], hitting consecutive mid-range shots and punishing the opposing Center's drop coverage defense.
Link, who scored 17 points in the first quarter, helped the team take a 43-28 lead, a 15-point advantage.
In the following three quarters, although his offensive efficiency declined, by the end of the game, he had still scored a game-high 41 points.
It's worth mentioning...
This was also the highest score among all players in today's Summer League games.
With 41 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 Steals, he became the most shining player in the Summer League, without exception.
After this game...
Another Washington Wizards player proactively contacted Link.
The Washington Wizards' wing, Tyrone Nesby, who is 201 cm tall and weighs 102 kg, averaged 12.3 points and 4.9 rebounds last season.
He was good at cutting to the rim and had some mid-range game.
Link's offensive threat would surely create good scoring opportunities for him.
For this, in addition to the post-game rewards, Link received an extra 500 GOAT points from the system.
[GOAT Points: 4,625/16,745]
...
...
There were four Summer League games in total.
After his brilliant performances in the first two games, Link recorded 35 points, 7 assists, 8 rebounds, 2 Steals, and 1 Block on 16-of-22 shooting, 1-of-2 from Three-Point Shot, and 2-of-4 from the Free Throw line in the third game against the Hawks' Summer League team.
And then came the final game.
The Washington Wizards faced the San Antonio Spurs, a team that loved playing team basketball.
Even though it was a Summer League team and Popovich wasn't leading them personally, The Strategist loved selecting players with high basketball IQ who were willing to sacrifice for the team.
This Summer League team had the flavor of a "bankrupt version" of the San Antonio Spurs.
Link felt uncomfortable throughout the entire game.
Running high pick-and-rolls, he faced double-teams, and the lumbering, bruiser-type interior player Haywood lacked the ability to roll to the rim for easy baskets.
Uh... by the time Haywood received the pass and reached the basket, the opponents had already completed their transition defense.
Haywood's playmaking ability was also mediocre, and the tactics just wouldn't work.
Many times, Link had to rely on individual isolation to break the defense, but when faced with double-teams and help defense, even after activating his Dominance Moment, his efficiency remained unsatisfactory.
Tony Parker, who was guarding him, couldn't quite stop Link, but on the offensive end, Link couldn't stop the French Little Sports Car either.
The Little Sports Car's spin layup after driving to the basket allowed him to create space from the defender after the turn, all while barely losing his balance.
Parker's mid-range shots after the pick-and-roll and his Three-Point Shot accuracy were also quite good.
By the end of the third quarter, the Wizards trailed their opponents by 12 points.
With the team trailing and their momentum suppressed by the San Antonio Spurs, the Washington Wizards' Summer League head coach, Larry Drew, was tempted to give up.
"Coach, I want to try..." Link said.
The fourth quarter began...
The San Antonio Spurs sent out an undrafted player from the G-League, a wing standing 198 cm tall with decent athleticism and aggressive defense, to guard Link.
As soon as he stepped on the court, he said to Link, who had been struggling tonight, "Kid, your luck has run out. I'm going to hold you to zero points in the fourth quarter."
Link frowned slightly, looked at the name on the jersey, and muttered to himself, "Your damn name is Paul Poole. How dare someone with 'Paul' in their name be so arrogant?"