Having aged and lost his former Speed, Mark Jackson knew very well that it would be difficult to effectively damage Link through penetration after a pick-and-roll. Additionally, his three-pointers were not accurate.
But Mark Jackson had his proud "back-to-the-basket play."
Mark Jackson had many times in games backed down opponents for 15 seconds, sometimes even starting his back-down from beyond the three-point line, using his hip strength to slowly push forward, grinding his way in bit by bit.
However, in the 1999-2000 season, the league introduced the "5-second back-to-the-basket rule" to reduce the duration of post-ups, so no one could dream of starting a back-down from the three-point line anymore. Nevertheless, Mark Jackson could still post up opponents from the low post.
Wanting to teach the number one draft pick Link a lesson, Mark Jackson drove into the paint via a high pick-and-roll. Seeing that he hadn't shaken off Link's defense, he opted for a back-to-the-basket play.
"Wow... I haven't seen Mark's back-to-the-basket play in a long time..."
"Yeah, it seems Link has provoked the veteran tonight."
"Haha... let me see if the guy who caused the creation of the 5-second back-to-the-basket rule can teach Washington's darling a lesson."
Although Mark Jackson was only 185cm tall, his strength was definitely among the best at the Point Guard position. Furthermore, a guard's back-down doesn't necessarily mean pushing all the way to the "deep low post"; it's about using the moment the opponent loses their balance from the bumping to complete the subsequent attack.
"Old man... your butt is indeed quite perky..." Link, who was holding his ground in the low post, was not only relaxed but even started joking with Mark Jackson.
Three seconds passed in the blink of an eye, but Link remained almost completely unmoved.
During this process, Mark Jackson didn't just rely on brute force; he used many post-up footwork techniques.
It's just that none of it fooled Link.
Link either anticipated it and blocked the direction he intended to turn with his strong chest, or he saw through his feints.
"Mark, stop bumping and pass the ball quickly," the team's star, Allan Houston, reminded him while running for a position.
Link's voice followed, saying, "Old man, don't worry, you still have plenty of time... to give me a free massage... oh... this feels even better than a Thai massage."
Link's words were like a little Shakespeare.
But his tone was very much like an action movie actor.
Under the double buff, Mark Jackson felt both angry and anxious. He continued to increase the force of his back-down, but it still had no effect.
"Beep!"
The referee's whistle blew at that moment.
Mark Jackson committed a 5-second back-to-the-basket violation.
At this time, the home fans in Washington all clapped and cheered for Link's successful defense.
"Clap! Clap! Clap!"
"Great job, Link!"
Link, who had been criticized and questioned by the outside media as a potential defensive black hole or sieve after entering the NBA, showed impressive defensive ability in the first four minutes of the game, even though the opponent's lead guard was Mark Jackson in the twilight of his career.
The Washington Wizards' home commentator couldn't help but joke: "It seems Mark Jackson picked the wrong target... does he really think... Link's muscles are just for show?"
Unconvinced, Mark Jackson tried again and still couldn't budge him. Forced by necessity, he chose a Turnaround fadeaway jumper. Mark Jackson, at only 185cm, had a height difference of nearly 20cm compared to Link. Combined with being at a disadvantage in physical contact, his Jumping Height under pressure was greatly reduced. Link, stepping forward with his hand raised, directly delivered a Block to Mark Jackson.
Uh...
From the perspective of the front-row spectators, the ball Mark Jackson shot seemed to have navigation installed, deliberately crashing into Link's palm.
To be fair, Link really liked guards like Mark Jackson who enjoyed backing down. Link couldn't quite keep up with the fast ones, but this type who liked back-to-the-basket plays perfectly compensated for Link's disadvantage in Speed, while allowing him to fully utilize his advantages in "size," "strength," and "interior defense."
After Link secured possession, he immediately passed the ball up to Jordan on the fast break. The person defending Jordan for the New York Knicks was Sprewell the Madman, whose Speed was faster than the current Jordan.
Seeing he couldn't shake off Sprewell in the fast break, Jordan slowed down. From the right high wing, he suddenly made a pull-up fadeaway jumper. Sprewell lunged forward quickly. It's worth noting that in his previous life, The Madman was selected for the All-Defensive Second Team this season.
However, a well-rested Jordan was indeed still formidable. The basketball he shot hit the mark, almost grazing The Madman's fingertips.
8 to 12, the Wizards lead by 4 points.
After the basket, Jordan smiled and pointed at Link behind him, then gave a thumbs up as if to signal that the pass was good.
...
...
On the offensive end, besides running pick-and-rolls with Popeye Jones, Link also did hand-offs with Christian Laettner. This former top college talent, the only college student on Dream Team I, possessed top-tier vision and Passing among interior players.
The two had great chemistry since their first team practice, and now they were like fish in water.
After the hand-off, Link cut directly to the basket. Mark Jackson didn't keep up this time. After receiving Laettner's "outside-to-inside" pass, Link scored directly with a Bank layup.
Uh... why didn't Link, in the Restricted area under the basket, choose to dunk directly?
Is it because he didn't like to?
Of course not...
Link's Explosiveness was too poor. Having just arrived in the Restricted area, his footing was unstable and his center of gravity was loose, so he didn't have the strength to jump. Once he took time to gather power, the future DPOY Marcus Camby would fly in for a Block. So at this stage, a Bank layup was more stable.
14 to 19, the Wizards lead their opponent by 5 points.
Soon, Link reached the vicinity of the Restricted area again through an off-ball cut after a hand-off. However, this time Mark Jackson stood in front of him and leaned in, applying as much physical contact as possible to make Link's next shot lose form, while delaying him to wait for a teammate's help defense.
Link exerted force to stand firm, while simultaneously backing down and protecting the ball against Mark Jackson. He glanced in the direction of Popeye Jones. Camby, preparing for help defense, immediately turned back to find his man, worried that Link might suddenly send an alley-oop. In that split second, Link powered up from his back-to-the-basket position and hit a Duncan-style 45-degree bank shot!!!
14 to 21, the Washington Wizards lead by 7 points, and 7 minutes and 49 seconds have passed in the first quarter.
"Beep!" The referee's whistle sounded.
The New York Knicks requested a timeout for a regular player rotation.