The Golden Chain, this gold-plated chain, will be awarded to the Wizards player with the best defense tonight. Of course, the final interpretation right belongs to the Wizards' head coach, Doug Collins.
"Wow, unbelievable. We held the opponent to only 8 points tonight. This is the first time this season."
"Everyone, give yourselves a round of applause first."
Doug Collins took the lead in applauding.
"Clap!"
"Clap!"
"Clap!"
The players all clapped, and smiles appeared on everyone's faces.
Even though tonight's opponent was the crippled Houston Rockets, missing Francis.
"Wow..."
"Link, honestly, I confirmed your stats tonight three or four times... A full 7 Steals and 2 Blocks!!!"
"28 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 7 Steals, 2 Blocks!!!"
"Link, keep up this performance, and you can become the next DPOY on the guard line."
Doug Collins said in an exaggerated tone.
At this moment, Brendan Haywood, sitting next to Link, gently nudged Link, as if saying, "Dude, you're awesome."
Immediately after, there was applause and cheering from his teammates.
Link, who shifted to small forward on defense, despite not being fast, gave the impression of being "everywhere."
"Michael, even though he's almost 39, honestly... if you covered his face, many people would definitely think he's only 29..."
"Cuttino Mobley, the Houston Rockets' second leading scorer, who averages nearly 22 points per game, had his shooting percentage drop by 8% under Michael's defense, only 35.8%, and he didn't score more than 15 points."
Michael Jordan appeared "unruffled" by this, but Link knew very well that the guy was just
But Link still knew how to give him emotional value...
"Wow, Michael..."
Link deliberately let out a surprised cry, and his teammates also applauded.
"However, tonight I want to give this Golden Chain to our rookie big man, Brendan Haywood."
Brendan Haywood had only 1 Block, less than Link, and no Steals. In the game, Mobley even drove to the basket and scored a bank shot over Haywood's defense.
As for rebounds... he had 1.
His stats were not "outstanding," nor were there any highlight defensive moments.
But his defensive contribution tonight was genuinely good. Although Mobley had some forced layups that went in, more often he was interfered with by Haywood's long arms, leading to misses. Link dared to leave his defender for short periods to help teammates on defense, not only because his defensive awareness and instincts were good, but also because Haywood could protect the rim. Even if he was beaten by half a step after recovering on defense, he would still face Haywood standing under the basket.
Brendan Haywood, with 8 points, 1 rebound, and 1 Block, received the Wizards' first Golden Chain.
...
...
Although this game wasn't of the highest quality, it could almost be concluded that the Wizards' new "defensive system" had great potential.
The remaining 2 games this week.
The Wizards faced a back-to-back.
On November 14th, they played an away game against the Toronto Raptors; then, on November 15th, an away game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Vince Carter, who was in the prime of his career and lost Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals to the Philadelphia 76ers last season, scored a meager 4 points tonight against the continuous defense of Link and Jordan.
Carter's first step wasn't slow, but that's compared to his cousin McGrady and Kobe.
At this stage, Link couldn't defend him and was even almost posterized once...
Fortunately, Link pulled him down in advance.
Of course, the almost 39-year-old Michael Jordan couldn't handle it either.
On the offensive end, Link was actually limited by Carter.
The Raptors' defensive strategy was interesting: let Jordan play one-on-one and lock down Link.
This had a good effect, after all, Jordan is now the team's isolation scorer, and he's a shooting type; on the other hand, if Link gets into a rhythm, he can easily activate the whole team.
Link, who wanted to capitalize on Jordan's offensive dividends, became the "dividend itself" tonight.
On the other hand, Michael Jordan...
He efficiently scored 27 points with 19 attempts, making 10 of 19 shots, 3 of 7 Three-Point Shots, and 4 of 5 Free Throws.
However, Jordan's performance alone could not lead the team to victory.
98 to 108!
Facing the Raptors, who boast one of the four great shooting guards, the Wizards allowed them to score over 10 points in a single game.
According to the Wizards' "Golden Chain" awarding rules, no Golden Chain is awarded for a loss.
...
...
The next day.
The Washington Wizards played a back-to-back away game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Two games in two days, against different teams, meant that the players also traveled long distances and couldn't get proper rest.
This greatly affected the players' condition.
The 39-year-old Michael Jordan, who exerted himself against Carter in the previous game against the Raptors, directly rested for this game.
Without Michael Jordan, the Washington Wizards' offense seemed to be little affected...
In the first quarter of the game, Link used pick-and-rolls with Laettner and Haywood as his offensive initiation, constantly tearing apart the Philadelphia 76ers' defense. Guarding Link was... the 76ers' starting Point Guard, Eric Snow.
This was a defensive Point Guard, 191cm tall and weighing 91kg. Although he could quickly squeeze through screens and reappear on Link's Passing route, Link now also had a way to solve the problem.
Slowing down and transitioning from face-up to post-up offense, constantly overpowering his opponent with his size advantage. Additionally, Link's low-post offensive repertoire, besides Fadeaway Jumpshots, also included Duncan's 45-degree bank shot.
His height, weight, and strength were all no match for Link, but...
The African Mountain loomed over the basket.
At least three times, Link created excellent shooting opportunities through post-up play, but they were all interfered with and missed due to Mutombo's rim protection.
The efficiency was quite average.
Furthermore...
Link also witnessed Iverson's Speed.
After Iverson stole Laettner's facilitating Passing, he accelerated and sprinted, all the way to the west... the western basket...
Link, though not as good, also tried to chase, but he didn't even see Iverson's taillights.
He was really fast.
Not just on offense, but also daring Steals on defense. When Link drove to the basket, he was stripped twice by Iverson: once it was a direct Steal, and the other was a help-defense Steal by Iverson that forced the ball out of bounds.
However, Iverson's shooting percentage wasn't high tonight either. As a high-volume, low-efficiency super scorer, Iverson's average field goal percentage this season was only 41.7%, but tonight it was only 35%...
The Wizards' defense still played a role.
Because of this, the two sides were deadlocked until the latter half of the fourth quarter, unable to determine a winner.
But at this moment...
The 76ers' lone hero, Iverson, stepped up, continuously driving, getting past Hamilton, penetrating the paint, and scoring with pull-up jumpers, layups, or drawing fouls.
Washington Wizards' number one draft pick Link also stepped up, but his hard-solve efficiency was too low. There was nothing he could do...
Link's Stamina flashed red in the fourth quarter, and his first step couldn't get past his opponent.
Relying on his height to shoot, he wouldn't be Blocked, but Eric Snow could disrupt Link's shooting rhythm with a "tugging hand." Post-up play was also prone to double teams, and Link, whose Passing ability was not master-level, found it difficult to efficiently pass the ball to open teammates.
As for those Dominance Moments...
They were all used up in the first three quarters.
Ultimately!
83 to 90!
The Philadelphia 76ers handed the Washington Wizards their second consecutive loss by 7 points.