The Warriors' star player, Antawn Jamison, was affected by a back injury and was not in the lineup for this game. At this moment, he was sitting on the bench in a suit and leather shoes.
"Did that rookie lie about his height?" Antawn Jamison, who was 206cm tall in shoes, felt that Link didn't seem any shorter than him.
"Probably," the Warriors assistant coach said from beside him.
Beep!
The referee's whistle blew, and the two sides began the jump ball.
Haywood and Dampier were both floor-bound players, but Haywood was slightly taller and had a slightly better vertical. However, the jump ball has a large element of luck, heavily dependent on whether the referee throws it straight. Haywood's slight advantages in vertical and Explosiveness couldn't ignore that 'luck'.
With a 'thwack', Dampier had good luck and was the first to tip the basketball with a slight advantage, sending it to Larry Hughes. Bob Sura, the Warriors' starting Point Guard, reached out for the ball, but was completely ignored by Larry Hughes.
For the Golden State Warriors, who were at the bottom of the Western Conference, there naturally wouldn't be good chemistry or rapport between the players. Well, basically every bad team is like this; teammates are at odds with each other, but to stay in the league and fight for their next contract, everyone wants to put up impressive stats. There's nothing to criticize about the situation itself; human nature is simply like that.
The eagle-eyed Link noticed this detail. While guarding Bob Sura, he consoled him with a serious face: "Buddy, don't be sad. Larry Hughes just doesn't trust your ball-handling skills..."
"Fuck! Damn rookie, Self-Made Triple-Double King, shut up!" Bob Sura, having been hit in a sore spot, immediately overheated with rage. He began moving without the ball more aggressively, trying to receive a pass from Larry Hughes. But Larry Hughes paid him no mind and forced a drive against Hamilton. Haywood helped with the defense, forcing him to miss the shot. However, Erick Dampier behind him grabbed the Offensive Rebound and finished with a putback dunk.
0 to 2!
"rookie, welcome to the NBA!" After scoring, Dampier taunted Haywood.
Although the 213cm, 120kg Brendan Haywood had decent rim protection, his problem was the same as many 'bruiser centers'—once they lunge out, it's hard to quickly adjust their bodies to provide help defense again. In this regard, the league's current stars Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan were among the best; they could contest a guard's layup, force a miss, and then quickly adjust their stance to secure the Defensive Rebound.
"Shut up! You just stepped in dog shit!" As a rookie, Haywood didn't quite dare to talk back to his'seniors', but Link had no such taboos. He spoke up directly for Haywood, who gave him a grateful look.
"Oh, rookie, are you planning to make another'self-made' triple-double tonight?" Dampier said with disdain.
"Heh, can you even get a triple-double in your lifetime? Do you even have the ability?" 'Shakespeare' Link was back online.
Of course, Link wasn't just good with his mouth; his personal ability and combativeness were equally abundant. Using Haywood's solid pick-and-roll, Link noticed Bob Sura waiting for his drive on the other side of the screen. Link smirked and immediately activated [Moment of Dominance: Sharpshooter] Lv2, taking a half-step to the left—right in front of Dampier. To drop back in time to protect the rebound, Dampier didn't step up.'Swish!' Facing a wide-open look, Link didn't hesitate to let it fly, and the Three-Point Shot hit the mark. 3 to 2!!!
"Beautiful defense!" After the basket, Link unleashed his taunts right in the faces of Bob Sura and Dampier. Although it was a 'plain and simple' bit of trash talk, the effect varied depending on who said it. Link's facial expressions, timing, and energy were all perfect.
Bob Sura and Dampier shot each other annoyed glances.
The Warriors inbounded the ball from the baseline, and Bob Sura finally gained 'Ball Handling'. Link chose to play full-court press defense. This was the first time Link had done this in the regular season. This left the Warriors' home commentators very surprised; furthermore, since the Wizards established their new defensive system, Link usually guarded the opponent's small forward.
Hearing the commentator's words on the court, Link smiled and asked Sura, "Buddy, do you know why I chose to full-court press you tonight?"
As Bob Sura was dribbling toward half-court, he seemed to fall into thought.'Snap!' Suddenly, Link's long arm lunged out like a gale, fast as a flash of lightning. His 221cm wingspan passed through Sura's protecting hand and across his front, reaching the basketball and stripping it away. Bob Sura tried to steal it back, actively using his strength to bump Link. At 196cm and 91kg, he was considered a big man among the league's Point Guards, but he had run into the 'Little Giant' of Point Guards. While withstanding the impact, Link secured the ball and immediately started a fast break.
Meanwhile, the coach on the Warriors bench, Dave Cowens, and star player Antawn Jamison clearly saw that when Link was contesting the ball, he completely overwhelmed Bob Sura in both Speed and physicality.
And this was inextricably linked to [Tip-Off Maniac] being promoted to Silver.
The opposing basket was empty at the moment, but Link noticed Jason Richardson out of the corner of his eye, chasing fast from behind.
Dribbling to a step before the three-point line, Link let it fly. With a'swish', the transition Three-Point Shot went in.
6 to 2!
Starting the game with two consecutive Three-Point Shots greatly boosted the Wizards' morale.
Bob Sura was also gnashing his teeth in anger, his resentful eyes looking as if Link had cuckolded him. After all, these 6 points were all scored against his defense. Moreover, Link still hadn't explained to him why he was playing full-court press tonight.
"This rookie really has confidence in his Three-Point Shot!"
"Perhaps this is also a lack of confidence in his own Speed."
In this era, transition Three-Point Shots were very rare. Furthermore, Link's coast-to-coast ball-handling was indeed bottom-tier among NBA Point Guards.
The Warriors' offense was very chaotic, especially with Antawn Jamison out tonight... However, Jason Richardson had a field day. First, he hit a high-difficulty Three-Point Shot over Michael Jordan's defense, followed immediately by a tomahawk dunk on a fast break.
14 to 8. Halfway through the first quarter, the Warriors trailed the Wizards by 6 points.
Link, who had hit two consecutive Three-Point Shots at the start, was also receiving special attention from the Warriors. Bob Sura didn't dare to continue going under the pick-and-roll but tried to fight over it. Link took the opportunity to drive, his first step so fast that Bob Sura couldn't quite react. After drawing Dampier, Haywood rolled to the basket in time. The ball arrived just as the man did, and with a 'boom', they completed a low-altitude alley-oop.
After the successful dunk, a very excited Haywood gave Link a... high-five in celebration.