(TN: Bonus Chapter)
In the final game of the week, the Washington Wizards would Host the Charlotte Hornets, led by Baron Davis.
Baron Davis used his lightning-fast Speed to tear through the Wizards' backcourt on the offensive end; no one could match up with him.
Standing 191cm tall and weighing 96.2kg, Baron Davis possessed Speed, strength, explosiveness, and a signature beard—a typical powerhouse point guard.
Link didn't suffer in terms of physical strength, but his footwork and Speed couldn't keep up at all. What frustrated Link most was that even when you clearly stuck close to him, Baron Davis could accelerate unreasonably and blow past you.
The Masked Man Hamilton was outmatched in both Speed and physicality.
As for Michael Jordan... he was nearly 39 years old. Asking him to defend a bearded guard entering his prime—was that even humane?
The others were even less worth mentioning...
However, while they couldn't match Baron Davis on defense, their offensive performance was decent. Especially off the ball, Link took advantage of his height against Baron Davis, who was primary defender. In the first quarter, he went 3-for-5, including 1-for-2 from Three-Point Shot range, scoring 7 points.
"Kid... why don't you go play in the paint?" Link had just scored twice in a row under the basket with 45-degree bank shots. The bearded Davis was quite helpless about this; Link was too tall. Once he got the ball near the rim and created a mismatch, playing high, the 191cm Baron Davis truly had no solution.
"Buddy, if you stop driving to the rim, I'll stop posting up in the paint." Link spread his hands, wearing an expression that said he had no choice either.
Davis was momentarily stunned into a frustrated laugh.
It's worth noting that Baron Davis was physically strong and had excellent anticipation, having won the Steal title twice in his career. However, Link's ball-handling was solid; he only lacked stability when making quick crossovers at high Speeds.
To counter this, Link's offensive approach was to grind and lean... focusing on facing the basket while using post footwork to nudge his way into his "sweet spot" before shooting.
But by the second quarter, the Charlotte Hornets sent out veteran Stacey Augmon to defend Link. This forward, standing 203cm tall, had excellent defensive elasticity and could skillfully use slides, lateral slides, and backsteps to stay glued to Link like a shadow.
Link was currently still a player who relied primarily on "shooting." If he couldn't create good shooting space, half of his "martial arts" would be neutralized.
In the end, Baron Davis exploded for 37 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 Steals, leading the Charlotte Hornets to a 106-92 victory over the Washington Wizards, a 14-point margin.
Consequently, the Washington Wizards finished the fourth week of the NBA regular season with a 3-1 record.
Link's average stats for the week: 25 points, 8 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 Steals, and 1 Block.
Judging by the averages alone, it was already at an All-Star level. Moreover, he had recorded "worth-their-weight-in-gold" triple-doubles in two of those games. Well... triple-doubles in this era were incredibly valuable.
A triple-double in this era held more weight than a 40+ point game in the small-ball era, and was even comparable to a 50+ point performance.
Regarding the selection for the NBA player of the week...
For the Western Conference player of the week, the media was highly unified, giving it to Tim Duncan, who led his team to a 2-1 record. Duncan averaged 27 points, 16.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 2.3 Blocks, 1.3 Steals, and 2.3 fouls.
27 points was an absolute high score for an interior player. 16.3 rebounds and 2.3 Blocks showcased his dominance in the paint.
5.3 assists—uh... in an era with poor spacing, getting 5.3 assists through high-post playmaking, it's no wonder he became Nikola Jokic's idol.
But what surprised Link most was Duncan's foul count. He averaged 40.3 minutes per game but only had 2.3 fouls. To put it in perspective, his own interior partner Brendan Haywood averaged 29 minutes but had as many as 4.5 fouls.
Averaging 40.3 minutes with only 2.3 fouls and 2.3 Blocks is actually very difficult to see in one player. Frequently raising your hands to defend and reaching for Blocks usually increases the probability of fouling, yet Duncan only had 2.3 fouls.
This showed that Duncan's defensive instincts, sense of spatial positioning, and body coordination were all at an all-time historical level.
Duncan winning Western Conference player of the week was a foregone conclusion, universally acknowledged.
However, the selection for the Eastern Conference player of the week sparked heated discussions online.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim had led the Hawks to a 2-2 record over the past week.
This record was second only to the Washington Wizards' 3-1.
In terms of individual stats, Shareef Abdur-Rahim was equally impressive.
He averaged 23.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.3 Blocks, and 1.0 Steals.
Compared to Link's 25 points, 8 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 Steals, and 1 Block, he was not lacking at all.
To be fair, Link's rebounding numbers were indeed a bit inflated. Furthermore, of the four teams played, except for the Charlotte Hornets, the other three were rebuilding teams with no hope for the playoffs.
There was a lack of quality in the opposition.
But in the end...
The Eastern Conference player of the week for the fourth week of the 2001-2002 NBA regular season was still awarded to Link.
After all, Link had achieved two "worth-their-weight-in-gold" triple-doubles last week.
"Ding, congratulations to the Host for winning the NBA player of the week."
"Rewarding the Host with 500 Goat Points."
[Goat Points: 2,724 / 26,724]
As a rookie, Link winning the NBA player of the week again naturally made many players feel dissatisfied.
First and foremost was Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who was entering the peak of his career this season...
In this era of titans clashing, earning honors was incredibly difficult. For him, player of the week was already a "heavyweight" individual honor, but he didn't expect it to be snatched away by a rookie, which made him very unhappy.
"Missing out on player of the week makes me very disappointed, even though I'm well aware this is just the choice of capital. Fortunately, I'll be able to prove myself well next month."
Shareef Abdur-Rahim directly expressed his dissatisfaction during a press interview.
Additionally, the second matchup between the Hawks and the Wizards was set to take place in December.
...
...
The Wizards' next game would be held three days later, on November 27, 2001.
Link could take the time to properly refine his body and skills.
Although the training results of the last ten days or so weren't as good as before, there was still progress...
[Explosiveness] base attribute +2, increased to 76 (76); [Explosive Acceleration] base attribute +2, increased to 70 (70); [Explosiveness] (Jumping) base attribute +2, increased to 64 (64); [Jumping Height] base attribute +2, increased to 62 (64).
Defensive and playmaking categories also saw improvements:
[Block] base attribute +5, increased to 75 (80); [Steal] base attribute +3, increased to 83 (87);
In addition, Link discovered a new column added to his attribute panel:
[Personal Career Honors]:
1. player of the week x2.