The next day, the NBA All-Star Rookie Challenge officially began.
The underappreciated sophomores' performance after the game started was quite worthy of the "doubts" fans had before the game.
Quentin Richardson, who was temporarily serving as the team's point guard but was a swingman by trade, fumbled his dribble while facing Link's full-court defense. In less than 3 minutes from the start, he had committed 2 turnovers.
One was when he tried to suddenly accelerate past Link, only to have Link use his long arms to strip him from behind. The second was a Passing error under Link's full-court defense and Shane Battier's wing double-team.
Pau Gasol and Brendan Haywood set a high screen for Link—yes, the so-called "high double screen." Link dribbled a step to the left, instantly attracting the defense of two people. Gasol rolled to the basket in time. With a "bang!", Link threw an alley-oop, and Pau Gasol finished with a two-handed slam dunk.
At this stage, Pau Gasol's athleticism was top-tier among players of the same height.
As the 2000 number one draft pick, Kenyon Martin, the "little beast" of the interior, had superior running and jumping abilities, but the huge gap in static physical attributes made him not dare to lose focus for a second.
18 to 10. The First-Year Players built an 8-point lead just 4 minutes into the game.
"Switch, switch directly!" Link shouted at Pau Gasol.
Pau Gasol nodded in agreement and switched directly in front of Quentin Richardson. At this moment, Link was matched up against Kenyon Martin.
Kenyon Martin, with an official height of 206 cm, tried to call for the ball in the low post, but Link fronted him directly.
"Holy crap..."
"Where's the guy?"
Quentin Richardson, originally a swingman, didn't have great Passing Vision. Link, who was tall with long arms and stood at 205 cm, almost made it impossible for Quentin Richardson to see Kenyon Martin through his fronting defense.
The guy was completely blocked; how the hell was he supposed to pass the ball?
Quentin had no choice but to give the ball to Darius Miles, who was cutting inside. At 208 cm tall, Miles had top-tier running and jumping abilities, but Battier, who was defending him, showed extremely high basketball IQ at this moment. By controlling his receiving area, he forced him to drive into the crowd...
The moment Darius Miles jumped after receiving the ball...
*Slap!* *Slap!* *Slap!*
Three long arms struck simultaneously, like a triple Block.
Darius Miles was blocked so hard by Link, Pau Gasol, and Shane Battier that he didn't know which way was up.
"Man, what's wrong with you? Why didn't you pass me the ball..." Kenyon Martin began to complain to Quentin Richardson.
Quentin Richardson offered a brief explanation, and Kenyon Martin let it go.
...
...
The sophomore team lacked a proper point guard, which caused them to fly around the court like a swarm of headless flies.
On the other hand, the First-Year Players's offense was as smooth as silk.
Link and Haywood's pick-and-roll easily created shooting opportunities. The sophomores' interior player Chris Mihm chose to play drop coverage and didn't come up to hedge. Uh... it wasn't that he was lazy and didn't want to come up, but in the previous few rounds, Link had easily broken through his defense. Giving Link the mid-range shot was a desperate move.
Link didn't waste the opportunity, knocking down two consecutive mid-range jumpers.
When Link used another screen to get shooting space, Kenyon Martin suddenly came over from the other side to help. At this moment, Link first dribbled a step back, and then, with a "thud," Link flicked his wrist. The basketball went through Kenyon Martin's legs and was sent directly to Pau Gasol, who was cutting inside. The latter completed a one-handed tomahawk dunk behind the opponent's interior player, Chris Mihm.
32 to 16. The First-Year Players's lead reached 16 points.
Gasol's basketball IQ and static physical attributes were top-tier among NBA interior players; no wonder Kobe liked him so much. Just now, the moment Kenyon Martin went to help on Link, Gasol immediately moved toward the basket.
"Wow..."
"Wow..."
The fans in the arena also let out deafening cheers. The 2000 number one draft pick, Kenyon Martin, was being toyed with by Link until he was lost.
Kenyon Martin, who had been nutmegged by Link with a streetball move, gritted his teeth hard.
"Buddy, how many points do you have now?" Link's voice reached his ears again.
Kenyon Martin was slightly stunned. Currently, he was 0-for-4 with 0 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 Block.
"You're not going to end up with zero points tonight, are you? Do you want me to go easy on you when I'm defending you later?" Link said with a serious face.
"Fuck, mind your own business." Kenyon Martin glared at Link in anger.
Soon, facing a sophomore pick-and-roll, Link again took the initiative to switch onto Kenyon Martin.
This time...
Link chose to play him straight up in the post.
"Give me the ball!"
"Give me the ball!"
Kenyon Martin became anxious, desperate to prove himself in the paint...
We're both number one draft picks, why are you treating us differently!!!
*Thud!* After getting the ball, Kenyon Martin first held it with both hands against his chest and squeezed hard. At the same time, he suddenly exerted force with his back, backing into Link behind him.
*Squeak, squeak...*
*Squeak, squeak...*
Link exerted all his strength, arching his back, as his sneakers made a screeching sound against the floor.
Kenyon Martin's post-up position wasn't particularly deep; it was in the "mid-to-low post" area.
The first bump of the post-up was the most powerful, and Link retreated more than half a step. But on the second one, Link only retreated a small step. On the third forceful back-down, Link's feet barely moved.
At this point, Kenyon Martin was still about 10 feet from the basket. This wasn't his "sweet spot," and the 5-second back-to-the-basket violation was approaching. Kenyon Martin could only force a hook shot.
*Clang!* The hook shot missed.
"Sigh..."
"Without Jason Kidd, this Kenyon Martin simply can't score at all."
"Isn't that the truth..."
"Not necessarily. He just can't play because he ran into Link... It might be different against other players."
"However, isn't Link's switching ability a bit too exaggerated..."
"Yeah, even Kenyon Martin can't back him down."
"What kind of number one draft pick is Link, and what kind is Kenyon Martin? Please, Kenyon Martin is just a blue-collar player."
While the fans in the stands were roasting Kenyon Martin...
On the court, Link was matched up against Kenyon Martin in a mismatch.
"Wow..."
"A showdown between number one draft picks!"
The fans in the arena immediately started cheering and jeering.