"Wow, Link's ball-handling ability is really excellent now."
"Indeed, facing three defenders, he calmly delivers a brilliant pass, assisting his teammates to score."
The two commentators in the Tianchao Sports studio also praised Link endlessly.
Raptors' head coach Lenny Wilkens stared blankly at Link, who had just made a brilliant pass. He was very surprised by Link's growth rate. The last time they played against the Washington Wizards, Link showed immediate combat strength far exceeding that of an ordinary rookie, but he didn't seem to have much potential, after all, Link's athletic talent previously appeared very mediocre.
However, the Explosive Acceleration ability Link displayed tonight, with its swift first step, and his Passing and ability to read defenses, were only stronger, not weaker, than his own superstar, Vince Carter.
Link and Haywood set a pick-and-roll, and Carter didn't squeeze through the screen in time. Once again facing Olajuwon, who had been repeatedly shaken off by Link's Speed and explosiveness, Olajuwon didn't stick too close this time. Link seized the opportunity, aggressively dribbled the ball, then followed with a step-back. The step-back was quite common in this era, but a Double Step-back, which is a reverse Three-Step Layup, truly did not exist in this era. Olajuwon lunged forward, but was still half a beat too slow, and Link made another Three-Point Shot.
The Washington Wizards reversed the score with this strong offensive wave, and by the end of the first half, the Washington Wizards' lead had reached 14 points.
68 to 62. With 5 minutes and 1 second left in the third quarter, the Washington Wizards, holding a 6-point lead, called another timeout. Uh, there was no other way; the Washington Wizards' bench was digging a hole again, and they had to put the starters back on the court.
Immediately after returning to the court, Carter eagerly tried to attack Link, but the effect was truly poor. Halfway through his drive, he was almost exhausted and could only force a jump shot. However, this shot was quite lucky and bounced in for Carter.
Carter glanced at Link, his small eyes seeming to say, "rookie, you can't guard me!"
"Bro, good luck." To keep Carter heated, Link continued to fan the flames.
"Fuck, you damn rookie, your luck has really run out," Carter roared.
Link and Michael Jordan performed a cross-screen run, causing defensive confusion. Randolph, feinting in the low post, passed the ball to Link, who popped out. Randolph's Passing quality couldn't compare to Laettner's, but Link had long arms, large hands, and good body coordination. Link, still a step away from the Three-Point Line, received the ball and shot without the slightest hesitation. This made many fans wonder if Link was overconfident, but in the next instant, the Three-Point Shot swished through the net, creating a ripple that also seemed to pour cold water on the Raptors' home fans.
"3 points are greater than 2 points!" After scoring, Link naturally had to respond to Vince Carter.
Carter was indeed a bit heated, but Link clearly underestimated Carter. Carter gave up on dribble-drive offense, uh, Carter indeed found it difficult to shake off Link in a 1v1. Carter used Olajuwon's screen and hit a Three-Point Shot, completing an answer-ball.
Link's physique was similar to a small Power Forward, making it difficult to squeeze through screens. Carter's touch suddenly warmed up, and he hit two consecutive dribble-drive Three-Point Shots, helping the Raptors stabilize the situation.
However, Link could switch defenses.
The 40-year-old Olajuwon, matched up against Link, became light-footed. After all, Link was still different from a genuine Center. Olajuwon's stumbling in the game was due to insufficient leg strength, but facing the perimeter player Link, he seemed at ease. However, the Washington Wizards' help defense was extremely fast. When Olajuwon backed down Link and tried to make a strong move, Gerald Wallace rushed in from the side and made a big block. Link, with quick eyes and hands, quickly secured the rebound.
It was another Washington Wizards' counterattack. Carter watched Jordan dunk again and couldn't help but sigh in his heart, never expecting that Link, this rookie, could even defend the paint.
That's right, although Link couldn't single-handedly defend the 40-year-old Olajuwon, he could make him uncomfortable and buy time for his teammates to help defend. Carter asked himself, if it were him, he wouldn't be able to hold up at all.
Carter, no longer continuing 1v1 against Link, significantly improved his offensive efficiency.
But the next second, Link actually grabbed the baseline inbound pass. Logically, this job was for the Center, but Link insisted on grabbing it, and Haywood, who had it stolen, even had a big smile on his face.
After scoring, Link once again began to mock Vince Carter: "Bro, why are you popping champagne at halftime? Haha, you're down by 1 point, what are you celebrating? Who did you learn that from? Hahaha!"
Link's merciless taunts made Carter's face extremely ugly, but in the next instant, after completing a spectacular assist for a teammate's dunk, Link immediately started dancing the Moonwalk. Oh, right, he didn't forget to continue twisting the knife into Carter: "Bro, this is the correct way to celebrate! There's no reason to celebrate when you're behind, hahaha!"
Carter was furious, but at this moment, he really had no good way to deal with Link. Off-ball play, while efficient, had a problem with output. To put it plainly, it depended on whether the team's point guard could get the ball to Carter's hands in the first instance, and that was under the defensive interference of Michael Jordan and Gerald Wallace.
The four great shooting guards of the new century: East Iverson, West Kobe, South Carter, North McGrady.
South Carter, the first to be directly defeated by Link.
As for his cousin, McGrady, although he was often defeated by Link, strictly speaking, it was only a 50/50 match with McGrady, as Link indeed couldn't single-handedly defend him. Iverson and Kobe could also score many points against Link's defense.
Link's 26th point, and his 2000th career regular season point, occurred at 5 minutes and 1 second in the fourth quarter. Olajuwon, who usually only played 15 minutes, played an overloaded 30 minutes tonight. During a baseline inbound pass, Link executed a dunk.
And... Stephen Curry in the stands noticed that Link's arms in the air weren't even fully extended...
Curry thought to himself, "Damn it, didn't they say Link... he was a Floor-Bound Point Guard? How can he fly so high???"
"Beep!" The referee's whistle blew. Olajuwon was called for a defensive foul. Not only did Link complete a poster dunk, but he also made it a 2+1!
At this moment!
The Washington Wizards' bench erupted in cheers, with players led by Tyronn Lue bowing in reverence to Link on the court.
The once fiery Olajuwon, after being dunked on, had an expression of indescribable loneliness on his face.
At this moment, he clearly felt that he could no longer keep up with the pace of this era.
The desire to retire reached its peak!!!
...
...
The game ended!
Despite the Washington Wizards' bench struggling, they still won against their opponent by 12 points, 118 to 106.
Link scored 31 points tonight, bringing his career regular season total to 2004 points.