Jay Williams's 'basketball dao heart' was directly crushed by Link, so naturally, he didn't appear again in the following time. The cameras on site occasionally focused on Jay Williams...
Viewers in front of their televisions saw Jay Williams looking like a frost-bitten eggplant, listless and hollow-eyed, as if all his spirit had been drained.
"Oh, no! Link, isn't he a bit cruel? Jay, he's just a kid who just entered the league."
"Buddy, what you're saying isn't quite right. Although Jay is indeed a First-Year Players rookie, his actual age is a year and a half older than Link."
"Ah!?"
...
...
Without Jay Williams on the court, Link's desire to score also plummeted.
With 4 minutes and 2 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Link had already scored 40 points and did not continue to play. After all, the Washington Wizards' lead had reached 38 points. Such a huge point difference, let alone in the current era of slower offensive pace, even in the small-ball era, would be impossible to catch up.
The entire game ended.
119 to 88, the Washington Wizards ultimately defeated the Houston Rockets with a huge 31-point lead, achieving their second consecutive victory since the start of the new season.
After the game, the Rockets players, led by Steve Francis, all hugged and greeted Link. The only exception was Jay Williams, who had been brought to tears by Link. He left the court with the team doctor one minute before the end of the game.
According to the Rockets' team reporter, Jay Williams might be experiencing psychological issues, and if not treated promptly, the consequences could be severe.
Link noticed the new main quest issued by the system—
The progress of the quest [rookie, Welcome to the NBA!]—1/5.
Hmm, as long as he makes 4 more second-year rookies cry, he will receive corresponding rewards.
Honestly, for Link, crushing second-year rookies isn't difficult, but... not every rookie has the opportunity to 'directly face off' against Link. Take Jay Williams, for example; as the second overall pick, he only serves as Francis's substitute on the Rockets.
And some low-draft-pick rookies find it hard to enter the team's starting lineup at the beginning of the season.
In other words, not every rookie is qualified to be brought to tears by Link.
On the other hand, post-game news reports, in addition to praising Link and his Washington Wizards, also heavily criticized Jay Williams.
After all, he played 15 minutes tonight and was shut out by Link.
Not just scoring, but all four other basic stats, such as Steal, rebounds, Block, and assists, were uniformly zero.
For a time, the label of 'bust second overall pick' actively found him.
...
...
The Washington Wizards had three games in the first week of the NBA 2002-2003 regular season, and the third opponent was the Toronto Raptors, led by Vince Carter.
Compared to last year, the Raptors' lineup hadn't changed much. After all, in this era, the NBA's characteristic was 'one man, one city'; even bottom-tier teams generally had their own star players.
Even if a star player was only on the fringe of being an All-Star, they wouldn't team up with another team's star player during their peak, let alone 'defect.' Therefore, major trades were rare in this era.
The Washington Wizards and Raptors had played each other in the preseason, so theoretically, both sides were very familiar with each other. But in reality, the Raptors seemed unsure how to respond...
In the preseason, the Raptors sent Vince Carter to guard Michael Jordan. As a result, Link crushed the Raptors' backcourt. The Raptors' star Point Guard, Alvin Williams, was completely unable to guard Link one-on-one. When Link got going, he could also use his physique and explosiveness to tear apart the Raptors' defense.
So, who would Vince Carter guard tonight?
This was also one of the highlights for fans in this game.
As the game began, fans were pleasantly surprised: Vince Carter actually directly matched up against Link.
"Brother Vince, you're guarding me? Then who's guarding Michael?" Link, with the ball at the top of the arc, waited for Yao Ming's pick-and-roll while deliberately speaking loudly, afraid that Michael Jordan, three meters away, wouldn't hear him.
Carter was about to say something, but Link didn't give him a chance, continuing, "Brother Vince, do you perhaps think that by guarding me, you can defeat us?! Hehe, I have to say, your coaching staff is indeed very accurate in their judgment."
Vince Carter couldn't help but chuckle. He knew very well that Link wasn't just bragging; he was deliberately provoking Michael Jordan. At 39 years old, Michael Jordan's athleticism might not be what it once was, but his static talent among NBA shooting guards was T-tier, and... he was the god of basketball, Michael Jordan.
Yao Ming came up for a pick-and-roll, and Link used the pick-and-roll to drive right. Although Carter's Ball Handling was not as good as the other three of the four great shooting guards, his jumping ability was the strongest among the four, and he was indeed the closest to Jordan. Therefore, Carter's agility off the ball far exceeded his on-ball state. Carter quickly squeezed through the screen, blocked Link's driving lane in advance, and at the same time, went for a Steal. Link calmly lowered his center of gravity, and the moment he dodged the Steal, "Swish!" The basketball seemed to turn into an orange beam of light, Passing directly to the left side under the Raptors' basket.
The Washington Wizards' number 23, Michael Jordan, received the ball and immediately jumped, performing a mid-air reverse layup against Antonio Davis's help defense, scoring the basket.
Even though this was the Toronto Raptors' home court, how could such a beautiful, elegant, and stylish reverse layup not draw applause?
After scoring, Michael Jordan remained expressionless, looking very calm, as if saying there was nothing surprising about it. However, only Link, who knew him well, understood that Michael Jordan was showing off. After making the layup, the old man even glanced at him.
Facing Carter, who was defending him, Link didn't choose to attack aggressively. Instead, he constantly used surgical Passing to organize the team's offense and assist teammates in scoring. Michael Jordan was the biggest beneficiary in the first quarter, and indeed, Michael Jordan was very accurate tonight.
Although Morris Peterson was a very good 3D player, facing the 'gnashing teeth and sucking blood,' 'Stamina-filled' Michael Jordan, he still experienced the feeling of being dominated by a god. Michael Jordan was playing off-ball, receiving passes for shots after moving with pick-and-roll screens, and driving after receiving the ball. What was most frustrating for Morris Peterson was that he clearly guessed Michael Jordan would turn for a Fadeaway Jumpshot and jumped almost at the same time, but Jordan, relying on the degree of his fadeaway and release point, made two consecutive shots that almost grazed his fingers and went in cleanly.
Michael Jordan, at his advanced age of 39, scored 21 points in a single quarter, shooting 1-for-12 from the field, 1-for-2 from the free-throw line, and 0-for-1 from Three-Point Shot range.
This made the Raptors' home commentator exclaim "OMG" upon seeing Michael Jordan's statistics.
At the end of the first quarter, 35 to 24, the Washington Wizards held an 11-point lead.
In the second quarter, Michael Jordan, who had exerted too much effort in the first quarter, did not continue to play. Although he really wanted to break an NBA record for elderly players' scoring, he believed that what Link said was very true: haste makes waste.
Michael Jordan, with 21 points in a single quarter, was sitting on the bench at this moment, his face full of smiles.