"Wow!"
"What's wrong?"
"What happened?"
"Eric Snow, beyond the Three-Point Shot line, is facing Link and sticking his butt out."
The Washington Wizards' home announcer couldn't help but tease.
As the Philadelphia 76ers' main Point Guard, having been Steal-ed 4 times by Link alone, he dared not dribble the ball facing forward at this moment, opting for the safer back-to-the-basket dribble.
Eric Snow's mentality was clearly problematic. Hehe... The unique badge obtained from the Raptors card—[Lockdown Master]—can easily destroy the mentality of some non-superstar players. In fact, it wasn't just Eric Snow; Aaron McKie also showed an involuntary pained expression when he saw Link appear before him.
The team's main Point Guard not daring to dribble and stretch the defense was a huge torment for the off-ball Iverson. He would run into open space, but Snow couldn't pass the ball. Iverson forced himself to come and receive it, and despite his personal ability, he used his signature CROSS-OVER to shake off the defense, then hit a pull-up jumper.
However...
Iverson treated his 'hard-solve' methods as regular weapons.
This not only exacerbated his Stamina consumption but also indirectly allowed the Washington Wizards to achieve their defensive strategic goal: to cut off Iverson from his teammates and force him into constant isolation plays.
Iverson's shooting percentage dropped, and the Washington Wizards launched fast breaks through Defensive Rebound.
Although Link's Speed was not fast among Point Guards, he possessed an absolute physical advantage. The Philadelphia 76ers' Power Forward's size could match Link, but their Speed and agility were far inferior.
When Laettner played Center, Link was like a ruthless fast-break machine. Eric Snow and Aaron McKie, two players known for their defense, were helpless against Link, who was charging towards the basket...
Link, dribbling up the middle, suddenly executed a Curry-esque behind-the-back dribble to evade Allen Iverson's surprise gambling Steal from the weak side, took one step into the restricted area, and gathered the ball for a three-step layup. His first step brought him half a step away from the restricted arc. The retreating Aaron McKie, 196cm tall and weighing 91kg, stood ready, his gaze focused.
However, in the next instant, Link took two steps as one, directly jumping up. In a flash, his soles left the floor by 4cm. Aaron McKie, who had just reacted, had his soles just leaving the ground. With a "boom!", Link's long arm, like a tomahawk, chopped towards the basket over Aaron McKie's body.
"Beep!"
The referee's whistle sounded.
"And-one!"
"Wow... Link~..."
The home announcer drew out Link's name.
Link calmly made the Free Throw, bringing the score to 68 to 8. The Washington Wizards, who were trailing in the first half, turned the tide in the third quarter and further extended their lead in the fourth quarter.
"A 12-point difference, the Philadelphia 76ers theoretically have a chance to catch up, but their current game state is very poor."
"Indeed, the Philadelphia backcourt, apart from Iverson, no one else even dares to make eye contact with Link."
"The 'Cold-faced Link' is truly terrifying!"
Meanwhile, the live camera focused on the Philadelphia 76ers' bench, where Larry Brown was roaring at Eric Snow and Aaron McKie.
"What in the world are you two doing? He's just a rookie, yet you're so scared that you don't even dare to dribble the ball in front of him?"
The two were submissive, not uttering a word, but in their hearts, they were grumbling: "What kind of rookie is this terrifying?"
"Those long arms, and that defensive instinct... it's too exaggerated... it feels like he can guess my next move!!!"
"And... his overlooked offense... this guy is getting better and better at using his physical talent... Although his jumping ability is not outstanding, his Explosiveness is fast, his arms are long, and he's tall. I thought he'd still be rising in the air for a while, but then, the next second, he just violently slammed it down."
"Also, if I jump early, he'll still control his body balance, find contact in the air, and then shoot..."
...
...
The timeout ended, and the Philadelphia 76ers didn't make significant changes on offense or defense, still relying on Iverson alone. But Link, as the Philadelphia 76ers had thought, became even better at utilizing his physical advantages.
After receiving the ball in the Elbow, he grabbed the ball with one hand, directly faking out the defender, drove in, and delivered another face-to-face dunk. Link's poster dunks were different from those of ordinary dunkers; he created space through excellent static talent to complete his dunks.
Possessing a different kind of violent beauty!
The game ended with a score of 80 to 102. The Washington Wizards once again won Game 2 with a 22-point advantage.
In terms of player statistics, Allen Iverson scored 32 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 Steals, but his field goal percentage was less than 3%. Besides Allen Iverson, only Derrick Coleman from the Philadelphia 76ers scored more than 10 points.
As for the Wizards...
Michael Jordan played 28 minutes tonight, shooting 1 out of 14, 0 out of 2 from Three-Point Shot, and 4 out of 5 from Free Throw, scoring 24 points, 2 rebounds, 1 Steal, and 1 Block.
Link played 31 minutes, shooting 1 out of 19, 1 out of 4 from Three-Point Shot, and 4 out of 4 from Free Throw, scoring 25 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 7 Steals, and 1 Block.
Link's shooting tonight wasn't good, especially from the Three-Point Shot. The Philadelphia 76ers were not only sticking to Link, but their arms were practically welded to Link's chest. If this were in the small-ball era, he would be called for 6 fouls in 2 minutes...
...
...
[Washington Wizards 2-0, leading the Philadelphia 76ers by a large margin. The era of Iverson in Philadelphia is about to end!]
[Link may end the 76ers' era, and Larry Brown may resign after the series!]
[Can the Philadelphia 76ers avoid being swept by Washington!]
[Washington Wizards, the strong rise of an Eastern upstart, will completely change the future landscape of the league!!!]
The Philadelphia 76ers were pushed to the brink.
Allen Iverson's individual heroism was fully displayed in Game 3 two days later. With the backcourt completely shut down by Link, he unleashed 44 points through isolation plays.
Iverson treated every offense as a "winning shot," which is the "Hard-Solve Ability" of a superstar Shooting Guard.
The Philadelphia 76ers won a game back, successfully avoiding being swept by the Washington Wizards.
Game 4 was still held at the Philadelphia 76ers' home court. In this game... Iverson's efficiency returned to normal levels.
Link's shooting touch was also at a normal level.
However, Michael Jordan exploded tonight, shooting 11 out of 13 in the first half, 2 out of 2 from Three-Point Shot, and scoring 26 points.
By the end of the third quarter, Link had a double-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 Steals, and 1 Block.
Michael Jordan, on the other hand, scored 36 points.
It's worth mentioning that veteran Christian Laettner had 4 points, 1 rebound, and 11 assists...
Link and Laettner accounted for all of the Wizards' assists in the first three quarters.