Top 1: In Game 4 between the Washington Wizards and the Philadelphia 76ers, Link stole the baseline inbound pass from Dikembe Mutombo to Eric Snow. In the next instant, he drove straight into The Paint. Facing the panicked African Mountain, who had his hands raised, Link soared high, tongue out in mid-air. With a "Boom!", the 218cm tall, 118kg African Mountain instantly came crashing down.
Dikembe Mutombo was dunked directly to the floor by Link...
This caused bursts of incredible exclamations to ring out in the Philadelphia 76ers' home arena.
In the eyes of many fans, Link was still considered a Floor-bound forward, but they didn't expect that after entering the Playoffs, Link would be so violent.
Of course, the reason Link was able to dunk over the African Mountain was mainly because he had the offensive initiative and initial Speed. Furthermore, Mutombo was indeed tired; facing Link, who was like a tiger descending a mountain, he really couldn't be pulled down.
...
...
[Continuous evolution. As the first high school number one draft pick in NBA history, Link always manages to surprise people. Although he had dunks in the Regular Season, they can't compare to now.]
[Defeating 'The Answer', the future of this young Washington Wizards team is promising!]
[The Wizards have completed their reconstruction; for many years to come, they will be a force to be reckoned with in the East!!!]
The Washington Wizards, who were a bottom-feeder team last season, not only made the Playoffs this season due to Michael Jordan's return and their selection of the first high school number one draft pick in NBA history—Link—but they also pulled off a Gentleman's sweep of the Allen Iverson-led Philadelphia 76ers in the first round.
This result was already quite satisfying for many Wizards fans.
After all, this is only Link's first NBA season.
Having led the team past the first round, Link naturally received rewards from the system.
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for leading the team to break through the first round. Reward: 3000 Goat points; the system mall is now open for a limited time.]
With the system mall open, Link could purchase large quantities of items to improve his training effects.
...
...
In the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Washington Wizards' opponent is the Detroit Pistons.
Regarding this matchup, most external media and basketball experts are more optimistic about the Detroit Pistons.
Firstly, the Pistons are experienced, while there are four first-year rookies in the Wizards' main rotation.
Secondly, the Pistons have Ben Wallace, who is both the rebounding leader and the blocks leader. Although their Regular Season head-to-head record was 2-2, Link's individual performance always took a bit of a hit whenever he faced the Detroit Pistons.
Of course...
There are also many people who support the Washington Wizards.
They also have two major reasons:
1. They have the god of basketball—Michael Jordan.
2. They have one of the most outstanding rookie number one draft picks in NBA history: God King, the Chosen One, and the Chinese Magician with a more accurate shot—Link.
Two days later.
The Washington Wizards' second round of the Playoffs began. Meanwhile, Link immersed himself in refining his Perimeter Defense, practicing hard not only in reality but also within the Virtual Space. Because of this, Link's [Lateral Movement] base attribute increased by +8, rising to 78 (93).
The improvement in [Lateral Movement] can better help Link squeeze through pick-and-rolls. Of course, Link's ability to squeeze through screens isn't strong enough yet, but he no longer gets completely separated from the ball handler after being caught by a pick-and-roll or screen.
...
...
The Detroit Pistons, who finished second in the East during the Regular Season, have home-court advantage, so Game 1 is held at the Detroit Pistons' home arena.
As in the Regular Season, the starting five fielded by the Detroit Pistons were: Chucky Atkins, Jerry Stackhouse, Michael Curry, Clifford Robinson, and Ben Wallace.
The Washington Wizards' starting lineup, however, underwent some adjustments—Link, Michael Jordan, Richard Hamilton, Gerald Wallace, and Christian Laettner.
Doug Collins sent out this one-big, four-small lineup with the obvious goal of increasing the team's mobility.
Ben Wallace's help defense and roaming are indeed at a historic level, but if Ben Wallace is pulled out of The Paint, the Pistons' defensive quality will drop significantly.
"Beep!"
The referee's whistle blew, and Ben Wallace won the tip-off with his absolute Jumping Height. As for Laettner, who was jumping against him, he only jumped symbolically, but he quickly turned and dropped down to the basket.
Atkins and Ben Wallace ran a high pick-and-roll. Link forced his way through the screen. Atkins was very fast, and Ben Wallace's screen was solid. Laettner stepped up to hedge. Seeing the mismatch, the 180cm Atkins used his Speed to drive hard.
"Brother Christie, don't switch!" Link took the initiative to communicate, while simultaneously choosing to shrink back toward the basket.
Ben Wallace has no perimeter shooting, but that doesn't mean Link can completely hide under the basket, because... Ben Wallace can complete alley-oops with Atkins. Link still needs to monitor Ben Wallace's offensive positioning.
Laettner was completely beaten by Atkins' Speed, but Link was now standing in his driving lane. On the other hand, Gerald Wallace also took a step back toward the basket. For the 180cm Atkins, driving into such a deep position meant he basically couldn't see anyone. Uh... Link is 206cm, Laettner is 211cm, and even more outrageous, Link's wingspan reaches a terrifying 222cm. With a "Smack!", Atkins' pass to Ben Wallace was tipped by Link's long arms. In the next second, Link's large hand grabbed the ball off the floor, securing control.
"Fast break!"
"Fast break!"
Seeing Link secure the ball, Doug Collins shouted excitedly at the players on the court from the sidelines.
In this one-big, four-small lineup, Gerald Wallace's athletic talent can be fully utilized. When Wallace charged toward the basket without the ball, drawing the Pistons' defense to shrink, Link palmed the ball with one hand and threw a powerful pass to Michael Jordan at the right elbow. The latter caught the ball while moving and hit a rock-steady pull-up jumper.
From the start, the Wizards targeted the Pistons' lead guard's lack of broad vision; additionally, at 180cm, even if he forced a drive to the basket, he was easily contested. With successive fast breaks, the Wizards opened with a 12-6 run.
However, after the first official timeout, the Pistons adjusted their offensive strategy, putting the ball into Jerry Stackhouse's hands. Michael Jordan defended him personally, with occasional Double teams from the wings.
Another major problem for the Pistons was exposed: they lacked a second ball-handler on the perimeter...
But the Pistons were lucky; during this period, the Wizards' perimeter shooting suddenly went cold, and the score didn't widen.
18-12. With 7 minutes and 8 seconds left in the first quarter, the Wizards led by 6 points, but a series of missed shots from the perimeter prompted Wizards head coach Doug Collins to call a timeout.