Reverse Growth Superstar

Link knew that the 28th night would be a tough battle, but not because the Trail Blazers ranked fourth in the West, not because the Trail Blazers have an excellent record of 33 wins and 12 losses, and not because they have almost the perfect starting five.

But because of Damien Lillard.

In the training camp last summer, Link got along well with all the stars who participated in the training camp. Among them, Lillard is naturally included.

Nonsense, if you don't deal with Link, you won't come to the training camp hosted by Link.

When he came into contact with Lillard, what Link was most surprised at was not his skills, but that guy really wanted to show himself! Just like Kobe wants to win too much, Lillard has a terrible obsession with showing himself.

Lillard, like Link, is an older rookie. I played in college for four years, so it was later than many people in the league.

And the difference between Lillard and Link is that he is still a lottery show with high expectations. Therefore, the starting point is later than others, which is a very big disadvantage.

Most of the players who participated in the draft with Lillard were only 19 or 20 years old. Paul George, who was the same age as Lillard, was already an All-Star when Lillard entered the league.

Lillard knew that he didn't have too much time to waste. Therefore, I am willing to seize any opportunity to show myself and can’t wait to tell others, "I can!"

He wanted to show his desire to go deep into his bones.

In the training camp last summer, Lillard loved to play against Link every time he practiced a new move. He always can't wait to let Link know, "Hey, buddy, you see, I will do this too!"

In the game, Lillard will not let go of any opportunity to show himself.

Last season, he defeated Anthony Davis for the best rookie. This season, Lillard is averaging 20.7 points and 5.6 assists per game, and his three-point shooting percentage is close to 40%. He is already one of the best point guards in the league. He grasped every game and desperately showed himself.

This year's All-Star, Lillard even participated in the rookie game, skill challenge and three-point contest. As long as he can participate, he has participated, because he knows that the All-Star Weekend is the perfect stage to show himself.

If Lillard is selected as the All-Star substitute, he will also appear in the All-Star game!

At the same time participating in four of the five events of the All-Star Game, only Lillard was willing to do so.

So Link knows very well that Lillard will never be soft when facing the Grizzlies.

Playing the Grizzlies means that it is a high-profile matchup. And winning in the focus match is the best way to show yourself!

Lillard rarely complained, and hardly any controversial remarks. He always uses his performance on the court to show himself to the world and justify himself. He told the world, "Older rookies can also mix well in the NBA."

Lillard doesn't want people to think that he is an older rookie, so he should be inferior. Before the draft, Lillard was even proud of his four years in college.

"I have received a degree. I stayed on campus for 4 years, away from home, and took this opportunity to grow as a man. I am not trying to belittle my opponents in the draft, but I definitely surpass them in terms of experience. I see them Most of them are 19 or 20 years old, and some are even 18. I am already 21 years old. This maturity is certainly helpful to me."

It is to prove this point that he slaughtered all sides on the court.

Without a wise and mature mentality, it is impossible to say such things. While Lillard was young and frivolous, he was still calm and mature.

If you just treat Lillard as a nasty kid, wait for the defeat. Just as the reporters said, the Trail Blazers are definitely not easy to deal with. After all, there is a supernova point guard in their team that is difficult to deal with.

Link and the Blazers have no holidays, and Lillard and Aldridge have a personal relationship. But in order to get back 10 consecutive victories from the Thunder, I had to fight the Blazers.

The morning before the game, Link woke up very early. He was so excited, he couldn't wait to start tomorrow night's game.

Link hasn't felt this way for a long time, an opponent worthy of excitement, but not always met.

But before the game started, Lillard gave Link a surprise first.

As always, Link habitually turned on the TV and listened to sports news while making breakfast for himself.

As a result, I heard the news that Lillard announced his participation in this year's dunk contest!

"The Blazers point guard Damien Lillard announced this morning that he will participate in the All-Star Slam Dunk Contest half a month later. At this point, the list of all four dunk contestants has been confirmed. If Lillard is selected for the All-Star Finals , Then he will become the first player in NBA history to participate in all five All-Star events!"

Hearing this report, Link was taken aback. Participate in all individual events? This is too hard!

Because of the long time, Link can't remember whether Lillard participated in all five main events of the All-Star Game in the original history. But Elillard's character, if he is selected to the All-Star team, he will certainly not shirk any game.

Later, Lillard was interviewed at the airport on TV.

"I have the ability to participate in all competitions, why not be the first person to participate in all the All-Star events? What's the difficulty? Isn't that what I take money for? The skill game only requires me to spend 2 minutes on the court. The dunk contest is more troublesome because of Link, but I guess I only need to play 3 minutes, and the three-point shot contest is only 2 minutes. These games will not take too much time, there is no exhaustion. People, it just depends on whether you want to participate."

Lillard's answer is not hypocritical at all, unlike other stars who complain about fear of injury and complain about not having time to rest. His three views have always been very positive, which is another reason Link likes him.

"So do you think that tomorrow in Memphis, you will stage a dunk duel with Link in advance?" The reporter then asked the second question.

"Tomorrow's affairs are much more complicated than dunking. I hope you are ready, Link." Lillard smiled and walked into the boarding aisle.

Link sighed and Lillard also announced his participation in the dunk contest. In this way, the lineup of this year's dunk contest is really fantastic.

Link, George, Wall and Lillard are all first-line stars. Sure enough, Link's star effect is very powerful. In addition to attracting fans, it can also attract opponents.

In front of these three players, Link's chance of overturning in the dunk contest has undoubtedly greatly increased.

Bill Simmons probably breathed a sigh of relief after hearing about Lillard's participation in the dunk contest. There seems to be a turning point in his dressing in women's clothing. After all, it is not easy to stand out among Wall, George and Lillard.

However, this is exactly what Link hopes to see. The more lively, the more fun.

Seeing Lillard stepping into the boarding tunnel, Link also turned off the TV and prepared to go out.

Are you ready? What the hell, I can't wait any longer!

※※※

As everyone imagined, the Federal Express Arena on the night of January 28 was extremely hot.

Although this game is not a national live broadcast, it was treated as a national live broadcast. Countless reporters were waiting on and off the court, and ESPN also sent Mike Brin to explain the game.

The sideline reporter was the famous "American Yang Yi" Stephen A. Smith. For ESPN, this is definitely a national live broadcast configuration.

Link was very excited today. When he was warming up, he even made a dunk in public. This ball saw the blood of the fans swelled, and it was considered that Link warmed up for the dunk contest.

But Conley, the other protagonist of the Grizzlies, was a little nervous. He was very tight when shooting and lost several.

"What's the matter with you Mike?" Link also noticed Conley's anomaly. After training yesterday, he specially stayed with Conley to practice shooting until 7pm. His hand shouldn't be so bad.

"It's okay Link, I just...damn it, let me get used to it." Conley waved his hand with a serious expression.

The fact that Lillard scored 38 points on Curry still made Conley some lingering fears.

Although Conley and Lillard may be selected to the All-Star bench at the same time, this is not a matter of choice. But for the loser, the situation will definitely become quite dangerous. Therefore, Conley also regards this ball as the key battle for whether he can become an All-Star!

Not long after the Grizzlies warmed up, everyone from the Trail Blazers came out~www.readwn.com~ Link turned his head and found Lillard was walking at the forefront of the team!

After seeing Link, Lillard did not rush up to say hello. In other words, the way he greets is somewhat different.

I saw Lillard ran a few baskets to find the feeling, motioned to his teammates to let go, and then suddenly held the basketball to change hands dunk dunk!

The reporters and fans at the scene were crazy. First Link's self-dumping and Lillard's crotch change hands. Do these two guys want the dunk contest to be staged in advance! ?

Before the game started, Link and Lillard were tit-for-tat!

After dunking to the ground, Lillard smiled at Link. That was how he greeted Link just now!

Stephen A. Smith also walked onto the court grinning, preparing to start the sideline interview.

He is convinced that this will be a game with no shortage of topics.