Reverse Growth Superstar

If it weren't for Vince Carter's birth in 2000, maybe the NBA has no such thing as a slam dunk contest.

After Kobe won the 1997 slam dunk contest, whether it is the league management, the media or fans, all believe that the dunk contest has nothing to watch.

Rod Ton, then vice president of NBA basketball operations, said bluntly, "All dunks have been done, and there will be no new moves."

Of course, the more important thing is that superstars who have not been playing the year are willing to participate in this event. Those who come to participate in the dunk contest are nothing more than rookies with strong physical fitness but average performance in official games. Without top players, no business is willing to sponsor. For the NBA, the commercial value of the dunk contest has also fallen into a trough.

So, in 1998, NBA Commissioner David Stern really decided to suspend the dunk contest. After the 1998-99 season, the All-Star Game was cancelled due to the suspension, and the dunk contest was suspended for two consecutive periods.

It was not until 2000 that Carter, Tracy McGrady, Francis and others contributed to the NBA, perhaps the greatest dunk contest in history, that allowed this high-profile event to crawl out of the grave.

But that's just a glimpse of the slam dunk contest. After 2000, until Dwight Howard played Superman in the slam dunk contest, the slam dunk contest really ushered in its second climax. And after "Superman"? No one knows who will stand up.

Fortunately, now, people have a strong candidate-Link.

Everyone is looking forward to him participating in the dunk contest and saving this game that is about to end again.

However, many media held a pessimistic attitude towards this, especially the ambiguous answer when Link was interviewed, which made the media go online.

"Think about it, if Link loses to a player like Harrison Barnes in the dunk contest, what a funny picture it would be."

"If you are a superstar, would you dare to take this risk? And if Link participates in the game, everyone will want to do their best to defeat him. Because defeating Link is the best way to become famous."

"Don't say anything, I knew Link was a softie for a long time. If he dares to participate in the dunk contest, I dare to interview him in women's clothing!"

The next day, Link found that many media were complaining about himself. The most eye-catching one is the one in women's clothing interviews.

If just a reporter from a small media somewhere said this, Link wouldn't care too much. After all, who cares whether a little reporter wears women's clothing or not? Maybe he deliberately used Link to hype.

But this time, the person who was arguing with Link was not a small reporter from the third-stream media, but the famous Bill Simmons!

Bill Simmons is a well-known basketball column writer because he used to be a screenwriter and has a thorough research on basketball and the NBA. With his sharp writing style and meticulous views, he quickly became famous in the circle.

His book "Basketball History", published in 2009, occupied the top of the sales charts in the United States for a long time and was regarded as a classic among basketball books by fans.

As his fame grew, Bill Simmons' path became wider and wider. He is not only an NBA column writer, but also a guest reporter and commentator. He even invites some famous NBA stars to do interviews and talk shows from time to time. It can be said that he is one of the most popular basketball media players in the United States.

Not only in the United States, Link also knows that many basketball writers in China are writing in the style of Bill Simmons. This shows how great this guy's influence is.

Bill Simmons has one characteristic, that is, he made no secret of his identity as a Celtics fan. His views never cared about whether they were impressive, he always liked the opponent of the dead black Celtics, the famous king of sneers and the king of poisonous tongues. When the Celtics played poorly, Simmons even his home team was black.

It can be said that Bill Simmons is the least fearful of all the famous basketball media people.

And now, the Memphis Grizzlies and Link, who have risen, seem to have become Bill Simmons' poisonous tongue.

Link shook his head. He didn't expect such a well-known basketball media person to come out to bring rhythm. It seems that Simmons is quite confident that he will not participate in the dunk contest.

Link was indeed a little angry, saying that he didn't dare to forget it, and Bill Simmons directly used the word "soft egg", Link felt too much.

Besides, when did I say I dare not participate, I'm just not sure yet. After all, it hasn't been a month since the start of this new season. Never before in NBA history has players decided whether to participate in a dunk contest.

Of course, Link is no longer a kid. He will not slap the table as soon as he is stimulated to indicate that he will participate in the dunk contest. Only children will be deceived by this kind of agitation.

Link wants to put aside the dunk contest for now. Nowadays, it is the most important thing to play the game well.

Of course, Link will not forget what Bill Simmons did. If he does participate in the dunk contest next year and win the championship, Link will definitely not let Bill Simmons go.

The words have been spoken, it is impossible to take them back. At that time, Bill Simmons's women's clothing must be worn or not.

Adults are responsible for what they say.

I thought that as long as I didn't respond, this matter would basically be suppressed. But Link never expected that Bill Simmons was entangled with himself.

After the game with the Kings ended, Link led his team to get the best ten-game winning streak in team history. NBA officials also announced the latest list of Players of the Week, and Link is on the list.

That night, Bill Simmons sang the opposite of the league in his talk show, "Maybe soon, the best link of the week will have to face the first loss of the new season."

"The Los Angeles Clippers are unstoppable this week. They have won four games in a row. Four of the four victories include one defeating the Thunder and one defeating the Rockets! There is no doubt that the Clippers are already the first team in the Western Conference this season. . If you have seen the Clippers’ performance this season, you will definitely agree with what I said."

Bill Simmons is as confident as ever, and now I dare to say that there is a team who can definitely break the Grizzlies' unbeaten golden status. It is estimated that Bill Simmons is a maverick guy.

But if Bill Simmons could only say hilariously, it would be no different from the clown. The reason why he is so famous is because he really knows basketball well and he has real goods in his stomach.

Next, he analyzed why the Clippers could win.

"Yes, last season, the Clippers were shaved by the Grizzlies in the playoffs. But this summer, on the basis of keeping Paul, the Clippers added coach Doug Rivers and JJ Redick. , Darren Collison, Dudley and others. Well, they are not superstars, not as dazzling as Howard joined Space City, but these reinforcements of the Clippers are undoubtedly seriously underestimated."

"Last season, the Clippers had probably the worst starting flanks in the league-Caron Butler and Willie Green. Both of them had 82.6% and 90.4% of their shots to self-defense last season, which means they Almost no offensive ability. At the same time, when the Clippers have them on the court, the blood loss is also very serious. They lose 5.3 points and 2.8 points per 100 possessions. I can't count how many times Link beat Butler into a pig head last season. ."

"But when the Clippers change the wing combination to Redick and Dudley, their progress will be very obvious. These two players are younger and more solid defensively. They will never be trump cards, but they are both high and reliable. Team defensive player. At the same time, both of them are not inferior to their predecessors. Crawford and Barnes are still there, so Rivers no longer needs to consider whether the use is better but not accurate enough, or more accurate but not good enough He just needs to use it according to the functionality."

"Last season the Clippers were fourth in the league in offensive efficiency and eighth in defensive efficiency in the league. This season with Doug Rivers coaching, the Clippers’ defense cannot be worse. And their offense will undoubtedly be stronger. . Judging from the current few games, the Clippers’ offensive efficiency ranks second in the league, second only to the Memphis Grizzlies, overtaking the Thunder! The current record of the Clippers is 7 wins and 2 losses, losing two games one game. It was a loss to the Lakers in the opening game, and a loss to the tough Heat. They were not bad, but bad luck. If the Grizzlies also met the Heat in advance, they might not have any undefeated golden bodies."

"In the next game, Paul and Griffin are bound to have a fierce revenge. Link, get ready to take the move. This time, you won't be able to pass the level by abuse."

Link didn't know what supported him to watch Bill Simmons' entire talk show, but I have to say that Simmons is indeed a professional basketball player, and many things are not inferior to the analysis of the team's analysts.

The Clippers' statistics in all aspects of this season are indeed perfect. In their win over the Thunder, the Clippers even scored in double figures with 6 players, showing their completely different lineup depth from last season.

But no matter how good Bill Simmons is ~www.wuxiaspot.com~, he is just a reporter and a writer. And basketball is played by players, not by data analysis.

The next day, in the airport lobby, Link accepted an interview with reporters. There is no doubt that the content of the interview is related to Bill Simmons.

"Link, what do you think of Bill Simmons's various remarks to you recently?"

"He is an excellent basketball writer. I bought two sets of his "Basketball History" and I like them very much."

The reporters all laughed. They all knew that it was impossible for Link to praise others alone. He would never give such a boring answer.

"However, I think he might have misunderstood me and my team. We are the defending champions. We are the defending champions who hold the O'Brien Cup firmly in our hands. We are obviously better than those vague statistics. Convincing. I hope he understands that basketball is not a game of numbers. I also hope that he understands that he should not use the word "soft" on others casually, otherwise the consequences will be very serious."

After Link finished speaking, he left contentedly. After holding back all night, I finally succeeded in complaining.