Link and Yao Ming ran a high-post pick-and-roll. This time, Vince Carter failed to fight through the screen in time to cut off Link's driving lane. Link drove into the paint from Yao Ming's right side. Antonio Davis came over from the weak side to help, but Link didn't choose to slow down. Instead, he maintained high Speed, gathered the ball, and met him head-on. "Bang!" Antonio Davis was bumped aside. Link jumped after the contact; although he didn't jump high, his arms were long enough. With a "Boom!", he delivered a powerful tomahawk dunk right over the rim.
"Wow!"
"Wow!"
"Wow!"
This caused the Washington Wizards fans at the scene to let out involuntary gasps of amazement.
Antonio Davis, standing 208cm tall and weighing 111kg, was swallowed whole by Link just like that?
"It seems last season's loss in the Eastern Conference Finals turned Link into a gym rat during the off-season. When he gets moving, he's like a heavy armored vehicle, unstoppable."
When Link builds up Speed, he can completely bully Power Forwards and light-weight Centers, playing with a typical heavy-forward style. But Link isn't just about charging; he can pull up for a jumper at any time or even play in the post.
Regarding this...
Link's old high school buddy, Chris Bosh, experienced it firsthand during the off-season when Link invited Bosh to train with him.
After Link entered the NBA, Bosh led Lincoln High School to the state high school basketball championship last season, successfully earning a full scholarship offer from his preferred university and being named Texas Mr. Basketball. Bosh thought he had narrowed the gap with Link through hard work, but training together in the off-season nearly gave him "depression." Link, aren't you a freaking guard? Why can you push through my defense so easily? And... how did you master so many offensive weapons?
Bosh fully understood the meaning of "carrying a heavy burden" during the off-season. However, hard work eventually paid off. After finishing training with Link, besides improvements in strength, contact, and personal skills, Bosh's mentality also underwent a qualitative change.
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Link and the other starters only played the first half of the preseason game but built a 15-point lead at 56-41. Link and Michael Jordan each scored 12 points, while Yao Ming had 11 points. As for Christian Laettner, although he played 18 minutes, he didn't take a single shot; however, he did dish out 6 assists.
In the second half, Doug Collins put the bench and young players on the court, but the rookie Yao Ming was kept on the bench by the head coach. Yao Ming is too tall; to avoid injuries, he still needs some time to adapt to the NBA's rhythm. Additionally, the Washington Wizards' training staff didn't have Yao Ming do traditional strength and muscle-building training. Instead, they focused on animal crawls and yoga; this type of training can improve body flexibility, prevent injuries, and strengthen Stamina.
To be honest, looking at Yao Ming's NBA career in his previous life, only two things truly held him back: injuries and Stamina. He was a superstar for two and a half quarters, an All-Star for half a quarter, and for the remaining quarter, he was just an average player.
Furthermore, Link suggested that Yao Ming could go to the Shaolin Temple for ten days during next year's off-season; he would surely become the Number One High Monk of Shaolin by then.
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The Washington Wizards played 6 preseason games this year, finishing with a record of 4 wins and 2 losses. It looks average, but it's worth mentioning that if you only looked at the first halves, the Wizards didn't lose a single game.
Averaging 20 minutes per game, Yao Ming could put up 12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 Blocks, 0.5 Steals, and 1.5 assists.
These stats are quite good for an NBA rookie, but there are many issues to address, such as rebounding. For an interior player standing 226cm tall, grabbing only 4 rebounds in 20 minutes is clearly unsatisfactory.
But it's not that Yao Ming lacks strength; it's that his positioning is too gentle. When facing experienced interior players, they won't wrestle with you the whole time; instead, they'll give you a sudden nudge to push you out of position while rebounding.
Also, how to deal with the harassment of guards after grabbing a rebound is another problem Yao Ming needs to solve.
In the Rookie MVP prediction list released by ESPN, Yao Ming was ranked second, behind Amare Stoudemire.
Additionally, Carlos Boozer was ranked third, right behind Yao Ming.
The 2002-2003 NBA regular season kicked off on October 28, 2002.
However, the Washington Wizards' first regular-season game was on October 30th, against the New Jersey Nets, the team that eliminated them in the Eastern Conference Finals last year. The venue was the Washington Wizards' home court, the MIC Center Arena.
This game received a lot of attention.
Media from both cities began a frenzy of hype before the game.
Can the Washington Wizards complete their revenge?
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With one week left before the regular season began, Yao Ming was doing individual extra practice in addition to team training.
Link was the same, but he had to "waste" some time filming commercial advertisements and endorsements, which made the other Washington Wizards players drool with envy.
After all, compared to the endorsement fees, Link's annual salary contract of over 300,000 was simply not worth mentioning.
Three days before the regular season opener.
Inside the locker room of the Washington Wizards training facility.
The players were exhausted after a day of training. Last season, the Washington Wizards entered the playoffs as a dark horse and made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. This year, the team's goal was not as simple as just making the playoffs.
Even though Michael Jordan and Laettner were a year older, the fans hoped this year's Washington Wizards could reach the Eastern Conference Finals stage again.
At this moment, Yao Ming suddenly spoke up: "Guys, I'm hosting a party tomorrow. You're welcome to bring your girlfriends or wives, but it's best not to bring both at the same time."
Yao Ming's English was improving rapidly, and he could already communicate simply.
Hearing Yao Ming's words, the teammates were first stunned, and then they all burst into laughter.
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The date arrived: October 30, 2002.
The Washington Wizards' season opener!
The Nets' starting lineup was similar to last year's Eastern Conference Finals: Jason Kidd, Corie Kiddles, Richard Jefferson, Kwame Brown, and Kenyon Martin.
Kwame Brown was starting again tonight.
The Washington Wizards' starting lineup: Link, Larry Hughes, Michael Jordan, Christian Laettner, and Yao Ming.
Kenyon Martin, who was 20cm shorter than Yao Ming, felt like giving up on the jump ball as soon as he saw him. This prompted Charles Barkley in the TNT Broadcast Booth to joke: "Haha, Kenyon Martin must be thinking in his head right now, 'Mom, I want to go home.'"
Barkley's antics also made his partner, Kenny Smith, laugh heartily.
Yao Ming won the jump ball. Link brought the ball up, with Kidd applying full-court pressure defense.