Twenty: Gold Digger

Before the game started, Paul George had said countless good things about Link to Stephenson.

At the beginning, Stephenson also thought that George just liked his college teammates too much, so Link was very tough in his mouth. But if he was really that good, would he still be an undrafted pick?

But after the real fight with Link today, Stephenson discovered that this Chinese player seems to be more powerful than George's description!

On the first goal, Link blocked Stephenson with a textbook defense. And when the speed is not too fast, the fast break is completed only by passing the ball.

Stephenson has played for so many years, he knows which players are easy to mess with and which players are not. Sometimes, he can roughly estimate a player's strength in just one possession.

It's a pity that a guy like Link who can predict the next move of an offensive player is the most terrifying.

"Lance, cheer up and pass the ball a lot!"

Seeing Stephenson froze on the court, Mad Ants coach Steve Gansey yelled anxiously.

Although Stephenson is a thorn, he is also a hope for the Mad Ants to win. If he gets overwhelmed on the court, the Mad Ants offense grinds to a halt.

After hearing Gansi's shouting, Stephenson came back to his senses. He raised his hand to ask for the ball at his own point guard, but as soon as he received the basketball, he encountered Link's close pressing.

That Chinese No. 5 is not going to give the "son of New York" any chance!

"The confrontation between the two sides is very fierce. If you want me to say, this group of matchups is simply an NBA-level competition!"

The narrator is attentive and can see NBA-level matchups in G League games, which is a rare performance.

Stephenson threw his head away from Link, while Link just raised his arms high without any extra movement.

Although Link's character is completely different from that of Grant Hill, Link has also inherited Hill's playing habits.

As we all know, Hill has always been a modest gentleman, Mr. Good. His amiable personality and Iverson's rebelliousness are completely two extremes. A good gentleman like Hill plays very cleanly.

Without a foul, Stephenson would have to figure out a way to break through with minimal space. He tried twice, but was blocked by Link.

The space is too small, and any movement Stephenson wants to make will be detected. And with Link so close, Stephenson couldn't take advantage of his speed.

"Stephenson is in a tough fight. He can hardly move an inch! Link's defense today is absolutely incredible, and Stephenson has to choose a pass!"

Stephenson passed the ball, but his pass made little sense. Because this pass is not organized attack, but forced to pass the ball.

After the pass, Stephenson looked down again. Where does he stand when he catches the ball, and where does he still stand after passing it out?

That is to say, when Link defended him, Stephenson didn't even take a step, he was completely locked in place!

This isn't the first time Stephenson has been sidelined since entering the draft. But unlike today, the last time Stephenson was so embarrassed was in the NBA, because he was playing against Kobe.

But today...he's been deflated by an undrafted pick.

After returning from the G League, Stephenson must take a good look at George.

He spoke of his former teammates a little too weakly.

※※※

Larry Bird has always had a goal in mind, that is to become the godfather of basketball like Auerbach. How important is Auerbach to the Celtics?

Of course there is no need to elaborate. And what Bird wanted to do was to belong to Auerbach in Indianapolis.

Although he stepped down from the head coaching position, Bird has done a good job in the team's front office in recent years. Now, he has become the president of basketball operations for the Pacers. He selected George and Stephenson with a 10th pick in the first round and a 10th pick in the second round. He believes that his choice will make the team become better.

About Paul George, Larry Bird is not too worried. Although the kid is averaging less than 10 points per game, his talent on the court is visible to the naked eye.

What really worried Bird was Stephenson, the tenth overall pick in the second round. Barkley once said: "Stephenson is one of the most talented players in the league, he's just too eccentric."

Bird agrees with this sentence. If it weren't for the troubles off the court, Stephenson would never have fallen to the second round.

It was precisely because of Stephenson's childish temper that Bird punished him.

But recently Bird discovered that those previous punishments were a little too innocuous for Stephenson. So he was ruthless and directly threw Stephenson back to the G League.

Stephenson is a beast that is difficult to tame, but once he is tamed, what Bird reaps is a predator who is fearless.

The Pacers didn't play today, so after coming home from get off work, Bird turned on his local TV station in Indiana to watch the G League game live.

At this point, the game has reached the third quarter. Much to Bird's surprise, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants were already 13 points behind.

"What!?" Bird frowned. With Stephenson in hand, the Mad Ants still trailed by 13 points in three quarters? What happened to that guy?

In Bird's expectation, Stephenson should be able to dominate the G League on both ends of the floor. But on the court, a Chinese-American player wearing a No. 5 jersey used a beautiful counter-attack to get rid of Stephenson, and then threw the ball.

That No. 5 shot was so steady that Bird almost couldn't help but applaud.

Next, the data comparison between the two sides was displayed at the bottom of the TV screen.

The No. 5 Chinese Tom Lin has now scored 18 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, which is very comprehensive.

The data behind Stephenson is 6 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 turnovers...

The Predator in Bird's heart was completely blown away by that little-known Chinese!

At first, Bird thought Stephenson was just out of line. But after watching the third quarter, Bird dismissed the idea.

Because from the point of view of his performance on the court, Stephenson is not out of order at all, but simply lacking in strength!

Whether it is shooting stability, defensive stability or personality composure, the Chinese No. 5 is better than Stephenson!

Bird knew very well how much weight Stephenson had. It was definitely not easy to be a G League player who could beat Stephenson!

So Bird immediately opened his laptop and searched for Link's name.

It doesn't matter if you don't search. After a search, a bunch of news about Link's triple-double in the last game appeared on the computer screen.

A guy who can beat Stephenson and score a triple-double on Luke Babbitt, Bird doesn't think the G League is the place for him.

Bird is bent on completely transforming the Pacers, so he won't turn down any quality player.

He doesn't care about a skin color or his origin, he only cares about what the player can bring to the team.

So he picked up the phone and called his chief scout.

"I don't care what method you use, contact him as early as possible, and I want to offer him a short 10-day contract."

Bird's request is very clear, he wants to sign Link!

"Uh...I'm afraid you're a step too late, Bird. As far as I know from my network, the Houston Rockets have already made a deal with Link. They're also very interested in offering Link a 10-day contract. contract."

Hearing the scout's reply, Bird gave a wry smile. In the basketball world, gold really always shines. And this alliance has never lacked gold diggers.