Turning the time back to June 2009, the Spurs and the Bucks reached a deal and got the physically stunning Richard Jefferson.

In the media's opinion at that time, Jefferson, who had excellent physical fitness, joined the Spurs, which was a big boost to the Spurs' forward line. However, Jefferson's performance with the Spurs did not meet people's expectations. For two seasons with the Spurs, Jefferson's personal data fell from 20 points per game to early 10 points, and the decline trend continued.

With the Spurs' lineup aging, Jefferson was undoubtedly a big bet for the Spurs. However, it turns out that Jefferson, who is good at flying and dunking and is used to being regarded as the focus, cannot adapt to the Spurs' team-style play.

Compared with the previous "Martial Saint" Stephen Jackson, Jefferson's mid-range and long-range shots were unstable, and his defense was not that stable. Jefferson did not take any of the Spurs' requirements for the No. 3 position. Although Jefferson's beautiful dunks occasionally add a hint of surprise to the game, in the simple San Antonio, his dunks obviously have no market.

What made Jefferson very unhappy was that no matter how he pleased the Spurs fans, the fans here would not buy it. Even if he was playing at home every night, he could hear some insults towards himself.

When he joined the Spurs, Richard Jefferson was full of ambitions. But now, he only hates San Antonio. He plays basketball he doesn't like in a place he doesn't like, from a quasi-All-star player to a role player following the old men.

The gap between them is so big that Jefferson is extremely sad.

Now, seeing Conley handing the ball to Randolph after halftime, Richard Jefferson breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Link doesn't attack, the Grizzlies will play anyway. If that damn No. 0 scores, Richard Jefferson will probably be scolded by fans at home again

"Zach Randolph held the ball for the second time in a row. It seems that he is not giving up and wants to hit Duncan!" Steve Cole waved his fist. The more exciting the two guys played, the happier he was. After all, fans and commentators like to watch the lively scenes.

But Randolph was not that irritable. Maybe he was a little slut when he was in Portland and New York. But this stinking problem had changed when he stepped into the land of Memphis.

The reason why Randolph still holds the ball at a low post is because he needs to attract defense. Duncan's big hat on him just now has already made the Big Black Bears recognize the situation.

There is no way, your uncle is still your uncle. It is not impossible to defeat Duncan, but it is really not wise to just sit and fight him one by one. What the Big Black Bear has to do now is to create scoring opportunities for another person!

Randolph pretended to sit back, and Duncan's defense was still tough. This scene seemed to be like Randolph hitting a stone. Randolph worked very hard, but the "stone" was motionless.

Just when everyone thought Randolph was going to continue fighting with Duncan, Link suddenly cut in!

"Don't!" Richard Jefferson cursed inwardly. When he followed again, Link would have left him half of his body behind!

Randolph, who was sitting in Duncan, hit the ground and sent the ball to Link. Link quickly rushed to the basket. Because Duncan was restrained by Randolph, he had no time to make up for it.

As for the other Spurs inside player, Mike Dess, who was able to win 20+12 at his peak and was selected as an All-Star no longer has much energy to squeeze.

The height of 2.06 meters makes him want to protect the frame too short. His weakened athletic ability makes him unable to make up for his height defects with confrontation and bounce.

Another point is that McDise is too light now. At his peak, he was more than 110 kilograms, but later his weight dropped to 100 kilograms. Now, McDise is estimated to be only more than 90 kilograms, which makes him completely transformed into a small forward figure.

So, although McDace rushed to the basket, Link still scored the ball in the confrontation. He just came out of Perkins's penalty area defense, and now he suddenly faced McDace who was weaker. Link said how relaxed it was at the basket!

"It turned out to be a pass, and Link and Zach have a good understanding. We all know that Link's performance in the last round was quite outstanding. He still performed well against the league's scoring champion Durant. I just don't know if Richard Jefferson, who has been criticized by Spurs fans, can withstand it."

"I can't stand it anymore!" Jefferson cursed inwardly. Link had just scored a goal, and there were fans in the stands looking for him.

Popovich also touched his chin. During the regular season, he was very troubled by Link. But to be honest, he still has no particularly good way to limit Link Richard Jefferson's defensive ability. No matter how smart Popovich is, he cannot make up for Jefferson's lack of personal ability.

Thinking of this, Popovich hopes that this year's draft will start soon. The kid named Leonard, recommended by his assistant coach Budenhozer, should be able to fill in the lack of the Spurs' forward line.

Now, we can’t count on defense. McDace is old and Richard Jefferson is cheating. It depends on offense. To put it bluntly, the Spurs can win 61 this year, but the offense is based on offense.

The team's offense led by two defenders is the change that Popovich made this year. In the past, the defensive battle between the Spurs and the Pistons was a box office poison. But now, the Spurs' game is actually very good. Because their offense is gorgeous, but the scoring methods are relatively simple, it creates the illusion that "the Spurs are very simple".

Parker had just arrived at halftime when the Spurs ran. Ginobili actively cut in, Richard Jefferson opened the space, and McDys and Duncan made various covers for the three outside lines.

But the Spurs' ball was passed for a long time but it did not achieve any results. The reason is that the Grizzlies players' personal defense ability is too strong!

Conley, Tony Allen and Link, these three people are not defenders that Spurs players can easily defeat. It is too difficult to get rid of them by passing and off-ball attack.

After Ginobili received the basketball from the right side of the three-point line, he looked up at the attack time. There were only 12 seconds left, and he had to make a decision.

So the Argentinian waved to Mike Dyce and picked and rolled the ball, and Ginobili accelerated the breakthrough!

Tony Allen quickly got rid of McDace, who was not huge, and stepped in front of Ginobili again. Ginobili used his same trick again and wanted to use a European step layup to avoid Tony Allen's defense.

But just after Ginobili took two steps to prepare for the jump, Link came over and was about to take the ball!

"When did you come here!?" Ginobili was startled. He didn't expect there was any assistance in defense!

It is definitely unstable to face the defensive and offensive frame of the two men, so Ginobili passed the ball to Richard Jefferson who was vacated by Link!

Jefferson stood in the bottom corner and was soaked. Unexpectedly, a pot fell from the sky, and he was not ready to take action at all!

So, from catching the ball to adjusting the shooting rhythm, Jefferson was too slow.

When he finally adjusted and shot, Link's blocking arrived in time! At that moment, Jefferson was eager to eat the ball. So, now he has to be scolded again!

"Bang!"

"Richard Jefferson missed a shot, and he missed a great opportunity! Link's defense is very smart, and he deserves to be the Memphis guard who is so skeptical of himself!" As soon as Steve Cole finished speaking, he heard that the fans around him were a little uneasy.

"Go to die, you useless old guy!"

"Oh my God, why do the Spurs pay you so much every year?"

"Leave San Antonio, you can go anywhere, but don't come to San Antonio!"

Jefferson gritted his teeth, and he really wanted to compete with the middle fingers for this group of fans! After only two rounds of fighting with Link, Jefferson had a little mentality exploded.

Logically speaking, veterans should play a role in limiting new players in the playoffs. But when it comes to Jefferson, it is a reversal. Link is overwhelmed by a player with 10 years of NBA experience.

As soon as Jefferson hit the iron, Conley handed the ball to Link. This time, Link stopped hiding it, and he directly took the ball to attack!

Jefferson's retreat was half a step slower, causing Duncan to make up for defense and limit Link.

However, Link's pass key was not deducted. He was not fooled by Duncan's counter-attack, but threw the basketball into the air!

Randolph jumped behind Duncan, easily received a basketball and made a layup. 4-0, Link scored 2 points and 1 assist, completely opening up the Grizzlies' offensive channel!

"The Spurs' defense is not very responsive. When the Grizzlies turned their offense from Randolph to Link, their offense was immediately revitalized. In the last round of the series, Link focused more on the defensive end. But in this round, when he became the core of the offensive, I am looking forward to seeing his performance."

After scoring the goal, Randolph stuck out his tongue excitedly. Sure enough, as long as he doesn't worry about personal singles, it is not difficult to score a goal on Duncan's head.

Link and Randolph touched their arms again, and the forward combination made the West No. 1 tremble at home.

In the subsequent game, the Spurs were completely suppressed. Link scored 6 points and 3 assists in the first quarter. Jefferson was helpless with Link, and Link was already the responsibility of the core of the offense. You should know that the Spurs, which mainly focus on team attacks, only had two more assists in the first quarter than Link.

If Ginobili hadn't made a long-distance three-pointer in the last moment, the Spurs would have been 8 points behind the Grizzlies at the end of the first quarter!

"27 to 22, even if Ginobili hits the last magical three-pointer, the Grizzlies are still leading by 5 points! It's incredible. The Grizzlies really have a bad momentum this year! And Link plays very well on the offensive end with not that much defensive pressure! What must Popovich do? If the Grizzlies keep playing like this, they may have to fall behind double digits in the half!"

Steve Cole shook his head. The Spurs have been in a very embarrassing recent years. In 2009, they were third in the West and were defeated by the sixth Mavericks in the first round 4-1.

In 2010, the Spurs met the Mavericks again in the first round of the playoffs, but that year the Spurs were seventh in the West and the Mavericks became second in the West. Although the Spurs advanced to the second round that year and successfully revenge the Mavericks. However, in the Western Conference semi-finals, the Spurs were beaten 4-0 by the Suns.

This year, the Spurs finally won the long-lost Western Conference regular season first. But once again, they encountered big trouble when they reached the Western Conference semi-finals.

Popovich held the tactical board angrily, but had no way to blame his players.

On the defensive end, the Spurs tried their best, but they only had so much ability, so they could only defend to this level. He asked his players to pay attention to assisting defense, but the consequence of assisting defense was that Link had 3 assists in a single quarter and no mistakes.

On the offensive end, Ginobili and Parker are still good, but the Grizzlies' defensive ability cannot suddenly decline.

When your player performs well but is still helpless with the opponent, being a head coach is desperate.

Popovich then could only stand in front of Duncan and stare at this funny guy who pretended not to swim.

"I need you on the offensive end, Tim."
Chapter completed!