Most teams were helpless against James Harden's offense. His astonishing 36.1 points per game last season had not come by luck.
Some had even believed last season that no player in the league could guard James Harden one-on-one, and no team system could stop his scoring surge.
If he wanted to, he could score forty or fifty points every game.
His stretch of 32 straight games with 30-plus points and five straight games with 40-plus points last season seemed to confirm that claim.
But today, the Memphis Grizzlies and Link ended Harden's scoring myth.
The facts proved that there were still people in this league capable of containing Harden.
Harden had barely brought the ball beyond the three-point line when Conley, nearby, instinctively sagged off several steps, ready to come over and double-team him at any moment.
Jokic also quietly moved forward, preparing to seal off the driving lane.
Meanwhile, Link pressed tightly against Harden, denying him any easy shooting opportunities.
The Grizzlies' defense remained exceptionally polished.
If anyone else had dared to crowd Harden like that, Harden would have drawn a foul long ago.
But drawing fouls against Link had never been easy. He could always spot his opponent's intentions immediately and react accordingly.
Moreover, the officials had changed their standards for foul-drawing calls this season. It was no longer as easy to draw fouls as it had been in the previous few seasons.
So, drawing a foul was clearly not an option.
Harden had no choice. Gritting his teeth, he decided to drive straight in!
But Harden had taken only a few steps before Conley, coming over for the double-team, stopped him.
At the same time, Jokic moved up high and cut off Harden's passing lane for spoon-feeding Capela.
Harden had no room to shoot at all. The