The Competition Among Role Players

Sam Young went all out during warm-ups today. He knew exactly what it meant that the Grizzlies had signed Link.

As a second-year player, Sam Young had averaged 16 minutes and 7.3 points per game in his rookie season. Although his three-point percentage had been a pitiful 19.6%, his occasional dunk show had made him a fan favorite and earned him the team's affection.

After all, as a second-round pick, getting the occasional chance to shine during his rotation minutes in his first year had already been a pleasant surprise. People believed he could develop into a solid role player.

But this year, Young hadn't made much progress compared with last season. His three-point percentage had soared to 34%, but he averaged just 0.6 attempts per game. The sample size was simply too small, making that improvement meaningless.

Despite playing four more minutes per game, Young's scoring average hadn't changed. He had averaged 7.3 points last year; this year, he was averaging just 7.2.

For a rookie, failing to improve was the most fatal flaw of all. As a college senior, Young was supposed to be NBA-ready, and most of his potential had already been tapped.

This year, though, the Grizzlies wanted a 3-and-D small forward on the bench. As a result, Young's inconsistent shooting had gradually cost him Hollins's trust.

The Grizzlies had had the perfect candidate in Xavier Henry, but the Kentucky rookie forward had suffered a season-ending injury, forcing the team to look elsewhere.

Now, with a formidable rival in front of him, Young knew he had to prove himself and defend his playing time and place in the rotation. If Link broke out and Henry returned next season, Young's career in Memphis would be over.

As a second-round pick, Young knew all too well what it meant to be cast aside. At best, he'd be traded; at worst, he'd be fired outright. His livelihood was on the line, and he wasn't about to give Link an inch.

As Young prepared with intense focus, Grizzlies assistant coach Elston Turner began explaining the team's basic plays to Link.

"Your job is to come in as a 3-and-D player when Rudy Gay or O.J. Mayo is resting. So the plays the head coach has assigned you aren't complicated. First, space the floor beyond the three-point line. If we're running an inside play, you'll need to move between the two corners and open up room for Zach and Marc to attack. Second, know where to go in transition. If a teammate is bringing the ball up the middle, you need to decide whether to stay beyond the three-point line or cut to the basket, depending on the situation..."

As an undrafted player, you didn't get a coach to design plays just for you or hold a special meeting. You listened while an assistant coach explained things on the practice court. If you understood, you played. If you didn't, you still had to play—you'd just probably make a mess of things. And if you made a mess of things, you'd be sent packing with $50,000 after ten days.

At first, Link really did have a hard time adjusting. The plays in the G League were nowhere near as complicated. The focus there was individual performance; every player was fighting for his own future.

In the NBA, though, the focus was on the team. Even the most ordinary-looking play was backed by a complex system. Only today had Link truly realized that there were no unintelligent players in the NBA.

Anyone who could memorize and execute so many complicated plays had to be incredibly smart. That was even more true for role players. Stars could make the team adapt to them, but role players had to adapt to the team.

The Grizzlies' playbook was more than ten times as complicated as the Blue Team's, but Link's four years of college basketball had prepared him well. Understanding and remembering the plays wasn't difficult. And besides, Link now had Grant Hill's decade-plus of basketball experience and understanding of the game.

His grasp of the game was several times better than that of other rookies at his level. The experience Grant Hill had accumulated over most of his life was something ordinary people could only dream of having.

Link could only thank his lucky stars. Without those four years of experience and the system, he never could have absorbed Turner's explanations so thoroughly.

"Do you understand the plays I've gone over with you?" Elston Turner asked when he finished. His clipboard was covered in diagrams.

"Yeah, I've got the general idea."

"Good. Go run through the plays with the trainers and get used to them. I'll talk to Coach Hollins. If everything goes well, you can get some reps in during the scrimmage later. Oh, we've got your number zero jersey ready. Don't wear that black tank top for the scrimmage."

At the mention of the number zero jersey, Link came alive. For his own sake and Upshaw's, no one was going to stop him today!

The Grizzlies' scrimmages had one thing in common with the Blue Team's: Hollins liked to mix the starters and reserves on both sides.

That helped build chemistry across the team and made the scrimmage feel more like a real game. Since the two sides were evenly matched, there wouldn't be a blowout.

Before today's scrimmage, Hollins gathered everyone and assigned the teams. Sam Young was ready for battle. He had a year and a half of NBA experience under his belt, after all—he couldn't lose to an undrafted player!

"Thabeet, Randolph, Sam, Mayo, and Vasquez, you're together. Marc Gasol, Darrell Arthur, Link, Tony Allen, and Conley, you're on the other side. Everyone else, be ready to sub in."

As soon as Hollins announced the teams, everyone perked up. They all knew Link's arrival was going to make today's scrimmage unusually interesting.

When Randolph heard he'd be playing against Link, he started rubbing his hands together. In truth, Randolph wasn't much of a troublemaker anymore. Since coming to Memphis, he'd become a textbook case of a prodigal son turned good.

But Randolph didn't want a soft teammate. The Grizzlies had no place for weak players, so he planned to find out exactly what Link was made of.

"Don't be nervous, buddy. Run the plays, and the chances will come!" Tony Allen said, patting Link on the shoulder before the game began.

Elston Turner, acting as the referee, blew his whistle. The game was on!

Since it was a scrimmage, they skipped the jump ball. Randolph's team took the ball out from the baseline.

Sam Young was very active, constantly cutting and shifting on offense in search of a chance to get to the basket.

Randolph received a pass in the low post from the Venezuelan guard Vasquez. He could have taken his little brother Darrell Arthur one-on-one, but Randolph wasn't one to pass up a chance to stir things up. Instead, he deliberately passed up the isolation, set up the offense from the high post, and bounced the ball to the cutting Young!

Sam Young was a "springy" forward who loved all kinds of aerial exploits. If he could dunk on Link in practice, it would surely win him more of Hollins's trust.

With that in mind, Young jumped before he'd even shaken Link. Hollins didn't look pleased at the sight. Instead, he shook his head.

"Sam's rushing it."

Hollins had barely finished speaking when Young lost the ball. The moment he jumped, Link seized the chance to swipe at it and spoil Young's dunk.

Link's swipe was seasoned and composed, clean and decisive. He looked nothing like a rookie.

But that was Link's trademark. His maturity, far beyond his years, had long since become part of who he was.

After knocking the ball away from Young, Link immediately passed it to Conley, then moved out to the right corner.

Hollins was impressed by Link's movement within the system. This was his first time playing within the Grizzlies' system, yet he already had a clear sense of what to do. Link knew whom to pass to and where to go.

For a role player, that kind of performance was even more likely to impress a coach.

Conley handled the ball on the perimeter while Link was tied up with Young in the right corner.

Young played him very physically, going well beyond the level of contact you'd expect in a scrimmage. But he knew that for him and Link, this wasn't just practice. It was a fight to stay or go.

Young had hoped to intimidate Link with his physicality, but as a G League player, Link feared competition least of all. The G League could be even more brutal than the NBA!

Young's physical defense didn't shut Link down. Once Conley passed the ball to Darrell Arthur on the right wing, Link immediately followed the play and ran toward the right corner!

He pushed past Young and raced through the crowded baseline, his route clear and direct!

Young got held up in the congested paint, delaying his defensive pursuit and giving Link just enough time to curl out.

Arthur passed the ball. Link had just stepped beyond the three-point line. He caught it and shot!

The ball hadn't even gone in yet, but Hollins was already smiling. At the very least, Link had run that play perfectly. You'd have thought he'd been playing for the Grizzlies for years.

The next moment, the net rippled like a white wave. Link hadn't just run the play correctly; he'd seized his scoring opportunity, too. The Grizzlies had finally pulled off the kind of crisp three-point play their bench had lacked. And Young couldn't give them that kind of reliable shooting.

Threes and defense—Link had shown his value in the clearest way possible. You wanted someone who could shoot threes and defend? He could do both!

Link had caught Hollins's attention and made a great first impression. But it wasn't over yet. "Uncle Zach" was growing more and more interested in the Chinese-American forward.