The Air Grew Hot

With two consecutive takeoffs, Link unabashedly showed off his excellent form.

Those fans hoping to see Link crash and burn on the basketball court had now given up on that idea.

The Grizzlies were certainly not invincible. There were, in fact, plenty of ways to beat them.

But there was one method that should never be attempted—waiting for Link to fall into a slump on his own.

Over 82 regular-season games and the previous 13 playoff games, Link had practically never had a bad game. Even in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals against the Spurs, when he made only 2 of 9 three-pointers, his shooting touch had seemed dreadful.

Yet in the end, Link had killed the game with a three-pointer. That priceless shot alone was enough to strip him of the label of having a "terrible touch."

So even though Link had seemed to do nothing over the past few days besides accompany a mysterious woman, anyone who thought he would collapse on his own was gravely mistaken.

James knew it was time for him to make a move. Against the Grizzlies, they absolutely could not let them build a huge lead early.

The Grizzlies were almost certainly the best team in the league at controlling the flow of a game. Once they seized the rhythm, it became very difficult to come back.

James remembered that several times last season, the Grizzlies had pulled off stunning comebacks against the Heat.

Maybe it had been because Nick Young suddenly went wild, or maybe because Link fought valiantly. In any case, the Grizzlies always had a way of turning things around.

Yet there were very few teams capable of coming back against the Grizzlies while being suppressed. In this year's Western Conference Semifinals, the Clippers had nearly erased a