Stephen A. Smith was not expressing his admiration for Link for the first time.
He and Bill Simmons seemed like complete opposites—one loved Link to death, while the other hated him enough to gnash his teeth.
Still, Stephen A. Smith's remarks drew plenty of skepticism from fans and the media, because he had not clearly explained how the Grizzlies were supposed to beat the Hawks without Gasol.
Just saying, "Their only problem is running into Link at his peak," was hardly convincing. It sounded more like shameless idol worship.
Naturally, the Hawks were none too pleased. As one of the teams with the best records in the league, they had not received the respect they deserved despite being free of injury troubles.
That left the Hawks players furious.
"Stephen A. Smith is a clown. Don't pay him any attention." In the visiting locker room at FedExForum, Mike Budenholzer was delivering his pregame speech.
He knew his players were angry right now, and the right amount of anger could sometimes have a positive effect.
"This isn't our first time facing a team with a superstar. Nobody believed in us from the very beginning. Maybe outsiders think our roster is too ordinary. But in my eyes, every one of you is a superstar! Go out there and fight! Stick to the way we play! Show the number one team in the West how we dominate the East!"
Once Budenholzer finished speaking, the Hawks players were visibly fired up.
Nobody wanted to be looked down on, especially after achieving such outstanding results.
Budenholzer smiled faintly and waved his hand, sending his players out to warm up.
The Hawks' problem was that they had run into Link at his peak?
What a joke.
It would be more accurate to say that Link might no