One Thousand and Sixty-Nine: Master and Disciple Full of Resentment

Rachel and Link were walking arm in arm in a busy shopping mall.

Because they were "fully armed," Link and Rachel were not recognized by many people.

Even if a few people occasionally recognized one of Memphis' most famous couples, they were polite enough not to bother.

Link's status in the eyes of the citizens of Memphis is extremely high. After all, he has brought honors to this dilapidated city that they had never dared to imagine.

Therefore, the citizens here respect Link very much. And sometimes, not disturbing is the greatest respect.

Since Christmas is approaching, the shopping mall is very busy. It was precisely because of Christmas that Link and Rachel decided to go out and buy some things.

"It's so rare that you still have time to go shopping with me when we are about to face a crucial battle that will determine our 25-game winning streak." Rachel was very happy because she hadn't gone shopping with Link in a long time.

Not to mention going shopping together, due to work reasons, the two of them even spend much less time together than a normal couple.

"The game is important, but you are also important." Link smiled. He didn't think that going out for a stroll would affect the game against the Rockets.

Besides, after getting married, Link and Rachel's honeymoon was "shortened" because of work, and Link has always felt a little guilty.

So whenever he has time, he will spend time with his wife and make up for it as much as possible.

The two of them had been shopping in the mall for a long time and had bought a lot of things. They also ordered two Christmas trees to be shipped home.

But looking at the dazzling array of products in his hands, Link was still very distressed.

Until now, he has not thought about what Christmas gifts to give to his teammates.

Over the past few years, Link has been in the habit of giving Christmas gifts to his teammates. As a team leader, this is one of his ways to enhance the atmosphere in the locker room.

Over the years, Link has given many types of gifts.

Expensive watches, his own signature shoes, mobile phones, game consoles, headphones... Link has given him everything.

This year, I can’t give away a box of drinks endorsed by myself...

"By the way, Link, are you going to have dinner at home this Christmas Eve?" Just when Link was at a loss, Rachel's question drew Link's attention away from the gift.

"Of course, I can't be with you on Christmas Eve, but I can still spend the day before Christmas Eve." Link scratched his head in embarrassment. Due to the Christmas War, Link and Rachel couldn't be together on the first Christmas Eve after they got married. pass.

This year, the Grizzlies' opponent in the Christmas Day game is the old rival Cleveland Cavaliers. The duel between Link and James will never go out of style in any season.

Speaking of which, Link spent more Christmases with James than with anyone else...

No wonder fans are joking that Link and James are "in love with each other." After all, except for the closest people, who would spend Christmas together every year?

Every Christmas, Link and James accompany each other.

"That's good, I have a surprise for you!" Rachel said, smiling mysteriously.

"Oh? What surprise?"

"Can I tell you the surprise in advance? Silly. Okay, let's go back. We can hardly take it anymore. We have bought enough things."

It's okay if Rachel doesn't say it. With that said, Link is looking forward to this year's Christmas even more.

It seems that this year, he has more than just LeBron James on Christmas Eve.

Finally, Link no longer has to think about a tall, muscular man every Christmas.

※※※

When James Harden arrived in Memphis, he found that the city was already enveloped in a strong Christmas atmosphere.

Looking at the scene in front of him, Harden curled his lips reluctantly.

Speaking of Christmas, the Rockets have been expelled from the league in this year's Christmas game.

Among the five Christmas games scheduled by the league this year, the name of the Houston Rockets is not included.

Although this means that Harden can spend the holidays with his family, it also means that the Rockets have been looked down upon by the league.

After all, only the teams that the league predicts will have "double high" popularity and record next season in the summer will be arranged to enter the Christmas game. Obviously, the Houston Rockets are not included in this list.

Harden was a little angry about this.

No one wants to be looked down upon, and Harden does the same.

Maybe he didn't care much about winning before, but it's different now.

James Harden's desire to win now exceeds any previous period. He knows that if he wants to become great and not be looked down upon, he needs a championship trophy to support him!

This season, the Rockets' performance surprised everyone. Harden believes that this can be regarded as a kind of revenge for people's slights.

The Rockets bus shuttled through the streets of Memphis. In addition to Christmas posters and advertisements, Harden also saw many promotional posters related to the "25-game winning streak."

As if the game hadn't even started yet, Memphis people were already celebrating that the Grizzlies broke their winning streak.

This feeling of being ignored and looked down upon made Harden clenched his fists.

"James, are you nervous?" At this time, Mike D'Antoni sat next to Harden. He knows that the game against the Grizzlies is of great significance to Harden.

If Harden was just an All-Star under McHale before, then this season Harden has undoubtedly become the best superstar in the league.

But even so, there is still a lot of criticism about Harden. What Harden has to do is continue to prove himself.

Previously, the Rockets and Harden had proven themselves by defeating the Warriors. And now, they only have one obstacle left: the Memphis Grizzlies!

If the Rockets can double kill the two giants, the Warriors and Grizzlies, then everyone will shut up.

"Nervous? No, I can't wait. I really want to see what the Memphis people look like when they crush their records with my own hands." Harden looked at the smiling Memphis citizens outside the window, and suddenly felt a strong surge of emotion. Desire for destruction.

Destroying it all with your own hands, well, it should be quite a sense of accomplishment!

"Haha, then I'm relieved, James. Listen, I think you are no worse than Link now. I believe that at this time tomorrow, you will defeat him on the court. If we can defeat the Grizzlies and Link, we will all No one in the league will underestimate us anymore. Prove it to them, James. Tell them you are the best now!"

After listening to D'Antoni's words, Harden nodded silently.

Although he was very calm on the surface, D'Antoni knew that Harden was starting to heat up inside.

Why doesn't D'Antoni himself want to prove himself? His career has been going downhill since the Suns, and it's been a big fall.

When I led the Lakers F4 in the Lakers, I was in a mess.

Although he single-handedly created the legend of "Linsanity" when he arrived in the Knicks, his confrontation with Anthony still made him leave New York in embarrassment.

Before taking over the Rockets this summer, D'Antoni once reached the point where he could only serve as an assistant coach with the 76ers.

From the league's top coach to an assistant coach, not everyone can withstand such a huge gap.

People have begun to question D'Antoni's previous achievements. People say that he is a coach who only plays beautiful offense but does not know how to win.

The Rockets are looked down upon this year. In addition to the departure of "Warcraft", a large part of the reason is because the Rockets' head coach is D'Antoni!

In most people's inherent impression, the team led by D'Antoni is basically useless! The lessons learned by the Lakers and Knicks have only been in the past few years.

This mustache who was once admired by the media and fans as a top coach is now being treated as a third-rate coach!

Is D'Antoni willing? Of course neither does he!

But at this time in the Rockets, he encountered a better opportunity. He is confident that he can make this rocket more powerful than the original Sun.

As long as he can win the championship, as long as he can defeat strong teams like the Warriors and Grizzlies, no one will question his ability anymore!

D'Antoni is still very confident. He knows that the reason why the Warriors lost to the Grizzlies a few days ago was not only due to Link's strong personal ability, but also because the Warriors' inside line was unable to withstand the impact of the Grizzlies' twin towers.

But the Rockets are different. Capela, who made his mark in the Rockets, and experienced Nene, Ryan Anderson and others are not as vulnerable as the Warriors' inside line.

Especially Capela, the No. 25 pick in 2014, is already one of the best centers in the league!

As long as the impact of the twin towers is contained, the rest depends on who can dominate the game, Harden or Link!

As for Harden now, D'Antoni is 10,000 assured.

D'Antoni and Harden, the master and apprentice pair, are full of unwillingness and resentment at this time.

These resentments may not originate from grizzly bears, but at this moment they are all focused on grizzly bears.

The Grizzlies, who have won 24 consecutive games, have become the ideal stepping stone for the Rockets.

Harden and D'Antoni are both targeting Link's head in their minds at this time. In tomorrow's game, they will not hesitate to pull the trigger on Link!

While Link was still worrying about Christmas gifts, the people of Houston were already storming the city with force.