Four Hundred and Forty-Six: Melancholy Green Army

When Link was at George's house, the two talked a lot.

They were teammates for two years at Fresno State. At that time, Link was extremely envious of this tall and thin genius.

Although he was only playing in the second-tier NCAA league, seeing that guy easily swept away fifteen or six points, seven or eight rebounds, and two or three steals every night, Link still admired George immensely.

Of course, now Link is more willing to talk about the future with George. After all, in their past, he didn't really participate in it personally.

"The most important thing you need to improve now is your ball-handling skills. With your excellent physical fitness, you can definitely learn some more aggressive dribbling skills. After dribbling, you can attack with your back. David West learns a lot, I know he's a power forward, but that doesn't stop you from learning from him. Olajuwon is still a center, and after Kobe came back from him, he almost got a freshman."

Link gave George a lot of advice, and he knew very well how George went from an obscure big pitcher to an all-around superstar. Maybe his own suggestion can make George's rise come earlier?

"Haha, I really miss the days when we sat down and discussed how to improve ourselves. Tonight, it's like we're back in college. Hey, you guys have a really good record this season. Finished December and still ranked No. 1 in the league. One! What is your ultimate goal this year?" George looked at Link, full of curiosity.

"Goal? What is your goal? You lost Daniel Granger this season, but you actually played well." Link didn't answer first, but returned the question.

"Our goal is of course the Eastern Conference finals, hahaha, you may not believe it. After all, there are still strong teams in the East such as the Celtics, Knicks, Bulls and Nets, but if you dare not set your goals higher, then What basketball? The Eastern Conference finals... The last time the Pacers played in the Eastern Conference finals was the Reggie Miller era. Crazy, I hope I can do my best to get there."

"Come on George, I don't think it's difficult for you to accomplish your goals. After all, you're still making progress. Especially you, there's still half a year left before the playoffs, and it's impossible for you to make no progress during this period." Link solemnly patted George on the shoulder, Eastern Conference finals? Judging from the current state of the Pacers, this goal seems to be too high.

But sometimes, the basketball world is just that crazy.

"You haven't answered me yet, what is your goal?"

"We, at first, wanted to get a glory pennant. For example, the division champion,

Or the Western Champions. FedEx Arena's dome is so shaky, it's time to make some changes. But now...haha, it's kind of weird to say that, we're thinking about the O'Brien Cup. "

Link looked at the sky, the O'Brien Cup was like a moon hidden in the clouds, out of reach.

But this year, the Grizzlies have exceeded Link's expectations. Rush out of the West and take out the Heat? It seems not impossible.

No, maybe after the butterfly effect comes together, George will become the finalist this year?

"Championship...Most people in this league are poor all their lives, and they can't touch that honor. I hope one day, you and I can play in the finals." George also showed his longing Eyes, they are still young, and their future has infinite possibilities.

"Hopefully at that time, Lance Stephenson won't pass the ball to Iguodala again." Link couldn't help but take Finson again.

"Pfft, well, forget about him, Lance is a nice guy, but sometimes... it's twelve o'clock, Link."

"Well, 2012 is over again."

"again?"

"Er... nothing. New year, let's hope we can all achieve our goals."

"Come on, Link."

"You too, George."

After midnight, Link said goodbye to George and prepared to return to the hotel where he was staying.

In the first second of 2013, two young people looked forward to their future together. But in the future, they have to persevere on their own back-to-back.

※※※

On the first day of 2013, Lance Stephenson became a fan favorite.

In the game against the Grizzlies, his amusing mistakes one after another became a popular video on the Internet.

O'Neal's five embarrassing shows even made a special episode of Stephenson's show this season. The atmosphere of the entire NBA seems to have become joyful because of Stephenson's existence.

Stephenson was on fire, but it certainly wasn't the fire he had hoped for.

The Grizzlies players are also in a good mood, and the victory over the Pacers is regarded as a successful end to their 2012.

Three-game winning streak, 25 wins and 3 losses, with such achievements to start the new year's journey, the prospect of the Grizzlies is also bright.

In the past, the Grizzlies' record has been very worrying. At the beginning of 2011, the Grizzlies had a record of only 14 wins and 18 losses, and could not even enter the top eight in the Western Conference. On the first day of 2010, the Grizzlies were 15-16, still no better. The first day of 2009 was even worse, when the Grizzlies were 10-22...

But no one thought that in 2013, the Grizzlies actually took off directly. 25 wins and 3 losses, as a comparison, the Grizzlies in the 08-09 season only won 24 games in one season.

At this point, the Grizzlies players are sitting on a plane to Boston. With the deepening of the schedule, the Grizzlies and Eastern teams played more frequently.

No. 31 has a day off after playing the Pacers, and the Grizzlies will continue their Eastern Conference road trip. And Boston, is their next stop.

Speaking of the Boston Celtics, they may be one of the worst teams in the league right now. In the face of Stephenson's amusing highlights, none of the Celtics players could laugh. After all, their situation is really very difficult.

The Celtics have lost three consecutive games in the previous four-game road trip, and they have lost an average of 23 points per game... The losses of these three games directly caused the Celtics to fall out. The top eight in the East!

For Celtics fans, this is an unacceptable result. The Celtics have been one of the best teams in the league since the 2007-08 Celtics' Big Three. Last season, they even had a tiebreaker with the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals!

Had the Celtics contained that damned turnover in the fourth quarter of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals last season, they might have made the Finals. And after reaching the finals, facing the nasty Thunder, it is not impossible for the Celtics to win the championship.

To put it bluntly, the Celtics were still a championship-winning team last season, but this season they can’t even make it into the top eight in the Eastern Conference. This huge gap will definitely make people unacceptable for a while.

Not only the fans, but the players were also hit.

The biggest difference between the Celtics' lineup this season and last season is the lack of Ray Allen.

Garnett and Pierce are bitter about this matter, because the renewal price given by the Celtics is much higher than that of the Heat. But even so, Ray Allen went and joined a team that beat them just last season.

In Garnett and Pierce's view, this is tantamount to betrayal.

"I don't have Allen's phone now, and I'm not going to try to contact him. My concern is with the rest of the team, and I'm not here to answer Allen-related questions, just this time. , stop here." Before the start of the season, Garnett's attitude towards Ray Allen was very cold.

In the new season opener, Garnett also ignored Ray Allen, telling reporters after the game, "I just saw a guy in a Heat jersey coming from the other side, and I just need to focus on Just on the field."

It can be seen that Garnett and Pierce are holding their breath. For them, if they can beat the Heat with Ray Allen and lead the Celtics back to the top of the league, it will undoubtedly be the most enjoyable thing in the world.

But now, let alone returning to the top of the league, they can't even play in the playoffs!

Thinking of the current situation, Garnett is not reconciled. Are the Celtics going to collapse without Ray Allen?

He can accept failure, but only this!

After four consecutive games, the Celtics finally returned to the home court, and they finally had the opportunity to stand up again. So, on January 1, in the training hall in the North Shore Gardens, Garnett found Pierce and said only one sentence.

"Man, we can't lose any more."

Pierce nodded lightly and looked at the full of honor pennants in the training hall.

As the 2008 Finals MVP, Pierce, 34, is ready to take on the No. 0 star.

In any case, the losing streak cannot continue to accumulate.