Seventy-Nine: Physical Fitness Is Not a Problem

On January 7, 2011, the Memphis Grizzlies welcomed the re-visit of their old rival, the Utah Jazz, at home.

Now, the contradiction between Deron and Sloan has fully erupted. The Jazz have also been one of the most-covered teams in the news of late because of the conflict between the two top men.

It is said that the Jazz have been carefully considering whether to keep Jerry Sloan or Deron Williams. While the Jazz must have wanted the two of them to continue living in peace, that is now an extravagant hope.

Under the premise of discord within the Jazz, Lionel Hollins' goal today is naturally to win. After 18 wins and 17 losses in a six-game winning streak, the Grizzlies have surpassed the Rockets to become ninth in the Western Conference. The Hornets, who are eighth in the West, are still three games away.

3 wins, that's not a lot. The Grizzlies must hold on to the momentum to get past it as quickly as possible. And defeating the Jazz in infighting is the only goal of the Grizzlies today.

Before today's game, Randolph found that Link was writing something on his sneakers with a marker.

Yesterday, Link found a total of 20 new pairs of sneakers in the box! And many other miscellaneous equipment. He only brought two pairs of them to the game today, and the others were handed over to the equipment manager, and the team's equipment manager would help him sort things out in the future.

Watching Link write and draw on the new sneakers with a pen, Randolph leaned over curiously.

But after taking a look, Randolph, who has always been troublesome, didn't bother anymore. Because he saw that Link's writing on the side of the sole was exactly the same as the writing on his old sneakers.

It said, "Rest in peace, Zeke."

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Link, who put on the new Nike equipment, performed well in this game. Kirilenko and Hayward did not cause Link too much trouble. After all, these two people have passed their peak, and they have not yet reached their peak. Link is caught in this middle period, and he can just draw the bow from left to right.

Throughout the game, Deron Williams refused to implement Jerry Sloan's tactics. Sloan asked the respected Raja Bell to remind Deron several times, but to no avail.

Delong completely released himself today. He made 13 shots in the whole game, but only hit 4 goals. He scored the Jazz's second-highest 19 points, but shot a measly 30.8 percent from the field.

Even the commentator who explained the game shook his head and regretted, "The Jazz did not lose to others this year, but they are likely to lose to themselves."

Although not all players on the Grizzlies like each other, at least not to the point of becoming enemies. In the end, the still united Grizzlies defeated the Utah Jazz for the second time at home with a score of 111 to 99, and liked to mention their seven-game winning streak.

Randolph and Gay's state continued to go high, Gay scored a game-high 28 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, and sent 4 assists. He made 3 of 3 3-pointers, and the overall shooting percentage was as high as 57.1%, which was one of Gay's best games this season.

Randolph had 26 points and 11 rebounds also maintained the level.

Because Gay played very well today, Link did not play much time. But in a limited time, Link still scored 13 points, 3 assists and 3 rebounds, and his performance was still pretty good. You know, Kirilenko and Hayward add up to only 14 points.

It's just that Guy is in such a good state, and it is estimated that it will be very difficult for Link to return to the starting lineup. Link stimulated Guy's sense of crisis, and Guy continued to stimulate Link with his superstar performance. The two could be said to be caught in a virtuous circle.

After the game with the Jazz, the Grizzlies immediately flew to Oklahoma to play a back-to-back road game.

Speaking of which, the Grizzlies have played quite a few back-to-backs this year. Link doesn't know if weak teams have no human rights. Anyway, he feels that a team like the Lakers can never play so many back-to-back games in a row.

Since this game was played in Oklahoma, Link also seemed to be back at home. All members of the blue team arrived today at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, home of the Thunder, to cheer for Link. In the stands of the arena, Link also found many fans holding up their pictures.

But unfortunately, Link's "trip home" was not warm. The intensive back-to-back schedule made the Grizzlies players very tired, and the Thunder have been eager for revenge since the last loss to the Grizzlies, so they played very aggressively today.

This time, Kevin Durant did not continue to fight with Gay, but made 24 crazy shots and scored a game-high 40 points with a shooting rate of 54.2%!

That's right, 40 points. Link had found it difficult to score 52 points in the G League before. However, that guy Durant scored 40 points in the NBA as soon as he broke out.

I have to say that this made Link truly realize the gap between ordinary players and superstars. Rudy Gay played pretty well today, but only got 20 points. And he himself, only got 15 points under the tight defense of the Thunder.

So, it's not wrong for Link to keep pushing himself every day. Don't think that you are already strong, because there is no shortage of strong men in the NBA.

And just like that, in Oklahoma, the Grizzlies' seven-game winning streak ended. The Grizzlies beat the Thunder 109-105. Link also ushered in his first loss since joining the Grizzlies.

After the game, in addition to surrounding Durant, who scored 40 points, the media also focused their cameras on Link.

"How do you feel after the magical aura fades?"

"The Grizzlies were completely suppressed by the opposing superstar in this game. What do you think?"

"Do you think the Grizzlies will get back on track? Or is the sweet moment over."

Faced with the reporters' questions, Link looked bewildered. Although his performance today is not too amazing, but he didn't hold back. The whole team is responsible for losing, and my magical halo fades.

Faced with these mentally handicapped questions, Link didn't bother to answer at all. He said a few words of flattery and left the crowd. I hope that Rachel will not be as mentally retarded as those reporters in the future...

The loss of this game still caused the Grizzlies and Link to be attacked by some reporters. That's what basketball is like, even though you've won 7 games in a row, as soon as you lose, the guys who hate you will come out.

Link in particular, people say, this will be the start of his miraculous transition to mediocrity.

Grizzlies coach Hollins also has a headache. He doesn't believe in the nonsense that Link will tend to be mediocre, but the next game in Charlotte makes him very worried.

Because there is only one day off after today's game, the team will go to Charlotte to play away. Today, the team's physical problems have caused the Grizzlies to lose. The next game, with little to no rest, Hollins really didn't know how the team would fare.

Losing is a trivial matter, and if someone gets injured because of overstretching, it's not worth the loss.

However, Link is full of confidence in the next game. He is never afraid of back-to-back games, nor is he afraid of intensive schedules. After all, before gaining Hill's ability, physical fitness was one of Link's best attributes.

Physical fitness has never been a problem for Link. The magical aura won't fade, it's just a nap...