Eight Hundred and Ninety-One: I Want to See a Grizzly Bear Roll over with My Own Eyes (1/5)

Before the Christmas Day game, Gasol posted photos of a gathering of Grizzlies players on social media.

Suddenly, they became the computer wallpapers of countless Memphians.

Link's group photo is indeed very different from the ordinary group photo of players. The "bandit spirit" displayed by the Grizzlies is very consistent with the team's villainous temperament.

In fact, this group photo is full of gangsterism not just because everyone is wearing suits and smoking cigars, nor is it just because of the black and white filter.

It's because the people who took the photo don't look like good people to begin with.

Needless to say, Randolph, that guy has never been associated with the word "good guy".

Old Carter, holding a cigar between his hands, has a somewhat "old society" look.

Even Dellavedova, who was wearing a pair of sunglasses, looked like a mafia member. Of course, he is more like a bodyguard around the boss.

Not to mention Link, who is sitting in the middle. He is the "league's number one tough to mess with" as selected by ESPN. If he didn't have a bit of villain temperament, he wouldn't be able to live up to the title.

What's more, the footnote "Gangs of Memphis" was blatantly written at the bottom of this photo. Those who didn't know it thought it was a still from a movie called "Gangs of Memphis".

The photo was loved by fans, not just in Memphis but around the world.

Fans even called it "the most classic photo in Grizzlies history."

However, the league definitely doesn’t like this kind of photo that is full of “negative images”. The Grizzlies and Link are now like the naughtiest children in the same class.

But the most annoying thing is that this naughty child also happens to be the one with the best grades...

It’s really not easy for the “head teacher” to laugh at me and punish me.

No, right after the Christmas party, the Grizzlies won another game.

On December 23, the Grizzlies faced the Utah Jazz, who currently have 8 wins and 20 losses, at home.

After three quarters of not too intense fighting, the Grizzlies easily brought the Jazz closer to the No. 1 pick.

The Jazz's lineup has actually begun to take shape, with Hayward, Gobert, Ingles, Hood, Favors and other powerful players in the lineup.

But if this lineup wants to exert its power,

I'm afraid it will take a few more years to grow.

Facing the Jazz who have not yet grown up, the Grizzlies players were able to cope with it easily even if they just attended the party last night. It took just over three quarters to decide the winner.

Link left the game halfway through the third quarter. His data at that time was 24 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists.

If he is only one or two data points away from a triple-double, Link may really spend his spare time to brush it up.

But when the data was still much worse, Link also gave up the idea of ​​brushing up the data during garbage time.

He is not Ricky Davis. Anyway, there will be many opportunities to get a triple-double in the future.

Besides, Link is already No. 1 in the league in terms of consecutive triple-doubles, so there is no need to hold on to it.

As a result, Link's consecutive triple-double record was officially interrupted in this game, fixed at 10 games.

But even so, people think this is a record that is almost unbreakable.

Unless there is a data brush like Chamberlain in the future, or Link breaks the record himself.

Otherwise, this record will most likely remain sealed.

Although Link's consecutive triple-double record was interrupted, people did not think that Link's days of wreaking havoc on the league would also end.

After defeating the Jazz, the Grizzlies have achieved their longest nine-game winning streak of the season!

And because on the same day, the Golden State Warriors also lost to the Los Angeles Lakers.

In other words, the Grizzlies were able to return to the top spot in the Western Conference after nearly a month!

He has fulfilled all the promises Link made when he came back.

Not only did he lead his team to defeat the Warriors, he also quickly regained first place in the Western Conference. During this period, so many records were broken.

The Warriors' magic has become eclipsed in front of the Grizzlies. Since Link came back, the Grizzlies have not lost a game, as if there is no one in the league who can stop the Grizzlies.

Now, the eyes of the world are on the Houston Rockets.

In the Christmas game, they are the only hope to prevent the Grizzlies from winning 10 consecutive games and continuing to wreak havoc.

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When people mention the Houston Rockets, people will think of Link's 63 points in a single game like a god.

If you want to choose the biggest backdrop so far this season, the Rockets are definitely the champion. Because when it comes to the Rockets, Harden, Howard and McHale all have to be ranked behind Link's 63 points.

As a result, many people have forgotten that the total score of the Rockets and Grizzlies so far this season is actually 1 to 1. Both sides have beaten each other once, and they have not shown a one-sided trend.

It's just that when the Rockets won, Link didn't play.

But this does not mean that the Rockets will definitely not be able to beat the Grizzlies with Link. After all, they are one of the few teams in the league that has not lost more than double digits.

So far in the game, the Rockets have a record of 20 wins and 7 losses, ranking third in the Western Conference behind the Grizzlies and Warriors.

After the Rockets experienced a run-in at the beginning of the season, they began to gradually exert their strength. In December, they launched a six-game winning streak and found their own way to win.

Howard has become more blue-collar, while James Harden has gained more firing rights.

Under such circumstances, Harden lived up to expectations and played super-level statistics.

Since December, Harden has averaged 30.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game.

He and Curry are the biggest obstacles on Link's road to winning consecutive monthly awards this month.

Harden, who is in super form, and Link, who is killing everyone after his comeback, are fully worthy of a stage like the Christmas game.

Of course, the Rockets also know that with Harden alone, it will be difficult for the Rockets to compete with Link.

The reason why Link scored 63 points was because the Rockets' forward line was so weak, with almost no one available except Ariza.

So, poor Zaza was beaten up by Link.

Houstonians know very well that if they really want to make a difference this season, they must improve their lineup against the Grizzlies.

So the day before the Christmas war began, on Christmas Eve night, the Houston Rockets suddenly announced a piece of news that caught people off guard.

"Josh Smith, who was just waived by the Detroit Pistons on December 23, received a one-year contract from the Rockets. The two parties signed a lightning deal, and McHale said that Josh will play directly in the Christmas Day game the next day!"

As soon as this news came out, the Christmas game between the Grizzlies and Rockets seemed to have another highlight!

After Josh signed a big contract with Detroit, he did not live up to his worth. Finally, Van Gundy couldn't bear it anymore and directly laid off Josh, who had two years left on his contract worth 26 million.

The rest of his salary will be paid by the Pistons over five years.

Although Josh proved unable to be a star player or a good leader in the Pistons. But the Rockets signed him as a substitute, which is more than enough!

After all, just a year or two ago, Josh was considered one of the best small forwards in the league.

Now that the Rockets have captured Josh, it will undoubtedly greatly supplement their combat power, especially on the flanks!

McHale wanted Josh to appear so soon, and it was obviously to deal with Link!

It was precisely at this juncture that Tony Allen had just been revealed to have suffered a right corneal abrasion during training.

In other words, the Grizzlies will be missing a strong backup wing in the next game.

Ariza and Josh teamed up, plus Tony Allen's unexpected injury. All these factors combined seemed to perfectly solve the Rockets' wing problem.

The Rockets' victory over the Grizzlies with Link no longer seems to be a low-probability event.

League president Adam Joke immediately announced that he would go to FedEx Arena on Christmas Day to watch the game between the Grizzlies and Rockets.

He seemed to want to witness with his own eyes the whole process of the grizzly bear being forced to stop its rampage...