Eight Hundred and Ninety-Two: When Josh Started Having Convulsions (2/5)

"Well, come on, kill the Houstonians and let them go to hell."

December 25, Christmas night, in the Grizzlies locker room.

The entire Grizzlies team is gathered together, staring at a small cell phone screen.

On the screen of the mobile phone was a picture of Tony Allen, who was having a video call with his teammates.

Tony Allen was accidentally hit on the head by a basketball during training yesterday. He thought it was nothing serious, but after examination, he found a right corneal injury...

Tony Allen won't be away for long, probably missing four to five games. But he will definitely not be able to keep up with today's Christmas battle.

Not only could he not play, Tony Allen was not even qualified to come and observe.

Because after the corneal injury, the team doctor bandaged him in an exaggerated way. Now Tony Allen has become a one-eyed dragon. It is very inconvenient to go out. Moreover, if the corneal wound is infected, it will be even worse than the gain.

Therefore, Tony Allen, who was unable to play or go out, used video calls to encourage his teammates.

"Yes, I promise to complete the mission, Captain One-Eyed!" Link deliberately saluted, causing the other players to start making noises.

The atmosphere in the Grizzlies' locker room is still as harmonious and cheerful as ever. Although this game has been publicized as a fierce battle by the outside world, the Rockets and Grizzlies seem to have to shed a layer of skin in this game.

However, the Grizzlies players were not very nervous before the game. Facing the game with a normal attitude is the healthiest mentality.

"Adam. The joke has arrived. This guy must be looking forward to seeing us lose." After hanging up the video, Link continued to put on his equipment and chatted wordlessly with Iguodala on the side.

Iguodala's return has filled the void left by Tony Allen. Otherwise, Josh might really be in big trouble today.

Old Carter will definitely not be able to hold up the macho man. Iguodala comes back just in time to match up with Josh.

"The Houston Rockets have high hopes, especially after signing Josh Smith. They are even more confident. I think that is why Joke decided to come to watch the game. Josh Smith seems to have become overnight The savior of the Rockets." Iguodala spread his hands, he would not let Josh succeed!

After such a long break, Iguodala has long wanted to return to the game.

But it was precisely because I rested for too long,

Iguodala may need to readjust to the intensity of the game.

However, he is confident that he can return to form soon.

He said he wanted to protect the honor of the Grizzlies, and it wasn't just lip service.

Soon, players from both sides came out to warm up.

Another year of Christmas war, the Grizzlies ushered in another powerful enemy.

Each time, people say the Grizzlies are going to flip over on Christmas Day. But the Grizzlies have not lost on Christmas Eve so far.

After Link appeared, he glanced at the stands. In the middle position behind the technical stage, I saw Adam Joke with a smile.

Joke noticed that Link was looking at him, so he nodded slightly to express his friendliness.

But Link knows very well that this guy is a smiling tiger! In order to change the pattern of his dominance in the league, he actually introduced some kind of All-Star voting reform.

Although the results of the vote have not yet come out, both Wallace and Pera have stated that they will vote no.

But Link knows very well that there is a high probability that the proposal will be passed. Everyone hopes that their players can get closer to the All-Star Weekend instead of having all the votes sucked away by Link.

And this may be just the first step to suppress Link and Grizzly as a joke. God knows what else he will do in the future.

Big football market + nice gentleman, that is the appearance that Joke wants. Unfortunately, neither Grizzly nor Link fit the bill.

Link also smiled at the joke and muttered something.

But after Link finished speaking, the smile on the alliance president's face disappeared without a trace in an instant.

Joke's fists were clenched and his face turned red because his blood pressure soared.

Link's lips read the joke clearly.

"Watch carefully how I destroy hope. You can't interfere in this game, Mr. President."

What a joke. I never expected that Link would be so disrespectful to the league president.

It seems that it is not that easy to tame a wild grizzly bear.

※※※

The game between the Rockets and the Grizzlies was very intense from the beginning.

Harden was in extremely good condition and took the lead in hitting a three-pointer as soon as he started.

But the Grizzlies didn't show any weakness. Jimmy Butler responded with a beautiful breakthrough. Harden's defense was completely paper-thin in front of Butler.

It can be broken with a little force.

The two sides played very anxiously. The Rockets did not want to lose to the Grizzlies again, and the Grizzlies naturally did not want to embarrass themselves in front of Christmas and their home fans.

In this way, the two teams hit each other with punches and kicks until the rotation time.

In the ninth minute of the first quarter, with the two sides tied, Iguodala replaced Link and finally stepped into FedEx Arena again after many days.

On the Rockets' side, new aid Josh Smith made his debut under the spotlight. McHale didn't lie, he really put Josh on the field on the first day he joined.

Iguodala was extremely excited. Of course he was excited to be able to match up with the Rockets' winning card.

"Josh Smith came on the scene. He lost his job in Detroit just the day before yesterday. But now, he has transformed and become the key to the Houston Rockets' counterattack. The arrival of Josh has brought about a qualitative change in the Rockets' wings. Let's take a look. , what is the effect of this change!"

Iguodala was gearing up, and Josh was slowly approaching him.

At this time, Terry, who came off the bench, was in control of the ball. He directed the offense from beyond the three-point line. Upon seeing this, Josh Smith immediately went up to set up a screen.

Iguodala hurriedly followed up. When Terry went around the screen, Iguodala did not change defense. He believed that Dellavedova would entangle Terry.

Sure enough, the aggressive "Australian Marmot" forced his way past Josh and got in front of Terry, worthy of being the thug next to the boss.

But at the same time, Josh, who was doing a pick-and-roll just now, immediately moved down and cut towards the basket.

Terry had quick eyes and quick hands and passed the ball in immediately.

Iguodala wanted to chase, but found that he seemed unable to burst out his best speed.

Sure enough, my body has not fully adapted to the intensity of the competition!

But fortunately, Josh was not too fast. Iguodala still had physical contact with Josh and interfered.

But Josh had no intention of slowing down. He carried Iguodala to the basket and forced a layup!

Iguodala was pushed away by the strong Josh, who succeeded in a layup under Whiteside's defense.

Subsequently, Whiteside was called for a foul and Josh scored.

On his first goal after joining the Rockets, Josh scored 2+1!

"Beautiful offense, the arrival of Josh Smith will give the Rockets' second team more firepower! Will the point difference be widened? Can Josh really change the game?"

At this time, the camera scanned the stands and spotted the league president.

I saw the joke and clapped happily, which was in sharp contrast to the surrounding Grizzlies fans.

Iguodala was very unwilling, and he was mainly responsible for conceding the ball this time. It has been too long since he played a formal game, and Iguodala's physical condition is not at its best.

But today, Iguodala was really unlucky to meet someone like Josh who was playing with the body right from the start.

And Josh, who was just laid off by the Pistons, is now extremely eager to prove himself. He also hopes that he can bring real help to a playoff-level team.

Therefore, he is more active than usual and may even perform at a super level.

Iguodala faced the worst opponent at the worst time.

Later, the old Carter's layup was chased by Josh, which made the fans at the scene widen their eyes.

Everyone thought Josh was dead, but little did they know that he put on such an incredible performance.

As the No. 3 position who was once the best at blocking shots, Josh seems to have brought his peak form to the Rockets.

After blocking Old Carter, Josh received the basketball on the offensive end for the second consecutive time.

Iguodala let Josh take a step to prevent him from breaking through.

As a result, this guy whose three-point shooting percentage has been hovering in the 20% range all year round took this opportunity to shoot directly!

Josh Smith is famous for his daring to shoot. It is precisely because he is too daring to shoot that Josh's shooting percentage has always been terrible.

But once in a while, once Josh gets going, his lethality on the outside becomes completely different.

Iguodala hurriedly blocked the ball, but was too far away to cause effective interference.

Just like that, Josh's three-pointer hit the net and only rolled up a "white wave".

After playing just three rounds, he scored 5 points and blocked 1 shot. Josh's debut with the Rockets seems destined to be quite successful!

Link shook his head. Josh during the Rockets era actually had a bit more "convulsive attributes".

It doesn't seem like much at ordinary times, but once you start using it, it may be more effective than Harden.

I just didn't expect that Josh would pull away in the first game he came to the Rockets.

Josh's two goals gave the Rockets a 5-point lead, and the balance seemed to have been broken.

In the subsequent games, Iguodala was scored by Josh many times. Josh's impact in the counterattack made it difficult for Iguodala, who had just returned from injury, to resist.

In the second quarter, Josh continued to perform well. Although he doesn't play much, he can always break the deadlock in the few minutes he does.

The Rockets found an advantage in the rotation time, and the main lineup itself performed well.

In the end, before the end of the half, the Rockets gained a 7-point lead thanks to Josh, who scored 12 points on 5 of 9 shots, and Harden, who scored 14 points on 7 free throws in the half!

57 to 50, the Grizzlies rarely fell behind before half-time!

McHale was very proud during the midfield interview and expressed his love for Josh, "I have known for a long time that he can bring something, and I know he can express himself. In the second half, we will maintain the pressure and strive to give the Houston fans something Christmas gift."

Rocket Raiders seems to have really worked, and seems to have really addressed their biggest shortcomings.

The jokes in the stands were satisfied. If the Rockets could extinguish the Grizzlies' spirit, that would undoubtedly be great.

But Link is not in a hurry, he believes in Iguodala's promise. He knew that the guy just needed some time to get used to...

Josh may be a very dangerous shooter, but Iguodala is a level player.