One Thousand and Seventy: Who Is the Real Cake King?

On December 13, a huge poster of Link and Harden looking at each other was hung outside FedEx Arena.

This type of poster usually only appears in boxing or other fighting sports competitions.

But today, NBA officials used such posters in basketball games.

The original picture is very simple. In addition to being a strong dialogue between the Rockets and the Grizzlies, this game is also a direct showdown between the first and second players in the MVP prediction rankings!

So far this season, Link has naturally returned to the top spot in the MVP rankings with his outstanding personal performance and unparalleled team record.

Harden occupied a place in the top five of the MVP rankings last season. After the data explosion this season, he surpassed Curry and Durant and directly ranked second in the MVP rankings!

Harden's performance this season has been witnessed by everyone. It can be said that in terms of personal performance, he is indeed better than the Warriors players!

Some people even think that if it weren't for the Grizzlies' 24-game winning streak, even Link would have been ranked behind Harden!

To put it bluntly, they feel that Link's ability to occupy the first position in the MVP rankings is due to the team's record.

In terms of personal performance, Harden is more outstanding than Link!

Therefore, this direct confrontation between Harden and Link has become the biggest highlight today.

In fact, the question of who is better, Harden or Link, is more talked about than the winning streak at the beginning.

"James Harden has undoubtedly reached the peak of his career this season. He is second in the MVP rankings. Harden deserves it! This season, his destructive power no longer needs to be elaborated on. I also I really want to know if Harden’s explosive data can continue at FedEx Arena!”

Before the game started, Kevin Harlan warmed up the fans in accordance with today's theme.

Speaking of which, the Grizzlies' games in December were really more exciting each game.

First the Warriors, now the Rockets. There are knights at Christmas, and thunder after Christmas.

For the Grizzlies, this is really a test of their true strength during this period.

Of course, if the Grizzlies can defeat all four opponents, they will become the only team so far this season that can kill the "Four Big Devils" of the Cavaliers, Warriors, Rockets and Thunder!

In the context of this season, this is a significant honor.

In other words, if the Grizzlies win these four teams, it will be equivalent to clearing out the biggest spoilers on their road to the championship!

Of course, that's just the most ideal situation. The game against the Rockets means that the Grizzlies' challenge this month has just begun. Four strong opponents, they have just met the second one.

When James Harden and his teammates stepped onto the court, Link and the Grizzlies were already warming up.

Harden looked at Link's back, and scenes of the past came to mind again.

The one that impressed Harden the most was November 8, 2014.

That day, Link scored his career-high 63 points on the Rockets!

At the Toyota Center, Harden did his best to push the Grizzlies into a desperate situation. As a result, Link performed like a god descending from the earth, abruptly cutting off the rocket that was about to take off.

In that game, every shot and every goal made by Link seemed to hit Harden's heart.

That was the worst game he lost in his career!

And what about the memory of the Rockets' victory over the Grizzlies? Harden found that he couldn't find it at all!

But today,

Harden believes that this memory will be born.

If he can prevent the Grizzlies from winning the first 25 consecutive games, he believes that Link will remember it for life.

Before the game started, Mike D'Antoni seriously planned his tactics. He hopes that the team will take advantage from the start and be the first to break the threat of the Grizzlies' twin towers.

Jokic and Gasol are great, but both of them are slow.

But Rockets center Clint Capela is different. That guy's extremely fast movement has earned him the title of "Cake King" in the "cake-eating world".

He doesn't have much independent offensive ability, but he has scored high scores many times this season, relying on cutting inside after a pick-and-roll.

When it comes to eating cakes, Jordan is even half a step shorter in front of Capela.

D'Antoni's plan is to let Harden find Capela first and use a powerful impact to force the Grizzlies to withdraw from the Twin Towers. As long as the twin towers go down, the difficulty of the game will be instantly reduced by half!

By then, whether Harden is rushing or passing, it will be much easier, and he can control the game as he wishes.

Why does Harden have so many assists this season? Most of them are fed like this.

Compared to Howard before, Capela is more obedient. Of course, the ability to eat pie is also stronger than Howard after his decline.

D'Antoni sent the players on the field with confidence. He believed that he could control the entire trend from the first minute of the game!

However, when D'Antoni saw the Grizzlies' starting five, he was dumbfounded.

From the beginning, this game was different from what he expected!

"Oh? The Grizzlies suddenly changed their formation today! Coach Joger did not go to the Twin Towers, nor did he return Tobias Harris to the starting lineup. He sent Montrezl Harrell, this is Harrell First start of the season!"

Hubie Brown pondered it with interest. He knew that Joger was not a coach who liked to change formations.

Once, he was ridiculed by fans for "using one lineup until death."

But this season, this is already the third starting set that Joger has arranged!

Facts have proved that every time Joger adjusts the starting lineup, it will have immediate results. If there is no special need, Qiaogel will not change the formation at will.

Harrell started the game, which made Grizzlies fans look forward to it.

But after the shock, D'Antoni quickly regained his composure and didn't take it too seriously.

He thought to himself that Jogel might just want to confuse him. That guy Harrell should be just a fake starter, just a cover!

A fourth position with no shooting range, no skills, and no height, playing as a substitute is the maximum limit.

Putting this kind of person in the starting lineup will have no practical effect at all. D'Antoni still doesn't believe that the powerful Rockets will be cornered by a blue-collar short forward.

Link looked at Harel beside him and patted him on the back.

It's time for this long-haired brutalist striker to show his value.

"Concentrate, kid. If you can't keep up with the attack, I won't spare you."

"Don't worry, boss, I'm ready! If I can't catch your ball, I'll cut my hair." Harrell smiled and moved his arms.

"Keep your hair, Montrezl. If you screw up, stay with me every night for a month."

"Uh..." Harel's smile disappeared instantly, because he believed that Link could definitely do such a thing.

The game is about to begin, and the starting five from both sides are ready.

For the Grizzlies, except for putting Harrell in the starting lineup, nothing else has changed.

As for the Rockets, they still have the starting combination of Beverley, Harden, Ariza, Ryan Anderson and Capela.

The Rockets' starting lineup was excellent from defense to offense, and the Rockets also had bench bandits such as Eric Gordon and Corey Brewer sitting on the bench.

Just talking about the lineup on paper, although the Rockets are not a multi-giant team with bright stars, they are definitely not weak.

What's more, their real strength is stronger than on paper.

Link found that Harden was staring at him eagerly. This was completely different from the previous state where he was often hungover the first day and had blurry eyes the next day.

The West, which was already "monster-ridden," now has a powerful rival like Harden.

But in order to let Draymond Green know how pathetic he is, he must win this game no matter what!

After finally getting over the hurdle between the Lakers and "Road Daddy", we can't stop here.

The more the Warriors can't do something, the more the Grizzlies have to do it!

At the beginning of the game, Capela relied on his bouncing advantage to win the ball for the Rockets first.

Harden slowly walked through half court with the ball. He followed D'Antoni's tactics and started a pick-and-roll with Capela.

Capela set up a screen for Harden, and Harden honestly moved to the side of the screen.

After the pick-and-roll was completed, Capela immediately cut inside, and Harden immediately passed the ball.

However, Harden regretted the moment he took the ball away, because he found that Link did not come to chase him after the pick-and-roll, but directly crossed the passing route.

He had long expected that this cooperation would be like this!

Harden's assists per game this season are extremely exaggerated, but what cannot be ignored is that he also averages 5.3 turnovers per game.

He often gives out fourteen or five assists in a game, which seems very impressive. But upon closer inspection, there were seven or eight mistakes.

This is the difference between Harden and traditional point guards.

Harden's organization is driven by offense, and his judgment of passing is not as accurate as a true traditional point guard.

Harden passed the ball a little too naturally. Link stole the ball from Harden's hand as soon as he came up. This was undoubtedly a blow to the Rockets and poured cold water on the Rockets' high morale.

Fortunately, Rocket's retreat speed was fast enough, which prevented Link from easily launching a counterattack.

Link stood outside the three-point line, and Ariza was ready. But instead of playing alone, Link imitated Harden and waved his hand, calling for cover!

Harrell immediately got rid of Anderson, who was entangled with him, and set up a pick-and-roll in the high post.

D'Antoni frowned. The Grizzlies' tactics are exactly the same as those of the Rockets?

Although Harrell is only as tall as a small forward, his strong body ensures the quality of his coverage.

Link passed by Harrell, and Ariza immediately pushed past Harrell and pounced on Link.

But at this moment, Link hit the ground and passed the ball between Ariza and Anderson.

In terms of passing accuracy and organizational ability, Link doesn't think he is inferior to Harden! After all, organizational ability cannot be explained by just looking at the number of assists.

On the other side, Harrell has quickly cut to the basket. Ryan Anderson can't keep up with Harrell's footsteps at all. His mobility is better than Capela!

With a simple pick-and-roll, Anderson was left behind.

And what about Capela? The Rockets' elite frame protector is being pinned outside the three-point line by Gasol!

In other words, the Rockets' basket is undefended at this time.

Harrell didn't pause after receiving the ball, and immediately performed a brutal slam!

His powerful dunks and wild looks made this attack full of power.

Harrell succeeded in eating pie!

"Beautiful pick-and-roll cooperation, Link's pass and Harrell's cut are just right! They played a tactic almost exactly the same as the Rockets, but one side didn't succeed, and the other side did!"

After assisting Harrell in scoring, Link applauded happily.

Off the court, D'Antoni was completely autistic.

Originally, he wanted to use the pie-eating trick to attack the Grizzlies first, and he was quite proud of this plan.

Fortunately now, the Grizzlies are eating away at the Rockets!

He originally thought that Harrell would not play a big role, but now he knows that he was wrong!

Link's passing and Harrell's movement seem to be better than the combination of Harden and Capela.

As soon as they came up, the Grizzlies defeated the Rockets.

Is Capella's pie-eating ability top-notch? ?

No, Harrell had something to say.

The title "Cake King" probably needs to be replaced.