One Thousand Two Hundred and Sixty-One: Here Comes the Critic

Any team in NBA history that has more than one MVP at the same time is generally not easy to mess with.

The Lakers during the ShowTime era had more than one MVP player, and they eventually shared the 1980s with Bird.

The last team to have two MVPs at the same time was Cleveland, which had the "Shark King" combination more than ten years ago.

Although the Cavaliers' record that year was not ideal, absolutely no one dared to underestimate that combination.

But now, when the two special MVPs Link and Rose are combined together, people surprisingly don't care much.

Link is one of the players with the most MVP awards in NBA history, while Rose is the league's youngest MVP.

However, this summer, no one thought that this MVP combination could do anything.

But in the last two games, people have begun to discover the power of these two MVPs.

Link can always dominate the game for most of the game, but during the rotation time when Link rests, Rose can always take over this dominance.

Against the Clippers, Link can handle the league's strongest striker, and Rose can handle the league's strongest sixth man.

To beat the Pacers, the two teamed up to torture each other to the point of being confused.

It was as if Link and Rose had divided their labors in advance and could always control the game seamlessly.

After two games, the double MVP combination of Link and Rose began to be highly sought after.

If Rose can perform well in the Grizzlies and eventually win the championship trophy with Link, then this script will be perfect.

Everyone is looking forward to Link and Rose reaching the top together.

However, on November 27, this short-lived beauty was broken when the Grizzlies welcomed the Lakers' revenge game at home.

In the cruel NBA, nothing is ever perfect.

The Lakers have just recently won an eight-game winning streak, their morale is at a high, and the combination of Davis and James is starting to get better.

Although on paper, the Lakers' lineup is not as deep as the Clippers.

But in terms of performance,

The Lakers are better than the Clippers.

So far this season, the Lakers have a record of 14 wins and 3 losses, second only to the Grizzlies, and are one of the best teams in the Western Conference.

Although the last time the two sides met, the Lakers were defeated by Link by 61 points. But today, the Lakers were not discouraged. They raised the intensity of their confrontation to the playoff level as soon as they started.

The two sides have been playing very hotly, and Anthony Davis' dominance of the Grizzlies' fourth position is still firm.

And Link is still a huge threat to an old James.

But this anxious game changed at the end of the fourth quarter.

In the last three minutes of the fourth quarter, Link accidentally stepped on James' instep when he was pushing away from James for a layup.

James didn't mean it, it was an accident.

Link didn't feel much at the time, but after running two steps, he noticed some swelling and pain in his ankle. Of course, the pain is still bearable.

After Qiaogel on the sidelines noticed something strange about Link, he immediately called a timeout and replaced Link.

All Memphis fans are worried. If Link is like Leonard a few years ago, the Lakers will definitely not be able to get out of FedEx Arena.

Link was a little surprised when he found out that he had been substituted, because he felt that he could continue to play without any serious problems.

How could Link understand Qiaogel's heart? The last thing Qiaogel could afford to delay now was Link's body.

Looking at how meticulously the old Rivers next door protects Leonard and George, it is not difficult to understand Joger's mood.

Old Rivers knows that George and Leonard are the capital for the Clippers to compete for the championship, and one of them will not be enough.

Therefore, as long as Leonard and George feel uncomfortable at all, he will directly suspend them to recuperate.

So George and Leonard only played at the same time for the first time a month into the season, and after this season, they will never appear on the court at the same time too many times.

The same goes for Qiao Geer. He will never allow Link to make any mistakes in the regular season. Therefore, seeing Link staggering a few steps, he immediately stopped the game and replaced Link.

Although Link was a little confused, he still walked off the court as Joger arranged.

"I'm fine, boss." Link shrugged, accidentally stepping on the instep when landing. In fact, this kind of thing happens all the time. It doesn't mean that someone has to step on the other person's instep intentionally.

Also, not every time you encounter this kind of thing, you will encounter an injury as serious as Leonard's.

As for minor injuries such as slight swelling and pain in the ankle, it is also common.

In fact, the players on each team who can play now have more or less minor injuries. There are only a minority of players who are 100% healthy.

For example, with the Lakers today, Davis' shoulder has never been fully healed.

"I know, I know you're not serious." Qiao Geer replied while calling the team doctor to come over and check Link.

"The game is getting intense right now." Link pointed to the big screen. There were less than three minutes left before the end of the game, and the Grizzlies were leading by three points.

"I know that too, but no matter what, you can't appear today."

Qiao Geer's meaning was very clear. He would rather lose the game than let Link take risks.

In the past, even if Link was occasionally asked to take risks, Qiaogel had to put his record first.

But things are different now. The Grizzlies no longer need to prove anything in the regular season. They still maintain the best regular season record in the league until now.

Therefore, Qiaogel would rather lose the game to ensure Link's health.

Link curled his lips. He also knew what Qiao Geer meant, so he didn't say anything more.

Having been in a relationship with Qiao Geer for so many years, the two have always been very harmonious because they respect each other.

Joger respects Link, and Link, as a superstar, also respects his coach.

Besides, Link knew that Qiaogel was treating him well, so there was no need to refute.

It's just today's game...

After Link came off the court, the Lakers launched a counterattack.

But to people's surprise, the Grizzlies were not completely defeated.

Jokic and Rose led the rest of the Grizzlies team to continue to fight against the Lakers, and surprisingly dragged the Lakers into the quagmire without Link!

It wasn't until the last 1.2 seconds of the game that James hit a pull-up mid-range shot over Iguodala's head that gave the Lakers a one-point lead.

Unfortunately, Rose's three-point shot with 1.2 seconds left missed the frame and the Lakers took the victory with difficulty.

"It was really thrilling. Derrick Rose's shot must have made everyone on the Lakers break into a cold sweat! Unfortunately, the Grizzlies were a bit unlucky. The Lakers took away their ninth consecutive victory from FedEx Arena, and the Lakers Our four-game winning streak ends here.”

James and Davis embraced passionately. They finally defeated the Grizzlies and defeated an opponent that even the Clippers could not defeat.

Link shook his head. This match was indeed a pity, but it was not unacceptable.

Therefore, when his teammates came off the field, Link encouraged them one by one.

"Well done, well done, we were a bit unlucky."

Link gave everyone high fives and hugs.

Ross was the last to leave the stage, his head lowered, his long dreadlocks blocking his face.

"I missed." Rose said dejectedly when he walked to Link's side.

"It doesn't matter, it's just a game, you have done a good job."

"What a pity. In the end, I still have to rely on you, Link." Rose sighed, and then walked off the court.

Link didn't pay much attention to it. Rose was not the kind of person who would get depressed when encountering a slight setback.

He will definitely be a little disappointed after missing the buzzer beater just now, but give him a night and he will be able to recover and get back on the road.

Link also followed his teammates into the player tunnel. He just hopes that Joger will not let himself rest for too long.

Half an hour later, Link also attended the post-match press conference with Joger.

However, at the press conference, Link heard a question that made him angry.

"Link, does the loss of this game mean that the team relies heavily on you? In the last game, you scored 61 points and the Grizzlies defeated the Lakers. And if you are not on the court, the Grizzlies seem to be unable to win. Now. If you had been the one to shoot the last ball, wouldn't the result be different?"

After a defeat, the double-MVP lineup that had just become popular began to be criticized.

Link smiled disdainfully, this is the NBA.