One Hundred and Twenty Five: Here Comes the Former Teammate (37/40)

On February 22, the first game after the end of the All-Star weekend, the Grizzlies ushered in the old enemy Denver Nuggets at home.

As in history, the Nuggets traded Carmelo Anthony with the New York Knicks after the All-Star break. The Nuggets lost their star, but that's not a bad thing for them.

After the deal for Anthony, first of all, George Karl can completely control the team. Second, the rest of the Nuggets are no longer panicking and don't have to worry about being traded the next day when they wake up.

Therefore, today's matchup with the Nuggets is even harder than when the Nuggets had Anthony last time!

Smith broke out completely today, and under George Carr's expectation, the "nerve knife" finally started to pump. Due to Anthony's departure, George Karl sent a perimeter combination of three guards, Ty Lawson, Afflalo and Smith. In the beginning, Link and . were facing each other, and they hadn't even allowed . to score.

But the rotation time, when Sam Young came on the court, was completely liberated.

During the entire rotation, Sam Young was shot into scum by Smith. Thanks to Sam Young, let's get the touch. In the second quarter after that, when Link came back, he could no longer contain Smith, who was beating crazy.

In this way, today has become the most important point of attack for the Nuggets. His overall shooting percentage is not high, just 40%. But this guy made 6 of 11 three-pointers today. What Link hates most is the player who makes random shots after the touch is drawn.

Because when he feels hot, it doesn't matter if you interfere or not.

And Afflalo and Ty Lawson both scored 21 points each without Anthony taking the shot. Hollins was amazed by the Nuggets' offensive firepower. It seems that the case of losing the star and getting better after losing the star is not just happening to the Grizzlies.

In the end, the Grizzlies were avenged by the Nuggets 120-112 at home. The entire Nuggets are playing very hard because they know the drama is over and they have to sprint for the playoffs.

On the Nuggets side. Smith, Lawson and Afflalo scored 20 points, which shows how terrible their attacking power is.

Link's performance today was actually not bad. With the halo of "MVP of the most grassroots rookie game", he scored the second-highest 21 points for the Grizzlies. But no way, the Nuggets have three players like Link today.

After the game, Link was out of breath. The Nuggets offense is insane, and the pace of the game today is faster than ever!

At this time, Link remembered what Kobe said to himself the day before yesterday, "As soon as the All-Star Game is over, all teams in the league will start to sprint towards the playoffs. opponents will become quite difficult.”

The experience of the seniors is really valuable. Fortunately, I already had Hill's valuable experience.

In the first game after the All-Star Game, the Nuggets even gave Link a dismay. This undoubtedly sounded the alarm for him and the Grizzlies, and if you want to maintain the ranking in the West, you have to be extra careful.

There is still a month and a half left in the regular season. If the last month and a half overturns, it will not be worth the loss.

After the game, Hollins was also quite frustrated. The Nuggets played better in this game today and that was one reason for the loss. But the Grizzlies' lack of depth was also one of the reasons for the loss.

Especially at the 3 position, if it wasn't for Sam Young's lax defense that allowed Smith to find his touch, this guy couldn't have shot 6-of-11 on three-pointers.

Facts have proved that Sam Young is still embarrassing to reuse in high-intensity games. And don't forget, this is just a slightly more intense regular season, and there is still a gap between the real playoffs.

What would Sam Young look like in the playoffs, Hollins really didn't dare to imagine. The playoffs are a place where you will do anything to win, as long as you have a weakness,

People will hold on to it and show no mercy.

That's why most coaches use short rotations in the playoffs. It's not because the coach doesn't want to make substitutions, but because players with obvious shortcomings will be infinitely magnified in the playoffs. So the coaches simply don't let them play.

It is worth mentioning that the Grizzlies also sent Link’s opponent in the G League today, DeMarre Carroll, who used to belong to the Vipers. He signed a 10-day short contract with the Grizzlies yesterday. In order to supplement the team's manpower at the 3 position, the Grizzlies did not hesitate to try the G League player who allowed Link to score 52 points.

Carroll played for a few minutes today, but it wasn't very good. Not surprisingly, the Grizzlies should not re-sign him.

Speaking of which, the two who used to be opponents are now in a world of difference in their status in the NBA.

Sam Young didn't work, and Carroll didn't work either. After the game, Hollins called general manager Chris Wallace on the phone, and the deal they planned had to be done as soon as possible.

A player who can make a difference in the playoffs and coach Link off the court, the Grizzlies have come close to him.

※※※

On February 23, just after the Nuggets, the Grizzlies rushed to the icy Minneapolis to play against the Timberwolves.

Although fighting back to back, the Timberwolves are not strong. So the Grizzlies won this game very easily.

Randolph scored 24 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists, and Love was taught to be a man.

Conley had 22 points, 9 assists and 5 rebounds, while scoring while connecting the Grizzlies' offense.

Due to the presence of Michael Beasley, Link was unable to match Wesley Johnson today. Otherwise, this will definitely become another classic case of high-draft rookies being abused by undrafted picks.

But today, Beasley didn't get anything good from Link. Beasley is the one with the most shots of the two teams today, with 17 shots. But his score can only be ranked eighth today...

Beasley made only 5 of 17 shots and made 29.4% of the shots, which made the face of the former No. 2 full of embarrassment.

After all, Link gave him a zero seal today. As for the 5 goals he scored, they were all scored by Sam Young.

Link made 6 of 11 shots today, scored 16 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, playing as stable as ever. His performance will definitely make all the top picks in the Timberwolves blush.

Speaking of which, the Timberwolves lineup is really weird. Kevin Love, fifth overall in the first round of 2008, Michael Beasley, second in the first round in 2008, Darko Milicic, second in the first round in 2003. Wesley Johnson, the fourth overall pick in the first round of the 10-year... All is a high pick.

But the record was the exact opposite of their order.

Back in the locker room after the game, Hollins sat silent. He didn't speak until everyone had showered and changed their clothes.

"Guys, let me say a few words and announce something."

Hollins' voice silenced the Grizzlies locker room. Link noticed that Thabeet seemed to suddenly become a little nervous, but he didn't think much about it.

"I just wanted to let you know that the team just made a deal. So... Hashem, thank you for your continued contribution to the team. But next game, you have to report to Houston. ."

Thabeet nodded slightly, he must have been notified long ago. The rest of the Grizzlies are also relatively calm, after all, they are all people who have experienced trades themselves.

This is the NBA, people come and go, never stop. Especially for players like Thabeet who haven't played, wandering around is the norm.

Link was a little surprised, but the surprise was only fleeting. The NBA is business. And this matter, he has probably "predicted" to.

If nothing else, Thabeet went to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Link's "former teammate" -- the Rockets captain, Sean Battier.

What happens when you work with Shane? Link began to look forward to it.

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